The Sweetwater Red Devils football team is CIF champions once more.
The Red Devils erased a long drought by winning the Division IV title in 2013, edging Monte Vista, 7-0, at Mesa College for the school’s first CIF title since 1984.
The National City school didn’t have to wait quite that long to win another title after recording a come-from-behind 46-37 win over top-seeded Vincent Memorial Catholic in last Friday’s Division V final at Escondido High School.
The second-seeded Devils (7-6) did what they have done best the second half of this season — run the ball over opponents and limit self-made mistakes.
Sweetwater trailed by scores of 7-0 and 21-14 in the first half before nosing out in front 26-21 through three quarters. The NC team out-scored Vincent Memorial 20-16 in the pivotal fourth quarter.
As a CIF champion, the Devils will advance to the Southern California regional playoffs.
“Down 21-14 at half we knew if we stuck to our game and believed we would be able to pull it off,” SuHI head coach Ervin Hernandez said. “We’ve been through so many challenges in the year starting off 0-4, last-second touchdown against Hilltop, that being down a touchdown was another bump on the road.
“Once our offense scored to start the half, I looked at our kicker Gio Aceves and he told me let’s go for the onside. Jameek Jackson did a good job swatting it from their hands and we recovered. That was a huge momentum changer in the game going up 26-21. We have some tough National City kids and they believed throughout the whole year. I am so proud of our boys and all the hard work our coaching staff put.
“Being part of the fifth CIF championship in our school history feels amazing. But the job’s not finished yet and our kids have been dialed in since we started playoffs. We’ve had great practices and I expect us to continue to do so for regionals and hopefully state.”
Sweetwater rushed for 433 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Xzavier Crews had 13 carries for 162 yards and three touchdowns while senior Izell Wright had 18 carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Carlos Delgado (12 carries, 105 yards) and junior Zaryan Crews (eight carries, 86 yards) each scored one touchdown.
The Red Devils did pass for 108 yards to generate a total of 541 offensive yards. Zaryan Crews completed three of five attempts for 72 yards while Xzavier Crews completed a 36-yard pass to sophomore Sean Carlos. Delgado had one reception for 44 yards while junior Israel Carreon had one catch for 18 yards. Xzavier Crews had one catch for 10 yards to finish the game with 208 total yards.
The SuHi defense recorded two fumble recoveries (one each by Zaryan Crews and senior Gilberto Sarabia) and three sacks (one each by Wright and senior Ricardo Mascardo III and a half-sack each by Delgado and junior Gabriel Lizarraga).
Aceves, a junior, had four extra-point conversions.
Star power
Second-seeded Chula Vista (10-2) will rematch with top-seeded Mt. Miguel (11-1) in Friday’s Division IV title game after slipping past third-seeded Westview (7-5) by a score of 11-8 in last Friday’s semifinals.
Sophomore Justin Yniesta scored the lone CV touchdown from junior QB Izaac Baca. The Spartans got a two-point defensive safety, then a 22-yard field goal from sophomore Carlos Echevarria to win it with six seconds left.
“I am so proud of this group of young men,” CVHS head coach Howard Bannister III said. “Making it to the championship, the first since 1998, is an amazing accomplishment. However, we aren’t satisfied. We want to win and that means finding a way to beat a team that we know, personally, just how talented they are. We have our hands full, no doubt, but we believe we are much improved from Week 2 of the season (a 49-0 loss) and are ready for the challenge.”
The Matadors have been ready for all-comers all season.
The Spring Valley team has had a target painted on its back the whole season, now it’s time for Mt. Miguel to forever silence any doubters.
The Matadors defeated fourth-seeded Santana, 37-6, in last Friday’s semifinals.
Mt. Miguel and Chula Vista met in the second game of the season, with the Matadors claiming a 49-0 non-league victory.
The Spartans are 9-1 since then, wanting to wash the bad taste of that loss from their mouths.
Mt. Miguel tied the school record for most wins in one season with 11 after eliminating the Sultans (5-7) in the semifinals.
Senior quarterback Matthew Barton completed 11 of 25 passing attempts for 171 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 82 yards and one touchdown.
The host Matadors, who led 17-0 at halftime and 31-0 through three quarters, scored four rushing touchdowns, including two by sophomore Parris Vernon (seven carries, 18 yards) and one by sophomore Zane Rottier (21 carries, 170 yards).
Junior Braylon Cardwell caught a 19-yard scoring pass while senior Johnny Castro had three catches for 53 yards. Vernon had three catches for 37 yards while senior Jeremiah Castillo had two catches for 35 yards. Rottier had two catches for 29 yards.
Mt. Miguel out-gained Santana 453-107 in total yards.
Barton led the Matadors with 255 all-purpose yards (82 rushing, 173 passing).
For the season, Barton has passed for 3,179 yards and 42 touchdowns in 12 games. Eight players have caught scoring passes this season, led by Castillo (56 catches, 1,072 yards) with 14 touchdowns.
Senior Alex Rico passed 63 yards to senior Michael Valenzuela for Santana’s lone touchdown in the game. Valenzuela led the Sultans with 100 all-purpose yards (63 receiving, 37 kick returns) while senior Trent Taylor collected 50 al-purpose yards (14 receiving, 36 kick returns).
Sophomore Jayden Goldman completed three of 15 passes for 20 yards with two interceptions. The Sultans rushed 17 times of just 24 yards in the game.
Santana amassed 114 yards in kick returns.
“We played well despite the conditions,” Mt. Miguel head coach Verlain Betofe said. “The rain limited our passing game, but we were still able to run the ball for close to 300 yards.
“Chula Vista is a good team that had a good year. It comes down to us. We just have to play our game. Our motto has just been us versus us. We just have to come out and play Mount Miguel football.”
