Thanks to four touchdowns by C.C. Portillo, the Sweetwater Red Devils remained undefeated on the season by defeating the visiting Castle Park Trojans, 49-21, in Friday’s homecoming game.
The Devils improved to 7-0 on the season; they also remained undefeated on their home field since the new turf field was installed last year.
“It meant a lot to score four touchdowns and win this homecoming game because, as a senior, it was going to be my last homecoming game,” Portillo explained. “The atmosphere was just incredible out here. I have to give it up to my linemen. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”
Sweetwater steadily pulled away from an early 7-7 tie against the Trojans to lead 28-14 at halftime and 35-14 in the third quarter.
Portillo put the hosts on the scoreboard first with a one-yard run late in the first quarter.
After a three-yard run by Elijza Thompson tied the score with 9:20 to play in the second quarter, it took just one play for the Devils to respond as Antonio Garcia scored on a breakaway 62-yard run.
A Miguel Tirana fumble recovery on the CP 32-yard line eventually set up a three-yard scoring run by Garcia, and the hosts held a 21-7 advantage.
Raven Middleton scored on a 71-yard burst on the ensuing play after the Sweetwater defense had forced the Trojans to turn the ball over on downs.
But Castle Park showed they came to play when Luc Barcoo caught a 59-yard scoring pass from quarterback Jordan Danielson to halve the SuHi lead.
The Devils missed a 22-yard field goal with 9.4 seconds to play to end the first half with a 14-point lead.
Portillo scored his second touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run to extend the Sweetwater lead to 35-21.
But Castle Park kept it going as Thompson scored his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard run to narrow the score to 35-21 with 11:13 left in the game.
Portillo took care of business with the final two TDs of the contest. He scored on a six-yard run with 10:07 left to hike the SuHi advantage to 42-21, and then added a 17-yard scoring run with 3:49 to play after teammate James Zarate had started the drive with an interception.
Sweetwater kicks off Metro-South Bay League play next Friday at defending league champion Hilltop, which absorbed a 63-7 non-league defeat at the hands of the visiting Christian Patriots on Friday. The Lancers dropped to 2-5 on the season.
Next Friday’s game will pit two league champions against one another. The Devils won last year’s Metro-Pacific League title before moving to the Metro-South Bay League this year.
Sweetwater is vying with Christian (7-0), Granite Hills (5-2) and Hoover (5-2) for the top seed in the upcoming Division III playoffs. Granite Hills suffered a 24-21 upset loss to visiting West Hills in a Grossmont Valley League game while Hoover stopped visiting Serra, 50-0, in other action on Friday.
Mar Vista and Fallbrook also improved to 5-2 on the season in quest of a Division III playoff berth while Monte Vista and Patrick Henry are both 4-3.
Mar Vista topped visiting San Ysidro, 42-14, on Friday while Monte Vista rushed past El Cajon Valley by a score of 57-7.
Despite the loss, Castle Park (4-3) remains the favored team to capture this year’s Metro-Pacific League
Stat attack
Sweetwater rolled up 463 rushing yards against just nine passing yards in the win over Castle Park. Antonio Garcia led the Devil rushing attack with 217 yards on 13 carries while Middleton rushed for 173 yards on 17 attempts.
On the season, Garcia leads SuHi with 884 rushing yards, followed by Middleton with 460 rushing yards. Sweetwater is averaging 360.1 rushing yards per game.
Danielson continues to be a force for Castle Park. In seven games, he has passed for 1,061 yards and nine touchdowns while also rushing for 340 yards and six TDs. Top receivers include Adrian Tolbert (532 yards, three TDs) and Barcoo (432 yards, five TDs). In two games with the team, Johnson has rushed for 99 yards and three TDs.
Mar Vista kicks off Metro-South Bay League play on Friday against visiting Mater Dei Catholic (3-4). The Mariners received two rushing touchdowns from Khalil Spruill and two passing touchdowns from Ben Munoz in topping visiting San Ysidro; Mater Dei Catholic is coming off a 42-14 non-league win at Montgomery. Crusader signal-caller Jarrod Rieta has passed for 1,078 yards and eight TDs.
Prep Scoreboard
Friday, Oct. 17
Ocean League
Calvin Christian 48, Lutheran 42
Citrus League
Ocean View Christian Academy 49, Vista Calvary Christian Academy 6
Non-League
Sweetwater 49, Castle Park 21
Mar Vista 42, San Ysidro 14
Mater Dei Catholic 42, Montgomery 14
Madison 48, Olympian 13
Christian 63, Hilltop 7
Metro-Mesa League Standings
(Through Oct. 17)
Bonita Vista Barons 2-0, 3-4
Eastlake Titans 1-0, 4-3
Olympian Eagles 1-0, 3-4
Otay Ranch Mustangs 0-2, 4-4
Chula Vista Spartans 0-2, 2-6
Friday, Oct. 24
Bonita Vista at Eastlake, 7 p.m.
Olympian at Chula Vista, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 17
Bonita Vista 14, Otay Ranch 13
Eastlake 45, Chula Vista 0
Metro-South Bay League Standings
(Through Oct. 17)
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-0, 7-0
Mar Vista Mariners 0-0, 5-2
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 0-0, 3-4
Hilltop Lancers 0-0, 2-5
Friday, Oct. 24
Sweetwater at Hilltop, 7 p.m.
Mater Dei Catholic at Mar Vista, 7 p.m.
Metro-Pacific League Standings
(Through Oct. 17)
Castle Park Trojans 0-0, 4-3
San Ysidro Cougars 0-0, 2-5
Montgomery Aztecs 0-0, 1-6
Southwest Raiders 0-0, 1-6
Friday, Oct. 24
Southwest at Castle Park, 7 p.m.
San Ysidro at Montgomery, 7 p.m.
Prep Football Records
Metro Conference
(Through Oct. 17)
Sweetwater Red Devils 7-0
Mar Vista Mariners 5-2
Eastlake Titans 4-3
Castle Park Trojans 4-3
Otay Ranch Mustangs 4-4
Olympian Eagles 3-4
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 3-4
Bonita Vista Barons 3-4
Hilltop Lancers 2-5
Chula Vista Spartans 2-6
Montgomery Aztecs 1-6
Southwest Raiders 1-6
