Seeding for the San Diego Section tackle football playoffs has been completed. There are the usual surprises and usual suspects.
The four Open Division qualifiers include the top-seeded Carlsbad Lancers (9-1), second-seeded Cathedral Catholic Dons (7-3), third-seeded Mission Hills Grizzles (8-2) and fourth-seeded Santa Fe Christian Eagles (10-0).
Santa Fe Christian completed a 13-1 section season in 2025, 13-0 in section play as the Division II champion, and are perfect again in section play this season — only one of two teams (Patrick Henry is the other) to go undefeated through regular season play with a 10-0 record.
Semifinals between the four combatants for the section’s elite championship are scheduled Nov. 13. The championship game is set Nov. 21 at Southwestern College.
Carlsbad wlll host Santa Fe Christian while Cathedral Catholic will host Mission Hills.
The Division I seeding features No. 1 Helix Charter (8-2), No. 2 La Costa Canyon (6-4), No. 3 Oceanside (6-4), No. 4 Granite Hills (7-3), No. 5 San Marcos (5-5), No. 6 Lincoln (4-6), No. 7 Rancho Bernardo (8-2) and No. 8 (Torrey Pines (6-4).
Quarterfinals are scheduled Nov. 13. Helix will host Torrey Pines, LCC will host Rancho Bernardo, Granite Hills will host San Marcos and Oceanside will host Lincoln.
All look to be highly competitive matchups. Granite Hills defeated Lincoln, 41-29, for last year’s Division I banner. The Eagles are four-time defending CIF champions.
Semifinals are scheduled Nov. 20. The championship game is Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. at Southwestern College.
A potential semifinal pairing would be a rematch of last Friday’s climactic Grossmont Hills League championship game between Helix and Granite Hills, a game won in come-from-behind fashion, 42-31, by the host Highlanders.
Looking ahead, the D-I final would not feature both Helix and Granite Hills.
It’s a shame because last Friday’s league final left high school football fans awestruck.
The Highlanders are league champions for the first time since the 2021 season.
Helix coach Damaja Jones spoke to his team with an open heart after the game.
“I don’t care what division we’re in — the way we’re playing I believe we’re the best team in San Diego.”
Those who witnessed the game would be hard-pressed to disagree with that comment.
“You’re the group that brought Helix back to where we were at — it feels awesome,”Jones said to his team.
“We wanted to win it and this was the group to do it,” Helix senior quarterback Caden Thompson said. “I just had to get it away from their guys so they couldn’t get it. The defense was amazing. It feels amazing.”
“We made more plays than they did at the end of the game,” Jones summed up.
But there’s still a lot of football to be played, at least three rounds in the divisional playoffs, the Southern California regional and state bowl game.
How far can the Scotties — and, for that matter, the Eagles — go?
It will certainly be interesting to find out.
Game of the year
The Eagles took a 7-0 lead on a six-yard quarterback keeper by senior Zac Benitez. The Scotties tied the game on the first of one of their many big passing plays throughout the night as Thompson fired a 57-yard bomb to junior Jeremy Robinson.
Thompson’s game plan appeared to heave the ball as far down field as he could and let the Highlanders’ speedy receivers run under them. It was something that worked and Thompson repeated it frequently.
The Helix signal-caller finished the night with 284 passing yards and four touchdowns — two each to Andrew-Johnson (three catches 134 yards) and Robinson (three catches, 100 yards).
Granite Hills took a 14-7 lead on a 12-yard run by senior Gage Spalding. But a 77-yard sideline catch-and-carry by junior Jacob Andrew-Johnson knotted the score at 14.
Helix senior Roderick Aguillard recovered a fumble and returned the ball to the Eagle eight-yard line. Junior Stephon Fuentes (26 carries, 115 yards) scored from there to give the Highlanders their first lead of the game at 21-14.
Helix moved in front 28-14 on a blocked punt that was recovered int he end zone for a touchdown by junior Denzel Griffin.
But the four-time defending league champions regrouped.
The Eagles scored in the dying seconds before halftime on a 10-yard completion to senior Courtney Miller-Thompson to trim the deficit to 28-21.
Granite Hills received the second half kickoff and scored on another 10-yard pass play to Miller-Thompson. 28-28.
The Eagles made it 17 straight points whens enior Jacob Nunez kicked a 29-yard field goal to put the visitors on top 31-28.
It was time for the hosts to get it into gear — on both sides of the ball.
Robinson scored on a 21-yard grab with 7:39 to play in the fourth quarter for a 35-31 Helix lead.
Granite Hills mounted yet another comeback with a long drive into the red zone.But senior LaMarquis Sutton came down with a jump ball into the corner of the end zone for a touchdown-saving interception.
The Highlanders countered with another strike into the end zone with 12.1 seconds left to finally put the game out of reach.
Benitez passed for 192 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while tacking on 27 rushing yards and one score for a three-touchdown night. Spalding had 11 carries for 75 yards and one TD.
Miller-Thompson had seven catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Davion Williams had 13 carries for 77 yards while sophomore Manny Walker had two catches for 55 yards.
The Helix defense played keep away wth one interception, three fumble recoveries and one blocked punt.Senior Jeremy Davis keyed the effort with 16 tackles, including 14 unassisted stops. Senior Donte Wright had 13 stops (10 solo).
The Eagles recorded three sacks and one fumble recovery (sophomore Kolton Hopkins).
Best of the rest
The Division II, Division III and Division IV playoff brackets all feature 12 teams with the top four teams receiving a first-round bye.
Poway (4-6) is seeded first in Division II, followed by No. 2 Del Norte (4-6), No. 3 St. Augustine (6-4), No. 4 Point Loma (7-3), No. 5 Mater Dei Catholic (4-6), No. 6 El Camino (1-9), No. 7 Imperial (8-2), No. 8 Holtville (7-3), No. 9 Ramona (6-4), No. 10 Patrick Henry (10-0), No. 11 Grossmont (7-3) and No. 12 Mount Miguel (2-7).
First-round games on Friday, Nov. 6, pit Ramona at Holtville, Mount Miguel at Mater Dei Catholic, Grossmont at El Camino and Patrick Henry at Imperial.
Teams with byes include Poway, Del Norte, St. Augustine and Point Loma.
Quarterfinals are scheduled Nov. 13, followed by semifinals at No. 20. The championship game is set Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Escondido High School.
Grossmont finished 2-2 in Grossont Hills league play at the third place team. The Foothillers enter the playoffs following a bye to end regular season play. Senior Tyler Holmes ranks as one of the section’s top passers with 1,674 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Steele Canyon, the runner-up in last year’s Division II championship game, is the top seed in this year’s Division III playoff bracket. The Cougars (5-5) enter the playoffs with a first-round by along with No. 2 San Diego (5-5), No. 3 San Pasqual (7-3) and No. 4 University City (5-5).
First-round games are Friday, Nov. 6.
The winner between No. 8 Christian (6-4) and No. 9 Valhalla (6-4) will play No. 1 Steele Canyon in the quarterfinals while the winner between No. 7 Madison (6-4) and No.10 Mira Mesa (7-3) will play No. 2 San Diego.
The winner between No. 6 Eastlake (9-1) and No. 11 Scripps Ranch (1-9) will play No. 3 San Pasqual while the winner between No. 5 La Jolla (3-7) and No. 12 Central Union (6-4) will play No. 4 University City.
Quarterfinals are Nov. 13, followed by semifinals on Nov. 20. The championship game is Nov. 28 at 3:30 p.m. at Escondido High School.
Steele Canyon defeated visiting Mount Miguel, 36-22, last Friday to close out Grossmont Hills League to carry momentum into the playoffs.
Senior quarterback Gavin Caha passed for 160 yards and touchdowns to seniors Josiah Stocker (seven catches, 63 yards) and Malcolm Ballard (three catches, 31 yards) while senior Michael Ontiguero Jr. rushed for 58 yards and two scores to lead the Cougars (1-3 in league play).
Junior Enrique Gonzalez passed for 247 yards and three touchdowns — two to junior Cayden “Prince” Mobley (eight catches, 124 yards) — to lead the Matadors (0-4 in league) into the playoffs.
Eastlake finished as the Division IV runner-up last year while Christian defeated Central Union in the Division III final.
The Division IV playoffs feature three East County teams: No. 7 West Hills (7-3), No. 8 El Capitan (6-4) and No. 9 Santana (7-3).
Top seeds include No. 1 Valley Center (5-5), No. 2 Maranatha Christian (8-2), No. 3 Otay Ranch (5-5) and No. 4 Bishop’s (7-3).
Valley Center won last year’s Division IV title while Maranatha Christian moves up after winning last year’s Division V-AA final.
El Capitan defeated Valhalla, 38-27, in last Friday’s Grossmont Valley League championship game. Santana, Valhalla and West Hills all finished 3-2 in league in a tie for the runner-up spot to the Vaqueros (5-0 in league).
First-round play kicks off Friday, Nov. 6. El Capitan (6-4) will host Santana (7-3) while West Hills (7-3) will host No. 10 Rancho Buena Vista (5-5).
In other first-round games, No. 5 Mission Bay (4-6) will host No. 12 Army-Navy Academy (3-7) while No. 6 Westview (7-3) will host No. 11 Brawley (4-6).
Quarterfinals are scheduled Nov. 13, followed by semifinals on Nov. 20. The championship game is scheduled Nov. 27 at 3 p.m. at Southwestern College.
El Cap scored 14 points in the final quarter to reverse a 27-24 deficit to eclipse Valhalla for the league title. The host Norsemen had led 21-7 after the first quarter and 27-7 midway through the second quarter.
“The boys never quit and fought hard to win,” said Vaquero head coach Ron Burner, whose team enters postseason play riding a five-game winning streak. “Our defense didn’t give up a single point after the 27 and our offense rolled big time. Michael Castillo (108 rushing yards) was a key cog as was Daniel Montijo who came in off the bench and was 11-for-12 passing with 142 passing yards and three touchdowns. His first play off the bench was a 64-yard TD to Elijah Arzu (three catches, 71 yards, two TD).
“We are an No. 8 seed and face Santana at home on Friday. We beat them 19-7 at the start of league but a lot has changed and it is going to be quite a battle at the Ranch. They have really improved since then and they also beat Valhalla.”
Santana tune up for the playoffs with a 55-6 victory against visiting El Cajon Valley (0-5 in league, 2-8 overall) as senior Ethan Miller passed for 187 yards and three touchdowns.
The Division V playoffs expand to 16 teams this season. There are no first-round byes. Teams will get right at it in a scramble to the championship round.
Morse (5-5) is the top seed, followed by No. 2 Hoover (7-3), No. 3 Fallbrook (5-5), No. 4 La Jolla Country Day (5-5), No. 5 Bonita Vista (6-4), No. 6 Mt. Carmel (2-8), No. 7 Chula Vista (4-6) and No. 8 Coronado (2-8).
Morse defeated Hoover, 45-30, in last year’s championship game.
The top eight seeds will host first-round games this Friday.
Also in the hunt are No. 9 Southwest (7-3), No. 10 Coastal Academy (3-6), No. 11 Hilltop (5-5), No. 12 Olympian (3-7), No. 13 Classical Academy (2-8), No. 14 Mar Vista (6-4), No. 15 Canyon Hills (3-7) and No. 16 Monte Vista (3-7).
First-round pairing include Monte Vista at Morse, Canyon Hills at Hoover, Mar Vista at Fallbrook, Classical Academy at LJCD, Olympian at Bonita Vista, Hilltop at Mt. Carmel, Coastal Academy at Chula Vista and Southwest at Coronado.
Quarterfinals are Nov. 13 and semifinals are Nov. 20. The championship game is Nov. 28 at noon at Escondido High School.
The Division V-AA playoffs include eight teams: No. 1 Escondido Charter (9-1), No. 2 Palo Verde Valley (8-2), No. 3 Vincent Memorial (8-2), No. 4 Mountain Empire (5-4), No. 5 Clairemont (5-5), No. 6 O’Farrell Charter (5-5), No. 7 Caliptaria (3-7) and No. 8 Foothills Christian (5-4).
Quarterfinals are Friday, followed by semifinals on Nov. 13 and the championship game Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Escondido High School.
Quarterfinal pairings feature Foothills Christian at Escondido Charter, Clairemont at Mountain Empire, Vincent Memorial at O’Farrell Charter and Calipatia at Palo Verde Valley.
Palo Verde Valley finished as last year’s Division V-AA runner-up.
Mountain Empire wrapped up Desert League play last Friday with a 32-12 setback at league champion Palo Verde Valley. The Redhawks finished 1-2 in league play, 5-4 overall.
“We’re excited to compete in the playoffs again,” Mountain Empire head coach Cameron Keller said. “Clairemont is a good team and we gotta come out and practice hard this week.
Our team is a much better team than the 5-4 record we have. We have to come out Friday with energy as well as being able to execute our assignments.”
Senior Chance Ross completed a touchdown pass to senior Amar Mahasin (three catches, 47 yards) while junior Elisha Robinson (14 carries, 131 yards) scored one rushing touchdown in the loss to Palo Verde.
Ross passed for 1,015 yards and 13 touchdowns in nine games while Robinson rushed for 1,670 yards and eight touchdowns. Mahasin was the recieving leader with 31 catches for 653 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The eight-player postseason field includes four teams: No. 1 St. Joseph Academy (6-1), No. 2 Francis Parker (8-1), No. 3 Borrego Springs (5-3) and No. 4 Julian (6-3).
Semifinals are Nov. 13. The division final is scheduled Nov. 21 at 1 p.m. at Escondido High School.
St. Joseph Academy defeated Francis Parker, 46-33, in last Friday’s Ocean League championship game while Borrego Springs defeated Julian, 44-32, to win this year’s Manzanita League title.
