ROUNDUP: Braves fall in heartbreaker

By Ramon Scott
Updated: September 4, 2021

2021 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

EastCountySports.com staff report

VINCENT MEMORIAL 14, EL CAJON VALLEY 12

EL CENTRO — The El Cajon Valley Braves probably didn’t have any regrets following their trip to play Vincent Memorial High here at Southwest High School on Friday night.

The only thing the Braves didn’t have to show for their efforts was a victory.

Needless to say, it was a long, quiet bus ride back home on the 8.

Vincent Memorial’s Jacobo Elias scores the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter on Friday at Southwest High in El Centro. / MARIO RENTERIA

“We knew exactly what we were going to do when we came into the game and we did that both on offense and defense,” El Cajon Valley head coach Nick Osborn said.

El Cajon Valley scored a touchdown on its first possession of the game on a touchdown by rising junior Kal-el Gordon with a drive that took seven minutes with a great ground game.

The Braves rushed for nearly 200 yards against the Scots’ defense as Gordon and Ahmed Sohail Ameer Hussein combined for 156 yards.

The Scots scored in the second quarter with a couple of passes totaling 60 yards, then a short rushing touchdown with just 31 seconds left in the first half, giving Vincent Memorial a 7-6 lead.

The Braves scored with 1:45 left in the third quarter to take a 12-7 lead on Gordon’s second touchdown of the game.

Gordon had one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown, a 23-yard connection from quarterback Daniel Jacobs.

However, the Braves couldn’t convert on a two-point conversion, leaving them with just a 12-7 lead.

The Scots scored the go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing possession, taking a two-point lead with just five seconds gone in the fourth quarter, giving El Cajon Valley plenty of time to produce a game-winning score.

The Braves denied Vincent a fourth-quarter score after the Scots drove down to the El Cajon 5.

Then the Braves did a great job in getting the ball back in the final minutes, although they were unable to attain any significant yardage on a last-ditch series.

Senior Ruben Cosio and Gorden both had five solo tackles to lead the Braves.

Junior Yasir Blair and sophomore Demarrion White both had a sack for El Cajon Valley.

Junior Daelin Richardson defended a pair of passes for ECVHS.

“Coach Cliff (Thomas) put together an excellent game plan but they got us in some critical situations,” Osborn said. “The end of the game we made some mistakes both on defense and offense. We are really proud of this team and they are growing a little bit each week. This is the first week where they really felt it.”

The win improves the Scots to 1-2, while the Braves remain winless in three starts.

El Cajon Valley will be a reasonable favorite when it hosts Clairemont next Friday night at Priest Field at 7.

Vincent Memorial will travel to face Castle Park at 6:30 p.m. in Chula Vista.

WARREN 40, No. 8 GROSSMONT 7

DOWNEY – The Grossmont Foothillers briefly got back in the game Friday night in their trip to face the Southern Section-ranked Warren Bears, of Downey.

Grossmont got a touchdown early in the second half on a catch by Gio Burns on a pass from Trenton Giles for a 27-yard touchdown.

The ball was tipped by the defender but it deflected to Burns, who was already moving toward the end zone.

The Bears improved to 3-0, while Grossmont fell to 2-1.

The Foothillers saw firsthand the ability of Warren’s rising four-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who passed for six touchdowns.

“We hung with them in the first half and had a good spark coming out of half to make it a two-possession game,” Grossmont head coach Chris Holmes said. “But, we missed opportunities on defense which led to scores, and offensively we just couldn’t find a rhythm.”

Already leading 7-0 after an early first-quarter score, the Bears connected for a passing touchdown on fourth down for a two-score lead in the second quarter.

Warren added another touchdown just before halftime for a 21-0 lead.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game but our defensive coordinator had the right calls and we were prepared for it,” Grossmont’s Brennan Sanders said.

Iamaleava threw his fourth touchdown pass shortly after Grossmont’s score. The six TD night gives him 18 scoring throws in just three games.

Juan Wilson had two touchdown receptions for Warren.

“I am thankful to have the opportunity to play a team that challenged the ability of myself and my teammates,” Grossmont’s Cavin Howard said. “This is definitely a game to learn from. It showed us areas which we still need to improve. Our team and coaching staff believes in each other and work hard all week to prepare for Friday night. I know the team is ready to get back and it and raise the standard.”

PATRICK HENRY 56, MONTE VISTA 6

SPRING VALLEY — Hand the City of Spring Valley Trophy to the Patrick Henry Patriots.

Following a 42-7 season-opening triumph over Mount Miguel, the Pats’ next win came against Monte Vista with ease, 56-6, in Friday’s (Sept. 3) non-league action.

The big-moment Patriots utilized a pair of lengthy plays to dominate early.

With the Monarchs on the verge of scoring early, defensive back Omar Hammond intercepted a pass along the right flat, then raced 90 yards for the “Pick 6” touchdown and a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

Early in the second quarter, a Malachai Ghitman swing pass was hauled in by running back Elijah Lux, who raced for an 88-yard score and a 21-0 cushion.

After Monte Vista got on the scoreboard on a 14-yard touchdown run by Aiden Robey, Henry tight end Hassan Noureddine collected a 34-yard TD pass from Ghitman and a 28-6 advantage.

Before the half was over, Lux added his second rush to the end zone, this one from 19 yards out, to put away the victory by halftime.

“We just don’t have enough players,” Monte Vista head coach Ron Hamamoto said. “We were scored on and fatigued in the second half from having to go both ways due to only having 22 kids suited up tonight, which is typical of most Friday nights. It’s going to be a long season unless we come up with a solution over the bye week. We also can’t fumble the snaps when we should be scoring. It’s just the little things that we need to improve on. They really only had big plays in the first half, but they scored on all of them them.”

Monte Vista produced 222 yards on the ground on 52 carries with backs, Lewis, Aiden Robey, Matthew Felix, and quarterback Jaylen Richardson.

The ground game was led by linemen Dallas Nailon, Jose Perez, and Valente Medina.

Patrick Henry improved to 2-1.

SAN PASQUAL 48, VALHALLA 6

EL CAJON — There is an unfortunate trend emerging from Orange Nation.

After getting whacked by the Granite Hills Eagles, 62-0 last week, the Golden Eagles of San Pasqual came to town on Friday (Sept. 3), mounting a 28-0 first-quarter lead on the Norsemen.

There’s something about playing any squad (flock?) called the Eagles which gives the Norsemen trouble. Thus, don’t look for Valhalla to play Olympian, El Centro-Southwest, Santa Fe Christian, Tri-City Christian, or even 8-man Julian — all hold the same Eagles moniker — anytime soon.

San Pasqual made just one major mistake all night, as a snap sailed over the punter’s head, allowing the Norsemen to take over at the Eagles’ 3-yard line.

Following a procedure penalty, quarterback Tommy Logan tossed an 8-yard scoring pass to junior wide receiver A.J. Cornthwaite in the right corner of the end zone

Of course, with the way things are going for Valhalla, the extra-point was blocked, but at least they ended a string of 90 consecutive points allowed over five quarters of play.

For the night, the Norsemen collected just 57 yards in total offense. The total through a forgetful first period was obviously swayed toward San Pasqual, 173-9.

Valhalla defensive end Khalil had a sack, three tackles and an assist.

The only other Valhalla highlight of significance was a third-down sack by senior linebacker Randall Shamon, also in the second quarter, forcing a punt.

Offensively, Valhalla back Dustin Avant, a sophomore, had some shining moments in the run game.

For San Pasqual (2-1 overall), quarterback Jose Torres accounted for three rushing touchdowns as the ground game carried the Golden Eagles, especially early on.

Wes Parker opened the scoring on an 8-yard run, then Noah Snyder went in from 34 yards out on a toss-left carry for a 14-0 lead.

Torres followed on a 4-yard keeper. The score came four plays after Valhalla lost a fumble, one of five turnovers by the offense.

And before the first quarter had ended, Torres floated a 12-yard TD pass to Danny Davis with three minutes still remaining, as Valhalla’s record fell to 1-2.

SUMMARY
GOLDEN EAGLES 48, NORSEMEN 6
San Pasqual (2-1).. 28 7 13 0 – 48
Valhalla (1-2)…… 0 6 0 0 — 6

SP – Parker 8 run (No.50 kick)
SP – Snyder 34 run *No.50 kick)
SP – Torres 8 run (No.50 kick)

SP – 12 pass from Torres (No.50 kick)

Val — A.J. Cornthwaite 8 pass from Logan (kick blocked)
SP – Torres 21 run (No.50 kick)
SP – Torres 10 run (No.50 kick)

SP – Snyder 5 run (No.50 kick)