Undefeated Pointers draw No. 5 seed in CIF Div. 1 playoffs

POINT LOMA – The Pointers finished the regular season undefeated when they beat St. Augustine 31-7 last Friday.

This marks the first time since 2005 that the Pointers, then under Mike Hastings, recorded a 10-0 mark during the regular season. That team went to 12-0 before losing in a CIF Championship game.

The current Pointers received a No. 5 seed in Div. I and will host a first-round game on Friday, Nov. 7, against Mater Dei Catholic, the lowest (No. 12) seed in the division. The winner advances to play at No. 4 San Marcos on Nov. 14.

The semifinals are on Nov. 21, and the championship game is scheduled for Nov. 28 at a site to be determined.

Mater Dei finished their season at 7-3 and won the Metro Mesa League with a 4-0 record. They averaged 27 points on offense and allowed 22 points per game.

Common Mater Dei opponents this season include wins against St. Augustine (33-28), Otay Ranch (35-9), and Eastlake (42-13).

The Crusaders’ quarterback is Jackson Mumford, who has completed 91 of 128 pass attempts for 1,173 yards, including 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has an array of targets with six players having more than 100 yards receiving.

Senior Jordan Dumaran has gained 1,041 yards rushing, scoring 11 touchdowns and averaging 7 yards per carry.

On defense, Noah Cook has 16 tackles for loss to go with six sacks, both team-leading numbers. As a team, the Crusaders have only intercepted four passes and recovered one fumble all season.

Pointers 31, St. Augustine 7

In a rare Halloween night game, the Pointers both played tricks and grabbed the treats against the Saints, adding them to their goodie bag of defeated opponents.

Again, the Pointer defense stymied its opponent, holding the Saints to 83 yards in total offense, led by Leo Sahd’s seven solo tackles, tackle for loss, and sack. Braeden Bartocci had five tackles, a tackle for loss, and a sack. Mateo Correia had five tackles and two tackles for loss.

Bartocci also blocked a late Saints punt that was scooped up by Correia, who took it in for the final touchdown. Ben Kamen had a pass interception.

This game marked the seventh time the Pointer defense has given up seven or fewer points, a remarkable feat.

Offensively, quarterback Henry Heuser was 9-12 on completions covering 102 yards and three touchdowns, two to Romeo Carter and one to Tanner Spradling. Overall, Carter caught eight for 76 yards while Spradling grabbed three for 55. Quarterback Ryder Watson was 8-12 for 72 yards.

Runningback Braden Lane gained 47 yards on 12 carries for a 3.9-yard average and scored once as the Pointers totaled 252 yards of offense.

The seeding process

CIF’s San Diego Section uses the computerized rankings of maxpreps.com, a nationwide website, to seed teams for playoffs. That system is purported to take several factors into consideration, including game scores and the strength of each opponent, and ranks each of the 87 local section schools that play 11-man football.

At season’s end, the seeding of teams comes down to this, with several possible exceptions pre-approved by CIF:

• Teams 1-4 are Open Division.
• Teams 5-16 are Div. I.
• Teams 17-28 are Div. II.
• Teams 29-40 are Div. III.
• Teams 41-52 are Div. IV.
• Teams 53-64 are Div. V.

Thus, Point Loma, ranked No. 9 overall, becomes a No. 5 seed in Div. I. 

Unfortunately, with only four teams in the Open Division, some powerful teams were dropped to Div. I. One of those is perennial power Lincoln, whose loss to Cathedral Catholic left them ranked No. 5 and made them the No. 1 seed in Div. I.

The Div. I seeding:

1. Lincoln.
2. Granite Hills.
3. Mt. Miguel.
4. San Marcos.
5. Point Loma.
6. Oceanside.
7. Rancho Bernardo.
8. Torrey Pines.
9. Poway.
10. Del Norte.
11. Holtville.
12. Mater Dei Catholic.

Only three teams in the San Diego Section finished with 10-0 records. But Santa Fe Christian (No. 17) and Mission Bay (No. 19) were seeded lower than the Pointers based primarily on strength of schedule.