Dec. 1: Week in sports for Del Mar, Carmel Valley, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe and Encinitas

Football:

For the first time in three years, perennial power Cathedral Catholic is back in the San Diego Section finals.The No. 1 seeded Dons defeated No. 5 Mission Hills 44-21 in an Open Division semifinal on Nov. 25.

The Dons are in the finals for the first time since winning the Division I championship game against San Pasqual in 2013.They will play No. 2 Helix on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m.

Dons quarterback Tate Haynes completed 7 of 14 pass attempts for 105 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.Shawn Poma rushed for 137 yards on 10 carries and Adam Eastwood gained 91 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.The Dons combined for 320 rushing yards.Patrick Brown had three receptions for 49 yards and one touchdown. Moroni Anae had seven tackles and two sacks and Alec Simas had 10 tackles to lead the Dons defensively. Matt Stuppiello and Nick Doyle each had nine tackles.

Stuppiello also had one interception.The Dons improved to 12-0 overall for the season.

No. 3 La Costa Canyon lost to No. 2 St. Augustine 28-17 in a Division I semifinal on Nov. 25.After falling behind 7-0 early in the second quarter, the Mavericks scored 17 unanswered points.That run culminated with Tanner Clark’s 39-yard scoring run that gave the Mavericks a 17-7 lead in the second quarter.

Nicholas McAllister’s 30-yard field goal got the Mavericks started, and Karson Lipper’s 23-yard scoring run gave the Mavericks a 9-7 lead. St. Augustine scored 21 answered points the rest of the way. The Mavericks fell to 6-6 overall for the season.

Volleyball:

Top-seeded Cathedral Catholic defeated No. 2 St. Joseph of Lakewood 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-18, 15-11) in the Division II Southern California Regional finals on Dec. 26.

The Dons will play Valley Christian of San Jose in the Division II state finals on Saturday, Dec. 3, at Santiago Canyon College of Orange. Lindsey Miller had 13 kills and four blocks and Kylie Adams had 46 assists to lead the Dons. Megan Faraimo had 12 kills, two aces and seven digs, and Peyton Wilhite had 11 kills.

The victory followed a 3-1 victory over No. 4 Glendora in a regional semifinal four days earlier. Brennan Wilhite had 15 kills, Faraimo had 14 kills and Peyton Wilhite and Shaney Lipscomb each had 12 kills. Adams had 30 assists and Bella Parise had 26 assists. Miller had 10 kills, Karenna Wurl had 15 digs and Adams and Tinei Suitonu each had nine digs.The Dons improved their overall record for the season to 28-10.

No. 4 seeded Santa Fe Christian lost to No. 1 Santa Margarita in the Open Division Southern California Regional finals on Dec. 26. Lexi Sun led the Eagles with 24 kills. Emily Hubbard added eight kills.The loss followed a 3-0 victory over Mater Dei in a regional semifinal on Dec. 22 in which Sun led the Eagles with 31 kills and Hubbard had eight kills. Kathleen Philo had 39 assists and Camryn Tastad had 23 digs.

The Eagles fell to 32-8 overall for the season.

Cross country:

Cathedral Catholic won the boys Division III state championship on Nov. 26 at Woodward Park in Fresno. Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos placed third individually to lead the Dons, running the 3.-1 mile course in 15 minutes, 7.4 seconds. Hank Tadeusiak (15:41.7) placed 15th individually for the Dons. Finn Waters (15:51.6) placed 26th, Michael Robinson (15:52.8) 28th and Daniel Robinson (16:05.3) 40th.