This week on the High School Football Podcast, Braden Surprenant and Chris Smith (TopDawg) are joined by Miles Bailey from San Diego County Football Officials Association. Bailey breaks down what the preparation is like as an official week to week, the process to become an official, and some clarity on what a lot of coaches have been asking about this season. Braden Surprenant and TopDawg talk about what stood out to them in week 3, give their new top 10s and preview the biggest games for week 4.
Union Tribune's Top 10
1. Madison (4-0) (17)
2. Lincoln (3-1) (5)
3. Cathedral Catholic (2-2) (6)
4. Carlsbad (2-1) (2)
5. Helix (3-1)
6. Poway (4-0)
7. Mater Dei Catholic (0-4)
8. Mira Mesa (2-1)
9. Granite Hills (3-1)
10. La Costa Canyon (2-1)
RV: Mission Hills (2-2, 32 points), Ramona (2-2, 28 points), Rancho Buena Vista (4-0, 25 points), San Marcos (3-1, 20 points), Mission Bay (4-0, 3 points), El Camino (2-2, 2 points), La Jolla (3-1, 2 points), Central Union (2-1, 1 point), Fallbrook (3-1, 1 point), Morse (3-1, 1 point), Torrey Pines (1-3, 1 point).
Calpreps.com Top 10 (power rating)
1. Cathedral Catholic (44.0)
2. Lincoln (41.4)
3. Madison (38.4)
4. Carlsbad (36.0)
5. Helix (34.7)
6. Poway (32.0)
7. Mater Dei (23.2)
8. Mira Mesa (19.0)
9. Granite Hills (18.5)
10. Ramona (18.4)
Below is a tweet thread that lays out what the playoffs will look like based on the CIF rating system that is used to seed the playoffs, as well as using calpreps.com's prediction system to determine the outcome of each team's season. This will update weekly.
Games of the Week
Game of the Week:
#14 Mission Hills Grizzlies (2-2) at #4 Carlsbad Lancers (2-1) 7pm
Mission Hills at Carlsbad is one of the most intriguing matchups of the week especially after the results of week 3. Mission Hills dropped a surprising game to La Costa Canyon while Carlsbad was able to hold off El Camino in a tight fought Avocado League game. Mission Hills and Carlsbad have been the class of the Avocado League the last couple seasons and have represented in the Open Division playoffs and this game might be as close to an elimination game for the Open Division you will see all year, especially with the success of the top 3 schools in the Western League. 5-Star QB Julian Sayin should be the difference maker for the Lancers in a close game.
Calpreps.com Prediction: #4 Carlsbad 28 #14 Mission Hills 19
North County Game of the Week:
#15 San Marcos Knights (3-1) at #12 La Costa Canyon (2-2) 7pm
Just like the previous Avocado League game mentioned in this article, this game will answer a lot of questions on what the 2022 season will be like for both teams. San Marcos is off to a great start to the season after going (1-10) in 2021 and having a losing season every season since 2018. Head Coach Tom Carroll has really turned things around and QB Koaia Sonognini has been able to sling it with great offensive weapons in WR Jase Nix and WR Joshua Ball. La Costa Canyon is not off to a poor start either. With their only two losses coming to solid Southern Section programs in Tesoro and San Clemente, we really do not know just how good this LCC team can be, especially after a good win against Mission Hills last week.
Calpreps.com Prediction: #12 La Costa Canyon 30 #15 San Marcos 28
City Game of the Week:
Morse Tigers (3-1) at #17 La Jolla Vikings (3-1) 7pm
Morse is known for being a ground and pound offense but Head Coach Tracy McNair has started to air it out a little bit. QB Johnny Mosti is averaging 281 yards per game in the air as a great complementary piece to the ground attack led by RB Damarion Wright. As for La Jolla, they have ripped off three wins in a row after a loss to cross street rival Bishop's in week one. QB Jackson Diehl has been a big bright spot for the Vikings so far this season and will have to be on his game on Friday if the Vikings want to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Calpreps.com Prediction: #17 La Jolla 35 Morse 31
East County Game of the Week:
#13 Central Spartans (2-1) at #10 Granite Hills Eagles (2-1) 7pm
We got ourselves another matchup with an Imperial County team comes out to San Diego for a big game. Central has already come to San Diego and has earned a win over Mt. Carmel. Central can really move the ball, RB Charlie Sullivan is averaging 171 yards per game on the ground while QB Damian Rodriguez is lighting up the skies with 234.7 yards per game with 8 TDs. Granite Hills is a good record football team that no one is talking about, but really hasn't been challenged too much this season aside from their week 0 loss to Poway. Since then, Granite has rattled off 3 wins against teams that have a combined record of (0-12). Is Granite as good as their record? If they beat Central on Friday it just might be.
Calpreps.com prediction: #13 Central 28 #10 Granite Hills 27
South Bay Game of the Week:
Mission Bay Buccaneers (4-0) at Montgomery (3-1) 7pm
This will be a really telling game for each team on what the outlook of their 2022 season will be. Granite Hills had a 10-0 lead on Poway before the Titans rattled off 21 unanswered points securing an ultimately 31-19 victory. The Eagles bounced back with wins over Valhalla and Oceanside, which are two teams they were expected to beat on paper. This week against Eastlake will be a tester since the Titans have also played Poway this season, but also two solid Southern Section teams in Apple Valley and La Habra. Eastlake's only in Section game against #7 Poway was the closest game that Poway has played all year. Despite Eastlake being 0-3 expect their experience playing top tier programs to be a big factor in the South Bay Game of the Week.
Calpreps.com prediction: Granite Hills 21 Eastlake 20
Other Notable Games w/calpreps.com prediction:
Thursday September 8th:
SAN YSIDRO COUGARS (2-2) AT HILLTOP LANCERS (2-2) -5 6:30
EL CAJON VALLEY BRAVES (1-3) AT EL CAPITAN VAQUEROS (2-2) -12 7PM
EL CAJON VALLEY BRAVES (1-3) -12 AT EL CAPITAN VAQUEROS (2-2) 7PM
EL CAJON VALLEY BRAVES (1-3) -12 AT EL CAPITAN VAQUEROS (2-2) 7PM
Friday September 9th:
WEST HILLS WOLFPACK (2-2) -14 AT MOUNT MIGUEL MATADORS (2-2) 7PM
DE LA SALLE SPARTANS (2-1) -14 AT #1 CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC (2-2) 7PM
LJCD TORREYS (3-1) AT CORONADO ISLANDERS (3-1) -1 7PM
#5 HELIX HIGHLANDERS (3-1) -27 AT #22 ST. AUGUSTINE SAINTS (2-2) 7PM
VALLEY CENTER JAGUARS (1-3) -2 AT SAN PASQUAL GOLDEN EAGLES (3-1) 7PM
#9 RAMONA BULLDOGS (2-2) -12 AT #24 FALLBROOK WARRIORS (3-1) 7PM
DE LA SALLE SPARTANS (2-1) -14 AT #1 CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC (2-2) 7PM
LJCD TORREYS (3-1) AT CORONADO ISLANDERS (3-1) -1 7PM
#5 HELIX HIGHLANDERS (3-1) -27 AT #22 ST. AUGUSTINE SAINTS (2-2) 7PM
VALLEY CENTER JAGUARS (1-3) -2 AT SAN PASQUAL GOLDEN EAGLES (3-1) 7PM
#9 RAMONA BULLDOGS (2-2) -12 AT #24 FALLBROOK WARRIORS (3-1) 7PM
Saturday September 10th:
Scripps Ranch Falcons (1-3) at #8 Mira Mesa Marauders (2-1) -24 7pm
Tri City Christian Eagles (0-4) at Mountain Empire Redhawks (1-2) -15 7pm