San Diego U-T Preps

JOHN MAFFEI'S PICKS

CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC at TORREY PINES

Cathedral thumped Sandy (Utah) Jordan 38-12 last week, rushing for 285 yards and throwing for another 110. Torrey Pines lost a hard-fought 19-14 decision to San Pasqual with the teams trading drive-killing interceptions on the last three possessions. Prediction: Cathedral Catholic 28, Torrey Pines 12

MISSION HILLS at RANCHO BERNARDO

Mission Hills gave up just 123 yards total offense in a 13-0 win over Phoenix Desert Vista. RB had 270 yards in total offense in a 21-7 loss to Escondido, 140 of those were passing yards by QB Michael Searson. Prediction: Mission Hills 25, Rancho Bernardo 7

POWAY at LA COSTA CANYON

Poway, which had a bye last week, returns just two starters from last year’s 10-3 team. QB Max Washam is one of returnees, but could change positions to make way for freshman Tate Martell. LCC scored 14 points in the third quarter to break open a 3-3 game at the half and beat Santa Fe Christian 17-9. Prediction: La Costa Canyon 31, Poway 28

GROSSMONT at ESCONDIDO

Grossmont rolled up 516 yards — 317 passing and five TDs by QB Anthony Lawrence — in a 52-27 win over Patrick Henry. Escondido got 115 rushing yards from Josh Navarro and two big completions by QB Mitch Grimes in the win over Rancho Bernardo. Prediction: Grossmont 35, Escondido 24

POINT LOMA at RAMONA

Point Loma will have trouble keeping up with Ramona, which scored 49 points last week. Prediction: Ramona 42, Point Loma 14

LA JOLLA at SAN MARCOS

La Jolla lost 34-13 to Mt. Carmel, giving up 463 yards total offense — 206 passing, 257 rushing. San Marcos QB Will Fried threw for 242 yards with Tyler Nix catching eight balls for 137 yards in a 38-28 loss to Scripps Ranch. Prediction: San Marcos 31, La Jolla 21

MIRA MESA at EL CAMINO

Mira Mesa got off to a good start with a 17-13 win over Valhalla. El Camino overcame six turnovers to beat Granite Hills 21-12. Prediction: El Camino 24, Mira Mesa 21

Season record: 7-0

CRAIG MALVEAUX'S PICKS

LAYTON (UTAH) NORTHRIDGE at HELIX

The Highlanders offense shot blanks Saturday, scoring not a single point against Honolulu Punahou in a 10-6 defeat. No matter how excellent its defense, Helix must have some offensive production. Prediction: Helix 17, Northridge 7

MADISON at VALHALLA

Losing running back Michael Garner wounds the Warhawks, but they’re stacked behind quarterback Kareem Coles and come equipped with one of the top defenses. The young, inexperienced Norsemen continue adjusting to the varsity learning curve. Prediction: Madison 35, Valhalla 10

GARDENA SERRA at OCEANSIDE

This star-studded matchup between California powerhouses offers bragging rights, pride and a very favorable position in the state bowl rankings to the winner. Will Pirates coach John Carroll’s pick at quarterback be the right one? Prediction: Serra 28, Oceanside 27

FRANCIS PARKER at OLYMPIAN

The adjustments took longer than expected, but Parker finally figured out how to power up its new spread, read-option offense. Can the Eagles, nearly devoid of experience on defense, figure it out, too? Prediction: Olympian 23, Francis Parker 14

STEELE CANYON vs. ST. AUGUSTINE

When the ground game is working, the Saints are dangerous. Steele Canyon’s defense returns seven starters, including 6-foot-3 safety studs Jebari Gause and Xavier Goodloe. Prediction: St. Augustine 24, Steele Canyon 20

SERRA at MAR VISTA

If you were to combine these teams’ outputs on the ground last week, the stat box would overflow with 500 total rushing yards. Whoever controls the line of scrimmage wins this one. Prediction: Serra 28, Mar Vista 20

IMPERIAL at YUMA

Oregon commit Royce Freeman — Imperial’s workhorse — bulldozed the defense for 340 yards rushing last week. Yuma expects a healthy dose of Freeman, but can he be stopped? Prediction: Imperial 31, Yuma 14

Season record: 4-3