While last Friday’s Eastlake-Olympian game did not determine this year’s Metro-Mesa League championship, it did serve to determine the order of seeding for this year’s San Diego Section Division I playoff field.
With its 27-20 win over east side rival Olympian, Eastlake secured the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye. The Eagles (5-5) received the No. 8 seed and will open the playoffs with a home game Friday against ninth-seeded Poway (3-7).
Eastlake (8-2) will host the winner of Friday’s first-round matchup between seventh-seeded Rancho Bernardo (5-5) and 10th-seeded Valhalla (2-8) in the quarterfinal round on Nov. 17.
The outcome of last Friday’s contest could easily have flipped the teams in the playoff seeding.
“It was a tough game for both teams,” EHS head coach Dean Tropp said. “Olympian has really improved and we wanted to eliminate turnovers and keep penalties to a minimum, which we did. We knew it was going to be a close game. They are well coached. It boiled down to our players executing in the fourth quarter when it counted.”
The first quarter was fairly exciting for the hosts as well as they entertained a large homecoming crowd with the first touchdown of the game — a 20-yard passing touchdown from quarterback Daniel Amon to receiver Jalyn Jackson.
However, the Eagles were quick to respond with a passing touchdown of their own as quarterback Nico Mendoza launched a 37-yard scoring pass to Isaiah Williams.
A 20-yard field goal by Erik Duarte put Olympian in the lead at 10-7 but a four-yard touchdown run by Roman Coe gave the halftime lead to the host Titans at 13-10.
Eastlake scored the opening touchdown of the second half on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Amon to Jackson to increase the Titan lead to 20-10.
However, the visitors responded with a touchdown and field goal in the third quarter to knot the score 20-20.
Williams scored a four-yard rushing touchdown to narrow the Eastlake lead to 20-17; Duarte then kicked a 35-yard field goal to tie the game.
But, with two minutes to play in the game, the Titans grabbed the lead for good on a one-yard run by Parker Merrifield on a dramatic fourth-down play.
The teams finished with almost identical total offensive yardage. Eastlake totaled 344 yards in total offense while Olympian piled up 340 total yards.
The Titans rushed for 182 yards led by Merrifield with 78 yards on 13 carries and Coe with 61 yards on 16 carries.
Amon completed nine of 18 passing attempts for 162 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Jackson had three catches for 76 yards to lead EHS receivers.
Mendoza completed seven of 17 passing attempts for 139 yards with one touchdown.
Williams rushed 14 times for 71 yards and caught three passes for 48 yards, scoring once on the ground and once through the air.
R.T. Brown rushed nine times for 56 yards and had three catches for 52 yards while Chris Osgood had one catch for 39 yards. Treyvion Davies rushed six times for 38 yards to round out the OHS offensive leaders.
A weaving 26-yard run by Micah Pietila-Wiggs set up Eastlake’s opening touchdown while a 57-yard kick-off return by Jackson set up the Titans’ game-winning score. Jackson had 157 all-purpose yards (76 receiving and 81 yards on two kick returns).
Williams had 119 all-purpose yards for Olympian while Brown racked up 108 all-purpose yards in the game.
Defensive leaders for Eastlake included Josh McCurty with 16 tackles, Richard Corpus with 13 tackles, Bernard Coe with 12 tackles and Dylan Kohler with 11 tackles.
Defensive leaders for Olympian included Rock Gonzalez with 15 tackles, Jared Desmond with 13 tackles, Dante Pressley with 11 tackles and Diego Sanchez with 10 tackles.
The Titans recorded three sacks — one each by Corpus, Donyal Thompson and Tyrique Bruton.
Desmond had one caused fumble while Mikael Tyler was credited with a blocked field goal attempt. Bruton was credited with a caused fumble for Eastlake.
Friday’s Olympian-Poway playoff game is a rematch of the third game of the season in which the Eagles recorded a dramatic 42-41 come-from-behind victory against an illness-plagued Titan squad. It will be interesting to see how the teams match up at full strength.
“A rematch with Poway, a similar situation happened last year,” OHS head coach Paul Van Nostrand summed up. “We hope to make an impact; we are capable.”
Playoff preview
Mendoza has passed for 1,700 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions in 10 regular season games.
Davies leads Olympian with 673 rushing yards on 86 carries, followed by David Tirey with 361 yards on 48 carries, Brown with 298 yards on 40 carries, Albert Robinson with 262 yards on 45 carries, Arnold Escano with 177 yards on 28 carries and Williams with 142 yards on 25 carries.
As a team, the Eagles are averaging 226.8 rushing yards per game.
Davies leads the group with seven rushing touchdowns while Williams has scored four rushing touchdowns. Escano and Brown have each scored three rushing touchdowns. Mendoza (43 carries, 48 yards), Tirey and Christian Funke (12 carries, 97 yards) each have scored two rushing touchdowns.
Top receivers include Williams with 53 catches for 746 yards, Tyler with 17 catches for 277 yards, Brown with 13 catches for 234 yards, Osgood with eight catches for 167 yards and Davies with seven catches for 105 yards.
Williams leads the team with nine receiving touchdowns while Tyler has caught five touchdown passes.
Williams leads the Eagles in overall scoring with 13 touchdowns and 888 all-purpose yards (142 rushing, 746 passing).
Mendoza leads Olympian with 1,748 total yards (1,700 passing, 48 rushing).
Desmond (112) and Gonzalez (105) pace the Eagles in tackles while Gonzalez is the runaway team leader with 12 sacks.
Damarian Thornton and Tyler each have recorded two interceptions to further bolster the team’s defense.
San Diego Section Football Playoffs
OPEN DIVISION
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 17
(8) Grossmont (7-3) at (1) Mission Hills (10-0), 7 p.m.
(5) Torrey Pines (6-4) at (4) La Costa Canyon (7-3), 7 p.m.
(6) St. Augustine (7-3) at (3) San Marcos (8-2), 7 p.m.
(7) Madison (8-2) at (2) Helix (9-1), 7 p.m.
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 24
Grossmont-Mission Hills winner vs. Torrey Pines-La Costa Canyon winner, 7 p.m.
St. Augustine-San Marcos winner vs. Madison-Helix winner, 7 p.m.
Championship game
Saturday, Dec. 2
Southwestern College
Teams TBA, 7 p.m.
DIVISION I
First Round
Thursday, Nov. 9
(11) Mt. Carmel (3-7) at (6) Cathedral Catholic (4-6), 7 p.m.
(10) Valhalla (2-8) at (7) Rancho Bernardo (5-5), 7 p.m.
Results:
Cathedral Catholic 63, Mt. Carmel 0
Rancho Bernardo 23, Valhalla 6
Friday, Nov. 10
(1) El Camino (5-5) bye
(9) Poway (3-7) at (8) Olympian (5-5), 7 p.m.
(12) Bonita Vista (0-10) at (5) Oceanside (4-6), 7 p.m.
Byes: (1) El Camino (5-5), (2) Eastlake (8-2), (3) Carlsbad (5-5), (4) Point Loma (6-4)
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 17
Poway-Olympian winner at El Camino
Bonita Vista-Oceanside winner at Point Loma
(6) Cathedral Catholic at (3) Carlsbad
(7) Rancho Bernardo at (2) Eastlake
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 24
Teams TBA, 7 p.m.
Championship game
Friday, Dec. 1
Southwestern College
Teams TBA, 7 p.m.
DIVISION II
First Round
Friday, Nov. 10
(9) Westview (6-4) vs. (8) Christian (8-2), 7 p.m.
(12) Vista (3-7) at (5) Lincoln (8-2), 7 p.m.
(11) West Hills (6-4) at (6) Granite Hills (8-2), 7 p.m.
(10) Mira Mesa (5-5) at (7) Steele Canyon (6-4), 7 p.m.
Byes: (1) Ramona (10-0) (2) Bishop’s (9-0), (3) Valley Center (9-1), (4) Otay Ranch (7-3)
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 17
Westview-Christian winner at (1) Ramona
Vista-Lincoln winner at (4) Otay Ranch
West Hills-Granite Hills winner at (3) Valley Center
Mira Mesa-Steele Canyon winner at (2) Bishop’s
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 24
Teams TBA, 7 p.m.
Championship game
Southwestern College
Saturday, Dec. 2
Teams TBA, 3:30 p.m.
DIVISION III
First Round
Friday, Nov. 10
(9) Mt. Miguel (4-6) at (8) Escondido (4-6), 7 p.m.
(12) Patrick Henry (3-7) at (5) Imperial (4-6), 7 p.m.
(11) Santana (4-6) at (6) Rancho Buena Vista (5-5), 7 p.m.
(10) Mar Vista (5-5) at (7) La Jolla (5-5), 7 p.m.
Byes: (1) El Centro Southwest (10-0), (2) Santa Fe Christian (6-4), (3) San Pasqual (6-4), (4) Hilltop (6-4)
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 17
Mt. Miguel-Escondido winner at (1) Southwest El Centro
Mar Vista-La Jolla winner at 92) Santa Fe Christian
Santana-Rancho Buena Vista winner at (3) San Pasqual
Patrick Henry-Imperial winner at (4) Hilltop
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 24
Teams TBA, 7 p.m.
Championship game
Saturday, Dec. 2
Southwestern College
Teams TBA, noon
DIVISION IV
First Round
Thursday, Nov. 9
(11) Calexico (2-8) at (6) Kearny (8-2), 7 p.m.
Result: Kearny 45, Calexico 6
Friday, Nov. 10
(9) El Cajon Valley (2-8) at (8) Serra (5-5), 7 p.m.
(12) Coronado (3-7) at (5) Chula Vista (6-4), 7 p.m.
(10) Clairemont (5-5) at (7) La Jolla Country Day (4-5), 7 p.m.
Byes: University City (9-1), (2) San Diego (10-0), (3) Central Union (9-1), (4) Monte Vista (5-5)
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 17
El Cajon Valley-Serra winner at University City, 7 p.m.
Coronado-Chula Vista winner at (4) Monte Vista, 7 p.m.
(6) Kearny at (3) Central Union, 7 p.m.
Clairemont-La Jolla Country Day winner at (2) San Diego, 7 p.m.
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 24
Teams TBA, 7 p.m.
Championship game
Friday, Dec. 1
Southwestern College
Teams TBA, 3:30 p.m.
DIVISION V
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 10
(8) Southwest (4-6) vs. (1) Vincent Memorial (8-2), 7 p.m.
(5) Maranatha Christian (6-3) vs. (4) Classical Academy (4-5) at Del Norte, 7 p.m.
(6) Tri-City Christian (5-5) at (3) Montgomery (7-3), 7 p.m.
(7) Army-Navy Academy (5-5) at (2) Crawford (6-4), 7 p.m.
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 17
Southwest-Vincent Memorial winner vs. Maranatha Christian-Classical Academy winner, 7 p.m.
Tri-City Christian-Montgomery winner vs. Army-Navy Academy-Crawford winner, 7 p.m.
Championship game
Saturday, Nov. 25
Southwestern College
Teams TBA, 7 p.m.
