It was the game high school football fans wanted to see, and it was the game that decided the final No. 1 team in the San Diego Section.
Carlsbad and Cathedral Catholic traded places between No. 1 and No. 2 all season, but with a 48-19 Cathedral Catholic win over the Lancers in the Open Division championship game on Nov. 20, the Dons claimed all 24 first-place votes in the U-Tâs final Prep Football Poll.
Cathedral Catholic entered the playoffs No. 2 with Carlsbad No. 1.
Mater Dei Catholic, which won the extremely competitive Division III championship, jumped from No. 4 to No. 3.
Helix, which won a thrilling 28-21 game with Lincoln for the Division I title, moved from No. 7 to No. 4 with Lincoln moving up two places to No. 8.
Mission Hills and Torrey Pines, which lost in the Open Division semifinals, both fell two places to No. 5 and No. 7.
Scripps Ranch, the Division II champion, jumped two spots to No. 8.
Santa Fe Christian, which lost to Mater Dei Catholic in the Division III playoffs, dropped out of the Top 10 with Division IV champion Patrick Henry moving in at No. 10, the first time all season in the Top 10 for the Patriots.
Final poll
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
Sportswriters/Sportscasters Poll
(First-place votes in parentheses)
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
Team, Record; Points; Last Week
1. Cathedral Catholic (24), 10-2; 240; 2
2. Carlsbad, 11-1; 208; 1
3. Mater Dei Catholic, 12-0; 177; 4
4. Helix, 9-3; 171; 7
5.Mission Hills, 8-3; 140; 3
6. Lincoln, 8-4; 111; 8
7. Torrey Pines, 6-4; 90; 5
8. Scripps Ranch, 11-1; 82; 10
9. Madison, 9-3; 50; 6
10. Patrick Henry, 10-2; 23; NR
Others receiving votes
El Camino (6-7, 10 points), Ramona (9-4, 10 points), Palo Verde Valley (11-2, 3 points), La Costa Canyon (5-6, 2 points), La Jolla (5-8, 2 points), Mt. Carmel (10-2, 1 point), Santa Fe Christian (10-1, 1 point).
Voters: 24 sportswriters, sportscasters and administrators from throughout the county: John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune), Terry Monahan, Steve Brand, Jim Lindgren, Rick Hoff, Eric Williams and Thomas Gutierrez (freelance writers), Brandon Stone and John Carroll (KUSI-TV), Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com), Adam Paul (ECPreps.com), Bodie DeSilva (scorebooklive.com), John Kentera and Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan), Ramon Scott (EastCountySports.com), Steve Dolan (Mountain Country 107.9-FM), Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association), Troy Hirsch (Fox 5 San Diego), Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez and Mike Dolan (CIF Office), Raymond Brown (sdfootball.net), MaxPreps.