It’s all about why they play the games.
That said, two of the seven Metro Conference teams involved in last Friday’s opening round of the San Diego Section divisional football playoffs won to advance to this Friday’s quarterfinals.
Chula Vista (3-8), seeded ninth in the Division IV field, upset eighth-seeded Coronado (7-4) by a score of 31-7 to end an eight-game losing streak. The streak-busting win obviously couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
The Spartans next face top-seeded San Diego (7-2) in obviously a much tougher match-up.
The Southwest Raiders, seeded sixth in the Division V field, pulled off a second road upset with their 34-26 elimination win at sixth-seeded Vincent Memorial, last season’s defending division champions.
Interestingly, the Raiders had lost to the Scots, 46-27, in the second game of the season.
Southwest’s journey doesn’t get any easier as the Raiders next travel to third-seeded Francis Parker, which boasts a 9-1 record.
The playoff win was a long time coming for Southwest, which last won a postseason contest in 1989. It was the third playoff win overall for the Raiders, who also won a playoff game in 1988 under then head coach Carl Parrick.
Southwest, which opened in 1976, will be looking to record its first-ever second-round win when they engage the Lancers on Friday.
Home cooking
Chula Vista and Southwest join Metro-Mesa League champion Eastlake and Metro-South Bay League runner-up Mar Vista in the quarterfinals after the Titans and Mariners received first-round byes.
Second-seeded Eastlake (9-1) will host seventh-seeded Oceanside (6-5) in a key Division I tilt while fourth-seeded Mar Vista (7-3) will host fifth-seeded Santana (6-5).
Both Oceanside and Santana recorded high impact wins in last Friday’s opening round.
The host Pirates relied on two interception returns for touchdowns to eclipse 10th-seeded Otay Ranch in a Division I encounter, while the Sultans racked up 76 points in eliminating 12th-seeded La Jolla Country Day, which countered with 55 points in the pinball-style scoring match-up.
Eastlake is riding a nine-game winning streak after establishing itself as the premier team in the Metro Conference this season.
“It should be a great game,” EHS head coach John McFadden offered a preview of Friday’s clash of football titans. “They have a lot of speed, I think we are more physical and play better defense, (but) they have big play capacity. If our passing game comes back, we should be in great shape.”
It appeared as if Otay Ranch was poised to strike for the go-ahead touchdown in the dying minutes of last Friday’s game in Oceanside until Pirate defender Jaquez Goodson intercepted a pass by Mustang quarterback Puka Stewart and returned the ball 99 yards for a touchdown.
At the time of Goodson’s pick six, the Pirates were clinging to a 20-15 lead.
A touchdown would have put Otay Ranch in the lead with time running down.
Stewart, whose mobility has caused fits to opposing defenses, finished the game with 314 total yards. He rushed for 194 yards, passed for one touchdown, and rushed for 120 yards on 18 carries in the game. However, he threw a pair of pick sixes, fumbled once and was sacked eight times to leave him with a 47.2 quarterback rating.
Noah Isley had 11 carries for 73 yards and scored one rushing touchdown for the Mustangs.
Otay Ranch out-gained Oceanside 417 to 207 yards in the loss. The Mustangs rolled up 223 rushing yards to 133 for the Pirates.
Kavika Tua had 13 carries for 54 yards and scored two touchdowns to buttress the victors, who were buoyed on the scoreboard by a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by Trajen Apodaca earlier in the fourth quarter.
Kenneth Robinson had four catches for 83 yards in the loss for Otay Ranch, including a touchdown reception, while Miguel Felix logged 13 tackles and recovered a fumble, Dylan Zolezzi and Cameron Galloway each recorded one sack and Steven Filippi made one interception.
Eastlake will counter the speedy Pirates, a longtime nemesis of the Titans, with a stalwart defense that has recorded 10 interceptions, seven fumble recoveries, 45 tackles for a loss and 29 sacks.
Eastlake has scored 23 rushing touchdowns this season, 21 receiving touchdowns and is averaging 409.8 offensive yards per game.
Ramona 45, Olympian 24
The ninth-seeded Eagles trailed the eighth-seeded Bulldogs, 21-17, at halftime but were unable to keep pace in the second half as Ramona came out of the break to score 14 third-quarter points and go up 35-17 entering the final quarter.
“We played well enough in the first half but it got away from us in the second half,” said Olympian head coach Paul Van Nostrand, whose team finished the season 3-8. “We can’t make the mistakes we did in playoff games and expect to be successful.”
Sean McDonald led the host Bulldogs (7-3) with 174 rushing yards and four touchdowns while quarterback Derek Diamond passed for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively for Olympian, Renz Casiano, Jared Desmond and Diego Sanchez each had 14 tackles while Angel Huerta had one sack. Ethan Zazueta also had an interception return of 75 yards for a touchdown.
Ramona advances to play at top-seeded Granite Hills (9-1) in the quarterfinals.
Morse 42, Hilltop 14
The two-time defending Metro-South Bay League champion Lancers got to host the fifth-seeded Tigers in the first-round game but wound up being burned by Morse’s speed. The Tigers received 274 rushing yards and four touchdowns from senior Shamar Martin, who ripped off runs of 42, 86, 56 and 46 yards.
Hilltop received 177 passing yards from quarterback Joey Castillo, who fired a 36-yard scoring pass to Micaiah Faiiva-Iuli in the second quarter and scored on a two-run run in the fourth quarter.
“We were disappointed in the outcome of the game as we felt several things did not go our way,” explained Lancer head coach Drew Westling, whose team finished its season 5-6. “Credit to Morse, they did a great job. Our seniors have much to be proud of as they are the first class to be back-to-back undefeated league champions.
The Tigers advance to play at fourth-seeded Brawley (8-2) in the quarterfinals.
Takeaways
- Four lower-seeded teams recorded upset wins in last Friday’s opening round, including Southwest, Chula Vista and Maranatha Christian.
- Ninth-seeded Mission Hills (3-8) posted a 20-13 upset win over eighth-seeded Rancho Bernardo (7-4) in a Division I match-up.
- Sixth-seeded Vista (7-4) captured a 42-28 road victory at 11th-seeded-Bishop’s (5-5) in a Division II game played in La Jolla. Bishop’s hosted the game as the Coastal League champion.
- Two teams remain undefeated among section schools: Torrey Pines (9-0), top-seeded in the Open Division, and Central Union (10-0), seeded second in the Division III field.
Spartans find winning formula when it counts
CHULA VISTA ENDS 8-GAME LOSING STREAK WITH 31-7 PLAYOFF WIN
The Chula Vista High School football team kicked off what looked like a promising season by defeating La Jolla Country Day and Mount Miguel for a 2-0 start.
But injuries quickly took their toll and the Spartans ended regular season play on an eight-game losing streak.
The team had performed well enough during its non-league schedule, however, to earn a berth in the San Diego Section Division IV playoffs. Chula Vista received the No. 9 seed and kicked off postseason play last Friday at eighth-seeded Coronado.
The game was a rematch of last year’s first-round playoff game played on the Spartans’ turf and won convincingly by the hosts.
The rematch proved favorable once again for Chula Vista, which snapped its agonizing eight-game losing streak with a solid 31-7 victory.
The Spartans (3-8) advance to Friday’s quarterfinals against the top-seeded San Diego Cavers.
Kick off is 7 p.m. at Balboa Stadium.
“It’s been a tough season,” admitted Chula Vista head coach Howard Bannister III. “With all of the injuries we’ve sustained we’ve been shuffling guys around trying to find the best mix with our current personnel. We are hoping what we put forth last Friday is a winning formula.”
The Spartans rolled up 317 total offensive yards, including 227 rushing yards. Sophomore Karlos Jimenez gained 120 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns while senior Andre Stewart had 20 carries for 80 yards and scored one touchdown.
Senior quarterback Moses Contreras completed nine of 14 passing attempts for 90 yards and one touchdown.
Stewart opened scoring in the game on a 35-yard touchdown run. Jimenez scored on a seven-yard run in the second quarter to jump-start the visitors on a 24-point scoring streak.
Contreras delivered a nine-yard scoring pass to senior Naseem Monroy while Samuel Ambriz tacked on seven kicking points.
“We are very proud of our sophomore/JV running back (Jimenez) for providing a much needed spark to our run game,” Bannister said. “Captains Lorenzo Matos and Leo Ibarra also stepped into new positions and made a huge difference for us defensively.”
San Diego carries a 7-2 overall record into Friday’s quarterfinal game. The Cavers finished runner-up in last year’s Division IV championship game and are bidding to win it this season.
“We are happy to finally get a win, but there is no time to celebrate,” Bannister cautioned. “San Diego is an enormous challenge. We will work hard all week to try and rise to the challenge.”
Kearny, seeded second in the division, will host seventh-seeded Classical Academy in Friday’s quarterfinal round. The Komets are 9-1 on the season and lost, 21-13, to San Diego in a City League game on Oct. 19.
Classical Academy (7-4) thumped 10th-seeded Calexico, 42-7, in last Friday’s opening round.
In other quarterfinal match-ups, third-seeded Del Norte (6-4) will host sixth-seeded Serra (8-3) while fourth-seeded Mar Vista (7-3) will host fifth-seeded Santana (6-5).
Seeing red
Serra defeated 11th-seeded Sweetwater, 52-14, in a first-round game last Friday while Santana racked up a 76-55 win over visiting La Jolla Country Day.
Junior signal-caller Timmy Zebroski passed for 261 yards and three touchdowns while the host Conquistadors rolled up 245 rushing yards to end the season for the Red Devils (3-8).
Sweetwater generated 208 total offensive yards, including 142 yards on the ground. Senior Luciano Estopier rushed 17 times for 86 yards.
Serra recorded two sacks and one fumble recovery on defense.
“Whenever you lose a playoff game, it is always disappointing,” admitted Sweetwater head coach Bryan Wagner. “But getting a chance to be in the playoffs after being out of it the last four years was a good experience for us. The team has a better idea of what it takes to compete at the next level. The underclassmen are already motivated to do what it takes to have a better run next year.”
Next up
Mar Vista will have to contend with a Santana team that set or tied 14 school records and did the same for numerous section records in its high scoring win over the Torreys (2-8).
The teams’ 131 combined points set a section record while the teams’ combined 1,387 total offensive yards is also believed to be a section record.
Santana racked up 764 total yards in the game, including 532 passing yards by junior quarterback Nathan Temple, who was recovering from a broken collarbone when the Sultans hosted the Mariners on Sept. 21.
Randy Smith had 355 receiving yards and five touchdowns while Brooks Moutaw had 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
LJCD quarterbacks Phillip Gooding (251 yards, three touchdowns) and Sincere Blackmon (258 yards, four touchdowns) combined for 509 passing yards and seven touchdowns.
Trojans stymied 7-0 by rush happy Eagles in neutral site Division V playoff loss
The reigning Metro-Pacific League champion Castle Park Trojans battled hard but just could not get the football to inch its way over the goal line in absorbing a tight 7-0 setback to the Maranatha Christian Eagles in a first-round Division V elimination game played last Friday at Otay Ranch High School.
“It’s not about the destination but the journey,” CPHS head coach Bernard Ansolabehere said after the disappointing loss. “Nobody made a longer journey from last year than us.”
The Trojans (6-5) have much to be proud of after suffering through a winless 0-10 season last year and absorbing a pair of forfeit losses in the early stages of this season due to a low roster count.
Eighth-seeded Castle Park took a four-game winning streak into the playoff encounter against ninth-seeded Maranatha Christian and was tested throughout the game by the large and mobile offensive line of the Eagles (6-5).
Quarterback Logan Godwin ran behind the imposing Maranatha line, gaining five yards at a time, it seemed, off second and third effort as the line kept surging forward.
Godwin finished the game with 201 rushing yards on 29 carries. He scored the game’s lone touchdown on a one-yard plunge with 6:47 remaining in the fourth quarter. He also caught a 24-yard pass, logged 11 tackles on defense and returned a punt 10 yards.
The Trojans had plenty of chances to score in the game. Tyrone Lake (21 carries, 94 yards) drove the ball to the Maranatha two-yard line. However, the Eagles defense stopped Lake three times on goal-line stands.
The Trojans elected to try a 19-yard field goal attempt but the kick sailed just wide.
A fumble and interception deep in Castle Park territory halted two promising drives by the Eagles to keep the game scoreless.
In the second half, Ivan Briseno of the Trojans recovered a fumble at the Maranatha 37-yard line but Josh Allen of the Eagles intercepted a pass two plays later to wrestle the ball from the hosts. The visitors would eventually score off the turnover.
Castle Park got a reprieve when Ramon Cabal recovered a Maranatha fumble with 2:11 left in the game. A series of clutch pass receptions moved the ball to the Eagle 20-yard line. But quarterback Diego Martinez (9-of-20, 107 passing yards, one interception) was unable to complete a fourth-down pass into the end zone with 16 seconds to play.
The Eagles rushed for 278 yards to 104 for the Trojans.
“We tried to make enough plays to keep moving the ball down the field, and we just didn’t accomplish that,” Ansolabehere said. “Our kids fought to the end.”
Airrien Smith had three catches for 48 yards for Castle Park while Joel Torres had three catches for 34 yards. Defensively, Jose Castro made 11 tackles while Victor Herrera had one interception.
SAN DIEGO SECTION
FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
First Round
Friday, Nov. 2
Division I
(7) Oceanside 27, (10) Otay Ranch 15
Division II
(8) Ramona 45, (9) Olympian 24
Division III
(5) Morse 42, (12) Hilltop 14
Division IV
(9) Chula Vista 31, (8) Coronado 7
(6) Serra 52, (11) Sweetwater 14
Division V
(9) Maranatha Christian 7, (8) Castle Park 0
(11) Southwest 34, (6) Vincent Memorial 26
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 9
Division I
(7) Oceanside (6-5) at (2) Eastlake (9-1), 7 p.m.
Division IV
(5) Santana (6-5) at (4) Mar Vista (7-3), 7 p.m.
(9) Chula Vista (3-8) at (1) San Diego (7-2), 7 p.m.
Division V
(6) Southwest (5-6) at (3) Francis Parker (9-1), 7 p.m.
