The Sweetwater Red Devils and Chula Vista Spartans will meet for the 69th time Friday, Sept. 18, in what remains San Diego County’s longest continuously played football rivalry game. The action kicks off at 7 p.m. at Chula Vista High School.
Sweetwater leads the series 37-28-3, though the Spartans had won 10 of the previous 11 meetings before last year’s 17-7 SuHi victory ended a decade of frustration.
The Red Devils will be under new head coach Wesley Charles after the sudden resignation earlier this week of Brian Hay, who had led SuHi’s fortunes for the past three seasons while compiling a 19-8 record, including a San Diego Section Division IV championship two years ago.
Hay cited health reasons for his resignation.
Both teams are coming off losses last week. Chula Vista dropped a 35-33 decision to visiting Hilltop in the teams’ 14th annual Chula Vista Kiwanis Bowl match-up while Sweetwater dropped a 26-13 non-league decision to visiting Mission Bay.
Both the Red Devils and Spartans are 0-3 on the season.
Last Friday’s Kiwanis Bowl game may have been the most competitive in the series’ history. Chula Vista scored first to lead 6-0 but the Lancers came back to take a 7-6 lead.
Lead changes were the order of the day as the hosts stormed back to lead 20-7. Hilltop then scored three unanswered touchdowns to take a 28-20 lead. A Spartan TD and missed two-point conversion left Chula Vista clinging to a 26-20 lead with 8:21 left in the fourth quarter.
But the Lancers scored again to retake the lead at 35-26. Chula Vista countered with a late touchdown, with just 2:39 left on the clock, to trim the Hilltop lead to 35-33.
The hosts got the ball back one last time, starting at their own 20-yard line with 36 seconds to play. The game ended as Spartan quarterback Emiliano Orozco was tackled for a loss as time expired.
Adrian Corona led Chula Vista with three touchdowns while Sergio Figueroa and Orozco each scored one.
“It was a helluva good game,” Corona said. “Their team put up a good fight; we kept up the intensity. We were pumped up.”
Corona, who has scored five touchdowns to lead Chula Vista, was voted the Spartans’ Offensive Most Valuable Player in the Kiwanis Bowl game.
“This means a lot to me because it’s my first varsity season,” Corona said. “Hopefully, we’ll win our next game and I’ll get more than three touchdowns. It’s a new goal. We still have our heads up.”
Orozco was named Chula Vista’s Defensive MVP of last Friday’s rivalry game.
Sweetwater, which is going through a rebuilding year after winning back-to-back league titles, is averaging 159 rushing yards per game. Francisco Velazquez leads the Red Devils with 30 carries for 166 yards and one touchdown on the season.
Sweetwater has scored just two touchdowns in three games, losing two games by shutout margins. Moses Harvey-Ignot (10 carries, 68 yards0 has the team’s other TD. SuHi quarterbacks have completed just two of 17 passing attempts for 24 yards.
Velazquez leads the Devils with 476 all-purpose yards.
Rock Espinoza and Jakari Lowe lead the team with 19 tackles apiece, with Lowe making 17 unassisted tackles. Trevor Talbert has one interception while Joel Ojeda has one sack. David Hernandez and Espinoza each have made one fumble recovery.
Despite last Friday’s win by Hilltop, Chula Vista continues to lead the Kiwanis Bowl series 10-4.
Receiver Luis Hernandez earned honors as the Lancers’ offensive MVP while Domonic Esparza was named Hilltop’s defensive MVP.
Hernandez had eight catches for 178 yards while Esparza made nine tackles and had one pass deflection.
Hilltop quarterback Alex Tejeda completed 14 of 22 passing attempts for 255 yards and a 103.4 quarterback-rating. Dylan Trenga had three catches for 34 yards.
Despite the Lancers’ prolific aerial barrage, all five Hilltop touchdowns were scored on the ground. Tejeda (seven rushes, 30 yards) took in two keepers while Marcus Valdez, (11 rushes, 90 yards), Michael Gomez (seven rushes, 27 yards) and Noe Sanchez (four rushes, 16 yards) each were credited with one touchdown.
Valdez scored on a 39-yard breakaway run to score what proved to be Hilltop’s game-winning touchdown with 6:27 left in the game.
The Lancers (2-1) racked up 495 all-purpose yards in the victory.
Hilltop’s defense was quite active in the game. Michael Gomez led the Lancers with 10 tackles, followed by Esparza and David Corona. Corona and Andrew Rivera each recorded sacks while Armando Holahan blocked a Spartan field goal attempt.
Emilio Ugarte, who had one pass deflection in the game on defense, was successful on all five extra-point conversions.
“Each team had an answer, it was back-and-forth,” Hilltop head coach Cody Roelof said in reference to his team’s win at Chula Vista. “It keep teeter-totting. We had the lead at the end but they came back. It was very competitive.”
Hernandez, who was out the Lancers’ opening two games, was a key factor in his return. Tejeda was also making a return after missing the game against Patrick Henry on Sept. 4 with an injury.
For the season, Tejeda has thrown for 299 yards while Valdez has moved into the team rushing lead with 146 yards. Esparza leads the team with 23 tackles in three games while Edi Sanchez has three of his team’s nine sacks on the season.
Hilltop hosts undefeated Grossmont (2-0) on Friday, Sept. 18. The Foothillers have racked up some impressive offensive numbers in defeating Morse (34-15 on Aug. 28) and Otay Ranch (28-27 on Sept. 4).
“We haven’t been healthy, so it was nice to be healthy,” Roelof explained. “But we need to improve.”
The Chula Vista Kiwanis Club presented a $1,000 check to Hilltop for winning last Friday’s game and a $500 check to the runner-up Spartans.
2015 Prep Football
Week 3 Scoreboard
Friday, Sept. 11
Hilltop 35, Chula Vista 33
Castle Park 41, Santana 38
Olympian 26, Morse 6
Otay Ranch 28, Mt. Miguel 0
Mater Dei Catholic 49, Francis Parker 27
Madison 29, Bonita Vista 28
Helix 56, Eastlake 7
Clairemont 27, Montgomery 26 (OT)
Orange Glen 32, San Ysidro 13
Mission Bay 26, Sweetwater 13
Xochicalco (Tijuana) 14, Southwest 6
Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 46, San Pasqual Academy 28
Rock Academy 35, Ocean View Christian Academy 8
Week 4 Schedule
Friday, Sept. 18
Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy at Ocean View Christian Academy, 3:30 p.m.
Bonita Vista at Scripps Ranch, 6:30 p.m.
San Ysidro at University City, 6:30 p.m.
Sweetwater at Chula Vista, 7 p.m.
Grossmont at Hilltop, 7 p.m.
Madison at Eastlake, 7 p.m.
St. Augustine at Otay Ranch, 7 p.m.
Vincent Memorial at Southwest, 7 p.m.
Olympian at Lincoln, 7 p.m.
Mar Vista at Valhalla, 7 p.m.
Montgomery at Santana, 7 p.m.
Castle Park at Capistrano Valley, 7 p.m.
Lutheran vs. Calipatria at Monte Vista High School, 7 p.m.
San Diego Section Football Rankings
SD Sportswriters/Sportscasters Poll
(Through Sept. 12)
- Mission Hills Grizzlies (3-0)
- Helix Highlanders (1-1)
- St. Augustine Saints (2-1)
- Rancho Bernardo Broncos (3-0)
- Oceanside Pirates (2-1)
- Madison Warhawks (2-1)
- El Camino Wildcats (3-0)
- Cathedral Catholic (1-2)
- Christian Patriots (2-1)
- La Costa Canyon (2-1)
Other teams: San Marcos Knights (2-1), Bonita Vista Barons (2-1), Eastlake Titans (1-2), Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders (3-0), Point Loma Pointers (2-1), Westview Wolverines (3-0), Bishop’s Knights (3-0), Grossmont Foothillers (3-0), Mission Bay Buccaneers (3-0), Poway (2-1)
South County Prep Football
2015 Playoff Ticker
Division I
Olympian 2-1
Eastlake 1-2
Division II
Otay Ranch 2-1
Division III
Bonita Vista 2-1
Hilltop 2-1
Chula Vista 0-3
Sweetwater 0-3
Division IV
Mar Vista 3-0
Mater Dei Catholic 3-0
Castle Park 1-1
Montgomery 0-3
San Ysidro 0-3
Southwest 0-3
Division V
Lutheran 1-1
Eight-Man
Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 3-0
Ocean View Christian Academy 1-1
