While braving temperatures that eclipsed the 100-degree mark might have been the tallest order for all the athletes who competed in last weekend’s 12th annual South County Passing Tournament at Southwestern College, there were some perks despite battling to make the best of the heat:
They got a chance to discover first hand what the Chula Vista community college campus has to offer.
For many of the high school students who participated on one of the 24 teams entered in the two-day tournament, held July 6-7, it was the first time they had ever stepped onto the SWC grounds.
Some will be back to attend classes — and possibly participate in the Jaguars’ football program.
Southwestern head coach Ed Carberry said the annual high school summer passing tournament offers invaluable exposure for the community college’s football program.
“A lot of the kids who come here have no idea what Southwestern College is, but as they spend more time here and see the facilities, they see what the college has to offer and what our football program has to offer,” Carberry explained.
It’s a win-win situation for both the SWC football program and the high school teams that annually compete in the mid-summer tournament, which took place this year amid sweltering temperatures.
The thermometer reached 103 degrees on the first day of the event. Temperatures on the second day were only slightly cooler.
“The weather conditions were absolutely brutal, especially on the first day, but everyone worked through it,” Carberry said.
All teams played a minimum of five games — three round-robin games on the first day, plus one placement game and at least one playoff game on the second day.
The Lincoln Hornets remained the team to beat this summer by edging the Torrey Pines Falcons, 33-28, in the championship game.
The Christian Patriots topped the Bonita Vista Barons, 32-25, to win the tournament’s consolation title.
The Barons are looking to have a turnaround season under new head coach Sam Kirkland after posting a 0-11 record last year.
Bonita Vista finished 4-3 last weekend.
Kirkland is the Barons’ second new head coach in as many seasons. He hopes to lead the team to better fortunes in 2018.
The Barons kick off regular season play Aug. 17 when they host the St. Augustine Saints at Southwestern College.
The Saints will be under the guidance of new head coach Joe Kremer after South County native Richard Sanchez departed the program to take an assistant coaching job at San Diego State University.
“I’m just putting in the work right now, not looking that far ahead,” Kirkland said. “We want to do things so that we can get better every day.”
BVHS players seem enthusiastic about the new direction.
“Coming off a 0-11 season, we’re looking to bounce back,” senior linebacker C.J. Jennen said.
The Barons finished 2-1 in pool play by defeating El Capitan and Valhalla while losing to Torrey Pines.
Bonita Vista received the No. 7 for the playoffs but dropped a 19-18 decision to 18th-seeded Olympian in the placement round.
The Barons, keyed by quarterback Kevin Rozar, continued play in the consolation round as the No. 1 seed, receiving a bye before defeating Mountain Empire in its first elimination game.
Bonita Vista defeated Kearny, 44-33, in the consolation semifinals to advance to the consolation championship game against Christian.
Christian defeated Mater Dei Catholic, 22-6, in the consolation semifinals after recording a 27-2 elimination victory against Mar Vista in the quarterfinals.
Hilltop and Otay Ranch both advanced as far as the championship semifinals to turn in excellent showings over the two days of competition.
Defending Metro-South Bay League champion Hilltop won its pool by defeating league rival Chula Vista, Eastlake’s junior varsity team and Mountain Empire.
The Lancers received the No. 4 seed for the playoffs and shut out O’Farrell, 33-0, in the placement round to advance to the championship bracket.
After receiving a bye in the opening round, Hilltop defeated Cathedral Catholic, 38-19, in the quarterfinals before engaging Lincoln in the championship semifinals.
The Lancers repeatedly stung the Hornets in a narrow 28-20 setback to finish the two-day event with a 5-1 record.
“You never want to lose but we gained a lot of confidence,” Hilltop coach Drew Westling said. “I’m proud that the kids aren’t backing down (from the competition). We seem to be progressing every day.”
The Lancers host Escondido on Aug. 17 to showcase their stadium’s new turf field.
Defending Metro-Mesa League champion Otay Ranch finished 1-2 in pool play with losses to Grossmont and Christian. The Mustangs received the No. 15 seed for the playoffs and promptly reversed course, defeating 13th-seeded Kearny, 21-13, in the placement round to earn a berth in the championship field.
Otay Ranch defeated league rival Olympian, 29-13, in the first round before topping Sweetwater, 24-10, in the quarterfinals.
The Mustangs’ second-day winning streak ended with a loss to Torrey Pines in the semifinals.
“I was more happy with the consistency in our performance the second day,” Otay Ranch coach Lance Christensen said. “I’m happy for the kids. The goal is to play as many reps as possible and play as a team.”
The Mustangs host Patrick Henry in a scrimmage game on Aug. 10 before hitting the road for its season opener Aug. 17 at San Marcos. Otay Ranch hosts Valley Center (Aug. 24) and Point Loma (Aug. 31) the following two weeks.
Clash of the Titans
After advancing to the semifinals of June’s Tony Jefferson Battle of the Champions passing tournament, the Eastlake Titans drew a rematch with Lincoln in the quarterfinals of the South County Passing Tournament.
The Titans finished 1-2 in pool play at the SWC event with losses to Cathedral Catholic and Morse and a win over Metro-Mesa League rival Mater Dei Catholic.
Eastlake drew the No. 9 seed for the playoffs and raced past Mar Vista, 43-0, in the placement round to advance to the championship bracket. The Titans defeated eighth-seeded Morse, 45-12, in their first playoff game to enact a bit of revenge after dropping an 8-7 decision to the Tigers the previous day in pool play.
The Hornets ended Eastlake’s playoff run there, however, with a 28-8 victory in the next round.
Eastlake, under the guidance of returning head coach John McFadden, battled to reach the quarterfinals of the 12th annual South County Passing Tournament, losing to eventual champion Lincoln. Photo by Phillip Brents
The Titans finished the SCPT with an overall 3-3 record.
The SWC tournament took place after projected starting EHS quarterback Daniel Amon elected to transfer to Helix High School.
The Titans, who finished runner-up in last year’s Metro-Mesa League standings, rode the arm of sophomore Richard Colmenero for the games last weekend.
John McFadden, who returns to helm the EHS program, called the seven-on-passing tournaments “so much fun for the kids.”
“We have some good kids – we’ll surprise a few people,” McFadden assessed following the playoff loss to Lincoln.
The Titans host their first four regular season games: Aug. 17 against Torrey Pines, Aug. 24 against Hilltop, Aug. 31 against Santiago and Sept. 7 against Grossmont.
Eastlake travels to Madison for an Aug. 11 scrimmage game.
Lincoln finished 7-0 to continue its mastery of the seven-on-seven format. The Hornets earned a $10,000 donation check for winning the second annual Tony Jefferson Battle of Champions event in early June at Eastlake High School.
“We think we have the most athletic guys in the county,” Lincoln junior quarterback Christopher Davila said. “We have great coaching staff.”
The Hornets finished 9-3 last season with a loss to Otay Ranch in the Division II quarterfinals. Davila moves in to fill some big shoes left by graduated signal-caller Asante Hartzog, a 5,000-yard career passer who is now a freshman at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.
“It will be very challenging — I’ve got big shoes to fill,” Davila admitted. “But we have a lot of talent on the team. It should be good.”
Eastern exposure
The seven-on-seven format obviously highlights passing plays and passing defense.
“What we like about this is that it gives our kids a chance to compete,” Christian High School head coach Matt Oliver explained. “It’s a chance to work on passing and also defending the pass. It’s a chance to build some teamwork and to play against somebody else.”
El Cajon Valley High School head coach Nick Osborn concurred with much of what Oliver noted.
“What I like about this is that it allows the boys to see competition,” Osborn explained. “It’s not like a full game but it’s fun. The big thing is to compete and at the same time have fun.”
Southwestern College hosted its 12th annual 24-team South County Passing Tournament this past weekend. Six East County teams participated in the two-day event: Christian, El Cajon Valley, El Capitan, Grossmont, Mountain Empire and Valhalla.
Each team played three back-to-back games of 45 minutes each in pool play the first day (Friday, July 6); teams returned for elimination bracket play on the second day (Saturday, July 7).
The Lincoln Hornets held off Torrey Pines, 33-28, to win the championship bracket title while Christian edged Bonita Vista, 32-25, to capture the consolation bracket title.
Christian, which kicks off regular season play Aug. 17 with a non-league game at El Capitan, posted a 5-2-1 record over the two days.
The Patriots finished 1-1-1 in pool play with a win over Otay Ranch, a tie against Olympian and a loss to Grossmont.
Christian, seeded 13th for bracket play, opened the second day with a l4-2 loss to 12th-seeded Chula Vista, then proceeded to win the remainder of its games, racking up victories against Valhalla (39-18), Mar Vista (27-2) and Mater Dei Catholic (22-6) en route to topping seventh-seeded Bonita Vista in the consolation championship game.
Senior Owen Easley, who played primarily on last year’s junior varsity team, looked solid at the signal-calling position throughout the two days of competition under adverse weather conditions.
“I feel like I have a lot to prove to everyone that I deserve it,” said the six-foot-one, 200-pound Easley. “It’s a chance to get better, a lot of competition, a lot of learning and a lot of growing as s team.”
Senior tight end Bryce Riepl also performed well as one of Easley’s primary targets over the weekend.
Grossmont, braced by junior quarterback Jamie Odom, finished 3-0 in pool play with wins over Otay Ranch, Olympian and Christian. The Foothillers received the No. 6 seed for bracket play the following day and shut out San Ysidro, 42-0, to advance to the championship bracket.
Grossmont continued to click with a 43-27 win over 11th-seeded El Cajon Valley in its first playoff game but stalled with a 40-29 setback to third-seeded Torrey Pines in the quarterfinals.
The Foothillers, who host The Bishop’s School in a non-league game on Aug. 17 to kick off regular season play, finished the weekend with a 5-1 record.
El Cajon Valley finished 2-1 in pool play with victories against Mar Vista and Hoover and a loss to Lincoln. The Braves received the No. 11 seed for bracket play and defeated Eastlake’s junior varsity team, 21-2, to kick off the second day of competition.
However, the Braves failed to advance in the elimination playoffs with the loss to Grossmont to finish the tournament with a 3-2 record.
El Cajon Valley, which was led by senior quarterback Atlantas Eidujus last weekend, will kick off regular season play on Aug. 17 with a non-league home game against Francis Parker.
Osborn said the summer events also act as a team bonding experience.
“We’ve got a lot of goals and one of them is to establish a culture here where everyone is accountable and treats everyone with respect,” the ECV coach said. “We want to develop a winning atmosphere but we also want to become better people.”
El Capitan finished 1-2 in pool play with losses to Torrey Pines and Bonita Vista and a win over East County rival Valhalla. The Vaqueros, seeded 17th for bracket play, lost their first game on the second day of competition to eighth-seeded Morse to drop to the consolation bracket.
El Capitan ended the weekend with a loss to Mater Dei Catholic in the consolation quarterfinals.
Valhalla lost all five games it played over the weekend, finishing 0-3 in pool play, dropping a 30-13 contest to second-seeded Sweetwater to open the second day and finishing up with its loss to Christian in the consolation playoffs.
The Norsemen kick off regular season play Aug. 17 with a non-league game at University City.
Mountain Empire also finished 0-3 in pool play. The Red Hawks, seeded 20th for bracket play, lost their first game on the second day, 29-8, to fifth-seeded Cathedral Catholic, then finished up the weekend with a 23-0 win over O’Farrell and a loss to Bonita Vista in the quarterfinals.
Mountain Empire kicks off regular season play Aug. 17 with a non-league game at Santana.
For many teams, last weekend’s event at SWC was their final offseason competition prior to the start of classes for schools on year-round schedules.
“This kind of signifies the end of summer — I think we’re one of the last seven-on-seven tournaments in San Diego,” Carberry said.
The Lincoln Hornets ran the table at the 12th annual South County Passing Tournament, finishing undefeated both days of the weekend competition. Photo by Phillip Brents
Good Friday
Six teams went undefeated in Friday’s round-robin. Grossmont, Hilltop and Torrey Pines all finished 3-0 in the morning session while Cathedral Catholic, Sweetwater and Lincoln all finished 3-0 in the afternoon session.
Seeds were based on point-differential. Sweetwater edged Torrey Pines by one point to earn the No. 2 overall seed behind the Hornets. Hilltop was seeded fourth, followed by Cathedral Catholic (fifth seed) and Grossmont (sixth seed).
Lincoln defeated Mar Vista 50-0, Hoover 58-2 and El Cajon Valley 53-12 in round-robin play.
Sweetwater went undefeated against Kearny, O’Farrell (a late entrant) and San Ysidro while Torrey Pines defeated Bonita Vista, El Capitan and Valhalla. Sweetwater scored 71 points in its three games while Torrey Pines scored 70 points.
Hilltop defeated Chula Vista, Eastlake’s JV team and Mountain Empire while Cathedral Catholic defeated Morse, Eastlake, Mater Dei Catholic.
Grossmont went undefeated in its three pool games against Otay Ranch, Christian and Olympian.
Morse edged Eastlake, 8-7, to finish 2-1 in pool play. Bonita Vista also finished 2-1 in pool play among the 11 Metro Conference teams entered in the tournament. Chula Vista and Eastlake’s JV team both finished 1-1-1 while Eastlake’s varsity unit, San Ysidro, Mar Vista and Otay Ranch all finished 1-2.
Olympian (0-2-1) and Mater Dei Catholic (0-3) both finished winless in round-robin play.
South County Passing Tournament Playoff Brackets
Placement Round
(1) Lincoln 50, (24) Hoover 0
(2) Sweetwater 30, (23) Valhalla 13
(3) Torrey Pines 42, (22) Mater Dei Cathoic 13
(4) Hilltop 33, (21) O’Farrell 0
(5) Cathedral Catholic 29, (20) Mountain Empire 8
(6) Grossmont 42, (19) San Ysidro 0
(18) Olympian 19, (7) Bonita Vista 18
(8) Morse 51, (17) El Capitan 22
(9) Eastlake 43, (16) Mar Vista 0
(15) Otay Ranch 21, (10) Kearny 13
(11) El Cajon Valley 21, (14) Eastlake II 2
(12) Chula Vista 14, (13) Christian 2
National Division/Championship Bracket
First Round
(9) Eastlake 45, (8) Morse 12
(5) Cathedral Catholic 22, (12) Chula Vista 18
(10) Otay Ranch 29, (7) Olympian 13
(6) Grossmont 43, (11) El Cajon Valley 27
Quarterfinals
(1) Lincoln 28, (9) Eastlake 8
(4) Hilltop 38, (5) Cathedral Catholic 19
(10) Otay Ranch 24, (2) Sweetwater 10
(3) Torrey Pines 40, (6) Grossmont 29
Semifinals
(1) Lincoln 28, (4) Hilltop 20
(3) Torrey Pines defeated (10) Otay Ranch, score unavailable
Championship
(1) Lincoln 33, (3) Torrey Pines 28
American Division/Consolation Bracket
First Round
(8) Mountain Empire 23, (9) O’Farrell 0
(5) Eastlake II 15, (12) Hoover 7
(10) Mater Dei Catholic 29, (7) San Ysidro 9
(6) Christian 39, (11) Valhalla 18
Quarterfinals
(1) Bonita Vista defeated Mountain Empire, score unavailable
(4) Kearny 21, Eastlake II 13
(10) Mater Dei Catholic defeated (2) El Capitan, score unavailable
(6) Christian 27, (3) Mar Vista 2
Semifinals
(1) Bonita Vista 44, (4) Kearny 33
(6) Christian 22, (10) Mater Dei Catholic 6
Championship
(6) Christian 32, (1) Bonita Vista 25
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
