Back-up quarterback Keoa Gumataotao, pushed into first-line duty following an injury to starter Alexander Dixie, passed for 199 yards and four touchdowns as host Montgomery defeated previously unbeaten Castle Park, 34-10, last Friday in the teams’ annual Warrior Bowl rivalry game that doubled as this year’s Metro-Pacific League championship game.
The loss was the first of the season for Castle Park, which saw its record dip to 9-1 after a 9-0 start. Montgomery improved to 9-1 with the win.
“We responded when two of our players — Jaheem Williams and Alexander Dixie —had to leave the game early on,” Montgomery head coach Freddy Dunkle said. “We had some drives stall at the beginning but the kids kept fighting and playing. It felt incredible to win league.”
The Aztecs (3-0 in league) never trailed in the game. Dixie scored on a 20-yard run to open scoring with 1:38 left in the first quarter after two previous drives into the red zone came up empty.
Castle Park (2-1 in league) tied the game, 7-7, on a 63-yard sprint from scrimmage by quarterback Demarkus Lewis on the first play of the second quarter.
Dixie left the game, with his shoulder wrapped on the sideline, and did not return for the remainder of the contest. But the Aztecs were in good hands behind center with Gumataotao, who served as the team’s signal-caller last year.
Montgomery tacked on 13 unanswered points on two long touchdowns strikes from Gumataotao to take a 20-7 halftime lead. Gumataotao connected with receiver Zach Pearson (three catches, 121 yards) both times, the first for 46 yards and the second for 71 yards.
Castle Park, which was limited to 13 passing yards and 150 rushing yards in the game, narrowed the score to 20-10 on a 30-yard field goal by Nicolas Magana with 10:00 left in the third quarter
The Aztecs scored two more touchdowns to cement the victory: Isiah King caught a nine-yard scoring pass while Agelu Meredith caught an eight-yard touchdown pass.
King had four catches for 56 yards while Meredith caught four passes for 50 yards.
Gumataotao, who rushed three times for 21 yards, finished the game with a 144.4 rating. Dixie was one-for-five with 28 yards for a 50.4 quarterback rating.
Lewis did not fare well in the passing department by completing one of eight attempts for 13 yards with two interceptions.
Montgomery out-gained Castle Park 374-183 in total yards.
Erik Hernandez led Castle Park with 66 rushing yards on 17 carries while Christian Venegas led Montgomery with 41 rushing yards on seven carries.
Hernandez was held well under his season rushing average (10.6) by the Aztec defense.
Ben Larsen and King both had interceptions on defense for Montgomery while Daniel Sandoval and Jonathon Chavez recorded fumble recoveries.
Ashuan Duncan had one fumble recovery for Castle Park while Ramon Cabal recorded one sack. Cabal also caught one pass for 13 yards and rushed six times for 17 yards.
Larsen, a junior, leads Montgomery defensively with 73 tackles and 5.5 sacks this season, a co-leading three interceptions and ranks second with three fumble recoveries. He has two touchdown catches on offense.
“Our team has come together,” Larsen said while holding the Warrior Bowl trophy after the game. “We wanted to be dominant. This season has been great. When we were up and then down, we bounced back.”
Extra points
Montgomery has scored 52 total touchdowns, including 30 rushing touchdowns and 17 passing touchdowns. Defensively, the Aztecs have recorded 14 interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries.
Castle Park has scored 50 touchdowns on the season — 40 rushing (16 by Hernandez). The Trojans have 11 interceptions on defense (five by Xavier Alvarado), eight fumble recoveries and 24 sacks (six by Sergio Cortes).
CIF playoffs
Both the Aztecs and Trojans have received byes to the CIF quarterfinals on Nov. 15.
Montgomery received the No. 3 seed in the Division IV playoffs and will host the winner of Friday’s first-round match-up between sixth-seeded La Jolla Country Day (7-3) and 11th-seeded Tri-City Christian (5-5).
Castle Park received the No. 2 seed in the Division V playoffs and will host either seventh-seeded Palo Verde Valley (5-5) or 10th-seeded Clairemont (4-6).
Santana (9-1) is seeded first in the Division IV playoff field, followed by Serra (8-2) as the No. 2 seed.
Vincent Memorial (9-1) is seeded first in the Division V field while Holtville (8-2) is seeded third.
Photo Gallery by Jon Bigornia
Hilltop tops Mar Vista, 44-7, to claim third consecutive Metro-South Bay League football title
Quarterback Javin Deanda passed for 133 yards and three touchdowns — one each to Marko Aki (four catches, 47 yards), Jeremiah Serrano (one catch, 53 yards) and Lai Zumstein (one catch, five yards) — and rushed for another to help push Hilltop past host Mar Vista by a score of 44-7 to officially lay claim to this year’s Metro-South Bay League championship, the team’s third consecutive.
Trevor Fune, Diego Castro and Gage Scruggs each had one interception on defense. Fune (69 yards) and Castro (59 yards) both returned interception passes for touchdowns.
Tony Candelaria led the three-time defending league champions with 10 tackles, including two tackles for a loss. Overall the team had three sacks — one each by Scruggs, Demetri Zouvas and Rudy Lucero.
The Lancers, who improved to 9-1 on the season, 3-0 in league play, scored six touchdowns in the game: three passing, one rushing and two on interception returns.
Serrano finished the game with 153 total yards — 37 rushing yards, 53 receiving yards and 63 yards on kick returns.
Abraham Avila led the Lancers on the ground with 53 rushing yards on six carries while Serrano gained 37 yards on seven attempts. Deanda rushed twice for 29 yards.
Hilltop racked up 257 total offensive yards and 461 all-purpose yards.
Andrew Velazquez converted a pair of two-point run conversions while Jacob Zimmermann caught a two-point pass conversion.
The Lancers took an early 8-0 lead on Serrano’s long catch-and-carry and a successful two-point conversion play. The visitors doubled their lead to 16-0 on another Deanda TD pass and two-point conversion.
Fune’s pick six hiked the score to 30-0 and a Deanda to Aki strike made the score 37-0. Deanda later drove into the end zone on a rushing play to increase the lead to 44-0.
Mar Vista closed out scoring on a touchdown by David Del Rio
The Mariners (1-2 in league play, 3-7 overall) had a chance to forge a tri-championship with Hilltop and Chula Vista with an upset win over the Lancers
“We are thankful to be champions of such a competitive league and look forward to hosting in the playoffs,” Hilltop head coach Drew Westling said.
The Lancers finished 3-0 in league play.
Hilltop receives a bye to the division quarterfinals on Nov. 15. The Lancers will host Friday’s first-round winner between seventh-seeded Brawley (7-3) and 10th-seeded Kearny (5-5).
Scripps Ranch, the only section teams owning an undefeated 10-0 record through the regular season, is seeded first in the division. La Jolla (6-4), which captured its first league title in 24 years, is seeded third while San Diego (6-3), last year’s Division IV champion, is seeded fourth.
Kearny finished runner-up to San Diego in last year’s Division IV final.
Knockout punch
Mater Dei Catholic enhanced its Division III playoff seed while denying Bonita Vista a postseason berth in last Friday’s 17-6 Metro-Mesa League victory against the visiting Barons.
Bonita Vista went down begrudgingly, however. The Crusaders led 7-0 at halftime and extended their lead to 17-0 with 10 third quarter points before the Barons finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run by Gabe Burke.
Mater Dei Catholic quarterback Trevor Appelman completed just four of 18 passing attempts for 91 yards but did connect with receiver Jessie Campbell on a 73-yard scoring pass.
Jared Quinonez tacked on a 37-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead. Aiden Calvert rushed 13 times for 88 yards and scored one touchdown on a 48-yard run.
Josh Buchanan led Bonita Vista with eight tackles while Adriel Ramos had one fumble recovery. Justin Locke recorded two tackles for a loss.
The Barons, who finished 0-4 in league play, dropped out of playoff contention after dropping their final five games of the season to finish 3-7 overall.
The Crusaders (3-1 in league, 6-4 overall) received the No. 6 playoff seed and will host 11th-seeded Imperial (5-5) in Friday’s opening round of the Division III playoffs.
Cougar country
San Ysidro punched its ticket to postseason play with a rousing 47-15 victory against Metro-Pacific League rival Southwest last Friday to pick up its first league win.
As a result, the Cougars (3-7) received the No. 11 seed in the Division V playoffs and will kick off first-round play this Friday at sixth-seeded Mission Bay (4-6).
Super sophomores Mathew Jaime and Mckai Jackson led the way. Jaime finished nine-for-13 passing with 196 yards, four touchdowns and 151.4 quarterback rating, while Jackson piled up 280 total yards (160 rushing 120 receiving) and scored four touchdowns — two rushing and two receiving. Defensive end Jason Martinez had three sacks for 10 for the season, which ranks him third in the county.
Southwest finished 2-8 overall, 0-3 in league play.
“We wanted to attack down field early to get the passing game going and to set up our run game later in the game,” San Ysidro head coach Keith Aguon said. “We also wanted to take care of the football, worked on ball security all week and it panned out with zero turnovers.
“Defensively we were aggressive up front and stayed in coverage all game long to force long yardage situations on third down.”
The San Ysidro-Mission Bay winner advances to meet third-seeded Holtville (8-2) in the quarterfinals.
Southwest finished 2-8 overall, 0-3 in league play.
Horse power
Otay Ranch (2-2 in Metro-Mesa League play, 4-6 overall) rides into Friday’s playoff game at sixth-seeded Christian (5-5) after gathering some momentum on the heels of last Friday’s 20-10 rivalry game victory against visiting Olympian in the teams’ annual Battle of the O’s contest.
The host Mustangs out-gained the Eagles 380 to 188 in total yards. Paul Richardson and Carl Addy both scored on touchdown runs while Miles Brotschi caught one touchdown pass.
Addy led all rushers in the game with 180 yards on 33 carries while Richardson rushed for 66 yards on four carries. Richardson ripped off one run for 48 yards.
Brotschi (two catches, 72 yards) scored on a 66-yard pass play from quarterback Paco Puentes, who completed six of 11 attempts for 125 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Anthony Gilpin Jr. (seven catches, 65 yards) caught one touchdown pass to account for Olympian’s only touchdown in the game while David Kay converted on a field goal.
Lukas Hamilton completed 10 of 21 passing attempts for 136 yards but was intercepted twice. Alijah Robinson led the Eagles on the ground with 35 rushing yards on seven carries.
Gilpin led Olympian with 17 tackles while teammate Diego Sanchez had 15 tackles. Five Eagles finished in double digits in defensive stops. Jimmy Mena had 11 tackles while Nevin Baclig and Adam Amaro both registered 10 tackles.
Gilpin concluded a productive night with one interception.
Olympian finished the season 1-3 in Metro-Mesa League play, 2-8 overall.
Puentes enters Friday’s playoff game with 1,306 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Dylan Baca leads Otay Ranch receivers with 387 yards on 21 catches with four touchdowns.
Spartans regain Legacy of Pride trophy with 28-13 win over Red Devils
The Chula Vista Spartans and Sweetwater Red Devils have both turned in much better seasons on the gridiron but whenever they meet it’s for school pride regardless of the records.
Forget then that both teams entered last Friday’s Metro-South Bay League game with identical 1-8 records.
The two west side schools began play in 1948 and their rivalry series remains the longest running in San Diego County.
It was time to shine in particular for the host Spartans on Senior Night as they made amends for last year’s 31-0 loss to the Red Devils with a 28-13 win to regain possession of the Legacy of Pride trophy.
Chula Vista opened up a 28-0 lead, though the score remained close at 13-0 at halftime.
The Spartans’ passing game ignited the scoring as junior quarterback Omar Perez passed eight yards to senior Alex Guzman and then six yards to senior Dylan Sallee.
Perez completed 19 of 41 passing attempts in the game for 264 yards with three touchdowns.
It also would be a big night for senior Salle, who scored three touchdowns, including two as a receiver and one on an electrifying 46-yard interception return, to lead his team in scoring.
Chula Vista racked up 344 total offensive yards in the victory, including 283 passing yards.
Guzman caught 10 passes for 149 yards with one touchdown while sophomore Anthony Venegas rushed seven times for 51 yards.
The Spartan defense recorded four sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Senior Leonardo Ibarra had two sacks while senior James Cibirian and sophomore Raymond Cruz both had one sack.
Senior Kevin Lopez matched Sallee with an interception. Cibrian and Guzman both recovered fumbles.
Nico Salazar put Sweetwater on the scoreboard with an intrepid 86-yard kickoff return.
But the touchdown, and another that came on the final play of the game, came too late to rescue the visitors on the scoreboard.
Perez quietly completed a strong season with 1,951 passing yards and 20 touchdowns (against eight interceptions).
Guzman led his team with 1,109 receiving yards while Sallee ranked second with 717 receiving yards. Both players caught nine touchdown passes.
Cruz led the Spartans with 61 tackles while Sallee led the team with three interceptions.
Chula Vista, which suffered through a frustrating 0-8 start, finished the season 2-8 overall, including 2-1 in league play, while Sweetwater finished the season 1-9 overall, 1-2 in league play.
The Red Devils ended the season with an eight-game losing streak.
Salazar entered last Friday’s game with 900 total yards on the season — 522 rushing, 246 passing and 132 receiving.
Sweetwater continues to lead the 73-game series 39-31-3.
Honor roll
Guzman ended his career ranked first in Chula Vista history for most receptions in a season with 67 (the previous record was 53 by Ray Holden). Guzman also finished with the most yards in a season with 1,109 (previously held by Greg Brown at 1,079). On top of that Alex was also selected Metro South-Bay League Defensive player of the Year.
Perez ended the season ranked second in CVHS history for yards thrown in a season (1,951) — just nine yards shy of Victor Perez’s record of 1,960. Perez accumulated this season’s numbers despite missing a game and half due to injury.
Sallee ended up tied for fourth all-time in receptions with 48.
SAN DIEGO SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
First-round games: Friday, Nov. 8
- Division I: (9) Oceanside (6-4) at (8) Eastlake (5-5), 7 p.m.
- Division II: (11) Otay Ranch (4-6) at (6) Christian (5-5), 7 p.m.
- Division III: (11) Imperial (5-5) at (6) Mater Dei Catholic (6-4), 7p.m.
- Division V: (11) San Ysidro (3-7) at (6) Mission Bay (4-6), 7 p.m.
Quarterfinal-round games: Friday, Nov. 15
- Division III: Kearny-Brawley winner at (2) Hilltop (9-1), 7 p.m.
- Division IV: La Jolla Country Day-Tri-City Christian winner at (3) Montgomery (9-1), 7 p.m.
- Division V: Palo Verde Valley-Clairemont winner at Castle Park (9-1), 7 p.m.
Metro-Mesa League Standings
Eastlake Titans 4-0, 5-5
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 3-1, 6-4
Otay Ranch Mustangs 2-2, 4-6
Olympian Eagles 1-3, 2-8
Bonita Vista Barons 0-4, 3-7
Metro South Bay League Standings
Hilltop Lancers 3-0, 9-1
Chula Vista Spartans 2-1, 2-8
Mar Vista Mariners 1-2, 3-7
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-3, 1-9
Metro-Pacific League Standings
Montgomery Aztecs 3-0, 9-1
Castle Park Trojans 2-1, 9-1
San Ysidro Cougars 1-2, 3-7
Southwest Raiders 0-3, 2-8
