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Can the Saints regain their footing? The FTH Game of the Week



Saint Augustine vs Carlsbad, 6 p.m. Friday at Carlsbad


It has been a long time since St. Augustine was in the position it finds itself in this season, at .500 or below six games into the season.


To find the most recent time, you have to jump back in your time machine 18 years to the start of the 2006-07 season, when they were 3-3 after 6 games en route to a 12-15 season.


There are some obvious reasons for the slow start: the team played it's first three games of the season -- all losses -- without returning leading scorer Jaden Bailes, and have played all six of its games to date without returning point guard Paisios Polamolu and Mater Dei Catholic transfer Lincoln Grogan.


The Saints are 2-1 since Bailes return, and Polamolu returns to the lineup just in time for a huge nonleague tilt 6 p.m. Friday night against No. 2 Carlsbad (6-0), the Full-Time Hoops Game of the Week.


Carlsbad, meanwhile, is rolling to a historically hot start, with four marquee wins against Mission Bay, Orange County powers Mater Dei and Los Alamitos and Nevada power Coronado. Jake Hall


To say this game is crucial for the Saints is not an understatement, as a date with nationally ranked Eastvale Roosevelt looms on Wednesday in the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.


Two losses would push the Saints to a 2-6 record, putting a return to San Diego's Open Division for a record 10th straight appearance in peril.


For Carlsbad, the win would distance itself from yet another contender for the No. 2 spot behind top-ranked Montgomery and perhaps even peel off more voters from the Aztecs in next week's Union-Tribune Top 10 rankings.


Here are some more games to watch this weekend:


Torrey Pines (6-1) vs Mater Dei Catholic (3-4), Armstrong/Horsman Tournament Championship, 6 p.m. Saturday at Granite Hills


The Falcons fell for the first time this season at the hands of Cathedral Catholic, but rebounded with a 72-44 win over Bishop's (who will play for third place against San Marcos at 4:30 p.m.). They face a Crusaders team that surprised them last season in the title game, handing the Falcons a 59-57 loss. Mater Dei Catholic boasts one of Southern California's top unsigned seniors in 6-9 Davaughn Hueitt, who garnered some attention this week with his play in Pasadena, while the Falcons counter with the dramatically improved 1-2 punch of senior Cody Shen and 6-4 junior Tevaris Green, who have opened the season averaging a combined 36.7 points per game.


Mira Mesa (9-0) vs Scripps Ranch (3-3), 7 p.m. Friday


The Battle of the 15 is always a fun tilt between the neighborhood rivals, but Mira Mesa is off to its best start in program history and looks to exact a bit of revenge on the Falcons, who beat them last season at home in a blowout. Scripps Ranch, which has one of the section's bigger front courts, is improved of late, with narrow wins over Westview and Rancho Bernardo, but will need to take care of the basketball against one of the section's most aggressive trapping defenses, led by the diminutive but dynamic guard duo of Diego Ortiz and Jeremiah McCaleb and 6-7 swingman Tim Dorn.


La Jolla (10-0) vs Bishop's (5-2), 7 p.m. Friday


Another heated neighborhood rivalry, both the Vikings and the Knights are off to impressive starts this season. The undefeated Vikings, led by St. Augustine transfer Leo Hawkinson, have been of the two biggest surprises in the early season (along with Mira Mesa), but their Pearl Street rival will be their toughest opponent they've faced all season, as Bishop's has a well-rounded starting five and guard play to give Hawkinson some resistance.


Vista (3-2) vs Poway (5-1), 7 p.m. Friday


This matchup will tell us a lot about both teams. Vista's lone losses were to a Temecula Valley squad at full strength for the only time this season and a heartbreaker to Sage Creek. Poway has steamrolled all but one opponent - a 64-60 upset at the hands of 2-4 Eastlake. A road win would give the top-heavy Panthers some confidence heading into a matchup against Southern Section power Bishop Montgomery in the Mission Prep Christmas Classic. A win for the Titans, one of the section's deeper squads, would set up a favorable month in which they would be favored in at least five of their next six matchups.

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