Nine Metro Conference high school sports teams — four boys basketball teams, three girls soccer teams and two girls basketball teams — remain in contention to win San Diego Section championships to cap the 2018-19 winter season.
The four boys basketball teams include second-seeded Montgomery (Division I), 15th-seeded Bonita Vista (Division II), top-seeded Sweetewater (Division III) and top-seeded Southwest (Division IV).
The three girls soccer teams include sixth-seeded Eastlake (Division I), fifth-seeded Bonita Vista (Division II) and fourth-seeded Mater Dei Catholic (Division III).
The two girls basketball teams include fifth-seeded Chula Vista (Division III) and 12th-seeded Castle Park (Division IV).
All nine teams will compete in semifinal elimination match-ups on Tuesday and Wednesday, with victorious teams advancing to division championship games later in the week and over the weekend.
Boys basketball
Aztecs roar in second half, down Highlanders 82-57
Second-seeded Montgomery (27-3) tipped 10th-seeded Helix (17-12) by a score of 82-57 Saturday night in a Division I quarterfinal-round elimination game. The host Aztecs trailed early by five points but bounced back to win by 25 points.
Montgomery will host third-seeded Francis Parker (19-9) in Tuesday’s division semifinals after the Lancers eliminated sixth-seeded Mater Dei Catholic (17-12) by three points, 50-47, in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Tuesday’s game will be a rematch of last year’s Division II quarterfinal game in which the visiting Lancers abruptly ended the top-seeded Aztecs’ playoff run with an 80-76 upset victory.
“It was pretty heart-breaking last year,” Montgomery head coach Ed Martin recalled. “That’s one game where I obviously will not have to deliver a pre-game speech. The kids will be motivated.”
Helix had its own reasons for motivation entering Saturday’s quarterfinal match-up.
The Highlanders had dedicated their season for former co-coach Brennan Cassady, who had to step down this season after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. The Scotties also had to persevere throughout the season while playing all their games on the road due to a remodel of the school’s gymnasium.
Veteran coach John Singer, himself battling cancer, returned from a leave of absence to coach the Highlanders for a 38th season.
Under his veteran guidance, he led the Highlanders to a runner-up finish to Mount Miguel in the Grossmont Hills League standings and a 61-55 upset win over seventh-seeded La Costa Canyon in the opening round of the Division I playoffs.
Helix warm-ups were emblazoned with the inspirational words “Cassady Strong.”
When sophomore Kai Jessie scored the opening bucket of the game and the visitors quickly proceeded to take a 13-9 lead, one had to wonder about the power of Helix’s postseason mission.
But the hosts quickly got their offense in gear and, after an 8-0 run, proceeded to build a 17-13 lead.
The Aztecs led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter. But a flurry of points from both teams during an energetic second quarter resulted in the Highlanders inching ahead, 32-31, before Montgomery finally closed out the first half with a tenuous 36-34 lead.
Senior guard Rahin Williams made one of two free throws to start the season half and teammate Kyle Paranada followed with a three-point bomb to quickly jostle the hosts to a 40-34 lead.
Another trey by Paranada put the Aztecs ahead by eight points, 45-37, with 4:48 to play in the third quarter. A slam-dunk by Williams pushed the hosts in front by 11 points, 53-42, with 1:39 to play in the period.
Williams’s dunk, which electrified the home crowd, served as the catalyst as Montgomery took firm control of the game with a 19-8 scoring edge in the third quarter.
The Aztecs outscored the Highlanders 27-15 in the final quarter.
Montgomery led by a score of 78-52 with 2:13 left in the game and was up by 28 points, 82-54, before the visitors notched the final three points to close out the contest.
Paranada led all scorers with 33 points.
But defense was the key to the victory, according to Martin and his players.
“It’s hard to beat the same team three times in one year,” Martin explained. “We had already beaten them twice (76-59 in November’s San Diego Tip-Off Challenge and 83-69 in the East-South Challenge earlier this month).
“I told the team at halftime that we hadn’t played our best but were still up by two points. Everything we were doing offensively was working but defensively we didn’t make enough plays.
“I didn’t think they could stay with us offensively. The second half we gave up 23 points and we had 46.”
“We weren’t playing defense the first half,” Williams admitted. “In the second half, we had to tighten it up a bit.
“We’re ready for Francis Parker.”
Three Helix players finished in double digits in scoring: Maurice Holmes (13 points), Jesse (11 points) and Keishon Trice (10 points).
“I’m happy with the season, with the 17 wins we had,” Singer explained. “In the win over La Costa Canyon, we saw some things they didn’t do so well that we thought we could exploit. But we couldn’t do that against this team (Montgomery). They were tougher.
Singer’s Helix teams have won four section titles during his long reign. He said he felt this year’s team grew through the adversity of the season.
“I thought they handled it well,” the veteran Helix coach said. “That’s part of the maturity that needs to keep coming.”
The Montgomery-Francis Parker winner will face the winner of Tuesday’s semifinal pitting top-seeded Cathedral Catholic (21-9) and fourth-seeded La Jolla Country Day (18-12).
Francis Parker, which showcases 6-foot-7 senior center Matt Bender and 6-foot-5 senior forward Max Guinn, proved to be the bracket buster last year as the No. 9 seed that went on to win the division title with a 69-52 victory against second-seeded Christian.
This year’s division championship game is scheduled Friday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m. at UC San Diego’s RIMAC Arena.
The Aztecs would like to break the bracket this year.
“We’ve got to keep this moving forward,” Martin said.
Red Devils, Raiders hold off opponents to advance
Sweetwater, top-seeded in Division III, and Southwest, top-seeded in Division IV, both came up winners in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
The host Red Devils eased past ninth-seeded San Ysidro, 80-73, while the host Raiders eliminated eighth-seeded El Capitan by a 61-49 score.
Sweetwater (24-6) will host the fourth-seeded San Diego Cavers (20-8) in Tuesday’s semifinal round while Southwest (23-7) will host the fourth-seeded Imperial Tigers (19-9).
SuHi head coach Jesse Aguirre called the playoff victory against the Cougars a “good win.”
“It’s hard to beat a team three times, especially a league team,” Aguirre explained. “We played very well for three quarters and in the fourth quarter they made a run at us.”
The win did not come without some cost. Aguirre noted the team lost its third point guard in the past three weeks.
“Four hours before the game Jimmy Mattox fainted at his home,” the Red Devils coach related. “He was rushed to Children’s Hospital and kept overnight. He had a low heart rate. We still have no word on any cause yet. We’re waiting for tests. So our players were extremely emotional (during Saturday’s game).”
Aguirre further noted that Mattox’s teammates came to his aid on the playing court.
“C.J. Jackson had a huge night,” the SuHi coach said. “Craig McMillan played point guard the whole game.”
Jackson piled up 23 points and 27 rebounds, including 19 defensive rebounds, while McMillan dropped in 21 points. Jeilen Jackson contributed 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Ariene Velasco and Isai De Leon each had 10 points.
The hosts racked up 53 rebounds, including 35 defensive rebounds.
Freshman D.J. Dudley definitely had a big game for San Ysidro by pouring in 38 points while junior teammate Kailen Rains dropped in 13 points.
The Cougars trailed 25-10 after the opening quarter and were behind 48-27 at halftime before reversing the trend in the second half. The Red Devils led 60-42 entering the final quarter at which time the visitors out-scored the hosts 31-20 before coming up seven points short.
Sweetwater will face a San Diego team coming off a 66-56 quarterfinal win over fifth-seeded University City despite 27 points from Casey Granfors.
The Sweetwater-San Diego winner will face the winner of Tuesday’s semifinal match-up between second-seeded Valhalla (27-3) and third-seeded Del Norte (19-10).
The Division III championship game is scheduled Thursday, Feb. 21, at Mira Mesa High School.
Meanwhile, the Raiders will host an Imperial team that a 56-43 upset win over fourth-seeded O’Farrell Charter in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Senior Diego Edwards led Southwest in scoring with 31 points in Saturday’s win over El Capitan (15-14) while senior Issac Gonzalez added 11 points and senior Jorge Castillo had 10 points.
“It was a hard-fought win, as El Capitan didn’t want their season to end and kept coming back at us after we got the early lead,” veteran Southwest coach Steve Selland noted. “Our home court crowd urging us on wouldn’t let us lose and eventually we closed them out.”
The Raiders hope to close out their season with another CIF championship.
The Southwest-Imperial winner will face the winner of Tuesday’s semifinal match-up between second-seeded Mt. Carmel (14-14) and third-seeded Mission Vista (18-11).
The Division IV championship game is scheduled Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Serra High School.
While Southwest and Sweetwater have been finding playoff success at the top of their respective playoff brackets, the Bonita Vista Barons have been chipping away at the bottom of their bracket.
The 15th-seeded Barons, who delivered the upset of the opening round of play in the Division II field by eliminating second-seeded Westview, did it again by knocking off seventh-seeded Escondido (19-11) by a score of 58-55 in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Bonita Vista (12-17) will be looking to score its third consecutive upset victory when it plays at third-seeded Carlsbad (24-6) in Wednesday’s semifinals.
The Bonita Vista-Carlsbad winner will face either top-seeded Rancho Buena Vista (26-4) or fourth-seeded Bishop’s (20-10) in next Saturday’s Division II championship game at 1 p.m. at RIMAC Arena.
San Diego Academy, top-seeded among Division V teams, saw its season end following Saturday’s 77-58 loss to eighth-seeded San Pasqual. The Cavaliers finish the 2018-19 hardwood campaign with a 21-5 record while the Golden Eagles (11-18) advance to meet fourth-seeded Del Lago Academy (18-11) in Tuesday’s semifinals.
The San Pasqual-Del Lago winner will face the semifinal winner between sixth-seeded Clairemont (14-16) and seventh-seeded Liberty Charter (15-11) Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Montgomery High School.
Junior Kevin Early paced San Diego Academy with a 19.7 scoring average this season while senior Isaac Soli followed with a 13.1 scoring average.
The Cavaliers finished 11-1 in Citrus League play to tie Victory Christian Academy for the league title.
Girls basketball
Chula Vista, Castle Park record upsets to challenge for top
The region’s two highest profile teams, Mesa League co-champions Bonita Vista and Mater Dei Catholic, each received seeds in the section’s elite Open Division playoffs.
Both sixth-seeded Mater Dei Catholic and eighth-seeded Bonita Vista dropped quarterfinal match-ups on Friday to higher-seeded opponents but remain alive in bids for state playoff berths.
Top-seeded Cathedral Catholic (23-6) defeated visiting Bonita Vista, 77-48, while third-seeded Mission Hills (19-10) topped visiting Mater Dei Catholic by a score of 73-45.
Cathedral Catholic advances against fourth-seeded Christian (21-8) while Mission Hills advances against second-seeded La Jolla Country Day (19-10) in Wednesday’s semifinals.
The division championship game is scheduled Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Rimac Arena.
State qualifying teams will be notified of their divisional placement and opponents on Sunday, Feb. 24, in the afternoon on the state CIF website (www.cif-state.org).
Mater Dei Catholic is 20-8 while Bonita Vista is 18-10.
Two other local teams remain alive in bids to win section championships.
Fifth-seeded Chula Vista (22-8) will play at top-seeded Mission Vista (19-2) in Tuesday’s Division III semifinals after topping fourth-seeded Holtville, 43-37, on Friday.
Clarisa Herrera earned player of the game honors for the Spartans in the win over the Vikings. Chula Vista trailed Holtville for the first three quarters before going on a 19-10 run in the final quarter to pull out the upset victory.
The Chula Vista-Mission Vista winner will face the semifinal winner between second-seeded San Dieguito Academy (21-6) and third-seeded Calvin Christian (17-3) in Thursday’s division championship game at 5:30 p.m. at Mira Mesa High School.
Castle Park, seeded 12th in the Division IV field, recorded its second consecutive upset win by eliminating fourth-seeded Escondido Charter, 44-29, on Friday.
The Trojans face an even tougher text in Tuesday’s semifinals at top-seeded Madison (25-3). The winner gets the winner between second-seeded Foothills Christian (24-6) and third-seeded Coronado (22-6) in Thursday’s division championship game at 5:30 p.m. at Serra High School.
Meanwhile, seventh-seeded Hilltop saw its season end at 24-9 following Friday’s 45-39 setback at San Dieguito Academy. The visiting Lancers fell behind 19-6 at the end of the first quarter and out-scored the Mustangs 24-15 over the next two frames to trail 34-30 entering the final quarter.
Girls soccer
Barons, Titans, Crusaders are still getting their kicks
Bonita Vista, which tied for the Mesa League championship with Eastlake this year, recorded a 1-0 upset win at fourth-seeded Helix in Saturday’s quarterfinals to advance to face top-seeded Grossmont (13-7-2) in Wednesday’s Division II semifinals.
Senior Jackie Barrientos scored the lone goal of the match to lead the visitors to the upset win and, in the process, extend the team’s unbeaten streak to 12 games (9-0-3).
The Highlanders (11-10-1) had a chance to send the game into overtime but missed wide of the post on a penalty kick with 10 minutes to play in regulation. Sabrina Ibanez was credited with the shutout victory.
Bonita Vista has not lost since the championship game of the Quin Murphy/San Diego County Cup on Dec. 29 at Hilltop High School when it dropped a kicks-from-the-mark (KFM) tiebreaker shootout to Montgomery.
Helix kicked off the season with a 10-1 record before struggling in the second half of the season.
The fifth-seeded Barons take a 17-4-3 overall record into the semifinals after finishing 9-1-2 in league play to match the Titans (10-2-0) with an identical .833 winning percentage.
The Grossmont-Bonita Vista winner will face the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal pitting sixth-seeded Valhalla (11-7-2) against second-seeded Patrick Henry (9-4-6) in Saturday’s division championship game at 4:30 p.m. at Hilltop High School.
Eastlake (15-7-5) will be seeking to advance to its second divisional championship game in as many years when it ventures to meet second-seeded Bishop’s in Wednesday’s Division I semifinal clash.
The Titans advanced to the semifinals after tipping third-seeded Rancho Bernardo, 2-1, in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
The Eastlake-Bishop’s winner will play the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between fourth-seeded Poway (8-9-3) and ninth-seeded Steele Canyon (10-13-3).
The division championship game is scheduled Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Mission Bay High School.
Steele Canyon is the clearly division’s dark horse after dealing top-seeded San Marcos a 2-1 loss in Saturday’s quarterfinals and previously upending eighth-seeded Point Loma by the same score in the opening round.
Fourth-seeded Mater Dei Catholic (15-2-2) will play at top-seeded San Diego (17-3-4) for a berth in the Division III finals after eliminating fellow Metro Conference rival Montgomery, 3-1, in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Fifth-seeded Montgomery ended its season at 13-12.
San Diego advanced after slipping past ninth-seeded Chula Vista, 5-3, in a shootout tiebreaker in Saturday’s quarterfinals after the teams had tied 1-1 through overtime.
Chula Vista (10-12-8) had advanced by the same score in a shootout tiebreaker win over eighth-seeded Santa Fe Christian in the opening round.
Montgomery had shut out 12th-seeded Sage Creek, 2-0, in the first round.
Boys soccer
South County teams shut out of title contention
Mesa League champion Eastlake received the No. 3 seed in the Division I playoffs but was unable to get past sixth-seeded Westview in Friday’s quarterfinal home match, losing 3-0 to the Wolverines.
The Titans finished the season 12-7-2 after finishing 9-1-2 in league play.
Westview (11-8-5) advances to meet second-seeded San Marcos (11-10-4) in Tuesday’s semifinals.
High Tech Chula Vista, seeded 10th in the Division V field, lost 2-0 at second-seeded Classical Academy on Friday to eliminate the remaining South County boys teams from this year’s playoff field.
The Bruins ended their season 7-10-3 after finishing 5-2-1 in the Patriot League standings.
Classical Academy (14-6-2) advances to meet 11th-seeded Madison (10-8-1) in Tuesday’s semifinals.
The other half of the Division V semifinals pits fifth-seeded El Capitan (12-15) against eighth-seeded High Tech High North County (12-5-1).
The Division V championship game is scheduled Friday at 5 p.m. at Hilltop High School.
Metro Conference 2018-19
Girls Water Polo Standings
(Final Season)
Mesa League
Eastlake 10-0, 18-9
Mar Vista 8-2, 15-15
Hilltop 4-6, 11-10
Bonita Vista 4-6, 13-16
Mater Dei Catholic 4-6, 13-15
Otay Ranch 0-10, 0-14
South Bay League
San Ysidro 10-0, 14-11
Chula Vista 7-3, 15-8
Montgomery 7-3, 13-9
Southwest 3-7, 7-16
Olympian 2-6, 4-19
Castle Park 0-10, 3-11
San Diego Section
Girls Water Polo Playoffs
Division I
First Round
Tuesday, Feb. 5
(9) Westview 8, (8) Canyon Crest Academy 6
(5) Scripps Ranch 13, (12) Bonita Vista 8
(6) Del Norte 14, (11) Patrick Henry 3
(7) Clairemont 6, (10) Vista 4
Quarterfinals
Saturday, Feb. 9
La Jolla High School
(9) Westview 5, (1) Helix 4
(4) University City 7, (5) Scripps Ranch 4
(3) Torrey Pines 11, (6) Del Norte 8
(2) El Camino 10, (7) Clairemont 8
Semifinals
Tuesday, Feb. 12
La Jolla High School
(9) Westview (13-16) 9, (4) University City 4
(3) Torrey Pines 9, (2) El Camino 6
Championship
Saturday, Feb. 16
La Jolla High School
(9) Westview 6, (3) Torrey Pines 2
Records: Westview 15-16; Torrey Pines 18-12
Division II
First Round
Wednesday, Feb. 7
(9) Mar Vista 6, (8) El Capitan 5 (OT)
(5) Point Loma 10, (12) Classical Academy 2
(9) Granite Hills 8, (11) Rancho Buena Vista 3
(10) Santana 7, (7) San Pasqual 5
Quarterfinals
Saturday, Feb. 9
La Jolla High School
(1) Fallbrook 10, (9) Mar Vista 1
(4) Eastlake 5, (5) Point Loma 4
(3) Grossmont 9, (6) Granite Hills 6
(2) Poway 6, (10) Santana 2
Semifinals
Thursday, Feb. 14
La Jolla High School
(1) Fallbrook 7, (4) Eastlake 5
(2) Poway 8, (3) Grossmont 4
Championship
Saturday, Feb. 16
La Jolla High School
(2) Poway 4, (1) Fallbrook 2
Records: Poway 22-9; Fallbrook 19-10
Division III
First Round
Tuesday, Feb. 5
(11) Valley Center 9, (6) San Ysidro 8 (OT)
(10) Mira Mesa 9, (7) Chula Vista 3
(5) Escondido 7, (12) Oceanside 6
Wednesday, Feb. 6
(8) Santa Fe Christian 13, (9) Montgomery 2
Quarterfinals
Friday, Feb. 8
La Jolla High School
(1) La Costa Canyon 12, (8) Santa Fe Christian 2
(4) Monte Vista 9, (5) Escondido 4
(3) Mission Bay 8, (11) Valley Center 6
(2) San Dieguito Academy 11, (10) Mira Mesa 2
Semifinals
Monday, Feb. 11
La Jolla High School
(1) La Costa Canyon 18, (4) Monte Vista 6
(2) San Dieguito Academy 7, (3) Mission Bay 6
Championship
Saturday, Feb. 16
La Jolla High School
(1) La Costa Canyon 7, (2) San Dieguito Academy 6
Records: LCC 20-10; SDA 19-12
Open Division
Quarterfinals
Thursday, Feb. 7
La Jolla High School
(1) Bishop’s 19, (8) Rancho Bernardo 7
(5) La Jolla 8, (4) Cathedral Catholic 5
(3) Coronado 10, (6) Valhalla 2
(2) Carlsbad 28, (7) West Hills 2
Semifinals
Wednesday, Feb. 13
La Jolla High School
(1) Bishop’s 14, (5) La Jolla 10
(2) Carlsbad 11, (3) Coronado 8
Championship
Saturday, Feb. 16
La Jolla High School
(1) Bishop’s 10, (2) Carlsbad 7
Records: Bishop’s 19-6-1; Carlsbad 19-9-1
Consolation Round
Semifinals
Wednesday, Feb. 13
(4) Cathedral Catholic 13, (8) Rancho Bernardo 5
(6) Valhalla 12, (7) West Hills 5
State Play-In Game
(4) Cathedral Catholic 9, (6) Valhalla 4
