Seven of the Metro Conference’s 13 teams now have at least one win through the opening two weeks of play in the 2023 high school football season after the Montgomery Aztecs and San Ysidro Cougars both earned their first victories last week.
Montgomery defeated visiting Escondido Charter, 12-3, while San Ysidro topped host Hoover, 17-8, in a pair of Thursday night affairs on Aug. 24.
Of the conference’s 13 teams, only the Southwest Raiders remain undefeated after easing past visiting Mountain Empire, 20-6, in another Thursday encounter.
On the flip side, six local teams remain winless to start the young season as the Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders, Eastlake Titans, Olympian Eagles, Otay Ranch Mustangs, Sweetwater Red Devils and Castle Park Trojans all fell to 0-2.
Mater Dei Catholic succumbed to No. 2-ranked Carlsbad, 48-14, in a nationally televised game on ESPN2 on Saturday while the Sweetwater Red Devils, Olympian Eagles and Castle Park Trojans all absorbed road lossses while the Eastlake Titans and Otay Ranch Mustangs both dropped their home openers.
The Santana Sultans rolled past Sweetwater, 34-8, while the Grossmont Foothillers doubled up Olympian by a score of 44-22. Both Santana and Grossmont improved to 2-0 on the young season.
The Red Devils, who travel to Bonita Vista on Friday, have been out-scored 82-22 in their two games to start the season.
Senior Xzavier Crews (12 carries, 108 yards) scored the lone SuHi touchdown in the loss to the streaking Sultans (2-0) while senior Izell Wright scored on a two-point conversion.
Star power
Senior Justice Pigee passed for two touchdowns and junior Jaylen Garcia tacked on a rushing score and receiving score to pace the Raiders to their second consecutive win. Southwest rushed for 196 yards, led by junior Conner Davis (12 carries, 102 yards). Junior Andrew Moreno (four catches, 40 yards) also caught a scoring pass.
Senior Jose Guadalupe had 17 carries for 140 yards and one touchdown to power the Montgomery offense while junior Raul Moreno had three interceptions to power the defense. Senior Mario Corrales also had two sacks.
“I’m excited for the rest of the year with this group of student athletes,” Aztec head coach Freddy Dunkle said.
San Ysidro received eight sacks by six players, including two by junior Preston Tygart, while sophomores Dario Garcia and Nathan Lintag each scored rushing touchdowns. Junior Jaziel Martinez tacked on five kicking points with a 27-yard field goal and two PAT conversions.
“We knew Hoover had excellent athleticism, so we had to make sure we tackled and swarmed as a defense,” SYHS head coach Keith Aguon said. “Offensively, we wanted to run the ball effectively and although it wasn’t perfect, we got the job done …”
Meanwhile, Bonita Vista, Hilltop, Chula Vista and Mar Vista all fell from the ranks of the undefeated.
Hilltop, which received 262 passing yards and two touchdowns from senior quarterback Isaac Nones, dropped to 1-1 following a 35-21 loss at Temescal Canyon.
Bonita Vista traveled to Hawaii for an out-of-region game that ended up 28-6 in favor of the host Kalani Falcons.
“Kalani played tough and they are off to one of their best starts in recent years (3-0),” BVHS head coach Tyler Arciaga said. “We had some trouble moving the ball and containing their quarterback. They did a nice job controlling the ball and the tempo of the game.
“As for the non-football items, it was a great trip. We were able to take the kids to the Pearl Harbor Museum along with boat tour to the USS Arizona. In addition, we took a train tour of the Dole Plantation, went to the North Shore and a luau at the Hale Koa Hotel. The kids had a great cultural experience with the Kalani players and parents after the game with catered dinner and a gift exchange called ‘Ochugen’ (Japanese gift exchanging).
“I hope the kids had a memorable experience as I did when coach Carl Parrick took my teams to Maui, Las Vegas and Tucson.
“We have to have a great week of practice this week. I know Sweetwater (0-2) will come ready to play and hungry for their first win of the season. Sweetwater always plays hard and with a lot of grit. We look forward to a great game with them this Friday, which will be our first Friday night game at BVH.”
Chula Vista was flattened, 49-0, by a marauding Mt. Miguel team while Mar Vista was run over by Valhalla senior Dominic Silva, who scored seven rushing touchdowns in the non-league match-up.
Mater Dei Catholic trailed 20-0 in the first quarter and the host Lancers tacked on 21 points in the second quarter. The Carlsbad defense bottled up Crusader running back Anthony McMillian and quarterback Kartell Purvis, especially in the first half.
Around South County
Eastlake tallied just 135 yards in total offense in absorbing its latest loss: 89 passing yards and 46 rushing yards. Junior Kingston Schaaf (eight carries, 15 yards) scored the Titans’ lone touchdown while senior Anthony Hinojosa recorded a two-point safety.
Seniors Christian Gerbella and Blake Schweer keyed the EHS defense with 12 tackles apiece while seniors Austin Michael and Mateo Zaldivar, along with Hinjosa and Schaaf, each recorded one sack.
Prep Football Scoreboard
Non-League Games
Thursday, Aug. 24
Grossmont 44, Olympian 22
Montgomery 12, Escondido Charter 3
Friday, Aug. 25
Southwest 20, Mountain Empire 6
San Ysidro 17, Hoover 8
Kalani (Hawaii) 28, Bonita Vista 6
Point Loma 42, Otay Ranch 6
Capistrano Valley 28, Eastlake 9
Mt. Miguel 49, Chula Vista 0
Calexico 42, Castle Park 13
Santana 34, Sweetwater 8
Temescal Canyon 35, Hilltop 21
Valhalla 48, Mar Vista 12
Saturday, Aug. 26
Carlsbad 48, Mater Dei Catholic 14
Flintridge Prep 56, Victory Christian Academy 14
