WEEK FIVE
Re-designed Vaqueros surprise Steele Canyon

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (10-4-08) — In the past couple of years when the topic was El Capitan football, the subject was high-scoring offense.

And while the Vaqueros are off to a 3-2 start this season, the foundation has not been due to high-scoring tendencies.

Welcome to the new El Capitan – built on defense.

The hard-hat Vaqueros, who have posted two shutouts against suspect opponents, made a statement stand by shutting down Steele Canyon in El Capitan’s 16-7 nonleague victory on Friday night (Oct. 3).

“No question, our defense is underrated,” said El Capitan coach RON BURNER. “Our offense has struggled all year and it’s put our defense in peril. But usually they come through like they did tonight.”

El Capitan’s defensive stance was emphasized by senior safety ANTHONY SOLIS’ East County-leading fourth interception, which he returned 50 yards for his second touchdown of the season with 2:33 left in the 4th quarter.

Senior free safety CAI LaCHAPPA recorded a game-high 15 tackles and intercepted two passes for the Vaqueros.

“Yeah, I think our defense is overlooked,” LaChappa said. “But you know, tonight our defense was a single unit. We were totally confident that we could shut down their running game and make them throw the ball.”

El Capitan’s defensive strategy was solid gold. The Vaqueros held the Cougars to a net 22 yards rushing on 22 carries.

Solis totaled 7 tackles while linebacker ALLEN THOMAS recorded 6 tackles and 2 sacks. RJ BRAUN also had a fumble recovery for the Vaqueros.

“Overall I think we’re getting better and better,” Burner said. “Our offensive line does a better job every week and our defense continues to improve. And I have to think that TANNER RUST is one of the best kickers in town.”

As a quarterback Rust connected on 10 of 21 passes for 143 yards. He also rushed for 35 yards on 11 carries. To boot, he converted a 26-yard field goal, his third this season.

None of Steele Canyon ’s 11 possessions lasted longer than five plays. The Cougars (2-3) totaled six first downs but could never generate a serious drive.

Steele Canyon’s ace, ALEX PERLIN, finished with 59 yards on 16 carries. More impressive in El Capitan ’s eyes is his longest run was only 9 yards.

On the positive side for Steele Canyon was the passing of CHRIS McCOLL, who clicked on 11 of 20 passes for 148 yards.

Nine of those connections went to JEBARI ROBINSON for 131 yards, including a 41-yard scoring strike to stake Steele Canyon to a 7-3 halftime lead.

The fact that McColl was so effective as a passer is noteworthy, considering the senior signal-caller had totaled only 102 aerial yards in the Cougars’ first four games combined.

Another plus for the Cougars was MIKE DIAZ, who averaged 44.5 on six punts, including a Steele Canyon record 53-yard boot.

CHRISTIAN 35, EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 15 – Visiting Christian posted its 19th win in 20 games Friday night (Oct. 3) by clubbing host Central Union in a nonleague game in El Centro.

It wasn’t a perfect game for the Patriots (5-0), but they overcame a windy night and some shaky officiating to slap the Spartans.

After a scoreless 1st period, the Patriots edged in front on a 35-yard field goal by MICHAEL GRUBER in the 2nd stanza.

Christian then created two Central fumbles and cashed in for 10 more points to lead 13-0 at halftime. Christian recovered the first fumble at the Spartans’ 38-yard line.

One play later ERICK ALLEN found BROCK BRESHEARS in the back of the endzone for a touchdown that extended the Patriots’ lead to 10-0 with 1:44 remaining in the half.

After Central fumbled the ensuing kickoff, the Patriots recovered and settled for a 26-yard field goal by Gruber.

“Those two fumbles near the end of the first half really swung momentum our way,” said Christian coach MATT OLIVER.

The Patriots then pulled a little chicanery of their own when they began the 2nd half with an onside kick and came up with the football. Christian eventually scored on a 44-yard dash by CHARLES THOMPSON. A 2-point conversion pass from Allen to MIKE FERREIRA made it 21-0.

The Spartans (4-1) then embarked upon a 15-play, 80-yard scoring drive to slice Christian’s advantage to 21-7.

“It was one of those 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust things,” Oliver said. “I didn’t care because it took them more than nine minutes to get down the field. They were running the clock, which is what we wanted to do.”

Second-half scoring bursts of 13 yards by Thompson and 44 yards by junior STEVEN PITTS allowed Christian’s advantage to climb to 35-7.

“I’m not one to whine about the officials, but they did a lousy job in this game,” Oliver said. “They called us for six holding penalties, and each time it seemed like it was after we broke a long one.”

Thompson finished with 122 yards on 17 carries to pace the Patriots.

CALEB FARREL was an all-around standout with 51 yards on three rushes and one pass reception for 35 yards.

“He did a great job at free safety, as good as I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” said Oliver of Farrel. “He did a superb job of coming up and supporting against the run. And that was our goal – to stop the run.”

Christian held Central senior playmaker Ricky Smith to 49 yards on 15 carries.

Valhalla's Traivonne Brown (3, top) and Pete Thomas (4). (Photo by Susan Cooper Photography) MORE PHOTOS HERE

In just four games this season, Thomas has completed 69 percent of his passes, has thrown for 14 touchdowns, and has amassed 1,033 yards, with only one interception.

The undefeated Norsemen (4-0) will entertain El Capitan in what should be a passing free-for-all next week, and will then set its sights on Helix in a game that could decide the Grossmont South League championship on Friday (Oct. 17) in La Mesa.

On its first possession, Valhalla used up almost one-half of the first quarter with a 12-play drive. Slotback NINO MALLORY set the stage for the Norsemen, catching two passes for 39 yards, setting up the visitors with a first-and-goal from the Hillers' 10-yard line. Mallory then rushed around the right side for an 8-yard pickup to the 2-yard line.

On the next play, MANUAL PARAMO found daylight on the right side, punching it in for a 2-yard TD run; after Thomas split the uprights with his first of four PATs, Valhalla led 7-0, with 6:29 to play in the first quarter.

Grossmont quarterback TYLER MUTTER got the Hillers moving quickly on its first possession, when he threw a strike to wide receiver BRETT ETHERTON for a 10-yard gain to the Grossmont 40-yard line. On the next play, DESEAN WATERS burst through the middle of the Norsemen defensive line for a 19-yard pickup to the Valhalla 41. On third and eight, Mutter found DIMITRI SCOTT open for a 7-yard pass play to the Norsemen 32-yard line, a yard short of a first down.

Down seven points, the Hillers went for it on 4th-and-one, but the runner was stuffed by Valhalla 's TANNER HITT and VINCENT LUNA, giving the Norsemen a fresh start on its 31-yard line. Grossmont's defense hung tough and had the Valhalla offense on the ropes with a 3rd-and-23 from the Norsemen 33-yard line.

Undaunted, Thomas connected with Mallory for a 35-yard catch and ran to the Grossmont 32-yard line. A jarring tackle forced Mallory from the game and to the hospital with a knee injury.

The junior QB quickly connected with JAMES LEIGHTON for a 16-yard gain to the Grossmont 16-yard line, and, on the next play, found MANUEL PARAMO open in the endzone for a 16-yard TD pass, increasing Valhalla's lead to 14-0, with only 18 seconds left in the initial period.

Late in the second quarter, Valhalla defensive back KEENAN HIRSCH picked off his first of two interceptions, terminating Grossmont's last chance to score in the first half, and keeping Valhalla's 14-0 lead intact.

The second half started off with a bang for the Hillers. FELIPE VALDEZ returned the opening kickoff 34 yards to the Grossmont 44-yard line. Two plays later, disaster struck when a 6-yard pass completion went awry when Valhalla's A.J. JOHNSON stripped the ball from the receiver and defensive back IVAN MAY recovered the pigskin for the visitors at the Valhalla 49.

With both defenses dominating play, neither team could generate much offense until late in the third quarter when Valhalla running back TRAIVONNE BROWN was sprung free by a devastating trap-block by offensive lineman KEVAN McDOUGAL, enabling Brown to sprint 50 yards up the middle for another Valhalla touchdown, making it 21-0 with 4:32 left in the third stanza.

Valhalla added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter passes from Thomas – a 6-yard toss to Leighton and a 5-yard pass to Paramo. The latter score was set-up by a 36-yard circus catch by wide receiver SCOTT KURTZ, who had five receptions for 100 yards.

It was another stellar night for the Valhalla defense, this time lead by the defensive backs. In addition to Hirsch's two interceptions, May also had a pick, to go along with five solo tackles, a fumble recovery and five pass knockdowns.

Valhalla is averaging 35 points a game and has allowed only 20 points, shutting out its last two opponents.

Meanwhile, Grossmont (1-4), which has been blanked over its last nine quarters, was able to generate 243 yards total offense. Most of that came through the passing of Mutter, who was 14-of-26 for 183 yards.

The Foothillers’ Etherton made 6 receptions for 80 yards.

Grossmont's Dominique Bradley (3, left) and Felipe Valdez (2). (Photo by Susan Cooper Photography)

Helix running back Jo-Jo Phillips romps through a huge hole (click for enlargement) for big yardage vs. West Hills. (Photo by Larry Montalbano)
West Hills' Barzeen Barzanji (2, left) and Levi Jacob (11) (Photos by Larry Montalbano)

HELIX 49, WEST HILLS 0 – Considering host West Hills has never beaten Helix in 11 tries, things started out pretty well for the Wolf Pack in Friday night’s (Oct. 3) game in Santee.

West Hills recovered a Highlanders’ fumble on the opening kickoff. Nice start for the Wolf Pack (1-4).

“We went for it on fourth down around the Helix 35(-yard line) and failed,” said Pack coach CASEY ASH.

It was a landslide after that for the No. 6 ranked Highlanders, who took a 21-0 lead in the 1st quarter.

A 12-yard run by JO-JO PHILLIPS ignited the onslaught. TY CULVER then hit Phillips with a 35-yard touchdown pass.

It was a break-out game for Culver, who completed 8-of-14 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Culver’s game, which produced 253 total yards, included scoring runs of 80 and 11 yards. He averaged 13.3 yards in his 19 plays.

“He really stood out on offense,” said Helix coach TROY STARR of Culver.

Culver later tossed a 10-yard scoring strike to TRELAN TAYLOR to extend Helix’s lead to 35-0 after three periods.

Senior running back TRAVON VAN led the Highlanders’ rushing attack with 105 yards on 8 carries, including a 6-yard scoring junket in the 2nd quarter.

For the record Culver totaled a 104 yards on 5 carries.

“I thought we played OK,” Starr said. “We had too many turnovers and too many missed opportunities, but our defense came out on fire after the opening kickoff fumble.”

Ash agreed that was a pivotal point.

“Helix went 57 yards (a run by Van) on their first play and then scored on their next play,” Ash said.

On an otherwise dismal night, Ash pointed to the fact that his defense generated three turnovers. “Other than that though, Helix completely dominated us.”

DALLAS CASTRO led West Hills ballcarriers with 40 yards on nine sorties. JOE ROBERTS and ADRIAN MARAZITI combined for 112 yards passing. LEVI JACOB was the Wolf Pack’s top receiver with four grabs for 44 yards. CHRISTIAN FONSECA caught three passes for 28 yards.

The Highlanders (3-1-1) draw a bye next week and then will look for the start of Grossmont South League action.

“We need the bye to improve on the mental aspects of the game,” Starr said.

Santana's Kyle Hayes (25, left) and Junior Nunez (30). (Photo by Susan Cooper Photography)

SANTANA 35, HILLTOP 34 – One sure thing about Santana’s season thus far is the Sultans are herky-jerky. They’ve ridden a proverbial seesaw in most of their games.

Whether they have a big lead early or fall behind in the opening minutes, there’s no way to forecast exactly how the Sultans will finish. They fell behind 21-14 in the third quarter of Friday night’s (Oct. 3) nonleague game against visiting Hilltop before taking charge with 21 unanswered points.

The triggerman in Santana’s comeba ck was sophomore quarterback ZACH BREIDT, who scored on runs of 6 and 1 yard. Breidt’s shortest run staked the Sultans to a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.

But Hilltop refused to fold, scoring on a long pass and a short run, cutting the Sultans’ advantage to a single point with 2:55 left to play.

The Lancers could have left Santee with a tie, but shanked a potential game-tying PAT.

Santana then ran out the clock.

Breidt, who entered the game as the Grossmont North League’s No. 1 passer, averaging 217.5 yards per game, has seen better days but managed to complete 17-of-28 passes for 196 yards. His lone scoring pass was an 18-yarder to JUNIOR NUNEZ.

“He’s the best kid I’ve had as a quarterback since I’ve been here in terms of really keeping his cool,” said Santana coach DAVE GROSS of Breidt. “He had a couple of drops in the first half, but that doesn’t affect him in terms of a quarterback mentality. He’s solid and he’s only going to get better.”

Do-it-all KRIS KIMMEL put together another big night for the Sultans, totaling 193 all-purpose yards. His scoring play was a 19-yard run in the 4th quarter.

In terms of the Sultans’ chances of challenging for the Grossmont North League title, Gross said, “You have a 1 in 5 chance. I’d like to think we’re in the running.”

“This was a huge night for our offense line, who was doing some good hitting tonight,” said Perdue. “TIM GIRON, STEVEN TARDIFF, ELIJAH LETTAU, TRAVIS WOLFE and IAN MURPHY all had good games up front.”

Campbell finished with 222 total yards and was 6-for-6 on PAT kicks.

Rundlett racked up 137 all-purpose yards.

Junior running back RYAN EDMISTON capped the scoring with a 5-yard run in the 3rd quarter for Foothills Christian (3-1).

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (10-2-08) — From a political sense, positive campaign advertisements will flaunt that El Cajon Valley High (4-0) is off to its second-best start in school history, outscoring its opponents by a monstrous 185-49 margin.

On the flip side, rival campaign ads cite the Braves have done little more than roast four marshmallows, making the Braves' scoring margin somewhat misleading.

Not that Monte Vista (1-2), the team hosting the Braves on Friday (Oct. 3) at 7 p.m. in East County's featured contest, can do any better with its campaign notices.

However, the "other" party reputes that the only reason Monte Vista won was because of the "bail out" by its defense, which scored the game's only points on a fumble recovery by SHAMAR BARNES after the ball was jarred loose by teammate RODNEY WALLACE.

Does it make for an interesting election? As one vice presidential candidate likes to express, "You betcha."

It seems apparent that El Cajon Valley will not approach its 46.3 scoring average against the Monarchs.

"We want another shutout and we're going to win a lot of games with our defense," said Monte Vista senior middle linebacker TRACY SHIELDS, one of the top defenders in the Grossmont Conference. "Offense is important, but defense is more important. And our pass defense is better than in previous years."

If true, the Braves will need to bust a few long runs in order to secure their first road victory -- the first three victories were at home – followed by a neutral site triumph. If that happens, then Monte Vista will need to generate some sort of offense with a sophomore back-up quarterback to keep pace.

Consider this... El Cajon Valley has beaten Monte Vista only once since 1978 – covering a spread of 15 games. That lone Braves win was a 10-7 nod in 1997.

While the Monarchs defense is solid, they will need to find some offense to collect another victory. Although possible, the exit polls dictate that the more probable winner in an extremely tight contest is... El Cajon Valley, 14-7.

Elsewhere (All games at 7 p.m.)
Valhalla (3-0) at Grossmont (1-3) — One of the most puzzling performances of the season was last week's shutout loss by the Foothillers. The team entered the contest averaging more than 23 points an outing, scoring at least two touchdowns in difficult road games at Otay Ranch and Steele Canyon before getting the whammy from Monte Vista.

Meanwhile, the Valhalla Norsemen are making a reputation with their blossoming passing attack, which has posted at least 33 points in all three starts, making them one of three undefeated programs left in the East County (El Cajon Valley and Christian).

Scoring early has forced opponents to throw the ball, which plays right into the hands of a Valhalla defense which has yielded just 20 points all season. Thus, Grossmont better get its run attack straightened out and passing game back on track or it could be a long night... Valhalla, 33-10.

Steele Canyon (2-2) at El Capitan (2-2) — Steele Canyon might be considered in a struggle mode after splitting four contests. However, the two losses were to ballclubs (Cathedral Catholic and Eastlake) ranked among the Top 10 in the San Diego Section.

El Capitan is also 2-2, getting pasted by a pair of highly regarded opponents, too, but whipping two soft opponents -- both by shutout.

Given the Cougars’ ability to run the ball behind ALEX PERLIN — and the fact the Vaqueros are a paltry 10 yards rushing per game – this could become one-sided rather quickly... Steele Canyon, 26-14.

Helix (2-1-1) at West Hills (1-3) — Under the direction of first-year head coach TROY STARR, the 6th-ranked Highlanders have had difficulty showing consistency. The talent is there, though and it’s only a matter of time before Helix takes off.

Defense is steady, and the offense seems to produce a different hero every week at Helix, which has never lost to the Wolf Pack in 10 meetings. The Scots topped the Pack twice a year ago by a combined 70-7 margin – one of them coming in the playoffs.

Credit Pack skipper CASEY ASH for helping West Hills make noticeable improvement every week. Expect the Pack to keep rising, but the quality still belongs to... Helix, 27-7.

Mount Miguel (2-2) vs. Bonita Vista (3-0), at Southwestern College — The Matadors continue their site-seeing tour. First, there was a road trip which included a stop at Lavell Edwards Stadium at BYU, and now a trip to the southwestern-most college football stadium in the contiguous 48 states.

The jury is out on Mount Miguel -- two wins over so-so competition; two losses to obviously superior ballclubs. In fairness to the Matadors, injuries have played a key role in their plight the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, the Barons, playing their home opener following three games on the road, downed a ranked Mission Bay squad, and also clipped Castle Park, 28-20. The Matadors also edged Castle Park 16-14 in week two.

Although Bonita Vista features a pair of running back averaging more than 120 yards per contest, the speed of the Matadors defense may have learned a few lessons lately. Throw in the revenge factor from a 24-7 setback in 2007, we may have the making of an East County Sports' Upset Special... Mount Miguel, 20-17.

Hilltop (1-3) at Santana (2-2) — The Sultans should be able to pass the football against a Lancers secondary which may be slower than Congress' ability to pass meaningful legislation. Hilltop even lost to Sweetwater in an embarrassing performance, then were slapped silly by Patrick Henry last week.

At least Santana can point to a few poor plays which turned the tables in its pair of losses. Avoiding turnovers, the far more consistent team is... Santana, 34-13.

Christian (4-0) at El Centro-Central Union (4-0) — The unbeaten Patriots overcame a 14-0 deficit to whip Santana by 19 points..

Last week the Sultans were downed Central's Spartans 39-30 after allowing 19 unanswered points in the second quarter. At the same time, the Patriots were swamping Sweetwater 42-17. Game-time temperatures in the Imperial Valley are only expected to reach the mid-70s as a cold front approaches the Southland.

In other words, you don't have to be a genius to select... Christian, 28-19.

Foothills Christian (2-1, 0-0) at Midway Baptist (0-3, 0-1) — The Knights will be the first East County program to open league play this season, making its debut in the re-aligned Southern Conference.

Coming off a bye after getting beat up by La Jolla Country Day, Foothills Christian now faces a school more its size -- one that can't play a lick of defense. Midway allows nearly 50 points per contest. Look for Knights quarterback GARRET CAMPBELL to approach several single-game school records in a rout... Foothills, 49-7.