There are challenges when you\u2019re the premier high school football program in the section.<\/p>\n
Like finding games.<\/p>\n
Cathedral Catholic High School couldn\u2019t land an opening day opponent, so the Dons didn\u2019t play their first game until Week 2 on Friday night, at home, against Orange Lutheran.<\/p>\n
The reigning Open Division champions kicked off the season in sartorial splendor with a Salute to the Service. The Dons wore uniforms donated by the National Guard. The pants were black, the jerseys camouflage. The jerseys read \u201cNational Guard\u201d across the back, \u201cCalifornia\u201d across the front.<\/p>\n
The Dons\u2019 traditional red helmets featured red, white and blue stickers.<\/p>\n
As Cathedral Catholic and Orange Lutheran warmed up, players and spectators were treated to a five-man drum and percussion band, Hiva Katoa.<\/p>\n
Banners on the Cathedral sideline saluted the military, one reading \u201cLand of the Free.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orange Lutheran outscored Cathedral by 18 points in the second half and beat San Diego\u2019s top-ranked team 38-24.<\/p>\n
No sitting for Fa\u2019alave-Johnson<\/p>\n
Cathedral Catholic\u2019s Honor Fa\u2019alave-Johnson is the reigning CIF San Diego Section Offensive Player of the Year. MaxPreps.com ranks him as the best player in California. He\u2019s committed to USC, although other schools, particularly Texas, are still wooing him.<\/p>\n
Two nights before the Dons\u2019 opener, Fa\u2019alave-Johnson said he considered not playing his senior season. With NIL money one report lists at $2.4 million, he said \u201coutside people\u201d suggested he take a year off to protect his body. He identified \u201coutside people\u201d as \u201cUSC staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
As to why he decided to play, Fa\u2019alave-Johnson, sporting a USC polo, said, \u201cIt\u2019s really just in me, to be honest. I\u2019d hate the feeling of giving up on my team. I just go play with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
On to football<\/p>\n
Asked if reports of $2.4 million in NIL money are accurate, Fa\u2019alave-Johnson smiled and said, \u201cI\u2019m not sure I can really say.\u201d Teammates and coaches say that despite his notoriety, Fa\u2019alave-Johnson remains humble.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t talk about his money. He doesn\u2019t talk about (scholarship) offers,\u201d said All-CIF lineman Asofa Lauifi.<\/p>\n
Said Fa\u2019alave-Johnson: \u201cI\u2019m in high school football mode right now. It\u2019s time to prioritize being a good captain, being a good leader.\u201d<\/p>\n
Remembering Ralph<\/p>\n
On Monday, Dons head coach Sean Doyle spoke at a Celebration of Life for longtime head football coach Jerry Ralph. Ralph, 64, died in May,<\/p>\n
Ralph and Doyle graduated from Cathedral\u2019s predecessor, University High, in 1980. Ralph coached at five local high schools, winning two section titles at St. Augustine. Late in his career, he was an assistant under Doyle at Cathedral.<\/p>\n
Ralph was considered an offensive guru and quarterback whisperer. \u201cHe liked pizzazz,\u201d said Doyle.<\/p>\n
But what Doyle most remembered about his friend was the impact he had on students. He recalled Ralph coaching a player at Hoover who loved football but wasn\u2019t serious about academics. Ralph told the kid to hit the books.<\/p>\n
Today, the former Cardinal is a practicing lawyer.<\/p>\n
Do you remember?<\/p>\n
The last time Cathedral Catholic and Orange Lutheran played came in the 2021 Division 1-AA Southern California Regional playoffs. Cathedral won 71-62.<\/p>\n
Cathedral Catholic\u2019s Lucky Sutton carried 27 times for 435 yards and scored six rushing touchdowns. He also caught a 6-yard TD pass. Sutton\u2019s rushing touchdowns measured 62, 45, 63, 75, 74 and 1 yard. The 63-, 75- and 74-yard touchdowns came on consecutive carries.<\/p>\n
Sutton is now a starting running back at San Diego State.<\/p>\n
Use as needed<\/p>\n
Fa\u2019alave-Johnson\u2019s running back usage a year ago was fascinating. In the Dons\u2019 first eight games (he missed one with a concussion), he carried the ball 41 times, less than six per game, for 485 yards. As the competition toughened, Doyle put the ball in No. 9\u2019s hands more often.<\/p>\n
In the last five games he played at running back, Fa\u2019alave-Johnson carried 109 times, almost 22 per game, for 1,047 yards.<\/p>\n
Which begs the question: How much will Fa\u2019alave-Johnson he carry the ball in 2026?<\/p>\n
\u201cHe will play a lot of downs these first two games,\u201d said Doyle, pointing out that Orange Lutheran and Chandler (Ariz.) are very good teams. \u201cAfter that, he will play as many downs as we need to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Driver wanted<\/p>\n
Fa\u2019alave-Johnson\u2019s endorsements include Adidas and Kia. The Kia deal includes a car, which he can\u2019t drive right now because he failed his driver\u2019s test.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t looking at the bike lanes, and I wasn\u2019t looking in my mirrors,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought I was doing a good job, but I guess not.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Fa\u2019alave-Johnson admitted on TV that he\u2019d failed his test, someone responded to him on social media, saying, \u201cNot a normal kid but a normal kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople put me on this high pedestal and think I\u2019m better than other kids,\u201d he said. \u201cIn reality, I\u2019m failing tests like everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tackling palm trees<\/p>\n
Fa\u2019alave-Johnson said his father began training him when he was 4. Among the drills he\u2019d do, with pads on, was simulating tackling form against palm trees. And he\u2019d sprint up a steep sand hill outside his backyard.<\/p>\n
It helped, too, that he was pushed by his brother, Humble, who\u2019s three years older.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d fight, and it was usually me who was crying,\u201d Honor said. \u201cWe were brought up on tough love. After fighting, my dad made us hug it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orange Lutheran royalty<\/p>\n
Any All-Name Team would have to include two Orange Lutheran players, twins Anhor (pronounced Honor) The Great Johnson and King Rich Johnson.<\/p>\n
Food review<\/p>\n
Opted for kettle corn. Sweet and yummy, although we\u2019ll be picking our teeth \u2019til Halloween. Four belches on the five-belch meter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are challenges when you\u2019re the premier high school football program in the section. Like finding games. Cathedral…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[310,9245,2044,181,6837,25279,74,76,75,127,1696],"class_list":["post-447235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-del-mar-times","tag-del-mar-times-sports","tag-high-school-sports","tag-latest-headlines","tag-rancho-santa-fe-review","tag-rancho-santa-fe-review-sports","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-sports","tag-top-stories-sdut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}