WEEK THREE
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West Hills' Garrett Mead (76) in heavy pursuit
of
running back Austin Petter of El Centro-Central.
(Imperial Valley Press courtesy photo)
|
Escape
from The Valley
West Hills: final remaining unbeaten GHL ballclub
By Mark Meadows
© East County Sports.com
EL CENTRO (9-14-13) — With Helix and Grossmont
high schools garnering most of the early season
hype, the West Hills Wolf Pack was quietly looking
to open its 2013 campaign with a third consecutive
win.
The visiting Wolf Pack knocked out the Spartans
with a one-two punch of safety PEANUT HERRADA and
kicker DANIEL McMANUS in claiming a 27-13 non-league
victory over El Centro-Central Friday night (Sept.
13) in the desert heat.
West Hills' defense and special teams would have
all the say in this one as the Wolf Pack downed
the previously undefeated Spartans with relative
ease.
Herrada single-handedly accounted for more points
than the Spartans. Herrada scored on interception
returns of 71 and 60 yards – both times weaving
his way down the Spartans sideline on his journey
to the goal line.
West Hills would open the scoring on its second
possession. Following a D.J. LEWIS interception
– his 3rd of the season, the Wolf Pack managed
to drive to the Spartans 8-yard line. On 4th-and-5,
West Hills lined up for a McManus field goal.
But the Spartans jumped off-sides to continue
the drive.
One play later quarterback STEPHEN SCHINDLER
(7 of 13, 49 yards) would find NOAH ORTIZ for
a 3-yard score. With 5:20 left in the 1st quarter,
West Hills led 7-0.
Central would tie the game 7-7 with 9:07 left
in the half, in what was developing into a very
competitive game. Enter Herrada. With Central
driving to take the lead late in the second quarter,
Herrada stepped in front of an errant Spartans
pass and raced down the near sideline 71 yards
to put the Pack up 14-7 with under 2 minutes to
play in the half.
It would be a night of firsts for another Wolf
Pack player as well. When kicker McManus lined
up for an apparent 52-yard field goal attempt,
few in the press box believed he actually would
kick it. Not only did McManus kick it, he kicked
it into the buildings at the East end of Cal Jones
Field. He would have been true from 62 yards.
While West Hills led 17-7, Central was again
driving in Wolf Pack territory. On 2nd-and-10
from the Pack 40-yard line, the Spartans decided
to look to their right again. Bad idea... again.
Herrada jumped the route and cruised 60 yards
to paydirt. With 9:02 left in the game Herrada
had put West Hills ahead 24-7.
"Yeah, their QB had a tendency to stare
down his receiver a little", Herrada stated.
"I just followed his eyes and he led me to
the ball. It's why I love playing safety because
I can see the whole field and make some plays."
With the game in hand, there remained one bit
of drama. With under 5 minutes left, West Hills
trotted McManus out for another field goal try.
The distance? 52 yards. Could he duplicate his
earlier feat? You bet he could. The kick was good
and the Wolf Pack scoring was done.
"I've kicked one 54 yards before, but never
two 50 yarders in one game," said McManus.
"I'm glad my coaches have that confidence
in me, and I have the chance to help our team."
Wolf Pack offensive coordinator SERGIO DIAZ compared
this year's quick start with last year's 5-0 start.
"Last year we knew what we had going in,"
Diaz said. "This year we are still finding
our way, especially on offense."
While West Hills only managed 178 yards on offense,
the defense and kicking game sealed this one for
the Pack (3-0).
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Davis' damage destroys the Dons
TDs on punt runback, fumble return,
propel Scotties in Top 10 showcase
By Andrew Smith
© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (9-14-13) — The rumblings of naysayers
spread throughout the San Diego Section this week about
the fifth-ranked Helix Highlanders' chances of beating
No. 4 Cathedral Catholic, a team one spot ahead of them
in the polls. Still, the Scotties believed no one gave
them a chance of taking down the Dons in Friday (Sept.
13) night's Top 10 showdown at Jim Arnaiz Field.
Both teams entered the game with top-notch defenses
and suspect offenses, but it was the play of Helix do-it-all
standout JALEN DAVIS that turned a “Freaky Friday”
family film into a Friday the 13th horror for
Cathedral. He cashed in big plays every way possible
and the Highlanders jumped on his back for a ride that
led them to a 21-16 victory.
“Not a whole of lot people gave us any kind of
chance to win tonight,” said Helix head coach TROY
STARR. “Offensively, we're just one click away
from it all coming together, but in the meantime Jalen
is carrying us. His short area quickness is off the
charts and you couldn't even catch him in a phone booth,
he's that quick.”
Davis was anything but Clark Kent on this night as
he showed off his Superman strength in every facet of
the game.
Sophomore quarterback MICHAEL AUSTIN got Helix on the
board with a 9-yard touchdown run. The drive was setup
up by the front four quartet of the Scots defensive
line. JALEN WYATT, FORREST HANLON, JAYLON KUYKENDALL
and WYATT TRAVIS played lights out against a much bigger
Cathedral offensive line. Kuykendall forced a fumble
that Jalen Wyatt jumped on for the first of four turnovers
forced by Helix.
“Our D-line is a beast,” Wyatt boasted. “You
never know who is going to make the play, but we all
have the confidence in each other that we'll make it
happen. I was actually trapped on that play, but I kept
pursuing and Kuyke popped it out for me.”
Every scouting report boldly stated, in all-caps –
DO NOT KICK THE BALL TO DAVIS – but the Dons clearly
scoffed at that notion and paid for it dearly...
On his first opportunity to field a punt the senior
lined up in between the hash marks and the ball was
arrogantly kicked directly to him.
He fielded the ball on his own 30. Made the first defender
foolishly miss, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Breezing down the left sideline, 20 yards later, the
Dons made their first attempt to bring him down. He
instantly channeled his big-play skills, spinning away
from one tackler and followed it with a mean stiff arm
to spring him to paydirt.
“As soon as I saw the ball in the air coming towards
me I knew I had to make a big play,” said Davis,
the returning all-section San Diego CIF player and leading
candidate for East County Player of the Year. “We're
not completely clicking on offense the way we want to
be yet, so we need points any way we can get them.”
Cathedral Catholic called several timeouts just before
halftime in order to get the ball back with less than
a minute on the clock. After a pair of completed passes
they found themselves at the Helix 40-yard line with
12:5 seconds remaining on the clock in a14-14 game.
With one timeout sitting in their back pocket they
called a run play to tailback Chris Moliga. It looked
like a good call after he gained 9 yards, but linebacker
ISAIAH YOUNG stripped the ball out of his hands and
Davis scooped it up and raced 61 yards for the would
be game-winning touchdown.
“I saw all my teammates ripping at the ball trying
to make it come out,” Davis said afterwards. “As
soon as it hit the ground all I could think is'I gotta
score!'”
RUEBEN LEASAU also notched a first half interception,
while linebackers ISAIAH YOUNG (8 tackles) and JABRION
BURNSIDE (6 tackles) each recorded a sack to add to
the Highlanders prolific defensive performance.
The Dons (2-1) were able to move the ball in the second
half though, no problem. They had three trips inside
the red zone, they just couldn't convert those threats
into points.
No doubt the Highlanders defense was the main cause,
but it didn't help that the Dons accumulated six penalties
on those drives, which made it even harder for them
to pull out the victory.
Helix (2-1) stopped Cathedral on 4th-and-3 from the
7-yard line, 4th-and-5 from the 8, as well as the final
play of the game. What started as a first-and-goal from
the 8 turned into fourth-and-goal from the 25 thanks
to a penalty, with Clayton Dale tripping over the center’s
feet during a snap exchange and a spike to kill the
clock. Before a final toss to the end zone was able
to be made, the Highlanders D-line ended the game on
its own terms.
Leasau, Wyatt and Hanlon smothered the quarterback
before he could get off a last second Hail Mary attempt
and the victorious bagpipes could be heard all throughout
the county as a warning to any doubters.
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El Capitan's Zach Cagle (left)
with the runback of an interception
against Serra. Quarterback Brad Cagle pulls the
trigger on a pass.
(Photos by Ramon Scott)
|
Vaqueros excuse the Q's
© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (9-14-13) — El Capitan High may be the
surprise team of East County as the Vaqueros rolled
to their third straight win by smacking Serra in Friday’s
(Sept. 13) non-league action.
For the past two meetings, the Serra Conquistadors
and El Capitan Vaqueros have seen the game end on the
one yard line, with Serra coming out victorious both
times. On Friday (Sept. 13) that was not the case, as
the Vaqueros took care of business early in a 49-14
blowout.
“I don’t know what got into our guys,”
El Capitan ’s head coach RON BURNER said after
the game. “They came out to play. We watched Serra
on film and they were pretty impressive against Monte
Vista and Mar Vista.”
Impressive indeed. The Conquistadors had put 42 and
35 points on the board respectively in those contests.
The Vaqueros defense however shut down Serra almost
completely. For the game, El Cap outgained Serra by
a 447 to 209 margin, and the guys from Lakeside never
punted!
After Serra kicked a lengthy on-side kick on the opening
kickoff of the game, the Lakesiders went on a run. A
21-point run at that. After a Serra touchdown late in
the first half, El Capitan closed out the scoring on
another 28-point run.
Coach Burner, during his post-game comments could not
praise his running back D.J. SMITH enough.
“He is a workhorse,” Burner emphasized. “He
is probably one of the best players to ever suit up
for El Capitan. He’s our go to guy, he really
is, and we’ve got a lot of weapons.”
Smith, a junior, carried the ball 13 times for 145
yards and four touchdowns to lead the rushing attack
for the Vaqueros. As a team, El Cap carried the ball
29 times for 219 yards and five touchdowns.
Smith had plenty of room to roam behind his big line
of PERRY WINKLER, JOSH BROOKS, THOMAS WHALEN, JEREMYAH
QUICHOCHO and PATRICK GOLDEN, as the Vaqueros front
was man-for-man much larger than the Serra defensive
front.
Smith wasn’t the only one that Burner had positive
things to say about. “(Quarterback) BRAD (CAGLE)
is another junior and maturing. He’s learning how
to read (coverages). He now has the power to check off
on stuff. Tonight he checked off five times and four
of them were right on the money.”
Cagle had a nice night as well, going 10-16 for 228
yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, he carried
the ball for 20 yards on seven carries.
Receiving most of those passes was senior SCOTT ROOT.
Root had 185 yards of total offense – 171 of those
were in the air. The big catch was an 85 yard scoring
strike in the fourth quarter. It was the only play needed
after Serra punted to put El Capitan deep in their own
territory. It was the score that made sure the clock
was running for the rest of the game.
After Serra sliced the lead in half, the Vaqueros answered
late before halftime, as a pass from Brad Cagle to ISAIAH
CAPOOCIA was good for a 5-yard score, but the PAT failed.
El Cap's ZACH CAGLE had an interception midway through
the third quarter, and his return set up a scoring drive.
DANNY IBARRA would add a 1-yard score for the final
margin.
The El Capitan defense threw a shutout in the second
half thanks in part to the efforts of DANIEL GOULET,
SAM MELERO, JOEY LACHAPPA, CLAY CROMWELL, CHRIS PEARSON,
TREVOR ZAMORA, JARRED TURNER and WYATT ALVARAZ.
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Granite Hills running back Jesse
Bisbal applies the straight-arm on Patrick Henry.
(Photo by Frank Price, www.youatplay.com)
ADDITIONAL
HOTOS HERE |
GRANITE HILLS 49, PATRICK HENRY 21 – Granite
Hills won only one of 10 games a year ago, and they’ve
already matched that victory total this season.
The Eagles took a 21-0 lead into the lockerroom to
claim Friday’s (Sept. 13) non-league win on the
road against the winless Patriots.
Running back MICHAEL LEDESMA scored on a 3-yard touchdown
run with five minutes left in the first quarter for
a 7-0 Granite Hills lead. Ledesma came in motion to
receive the handoff in front of quarterback CHRIS MEREDITH,
then raced to the left pylon for the score. Granite
Hills senior running back JESSE BISBAL keyed the drive
with 10 carries on the seven-minute march, including
a 15-yard run around the left side behind junior ALEX
MACK's springing block to the Patriots' 46.
Bisbal led the Eagles’ ground forces with 254
yards on 28 carries as Granite Hills finished with 330
yards rushing.
“I don’t know the last time we had 300 yards
rushing, but I’m glad we’re doing it now,”
said Eagles coach KELLAN COBBS.
Granite Hills finished with 417 yards total offense
as Meredith completed 5 of 9 passes for 87 yards and
a touchdown.
But the story of this game was the running of Bisbal.
“He hits the hole hard and with one quick move,
avoids most defenders,” Kobbs said of Bisbal. “He
doesn’t go down on first contact, that’s for
sure.”
Early in the second quarter, Meredith completed a 25-yard
scoring strike to JOSH LONGBRAKE for the Eagles' second
score. Meredith made a short roll to the right and lofted
a jump ball with two of his receivers in the vicinity.
However, Longbrake used his 6-foot frame to outjump
his teammate and two Henry defenders to come down with
the score.
The defense was just as impressive in pitching the
first-half shutout, as KEVIN MADY had a tackle-for-loss,
and teammates KELLEN GAIER, JAKE ENGLISH, JACOB BURTON,
NICK MARIN and ZACH TELLO led the charge.
A bizarre play that could make the national blooper
reel came late in the first half.
Meredith lofted a deep pass, which was intercepted
by a Patrick Henry defensive back at his own 30. The
defender saw a penalty flag hit the turf and immediately
stopped his return. Quick-thinking Eagle CHRIS KOONS
knocked the ball out of his hands and recovered it for
a turnover, which set up a last-second touchdown before
halftime.
Meredith had the 2-yard score, as the Eagles dominated
the first half on the ground behind linemen GARRET GRECO,
TOREY PALKOWSKI and TRENTON HANSEN.
In the third quarter, Bisbal, who rushed for 149 yards
in the first half, added touchdown runs of 10 and 69
yards in the third quarter. On his long score, he ran
right behind his line of blockers, but the key block
came from tight end Burton, which sent the 5-foot-6
senior bruiser through the secondary and to outrun all
the remaining Patriots to the left side of the end zone.
Meredith added a 4-yard rushing score with three minutes
left in the third quarter to put the Eagles up 42-7.
HUNTER CREED capped the Eagles' scoring late in the
game with a 6-yard TD run.
Patrick Henry sputtered in the first half as they had
series of 3-and-out – three times.
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Tackles like this by J.J. Meier
(22) of Valhalla allowed the Norsemen to post
a second-half
shutout to rally pasr host Monte Vista, 24-14.
(Photo by Don DeMars Photography)
ADDITIONAL
PHOTOS HERE |
VALHALLA 24, MONTE VISTA 14 — Coming off
a lopsided defeat to No. 3 ranked Madison last week,
the Valhalla Norsemen were anxious to get their first
win of the season Friday evening (Sept. 13) when they
rode the bus to nearby Monte Vista, a team the Norsemen
had defeated six straight times in recent years.
After the Monarchs returned the opening kickoff to
their 18-yard line, it didn’t take long for the
game to get exciting. First, the amped-up Norsemen defense
jumped offside on the first play. On the next play,
the Monarchs ball carrier ran into a hornets’ nest:
LOGAN BAKER, J.J. MEIER, GIUSEPPE CASTANOS and JACOB
JENSON. HARLEY HOYT knocked the ball loose and senior
linebacker Jenson scooped it up and fought his way 31
yards to the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.
EAN HENDRICKSON’s PAT was good and Valhalla quickly
led 7-0, just one minute into the contest.
On its next offensive series, Valhalla moved quickly
down the field, led by senior quarterback DANIEL RODRIGUEZ,
who had two nifty runs that advanced the pigskin to
the Monte Vista 12-yard line before the Spring Valley
boys dug in, stopping the drive, but not able to stop
Hendrickson from splitting the uprights with a 31-yard
field goal at the 5:42 mark in the first quarter.
After Valhalla kicked off, its defense was able once
again to hold the Monarchs’ offense to a 3-and-out
series, forcing another punt. The punt was fumbled by
the returner and recovered by Monte Vista at the Valhalla
36-yard line. After BLAKE ADAMSON and JOSHUA ERECE teamed
up to stuff the runner, and after Baker and NOOR SEBI
stopped the ball carrier on 3rd down two yards short,
Monte Vista went for it on 4th down. However, an offsides
penalty against the Norsemen gifted the Monarchs with
their first 1st down of the game, at the Valhalla 18.
The quarter ended after the Monarchs advanced to the
Norsemen 14-yard line.
A 9-yard run to the Valhalla 5-yard line gave the Monarchs
a 1st–and-goal. Baker and junior defensive lineman
ANTHONY HANNA flattened the runner for a loss, followed
by another tackle-for-loss by Castanos, pushing the
Monarchs back to the 10-yard line — and a 3rd down.
A little trickery from veteran coach RON HAMAMOTO worked.
Monarchs senior fullback ERIC COLLINS took a direct
snap and lumbered up the middle past a surprised Valhalla
defense for a touchdown. MATT GOFIGAN’s kick was
perfect, and the Valhalla lead was cut to 10-7, with
10:01 remaining until intermission.
Monte Vista got another opportunity a few minutes later.
Starting at their 33-yard line, senior quarterback THOMAS
WALKER found a wide-open JESSE RIVAS for a 29-yard pass
play to the Valhalla 38-yard line. After Baker and Jenson
combined on another tackle-for-loss on second down,
Monte Vista faced a 3rd –and-17 from the Norsemen
32-yard line. No problem for Monarchs senior running
back CHRISTIAN GONAZALEZ, who motored around left end,
put it in high gear, and sped to the end zone. Following
Gofigan’s PAT, the winless Monarchs took the lead
14-10 at the 5:05 mark of the second quarter —
and kept that lead to halftime.
Neither offense was able to do much in the first half
of the third quarter until Monte Vista’s Walker
broke free and sprinted 68 yards to the Valhalla 19-yard
line.
Led by sophomore linebacker LOGAN BAKER (20 tackles,
10 tackles-for-loss, 1 interception for a 31-yard return),
Valhalla ’s defense went back to work and shut
down the Monarchs. A 32-yard field goal attempt bounced
off the uprights and back onto the field, keeping it
a 14-10 game midway through the 3rd quarter.
The status quo didn’t last. Taking over at its
20-yard line, on the next play Valhalla ’s Rodriguez
heaved a bomb deep to senior wide receiver JOHN TODD,
who wrestled the ball away from the defender and headed
toward the end zone. As he was being tackled at the
Monte Vista 20-yard line, Todd lateraled to junior wide
receiver JOSEPH THOMAS, who cruised the remaining 20
yards into the end zone, finishing off an 80-yard touchdown
pass.
This scorebook anomaly goes like this: Rodriguez was
credited with an 80-yard touchdown pass; Todd earned
a 60-yard reception, and Thomas garnered both a touchdown
and 20 passing yards gained—without a reception!
Following Hendrickson’s PAT (3-3), the visiting
Norsemen recaptured the lead 17-14, with 5:20 left in
the third period.
Halfway through the last quarter, Monte Vista was on
the move once again when disaster struck. Baker picked
off an errant pass at the Monarchs’ 44-yard line
and jetted 31 yards to the Monte Vista 13. Four plays
later freshman running back ELIJAH BELL scored his first
high school touchdown when he barreled into the end
zone from the 1-yard line, enabling Valhalla to win
its first game of the young season, 24-14.
For Valhalla, Rodriguez was 8-19-0 for 168 yards and
1 TD, and Todd led all receivers with 5 catches for
137 yards.
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Grossmont's Christian Beooks
(2, left) makes the receptions.
A Ramona running back carries a pair of defenders
for a nice
gain, leading the Bulldogs ground game in a 52-22
triumph.
(Photos by Linda Byerline)
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RAMONA 52, GROSSMONT 22 – Justifiably dejected
after the worst loss of his Grossmont coaching stint,
TOM KARLO sat alone on a stoop beyond the east end zone
of the Foothillers’ stadium trying to figure out
all that went wrong for his previously undefeated ‘Hillers
on Friday night (Sept. 13).
Executing a game plan to near perfection, visiting
Ramona manhandled No. 6-ranked Grossmont, 52-22, rolling
up 503 total yards and taking the ’Hillers out
of their customary go-go style throughout most of the
non-league tilt.
“When you reflect on this as a coach, you don’t
pick on any one thing or any one play,” Karlo said.
“There were too many things that went wrong. We
did a hundred things wrong.
“We need to put this one behind us.”
Ramona (3-0) got its half-a-thousand yards on 81 plays,
while Grossmont (2-1) ran only 51 plays and gained 319
yards. That’s normally the opposite affect Grossmont
applies to its opponents with its no-huddle, hurry-up
offense that has decimated and dehydrated defenses in
Karlo’s first two seasons at the helm.
“When you run the system like we do and have an
off night, it falls apart quickly,” Karlo said.
“I don’t care about the final score; we’re
never going to lose 10-6 with the way we play. We just
made so many mistakes. That hurts.”
Ramona, which lost to Lincoln in the San Diego Section
Division III championship game last year, scored on
its first four possessions to take a 25-0 lead merely
15 minutes into the game.
Meanwhile, Grossmont had run just 10 plays and had
only one first down. The Foothillers went 3-and-out
with two false-start penalties on their first possession.
They fumbled away their second possession at their 31-yard
line. Then they went backwards on a fourth-and-1 call
from the 29-yard line on their next series.
Moments later, Ramona running back Nathan Cherek rushed
for 19 yards and then 9 yards into the end zone, and
it was 25-0 with 8:53 left in the second quarter.
“We just shot ourselves in the foot,” Karlo
said. “Probably the worst game we’ve played
since I’ve been here.
“It all starts with coaching. We didn’t do
much of anything well.”
Cherek, who had 1,370 rushing yards last year for Ramona,
ran roughshod over Grossmont all night, gaining 277
yards on 26 carries and scoring on runs of 82 and 9
yards. Backup tailback Brandon Gansch added 70 yards
on 21 carries, including TD runs of 3, 14 and 10 yards.
Ramona finished with 383 rushing yards, and Marco Corbian
completed 9-of-16 passing attempts for 120 yards, including
a 15-yard scoring pass to Garrett Binkley.
Grossmont’s ANTHONY LAWRENCE completed 20-of-37
passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns, but he also
was intercepted twice. The Foothillers also lost two
fumbles and were stopped twice on fourth-down conversion
attempts.
Ramona established its dominance early. On its first
possession, Gansch capped a 12-play, 76-yard drive with
a 3-yard scoring run. Corbian then tossed 15 yards to
Binkley to make it 15-0. Early in the second quarter,
after a Grossmont fumble, Tyler Vargas was dead-center
on a 30-yard field-goal attempt for an 18-0 lead. After
a stop on fourth down, Ramona needed only two plays
to make it 25-0.
“I think we came out and just didn’t have
that normal fire,” Karlo said. “When you’re
not on you’re A-game, it hurts.”
Grossmont finally got on the board as Lawrence connected
with J.T. BARNES on a 13-yard scoring pass with 7:25
left in the first half.
Threatening again, Lawrence was picked off by Ramona’s
Christian Dominquez in the end zone. One play later,
Cherek raced around right end and scooted up the sideline
for an 82-yard touchdown run to make it 32-7 with 1:18
to play before halftime.
However briefly, Grossmont made things interesting
again with a late tally to make it 32-14 at the half.
On the first play of that drive, Lawrence hit EDDIE
HOPPE for a 47-yard gain and a face-mask penalty tacked
on another 15 yards. Four plays later, Lawrence again
found Barnes in the end zone for a 3-yard score.
At intermission, Ramona had run 42 plays and gained
336 yards, while Grossmont had 24 plays for 206 yards.
On their first possession of the second half, Grossmont
again failed to convert on a fourth-down call, and the
Bulldogs scored three plays later for a 39-14 lead.
Another Grossmont fumble, this one recovered by Dallas
Domnitz, led to another Gansch TD run to make it 46-14.
Lawrence’s third TD pass – a 29-yarder to
HUNTER REINER – softened the blow to 46-22, but
the fourth quarter belonged to the Bulldogs.
Grossmont snapped only once in the final frame, and
it resulted in A.J. Shaw intercepting Lawrence at the
10-yard line. The Bulldogs then reeled off 19 plays
and capped their 90-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard
dive by backup Justin Villagrana with 22 seconds left
to play.
Lost in the blowout was a fine performance by Grossmont’s
CHRISTIAN BROOKS, who caught 10 passes for 110 yards.
Barnes had three catches for 20 yards.
On defense, ANTHONY ALTON and KALVIN WATERS posted
timely sacks for Grossmont, and B.J. GONZALES prevented
a potential touchdown with a nice batted-down pass.
— Jim Lindgren
CHRISTIAN 66, EL CAJON VALLEY 3 – MICHAEL
CARRILLO threw for four touchdowns in the first quarter,
as the Patriots led 35-0 after one quarter.
TRENTON SAULS actually opened the scoring with a 73-yard
run off right tackle, as PAUL LIEMGRUBER just pulled
out and sealed the hole for the powerful back, who quickly
got out to the right sideline and raced for the touchdown.
It was Sauls' only carry of the game.
Carrillo had scoring passes to ZANE COFFMAN (44 yards),
TREVOR HOWELL (47 yards), KAI ARVAN (15 yards) and SEBASTIAN
SWIFT (31 yards) in the first 12 minutes. Coffman added
a 5-yard TD run in the second quarter.
Carrillo finished 9-of-12 for 185 yards. Sophomore
DAVID TODD JEREMIAH saw his first action under center,
completing 2-for-3 passes for 16 yards.
Later in the second, Howell stepped in front of an
errant pass and returned it 57 yards untouched down
the left sideline for a 52-0 lead. It was one of two
interceptions Howell grabbed. He also had two pass receptions,
one for a touchdown.
“I like offense the best but I’m not afraid
to play defense,” said Howell. “I like running
routes.”
El Cajon Valley got a strong 39-yard field goal from
MARTIN PATTI on the final play of the first half to
allow the Braves to be the first team to score against
Christian in three games (10 quarters). Patti came up
just short on a 49-yarder late in the game against the
Patriots, who are averaging 50 points per game.
In the third quarter, Christian's MICHAEL TOBIASON
took an inside handoff for an end around and an 11-yard
score, as the Patriot bigs of DAVID SUDA, LAITHE ISENMANN
and CHAD HUMPHRIES had their way up front.
“This is probably the best team I’ve ever
had,” said Patriots head coach MATT OLIVER.
Offensive coordinator DAVID BEEZER agreed.
Freshman back JOEY MARONES had Christian's final score
– a 5-yard run. Sophomore JACOB SANDUSKY caught
two passes for 23 yards.
MADISON 20, MOUNT MIGUEL 7 – One would wonder
how this playoff rematch would end, but even the Fearless
Forecaster wouldn't have seen this in his crystal ball.
The first quarter of this Friday night (Sept. 13) contest
in Spring Valley was a defensive battle on both fronts.
After a hard fought battle on the ground attack, Madison
led 7-0 at intermission on a 7-yard scamper from Madison
running back Kevin Moore. This contest looked to be
another one with playoff implications although the season
is very young.
Mount Miguel came out of the locker-room ready to showcase
why they were the well-deserved 4-time Grossmont Valley
League champs. The Matadors drove down the field only
to stall as Madison defender Kameron Santos picked off
a BRAD MORENO pass in the end zone. Capitalizing on
the Matador gift, the Warhawks swiftly scored two plays
later on an 83-yard score by speedster Moore, his second
on the night, improving the Madison score to14-0.
The host Matadors sideline erupted with disbelief as
the Warhawks were trying to pull away in this contest.
The positive reinforcement paid off in dividends as
the Matadors punched one in for 6 on a 1-yard burst
from running back BEN LOMIBAO behind the surge blocking
of MIRACLE TAUSAGA, KURESSA LAULU and JAMES SAVE. Lomibao
finished the night with 72 yards on the ground on 12
carries.
The only other highlight for the Matadors would come
on a pick from defensive back DAVAUGHN MURRAY and an
impressive 30-yard return.
Bottom line was the Matadors struggled on offense like
never before, but were playing against a very tough
defensive unit. Madison would score one last time early
in the fourth quarter, and had the PAT blocked, leaving
Madison on top 20-7.
Mount Miguel would get the ball back and on the third
play of the drive Madison defensive back Vincent Parrish
intercepted a Moreno pass. This was to be the beginning
of the end.
Yellow hankies flew as a Mount Miguel player hit Parrish
late out of bounds. A little shoving on the Madison
sideline took place, and before you could blink, a herd
of Matadors cleared the bench and streamed across to
the Madison sideline. A skirmish erupted, fans from
both sides screaming and booing at each other, as in
no time, law enforcement arrived. This was precautionary
for all involved.
By Grossmont Conference rules, whoever clears their
bench forfeits the game, therefore Mount Miguel (2-1)
was tagged with a forfeit loss.
“There has always been a rivalry between us, but
things just got out of control," stated a disappointed
Matadors coach SHAUN McDADE. "I don't know what
happened to escalate things."
The entire Madison sideline and supporters were escorted
out of the stadium, as the Mount Miguel fans and team
were left to wait to avoid any further confrontations,
according to authorities onsite.
— Dave Dickens
VISTA 8, STEELE CANYON 6 – The visiting
Cougars of Steele Canyon came within inches of knocking
off host Vista in the final three minutes of Friday’s
(Sept. 13) non-league encounter in North County.
An interception and return by RYAN LARCEVAL put the
Cougars in the red zone with less than three minutes
to play. Trailing by 2 points the Cougars’ drive
stalled at the 2-yard line.
“We talked about it, but that should have been
a chip shot,” said Cougars coach SCOTT LONGERBONE.
“So we went for it, but somehow the snap was off
the mark and we missed the kick.”
That added up to a loss for the Cougars (1-2).
All the scoring in this one would come in the first
quarter, as two strong defenses battled the rest of
the night.
The Cougars had a shot at excellent field position
early, but a punt at midfield was muffed and the Panthers
recovered just inside their own territory.
Vista's big-play offensive combo of David Lemon Rodriguez
and Nate Johnson would hook up on a 51-yard touchdown
pass after the miscue, as Johnson caught an underthrown
ball between three lost Cougar defenders. The Panthers
would go for two and convert, which would be key in
the final result.
Steele Canyon had a nifty answer when they got down
to the red zone. From the Vista 9, Cougar junior quarterback
JORDAN JOHNSON took a high snap, tucked the ball and
started to run, then shot-put a backwards lateral to
MARKELL LINDLEY. The senior started to the left, then
cutback against the overpursuit and smashed into a couple
of defenders to get across the goal line.
In the fourth quarter, Johnson ran from punt formation
fourth down at the Vista 40, but he was stopped short
by the Blackshirts for just a 2-yard gain.
“Our defense was solid the whole night against
a legit opponent,” Longerbone said.
The coach pointed out middle linebackers SEAN McCARTHY
and WILLIE FAIR and nose tackle MARVIN CALDWELL, who
anchored the Steele Canyon defense all night.
SAN YSIDRO 48, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 13 –
Facing a school with more than seven times the enrollment,
the Knights took a hit in the first half, yet made a
nice showing in the second half to prepare for next
week's Citrus League opener after falling to the Cougars
at Seau Field.
Early on, San Ysidro out-muscled Foothills in bounding
to a 32-0 cushion by the half. But the hosts believed
the contest should have been closer.
"We made some mistakes and dropped four passes
which were sure touchdowns and we threw an interception
in the end zone to prevent another score," noted
Knights coach THOM LUBIC. "But they did have a
hard time stopping us, however, we came out of the game
without any major injuries, so we should be in good
shape for next week's league opener."
Quarterback CALEB HOFFMAN completed 13 passes for 145
yards, including a third-quarter scoring strike to TAYLOR
BANKHEAD, while senior DANNY ZASTOUPIL added a 1-yard
scoring run.
Hoffman has noticed the improved play for a squad which
exited August with just a dozen players.
"We made the most of this opportunity and it was
a good learning experience for us," said Hoffman,
a senior playing his first season of football. "We
ran the ball in the first half, but got shut down, but
we started passing a lot more and had some success.
We can win next week if we play physical."
On defense, CAMERON DESMONAIS blocked and recovered
a San Ysidro punt, while finishing in a tie for third
place on the team in tackles behind leaders ZAKARA DAVIS
and RILEY HART.
DANIEL HOFFMAN paced the offense with five receptions
for 65 yards. Defensively, MATTHEW KULCZYK forced a
fumble for the Knights, which was recovered by freshman
Daniel Hoffman.
WYATT BASSON made four catches for 36 yards, then returned
four kickoffs for 108 yards (a solid average of 27.0).
"I'm proud that we never gave up and played tough
the entire game against a team from a higher division,"
added the coach. "We won't see anybody this big,
this fast or this physical from here on out in league."
"We have the ability to run, to throw, and another
dimension in Caleb, who had his own game. We hope to
tire out teams in our league by having them chase Caleb
all night,” added Lubic.
— Nick Pellegrino
CASTLE PARK 28, SANTANA 7 – The Trojans
got an opening drive touchdown pass of 20 yards from
Eric King to Adrian Tolbert in the back left corner
of the end zone despite blanket coverage by Sultan junior
FRANCISCO ESPINOZA.
The Santana defense did a nice job keeping the Trojans
off the scoreboard the rest of the way in the first
half, thanks in part to the efforts of MARK JAGER, MATT
HOMAN, PETER FRANCHAK and OWEN BROWN.
The Sultans' defense continued its strong play through
the third quarter, still keeping Castle Park's offense
out of the end zone, but the Trojans did get a 6-yard
punt return from Malik Steen to make it 14-0.
Santana got on the board in the fourth quarter and
energized its home crown by making it a one-score game
when quarterback FRANKIE GUTIERREZ hit ZACH LEWIS for
a 12-yard screen pass to the right side. Gutierrez picked
up a low snap and hit Lewis at the 10, where he easily
outran one defender.
Castle Park's Fernando Vera scored on a 53-yard touchdown
run up the gut, however, on the next drive to counter
the score, while King had another touchdown pass later
in the fourth for the final margin.
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Junior
Varsity
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Freshmen
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WEEK THREE
Valhalla 40, Monte Vista 6
El Capitan 6. Serra 3
Christian 56, ECVHS 0
West Hills 41, EC-Central 7
Ramona 8, Grossmont 6
Cathedral Catholic 13, Helix 6
Patrick Henry 41, Granite Hills 0
Vista 14, Steele Canyon 0
WEEK TWO
West Hills 41, Monte Vista 0
El Capitan 26, Mater Dei Catholic 0
Madison 23, Valhalla 21
Escondido 21, Grossmont12
Christian 42, Santana 0
St. Augustine 28, Steele Canyon 7
WEEK ONE
El Capitan 44, Earl Marriott (Albt). 0
Steele Canyon 34, Chula Vista 7
Valhalla 39, Mira Mesa 0
Christian 55, SLO-Mission Prep 6
West Hills 43, Santana 0
Patrick Henry 49, Grossmont 33
Eastlake 21, Helix 0
El Camino 39, Granite Hills 0
Only scores reported |
WEEK THREE
Granite Hills 17, Patrick Henry 12
Santana 45, Castle Park 0
Ramona 17, Grossmont 14
Serra 21, El Capitan 20
Valhalla 42, Monte Vista 18
Steele Canyon 20, Rancho Buena Vista 14
WEEK TWO
Grossmont 27, Escondido 12
Santana 34, Clairemont 0
Monte Vista 38, West Hills 6
Madison 35, Valhalla 3
St. Augustine 16, Steele Canyon 6
Helix 35, Bonita Vista 6
WEEK ONE
Helix 16, Eastlake 0
Grossmont 31, Patrick Henry 7
Santana 32, West Hills 0
Valhalla 14, Mira Mesa 6
Steele Canyon 26, Chula Vista 13
El Camino 18, Granite Hills 13
Monte Vista 18, Serra 13
Only scores reported.
EMAIL YOUR SCORES HERE |
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