We Speak Flag / 7v7 Football

Classical Academy Springs the Second Upset, Tops Bonita Vista 25-20

Published

1 hour ago

November 2, 2026

Classical Academy and Bonita Vista players in action under the lights during the Open Division quarterfinal.

Photo courtesy of Classical Academy High School (@classicalacademyhigh)

Carlsbad was not the only road team to wreck the Open Division bracket. Seventh-seeded Classical Academy went to Chula Vista and beat second-seeded Bonita Vista 25-20 on Wednesday, October 28, in a CIF San Diego Section Open Division quarterfinal.

The Caimans (14-6) snapped the Barons’ three-game winning streak and became the second lower seed to win on the road in the Open Division on the same night, joining Carlsbad’s upset of top seed San Marcos. Bonita Vista entered the playoffs at 20-5 behind senior quarterback Mia Ramirez, who closed the regular season with 3,881 passing yards and 77 touchdown passes, plus 1,028 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns, according to The Star News. The Barons’ season ends in the quarterfinals.

Classical Academy entered the playoffs at 13-6, seeded seventh in an eight-team Open Division field, and is now one win from the final. The other semifinal sends Carlsbad to Torrey Pines.

Classical Academy moves on to the Open Division semifinals and plays at third-seeded Helix on Tuesday, November 3, at 7 p.m. Helix advanced with a 12-6 win over Mission Hills, and the Highlanders bring a 16-1 record into the semifinal. Their only loss all season came against Bonita Vista, the very team Classical Academy just eliminated.

The Open Division final is set for Saturday, November 7, at Olympian High School, the last of five section finals that day. Carlsbad and Classical Academy sit on opposite sides of the bracket, so an all-local championship game between the two upset winners is still on the table. With both top seeds already out, that trophy is wide open.

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We Speak Flag / 7v7 Football

James Clemens Gets the Hardest Draw in 6A: A Playoff Trip to Hewitt-Trussville

Published

1 hour ago

November 2, 2026

We Speak Media

James Clemens players in action during the Jets' Oct. 20 win over Mae Jemison.

Photo by 100Shotz Media via James Clemens girls flag (@jchsgirlsflag) on Instagram.

Every bracket has a draw nobody wants, and in Class 6A it belongs to James Clemens. The Jets travel to Hewitt-Trussville on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. for a first round playoff game, a road trip confirmed on Hewitt-Trussville’s official athletics schedule.

James Clemens, from Madison, won six of its 14 games and closed the regular season the right way, with a 6-0 shutout win at Columbia on Oct. 27. The Jets’ wins include a 36-6 rout of Bob Jones, a 35-0 shutout of St. John Paul II, a 31-13 win over Mae Jemison on Oct. 20 and an 18-0 shutout of Hazel Green. The losses show the gap the Jets have to close. Gadsden City beat them 36-6 on Oct. 22, and Sparkman edged them 13-6 on Oct. 13.

Hewitt-Trussville is the standard on the other sideline. The Huskies are one of the powers of the 6A bracket, and the program’s flag account still points to the inaugural state title it won in 2021, before flag became an official AHSAA championship sport.

Three of the Jets’ six wins were shutouts, so the defense has traveled before. The game is also one of eight first round matchups in the Class 6A bracket, while eight other teams, including Spain Park and Smiths Station, sit out the week on byes and wait for the winners.

For James Clemens, the math is simple. The Jets have already shown they can pitch a shutout and score in bunches against their own level. Tuesday asks them to do it in the hardest building in the bracket.