San Diego Section football finals to be showcased at Southwestern College, starting with Open Division drama

The San Diego Section will hold six of its eight divisional football championship games at Southwestern College, starting with Tuesday’s top-notch Open Division final and extending through this weekend with five more: Division V and Division II on Friday and Division IV, Division III and Division I on Saturday.

It expects to be an exciting showcase for the three East County teams (Granite Hills in Division I, Steele Canyon in Division II and Christian in Division III) and the one Metro Conference survivor (Eastlake in Division IV) involved. Also on board are three City Conference teams (Hoover and Morse in Division V and Lincoln in Division I), two additional North County teams (Santa Fe Christian in Division III and Valley Center in Division IV) and one Imperial County team (Central Union in Division III).

Santa Fe Christian, sporting a 12-0 record, is bidding for an undefeated season.

But it will be hard-pressed to match the pageantry and drama of Tuesday’s Open Division match-up between the third-seeded Carlsbad Lancers and fourth-seeded Cathedral Catholic Dons.

The elite pairing had all the trappings reserved for a college bowl game. In essence, it was the section’s premier high school bowl game of the season.

It didn’t disappoint in any respect.

DeVore Stadium was full on both sides with an estimated 8,000 spectators. Both teams had pulled upsets in the semifinals and another upset was brewing on the field as the Dons (10-2) recovered from a 16-0 deficit with three fourth-quarter touchdowns to slip through the hoop with a dramatic 20-16 victory against the Lancers, who also finished 10-2.

Junior running/receiver back Honor Falaave scored his second touchdown of the game with 21 seconds left in regulation to serve as the electrifying game-winner.

Cathedral Catholic emerged as this year’s Open Division champion after a runner-up finish to the Lincoln Hornets in last year’s game.

Top-seeded Lincoln will play in Saturday’s Division I championship game at Southwestern College against the second-seeded Granite Hills Eagles. Kick-off is 7:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the Division IV and Division III finals.

The Hornets, another of the section’s elite prep programs, went on to win last year’s state title.

Tuesday’s game started out with a long Cathedral Catholic drive to the goal line. The Dons thought they had scored a touchdown, but the play was called back because of an assisting the runner penalty. The Dons were pushed back farther and attempted a third-and-goal pass from the 11-yard line that was batted by players from either team in the end zone before being cradled by Carlsbad junior Travis Jeffery before the ball hit the ground for a series-ending interception.

The game favored the Lancers for the next three quarters.

Senior Ethan Myerhoff dove into the end zone to cap a 27-yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback Eli MacNeal with 7:01 left in the second quarter to give Carlsbad its first points of the game.

An interception by junior Tadd Mitchell helped set the wheels in motion for a 37-yard field goal with six seconds left on the scoreboard block that lifted the Lancers to a 10-0 halftime lead.

Carlsbad made it 16-0 on a 38-yard catch by Jeffery with 10:02 remaining in the third quarter.

For all practical purposes, it appeared the Lancers were in cruise control.

Then the Dons decided to come out of their shell.

“At halftime in the locker room we talked about how we had 24 minutes left  to get a ring,” Cathedral Catholic senior linebacker Cade Smith said. “It feels great after (coming up short) last year. We made it a point this year of honoring our seniors, and we did that.”

Fallave scored on a five-yard run with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion attempt failed but the Dons were finally on the scoreboard, though trailing 16-6.

The game could have ended on Cathedral Catholic’s next series with the Dons facing fourth-and-eighth deep in their own territory. But senior quarterback Brady Palmer managed to connect with junior receiver Isaac Cook, who weaved through the C-Bad defense for a stunning 63-yard touchdown catch-and-carry.

The successful PAT made the score 16-13 with 6:33 to play.

The only question left to ponder is whether the Dons would get the ball back to do more damage.

They did with 2:14 to go, and they made the most of it.

A series of runs and passes moved the ball from the Cathedral 29-yard line to the Carlsbad two-yard line against the Lancer defense appearing to show wear and tear.

Falaave plunged into the endzone and the Dons had their first lead of the game.

The Lancers were relegated to part of a series before MacNeal was finally run into the turf to end the game.

The Dons made their season count when it mattered the most by out-scoring their adversary 20-6 in the second half, with all 20 points coming inside 10:30 in the final quarter.

With the comeback victory, Cathedral Catholic becomes the first fourth-seed to win an Open Division title.

The players of the game were front and center for post-game media interviews.

“I threw two picks in the first half,” Palmer acknowledged. “It was difficult to overcome.”

“All our hard work really showed up,” Falaave added. “I’m just proud to be one of this team.”

Veteran head coach Sean Doyle held the championship trophy high during the post-game awards ceremony. He called this year’s team one of the most resilient teams he has coached.

“We got athletes,” he said following a traditional water bucket dunking. “Our guys made big plays when we needed them.”

The next chapter will play out in the regional state playoffs. Pairings are to be announced later this weekend following the conclusion of five remaining divisional section championship games Friday and Saturday at Southwestern College.

San Diego Section Division Championships
All games at Southwestern College
Tuesday, Nov. 25
Open Division: (4) Cathedral Catholic (10-2) 20, (4) Carlsbad (10-2) 16

Friday, Nov. 28
Division V: (2) Morse (8-4) vs. (9) Hoover (7-6), 3 p.m.
Division II: (1) Santa Fe Christian (12-0) vs. (2) Steele Canyon (9-3), 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 29
Division IV: (3) Valley Center (6-6) vs. (5) Eastlake (7-6), noon
Division III: (1) Central Union (10-2) vs. (6) Christian (6-7), 3:30 p.m.
Division I: (1) Lincoln (10-2) vs. (2) Granite Hills (9-3), 7:30 p.m.