CIF San Diego Section Playoff Openers Deliver Stunning Upsets
Records and playoff seedings meant little on Friday night as multiple lower-seeded and struggling teams pulled off dramatic victories in the opening round of the CIF San Diego Section high school football playoffs, according to sandiegouniontribune.com. Two teams carrying 1-9 regular-season records secured postseason wins, rewriting expectations across Divisions 2 through 5-AA.
El Camino and Scripps Ranch Pull Off Opening-Round Upsets
El Camino entered the Division 2 bracket as a No. 6 seed despite a 2-9 record and mounted a ferocious comeback to beat No. 11 Grossmont 29-26. El Camino trailed 19-0 at halftime before Kai Storer threw touchdown passes of 23 yards to Milo Thompson and 36 yards to Mael Thompson, then ran 33 yards for the winning score. Grossmont finished the season 7-4 after Tyler Holmes threw a touchdown pass and ran for another to build a 26-14 fourth-quarter lead. El Camino advances to face No. 3 St. Augustine.
In Division 3, No. 11 seed Scripps Ranch stunned sixth-seeded Eastlake 31-17. Nolan Cooper threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score and a two-point conversion for Scripps Ranch, which improved to 2-9. Eastlake finished 9-2 after getting a 55-yard punt return touchdown from Tomas Zaldivar. Scripps Ranch moves on to face No. 3 San Pasqual.
Desert Teams and Lower Seeds Fight Through Close Brackets
Brawley proved desert football is a force to reckon with by defeating Westview 14-7 in Division 4. The No. 11-seeded Wildcats (5-6) locked down a scoreless second half to hold off sixth-seeded Westview, which finished 7-4. Brawley advances to play No. 3 Otay Ranch.
In Division 5, No. 12 Olympian became the lowest seed to survive the opening round, beating No. 5 Bonita Vista 28-21. Isaiah Mena threw for 185 yards and a touchdown while rushing 16 times for 139 yards for the Eagles, who improved to 4-7. Bonita Vista finishes 4-7. Meanwhile, 2-8 Mt. Carmel edged Hilltop 17-13 on a late score with 42 seconds remaining, securing the program’s first playoff win since 2012.
High-Scoring Thrillers Shape Quarterfinal Matchups
Holtville edged Ramona 32-31 in a Division 2 thriller when Kai Gonzalez scored with 13.6 seconds remaining and added a two-point conversion to Zavien Aguirre. Holtville (8-3) moves on to face top-seeded Poway. Patrick Henry improved to 11-0 in the same division behind Madin Gardini, who threw for 486 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-31 win over Imperial.
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