Titans prove defensive might against Foothillers

By David Dickens
Updated: September 8, 2018

Grossmont captains on Friday night. / SDFNL Live

2018 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

EASTLAKE 35, GROSSMONT 0

By Dave Dickens

EastCountySports.com

CHULA VISTA (9-7-18) – The Grossmont Foothillers we’re fired up and ready to show why they were still among the elite and in the county’s top ten teams.

On the other hand their opponents, the Titans of Eastlake High had defeated the fighting Foothillers in all five of their previous meetings.

The Titans continued their winning streak over the Hillers with a 35-0 home shutout on Friday night.

As the captains of both squads met at midfield to await the result of the coin toss, the Titans were rewarded and elected to defer and defend, which was proven to be a sign of wisdom, as their defense played with confidence and candor.

After a pair of catches for short gains, the Hillers were forced to punt.

Unfortunately for the Hillers, this was a forecast of what was to come for a majority of the evening for the visitors.

However, the Grossmont defense did apply quite the pass rush, and although the scoreboard didn’t reflect it, the defensive line played well.

Eastlake went on to score on their first offensive possession, lengthy, but efficient, to take the early lead, 7-0, on a 10-yard run and a huge push by the Titan offensive line with 5:36 left in the opening quarter of play.

Grossmont found themselves in quite the predicament as they continued to find themselves in third-and-long, with a few questionable calls by the officiating crew – or lack there of – as far as the Hillers were concerned.

Any opponent that has faced the Eastlake squad also knows very well that the crowd can also be a huge factor in favor of the Titans, as it almost sounds as if a storm is approaching in the distance especially when the visitors are in a third-and-long or fourth-and-short in crucial situations.

Once again on Eastlake’s second possession, short, safe passes and with huge pull and pushes from an athletic offensive line, and the power backs consumed clock, then scored points.

As the Titans did just that, a 9-yard power run up the middle, with a huge line push at the one to push through to the end zone The extra point good, Titans up 14-0 with 1:21 left in the first quarter.

Yet again, the Hillers on their next possession found themselves on a quick third down and 6, and were unable to convert.

Eastlake had a short field to cover yet again.

On first down of their third possession, the Titans found a mismatch, and had not gone deep on their first two possessions, but the Titans quarterback threws a 50-yard strike to a speedy Titan receiver for a touchdown. The kick was up and good, 21-0 Eastlake at the end of the first quarter.

The Titans would be held to only two more scores for the next two and a half quarters, as the Hiller defense started to dig in.

Grossmont had a few good runs and several completed passes.

In particular. the sure-handed ZAK FARRIS had eight catches for 82 yards.

“We just played a bad game, against a really good team,” said Grossmont head coach TOM KARLO. “All three phases were not up to standard tonight. When you play like we did against a good team you get beat 35-0.”

The Foothillers (1-2) will host undefeated Rancho Verde (3-0), of Moreno Valley, next week, as that team just steamrolled another San Diego county team, Bonita Vista, 63-6, last week.