Mark Dec. 5 on your calendar – in pencil.
That's the date the San Diego Section hopes to play four football championship games at Qualcomm Stadium.
“That's our goal,” said Commissioner Dennis Ackerman, who contacted the Chargers after the 2006 NFL schedule was announced.
The high schools are hoping their date, a Tuesday, will still give work crews time to prepare the field for the Chargers' home game against Denver on Dec. 10. Although the annual contract calls for a 10-day window between the high school championships and a Chargers game, Ackerman said both parties realize that's not possible some years.
“Our No. 1 goal is to play in the stadium,” said Ackerman. “They asked if we could play on Monday night (Dec. 4), and we told them we'd do that if we had to. But under those conditions we'd probably have to play the semifinals on Thursday.”
The section finals must be completed earlier this year to accommodate the inaugural State Bowl Championships on Dec. 16 at The Home Depot Center in Carson. A selection committee will meet Dec. 10 to choose participants in the event, which will match teams from Southern California against teams from Northern California in three divisions.
Coaching changes
Mike Stutz, a former assistant at Kearny, has been named boys basketball coach at Madison.
Granite Hills girls basketball coach Jay Rowlett has taken over the boys team at Mount Miguel. A football standout at Mira Mesa High and UTEP as a wide receiver, Rowlett, 33, has coached girls basketball for 11 years. “This is my first shot at coaching the boys and I'm looking forward to the challenge,” Rowlett said.
Eric Thomas has resigned after five seasons as boys basketball coach at Valhalla.
Staff writer Bill Dickens contributed to this report.
