Cohen Benevente with the ball against Escondido on Friday. / Vic Marano
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2021 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL
WEST HILLS 34, ESCONDIDO 20
EastCountySports.com staff report
ESCONDIDO – When you are down, it’s great to know your teammates have your back.
The West Hills Wolf Pack teamed up to put it all together in the second half and defeat the host Escondido Cougars, 34-20, to improve to 4-0 for the first time in five seasons.
Senior quarterback Braden Oberg had 233 yards of total offense and accounted for three touchdowns, including two on the ground in the third quarter as West Hills erased a 12-7 second-quarter deficit.
Senior Dylan Snyder, picking up the slack for injured star Max Conaway, caught seven passes, including Oberg’s lone touchdown through the air, and had 135 yards of total offense. He had just four catches in the previous three games combined.
“Things have definitely not been ideal this week practice wise but we were able to make it work,” Oberg said. “In the first half, we just didn’t quite execute as well as we could have on either side of the ball, and being down at the half (12-10), we all knew we really had to step it up and make some magic happen.”
Oberg had scores of 42 and 14 yards in the third quarter. His longest of the two runs was a delayed straight keeper. The quarterback has passed for just shy of 500 yards this season with eight touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for 260 yards to lead the club in that category, as well.
“Braden didn’t practice until Thursday during walk-throughs, but he still overcame adversity and played well,” West Hills head coach Casey Ash said. “I was very proud of Braden. And Dylan made some great catches in the absence of Conaway.”
Escondido made it look easy on the game’s first series for a 6-0 lead, but Oberg and Snyder teamed up on a 16-yard score to take the lead in the first quarter.
The Cougars connected for a 27-yard touchdown pass four minutes into the second quarter for a five-point edge.
“Our defense struggled against the run in the first half and that’s the reason they scored,” Ash said. “However, (defensive) coach Quentin London made some adjustments, and the end result was some key stops on the goal line.”
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West Hills’ Tyler Haley connected on field goals of 36 and 39 yards to give him four over the last two games.
“Special teams had yet another great performance tonight,” Ash added. “I’m happy with the overall performance of this team in the second half.”
The Wolf Pack’s Collin took a pitch and flashed his speed once again, scoring on a 48-yard run just three minutes into the fourth quarter.
“Offensively, although we were without Max, we have plenty of weapons,” Oberg said. “Obviously Dylan Snyder played a great game. Jake Partington is a huge part of our offense, and then our entire O-Line really stepped it up when we needed it – Andrew Engstrom, Gavin Condon, Ashton Callan, Trevor Imbimbo, and Yad Mahmud.”
Senior Cohen Benevente had another interception for West Hills, giving him two this season.
Dylan Manley had 4 1/2 tackles, while Trevor Imbimbo had 2 1/2 stops, including one for loss. Snyder had four tackles, as well.
Escondido (2-2), which trailed 34-21 with under a minute to go in the game, cashed in a late rushing touchdowns.
The Wolf Pack will have a great matchup with visiting Mount Miguel (1-1) next Friday as the Grossmont Hills League season gets underway.
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Non-league
West Hills 7 3 17 7 — 34 Escondido 6 6 0 8 — 20
E — Terrazas 14 run (kick failed)
WH — Snyder 16 pass from Oberg (Haley kick)
E — Gutierrez 27 pass from Terrazas (pass failed)
WH — FG Haley 36
WH — Oberg 42 run (Haley kick)
WH — Oberg 14 run (Haley kick)
WH — Dill 48 run (Haley kick)
E — Terrazas 3 run (Terrazas run)
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