CARLSBAD — The 2024 La Costa Canyon football season will be remembered as one of the finest in program history — and one of the most heartbreaking. The Mavericks rolled through the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record, establishing themselves as one of the premier programs in the CIF San Diego Section. But in the end, a dominant Cathedral Catholic squad ended the dream in the Open Division semifinals.
A Perfect Regular Season
From the opening kickoff in September through the final whistle of the regular season in November, the Mavericks were untouchable. At 10-0, LCC was one of only two teams in the entire San Diego Section to finish the regular season without a loss, joining Holtville in that exclusive club.
The undefeated run earned the Mavericks the No. 2 seed in the CIF Open Division, a four-team bracket reserved for the section's elite programs. It was a testament to the depth, talent, and coaching that defined the 2024 squad.
Open Division Heartbreak
The Open Division semifinals on November 15 brought a cold dose of reality. Facing No. 3 seed Cathedral Catholic, the Mavericks were unable to generate the kind of offensive production that had carried them through the regular season. Cathedral Catholic's defense was suffocating, limiting LCC to just six points in a 27-6 loss that ended the Mavericks' championship hopes.
Cathedral Catholic went on to face top-seeded Lincoln in the Open Division championship at Snapdragon Stadium on November 23, where Lincoln prevailed 31-13 to claim the title.
A Foundation for the Future
While the semifinal loss stung, the 2024 season established La Costa Canyon as a program on the rise in the CIF San Diego Section. The 10-0 regular season record, the Open Division berth, and the competitive atmosphere the Mavericks brought to every game are building blocks for seasons to come.
For the seniors who played their final snaps in the Cathedral Catholic game, the undefeated regular season and the memories forged along the way represent something lasting — a season that showed what La Costa Canyon football is capable of at its best.