John Maffei’s picks: Four San Diego teams play for state titles; who will win?

The Union-Tribune’s John Maffei picks the winners of this weekend’s CIF state championship games:

CIF State Football Championships

Tickets: $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and students. Tickets available online only at gofan.co.

Parking: $5 at Saddleback College each day. $3 at Fullerton College on Friday.

Friday’s games

Division 1-AA: Cathedral Catholic (11-2) vs. Folsom (13-1), 8 p.m.

Where: Saddleback College

TV: Spectrum Sports Net

Preview: Cathedral Catholic scored come-from-behind wins over Carlsbad to win the San Diego Section Open Division championship and Los Alamitos in the Southern California Regional championship. The Dons are led by quarterback Brady Palmer, who has thrown for 2,242 yards and 21 TDs with five interceptions. Honor Fa’alave-Johnson has rushed for 1,229 yards and 25 TDs; he’s also a top defender, with 33 tackles and a pair of interceptions. Isaac Cook has 47 catches for 1,163 yards and 12 TDs. The defense is led by Kevin Clark, who has 91 tackles; Samuel Samuela, who has 79 tackles; and Bronx Letuligasenoa, who has 69 tackles and five sacks. … Folsom, which beat Oakdale for the Sac-Joaquin Section title and San Jose Archbishop Riordan for the Northern California championship, has won 11 games in a row. The Bulldogs are led by Ryder Lyons, who has thrown for 3,270 yards and 34 TDs. The team has rushed for only 1,307 yards, led by Bronson Bambino, who has 73 carries for 342 yards and 14 TDs. The Bulldogs have a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Rob Larson, who has 74 catches for 1,045 and 16 TDs, and Jameson Powell, who has 72 catches for 1,203 yards and 13 TDs. Linebackers EJ Coleman and Nick Wegner, who both have more than 100 tackles, lead the defense. Jason Hill has intercepted six passes.

Rankings: Cathedral Catholic is ranked No. 10 in the state and 52nd in the nation. Folsom is No. 7 in the state and No. 39 in the nation.

College commits: Cathedral Catholic had five players sign in last week’s NCAA Early Signing Period: Palmer (Minnesota), Letuligasenoa (San Jose State), Cade Smith (USD), Chase Denitz (USC) and Sebastian Tucker (Davidson). Folsom has eight players sign … Lyons (BYU), Hill (Stanford),  Powell (Oregon State), Brooks Dupree (Army), August Dupree (Dartmouth), Isaiah Williams (Nevada) and Vlad Dyakonov (USC).

Series history: The teams have played twice. Cathedral Catholic won 33-21 in 2021 and Folsom won 21-14 in overtime in 2018.

Prediction: Cathedral Catholic 24, Folsom 21

Division 5-AA: Christian (8-7) vs. Oakland Bishop O’Dowd (10-4), 4 p.m.

Where: Buena Park High School

Preview: Christian, the San Diego Section Division 3 champion, beat Cerritos Valley Christian for the Southern California Regional title. The Patriots have won six in a row after starting the season 2-7. Kaleb Runkle has thrown for 2,752 yards and 28 touchdowns; he’s also the team’s leading rusher with 117 carries for 507 yards. Kai Rosier has 76 catches for 1,139 yards, nine TDs and 429 yards in kick returns. He also has 49 tackles on defense. Hank Houston has 44 catches and 97 tackles and five sacks as a linebacker. Julian Morones has rushed 71 carries for 458 yards. He also has 3 1/2 sacks on defense. Chase Torgerson leads the defense with 94 tackles and 3 1/2 sacks. Everick Randall has 86 tackles. … Bishop O’Dowd is coached by 16-year NFL veteran Hardy Nickerson. Matteo Tarantino and Christian Cermeneli-Johnson have both played quarterback this year, and each has thrown 62 passes. The Dragons attack on the ground behind Lamar Ellis, who has 131 carries for 1,113 yards and 13 TDs, and Bryan Edwards, who has 51 carries for 328 yards. Bishop O’Dowd was 1-3 at one point in the season with one of those losses 31-6 to Mater Dei Catholic. The Dragons beat Fortuna 59-21 to win the North Coast Section Division 6 title, then edged Chico 23-20 to capture the Northern California Regional championship.

Rankings: Christian is ranked No. 146 in the state. Bishop O’Dowd is 196th.

Prediction: Christian 31, Bishop O’Dowd 28

Division 6-AA: Valley Center (8-6) vs. San Jose Lincoln (11-3), 4 p.m.

Where: Fullerton Union High School District Stadium, Fullerton

Preview: Valley Center has won five in a row after a 1-5 start. The Jaguars beat Ramona to grab a share of the Palomar League title, beat Eastlake to win the San Diego Section Division 4 championship and edged Moreno Valley Valley View to take the Southern California Regional title.  Braylon Mitchell has thrown for 2,995 yards and 31 touchdowns. Jesse Morales had 85 catches for 1,361 yards and 15 TDs. Gauge Wright has 39 catches. Joeisha Ryan Tirado has 1,362 rushing yards and 16 TDs and, playing defense, has 42 tackles and 31/2 sacks. Mitchell Stehly, Max Stehly, Joaquin Stehly and Brandon Revelas lead the defense. … Lincoln beat San Jose Branham for the Central Coast Section Division 4 title, then edged Gridley to win the Northern California Regional Championship. Luca Papolias has thrown for 1,401 yards and 19 TDs, but the Lions attack on the ground behind Kyan Phillips, who has 219 carries for 1,668 yards and 32 TDs. Jonathan Medina has 136 carries for 751 yards. The team averages 6.3 yards per carry and has scored 47 rushing TDs. Russell Takeuchi leads the defense with 128 tackles. Urian Ramirez had 86 tackles, Lucas Martinez has 77 and Michael Whitelaw has 59.

Rankings: Lincoln is No. 199 in the state, while Valley Center is 287th.

Prediction: Valley Center 27, Lincoln 24

Saturday’s game

Division 6-A: Morse (10-4) vs. Winters (13-1), 3 p.m. 

Where: Buena Park High School

Preview: Morse, the San Diego Section Division 5 champion, beat Simi Valley Grace to take the Southern California Regional title. The Tigers are led by Superior Garror, who has 3.332 yards running, passing and receiving. He also has 104 tackles and six interceptions. Ethan Esmailian has thrown for 1,617 yards and 17 touchdowns. De’Vell Green has 37 catches for 585 yards. Ivan Scarville leads the defense with 120 tackles; Gael Diaz has 97 and Trayshawn McNair has 72. … Winters, located near Sacramento, beat Hamilton for the Northern Section title, then edged Minarets for the Northern California Regional championship. Lane Brown does it all for the Warriors, throwing for 2,069 yards and 22 TDs and rushing 200 times for 1,906 yards and 24 TDs. He averages 9.5 yards per carry. Jayden Blackburn leads the defense with 114 tackles and 10 1/2 sacks. Ricky Garcia has 100 tackles, while DB Macguire Plitt has five interceptions.

Rankings: Winters is ranked No. 202 in the state. Morse is 362nd.

Prediction: Morse 28, Winters 27

Last week: 3-3

Season: 136-49