It's still going to be a close call between Cathedral Catholic and Oceanside during CIF state bowl selections on Sunday after both won section titles on Friday. La Costa Canyon and Valley Center also won in quadruple header of championships. By Tom Shanahan, Special to CalHiSports.com (All games played Friday at Qualcomm Stadium)



Division I

La Costa Canyon needed a narrow 21-17 win over Escondido to claim the Avocado League title in the regular season, but the Mavericks rolled over the Cougars in the rematch with a 45-28 win. The score was 24-14 at halftime before LCC pulled away with three third quarter touchdowns. Seth Hansen broke off a 47-yard touchdown run and Kenny Stills caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sebastian Frausto.

Escondido junior Ricky Seale ran for 216 yards and three touchdowns. His total gave him a San Diego Section single-season rushing record of 2,663 yards, breaking the record of 2,625 by Morse's Gary Taylor in 1990.

Division II

Oceanside didn't get the rout it probably needed to overtake Cathedra Catholic in the State CIF South Division II bowl rankings, but the Pirates did win a fifth straight CIF San Diego Section Division II title with a 23-19 win over Helix of La Mesa. "You really can't judge us completely by this game, said Pirates' quarterback Jordan Wynn. "That's because you can't compare Helix to Valhalla (which is the team Cathedral Catholic defeated in its game). They're Division III and we're Division II.

Oceanside was trailing 19-16 until Jake Fely scored a touchdown on a 1-yard with 6:55 left in the third quarter. Utah-bound quarterback Jordan Wynn was intercepted an atypical three times, but he otherwise finished the game completing 18-of-33 passes for 315 yards and one touchdown. Demario Coleman caught two balls for 81 yards and one touchdown and King Holder caught seven balls for 75 yards.

Helix had a chance to win the game, but a third-and-goal pass from the 2-yard line was intercepted by Rene Siluano with 40 seconds remaining in the contest. Siluano was Oceanside's leading rusher with 14 carries for 72 yards.

Travon Van led the Highlanders with 17 carries for 91 yards and a 25-yard touchdown run that gave the Highlanders a 19-16 lead just before halftime. "That's not for me to say, said Oceanside head coach John Carroll about the possibility of playing another game. "I'm just so proud of our kids and what they did tonight. They overcame a lot and won our fifth in the row. We made history no matter what.

Division III

Cathedral Catholic needed to make a statement and the Dons responded with a 49-13 win over Valhalla. Cathedral running back Tyler Gaffney finished the 253 total yards and four touchdowns. The 6-2, 200-pound senior rushed 19 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 98 yards and two more touchdowns. He also had what would have been a punt return for a touchdown called back for a penalty. The four touchdown pushed his San Diego Section records to 51 touchdowns and 306 points.

The lopsided victory was important for the Dons to gain the CIF State Bowl Division South bid. Cathedral came into the game ranked No. 1 and Oceanside is No. 2 in the San Diego Section and the Division II South bowl rankings. By way of comparison scores, Oceanside played the Division II final against Helix, which beat Valhalla, 28-14.

"We hope they'd give it to us, said Dons' head coach Sean Doyle. "But whatever they do, they do. "The kids wanted it from the get-go. Eastern League, CIF championship and a chance to go to the bowl game. It would be great for them.

Division IV

Valley Center won its second straight section title with a 31-20 win over Madison. Valley Center senior wide receiver James Johnson caught six passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns to set a career receiving yardage record with 2,907 yards on 137 catches. Madison's Fresno State-bound running back Robbie Rouse carried 36 times for 251 yards and two touchdowns.