It might not have been planned that way, but Rancho Bernardo and Del Norte might get to play each other again — only this time for the San Diego Section Division 1 championship.
Poway, which gets the week off before opening Division 2 playoffs at home next week, has its eyes on its own title.
Rancho Bernardo earned the No. 7 seed in the Division 1 brackets that were revealed Sunday. The Broncos open at home against the Imperial Valley League champions, Brawley, Friday evening at 7.
In the opposite bracket, Del Norte is the No. 9 seed and will play No. 8 Oceanside on the road.
“It’s sweet,” said RB coach Eric Weddle of the opportunity to extend a season in which the Broncos have gone 8-2, finishing a game behind San Marcos in the Palomar League.
“All I know about Brawley is they have a good record (9-1) with good players, so we’ll be watching a lot of film. We’ve had standing room only at all of our home games, as I expect it will be the same against Brawley.”
Although Brawley has a superior record, the Wildcats didn’t play in as nearly a competitive league, going 4-0 in the IVL, outscoring its opponents 187-28 with three shutouts. This year the pairings were determined by MaxPreps/CalPreps where strength of schedule and head-to-head competition were superior factors to won-loss record, resulting in three winless teams — St. Augustine, Mira Mesa and Fallbrook — advancing.
“It’s always exciting to be in the playoffs even though basically everyone makes it now,” said Weddle. “We’re going to put in the time and energy this week because we’re not ready for this season to end.”
Brawley is led by quarterback Matt Gutierrez, a senior who has ed for 1,584 yards with 23 touchdowns compared to six interceptions. Gutierrez is not shy about running the ball, either, as he has gained 418 yards with 11 TDs on the ground, behind Matthew Moreno was has 653 yards rushing, seven going for six points.
On the season the Wildcats have outscored their opponents 417-117 with the lone loss coming to University City (21-13).
Rancho Bernardo, which has only lost to Torrey Pines and San Marcos, counters with the twin quarterback attack of freshman Gaige Weddle (50 of 77 for 784 yards, 11 TDs and one interception) and junior Trey Durham (44 of 74 for 749 yards, 7 TDs and three interceptions).
Weddle leads the team in rushing with 514 yards on 66 carries, eight of which have resulted in six points. Brayden Kaelin (354 yards, 3 TDs), Dylan Inigo (237 yards, 2 TDs) and Matthew Zacharias (215 yards, 2 TDs) boost the rushing game while Jayden Bess (24 catches, 347 yards) and Hugo Gonzales (18 receptions, 330 yards) top the receiving corp.
Should the Broncos advance, they’d play at No. 2 seed Carlsbad next week.
Del Norte (6-4) drew the away game against Oceanside after giving San Marcos a huge scare in the season finale, losing 27-21.
Leading the way for the Nighthawks is QB Diesel Taylor who through eight games was 124 of 190 ing for 1,540 yards and 12 TDs versus three interceptions. Anthony Taylor (no relation) and Braxton Jones are the go-to receivers with Anthony Taylor grabbing 36 es for 472 yards and three TDs to go with Jones’ 28 receptions for 367 yards and a pair of scores.
On the ground, Ryan Remigio is the workhorse, rushing for 643 yards on 74 carries (8.7 average) with three TDs.
Oceanside likes to keep the ball on the ground, having rushed for 1,804 yards with freshman Neke Letuli leading the way with five TDs. QB Joseph Vinup has tossed for 1,130 yards with 19 TDs.
Win that game and the Nighthawks get a rematch with San Marcos.
Poway (3-7) gets a week to get completely healthy before hosting the winner of the Valley Center at Point Loma Division 2 contest next Friday.
“I like the new Power Rankings because it’s more equitable,” said Titans coach Brandon Harris. “You didn’t earn it when teams were slotted into the playoffs before based on their records from three years ago when those players are now in college.
“We had a strong schedule and we were competitive until the injury bug hit us. We’re improved over last year and now we’re back to 100 percent. When I look at the brackets, we’re not fearful of any of the teams.”
Poway beat Valley Center 35-18 the third game of the season.
