Blogs | High School Red Zone
Division III: Cathedral Catholic vs. Valhalla
By anthonygentile | Posted December 12, 2008, 5:52 p.m.
Dons win second section title in a row
On a Friday filled with uncertainty and speculation about the state bowl games, Cathedral Catholic left little doubt about who is the section’s best team – in Division III. The Dons won their second straight section title with a sound 49-13 win over Valhalla at Qualcomm Stadium.
“I don’t know what else we can do to get there. But we’ll see what happens,” said Cathedral Catholic head coach Sean Doyle. “We came here to win a CIF title, we did, and if we get the opportunity to play that next game, that would be awesome.”
A battle between two of the section’s best offenses certainly didn’t look the part in a scoreless first quarter. Valhalla got on the board first a minute into the second quarter on a screen pass from quarterback Pete Thomas to receiver James Leighton.
Behind 6-0, Cathedral Catholic woke up. Six minutes and three touchdowns later, the Dons had a commanding 21-6 lead that they would take into the locker room.
“We know how to calm down after we get all those nerves out,” said Dons quarterback Parker Hipp. “We definitely came to play in the second quarter.”
After the break it was more of the same. Cathedral Catholic running back Tyler Gaffney had two of the Dons’ three touchdowns in the quarter – a 31-yard run and a 45-yard touchdown on a screen pass.
“He knows how to use his jukes left and right,” Parker said of Gaffney. “In the offseason he worked on his vertical game and it definitely paid off tonight.”
Gaffney finished the game with four touchdowns, giving him 51 for the season. Cathedral Catholic (13-0) added a defensive touchdown for an emphatic 49-13 win over Valhalla (11-2).
“We definitely knew we had to put up some style points,” Hipp said.
I knew it! Cathedral Catholic went all the way!
By businesstime 8:14 p.m., Dec 12, 2008 > Report it
O-Side is way better still! THey have all natural talent unlike CC recruiting every guy that they can get. Their top player should have been at Scripps Ranch or Mira Mesa but too bad that CC recruited him
By antoniocribbs 9:48 p.m., Dec 12, 2008 > Report it
Sounds like sour grapes Mr. Cribbs.
By JustWondering 7:40 a.m., Dec 13, 2008 > Report it
Too bad that CC recruited him? You mean to bad that he chose to go there to be part of the winning team? Sour grapes, indeed.
By businesstime 12:09 p.m., Dec 13, 2008 > Report it
As Sgt. Friday on the old TV show often said, "Just the facts". Nine of the 10 teams Cathedral beat during the regular season went to the CIF playoffs. Cathedral had a 5-0 record against teams who play in higher divisions than they do. They played no teams in a division lower than their own. Oceanside had a 4-0 record against teams from a higher division, and a 2-0-1 record against teams who play in a lower division than they do. You can probably look at the schedule factor several different ways. Who had the tougher schedule.....Oceanside, or Cathedral? You decide!
By sdsportsfan 5:14 a.m., Dec 14, 2008 > Report it
Congratulations Cathedral!
You were the best in San Diego on the field....and, off!
You will represent the San Diego Section well at the Division II Bowl Championship game next Saturday in Carson, Ca.
Go Dons!
By sdsportsfan 3:50 p.m., Dec 14, 2008 > Report it