The CIF San Diego Section covers a wide range of schools. It’s even more pronounced among those that play 8-man football.
At one end is Foothills Christian, the defending section champion. Enrollment at the El Cajon school hovers in the 265-student range.
At the other end is San Pasqual Academy, once a power at the 8-man level and now struggling to remain viable. Nestled against the foothills at the east end of the San Pasqual Valley, the academy has 42 students, down from 49 a year ago. Boys make up less than half the enrollment.
Both schools are facing their own set of challenges on the football field as the 2024 season opens. Coastal Academy and Victory Christian have moved up to the 11-man game, leaving just 10 schools in two leagues playing 8-man football.
There are seven schools in the Manzanita League: Borrego Springs, Horizon Prep, Julian, Ocean View Christian, San Pasqual Academy, Warner and West Shores. The Ocean League consists of Calvin Christian, Foothills Christian and St. Joseph Academy.
Defending CIF 8-man champion Foothills Christian will play all six of its nonleague games against teams from the CIF Southern Section before playing Calvin Christian and St. Joseph Academy for the only two league contests. Foothills Christian opens the season Aug. 30 in Riverside against California School for the Deaf.
“The goal is for our school to play at a level that not only pushes our young men to be more, but also provides a challenging, fun competition for whomever we go against,” Rey Lyyjoki, the first-year athletic director at Foothills Christian, said in an email.
Any move up to 11-man football remains at least a season away.
“For now, we will see how this year plays out and then work with CIF, fellow schools and our istration to determine if there will be any change of course,” Lyyjoki said.
Foothills Christian finished 9-2 last season, capped off by a 31-26 victory over St. Joseph Academy in the 8-man championship game. The section crown was the fourth for coach Joe Mackey and the Knights, who also claimed 8-man titles in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Running back Kameron Brown is returning for his senior season at Foothills Christian after rushing for 175 yards on 32 carries and scoring two touchdowns in the championship-game win.
At San Pasqual Academy, coach Andrew Serrano is doing his best to have a team ready for the season opener.
“As of now, it’s not where we want to be,” Serrano said in an email. “We just do not have the numbers as (in) years past.”
There was a time not long ago when Dragons reigned over the 8-man domain. Following a runner-up finish in the 2004 CIF finals, San Pasqual Academy reeled off three straight section championships from 2005-07 under coach Bob Manning.
The 2005 team scored 523 points in 12 games, an average of 43.6 per game.
Manning’s final season was 2009, and Serrano took over as head coach in 2022. Under Serrano, the Dragons to back-to-back Manzanita League championships.
San Pasqual Academy finished 7-4 last year, including a 6-0 league campaign. The season ended with a hard-fought 48-44 loss to Coastal Academy in the playoffs.
San Pasqual Academy is a San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency program operated by Right Of age. ROP-accredited schools offer normalized academic environments for students who have struggled in traditional public-school systems.
The initial role call showed 15 boys enrolled at SPA, with at least seven committed to football. Girls are also welcome to participate.
“The whole campus is going through a transition with new residential management, but we are doing our best to put a football team together,” Serrano said. “There is a lot of potential in our student-athletes. They just need to commit, put in the work and believe they have the capabilities to do so.”
San Pasqual Academy is scheduled to host St. Joseph on Friday in the season opener.
Hoff is a freelance writer
