For those high school football fans who prefer hard-hitting defense served up on the gridiron, the place to be last Friday was at Castle Park High School where the host Trojans and visiting Hilltop Lancers fought to a scoreless stalemate for most of their season opening non-league match-up.
When the offenses for both teams finally broke through in the fourth quarter, it was time for defense to come up huge again, particularly on the part of the Lancers, who benefitted from a late safety call to prevail, 8-6, in the teams’ Battle of Hilltop Drive rivalry contest.
“It was a big win for us,” Hilltop head coach Cody Roelof conceded. “It showed our guys could battle back. It showed some character on our part. It’s a great way to start the season.”
Neither team could do much offensively for the opening three quarters of the game. Castle Park moved the ball inside the Hilltop three-yard line early in the second quarter but a motion penalty set the ball back and, on fourth-and-nine, the Trojans missed a 25-yard field goal attempt.
That was the closest that either team would get to a score until CP quarterback Angelo Trujillo connected with Luq Barcoo on fourth-and-seven for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 10:08 left in the fourth quarter.
The Lancers blocked the extra-point conversion attempt, leaving the Trojans holding onto a precarious 6-0 lead.
But the manner in which Castle Park had been playing all game long, it appeared Barcoo’s TD catch might hold up as the winning score.
The Hilltop defense, however, rose to the occasion when it mattered most.
The Lancers forced the hosts to punt from the vicinity of their end zone, with the ball landing on the 28-yard line on the change of possession. Dylan Trenga, who started the game at the wide receiver position, entered the game at quarterback for the visitors after an injury to starter Alex Tejeda.
Trenga took the snap in the shotgun position and wove through a maze of players, meandering from one sideline to another to score the game-tying touchdown.
The extra point was blocked, leaving the teams in a 6-6 tie with 5:09 to play in regulation.
But the Lancers managed to pin the Trojans on their next series as a punt exchange positioned the ball at the five-yard line. Trujillo dropped back to pass and was quickly converged on by two Hilltop defenders. When Trujillo was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, the officials awarded a two-point safety to the Lancers.
Hilltop led 8-6 with 2:54 to play.
The Lancers recovered the ensuing free kick at the 35-yard line. A series of running plays brought the game clock down to 20 seconds when Trenga came up just short on a fourth-down sideline scramble.
The Trojans ran two plays but couldn’t gain any significant yardage.
“Our defense played great the whole game,” Roelof explained. “They kept us in the game. The Castle Park defense was giving us fits. We were finally able to get one in and then our defense came up big again.”
Castle Park had the better scoring chances in the game. The Trojans benefitted from three interceptions, including two by Trujillo. Two picks set the Trojans up in Hilltop territory but the Lancer defense — and untimely penalties by the hosts — pushed them back each time.
Until Trenga’s breakaway touchdown run, the swarming Castle Park defense had held the Hilltop running game in check. Trenga finished as the Lancers’ top rusher with 55 yards on eight carries. Nineteen other rushing plays accumulated just 45 yards as the visitors finished the night with 100 rushing yards on 27 plays.
Tejeda completed five of 13 passing attempts for 44 yards as Hilltop finished with 144 total offensive yards in the game.
The final numbers for Castle Park weren’t much better. Trujillo completed five of 12 passing attempts for 71 yards while Trojan ball-carriers collected just 44 yards on 23 rushing attempts. Barcoo made all five pass receptions for 71 yards while Trujillo and Miguel Flores tied for the team rushing lead with 16 yards.
Castle Park finished the night with 115 total offensive yards.
Hilltop defensive captain Domonic Esparza spoke about his team playing with an “underdog” mentality this season.
“We finished 2-8 last season and I’ve been telling the team that we have to play with an underdog mentality because we are underdogs,” said Esparza, a junior linebacker. “No one thinks we can win. We have to prove that we can. Respect isn’t given, it’s earned.”
Trenga, a senior, said it wasn’t the first time he had taken snaps at the quarterback position. “I just ran the ball like a running back, but from the quarterback position,” he said. “It was intense. I was a little nervous but when I finally got into the end zone, I felt great.”
Angel Pineda rushed 16 times for 37 yards and caught three passes for 25 yards to pace Hilltop’s offensive effort. The Lancers had two long kickoff returns of 40 yards by Cristian Llanes and 59 yards by Jaime Mendoza.
Edi Sanchez was given credit for the two-point safety.
Castle Park recorded six sacks in the game, including two each by Daniel Arana and Alberto Olmos and one each by Flores and Alonso Pereyda. Flores led the Trojans defensively with six tackles, followed by teammates Diego Ibarra and Gerado Acuna with five each.
Trujillo totaled 54 yards on his two interception returns, including one in the first quarter that positioned the ball at the 29-yard line.
Nick Williams’ pick set up the Trojans at the Hilltop 23-yard line. That drive eventually stalled with the missed field goal attempt.
“Our defense played its butt off,” CPHS head coach Hans Graham commented. “We just couldn’t get our offense going. I give credit to Hilltop’s defense. But I’d rather lose the first game of the season than the last one.
“We had a lot of guys going both ways.”
Hilltop hosts Patrick Henry this Friday in a bid to up its early season record to 2-0 while Castle Park has a bye this week.
Mt. Miguel 44, Chula Vista 24
The host Matadors built a 21-3 first quarter lead by capitalizing on three fumbles inside the 20-yard line and went on to build a 35-3 lead at halftime. The Spartans scored 21 second-half points, including 13 in the final quarter.
Adrian Corona rushed for 151 yards and scored twice to lead Chula Vista, which also received one touchdown from Sergio Figueroa and a 34-yard field goal from Luis Lopez. The Spartans were also stopped on a goal-line stand by the Matadors.
Chula Vista (0-1) next plays at San Marcos (0-1) on Friday, Sept. 4, as both teams search for their first win of the season.
