The Hilltop High School football team won its third consecutive game to improve to 3-0 on the season by defeating the visiting Hoover Cardinals by a score of 55-0 Friday in non-league action. The Lancers are looking to continue their momentum as the team’s schedule becomes more challenging.
“Regardless of the opponent, our focus needs to be on improving ,” first-year Hilltop head coach Drew Westling explained. “Our goal is to be better than we were yesterday.”
The Lancers led, 34-0, at halftime by which time a running clock had been instituted.
Quarterback Alex Tejeda completed 12 of 20 passing attempts for four touchdowns and Domonic Esparza rushed eight times for 108 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Gus Ferreira caught seven passes and scored two touchdowns. Jeremiah Rivera, Angel Pineda and A.J. Valtierri each scored one touchdown.
Cristian Llanes made an interception early in the second half and Esparza quickly put the ball in the end zone on an ensuing 45-yard play from the line of scrimmage.
Esparza’s second touchdown of the game made the score 41-0 in Hilltop’s favor. Rivera then scored on an 40-yard run to increase the Lancer lead to 48-0 in the third quarter.
Hilltop scored its eighth touchdown of the game on a four-yard run by Rodrigo Reyes in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter.
In three games, Hoover has now been outscored 161-0.
Hilltop has scored 117 points in three games.
“It’s a good feeling,” Tejeda said of the team’s undefeated 3-0 start. “The boys have been practicing hard every week. I told them not to underestimate our opponents, just to keep working hard.”
Ferreira caught the game-winning touchdown and then scored on a two-point conversion play as the Lancers rallied from a 21-7 deficit the previous week in a non-league game at La Jolla.
“It was pretty exciting,” Ferreira noted of the comeback victory against the Vikings. “The boys worked hard and, at the end of the game, we got that ‘W.’ Everyone is working hard; it’s starting to show.”
Hilltop’s schedule picks up tempo from here on. The Lancers play at Lincoln, at El Toro and host Escondido in successive weeks before entering their bye week. Hilltop then kicks off the second half of the season with a non-league game at Granite Hills before entering league play with games against Mar Vista, Chula Vista and Sweetwater.
“The next four games are going to be very important for us,” Westling said. “The great thing that’s happened to us is that we’ve got a bunch of guys back from ineligibility — players who have worked hard to become eligible and who will be key contributors.”
In other games on Friday:
Mar Vista wins football game in Pacific Northwest in 3-0 start
The Mar Vista Mariners have proven they can win both at home and on the road this year, and that includes a weekend road trip to Seattle, Wash. The Mariners defeated Decatur High School, 33-7, in Friday’s non-league match-up in suburban Federal Way to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Khalil Spruill led the California visitors with 20 carries for 150 yards, scored three touchdowns and also tacked on a two-point conversion.
“The defense played well only allowing seven points,” MVHS head coach Tyler Arciaga explained. “I think the kids did a nice job preparing themselves for the game despite the distractions that traveling may impose.”
Quarterback Mike Wilson completed five of nine passes for 79 yards and one touchdown to Noah Berry (two catches, 46 yards).
As a team, Mar Vista rolled up 310 rushing yards. Kyle Denney rushed seven times for 69 yards and Marcus Ramirez added four rushes for 34 yards and scored one touchdown in support of Spruill (166 all-purpose yards in the game).
The trip to the Pacific Northwest also provided sightseeing opportunities. It proved to be quite an itinerary for the Imperial Beach group.
“We were able to do quite a few things while we were up there,” Arciaga noted. “We went to a Seattle Mariners baseball game, toured Century Link Field (home of the NFL Seattle Seahawks), watch practice and tour the Seahawks practice facility (Renton, Wash.), have Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll address the team and take questions for 20 minutes, tour the University of Washington, go to a UW versus Idaho college football game and some time down on Pikes Market.”
The Mariners will have to shelve their memories for the moment as they likely face their toughest opponent to date in their next game on Friday, Sept. 16 in the person of the Valhalla Norsemen, also off to a 3-0 start.
The Norsemen pummeled visiting Mt. Miguel, 33-7, in their latest outing.
“We have a tough game this week,” Arciaga underscored. “Valhalla is a Division I opponent and they are good at all three phases of the game. We had a rough time last year, and I am hoping that our kids can put that behind and play hard all four quarters.”
Lutheran 40, Sherman Indian (Riverside) 28
Senior Christian Dufresne completed 14 of 27 passing attempts for 153 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing five times for 16 yards and an additional touchdown to help the Knights (1-2) capture their first win of the 2016 high school football season.
Lutheran rushed for 223 yards braced by senior Alex Tang (11 carries, 106 yards) and freshman Steve Stinson (seven carries, 101 yards). Tang scored two touchdowns to lead the ground game.
Dufresne connected with three receivers on passes: senior Tyler Pinuelas (10 catches, 133 yards), senior Dan Chier (two catches, 13 yards) and sophomore Larry Oldham III (two catches, seven yards). Pinuelas and Chier both caught touchdown passes.
Stinson also scored on an 80-yard interception return.
Oldham and Colton Allen led the victors with nine tackles each while Cheir recorded eight stops on defense.
Overall, Lutheran recorded three sacks, five tackles for losses, one interception and one fumble recovery in scoring the win.
Stinson led the Knights with 217 all-purpose yards – 101 rushing yards, 36 kick-return yards and 80 interception return yards.
The Braves fell to 0-1 in their season debut.
Lutheran returns to action on Sept. 23 when they host San Ysidro in a key Division V match-up at Hilltop High School. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
Montgomery 11, Army-Navy Academy 8
Robert Dorame scored the lone touchdown for the host Aztecs on a fumble recovery in the end zone as Montgomery (1-2) recorded its first win of the season.
Madison 35, Bonita Vista 21
Bonita Vista senior quarterback Anthony Posada threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to rally the Barons past the seventh-ranked Warhawks in a non-league game played at Southwestern College.
While the Barons out-paced Madison in the passing department, a wide disparity existed in the running game as the Warhawks rolled up a decisive 315-53 advantage in rushing yards. Senior Josh Godfrey led Bonita Vista with 46 yards on 13 carries while Erick Buchanan piled up 238 yards on 22 carries with one touchdown to lead the visitors.
The Barons stayed close to Madison on the scoreboard for most of the game, trailing 14-7 at halftime and narrowing the score to 28-21 at one point late in the contest. But keeping the Warhawks off the scoreboard remained a problem throughout the comeback attempt. Trailing by a touchdown after a successful two-point conversion by Posada, Madison promptly responded on a touchdown off a tipped pass.
The setback dropped Bonita Vista to 0-3 to start the season while Madison improved to 2-1.
Nick Esquivias (four catches, 54 yards), Robert Cota (five catches, 27 yards) and Godfrey (three catches, three yards) each made touchdown receptions in the game. Keenan Ellis led the Barons with 133 receiving yards on six catches.
Posada has passed for 713 yards and seven touchdowns in three games for a 121.5 quarterback rating; Ellis has amassed 318 receiving yards while Godfrey has 168 rushing yards to his credit.
The Warhawks recorded four sacks in the game and also recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Madison racked up 466 yards in total offense.
Bonita Vista will look to pick up its first win of the season when it meets Point Loma (1-2) in a non-league match-up Sept. 16 at Southwestern College.
Helix 42, Eastlake 7
The host Titans generated just 32 yards in passing offense and 39 yards in rushing offense — that wasn’t obviously enough against a strong-arm Helix team ranked second in the San Diego Section rankings.
Eastlake’s leading rusher, senior Kaleb Dueitt, gained 28 yards on 11 carries while quarterback Alfredo Garcia completed just four of 12 passing attempts for 25 yards while rushing nine times for 16 yards. Garcia had one touchdown and one interception in the game.
A bright spot for the Titans (1-2) remains junior Micah Pietila-Wiggs, who collected 162 yards in kick returns against the Highlanders (2-1) to lead the hosts in all-purpose yards in the game.
Senior Ezekiel Noa (12 carries, 136 yards) and junior quarterback Carson Baker (168 passing yards) led the Helix juggernaut that amassed 424 yards in total offense. Noa rushed for two touchdowns while Baker passed for one touchdown, was intercepted once, and rushed for 61 yards on three carries.
Duce Reynolds (nine carries, 30 yards) and Mugen Blue (one carry, 12 yards) also scored rushing touchdowns for the Scotties.
Scott Young rounded out the Helix scoring barrage on a fumble recovery in the end zone. Keaton Chase was perfect on all six PAT conversions.
Manny Velarde led Eastlake with 15 tackles while Declan Fernandez had 14 stops. Micah Mendillo also had 12 tackles for the Titans.
Poway 17, Olympian 10
The visiting Eagles suffered three interceptions but still played well enough to win in absorbing a non-league loss to the ninth-ranked Titans.
Nico Mendoza completed five of 19 passing attempts for 42 yards and one touchdown while Noah Lacsina led the team with 42 rushing yards on 15 carries. Olympian collected 111 rushing yards in the game for an average of 3.0 yards per carry against the Poway defense.
Mikael Tyler (two catches, 30 yards) scored the Eagles lone touchdown while Ralphie Gomez kicked a 25-yard field goal to account for the scoring by the visitors.
Olympian’s defense played tough in the setback. Rock Gonzalez led the team with 12 tackles, including nine solo stops, while Andrew Whyte was credited with 11 tackles. The Eagles punished Poway with six sacks – three by Gonzalez, two by Isaiah Williams and one by Jason Miller. Brandon Ridgels aslo made an interception while teammate Trey Curry recovered a fumble and Gonzalez caused a fumble.
Rancho Bernardo 34, Otay Ranch 7
Amari Riley scored the lone touchdown for the host Mustangs (0-3) against the defending state bowl champion Broncos (3-0).
Mark Salazar passed for 184 yards and two touchdowns while Milan Grice carried the ball 16 times for 107 yards and a touchdown to lead the visitors. The Broncos, who recorded defensive thefts with three sacks and two interceptions, out-gained Otay Ranch 349-59 in total offensive yards.
Grice, one of the section’s highly-touted running backs, also caught a scoring pass to lead RB with two touchdowns in the game while Anthony Walsh scored on an interception return and Matt Araiza kicked two field goals to highlight the Broncos’ latest visit to South County.
Prep Scoreboard
Non-League
Friday, Sept. 9
Hilltop 55, Hoover 0
Madison 35, Bonita Vista 21
Santana 42, Castle Park 0
Poway 17, Olympian 10
Rancho Bernardo 34, Otay Ranch 7
Helix 42, Eastlake 7
Montgomery 11, Army-Navy Academy 8
Crawford 30, San Ysidro 6
Mar Vista 33, Decatur (Federal Way, Wash.) 7
Morse 37, Chula Vista 21
Crenshaw 46, San Ysidro 14
Lutheran 40, Sherman Indian (Riverside) 28
EIGHT MAN
St. Joseph Academy 54, Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 24
Friday, Sept. 16
Non-League
Hilltop at Lincoln, 6:30 p.m.
Eastlake at Madison, 6:30 p.m.
Chula Vista at Castle Park, 7 p.m.
Bonita Vista vs. Pt. Loma at Southwestern College, 7 p.m.
Rio Mesa (Oxnard) at Olympian, 7 p.m.
Valhalla at Mar Vista, 7 p.m.
Santana at Montgomery, 7 p.m.
Vincent Memorial at San Ysidro, 7 p.m.
Tri-City Christian at Southwest, 7 p.m.
Sweetwater at Grossmont, 7 p.m.
Otay Ranch vs. St. Augustine at Mesa College, 7 p.m.
Mater Dei Catholic at Hawkins (Los Angeles), 7 p.m.
EIGHT MAN
Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy at San Pasqual Academy, 3:45 p.m.
Ocean View Christian Academy at Foothills Christian, 7 p.m.
Metro Conference Standings
Metro-Mesa League
Mater Dei Catholic 0-0, 2-0
Olympian Eagles 0-0, 2-1
Eastlake 0-0, 1-2
Bonita Vista 0-0, 0-3
Otay Ranch 0-0, 0-3
Metro-South Bay League
Hilltop Lancers 0-0, 3-0
Mar Vista Mariners 0-0, 3-0
Chula Vista Spartans 0-0, 2-1
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-0, 0-2
Metro-Pacific League
Montgomery Aztecs 0-0, 1-2
Southwest Raiders 0-0, 1-2
Castle Park Trojans 0-0, 0-3
San Ysidro Cougars 0-0, 0-3
Metro Conference/
South County Playoff Tracker
Division I
Eastlake 1-2
Division II
Mater Dei Catholic 2-0
Olympian 2-1
Bonita Vista 0-3
Otay Ranch 0-3
Division III
Hilltop 3-0
Chula Vista 2-1
Sweetwater 0-2
Division IV
Mar Vista 3-0
Castle Park 0-3
Division V
Montgomery 1-2
Southwest 1-2
Lutheran 1-2
San Ysidro 0-3
Eight-Man
Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 1-2
Ocean View Christian Academy 0-2
Prep Football Rankings
San Diego County Sportswriters/Sportscasters Poll
1. St. Augustine Saints (3-0)
2. Helix Highlanders (2-1)
3. Cathedral Catholic Dons (3-0)
4. Oceanside Pirates (3-0)
5. Rancho Bernardo Broncos (3-0)
6. Madison Warhawks (2-1)
7. Mission Hills Grizzlies (2-0)
8. Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders (2-0)
9. San Marcos Knights (3-0)
10. Poway Titans (3-0)
Others: Mt. Carmel Sundevils, Grossmont Foothillers, La Costa Canyon Mavericks, Carlsbad Lancers, Valhalla Norsemen, Bishop’s Knights
