The Eastlake Titans improved to 2-0 after defeating the Hilltop Lancers, 21-7, in a game much closer than the final score indicated Friday night at Sweetwater High School.
The Titans, who equaled their win total of a season ago, never trailed in the game but experienced a whirlwind finish that saw them score a final touchdown in the waning minutes of the non-league contest.
The EHS defense then sealed the victory with a fumble recovery with 1:06 left in the game.
“I’m very proud of the way our defense played, they played lights out,” Titan head coach Dean Tropp explained. “They gave up a touchdown late but other than that we were getting the ball back in our offense’s hands. I only wish our offense could have played a little better.”
Eastlake scored three touchdowns for the second consecutive game — and won for the second time.
Daniel Amon hit a speeding Jalyn Jackson on a sideline pattern for a 58-yard touchdown catch midway through the first quarter, and Micah Pietila-Wiggs caught a 22-yard touchdown strike from Ryzhon McCoy just before halftime to stake the visitors to a 14-0 lead.
The teams battled through a gritty second half. Hilltop halved the Titan lead on a seven-yard scoring pass from quarterback Daniel McPherren to Jeremiah Rivera late in the third quarter and appeared poised to tie the score late in the fourth quarter.
Hilltop sprung a deep passing play down the sideline that landed the ball at the Eastlake 11-yard line with 3:44 remaining in regulation play. However, a sack, short gain and incompletion set up fourth-down at the 10-yard line.
The Lancers went for it and were just fingertips away from potentially tying the game. A.J. Hernandez received credit for the last-second pass break-up.
The Titans promptly went the other way as Parker Merrifield broke through the Hilltop defense for a 55-yard scoring run to go up by two touchdowns.
The Lancers threatened again but Eastlake put the game away with a fumble recovery along the sideline that allowed the visitors to end the game in victory formation.
There was little celebration as players from both teams were physically drained from playing in the hot and humid conditions. The Titans departed campus for National City with the thermometer reading 95 degrees.
The Lancers, who compete at the Division III level, should not be ashamed of their performance against a Division I level team.
Hilltop was in the game until the final minute and, with a few breaks, was in position to pull off an upset win.
“We have unforced errors that prevent us from completing drives,” HHS head coach Drew Westling said. “We have two more Division I teams coming up on our schedule. Our focus isn’t on competing and coming close but winning them.”
Hilltop (1-1) next plays at Grossmont (1-1) on Sept. 8. The Foothillers handed visiting Olympian its first loss of the season on Friday, 37-21. The Lancers play at Olympian (1-1) on Sept. 15 to conclude its run of three consecutive games against Division I opponents.
Eastlake next plays at Santiago on Sept. 8 and continues its season opening four-game road trip with a non-league game at Grossmont on Sept. 15.
The Titan defense certainly controlled the team’s destiny in the win over Hilltop with four sacks and nine pass deflections.
Richard Corpus recorded seven tackles, one pass deflection and two sacks to help lead the Titan defense while Josh McCurty made 16 tackles and caused the fumble that clinched the win for Eastlake.
Donyal Thompson had two sacks, one fumble recovery and three tackles.
Merrifield led Eastlake’s offense with 103 rushing yards on 11 carries. McCoy completed to of four passing attempts for 22 yards with one touchdown. Amon completed three of seven passing attempts for 67 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Besides his touchdown grab, Pietila-Wiggs also made an interception on defense and had two sizable punt returns to cap another solid all-around effort.
The Titans have outscored their opening two opponents 42-10 and have already matched last year’s win total with eight regular season games left on their schedule.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Tropp admitted after Friday’s game. “We’re 2-0 and that’s where you want to be at this point of the season.”
The Titan reboot can be partly credited to the players who have remained with the program since their freshman season and those who have come up through the team’s junior varsity team while playing as a group.
“Those that remain become champions — that what we like to think,” Tropp said. “We’re trying to prove it right now.”
Cougars steal 28-21 win from Redhawks, hike early season record to 2-0
The San Ysidro Cougars learned a valuable lesson in adversity in last Friday’s non-league football game against the visiting Mountain Empire Redhawks.
The Redhawks broke out to a 21-0 halftime lead in the game. Not only did the Cougars trail by three touchdowns but head coach Robert Hatchett had to leave the game at halftime due to a medical emergency.
What did the San Ysidro team do? The Cougars (2-0) rallied with four touchdowns in the second half, including three in the fourth quarter, to win 28-21.
The hosts began their comeback on a touchdown run by Alejandro Bonneau to trim the deficit to 21-7.
Quarterback Junior Bueno figured in all three SY fourth quarter scores. He scored on a short touchdown run to make the score 21-14 and then threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jazz Gill to tie the game.
Bueno connected with Bonneau on a 30-yard TD pass to cap the furious comeback win.
Bonneau now has scored five touchdowns in the Cougars’ opening two games.
Gabriel Hydron (16-of-31 passing, 240 yards) led Mountain Empire with three touchdown passes — one each to Wyatt Mann, Dallas Prince and Sawyer Ernsbarger.
The Redhawks soared with two fumble recoveries on defense.
San Ysidro hosts Escondido Charter (0-2) in its next game on Friday, Sept. 8. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
Aztec territory
Montgomery captured its first victory of the season by defeating the visiting Classical Academy Caymans, 17-7, in a non-league game last Friday.
The Aztecs scored the only touchdown in the first quarter before Classical Academy tied the game in the second quarter. However, the hosts prevailed by scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Hunter Joseph rushed 34 times for 205 yards and scored one rushing touchdown to lead Montgomery’s ground attack. He finished the game with 240 all-purpose yards.
Joe Sanchez led the Aztec defense with a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Kicker Antonio Vazquez connected on a 32-yard field goal and also was successful on both point-after touchdown attempts.
Victor Ayala topped the Otay Mesa team with 11 tackles while Sanchez and Robert Dorame each had one sack.
The Caymans, who out-gained the hosts 252-229 in total offensive yards, scored their lone touchdown on a pass from James Duncan to Ethan Pillsbury.
The Aztecs (1-1) next play at Army-Navy Academy (1-1) on Friday, Sept. 8. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
Crusaders win
Mater Dei Catholic won its first game on the season in comeback fashion by tipping visiting El Capitan, 26-24, last Friday in a non-league matchup.
Quarterback Cameron Smith led the Crusader comeback with three touchdown passes. The first went to Aiden Calvert for 16 yards; the game-winner went to Shaun Jones for 15 yards.
Mater Dei Catholic (1-1) next plays at top-ranked Mission Hills on Friday, Sept. 8. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
Strong effort
The Chula Vista Spartans came up short in last Friday’s non-league game at Mt. Miguel to fall to 0-2 on the season but it was not for a lack of effort. The host Matadors prevailed by a final score of 15-6 but the outcome was in doubt for most of the contest.
“We played them well and just came up short,” CVHS head coach Howard Bannister said. “It was a very physical game for both defenses. We were able to rush for 169 yards. We just came up short in some critical situations. But we are getting better every week. I’m very aware that these young men are still learning a new system and are prone to mistakes on occasions. It’s all about learning from those mistakes.”
Quarterback Darrion Hamilton scored the lone Spartan touchdown on a running play. He led the team with 13 carries for 71 yards. Justin Cantwell rushed six times for 46 yards while Victor Agraz had 12 carries for 44 yards.
Agraz led the CV defense with 15 tackles. Cantwell and Agraz each recorded one sack while Giovanni Torres had two pass deflections. Alejandro Chavez had one fumble recovery.
Shemar Greene led the Matadors (1-1) with 156 rushing yards and one touchdown. Mt. Miguel’s other touchdown came on a scoring catch by Santino Pacheco.
The Spartans host the Morse Tigers (1-1) on Friday, Sept. 8. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
“Morse beat Mt Miguel and played a close game against Oceanside, so we will once again be an underdog,” Bannister said. “However, it’s our first game of the season at home and we expect to be competitive. Very few teams will have faced the talent we have seen after this game: Kenyon Sims (Lincoln), Shemar Greene (Mt. Miguel) and now Martell Irby (Morse). These games will pay dividends for us when we get to league and the playoffs.”
Mariners roll past Trojans, 34-0, to pick up first win of season
The Mar Vista High School football team made amends for a tough season opening home field loss to Monte Vista with a more memorable 34-0 shutout victory last Friday at Castle Park High School in a non-league game for both teams.
“The first win is always a big win in order to get the season rolling,” Mar Vista head coach Tyler Arciaga explained.
“Quarterback Jacob Beck has been a nice surprise for us with his maturity and poise in the pocket. He has been a good field general and had a solid command of the offense.
“Our defense has done a great job the last two weeks (getting a shutout against Castle Park and doing a good job against Monte Vista). Half of those points were due to favorable field position by offensive turnovers.”
The Mariners, who led 20-7 at halftime, rolled up 531 total offensive yards in keeping the Trojans winless on the season. Mar Vista rushed 32 times for 245 yards while completing 12 of 17 passes (70.6 percent) for 286 yards.
Beck threw touchdown passes to De’von Peterson (two catches, 145 yards) and Sebastian Burke (three catches, 67 yards).
Tasi Sablan (seven carries, 33 yards) scored two rushing touchdowns while Burke (six carries, 46 yards) scored once on the ground.
Victor Herrera recorded two sacks and seven tackles for the visitors while Niko Figueroa had one sack and made a team high nine tackles.
In two games, Beck has completed 23 of 35 passing attempts for 529 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
His top receivers thus far include Peterson (six catches, 270 yards) and Burke (five catches, 147 yards). Each player has caught one touchdown pass.
Leading rushers for the Mariners include Beck (seven carries, 99 yards), Jacob Galeana (13 carries, 89 yards), Marcus Ramirez (nine carries, 88 yards) and Burke (eight carries, 86 yards).
Burke and Sablan each have scored two touchdowns to lead the team in the scoring department.
Defensively, Figueroa leads Mar Vista with 21 tackles, followed by Jared York with 17 tackles and Joseph Woods with 14 tackles.
Mar Vista (1-1) travels to Nevada this weekend while Castle Park (0-2) travels to Coronado (0-1) in search of its first win of the season.
“We travel to Las Vegas this week to play Bonanza High School, so we hope we can build off the momentum from the Castle Park game,” Arciaga said.
Metro Conference
Football Scoreboard
Friday, Sept. 1
Non-League
Eastlake 21, Hilltop 7
San Ysidro 28, Mountain Empire 21
Mater Dei Catholic 26, El Capitan 24
Montgomery 17, Classical Academy 7
Mar Vista 34, Castle Park 0
Grossmont 37, Olympian 21
Mt. Miguel 15, Chula Vista 6
Valley Center 28, Otay Ranch 21
San Marcos 57, Bonita Vista 0
Crawford 42, Southwest 15
Friday, Sept. 9
Poway at Olympian, 7 p.m.
Morse at Chula Vista, 7 p.m.
Carlsbad at Sweetwater, 7 p.m.
Escondido Charter at San Yisdro, 7 p.m.
Serra at Southwest, 7 p.m.
Castle Park at Coronado, 7 p.m.
Bonita Vista at Madison, 7 p.m.
Hilltop at Grossmont, 7 p.m.
Montgomery at Army-Navy Academy, 7 p.m.
Otay Ranch at Rancho Bernardo, 7 p.m.
Mater Dei Catholic at Mission Hills, 7 p.m.
Eastlake at Santiago, 7 p.m.
Mar Vista at Bonanza (Las Vegas), 7 p.m.
San Diego Section Playoff Tracker
Division I
Eastlake Titans 2-0
Olympian Eagles 1-1
Bonita Vista Barons 0-2
Division II
Otay Ranch Mustangs 1-1
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 1-1
Division III
Hilltop Lancers 1-1
Mar Vista Mariners 1-1
Division IV
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-1
Castle Park Trojans 0-2
Chula Vista Spartans 0-2
Division V
San Ysidro Cougars 2-0
Montgomery Aztecs 1-1
Southwest Raiders 0-2
Eight-Man
Victory Christian Academy 0-0
Ocean View Christian Academy 0-1
