City Conference teams dominated the 2018 CIF San Diego Section Championship by claiming five of its six 11-man titles.
Winners of the top three divisions came from the Western League (Cathedral, St. Augustine, & Lincoln), while Orange Glen represented the North County as its only champion.
We would like to congratulate 8-man champion Foothills Christian, and the six teams who advances to the CIF State Playoffs.
Five different players found the end zone for the San Diego Cavers (11-1) as they rolled past the Kearny Komets (11-2) to clinch its first outright CIF Section title since 1959.
After a fumble recovery by Raiden Hunter on the opening possession set up his own touchdown run, Kearny struck back with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Kenyon Williams to Hayden Lundy to tie the game 7-7 early in the first quarter.
Jayden Wickware's goal line dive gave San Diego a 14-7 lead in the second quarter, but the Cavers pulled away with a 21-7 halftime lead after senior lineman Jaliel Jackson returned his own blocked pass 50 yards for a pick-six as time expired.
A 21-7 run in the second half sealed the game and advances San Diego High to its first State Regional appearance in program history.
Ten teams will battle to join Cathedral Catholic as CIF San Diego Champions & advance to the State Regional Playoffs.
Division I Championship
#3 Helix Highlanders (8-4) vs. #4 St. Augustine Saints (9-3)
Helix leads all-time series 7-3
Elelyon Noa went off on Eastlake's defense, rushing for 293 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Highlanders to their fifth consecutive trip to Southwestern College.
Helix has won three straight over St. Augustine dating back to 2004, including a 35-14 victory in their previous meeting in week 5. The streak also includes a 44-30 triumph in the 2015 Open Division Championship.
The Saints are coming off a hard-fought 16-13 win over Mission Hills in last week's semifinal.
They were led by junior quarterback Angelo Peraza, who completed 15 of 22 passes for 200 yards and two scores. Senior William Simon had two sacks, bringing his team leading total to 12 on the year.
Shawn Poma rushed for 178 yards and scored three times to help the Cathedral Catholic Dons (11-1) earn the CIF San Diego Section Open Division Championship with a 28-17 win over the top-seeded Torrey Pines Falcons (10-1).
In a losing effort, Mac Bingham rushed for 120 yards and the first two touchdowns of the game for Torrey Pines.
Trailing 14-0, Poma put Cathedral Catholic on the board with a 65-yard dash to the end zone.
The Falcons answered back with Ted Merrifield's 36-yard field goal to extend their lead to 17-7, but DJ Ralph would find Zion Sorani for a toe-tapping 4-yard strike to cut it to 17-14 at halftime.
After a brief defensive struggle for both teams, Poma's 2-yard goal line dive gave Cathedral a 21-17 lead with 4:34 left in the third quarter, and they never looked back.
Ralph's 38-yard touchdown pass to Poma in the fourth quarter sealed the win as the Dons celebrated their second Open Division title in program history.
Can 11-seed Grossmont slay another Division I giant?
#11 Grossmont Foothillers (4-7) at #3 Helix Highlanders (6-4) Division I Quarterfinal
Grossmont haven't been victorious over their longtime East County rival since 1991, but after last week's first-round upset over Madison, the Foothillers should come into this game highly confident.
Helix is coming off a first-round bye after ending the regular season with a loss to Steele Canyon. Its four losses are the most in a season since 2009.
CLAIREMONT (11/02/2018) Junior quarterback Jaime Odom was responsible for five Grossmont touchdowns as the 11-seeded Foothillers (4-7) overcame a strong second half rally from the No. 6 seed Madison Warhawks (6-5) in the first round of the Division I Playoffs.
Odom took a quarterback keeper up the middle for a 32-yard score to give Grossmont a 31-7 lead late in the first half, but Madison found the end zone when Daniel Stokes connected on a 25-yard touchdown strike to Ke'ontae Springs as time expired at the half.
The momentum carried on to the third quarter as Springs and Stokes sparked a second half come-back run with rushing touchdowns. After a 24-yard score by Springs, Stokes exploded for 84 yards to cut the Foothillers lead to 31-28.
Stokes totaled four touchdowns this game, including a 50-yard scamper that gave the Warhawks a 42-38 lead with under three minutes left to play.
Starting from their own 30-yard line, Odom lead the Grossmont offense to a hard fought drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown strike to Brody Schicker, that would eventually be the game-winner.
As Madison attempted a game-winning drive of their own, the stadium lights suddenly shut off and delayed the game for 25 minutes.
When the lights returned, the Warhawks put themselves in a position for a 38-yard field goal attempt, but the kick barley missed to the left as time expired on the game clock.
We talked to Odom and head coach Tom Karlo after the game to get their reactions as they get set for a second round meeting with the Helix Highlanders.
