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Barker, sacks power El Cap to SoCal title

Michael Valencia races to a 44-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

2024 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

2024 CIF SoCal 5-AA Regional Championship

EL CAPITAN 33, SILVERADO 20

EastCountySports.com staff report

LAKESIDE — El Capitan looked like a state division championship team on Friday night. They’ll get to prove they are such next weekend.

Senior quarterback Brandt Barker threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, and El Capitan recorded five sacks as the Vaqueros defeated Silverado 33-20 in the CIF Division 5-AA Southern California Regional Championship on Friday night.

El Capitan took a 14-0 lead early in the third quarter on a 44-yard play that resulted in a touchdown from Brandt Barker to Michael Valencia.

However, the Hawks responded with a touchdown right after to close the gap to 14-7. An 85-yard return on the kickoff for Sire Foster put Silverado on the board with 10:14 left in the third quarter.

The Vaqueros extended the lead on a touchdown pass from Barker to Ayden Banegas on their ensuing possession, as El Cap scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second half.

El Capitan scored a touchdown with 2:32 remaining in the first half by Brandt Barker on a 6-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 at intermission.

El Capitan blocked a punt on a 4th-and-32 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Todd Carter fell on the ball at the Silverado 5 as the ball was bouncing toward the goal line.

However, El Capitan failed to score as a fourth-down field goal attempt went off the upright.

El Capitan’s defensive ends were getting to the quarterback.

El Capitan’s Brewin Ford had a sack late in the first quarter for El Capitan. Evan Ortega had a sack in the opening minute of the second quarter for the Vaqueros.

Carter also had a sack in the third quarter with El Capitan leading by two touchdowns.

After El Capitan scored on a field goal to make it 24-7 on a 27-yarder by Brayden Ford, a drive for the Hawks included a 15-yard touchdown to Jarmarri Tharpe, although the PAT was blocked and El Capitan led 24-13 with 53.5 seconds left in the third quarter.

Ford added on a 35-yarder in the fourth quarter.

The Vaqueros’ fifth sack of the game came from Marlon Ames with just 6:50 left in the fourth quarter, which led to a turnover on downs.

Brody Kopp rushed in from five yards out for a touchdown with 3:46 left in the game to give El Capitan a 33-13 lead.

Jace Weiss threw deep for a 43-yard touchdown to Thorpe with 58.4 left, but the two-point conversion was no good.

Ryder Powers recovered an onside kick and the Vaqueros took a pair of kneel downs to return to their first state division championship game in 10 years.

A sack from Silverado’s Nheeko White forced a turnover on downs at the 22 in the first quarter.

The Hawks got to midfield on an ensuing series but a bad snap brought out the punt team. It was the third bad snap in two drives for the Hawks. The punt went out of bounds at the 38.

No team from the High Desert has won a CIF regional football playoff game (0-4).

Barker has thrown just five interceptions in 14 games this season.

Silverado ended the regular season with a 7-0 loss to Victor Valley on Nov. 1 and then went on a tear with an at-large bid into the Division 10 playoffs.

In the championship game, Silverado scored 16 consecutive points to take a 16-7 lead at halftime, beating Long Beach St. Anthony (30-14) to win the Southern Section Division 10 title.

With a two-point lead in the third quarter, Weiss threw a bomb to Jarmarri Tharpe, who made a one-handed catch in stride, for a 67-yard touchdown and a 23-14 lead at the point.

Silverado’s White forced and recovered a pair of fumbles after that, and Weiss threw another touchdown pass to Sire Foster to seal the deal for the program’s first-ever CIF-SS title.

El Capitan has now won 10 in a row, including a 17-14 win over Westview in the San Diego Section Division 4 title game. A 26-yard field goal from Brayden Ford in the fourth quarter lifted the Vaqueros to the title.

Brady Joraleamon didn’t play against Westview and didn’t pick up his first carry of the game until the fourth quarter on Friday night.

Aaron Altamirano, who leads the El Capitan defense in tackles had to exit the game in the fourth quarter with possible leg cramps.

Ames has 12 1/2 sacks this season, while the team now has 40 sacks this season,.

Barker completed 11 passes for 136 yards and an interception in the victory over the Wolverines.

El Capitan saw Copp lead the backfield with six carries for 65 yards and a touchdown, while Garrett Luckinbill took 15 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown in the section championship game.

The Vaqueros held Westview to just 32 rushing yards on 33 attempts, allowed zero or negative yardage on 15 plays and recorded six sacks.

The other side of the four-team bracket featured Carmel hosting Acalanes at Monterey Peninsula College. Carmel was ranked 159th in California, while Acalanes was just ahead at 154th in the state.

The game was a wild one with the score tied 28-all at halftime before Carmel scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter for a 42-28 lead and held on for a 42-41 victory as Acalanes scored a late touchdown but missed a two-point conversion attempt.

The two winners punched their ticket to the Division 5-AA CIF State Championship Bowl Game on Dec. 13 at Fullerton Union High School Stadium.

El Capitan lost in its other state championship title bid back in 2014, falling to Campolindo in one of the most infamous games in Grossmont Conference playoff history, 35-28, as the then 14-0 Vaqueros lost their only game of the season in a most-heartbreaking fashion.

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