With one game remaining on the regular season football schedule, the upcoming San Diego Section playoff field is almost set.
There is still room for some teams to move up and others to move down in the rankings. Other teams can cement an automatic playoff berth by winning a league championship, and those often aren’t easy to come by.
A total of 64 tackle teams will be admitted into the Open Division through Division V fields. An additional number of teams will compete for the Division VAA championship as well as the eight-player Division VI banner.
A total of eight division championships will be awarded this year in a playoff field enumerating 70 or more teams.
The top four teams on the chopping block will compete in the elite Open Division. The remaining 12 teams in Division I will compete for that title. Twelve teams in each of the remaining Division II through Division V tiers will gain playoff entry.
SECOND SEASON
Mountain Empire (7-2 overall) defeated the visiting Rock Academy, 30-22, last Friday to raise its Sunset League record to 4-1. The Redhawks rate second to Maranatha Christian (5- 0) in the league standings but have all but assured themselves of a postseason berth as the No. 3-ranked team among Division V-AA squads. Mountain Empire closes out regular season play by hosting Foothills Christian (1-4 in league, 1-8 overall) on Halloween night. Teams ahead of the Redhawks in the division rankings include Maranatha Christian (8-1 overall) and Palo Verde Valley (6-4 overall). Teams below Mountain Empire in the division rankings include No. 4 Clairemont (1-9 overall), No. 5 Calipatria (4-4 overall), No. 6 Victory Christian Academy (4-5 overall), No. 7 Rock Academy (4-5 overall), No. 8 O’Farrell Charter (4-5 overall), No. 9 Foothills Christian (1-8 overall) and Tri-City Christian (0-9 overall). Playoff games are single-elimination. Redhawks head coach Cameron Keller is looking to get his team into a higher gear heading into the playoffs. “Another sloppy game but we pulled away with a win,” Keller said. “We were able to run the ball with no problems: Elisha Lashone Robinson had a rushing touchdown, Amar Mahasin had a rushing touchdown, Chance Ross, had a rushing touchdown. “Later on, in the fourth quarter, they started loading the box, so we went to play action and hit Michael Noble on a 40-yard bomb to help us stretch the lead. We had a key defensive stop late in the fourth to seal it.” Robinson rushed for 138 yards on 16 carries while Mahasin rushed for 47 yards on four carries. Ross gained 10 yards on four carries. Ross passed for 91 yards with one touchdown with one interception. Senior Junior Ponce had three catches for 51 yards. “We still have one more regular season game that we are focusing on,” Keller said. “After this week we will focus on playoffs.” Playoff seeding will be conducted on Sunday, Nov. 2. The playoff schedule for Division I through Division V is as follows: first round on Nov. 7, quarterfinals on Nov. 14, semifinals on Nov. 21. Open Division semifinals are Nov. 14. Finals dates and venues are to be determined. An eight-player division (Division VI) will also be seeded. Quarterfinals in Division VAA and Division VI are scheduled Nov. 7, followed by semifinals on Nov. 14. Finals are to be determined.
MAKING THE GRADE
Lincoln had occupied the top spot among Division I teams for virtually all the season until being overtaken by Cathedral Catholic in the past week. Both teams are 7-2. Three teams follow at 8-1: No. 3 Carlsbad, No. 4 Mission Hills and No. 5 La Costa Canyon. Only four make the Open Division cut-off, so it appears either Mission Hills or La Costa Canyon could drop to be the No. 1 team in Division I. Granite Hills (6-3) currently occupies the No. 2 ranking among Division I teams while Mt. Miguel (6-3) is ranked No. 8 overall, fourth among Division I squads. The Division I tier will include 12 playoff teams. There are currently two 9-0 teams in the division: Pt. Loma (sixth in the division) and Imperial (12th in the division). The Division II break comes at the No. 17 ranking spot, currently occupied by El Camino with a 1-8 record. Holtville (8- 1) follows at No. 18, second in the division. Steele Canyon (7- 2) is ranked 19th in the section, third in the division, followed by No. 20 La Jolla (5-4), which is fourth in the division. Helix Charter is ranked 21st, which would place the Scotties fifth in the division. The top four teams in Division I through Division V receive first-round byes. Suffice it to say, teams will be wanting to win to solidify their playoff positions — and a few with perfect records. Four teams enter this weekend with 9-0 records: Pt. Loma, Imperial, Santa Fe Christian (sixth in Division II) and Mission Bay (seventh in Division II) all at 9-0. If the current rankings hold true, Granite Hills could be battling for the Division I title and both Steele Canyon and Helix could be vying for the Division II crown. A Helix-Steele Canyon playoff matchup could be a ratings breaker if the teams’ Grossmont Hills League matchup last Friday is any indicator. Helix won 39-34 after taking an early 12-0 lead. Nico Jara scored Steele’s first touchdown late in the second quarter to trim the Highlander lead to 12-7. After that, the teams kept scoring. Helix would extend its lead another touchdown, The Cougars would tack on a touchdown and before one knew it Steele Canyon had cut the deficit to 25-20. Up Helix went again 32-20 in the early moments of the fourth quarter. The final period was full of fireworks as both teams scored twice with the Scotties able to maintain a five-point lead. The teams combined for 843 offensive yards — 443 by Helix with six touchdowns and 400 by Steele Canyon with five touchdowns. The quarterbacks had the biggest chunk of that — 300 by Steele junior Gavin Caha and 299 by Helix senior Lee Norman- Lester (128 rushing, 171 passing). Caha dished out four touchdown passes — one each to senior Noah De Arcos (three catches, 63 yards), junior Nico Jara (three catches, 34 yards), senior Jacob Henton (one catch, 55 yards) and junior Josiah Stocker (six catches, 65 yards). Junior Marcus Hunt (six carries, 87 yards) scored one rushing touchdown for the Cougars, who rushed nine times for 100 yards. Hunt broke loose on a 54-yard run. Helix scored five rushing touchdowns in the victory. With all the offense on the gridiron, there were some key defensive plays. Senior Tyree Zarkarayn led Steele with 10 tackles, including eight unassisted stops. Helix (2-2 in league) finishes 4-6 in regular season play, awaiting a playoff seed. Steele Canyon was set up to conclude regular season play with a Thursday contest against visiting Granite Hills that stands as the league championship game for the visitors. The loss was the second consecutive for the Cougars (1-2 in league) following a 7-0 start.
SOARING EAGLES
Granite Hills, with last Friday’s 42-6 win at El Capitan, has clinched no worse than a league co-championship. The Eagles needed a win at Steele Canyon to hold sole rights to this year’s title, which would make it four in a row for the El Cajon team. The Eagles scored six touchdowns — three passing, one rushing, one on a punt return and one of a kickoff return — against the Vaqueros (0-3 in league, 4-5 overall). Junior Zachary Benitez passed for 235 yards with touchdown strikes to senior Noah Walker (six catches, 140 yards), senior Rocket Demery (three catches, 13 yards) and senior Isaiah Rodriguez (one catch, 23 yards). Walker hauled in a 60-yard score. Junior Seth Rodriguez (three carries 18 yards) scored one rushing touchdown. Senior Parker Johnson piled up 203 all-purpose yards (15 rush, 76 kickoff returns and 112 punt returns). Johnson had one kickoff return for 76 yards and added a 61-yard punt return. Additionally, junior Zhedan Smith had four carries for 30 yards while senior Tristan Diaz had five catches for 22 yards. Junior Gage Spalding had five carries for 24 yards. On defense, senior Hudson Daniels recorded two sacks while Johnson and Demery each had interceptions. The Eagles limited the Vaqueros to 51 total offensive yards — 38 rushing and 13 passing. Sophomore Michael Castillo had 14 carries for 28 yards while senior Brody Copp had five carries for 16 yards. Copp also had one catch for seven yards. El Capitan Spencer Chastang had four kickoff returns for 114 yards and scored on a 22-yard fumble return. Senior Brewin Ford and Tod Carter each recorded one sack. El Capitan closes out regular season play on Halloween night by hosting the Mt. Miguel Matadors, currently in second place in the league standings.
