Playoff drama sent six South County boys soccer teams, one boys basketball team and one girls basketball team to San Diego Section division championship games this past weekend.
Four of the eight CIF finalists spirited away championship trophies to place an exclamation mark on the 2025-26 winter sports season, adding to division banners previously captured in girls wrestling by Olympian High School (Division I) and Mater Dei Catholic (Division IV).
It was a banner year, to be sure, and it’s not over with the Southern California regional playoffs ahead for select qualifiers.
The sweet spot: soccer will hold its first full state championship tournament this year.
Final conflict
Four Metro Conference boys soccer teams found themselves in the mix for CIF titles, plus two more smaller area schools, for a total of six South County teams hoping to claim championship medals.
Two basketball teams also remained alive — second-seeded Victory Christian Academy in the boys Open Division and National City’s San Diego Academy in the Division V girls tier.
Hooping it up
Victory Christian out-lasted No. 3 San Marcos,73-68 in overtime on Wednesday, Feb. 25, to advance to meet fifth-seeded Francis Parker in Saturday’s grand finale at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside.
The championship game was close with the teams separated by anywhere from three to five points throughout the marquee matchup.
The Knights finally pulled ahead on a late spurt and held on to win the program’s first Open Division championship, adding to last year’s Division I runner-up finish.
“It was amazing,” VCA sophomore Troy Tominna said. “It was our goal since the start of the season, even before it started.”
Senior D.J. Humphries led the victors with 18 points while senior Isaiah Owens dropped in 12 points, Tominna added 11 points while senior Kareym Araiza had eight points. Senior Jayden Gray had six points while senior Chato Garcia tacked on one point.
The Knights gathered 24 rebounds and sank five three-point shots.
“There were a lot of people out there who didn’t believe in us, but we believed in ourselves,” Gray told social media. “That fueled us to work even harder in practice. We showed people how good we are.”
The Knights showed even more people how good they are by defeating the visiting Rancho Christian Eagles, 71-65, in Tuesday’s opening round of the Southern California regional playoffs.
Fifth-seeded VCA shot out to a 17-6 lead but was caught by Rancho Christian as the 12th-seeded Eagles took a 29-27 lead late in the first half. But a three-point shot put the hosts back in front, 30-29, and they managed to fend off the visitors from there despite the Eagles narrowing the score to a harrowing single point late in the second half.
The Knights (28-4) advanced to Thursday’s second round at No. 4 St. John Bosco (22-9).
“We want to show in these add-on games that we’re one of the best teams in the state,” Tominna said.
Francis Parker finished 21-11 following Tuesday’s 60-59 loss to JSerra Catholic (24-13) while San Marcos finished 23-8 following Tuesday’s 65-55 loss to St. John Bosco.
No. 2 seed San Diego Academy eliminated No. 3 Foothills Christian (13-11) by a score of 44-34 in Division V-AA girls semifinals on Feb. 24 after trouncing No. 7 Ocean View Christian Academy (7-13) by a score of 56-4, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 19 to reach the championship game against fourth-seeded Calipatria on Feb. 26 at MiraCosta College.
The Lady Cavaliers (14-9) ended their season with a 38-32 loss to Calipatria (9-14). Senior Fernanda Rivera led SDA with nine points while senior Harmony Santos had eight points. Senior Micha Katula had 10 rebounds.
Calipatria proved it was a worthy opponent with a 54-19 semifinal win over No. 1 Liberty Charter (19-2).
Senior Paula Hernandez poured in 19 points in the win over Ocean View while Katula had 14 points. Santos had 15 points in the semifinal win while Katula had 11 points and Hernandez tacked on 10 points. Santos also had 10 rebounds.
Getting their kicks
CVLCC 2, High Tech High-North County 1 (OT): Second-seeded Chua Vista Learning Community Charter kicked off last weekend’s soccer wars with a game Thursday, Feb. 26, at Montgomery High School against fourth-seeded High Tech High North County.
The Cobras dominated the first half but could only put one away before the Raptors regrouped to tie the contest, 1-1, in the second half.
CVLCC (20-2-4) regained momentum and carried play in overtime before senior Pablo Enriquez put away the winning goal with 5:14 remaining in the sudden-victory period. It was his team-leading 34th goal of the season.
It was the Cobras’ first-ever boys soccer CIF championship.
“We played well,” said CVLCC coach Daniel Villalva, whose team finished 8-1-1 in Frontier-Summit League play as co-champions with Gompers Prep (13-5-3 overall). “This was the third time we played this team, already twice in league play, so they knew us well in the biggest game of their season. I’m so proud of the guys. This group is special.”
Sophomore Angel Torres had the first goal for the Cobras, who defeated No. 3 seed Ocean View Christian Academy, 5-0, in the semifinals and No. 10 seed West Shores, 8-0, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 19.
Freshman Rene Villalpando notched his ninth goal of the season for HTH-NC (13-14-1).
The Cobras played the final 25 minutes with 10 players.
The Raptors upset top-seeded Foothills Christian, 3-2, in the semifinals. The playoff loss was the first of the season for Foothills (17-1-1), this year’s Ocean League champion.
New horizons: The Division V boys championship game on Feb. 26 at Grossmont High School featured No. 2 Bayfront Charter against No. 5 Lincoln. The Hornets scored first but the Sharks tied the game in the second half. The game eventually went to the kicks-from-the-mark tiebreaker with Lincoln (14-7-5) carrying the day with a 7-6 shootout win.
Bayfront Charter finished 16-10-4.
The Sharks defeated No. 6 High Tech High Chula Vista (13-9-2) by a 3-1 score in the semifinals while Lincoln upset top-seeded Mt. Miguel (11-12-2) by a score of 2-1.
Lincoln doubled up fourth-seeded Mountain Empire, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.
Bayfront Charter edged No. 10 High Tech High Mesa, 2-1, in the quarterfinals after receiving a first-round bye.
Mt. Carmel 3, Olympian 0: Last Friday’s Division III championship game featured No. 4 Olympian against No. 2 Mt. Carmel at Escondido High School. The Sundevils defended their higher seed with a 3-0 victory.
The Eagles (12-9-5) had advanced with a 2-1 overtime win over No. 9 Gompers Prep in semifinals on Feb. 25. Senior John Brady scored the dramatic game-winner on a bending free kick in the sudden-victory period. Senior Dylan Loe scored the Eagles’ goal in regulation.
Olympian defeated No. 13 Brawley, 3-1, in the opening round and took care of business with a 1-0 overtime win over No. 12 Sweetwater (12-10-5) in the quarterfinals.
Gompers Prep had eliminated No. 1 Grossmont (18-2-1) by a 3-2 score in the quarterfinals.
“The team overall had a successful season,” Olympian coach Joey Gonzalez said. “They finished second in league play and made a deep run into CIF coming up just short of the ultimate goal. The championship game was a game we felt we played well for the most part and just had a few moments where we lacked focus and were punished.
“We knew Mt. Carmel was a very disciplined team, and we knew mistakes could be costly. The early goal hurt us, but we bounced back. It was one of those games where we dominated possession of the ball but just couldn’t break through in the final third. I’m proud of how we played, staying true to our style and identity but just came up a bit short.
“Back-to-back OT wins were a great moment for us in the quarterfinal and semifinal. Both games we felt we didn’t play our best but were resilient enough to get the result. Those are moments our boys will remember for a long time despite not completing the ultimate goal.”
Mt. Carmel improved to 15-2-6 following Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime win over Newport Harbor in the regional playoffs,
The Eagles advanced with a 2-1 overtime win over No. 9 Gompers Prep in the semifinals.
Senior John Brady scored the dramatic game-winner on a bending free kick in the sudden-victory OT period. Senior Dylan Loe scored the Eagles’ goal in regulation.
Olympian defeated No. 13 Brawley, 3-1, in the opening round and took care of business with a 1-0 overtime win over No. 12 Sweetwater (12-10-5) in the quarterfinals.
Gompers Prep had eliminated No. 1 Grossmont (18-2-1) by a 3-2 score in the quarterfinals. The Foothillers had finished 10-0 in Grossmont Valley League play.
The Eagles (3-1-2) finished runner-up to Otay Ranch (3-0-3) in the South Bay League standings, placing ahead of both Sweetwater (1-3-2) and San Ysidro (1-4-1).
Hilltop 3, Point Loma 2 (KFM): The Hilltop Lancers proved it’s not how one starts but how one finishes that matters most.
The fifth-seeded Lancers (8-12-7) recovered from a challenging regular season to run the table in the playoffs to capture Saturday’s Division I championship with a 2-1 kicks-from-the-mark win over 10th-seeded Point Loma (5-9-7) at Orange Glen High School.
“The season started extremely slowly for us with injuries and ineligibiities,” Hilltop coach Jesus Acevedo said. “We played a lot of Division I and Open Division teams in the beginning. Then in league play, the ball did not bounce our way. We finished the season with seven ties. In the playoffs, we finally managed to put everything together.”
Hilltop took a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on a goal by senior Jair Marsical with an assist from senior Reyden Brenes. The Pointers tied the match in the 29th minute and took a 2-1 lead in the 44th minute.
Hilltop sophomore Christopher Camacho tied the game, 2-2, with a penalty kick in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime.
After 15 minutes, the match was still tied and moved onto the KFM tiebreaker.
Hilltop went first and scored by senior Jorge Lopez Figueroa. Lancer junior goalkeeper Nolan Butcher stepped up and blocked Point Loma’s first spot-kick Hilltop senior Jordan Blessing scored the second with Point Loma missing its second kick. Camacho secured his kick along with Point Loma scoring. Brenes stepped up and put the ball in the back in net to win 4-1 in spot-kicks and secure the Division I title.
It marked the Lancers’ first CIF soccer championship since 1993 and its first-ever Division I title in school history.
The Lancers kicked off the playoffs with a 1-0 win over No. 12 Pacific Ridge (7-8-4) in the first round and posted a comeback 3-2 win at No. 4 Westview (7-9-3) in the quarterfinals.
Hilltop topped No. 9 Monte Vista, 3-1, in the semifinals
Mariscal had two goals in the quarterfinal win at Westview while Lopez Figueroa scored once. Lopez Figueroa had the game-winner in the playoff opening win.
The Lancers went up 2-0 against Westview, the Wolverines tied the match, then Hilltop scored in the opening minutes of the second held and held on for the one-goal victory.
Monte Vista (8-13-3) entered the semifinals breathing fire after knocking off No. 8 Oceanside (6-6-7) and then No. 1 Southwest (10-7-4) in successive playoff rounds. The Monarchs edged Oceanside, 3-2, in the opening round and nailed shut the Raiders’ season with a 5-1 win in the quarterfinals.
Hilltop received goals from Brenes, Lopez Figueroa and Mariscal in the semifinal contest. Monte Vista halved the score to 2-1 on a second-half goal from Miguel Castillo. But the Lancers scored a rare open-net goal with four minutes to play after catching the Monarchs pushed up field while attempting to net the equalizer.
Point Loma defeated No. 10 Rancho Buena Vista (5-12-5) in a kicks-from-the mark tiebreaker following a scoreless stalemate in the opening round then upset No. 3 Mission Hills (8-12-3) by a score of 3-1 on the road in the quarterfinals.
Pt. Loma did it on the road at No. 6 Calexico with a 3-1 semifinal victory.
Hilltop ended its season with a 4-1 loss at third-seeded Fontana (23-6) in the opening round of the Division II regional state playoffs.
The Lancers are coached by Jesus Acevedo, Vincent Acevdo and Brian Butcher. Vincent Acevedo is also an alumni and played in the finals as a player in 2012.
The Hilltop sportsmanship winner was senior Isaac Mata.
Winning it, losing it: Two Metro teams met in the Division II championship game: No. 2 Bonita Vista (14-4-2) and No. 12 Otay Ranch (14-4-7) Saturday afternoon at Montgomery High School.
The path to the finals was wrought with drama for both teams.
Metro-Mesa League runner-up Bonita Vista opened the playoffs with a 3-2 home field overtime win over No. 15 Escondido (10-6-5) in the first round, then defeated No. 7 La Jolla Country Day (13-6-2) by a 2-1 overtime score in the quarterfinals. The Barons had to tip-toe past yet another opponent by a one-goal margin by shading No. 3 University City (13-6-3) by a 4-3 score in Wednesday’s semifinals.
Senior Karlos Flores scored the Barons’ golden goal against Escondido while junior Christian Cuevas netted the golden goal against LJCD. Senior Jacob Pile notched the game-winning goal in the semifinals.
Otay Ranch entered the playoffs as the Metro-South Bay League champion (3-0-3). The Mustangs kicked off postseason play with a 3-2 kicks-from-the-mark win at No. 5 Mission Bay (10-4-4) in the first round and followed that with a 2-1 win at No. 4 San Marcos (19-4-2) in the quarterfinals.
The postseason odyssey took Otay Ranch next to No 1 Central Union where the Mustangs eliminated the Spartans (26-1-3) by a score of 5-4.
Seniors Joshua Contreras and Diego Mosqueda scored goals against San Marcos while senior Elvis Villalva recorded a hat trick in the win over previously undefeated Central. Contreras and Mosqueda also scored goals in the highlight win over the No. 1 Spartans.
Contreras, Mosqueda and Villalva tied for the team scoring lead with 17 points.
Eddie Fonbon, a regional director for the Surf club soccer program, entered his first season as Bonita Vista head coach. “It’s been amazing, a great experience” Fonbon said. “I wouldn’t have changed it for anything. I didn’t think it would be so much fun. The guys have had a great season.
“Our style is fast and aggressive, possession-based football. We’ve been strong all season, very resilient.”
The teams met in the second game of the season, back on Dec. 12, a 2-2 tie.
Otay Ranch took a 1-0 lead in the championship game rematch as Villalva scored off a bouncing ball on a corner kick with 13 minutes left in the first half. Bonita Vista scored the equalizer with 4:35 remaining before halftime as Flores scored off a goalkeeper deflection in front of the net.
The Barons weren’t done as Cuevas scored on another goalkeeper deflection just prior to the halftime whistle.
Just seconds into the second half the Mustangs drew the equalizer on a penalty kick by Mosqueda, who shot to the opposite post as the BV goalkeeper dove to his right.
2-2.
There was plenty of action left in the game. The Barons hit the crossbar with 24 minutes to play in regulation; Otay Ranch nearly broke through with the go-ahead goal three minutes later.
But the heroics were reserved for senior Jordan Montoya with 12:20 left in regulation as the ball came out of the box and Montoya put it back in for a 3-2 lead. Montoya struck the ball so hard that it bulged twine at the back of the net.
Montoya sprinted off the field to hug his father in the stands.
The match resumed with no further scoring and Bonita Vista was bestowed with much celebration as the division champion.
“I didn’t think we could come from behind in all four games in the playoffs but the mantra of this team is never give up,” Fonbon said. “The boys were relentless.”
“We kept rolling, we kept pushing,” Montoya said. “Down 1-0, we knew we couldn’t put our heads down.”
The Mustangs were just a whisker behind the mark. “We are very proud of this team,” Otay Ranch coach Juan Ramirez said. “Late in the season I said to the kids we wanted it more than the other team.”
The Barons’ reign as Division II champions didn’t last very long, however.
Bonita Vista, seeded third, was set to play No. 6 Los Alamitos in Tuesday’s opening round of the state playoffs. But that game was cancelled Tuesday morning and Los Alamitos advanced in the bracket by forfeit.
Speculation was soon removed when a letter was sent to team parents from Bonita Vista principal Alexander Salazar announcing an administrative error had allowed an ineligible player to compete in the division final. The only course of action was to surrender the team’s CIF championship and forfeit out of the state playoffs.
It was something hard to swallow, but the correct course of action, according to officials.
“Nothing can describe how terrible or how sorry we feel, and I know nothing can change the outcome,” Salazar wrote. “In my heart and mind, out boys varsity soccer team are champions nonetheless … we, regrettably, offer our deepest apologies to our coaches, students and soccer families.”
An informational meeting was held Tuesday evening in place of the scheduled state playoff game. Understandably, social media posts have raised accountability for the action.
San Diego Section commissioner Joe Heinz concurred the only appropriate action given the circumstances was the correct one by CIF bylaws.
“Due to the use of an ineligible athlete, Bonita Vista will forfeit the Division II boys championship game from Saturday and vacate the 2026 CIF San Diego division championship,” Heinz said. “This is an extremely unfortunate situation for the student-athletes, the school, and the community.”
Heinz said there will be no declared CIF D2 champion this year. Otay Ranch athletic director Judd Rachow further clarified that while the championship will be voided, the Mustangs will remain division runners-up.
We are the champions suddenly became we were the champions.
It’s unclear if Bonita Vista will be required to forfeit any more games, whether in the regular season or the playoffs, and what the team’s final record will be.
In any regard, it remains a bizarre ending to an otherwise stellar season for both teams and a frustrating one for the Barons, who listed 17 seniors on the team’s 30-player championship game roster.
Metro-Pacific League champion Montgomery (13-4-3) was denied a place in the finals after falling to No. 3 La Jolla (11-2-5) by a 1-0 score in Tuesday’s Division IV semifinals. The second-seeded Aztecs had previously defeated No. 15 Holtville (5-14-2) by a score of 3-1 (first round) and No. 7 Ramona (11-13-1) by a score of 1-0 (quarterfinals) to kick-start the playoffs.
La Jolla (12-3-5) would go on to defeat No. 9 Mira Mesa (16-8-1) in a kicks-from-the-mark tiebreaker to emerge with the division title. The Vikings season ended with a 3-1 loss to Santa Ana Valley in the state playoffs.
Photo Gallery
By Phillip Brents
Victory Christian Academy vs. Rancho Christian, first-round, state playoffs
Metro Conference 2025-26 Winter Sports League Champions
Girls Soccer
Metro-Mesa League: Mater Dei Catholic
Metro-South Bay League: Hilltop
Metro-Pacific League: San Ysidro
Boys Soccer
Metro-Mesa League: Eastlake
Metro-South Bay League: Otay Ranch
Metro-Pacific League: Montgomery
Girls Basketball
Metro-Mesa League: Mater Dei Catholic
Metro-South Bay League: Eastlake
Metro-Pacific League: Chula Vista
Boys Basketball
Metro-Mesa League: Victory Christian Academy
Metro-South Bay League: Mater Dei Catholic
Metro-Pacific League: Mar Vista
Girls Wrestling
Metro-Mesa League: Olympian
Metro-South Bay League: Sweetwater
Boys Wrestling
Metro-Mesa League: Bonita Vista
Metro-South Bay League: San Ysidro
Co-ed Roller Hockey
Metro-Mesa League: Eastlake
Metro-South Bay League: Hilltop
Girls Water Polo
Metro-Mesa League: Eastlake
Metro-South Bay League: Olympian
Metro-Pacific League: Hilltop
Metro-South Bay League
Boys Soccer Standings
Otay Ranch 3-0-3, 14-5-7
Olympian 3-1-2, 12-9-5
Sweetwater 1-3-2, 12-10-5
San Ysidro 1-4-1, 8-11-3
Grossmont Hills League
Boys Soccer Standings
Helix 6-1-1, 9-7-1
Satana 4-3-1, 8-7-3
Monte Vista 3-3-3, 8-13-3
Steele Canyon 2-5-1
Granite Hills 2-5-1, 6-12-3
