The Eastlake Titans and Otay Ranch Mustangs are only playing four football games in this shortened spring season. But their final act is appropriately the one that counts the most.
The Mustangs will journey to the Titans’ field on Friday as both teams battle for this year’s Metro-Mesa League championship.
Both teams are 3-0 on the season, 2-0 in league play, and Friday’s winner will earn the undisputed distinction as the 2020-21 league champion.
Otay Ranch has tasted success this season with a high-octane offense while the Titans have found success on the defensive side of the football.
The Mustangs kicked off the season with a 39-0 non-league win at Hilltop on March 19, followed by a gargantuan 42-38 shootout at Mater Dei Catholic in the teams’ league opener on March 26 and a 35-14 win at Olympian last Friday.
The Titans kicked off the season with a 55-3 non-league victory against visiting Bonita Vista in the teams’ ongoing Battle of the Boot rivalry series on March 19, followed by a 21-0 win at Olympian to open league play the following week. Eastlake used a late rally to eclipse visiting Mater Dei Catholic, 13-12, last Friday to earn the right to defend their league title this week.
Due to a stadium structural failure, Otay Ranch will play its fourth consecutive game on the road.
Mater Dei Catholic (0-2 in league, 2-2 overall) will host Olympian (0-2 in league, 1-2 overall) in Friday’s other Metro-Mesa League encounter. The winner will place third in the league standings.
Mater Dei Catholic enters Friday’s season finale ranked as the top-ranked Division III team, 14th overall in the section.
Eastlake is currently ranked 10th in the section, ninth among Division I teams. Otay Ranch is ranked 12th in the section, third among Division II teams.
Will offense prevail over defense or vice versa? It will be fun to find out.
Clash of the Titans
Mater Dei Catholic led 12-0 for much of last Friday’s high-profile matchup before the host Titans finally kick-started their offense to emerge with the clutch win.
Sophomore running back Nico Mosley led the Crusaders on the ground with 15 carries for 80 yards. He scored the opening touchdown of the game on a 20-yard burst. Senior quarterback Trevor Appelman later found sophomore receiver Surahz Buncom on a 56-yard scoring pass to double the lead.
Mater Dei Catholic went for two-point conversions following both touchdowns. Neither was successful.
The lack of a place-kicker obviously has challenged the Crusaders in close games.
Eastlake won despite compiling just 89 total yards in offense, including only 10 yards in the first half.
Whew!
Senior Cole McFarlane (three-for-eight, seven yards, one interception) and freshman Johnny Limon (eight-for-12, 72 yards) combined for 79 passing yards.
Junior Treyton White (five carries, 30 yards) scored on a four-yard run early in the second half to narrow the Crusader lead to 12-7.
McFarlane (seven carries, 12 yards) managed to punch in the ball from nine yards out with 1:52 to play in regulation to push the hosts ahead 13-12.
McFarlane called the game-winning play one of the greatest experiences in his life so far.
“Let me just pick up as much yards as I could,” McFarlane recounted to a KUSI-TV news crew after the game,” so I cut the ball back in and everything went black. Somehow I ended up in the end zone.”
The Crusaders got the ball back but could not engineer an even more dramatic game-winning play.
As a team, Eastlake rushed 23 times for 56 yards, an average of 2.4 yards per play.
Junior Jordan Blondin had two catches for 46 yards and senior Isaac Bueno had four catches for 26 yards to lead Titan receivers.
Senior Wil Smith keyed the rugged Eastlake defense with 11 tackles while senior Matthew Barcas had 10 stops. Titan defenders were very active with six sacks, two fumble recoveries and one interception.
White led the Eastlake surge with three sacks while senior Gabriel Acosta had two sacks and Barcas another tackle behind the line of scrimmage. Acosta scooped up both Mater Dei Catholic fumbles while junior Dasean Burdette had the pick.
Battle of the O’s
Otay Ranch rolled up 240 yards in total offense as sophomore quarterback Brian Rudden passed for one touchdown to Joseph Firebaugh (two catches, 38 yards) and senior Carl Addy rushed for 137 yards on 13 carries and scored another.
Senior D.J. Meno (eight carries, 53 yards) helped the Mustangs corral the Eagles with 202 rushing yards.
The Otay Ranch defense was active with three sacks, one interception (30 yards by junior Johnathan Nava for a touchdown) and one fumble recovery (30 yards by Firebaugh for a touchdown).
Firebaugh finished the game with 17 points after tacking on five extra-point conversions.
Senior Aidan Arguila paced the Mustangs with 11 tackles, one sack and one caused fumble.
Alumni challenge
The Bonita Vista Barons are winless no more, but the Hilltop Lancers remain so after the teams — both sporting 0-2 records to kick off the abbreviated 2020-21 high school football season – met last Friday at Robert Dodds Stadium.
The Barons pulled out a 13-0 decision with a display of timely defense and just enough offense to enter Friday’s Metro-South Bay League game at Chula Vista High School with a chance to post a .500 record.
“We’ve only played a couple of games and we’re still prone to making some mistakes,” first-year BVHS head coach Tyler Arciaga said. “But we battled through. When we turned the ball over, our defense came up.”
Last Friday’s matchup pitted new head coaches seeking to pick up their first victory for their alma mater.
Hilltop’s Bryan Wagner is still looking for his first win after the Lancers dropped to 0-3 on the season, 0-2 in league play.
“We are just that much short from making plays,” Wagner said. “I counted four of five dropped balls. They had a good game plan of trying to slow Jacob (Hilltop senior quarterback Jacob Zimmermann) down. He made some plays but just not enough. They made one more play than us. I like what I see in our defense.”
The first half ended 7-0 in favor of the visitors as sophomore Dante Scott caught a 22-yard pass from sophomore Juanmanuel Gomez with just six seconds left in the first half. The scoring play was set up by a fumble recovery.
It was the first touchdown of the season for the Barons, who had been outscored 97-3 in two previous games.
The hosts looked to equalize when junior Aaron Hood recovered a high snap at the Bonita Vista eight-yard line a couple minutes into the fourth quarter. But the Lancers gave the back the ball on a fumble of their own at the four-yard line.
Bonita Vista scored the game-clinching touchdown on the ensuing series as sophomore Dante Herrero passed 36 yards on a pitch pass to junior Malosi Iuli with 5:52 remaining in the game. The play came after an apparent touchdown by Iuli was called back because of a penalty on the visitors.
Senior Justin Locke keyed Bonita Vista with 15 tackles, including three for a loss, and a fumble recovery.
Senior Cody Woronicz registered nine tackles, two assists and an interception while rushing 12 times for 89 yards. Iuli also had a big game both ways with five tackles, two interceptions and two pass deflections.
“Our kids are progressing,” Arciaga said. “We weren’t allowed to practice with the ball until March 1. For months our only contact with the kids was through Zoom.”
Zimmermann was limited to 54 total yards — 41 passing and 13 rushing — as Hilltop compiled 119 total offensive yards. Sophomore Joshua Bernardo had 46 rushing yards.
Senior Dominic Metzig led the Lancers defensively with 12 tackles while junior Liam Dougherty had one sack and three tackles for a loss.
In other games last Friday:
MONTGOMERY 57, CHULA VISTA 0
The host Aztecs (3-1) downed the Spartans (1-3) on the strength of two interception returns by Jaheem Williams, including one for 103 yards, while Isiah King had two touchdown receptions. Williams finished the game with three total touchdowns after catching a 29-yard scoring pass to rack up 228 all-purpose yards (148 yards on interception returns).
Montgomery, which is bidding to capture the top Division IV ranking, got off to a meteoric 21-0 start through the first quarter and tacked on 29 points in the second quarter to lead 50-0 at halftime. The Aztecs piled up 343 total offensive yards and 633 all-purpose yards to improve to 2-0 in Metro-South Bay League play.
Quarterbacks Nathan Roble-Cristobal and Ansel Flanagan combined for 249 passing yards and five touchdowns. Roble-Cristobal completed three of five attempts for 114 yards with two touchdowns while Flanagan completed eight of 13 attempts for 135 yards with three touchdowns.
King caught two passes for 49 yards to go with his two touchdown receptions. Sophomore Jordan Benton led Montgomery’s receiving corps with 81 yards on two catches while seniors Zach Pearson (three catches, 53 yards) and Xander Dixie (two catches, 29 yards) also caught touchdown passes.
The Aztecs totaled 94 rushing yards, led by Williams with four carries for 51 yards. Dixie had one carry for 15 yards. Junior Christian Venegas rushed twice for eight yards, scoring once.
King ranked second on the night to Williams with 122 all-purpose yards by adding 73 yards on interception returns.
Senior Benjamin Larsen once again paced the Montgomery defense with seven tackles and two sacks and one interception.
The Aztecs finished the game with five interceptions, including two each by King and Williams.
Junior Santiago Bugarin had a busy night with nine kickoffs for an average of 36 yards. Dixie punted twice in the game with a 28.5 average. Sophomore Francisco Rodriguez was perfect on eight point-after-touchdown conversions.
The Spartans were limited to just 49 total offensive yards in the contest — 49 passing yards and 21 rushing yards.
Senior Omar Perez completed four of 19 passing attempts for 30 yards with three interceptions. Senior Karlos completed two of six aerials for 18 yard with one interception while freshman Sean Arce threw an interception in his only passing attempt.
Junior Anthony Venegas led Chula Vista on the ground with 10 carries for 21 yards while senior Nick Organ had two catches for 21 yards.
Jimenez and junior Raymond Cruz co-led the visitors with five tackles on defense.
Montgomery ends its season with a chance to wrap up an undefeated league season when it shots winless Hilltop (0-3) this Friday while Chula Vista (1-1 in league play) will be out to end its season on a winning note when it hosts Bonita Vista (1-1 in league play, 1-2 overall).
Sweetewater 50, San Ysidro 14
The Red Devils remained undefeated (4-0) as senior Mario Villa rushed for 175 yards and scored three touchdowns while junior Javier Sanchez rushed for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Sweetwater rolled up 461 total offensive yards to 196 yards for San Ysidro (1-3).
“We’re beginning to understand the offense and playing a lot better,” said SuHi head coach Ervin Hernandez, whose team scored a total of seven touchdowns in the Metro-Pacific League matchup. “The good thing is that there is still room for improvement and the kids are hungry to get better. This was a pivotal game to see what kind of identity our team wants to take.
“Obviously, we’ve surprised the South Bay but from our perspective, we’ve seen it from the get-go as we’ve turned the culture around. The kids have bought into ‘chasing greatness’ and ‘we, us, ours.’
“I love how our team has brought on the National City chip on their shoulder attitude and blue collar work ethic. That’s the type of culture we want to continue to build on. The job is not finished yet and we continue to compete every day in practice. We are looking forward in continuing to improve and compete at a high level. If we focus on that then the rest takes care of itself.”
So far, it has.
The hosts steam-rollered the field with 461 rushing yards. Villa led Sweetwater offensively with four touchdowns and 215 total yards.
Besides Villa and Sanchez running exploits with the ball, junior Carlos Hopper rushed 12 times for 102 yards with one touchdown. Sweetwater scored a total of six rushing touchdowns.
The Devils passed for just 40 yards, completing one pass in only four attempts — that from senior Isaiah Atayde to Villa for a touchdown. Villa’s only pass in the game was incomplete.
Senior Carlos Rodriguez led the Devils defensively with eight tackles while junior Fabian Venegas had one fumble recovery.
Senior Jacob Martinez kicked six extra-point conversions in the game while senior Jonathan Gonzales caught a two-point conversion pass.
Junior Matthew Jaime and senior Brett Laing both scored rushing touchdowns for the Cougars. Jaime led the visitors with 116 total yards — 89 rushing and 27 passing — while Laing accumulated 82 all-purpose yards (71 rushing, 11 on kick returns).
Junior Mckai Jackson topped San Ysidro defensively with 13 tackles, including 11 solo stops.
Sweetwater (2-0 in league play) will be out to conclude an undefeated, albeit five-game season, when it hosts Mar Vista (0-2) on Friday. Holtville is 3-2 on the season after wrapping up a 3-0 showing in the Manzanita League as league champions.
Castle Park 62, Mar Vista 7
The Trojans evened their record at 2-2 on the season after completing Metro-Pacific League play with a 2-1 record. Castle Park proved to be an offensive juggernaut in the game against the host Mariners with 580 total offensive yards — 505 rushing and 75 passing.
Senior Erik Hernandez paced the victors with 225 rushing yards and a game-high 274 total offensive yards. He scored four touchdowns — three on the ground and one through the air. Hernandez rambled 76 yards on his longest carry; his lone reception went for a 49-yard touchdown.
Senior Ramon Cabal rushed 19 times for 153 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Junior quarterback Jose Jackson completed three of nine passing attempts with one touchdown and one interception while also rushing for 34 yards and one touchdown.
The Trojans scored a total of nine touchdowns in the game. Junior Sergio Cobos was successful on six of seven point-after-touchdown conversions while senior Antonio Gomez caught a two-point conversion pass.
Senior Xavier Alvarado had two carries for 28 yards and one touchdown while junior Kamea Luna had four carries for 49 yards and one touchdown. Alvarado also returned one punt for 16 yards.
Senior Robert Abarca recorded a team-high nine tackles while Cabal had eight tackles to lead the Castle Park defense.
The Trojans will be out to post a winning record in the short spring season when they take on the host Kearny Komets (0-3) in a non-league game on Friday. The Komets have been out-scored 159-40 on the season, including 110-24 in a pair of City League games.
METRO CONFERENCE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Friday, April 16
Metro-Mesa League
Otay Ranch at Eastlake, 6:30 p.m.
Olympian at Mater Dei Catholic, 6:30 p.m.
Metro-South Bay League
Hilltop at Montgomery, 6:30 p.m.
Bonita Vista at Chula Vista, 6:30 p.m.
Metro-Pacific League
Mar Vista at Sweetwater, 6:30 p.m.
Non-League
Holtville at San Ysidro, 6:30 p.m.
Castle Park at Kearny, 7 p.m.
San Diego Section Top Teams
| 1 | Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) | 4-0 |
| 2 | Carlsbad | 4-0 |
| 3 | Mission Hills (San Marcos) | 4-0 |
| 4 | Lincoln (San Diego) | 3-1 |
| 5 | St. Augustine (San Diego) | 2-1 |
| 6 | Torrey Pines (San Diego) | 2-3 |
| 7 | El Camino (Oceanside) | 2-2 |
| 8 | La Jolla | 4-0 |
| 9 | Granite Hills (El Cajon) | 5-0 |
| 10 | Eastlake (Chula Vista) | 3-0 |
| 11 | Poway | 4-0 |
| 12 | Otay Ranch (Chula Vista) | 3-0 |
| 13 | Oceanside | 0-3 |
| 14 | Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista) | 2-2 |
| 15 | Helix (La Mesa) | 2-3 |
| 16 | Serra (San Diego) | 2-1 |
| 17 | Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) | 4-0 |
| 18 | San Marcos | 2-3 |
| 19 | Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach) | 5-0 |
| 20 | Steele Canyon (Spring Valley) | 2-3 |
| 21 | La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) | 2-3 |
| 22 | Madison (San Diego) | 2-2 |
| 23 | Ramona | 4-0 |
| 24 | Santana (Santee) | 4-0 |
| 25 | Central (El Centro) | 4-0 |
Division I Teams
| 1 | Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) | 4-0 |
| 2 | Carlsbad | 4-0 |
| 3 | Mission Hills (San Marcos) | 4-0 |
| 4 | Lincoln (San Diego) | 3-1 |
| 5 | St. Augustine (San Diego) | 2-1 |
| 6 | Torrey Pines (San Diego) | 2-3 |
| 7 | El Camino (Oceanside) | 2-2 |
| 8 | Granite Hills (El Cajon) | 5-0 |
| 9 | Eastlake (Chula Vista) | 3-0 |
| 10 | Oceanside | 0-3 |
| 11 | Helix (La Mesa) | 2-3 |
| 12 | San Marcos | 2-3 |
| 13 | Steele Canyon (Spring Valley) | 2-3 |
| 14 | La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) | 2-3 |
| 15 | Madison (San Diego) | 2-2 |
| 16 | Grossmont (El Cajon) | 1-3 |
Division II Teams
| 1 | La Jolla | 4-0 |
| 2 | Poway | 4-0 |
| 3 | Otay Ranch (Chula Vista) | 3-0 |
| 4 | Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) | 4-0 |
| 5 | Central (El Centro) | 4-0 |
| 6 | Vista | 2-2 |
| 7 | Bishop’s (La Jolla) | 2-1 |
| 8 | Christian (El Cajon) | 2-2 |
| 9 | Scripps Ranch (San Diego) | 1-2 |
| 10 | Morse (San Diego) | 1-2 |
| 11 | Olympian (Chula Vista) | 2-2 |
| 12 | Mira Mesa (San Diego) | 1-3 |
| 13 | San Pasqual (Escondido) | 3-1 |
| 14 | Point Loma (San Diego) | 0-1 |
| 15 | San Diego | 1-2 |
| 16 | Valley Center | 3-1 |
Division III Teams
| 1 | Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista) | 2-2 |
| 2 | Serra (San Diego) | 2-1 |
| 3 | Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach) | 5-0 |
| 4 | Ramona | 4-0 |
| 5 | Santana (Santee) | 4-0 |
| 6 | Brawley | 5-0 |
| 7 | Monte Vista (Spring Valley) | 3-1 |
| 8 | Mt. Carmel (San Diego) | 1-3 |
| 9 | El Capitan (Lakeside) | 2-3 |
| 10 | Westview (San Diego) | 1-3 |
| 11 | Imperial | 2-2 |
| 12 | Orange Glen (Escondido) | 2-2 |
| 13 | Escondido | 1-3 |
| 14 | Bonita Vista (Chula Vista) | 1-2 |
| 15 | West Hills (Santee) | 1-3 |
| 16 | Hilltop (Chula Vista) | 0-4 |
| 17 | Kearny (San Diego) | 0-3 |
Division IV Teams
| 1 | Patrick Henry (San Diego) | 2-1 |
| 2 | Montgomery (San Diego) | 3-1 |
| 3 | Sweetwater (National City) | 4-0 |
| 4 | Mount Miguel (Spring Valley) | 2-2 |
| 5 | Coronado | 2-2 |
| 6 | Francis Parker (San Diego) | 2-2 |
| 7 | Del Norte (San Diego) | 0-4 |
| 8 | Castle Park (Chula Vista) | 2-2 |
| 9 | La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla) | 2-1 |
| 10 | Valhalla (El Cajon) | 0-5 |
| 11 | University City (San Diego) | 1-2 |
| 12 | Rancho Buena Vista (Vista) | 0-4 |
| 13 | Chula Vista | 1-3 |
| 14 | Classical Academy (Escondido) | 0-3 |
| 15 | Vincent Memorial (Calexico) | 2-3 |
| 16 | Southwest EC (El Centro) | 0-4 |
| 17 | Mar Vista (Imperial Beach) | 0-2 |
Division V Teams
| 1 | Tri-City Christian (Vista) | 3-1 |
| 2 | Holtville | 3-2 |
| 3 | Fallbrook | 1-3 |
| 4 | Mission Bay (San Diego) | 1-1 |
| 5 | Palo Verde Valley (Blythe) | 2-1 |
| 6 | Crawford (San Diego) | 3-1 |
| 7 | El Cajon Valley (El Cajon) | 0-4 |
| 8 | Calexico | 1-3 |
| 9 | San Ysidro (San Diego) | 1-3 |
| 10 | Maranatha Christian (San Diego) | 3-0 |
| 11 | Southwest SD (San Diego) | 0-0 |
| 12 | Mountain Empire (Pine Valley) | 0-5 |
| 13 | Hoover (San Diego) | 0-3 |
| 14 | Escondido Charter (Escondido) | 0-3 |
| 15 | Calipatria | 0-0 |
| 16 | Army-Navy (Carlsbad) | 1-1 |
Eastern exposure:
Eagles scale the ‘mountain,’ top Highlanders for 5-0 record
The Granite Hills High School football team proved last Friday what the pollsters had been saying all year: The Eagles were the top team in East County this season.
Granite Hills erased more than a decade of frustration against the Helix Highlanders with a timely 35-21 victory that gave the hosts a perfect slate (3-0) in Grossmont Hills League play, 5-0 overall.
The Eagles, ranked ninth among section teams, will play the second-ranked Carlsbad Lancers in a non-league game this Friday to close out the 2021 schedule. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Valley Stadium.
Granite Hills head coach Kellan Cobbs, who graduated from the school in 2005, said discussions for a possible “bowl” game to end the season began about six weeks ago.
“All the coaches stay in contact with each other to set up games,” Cobbs said. “With COVID and no CIF playoffs, I wanted to schedule a playoff-type game, schedule a game against an Open Division-type team, and see how we do.”
Friday’s game should provide an appropriate kicker to the end of the shortened season.
Both teams are undefeated. The Eagles are sporting a well-deserved 5-0 record while the Lancers are 4-0 with a series of blockbuster victories.
Carlsbad has defeated Torrey Pines (42-0), San Marcos (49-9), Oceanside (30-12) and La Costa Canyon (49-0). The only team ranked higher in the section standings is No. 1 Cathedral Catholic, which has outscored its four opponents 172-14 and is ranked fifth in the state.
Regardless of the outcome of Friday’s contest, the future for the Eagles looks bright. Cobbs noted Granite Hills also won the junior varsity game against Helix.
“It was a big win for our program,” Cobbs said. “I’m not sure if we’ve ever swept them at both levels. That might be a first for this team.”
The varsity game was the showcase event, of course. The teams were tied 14-all at halftime before the Eagles out-scored the Highlanders 21-7 in the second half.
It marked the first win by Granite Hills against Helix since 2005, erasing 10 consecutive defeats.
“It was a great win for our kids,” Cobbs underscored. “They have been working hard all year. They’ve been pushing us coaches. They wanted to be at practice and were ready for the start of the season.”
Practice has obviously made them perfect, so far at least.
“Our defense has performed really well with the ability to stop the run and set up third-and-long situations,” Cobbs elaborated. “The defensive line has four returning starters who have done well. Our quarterback play has improved and has been doing well so far.”
Senior Justus McComb continued his breakout play behind center this season by passing for three touchdowns and rushing for two scores.
McComb completed 11 of 16 passing attempts for 232 yards with one interception. He rushed 19 times for 96 yards to post a 125.0 quarterback efficiency rating.
The Eagles out-gained the Highlanders 420-275 in total offensive yardage. McComb totaled 328 offensive yards in the game himself.
Senior Angel Almazon had three catches for 61 yards and one touchdown while sophomore Joaquin Thomas had three catches for 36 yards and one touchdown. Junior Zach Burton had one catch for a 26-yard touchdown.
Senior Matt Keeley, a three-year varsity standout, led the team defensively with 12 tackles and had one interception while catching one pass for 52 yards on offense.
Senior Andy Lowry had one sack and one fumble recovery while Burton caused one fumble.
Senior Justin Harward had nine tackles while senior Gavin Armstrong was five-for-five on extra-point conversions.
Pride obviously ranks high right now throughout the Granite Hills program, which suited up 110 players this season across all levels.
It’s an impressive number considering that several schools in the section had to cancel their seasons because they could not sustain enough numbers to compete safely on the gridiron.
“At first we didn’t know if we would even have a season, but we kept telling our coaches that we wanted to play together,” Keeley said. “Kids kept showing up (to practice). I think we built on that. We wanted to be together.”
Cobbs rates Keeley (6-2, 205) as an all-CIF worthy player.
“My first year we made it to the semifinals and lost to Lincoln but last season (2019) was not our best year — we lost in the first round to La Costa,” Keely noted. “We’ve grown a lot (since then).”
“We have come together,” McComb said. “We’ve been practicing for a whole year, not five or six months as we normally would in a season. We have great team chemistry. We know each other’s needs.”
McComb, who has now passed for 15 touchdowns and rushed for six more, said last Friday’s victory was likely the biggest in his two-year varsity career so far.
“It was a big win,” the senior signal caller said. “They have been on the top of the Grossmont mountain for 15 years. For us to beat them, and do it my senior year, was pretty amazing.”
It’s almost unheard of for the Scotties to have three losses in one season, especially against section opponents.
Junior Christian Washington continues to be a catalyst for Helix (2-3 overall, 2-1 in league play). He scored twice in last Friday’s loss — once on a two-yard run and another on a 23-yard reception. Senior Aleandro Van Holten (four carries, 19 yards) scored once on a seven-yard run.
Washington led Helix with 160 all-purpose yards — 122 yards on 21 carries, 24 receiving yards on two catches and 14 yards on kick returns. He also unleashed a 59-yard punt.
Freshman quarterback Ryland Jessee followed on the scoresheet with 141 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Senior Isaac Laing averaged 52.7 yards on three kickoffs and nailed three extra-point conversions.
Defensively, sophomore Joshua Carroll had one interception.
The Highlanders will conclude their season this Friday at eighth-ranked La Jolla (4-0) due to a late schedule change. The Scotties had originally been scheduled to host Steele Canyon but the Cougars will now end their season this Friday at Monte Vista (3-1).
Both those games start at 7 p.m.
Steele Canyon improved to 1-2 in league play following last Friday’s 34-17 win over the visiting Grossmont Foothillers.
The Cougars are 2-3 overall on the season while the Foothillers fell to 1-3 overall, 0-3 in league play.
Steele Canyon defeated Grossmont behind 252 rushing yards and two touchdowns by sophomore Major Givens while senior quarterback Elia Kirisimasi (86 passing yards) rushed for two more touchdowns. Givens capped a memorable game performance with 325 all-purpose yards.
Sophomore Adrien Chargualaf led the Cougars defensively with 10 tackles, one interception and one sack.
As a team, Steele Canyon racked up eight sacks, including three by sophomore Finley O’Gorman and solo stops by junior Temo Rangel, sophomore Kenneth Davis, seniors Joshua Stewart and Cannon Kanzius, and Chargualaf.
Rangel and sophomore Keanu Pettiford also recovered fumbles.
Junior David Martinez finished the game with seven kicking points.
Senior Justin Brown (22-of-41, 267 yards) passed for both Grossmont touchdowns — one each to senior Chris Chrzan (six catches, 97 yards) and junior Nathan Acevedo (four catches, 82 yards).
Defensive leaders included junior Brennan Sanders (18 tackles, 17 unassisted) and junior Ryan Odom (12 unassisted tackles). Junior Cristian Espino had one fumble recovery while junior Joseph Garcia had five kicking points.
The Foothillers managed just eight net rushing yards on 21 carries.
Grossmont will host Santa Fe Christian (5-0) in another non-league “bowl”-type game this Friday. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
Santana 21, Valhalla 13
The Sultans hiked their undefeated record to 4-0 on the season, 3-0 in Grossmont Valley League play, after winning a close one from the visiting Norsemen. Senior quarterback Drew Temple completed 12 of 26 passing attempts for 154 yards and two touchdowns — one each to senior Jared Foster (40 yards) and sophomore Shaun Martin (14 yards). Temple also scored on a one-yard run.
Valhalla had two leads in the game — 6-0 and 13-7 – but the hosts rallied each time. The Sultans managed to score the game’s final two touchdowns in the second half to remain unbeaten. However, the victory came with a price as several key players suffered injuries, including senior two-way standout Michael Richter (knee).
Senior Nick Brase stepped up to rush 10 times for 48 yards and catch two passes for 21 yards for Santana, which closes its season with a Mayor’s Cup date this Friday at crosstown rival West Hills (1-3). Kick-off is 7 p.m.
Senior quarterback Luke Pillsbury scored two rushing touchdowns for Valhalla, which remained winless on the season at 0-5 (0-3 in league). The Norsemen received 94 rushing yards on 17 carries from senior Hussain Bakir while senior Miles Tomlinson had four catches for 58 yards.
El Capitan 23, Monte Vista 21
Savigon Yokley and Xavier Peace both scored on 79-yard runs, while Peace later added a 36-yard score, to knock the visiting Monarchs (3-1 in league) from the ranks of the undefeated as the Vaqueros (2-1 in league, 2-3 overall) earned their second consecutive victory of the season.
Yokley rushed nine times for 145 yards while Peace rushed 11 times for 165 yards.
“The team played a very good game again as a team,” El Capitan head coach Ron Burner said. “The defense was stellar and really kept us in the game.”
