Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Bracket Breakdown: Division I

Division I

(1) El Camino (21-7) vs. (16) Otay Ranch (16-10)

(9) Helix (16-9) vs. (8) Mission Hills (18-10)

(5) Vista (22-7) vs. (12) Sweetwater (17-11)

(4) Poway (19-10) vs. (13) Escondido (10-17)

(3) San Ysidro (23-5) vs. (14) Rancho Bernardo (12-16)

(6) Eastlake (18-9) vs. (11) Rancho Buena Vista (11-17)

(7) Fallbrook (18-9) vs. (10) Scripps Ranch (13-13)

(2) Torrey Pines (18-10) vs. (15) Grossmont (14-12)

First Round Tuesday, Feb 21, 7 p.m. at home sites

Quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m. at home sites

Semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. at home sites

Finals Saturday, March 3, 8:05 p.m. at University of San Diego

Breakdown

Favorite (1) El Camino

Division I has been wide open from the start of the season, and El Camino has emerged as the frontrunner after a solid second half. The Wildcats won 12 of their last 15 games to close out the regular season, only losing to La Costa Canyon (twice in OT) and Hoover. Senior forward Dayton Boddie and junior point guard Imani Sobers pace an El Camino team full of shooters and athleticism. And Ray Johnson is a pretty good coach, too.

Sleeper (5) Vista

Vista won its first seven games of the season on its way to a 15-3 start, but cooled off after a midseason injury to senior point guard John Fletcher. The Panthers went 3-4 without Flecther – including a 1-3 start in the Avocado East League – but rallied to take the league title after their playmaker returned. Vista has as much talent as any team in Division I and, now healthy, appears poised to make some noise in the playoffs.

Best of the First Round (5) Vista vs. (12) Sweetwater

Not many teams in the section pressure and push the ball like Vista and Sweetwater, which will make the North-South first round matchup a fast and entertaining affair. This game will be back and forth and features a pair of talented guards – Vista’s John Fletcher and Sweetwater’s Spencer Mattox.

Star Watch Joe Rahon, Sr., Torrey Pines

Rahon came into the season highly touted, but the 6-foot-2 guard struggled to get going early in the season while being hampered by turf toe. Fully healthy, the Boston College-bound senior has lived up to the hype by averaging more than 25 points per game to close out the regular season. Rahon has an array of shots in his offensive arsenal, and isn’t afraid to take the ball inside when Torrey Pines needs a basket.

Looking Ahead Semifinals – (2) Torrey Pines vs. (3) San Ysidro

If the top seeds prevail in bottom half of the bracket, a North County-South Bay tilt will decide who goes to Jenny Craig Pavilion. This intriguing matchup features two of the sections top guards – Rahon and Long Beach State-bound Javion Watson of San Ysidro. The knock on the 23-win Cougars is that they haven’t played a tough schedule – a high-stakes game with perennial power Torrey Pines would be a solid measuring stick.

Pictured: El Camino forward Dayton Boddie and the Wildcats are the top seed in the Division I playoffs

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

The White-crowned sparrow visits, Liquidambars show their colors

Bat populations migrate westward
Next Article

Halloween opera style

Faust is the quintessential example

Division I

(1) El Camino (21-7) vs. (16) Otay Ranch (16-10)

(9) Helix (16-9) vs. (8) Mission Hills (18-10)

(5) Vista (22-7) vs. (12) Sweetwater (17-11)

(4) Poway (19-10) vs. (13) Escondido (10-17)

(3) San Ysidro (23-5) vs. (14) Rancho Bernardo (12-16)

(6) Eastlake (18-9) vs. (11) Rancho Buena Vista (11-17)

(7) Fallbrook (18-9) vs. (10) Scripps Ranch (13-13)

(2) Torrey Pines (18-10) vs. (15) Grossmont (14-12)

First Round Tuesday, Feb 21, 7 p.m. at home sites

Quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m. at home sites

Semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. at home sites

Finals Saturday, March 3, 8:05 p.m. at University of San Diego

Breakdown

Favorite (1) El Camino

Division I has been wide open from the start of the season, and El Camino has emerged as the frontrunner after a solid second half. The Wildcats won 12 of their last 15 games to close out the regular season, only losing to La Costa Canyon (twice in OT) and Hoover. Senior forward Dayton Boddie and junior point guard Imani Sobers pace an El Camino team full of shooters and athleticism. And Ray Johnson is a pretty good coach, too.

Sleeper (5) Vista

Vista won its first seven games of the season on its way to a 15-3 start, but cooled off after a midseason injury to senior point guard John Fletcher. The Panthers went 3-4 without Flecther – including a 1-3 start in the Avocado East League – but rallied to take the league title after their playmaker returned. Vista has as much talent as any team in Division I and, now healthy, appears poised to make some noise in the playoffs.

Best of the First Round (5) Vista vs. (12) Sweetwater

Not many teams in the section pressure and push the ball like Vista and Sweetwater, which will make the North-South first round matchup a fast and entertaining affair. This game will be back and forth and features a pair of talented guards – Vista’s John Fletcher and Sweetwater’s Spencer Mattox.

Star Watch Joe Rahon, Sr., Torrey Pines

Rahon came into the season highly touted, but the 6-foot-2 guard struggled to get going early in the season while being hampered by turf toe. Fully healthy, the Boston College-bound senior has lived up to the hype by averaging more than 25 points per game to close out the regular season. Rahon has an array of shots in his offensive arsenal, and isn’t afraid to take the ball inside when Torrey Pines needs a basket.

Looking Ahead Semifinals – (2) Torrey Pines vs. (3) San Ysidro

If the top seeds prevail in bottom half of the bracket, a North County-South Bay tilt will decide who goes to Jenny Craig Pavilion. This intriguing matchup features two of the sections top guards – Rahon and Long Beach State-bound Javion Watson of San Ysidro. The knock on the 23-win Cougars is that they haven’t played a tough schedule – a high-stakes game with perennial power Torrey Pines would be a solid measuring stick.

Pictured: El Camino forward Dayton Boddie and the Wildcats are the top seed in the Division I playoffs

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Bracket Breakdown: Division III

Next Article

CIF Finals Matchups

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader