High School Football Playoffs : Carlsbad, a Late Entry, Tackles San Pasqual in 2-A Opener

ESCONDIDO —  Rick Brown, Carlsbad High School’s football coach, was sitting in his office at noon Monday, sifting through some papers and clearing his mind of a season just completed.

Two days earlier, Brown had been told that his team, despite a 6-3-1 record, was 13th best in a section that invited 12 teams to the playoffs.

At 1 p.m., San Diego Section Commissioner Kendall Webb picked up the phone, reached out and touched an entire campus. He called Brown and told him that Grossmont High had used an ineligible player in two of its games and had been removed from the 2-A playoffs.

“Kendall told us that we were in,” Brown said. “I jumped up and down with a couple of my coaches and then ran over to tell our principal. He made the announcement over the PA system to all the kids.”

Classes paused as Carlsbad’s students celebrated the school’s first playoff berth since 1980. The question now is: How long will the celebration continue?

Carlsbad plays at San Pasqual, the defending 2-A co-champion, tonight at 7:30 in a first-round game. The winner will meet City Central League champion Lincoln next Saturday in the quarterfinals.

“It really is extra-special to be in the playoffs the way things worked out,” Brown said.

Carlsbad lost its starting quarterback, Thaddeus MacNeal, for the season 3 weeks ago, but junior Jesse Medina has stepped in and kept the Lancers moving. Carlsbad played perhaps its finest game of the season 2 weeks ago, a 21-21 tie with highly regarded El Camino.

Earlier, with MacNeal at quarterback, Carlsbad beat San Pasqual, 8-0. But the Eagles played without their starting quarterback, Andy Loveland.

“He’s a big key for us,” San Pasqual Coach Mike Dolan said.

Loveland is healthy again and will start tonight. He’ll lead an offense that relies mostly on fullback Tony Medina, who rushed for 13 touchdowns and doubles the kicker.

In other first-round 2-A games:

Santana (5-4) at El Camino (7-2-1)--This is Santana’s first playoff appearance in 11 years, but it likely will be a difficult one. The Sultans have running back Steve Cardoza (700 yards rushing, 15 touchdowns in just 5 1/2 games), but little else. Santana was 0-4 against teams that qualified for the playoffs, losing by an average of 19 points. El Camino is in the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year and seen as a contender for the 2-A title. It was the only team within 10 points of top-seeded Rancho Buena Vista, losing, 26-21, in Week 7.

USDHS (7-3) vs. Crawford (7-3) at Patrick Henry HS--The past 2 seasons, USDHS rolled into the playoffs with a 9-1 record only to be routed in the first round by El Camino (33-3 in 1986, 29-3 last year). This time, USDHS tries it with the county’s second-leading passer, Anthony Massa. “I have the same feeling going into the game as I did before the games (the past two seasons),” USDHS Coach Ron Hamamoto said. “I think we’re ready, but you never know what’s going to happen.” Crawford will pull an occasional surprise, as it did in last week’s season-ending 38-0 victory over St. Augustine. Colt quarterback Chris Johnson threw only 6 passes but completed 4 for 172 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Oceanside (7-3) vs. Kearny (4-6) at Mesa College--Oceanside was the state’s No. 1-ranked team at midseason, but that was before quarterback Jerry Garrett was ruled academically ineligible, and the Pirates limped to the playoffs with 3 losses in their final 5 games. Garrett can’t return unless Oceanside reaches the 2-A championship game, which now seems unlikely. “I just hope everybody forgets about us,” Oceanside Coach Roy Scaffidi said. “Our morale is a little suspect, but we still have talent.” Kearny’s record is deceiving because it forfeited two midseason victories, but the Komets were just 1-3 against playoff teams, averaging just 8.5 points.

In first-round 3-A games:

Mt. Miguel (7-3) at San Dieguito (7-2)--San Dieguito’s team seems to be over a flu bug that knocked 4 starters out of the Palomar League title game (won by Orange Glen, 35-13). That’s bad news for Mt. Miguel. The Matadors have a good record, but just about anybody could have beaten teams such as Madison, El Cajon Valley, Monte Vista and El Capitan this season. “We lost 9 starters off our defense from last year, so I think to go 7-3 and make the playoffs is a surprising accomplishment,” Mt. Miguel Coach Gary Cooper said. It would be even more surprising if Mt. Miguel goes any further, especially since San Dieguito remembers a last-second, 17-14 loss to Mt. Miguel in the playoffs 2 years ago.

Mira Mesa (8-2) at Helix (7-1-1)--In 12 seasons at Mira Mesa, Coach Brad Griffith is 67-48-2, and Jim Arnaiz is 116-49-6 in 16 seasons at Helix. But two of the county’s most successful coaches have never met. Their first encounter figures to be a defensive struggle. Both teams held opponents to fewer than 10 points five times. And neither team scored much: Mira Mesa topped 20 points four times, Helix three. “The key is for our offense to do just enough to keep our defense from having to win the game by itself,” Arnaiz said. Not surprisingly, Griffith said the same thing.

Patrick Henry (7-3) vs. Southwest (8-2) at Montgomery HS--This game matches 2 teams who have come a long way in a short time. Just 2 seasons ago, Patrick Henry finished 0-10. Chris Miller took over as coach, and led the Patriots to a 4-5 record a playoff berth last season. Southwest, which hasn’t been to the playoffs since 1984, was 2-7-1 last year. Running back Hubert Phillips (18 touchdowns) has helped turn things around, but Southwest is representing the Metro Conference, whose teams combined for a 5-17 nonleague record.

Poway (5-4-1) vs. Point Loma (4-6) at Mt. Carmel HS--Point Loma begins defense of its section 3-A title in a place more familiar to Poway--the Titans played home games at Mt. Carmel until last season. Point Loma also is unfamiliar with Poway’s wishbone offense, led by tailback Jose Castro (15 touchdowns). Poway will have to stop tailback Ron Lawson, who took over for injured Ron Evans in Week 3 and rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns. “We’re not as good as were last year (13-0),” Point Loma Coach Benny Edens said. “But we’ve come a long way with a young team.” Unless the wishbone is too hard to solve, Point Loma should go a least a bit further.