The Chula Vista Spartans finally have a level playing field to contend with after evening their overall record at 2-2 following last Friday’s key 34-14 South Bay League victory at San Ysidro High School.
The Spartans improved to 2-0 in league while the host Cougars dropped to 1-1 in league play in an early season matchup of league unbeatens.
It’s taken a while for Chula Vista to right itself from a disappointing 0-2 start to the current high school football season.
“The team is beginning to believe and is building momentum,” CVHS head coach Howard Bannister III said. “It was a great night on both sides of the ball. We are now 2-0 in league. 2-2 on the season.”
The Spartans piled up 370 total yards in offense — 260 rushing and 110 passing.
Senior Anthony Venegas rushed for 131 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns while junior quarterback Jacob Pedroza completed two touchdowns to junior Geo Aguirre (three catches, 46 yards).
Pedroza did not play in the team’s season opener. He completed eight of 15 passing attempts for 110 yards at San Ysidro.
Venegas ripped off one run of 33 yards.
Defensively, senior linebacker Raymond Cruz led the way with 10 tackles. Junior defensive end Matthew Robertson had nine tackles, one sack and two passes batted down at critical points in the game, according to Bannister.
Junior Angel Zuniga had one fumble recovery while also recording six tackles. On offense, he had two catches for 46 yards.
Junior Giovanni Barrios had 12 carries for 67 yards while junior Octavio Ramirez had 12 carries for 58 yards.
Chula Vista accumulated 370 yards in total offense while San Ysidro totaled 341 yards in offense. However, the Spartans held the Cougars out of the endzone at key moments.
“Chula Vista came in and killed us on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” San Ysidro coach Keith Aguon said. “We had players out in all three phases (injury, suspensions) but that doesn’t take away what CV did. Two 17-play scoring drives by them says a lot about their execution and coaching. Our hats off to coach Bannister and his team.”
Top performers for San Ysidro included sophomore Juan Castro with three catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns and junior quarterback Ja’Marcus Jiles with 155 passing yards and two touchdowns and 65 rushing yards on seven carries. Senior Marcus Jaime had 74 total yards – 56 rushing and 18 receiving.
Senior Sal Samano paced the Cougars with 17 tackles, including 12 solo hits.
Chula Vista continues league play this Friday at winless Castle Park (0-2 in league, 0-6 overall) while San Ysidro visits Sweetwater, which will play its first league game this season. The Red Devils recorded their first win of the season, 20-19, at Canyon Hills last Friday.
At the midpoint of the season, Bannister said there were several statistical notes worth mentioning.
•In three games Pedroza had passed for 318 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.
•The Spartans had rushed for 607 yards as a team.
• Venegas had rushed for 309 yards on 56 carries.
• Barrios, in two games, had rushed for 121 yards on 24 carries.
•Leading receivers included sophomore Jacob Davidson (158 yards, two touchdowns) and Aguirre (122 yards, two touchdowns).
On defense, Cruz is averaging 9.8 tackles per game and has 1.5 sacks while Robertson is averaging 6.3 tackles per game and has four sacks.
Other tackles per game leaders include junior linebacker Andres Moreno (4.7); sophomore strong safety Nathan Houck (4.5), senior defensive tackle Saul Garcia-Contreras (4.3) and junior safety Luis Lopez (4.0).
Red Devils sting Rattlers, score first win of season
The Sweetwater High School football team has been logging gridiron time since the summer seven-on-seven conditioning engagements but has yet to play a South Bay League game. That all changes this Friday when the Red Devils host the San Ysidro Cougars, who have already played two league games.
Kick-off is 6:30 p.m.
Sweetwater will take the field on Senior Night fresh off its first win of the season after defeating the host Canyon Hills Rattlers, 20-19, in the final minute of play.
The Devils had been close to picking up a win in their previous three games — all non-league losses. Sweetwater kicked off the season with a 37-14 loss at Grossmont on Aug. 20 but was in position to win its next two games in what turned out to be narrow defeats at Coronado (13-7 on Aug. 27) and at home to Santana (28-21 on Sept. 10).
Sweetwater (1-3) has had two games cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.
The team made its return to the gridiron a triumphant one last Friday.
“It was a great team win and I feel we’re starting to come together as a team,” SuHi head coach Ervin Hernandez said. “With tough losses to Coronado and Santana, we talked as a team how we can get better and not worry about the opposition.
“Our kids believed and trusted the process. They’re bought into winning the day as a team and focus on what we can control which is our attitude and effort. We’re looking forward to league and seeing how we can continue to grow as a team.”
Fabian Venegas scored two touchdowns — the first on a 25-yard run up the middle to allow the visitors to tie the game 7-7.
The Rattlers (1-4) led by scores of 13-7 and 19-13 before Venegas scored on a six-yard run late in the game.
Venegas rushed for 138 yards on 13 carries while quarterback Nick Jenkins (eight carries, nine yards) scored the team’s other touchdown.
The Devils racked up 286 rushing yards in the win. Javier Sanchez (six carries, 59 yards), Xzavier Crews (five carries, 23 yards) and Carlos Hopper (five carries, 57 yards) also contributed.
Sweetwater is scheduled to play five league games. Following Friday’s matchup against San Ysidro, the Devils are set to travel to Montgomery on Oct. 8, host Chula Vista on Oct. 15 in the teams’ annual Legacy of Pride rivalry game, play at Mar Vista on Oct. 22 and close regular season play at Castle Park on Oct. 29.
Should they qualify, the CIF playoffs follow in November.
