Records and playoff seedings proved deceptive across the CIF San Diego Section high school football playoffs on Friday night, as multiple lower-seeded squads pulled off striking opening-round upsets.
A pair of 1-9 regular-season teams secured victories, highlighted by El Camino overcoming a 19-0 halftime deficit to defeat Grossmont 29-26 in Division 2.
The postseason chaos extended deeply into Division 3, where No. 11-seeded Scripps Ranch stunned sixth-seeded Eastlake 31-17, featuring a 55-yard punt return for a score by Tomas Zaldivar and a touchdown pass from Joe Waters to Sean Ryan Hughes for Eastlake (9-2).
Additional upsets across the region saw Valhalla edge Christian 18-14, while Mira Mesa shut out Madison 29-0. In Division 4, No. 11-seeded Brawley topped Westview 14-7, and Division 5 witnessed No. 12-seeded Olympian defeat Bonita Vista 28-21 alongside Mt. Carmel’s win over Hilltop.
Reporting on the Division 2 matchups, El Camino’s Kai Storer threw touchdowns to Milo Thompson and Mael Thompson before rushing 33 yards for the game-winning score. Grossmont’s Tyler Holmes had pushed his team ahead 26-14 in the fourth quarter with multiple touchdown passes and runs, but the Wildcats ultimately held on to advance against No. 3-seeded St. Augustine.
Meanwhile, Mater Dei Catholic cruised past Mount Miguel 56-7, supported by three rushing scores from Qasim Williams and an interception return by Adrian Wilson. Holtville edged Ramona 32-31 after Kai Gonzalez scored with 13.6 seconds remaining and converted a two-point pass to Zavien Aguirre. Patrick Henry improved to 11-0 as Madin Gardini threw for 486 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-31 win over Imperial.
In Division 3 action, Scripps Ranch relied on Nolan Cooper’s 143 passing yards and two touchdowns to overcome Eastlake.
Division 4 brought further defensive battles, as West Hills topped Rancho Buena Vista 24-14 behind Evin Dill’s 200 total yards. Down in Division 5, Mt. Carmel mounted a late-game comeback with a score with 42 seconds remaining to beat Hilltop 17-13, marking the program’s first playoff win since 2012.
La Jolla Country Day beat Classical Academy 32-13, with Keenan Ward rushing for 100 yards and Marvin Jones throwing for two touchdowns and running for another as LJCD (6-5) advanced to take on Olympian in the quarterfinals.
CIF SAN DIEGO SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 DIVISION II — FIRST ROUND Holtville 32, Ramona 31 Mater Dei Catholic 56, Mount Miguel 7 El Camino 29, Grossmont 26 Patrick Henry 38, Imperial 31 DIVISION III — FIRST ROUND Valhalla 18, Christian 13 La Jolla 31,…
Quarterfinal matchups across Divisions 2 through 5 are scheduled, alongside the opening of the four-team Open Division and eight-team Division 1 brackets.
