Southwestern College’s 15th annual passing tournament last weekend ushered in preseason drills for local prep pigskin squads for the upcoming 2023 season.
Eighteen teams vied over two days, last Friday and Saturday, for the right to be named tournament champion. Perhaps to no one’s surprise, the two finalists turned out to be the only two Division I teams entered in the event: the Lincoln Hornets and Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders.
Flip back to last season and the Hornets ended their season as the Division 1-AA state champions following a 33-28 defeat of De La Salle while the Crusaders finished as the Division 2-AA state champions following a 26-18 win over Oakland McClymonds.
Lincoln finished the 2022 season with a 13-1 record that included a thrilling 28-24 come-from-behind victory at Snapdragon Stadium against top-seeded Carlsbad in the San Diego Section’s Open Division championship game.
Mater Dei Catholic used some late magic of its own to shade Mission Hills, 34-29, to claim the Division I title.
The Crusaders became the first San Diego team to win back-to-back state championships. The Hornets have designs to do the same this season while Mater Dei Catholic will attempt to become the first section team to win three consecutive state football crowns.
Preseason training camps formally open in early August. The Crusaders are set to kick off their 2023 season Aug. 18 with a high-profile game at Cathedral Catholic before traveling to Carlsbad for an equally high-profile non-league game. Lincoln then comes to visit in Mater Dei Catholic’s home opener on Sept. 8.
The Hornets’ early season schedule is no less demanding. Lincoln will hook horns with defending Division 2-A state champion Granite Hills in a scrimmage match-up on Aug. 11 before playing at Hawaii’s Wai-anae on Aug. 18.
The Hornets host Alemany on Aug. 25, then travel to Ventura to take on St. Bonaventure on Sept. 1 before returning to the southland to test the Crusaders.
Granite Hills topped San Ramon Valley, 31-24, in overtime to win last year’s state championship in a flurry of runaway success by section teams at the state bowl level.
It promises to be another wild and entertaining season if the result of Saturday’s 7-on-7 finals match-up between Mater Dei Catholic and Lincoln is any indicator.
The Hornets won, 34-32, as a two-point conversion pass was deflected at the goal line on the final play of the game.
Dramatic, indeed.
“It was an amazing season,” Lincoln head coach David Dunn recalled of his team’s history-making finish in 2022. “I’m still replaying it in my head. The way we gained momentum through the season was magnified. It was destined, the way we got there, the way we played for each other.”
Lincoln ran the table at last weekend’s passing tournament with a perfect 6-0 record — 2-0 in pool play on Friday and 4-0 in Saturday’s playoffs.
The Hornets also entered a second team in the event. Lincoln II finished 3-0 in pool play and advanced to the quarterfinal playoffs the next day.
Mater Dei Catholic finished 5-1, including playoff wins over West Hills (38-13), Montgomery (45-39) and Chula Vista (49-7) to meet the Hornets in the final.
Lincoln defeated Mountain Empire (32-2), Bonita Vista (37-6) and Hilltop (50-6) to pair up with the Crusaders.
Despite losing 23 players to graduation, Mater Dei Catholic appears well armed entering the upcoming season.
“I think we’re still very talented, still very fast,” Crusader head coach John Joyner said. “I think a lot of the players we have this year played behind really good guys last year.”
Top returners include senior receiver/cornerback Isaiah Buxton, senior tailback/receiver Anthony McMillian, senior receiver Johnny Scott and senior cornerback/tailback Jordan Jackson. Players looking to make an impact include six-foot-six senior defensive end/tight end Zach Dare and junior quarterback Kartell Purvis.
“We hope to move the ball around with our receivers, but we should be pretty balanced,” Joyner said.
Dare is the son of former Bonita Vista standout David Dare and the nephew of Larry Dare.
“It’s just great to carry on the name,” Zach Dare said. “They played defense and I’m playing offense. It’s cool to wear the name on my back.”
Purvis considers himself to be a dual threat at the signal-calling position.
“We want to go back to win CIF,” he said.
McMillian, who rushed for 1,270 yards and scored 12 rushing touchdowns last season, figures to once again be a big part of the MDC offense.
“It felt great going back-to-back as state champions,” McMillian said. “If we come back playing with a chip on our shoulder, we feel we can do the exact same thing three years in a row.”
The Crusaders and Hornets seemingly scored touchdowns at will in last Saturday’s 7-on-7 passing tournament match-up.
The Hornets will be utilizing the services of quarterbacks Johnny Limon and Akili Smith Jr.
Limon played his freshman season at Eastlake before sitting out last season as a transfer. He seems more than capable of stepping into a leadership role with the Hornets.
“I think I threw five or six touchdown passes (against the Crusaders), I lost count,” Limon said. “It was just one drive at a time.
“Definitely, we’re really looking forward to defending our state title.”
Smith, who is the son of Lincoln alumnus and former NFL quarterback Akili Smith, was unavailable for last weekend’s event.
“Both quarterbacks have different styles,” Dunn said. “We really won’t know about the potential of this year’s team until we get pads on. I think this group is faster than last year. We’ll need guys to step up in the secondary. We have a good front seven returning. Our running backs are good.”
Hilltop finished the two-day event with a 5-1 record along with Chula Vista as both west side teams advanced to the championship semifinals in the tournament.
“We played really well — Lincoln and Mater Dei are at a different level,” Hilltop coach Bryan Wagner said. “I think this was a good showing for us going into the season. We want to hang our hat on the things we did well and work on other things to get better.”
The Lancers defeated Mountain Empire (27-9), Mar Vista (39-0) and Monte Vista (37-12) in round-robin play, then defeated Castle Park (28-21) and Morse (27-24) to open the playoffs.
“It was great to be out here to have fun and compete,” Hilltop senior quarterback Isaac Nones explained. “It gives us some confidence. It showed what we can do. We want to use this momentum to get better for the season.”
“I’m proud of us how we’re a Division IV team going up against the Open Division state champions, to give us a name at Hilltop,” Meza said.
Chula Vista joined Hilltop as the lone undefeated teams in last Friday’s morning round-robin. The Spartans defeated Castle Park (34-12), Mountain Empire (28-9) and Morse (32-30) on the opening day in advance of playoff wins over Monte Vista (20-7) and Lincoln II (25-19 in overtime).
“Even though we’re very young, we have a group of scrappy guys,” Spartan head coach Howard Bannister III said. “Our young guys are not scared to play against teams that are bigger than us. We have a lot of younger players, but we also have a number of players who are returning. I think we’re reloading rather than rebuilding.”
Junior receiver/defensive back Elijah Gillespie, junior quarterback Izaac Baca, senior running back/receiver Paul Alvarez, senior running back Nathan Houck, senior offensive/defensive tackle Santiago Macias (6-6, 305), senior outside linebacker/defensive end/offensive guard Franky Olmedo, the Metro-Pacific League Defensive Player of the Year, and junior linebacker/running back DayDay Perkins are among the top returners in Bannister’s arsenal.
Bonita Vista defeated Sweetwater, 22-2, while Morse defeated the Barons’ second team, 14-10, to open the playoffs. Montgomery sent Olympian to the consolation bracket with a 29-24 win to face off Saturday’s playoffs.
Extra points
Hilltop will host seven-on-seven events on July 11 and July 18, starting at 5 p.m.
Bonita Vista is hosting ongoing four-way seven-on-sevens into July in the school’s new on-campus stadium.
15th annual Southwestern College Passing Tournament
June 23-24 at Southwestern College
Round-Robin
Morning Session
Round 1
Morse 37, Bonita Vista 23
Bonita Vista II 25, Sweetwater 16
Chula Vista 34, Castle Park 12
Hilltop 27, Mountain Empire 9
Monte Vista 24, Mar Vista 9
Round 2
Bonita Vista 18, Sweetwater 12
Monte Vista 16, Bonita Vista II 12
Chula Vista 28, Mountain Empire 9
Morse 37, Castle Park 2
Hilltop 39, Mar Vista 0
Round 3
Bonita Vista 36, Mountain Empire 7
Castle Park 13, Bonita Vista II 10
Chula Vista 32, Morse 30
Hilltop 37, Monte Vista 12
Sweetwater 14, Mar Vista 12
Round-Robin
Afternoon Session
Round 1
Olympian 38, El Cajon Valley 15
Montgomery 38, West Hills 18
Lincoln II 38, San Diego 23
Round 2
Olympian 29, Montgomery 27
Mater Dei Catholic 38, San Diego 12
Lincoln 55, El Cajon Valley 6
Lincoln II 38, West Hills 2
Round 3
Lincoln 53, Montgomery 12
Lincoln II 48, El Cajon Valley 13
Olympian 24. San Diego 21
Mater Dei Catholic 26, West Hills 13
