Metro-Mesa League and Metro-South Bay League play starts this week for local high school football teams full of implications as to which teams will claim this year’s league banner.
But playoff implications may have even been even more acute in the Oct. 5 Thursday night contest between the host Olympian Eagles and Bonita Vista Barons.
Both teams are vying for one of the final available berths in the San Diego Section Division IV tier. The Barons enter this week ranked eighth while the Eagles are ranked 10th among the 16 teams.
Twelve teams will be seeded in the division for the upcoming playoffs.
Bonita Vista pulled out a 23-14 victory to improve to 5-2 overall with three Metro-Mesa League games remaining on its schedule’ Olympian dropped to 3-4 with three Metro-South Bay League games looming ahead on its regular season schedule.
“Even though it wasn’t a league game, this game had big implications,” BVHS head coach Tyler Arciaga explained. “Olympian is a Division IV team and is ranked right near us in the Cal Preps rankings — the ranking system that will be used to determine playoff seedings. It is also a neighboring school where players have gone to school together or played on the same sports teams in the past.
“Our defense came up huge this game. We had two interceptions returned for touchdowns — one by senior defensive back Aiden Cram and the other by senior linebacker Nate Sandoval. The defense held Olympian to two touchdowns and had a crucial red-zone stop at the end of the game.
“Our offense struggled a bit but found a way to score a late touchdown — a 28-yard reception by senior receiver Julian Cota from junior quarterback Isayah Luna — that made it a two-possession game.
“We start league play this week with a tough matchup against Mater Dei Catholic. They have played some tough teams this year and have some great athletes and ball players.”
The Baron escaped with the key win with minimal offensive yardage – 68 passing and 57 rushing. Luna completed seven of 12 passing attempts for 42 yards with one touchdown while senior Caden Ada-Tannehill rushed 16 times for 72 yards.
Senior Julian Ramirez led the team’s receivers with four catches for 43 yards. Cota had two catches for 34 yards.
Bonita Vista generated 125 yards in total offense compared to 269 for Olympian.
Junior Richie Rojas collected five kicking points for the Barons with two of three PAT conversions and one of three field goal attempts (29 yards).
Sophomore quarterback Jayden Fuentes passed for 166 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for the hosts while senior Coby Dunn rushed for 83 yards on nine carries with one touchdown. Senior A.J. Cadriel had five catches for 69 yards with one score.
The Eagles defense was active with five sacks — two each by senior Tristan Anderson and senior Ezra Herrera.
Extra points
Metro-Mesa League play includes Bonita Vista, Eastlake, Mater Dei Catholic and Otay Ranch. Metro-South Bay League includes Hilltop, Montgomery, Olympian and Sweetwater.
Interestingly, all four Mesa League teams picked up wins last week against Metro-South Bay League teams.
In addition to Bonita Vista’s win over Olympian, Eastlake (2-5) topped visiting Hilltop (3-4) by a 32-0 shutout. Mater Dei Catholic (3-3) celebrated homecoming with a 42-3 victory against visiting Montgomery (3-4) while Otay Ranch (2-5) subdued host Sweetwater (2-5) by a score of 23-17.
The Oct. 5 non-league win marked the second consecutive win for Eastlake after a 0-5 start. The host Titans out-gained the Lancers 373-143 in total yards with two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, one touchdown on a fumble recovery and two defensive safeties.
Senior Blake Schweer (one catch, 10 yards; 10 tackles, one sack), sophomore Isaiah Rodriguez (two catches, 38 yards), junior Kingston Schaaf (15-yard fumble return; one sack) and junior William Schmitz (134 carries, 94 yards) each scored touchdowns while senior Marco Gonzalez tacked on four kicking points. Juniors Nate Rodriguez and Tyler Rierson each recorded two-point safeties.
Sophomore Tyler Balko (114 passing yards) and junior Sawyer Bray (51 passing yards) each threw scoring passes.
The Lancers, who saw their two-game winning streak end, fell to 3-4 on the season.
Mater Dei Catholic pounced on Montgomery for a 28-0 halftime lead on the strength of three rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown to even its overall record at 3-3 with its third consecutive non-league win. The visiting Aztecs (3-4) saw their modest two-game winning streak also end.
The Crusaders scored two touchdowns in each of the opening three quarters while Montgomery’s points came on a fourth-quarter field goal.
Bonita Vista was scheduled to host Mater Dei Catholic on Thursday while Eastlake hosts Otay Ranch on Friday.
In South Bay League openers, Hilltop hosts Olympian on Friday while Sweetwater was scheduled to host defending league champion Montgomery on Thursday.
Otay Ranch 23, SuHi 17
Senior transfer Shawn Pomatto threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns – both to junior Johnnie Welborne (two catches, 77 yards; long of 61 yards) to key the visiting Mustangs (2-5). Senior Oluwatolani Osinforlarin rushed 12 times for 62 yards to lead Otay Ranch on the ground.
Pomatto found several receivers with long-range connections. Senior Issac Lopez had one catch for 40 yards while senior Zahn Padilla hauled in one pass for 33 yards.
Sophomore David Smith keyed the Mustangs with 14 tackles while junior Diego Martinez had 13 defensive stops. Senior Ricardo Aguilar had 10 tackles. Aguilar also turned in one sack along with senior Joshua Jr. Daffron and junior Joseph Brinkman.
Senior Jamir Coleman had one interception return for a touchdown. Junior Alejandro Farias also split the uprights on a 34-yard field goal while tacking on two PAT conversions.
Sweetwater (2-5) received rushing touchdowns from junior Zaryan Crews (12 carries, 55 yards) and senior Carlos Delgado (seven carries, 31 yards). Senior Xzavier Crews rushed 11 times for 100 yards as the host Red Devils racked up 296 rushing yards.
Delgado caught the only completed pass of the game for Sweetwater for six yards while leading the team with 10 tackles on defense. Zaryan Crews averaged 48.5 yards on two punts.
With thick fog covering the field, most of the scoring action took place in the second half.
Delgado’s 14-yard scoring run put the hosts up 10-7 for their first lead of the game but Pomatto found Welborne in the corner of the end zone at the opposite end of the field to put the visitors ahead 14-10.
Moving to the fourth quarter, Zaryan Crews’ fourth-down plunge into the end zone allowed the Devils to regain the lead at 17-14. Welborne later scored the game-winner on a 61-yard catch-and-carry.
Battle for the Bell
Mar Vista (2-5) defeated Southwest (5-3) by a 36-29 score in the teams’ annual Battle for the Bell rivalry game on Thursday, Oct. 5.
Scoring went back-and-forth, though in chunks. Southwest senior quarterback Justice Pigee scored a 15-yard rushing touchdown to stake the hosts to an early 6-0 lead. The Mariners countered with a one-yard rushing touchdown and two-point conversion to take an 8-6 lead.
Mar Vista then scored on a fumble recovery and took a 15-6 lead on a successful extra-point kick. The Mariners then completed a 67-yard passing touchdown to go in front 21-6.
The Raiders began a comeback in the third quarter as senior Sonny Romero scored on a one-yard touchdown run and then rushed for a two-point conversion to make the score 21-14. Southwest then took a 22-20 lead on a nine-yard rushing touchdown by Pigee and another successful two-point conversion by Romero.
But it didn’t take long for the visitors to strike back on a 96-yard kickoff return and two-point conversion to take a 29-22 lead.
The Raiders promptly drove the ball to the Mar Vista five-yard line but turned the ball over on downs. The Mariners responded with an 85-yard rushing touchdown. The PAT made the score 36-22 with one minute remaining in regulation play.
With less than a minute left on the score clock, Pigee completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to senior Favio Huerta. The PAT conversion pulled the Raiders to within seven points on the scoreboard.
Mar Vista received the ensuing kickoff on its own 30-yard line and the exciting finish finally came to an end.
Both teams are 1-1 in league play.
Castle Park evened its Metro-Pacific League record at 1-1 after topping visiting San Ysidro, 22-8, last Friday. The host Trojans stymied the Cougars with three interceptions in an otherwise tight game on the scoreboard. Castle Park led, 6-0, at halftime and 14-0 entering the final quarter.
Sophomore quarterback Dario Garcia scored San Ysidro’s lone touchdown and added a two-point rushing conversion. The Cougars dropped to 0-2 in league play, 1-7 overall.
Metro Conference Football Standings
Metro-Mesa League
League/Overall
Bonita Vista 0-0, 5-2
Mater Dei Catholic 0-0, 3-3
Eastlake 0-0, 2-5
Otay Ranch 0-0, 2-5
Metro-South Bay League
League/Overall
Hilltop 0-0, 3-4
Montgomery 0-0, 3-4
Olympian 0-0, 3-4
Sweetwater 0-0, 2-5
Metro-Pacific League
League/Overall
Chula Vista 1-0, 5-2
Castle Park 1-0, 3-4
Southwest 1-1, 5-3
Mar Vista 1-1, 2-5
San Ysidro 0-2, 1-7
San Diego Section Football Rankings
(Through Oct. 7)
Division I: 1, Lincoln (8-0), 2, Carlsbad (7-0), 3. Helix (7-0), 4. Granite Hills (7-0), 5. Mission Hills (3-3), 6. Torrey Pines (5-2), 7. El Camino (5-2), 8. La Costa Canyon (5-2), 9. Cathedral Catholic (2-6), 10. St. Augustine (4-3), 11. Madison (3-4), 12. Mater Dei Catholic (3-3), 13. Ramona (4-2), 14. San Marcos (5-2), 15. Poway (3-4), 16. Mira Mesa (2-5)
Division II: 1. Del Norte (6-1), 2. La Jolla (5-2), 3. Rancho Bernardo (3-4), 4. Scripps Ranch (5-2), 5. Oceanside (5-3), 6. Central Union (6-2), 7. Pt. Loma (4-4), 8. Eastlake (2-5), 9. Bishop’s (4-3), 10. Mt. Carmel (3-4), 11. Brawley (6-1), 12. Steele Canyon (4-3), 13. Christian (4-4), 14. San Pasqual (3-4), 15. University City (0-7), 16. Rancho Buena Vista (0-7)
Division III: 1. Mission Bay (6-1), 2. La Jolla Country Day (5-2), 3. West Hills (4-3), 4. Fallbrook (3-4), 5. Santa Fe Christian (4-4), 6. Imperial (6-1), 7. Patrick Henry (3-4), 8. El Capitan (5-3), 9. Morse (4-3), 10. Grossmont (4-3), 11. Valley Center (3-5), 12. Otay Ranch (2-5), 13. Montgomery (3-4), 14. Palo Verde Valley (3-5), 15. San Diego (1-6), 16. Vista (0-7)
Division IV: 1. Mt. Miguel (6-1), 2. Santana (4-3), 3. Westview (4-3), 4. Chula Vista (5-2), 5. Crawford (4-2), 6. Escondido Charter (3-4), 7. Escondido (2-5), 8. Bonita Vista (5-2), 9. Calexico (4-3), 10. Olympian (3-4), 11. Coronado (3-4), 12. Hilltop (3-4), 13. Orange Glen (3-4), 14. Francis Parker (1-6), 15. Classical Academy (2-6), 16. Canyon Hills (0-7)
Division V: 1. Vincent Memorial (5-2), 2. Sweetwater (2-5), 3. El Cajon Valley (4-3), 4. Valhalla (2-6), 5. Hoover (4-3), 6. Southwest El Centro (2-5), 7. Kearny (5-2), 8. Monte Vista (2-6), 9. Clairemont (4-4), 10. Castle Park (3-3), 11. Mar Vista (2-50, 12. Southwest (5-3), 13. San Ysidro (1-7)
Division V-AA: 1. Holtville (4-2), 2. Army-Navy Academy (5-2), 3. Tri-City Christian (6-1), 4. Rock Academy (2-4), 5. Maranatha Christian (3-4), 6. Calipatria (3-4), 7. Mountain Empire (1-7), 8. O’Farrell Charter (0-7)
