Hilltop High School head football coach Drew Westling had hoped last Friday’s non-league game against Bonita Vista at Southwestern College would be his team’s breakout game of the season.
When place-kicker David Delgado split the uprights on a 32-yard field goal with 1:16 remaining in the fourth quarter to stake the Lancers to a 23-22 lead, players on the Hilltop sideline were indeed jumping for joy.
But the celebration was short-lived when Bonita Vista’s Roland Cota returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for what proved to the winning points in a turnabout 29-23 win for the Barons, who picked up their second consecutive win after ending a 16-game losing streak.
The touchdown was the fourth of the game for Cota, whose clutch plays in the second half whipped the large homecoming crowd into a state of frenzy.
Bonita Vista forced the dramatic ending with 29 second-half points after trailing 13-0 early in the third quarter.
Amazingly, the Barons ignited their second-half rally without the services of standout sophomore running back Saiyvionn Williams, who was kept off the field due to safety reasons after experiencing a helmet-to-helmet hit in the first half after carrying the ball 13 times for 105 yards.
“We just knew we could find a way,” said Cota, who scored two touchdowns on pass receptions, one on a rushing play and scored the game-winning kickoff return. “We knew we were still in the game. Things went our way.
“It was next man up.”
“We played with great spirit,” BV head coach Sam Kirkland acknowledged. “Some guys went down; some guys stepped up.”
Jeremiah Serrano (12 carries, 62 yards) scored on a two-yard run for the first touchdown of the game with 45.2 seconds remaining in the first quarter. A third-and-25 pass from quarterback Joey Castillo to Dylan McCoy set up the play.
Delgado kicked a 35-yard field goal — the first of his three treys on the night — 5:53 before the halftime intermission to give Hilltop a 10-0 lead. The Lancers made it 13-0 on Delgado’s 29-yard boot early in the third quarter after the visitors had recovered a fumble on a punt return.
But the feeling on the home sideline was not one of panic. The Barons had two balls just miss being snagged in the end zone for touchdowns in the first half and also had a kick return for an apparent touchdown called back due to a penalty.
The hosts began their comeback on a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kevin Rozar (193 passing yards, two touchdowns) to Cota with 5:44 to play in the third quarter. Christian Tapia’s extra-point conversion trimmed the Hilltop lead to 13-7.
Cota (five receptions, 130 yards) caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Rozar less than two minutes later, and a successful two-point conversion run by Bobby Cosio put the Barons in front 15-13.
Cota scored on a 29-yard run with 6:57 left in the fourth quarter to widen the lead to 22-13.
But the Lancers, who had been outscored 89-12 in two previous non-league setbacks, bounced back to score the next 10 points in the game to go in front by a point.
Castillo scored on a quarterback sneak with 5:10 remaining on the clock to pull Hilltop to within two points on the scoreboard at 22-20.
A key fourth-down conversion kept the ensuing drive going that resulted in Delgado’s go-ahead field goal.
But there was still hope.
“I was thinking I had to take it back,” Cota said of his kick return. “As soon as I got through that opening, I knew I was in the clear. It was really the most exciting feeling in my football career.”
Despite going up by six points with 56.7 seconds left in the game, Hilltop still had time to march down the field in a bid to add a mean twist to the dramatic ending.
The Lancers advanced the ball at the BV 43-yard line with 16 seconds remaining. Castillo had time to fire three passes, the first two of which fell incomplete.
Castillo’s final pass came with 4.5 ticks left on the clock. Serrano made the grab and dodged a pair of Barons while heading for the end zone. He got to the 10-yard line before finally being tackled out of bounds to end the game on an adrenaline-fueled rush.
“The second half our guys did a heck of a job,” emphasized Kirkland, whose team piled up 359 total yards in the victory. “I’m proud of them.”
The loss was the third consecutive for Hilltop (1-5), which plays a non-league game at Mountain Empire (3-2) this Friday in a bid to finally get back in the win column.
Castillo passed for 344 yards in the loss while Marcos Deanda had 10 catches for 109 yards.
“Our guys played their butts off; I’m proud of them,” said Westling, whose team racked up 428 offensive yards in the setback. “It’s a shame either team had to lose a great game like this.”
Bonita Vista hosts Mater Dei Catholic this Friday as Metro-Mesa League play kicks off. Both teams are 2-4 on the season.
Photo gallery by Phillip Brents
Prep Football Scoreboard
Friday, Sept. 21
Non-League
Bonita Vista 29, Hilltop 23
Eastlake 46, El Camino 31
Otay Ranch 37, Valhalla 0
Mar Vista 27, Santana 13
Southwest 34, Clairemont 6
Crawford 27, Castle Park 21 (OT)
Morse 49, Chula Vista 14
Cathedral Catholic 36, Olympian 6
Oceanside 56, Mater Dei Catholic 0
Francis Parker 42, San Ysidro 7
Friday, Sept. 28
Metro-Mesa League
Mater Dei Catholic vs. Bonita Vista at Southwestern College, 7 p.m.
Otay Ranch at Olympian, 7 p.m.
Non-League
Hilltop at Mountain Empire, 6:30 p.m.
San Ysidro at Sweetwater, 7 p.m.
Vincent Memorial at Montgomery, 7 p.m.
Monte Vista at Chula Vista, 7 p.m.
Southwest at Holtville, 7 p.m.
Eight-Man
Friday, Sept. 21
Victory Christian Academy 44, Ocean View Christian Academy 0
Friday, Sept. 28
Victory Christian Academy at Borrego Springs, 7 p.m.
Calvary Christian Academy at Foothills Christian (Junior Seau Field), 7 p.m.
MaxPrep/Top 10 Rankings
Division I: 1. La Costa Canyon (5-0), 2. Cathedral Catholic (4-1), 3. Torrey Pines (5-0), 4. Helix (2-3), 5. Eastlake (5-1), 6. St. Augustine (4-1), 7. Mission Hills (2-3), 8. Madison (4-1), 9. Carlsbad (3-2), 10. Steele Canyon (4-1). Others: 14. Otay Ranch (3-3)
Division II: 1. Vista (4-1), 2. Point Loma (3-2), 3. Granite Hills (5-0), 4. Ramona (3-2), 5. Lincoln (5-0), 6. Poway (4-2), 7. Valley Center (3-2), 8. Mira Mesa (4-1), 9. San Pasqual (3-2), 10. Bishop’s (2-3). Others: 11. Olympian (1-5), 12. Bonita Vista (2-4), 13. Mater Dei Catholic (2-4)
Division III: 1. Christian (5-0), 2. Monte Vista (4-1), 3, Central Union (5-0), 4. Brawley (4-1), 5. Santa Fe Christian (3-2), 6. Morse (3-2), 7. University City (4-1), 8. El Capitan (2-3), 9. Imperial (3-2), 10. West Hills (4-1). Others: Hilltop (1-5)
Division IV: 1. Kearny (5-0), 2. San Diego (2-2), 3. Mar Vista (4-2), 4. Del Norte (4-2), 5. Santana (4-2), 6. Serra (2-3), 7. Chula Vista (2-4), 8. Classical Academy (4-1), 9. Coronado (4-1), 10. Calexico (3-2). Others: 12. Sweetwater (1-4), 14. Montgomery (2-3)
Division V: 1. Francis Parker (6-0), 2. Vincent Memorial (4-1), 3. Holtville (4-1), 4. Tri-City Christian (4-1), 5. Palo Verde Valley (3-2), 6. Orange Glen (4-1), 7. Maranatha Christian (3-3), 8. Mountain Empire (3-2), 9. Southwest (3-2), 10. Castle Park (2-4) Others: 15. San Ysiro (0-6)
Eight-man records: Calvary Christian Academy (4-0), Victory Christian Academy (2-2), Ocean View Christian Academy (0-4)
Prep Football Pictorial
Bonita Vista vs. Hilltop
Photo gallery by Scott Hopkins
