Unbeaten Sweetwater Is Again Times’ Top-Ranked Team

Sweetwater High School, the two-time defending San Diego Section 3-A football champion, has finished the regular season as The Times’ No. 1 team.

The Red Devils finished 10-0 this season and stretched their county-record winning streak to 35 games. Sweetwater also was ranked as the No. 1 team in the county at the end of last season.

Vista (10-0) and Granite Hills (10-0), the second- and third-seeded teams behind Sweetwater in this weekend’s playoffs pairings, finished Nos. 2 and 3 in The Times’ Top 10.

Crawford, ranked fifth, was the highest-ranked 2-A team in the final poll. No. 8 Lincoln, the runner-up to Crawford in the City Central League, was the only other 2-A team to be ranked.

All of the teams in the Top 10 except No. 10 Orange Glen will go into the playoffs this weekend. The Patriots (8-2), finished third behind Vista and No. 9 Fallbrook in the Palomar League and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Here’s the final rankings:

Pos. School (League) Record 1. Sweetwater (Metro-Mesa) 10-0-0

2. Vista (Palomar) 10-0-0

3. Granite Hills (3-A Grossmont) 10-0-0

4. Helix (3-A Grossmont) 9-1-0

5. Crawford (City Central) 7-1-1

6. Chula Vista (Metro-Mesa) 8-2-0

7. Lincoln (City Central) 6-3-0

8. Morse (City Eastern)) 7-3-0

9. Fallbrook (Palomar) 8-2-0

10. Orange Glen (Palomar) 8-2-0

Best of the rest: Bonita Vista (7-3-0), El Camino (6-3-1), Mira Mesa (7-3-0).