The Sweetwater High School football team came through with a gritty 13-0 homecoming win over visiting Mar Vista last Friday to kick off Metro-South Bay League play with a key victory. The Red Devils will attempt to remain undefeated in league play when they engage the Hilltop Lancers in a matchup of league unbeatens this Friday at Chula Vista High School.
Kick-off is 7 p.m.
Hilltop, 4-4 overall, 1-0 in league play, is coming off a 29-6 win over the host Chula Vista Spartans in last Friday’s Chula Vista Kiwanis Bowl.
Sweetwater improved to 1-7 overall (with six forfeit losses) following the win over the Mariners (0-1, 5-3). The winner of Friday’s Lancer-Red Devil contest clinches at least a share of the league championship.
“The defense came through in this one,” SuHi head coach Bryan Wagner referenced in regard to last Friday’s win.
Mar Vista entered the game riding the momentum of a four-game winning streak. The Mariners had provided local TV news crews with an ongoing string of offensive highlights. But the Devils stopped them in their tracks.
The first half appeared destined to end in a scoreless tie before Sweetwater quarterback Brandon Sweeney connected with Raul Romero on a 35-yard fourth-down pass to place the ball at the Mar Vista four-yard line with less than a minute to play in the half.
Marty Sesma moved the ball two yards closer to the goal line and then took the ball into the end zone on his next carry with 31 seconds to play.
The Red Devils nursed their 7-0 lead into the fourth quarter when their defense sealed the win on a 71-yard scoop-and-score fumble recovery by Carlos Alvarez.
Joey Motta ended the contest 13-0 in SuHi’s favor with an interception in the closing moments of the contest.
Sesma rushed for 65 yards on 27 carries while Sweeney completed eight of 11 passing attempts for 138 yards.
Sesma has rushed for 1,062 yards and 11 touchdowns in five games.
Mar Vista was hindered in the game with key injuries to quarterback Jacob Beck and wide receiver De’von Peterson, both of whom were sidelined in the game.
Beck is out for the season with a broken finger on his throwing hand; Peterson (576 receiving yards, five touchdowns) is expected to miss Friday’s key Metro-South Bay League matchup against visiting Chula Vista.
Beck, who had thrown for 1,218 with nine touchdowns in seven games, set a Mar Vista passing record this season.
“I feel really bad for Beck because it’s his senior year and he will probably never put on a helmet/shoulder pads ever again,” MVHS head coach Tyler Arciaga said. “It’s sad when has to go out like that — similar to our running back Kyle Denney, who broke his leg in Week 1.
“We were a little off for the first three series. After that, our quarterback and our top wide receiver were both knocked out of the game.
“From there, we had trouble finding consistency. Our defense played really well. We only gave up one big play toward the end of the first half. Our defense has played well all year and it’s a shame that we couldn’t find a way to pull it out when we only gave up seven points (on defense). Hopefully this week’s practice will help us find an offensive rhythm.”
San Ysidro, Montgomery each go one-up in Metro-Pacific League banner chase
Defending Metro-Pacific League champion San Ysidro ended a four-game losing streak on the field with a key 35-6 victory last Friday at Castle Park.
“We had a good week of practice that went well,” SYHS head coach Robert Hatchett said. “Our motto is we play how we practice; the bye week helped us regroup. We then had a good week of practice. That showed up on the field.”
Alejandro Bonneau and Jeremiah Martinez each scored two rushing touchdowns to lead the Cougars (4-4 overall with one forfeit loss and one forfeit win). Quarterback Junior Bueno completed a 20-yard passing touchdown to freshman Jesse Hernandez.
Kristian Macias had one interception while Sebastian Medina was credited with two sacks and two tipped passes.
A 25-yard touchdown pass from Eleazar Cruz to Joel Torres enabled Castle Park to narrow the score to 14-6 in the third quarter but San Ysidro pulled away with two touchdowns — one each by Bonneau and Martinez — to lead 28-6.
The Trojans fell to 0-1 in league play, 0-8 on the season.
Montgomery won its third consecutive game by defeating visiting Southwest, 14-7, to start Metro-Pacific League play 1-0.
Leonard Hoar scored to give the Raiders an early 7-0 lead but the Aztecs responded with two touchdowns to secure the win.
Samson You scored on a four-yard run and the hosts completed a successful two-point conversion to take an 8-7 lead.
Hunter Joseph (181 rushing yards) scored on a 27-yard run to seal the victory for the Aztecs, who improved to 5-3 overall.
Southwest is 0-1 in league, 2-6 on the season.
Montgomery will host Castle Park in Friday’s Warrior Bowl rivalry game while and San Ysidro visits Southwest. The Aztecs and Cougars will meet in the final regular season game, possibly to decide which team wins this year’s league title.
Hatchett said his team is taking nothing for granted in defense of its league title. At stake in Friday’s rivalry game is bragging rights to the Golden Shovel.
“Southwest will be a formidable opponent,” Hatchett said. “We have a lot of respect for them. They are a much better team than their record indicates. We will have to earn a win against them; they’re not going to hand the game to us.”
