The Dons’ regular season concluded on Halloween with an away game against the struggling Mira Mesa Marauders. The Marauders, the 364th ranked team in California, had a record of 3-5 going into the game, and had secured a win the previous week with a 21-13 victory over Morse.

The Dons went on to win their final regular season game by a landslide with a final score of 35-3.

Following their victory against the Marauders on October 31st, Cathedral has a two-week bye going into the first round of CIF Open Division playoffs. Defensive Coordinator Mr. John Montali discussed his opinions on how the bye weeks will play into the game. “We of course need the two bye weeks so the guys can get healthy, because playing ten games in a row is tough, but I wish we had it in the middle of the season. We essentially haven’t played a game in three weeks and that’s a lot of time, but I know that the team will still be ready to play when the time comes.”

The Dons earned the #2 seed in the open division playoffs and will face the #7-seeded Torrey Pines in the first round.

Coach Montali said, “Of course my opinion is going to be biased, but I think we should be #1 due to our strength of schedule, as well as common opponents. For instance, we beat Saints by 35 points, while Oceanside beat them by six points. However, in open division, all the teams are there for a reason, so in the big picture I don’t think it’ll play a big factor whether we are #1 or #2.”

The Dons already beat Torrey Pines in their third game of the season in a tight contest with a score of 8-7 at Manchester Stadium. Coach Montali expanded on the improvements of the Cathedral team then and the Cathedral team now: “We have grown a lot since the game vs. Torrey. Guys have gotten more reps under their belt, stepped up a lot, and made good progress. We haven’t missed a beat since and are looking solid.”

Cathedral Catholic has had recent success in the CIF playoffs as the team has taken home the championships in their division six times in the past seven years. The Dons will look to keep their season alive on November 21st at 7 P.M. when they take on Torrey Pines at Manchester Stadium in the first round of playoffs.

Be sure to follow @ElCidSports on Twitter for updates on the game and the rest of the Dons’ season.