The 2024 high school football season will be like none other, and it should be very interesting for that reason alone.
The San Diego Section will once again conduct its playoffs in eight divisions, though without pre-determined divisions being taken into account.
A total of 64 teams will qualify for the top six divisions based entirely on the final CalPreps rankings on Nov. 3. There are no pre-set divisions throughout the regular season.
Teams will be lined up by final rankings points and snipped to fill each division.
The top four ranked teams will be slotted into the Open Division. The next 12 teams (numbers 5-16) will be in Division I, the next 12 teams (numbers 17-28) will be in Division II, the next 12 teams (numbers 29-40) will be in Division III, the next 12 teams (numbers 41- 52) will be in Division IV and the next 12 teams (numbers 53- 64) will be in Division V.
The Division V-AA playoffs will consist of one division of eight teams with seeding based on the final CalPreps rankings on Nov. 3.
The Division VI playoffs (eight-person) will be conducted in one division of six teams, with seeding based completely on the final CalPreps rankings on Nov. 3.
So, nobody will know exactly in what division they will compete until the final CalPreps rankings are released. It will be a guessing game right up to the end of the final game of the season, though most teams will have an inkling of where they might fall.
Only designated league champions are guaranteed entry into postseason play.
Will this try at delivering playoff parity be successful?
Coaches agree there is no perfect system, but it should make all playoff games in all divisions in all rounds very competitive. There should be no easy playoff games with the new system.
There is one caveat. Teams on the cutoff from one division to another can either have a No. 1 seed or a No. 12 seed which can be tough to swallow.
The structure of the 2024 playoffs will otherwise be the same with a first round of elimination games, a quarterfinal round, semifinal round and championship round for divisions with 12-team brackets.
The Open Division will go straight to semifinals and finals.
Regular season games will once again be played on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to continue a trend in recent years.
Eastern exposure
Defending section champions include Granite Hills (Open Division), St. Augustine (Division I), Del Norte (Division II), La Jolla Country Day (Division III), Mt. Miguel (Division IV), Sweetwater (Division V), Holtville Division (V-AA) and Foothills Christian (Division VI).
Granite Hills kicks off the 2024 season with an Aug. 23 non-league game at Mission Hills, followed by another high-profile non-league game at Mater Dei Catholic on Aug. 30. The Eagles play Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) in the Honor Bowl Sept. 7 at Cathedral Catholic before hosting Eastlake Sept. 13 on home turf.
Mt. Miguel kicks off the new season Aug. 23 at Long Beach St. Anthony and hosts Rancho Buena Vista on Aug. 30.
East County teams advancing to last year’s Division II playoffs included Steele Canyon (No. 9 seed). Division III entrants included West Hills (No. 3 seed), Grossmont (No. 4 seed) and El Capitan (No. 9 seed). Santana received the No. 4 seed in Division IV while El Cajon Valley (No. 3 seed), Monte Vista (No. 5 seed) and Valhalla (No. 8 seed) all gained entry into the Division V playoffs.
Grossmont advanced to the Division III championship game while Santana and El Cajon Valley both made it as far as the semifinals.
Foothills Christian won last year’s eight-person championship.
Both the Grossmont Hills League and Grossmont Valley League alignments receive tweaks this season. West Hills and Santana move from the Hills League to the Valley League while Mt. Miguel receives promotion to the Hills League.
High impact encounters this season include Mt. Miguel at Helix on Oct. 11, Granite Hills at Mt. Miguel on Oct 18 and Granite Hills at Helix on Oct. 25.
Can the Eagles fly high once again after ending last season in the Division 1-AA state regionals (49-21 setback to Mission Viejo)?
Granite Hills head coach Kellan Cobbs feels confident his team will once again perform on the gridiron.
“Quarterback Zac Benitez returns, so our passing game should be strong,” Cobbs said. “Max Turner is a strong running back and should continue to boost our run game. Defensively our secondary returns three starters.”
Benitez passed for 146 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the season-ending loss to Mission Viejo while Turner rushed for 43 yards and one touchdown.
On the season, Benitez passed for 2,281 yards with 23 touchdowns to earn All-CIF honors while Turner completed his junior season with 1,138 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns as an all-league selection.
Top returners this season besides Benitez and Turner include senior receiver Brendan Lewis (all-league in 2023) and All-CIF defensive back Parker Vance (five interceptions as a junior last season).
Impact newcomers include junior receiver Kyler Oberg (over from West Hills), sophomore defensive lineman Landon Hart (over from Cathedra Catholic) and junior defensive lineman Hunter Hamilton