The moment has finally arrived, and it didn’t disappoint.
Mater Dei Catholic and Otay Ranch established themselves as the teams to beat in the Metro-Mesa League with league-opening wins over Eastlake (34-13) and Chula Vista (28-7), respectively.
Now it’s up to both teams to continue their winning ways in league play or share the title with another team or conceivably even be deposed from the top of the standings.
“League play is always exciting as you are playing against teams that know you well,” Mater Dei Catholic head coach Rashard Cook said. “This year the league has changed, we get a new opponent in Chula Vista and we also play Sweetwater.
“Both Sweetwater and Chula Vista return some pieces from teams that were in the championship games last year.
“For Mater Dei to win league, we must continue to do what we did against Eastlake and win the turnover battle, run the ball efficiently, and make big plays in the passing game.”
Senior quarterback Kartell Purvis passed for 201 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair to senior Matt Carr (three catches, 91 yards) as the Crusaders (1-0, 3-3) handed the Titans (0-1, 1-6) their sixth consecutive setback.
Junior Jordan Dumaran (12 carries, 63 yards) scored one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown while senior Isaiah Cook also caught a scoring pass. Cook also had a 36-yard punt return.
Senior Yosias Mitchell scored on touchdown runs of 18 and eight yards and senior Johnnie Welborne tacked on a pair of one-yard scoring runs as host Otay Ranch pulled away late on the scoreboard to grab their fourth consecutive win to improve to 4-3.
“Our league is well-balanced and is made up of quality teams,” Mustang head coach Brad Burton said. “We won our league opener against a good Chula Vista team in a physical, hard-fought game. We play Sweetwater this week for Senior Night and they are coming off of a championship season. We will have to continue to improve and play with great effort for the remainder of the season.”
Senior quarterback Izaac Baca passed for 203 yards to lead the Spartans (0-1, 4-3) while senior Elijah Gillespie had seven catches for 153 yards and an 80-yard TD.
Chula Vista’s rushing game was limited to 67 yards.
In league games on Friday, Oct. 11, Otay Ranch hosts Sweetwater while Mater Dei Catholic is at Chula Vista.
Lancers crown Knights, 42-14, to even season record at 3-3
The Metro Conference’s three leagues are shaping up to be competitively balanced with much doubt on which teams will nail down automatic playoff berths with league championships.
“It’s coming down to league and how everyone matches up,” Hilltop coach Bryan Wagner said. “It’s open for whoever continues to get better. We’ve got to get better. We’re not ready yet but we will be ready.”
The Lancers, who open Metro-South Bay League play on Oct. 18 at Olympian, looked pretty good last Friday against the Division V-AA Knights while cruising to a 42-14 non-league win.
Mason Vaquero (two catches, 88 yards) opened scoring on a pass reception from senior quarterback Kneko Vasquez 1:33 into the game. Senior Andy Bautista (10 carries, 74 yards) quickly advanced to score to 14-0 on a six-yard scoring run before Vaquero returned a punt 40 yards to the Victory Christian Academy one-yard line from where sophomore Lajuan Johnson (six carries, 78 yards) scored to make the score 21-0 with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter.
Vaquero scored on a 59-yard catch in the second quarter and Vasquez (six carries, 27 yards) added a one-yard TD run for a 35-0 halftime advantage.
Junior Julian Moran caught a 72-yard TD pass from junior reserve QB Alejandro Carranza.
VCA junior Austin Dill passed for 281 yards with two TD strikes to junior Gabriel Aguirre (four catches, 36 yards). Junior Ben Cordova had five catches for 114 yards.
“It’s getting better each game even though the scoreboard doesn’t really tell you that,” VCA coach Earl Benson said. “The last two practices have been our best. Our quarterback is maturing. We’re maturing as a team. Since Week 1, we’ve added eight more players. We have 31 on the roster. The buzz has been growing on campus.”
From left, Hilltop High School’s Mason Vaquero, Kneko Vasquez and Manny Pablos each played a role in last Friday’s 42-14 non-league win against visiting Victory Christian Academy.
South County Football Log
Friday, Oct. 4
Metro-Mesa League
Mater Dei Catholic 34, Eastlake 13
Otay Ranch 28, Chula Vista 7
Non-League
Hilltop 42, Victory Christian Academy 14
CalPreps Rankings
Top 30 Teams/San Diego Section
- Lincoln 4-2, 2. Cathedral Catholic 5-1, 3. La Costa Canyon 6-0, 4. Granite Hills 5-1, 5. Mission Hills 5-1, 6. San Marcos 5-1, 7. Carlsbad 4-2, 8. Torrey Pines 3-3, 9. Rancho Bernardo 5-1, 10. El Camino 4-2, 11. Mt. Miguel 5-1, 12. Scripps Ranch 5-0, 13. Oceanside 4-3, 14. La Jolla 4-2, 15. Del Norte 3-3, 16. Brawley 6-0, 17. Santa Fe Christian 5-1, 18. Poway 3-3, 19. Mt. Carmel 5-1, 20. Mater Dei Catholic 3-3, 21. Imperial 7-0, 22. Helix 2-4, 23. Bishop’s 3-2, 24. Madison 2-4, 25. University City 6-0, 26. Pt. Loma 3-3, 27. Central Union 5-2, 28. Christian 4-2, 29. Holtville 7-0, 30. Escondido 4-2
Others: 33. Otay Ranch 4-3, 38. Eastlake 1-6, 41. Chula Vista 4-3, 49. Montgomery 3-3, 54. Bonita Vista 204, 56. Sweetwater 4-2, 61. Hilltop 3-3, 65. Olympian 1-5, 71. Southwest 3-3, 78. Castle Park 2-3, 79. San Ysidro 2-4, 83. Mar Vista 1-5, 84, Victory Christian Academy
Alumni report:
Eastlake’s White named MW Defensive Player of the Week
It was a chance for a new beginning for San Diego State University’s somewhat beleaguered football team.
And the Aztecs took full opportunity and ran with it.
Mired in a three-game losing streak that included an excruciating 22-21 last-second loss on the road to Central Michigan on Sept. 28, SDSU battled from behind to record a much-needed 27-24 victory over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium in the Mountain West opener for both teams.
The Aztecs improved to 2-3 on the season. But more importantly, they are 1-0 in conference play.
“Big win for everyone all weekend long,” first-year SDSU head coach Sean Lewis said. “There were good downs and distribution. There are a lot of guys who made impactful plays.
“Again, continue to do a good job valuing the football. Anytime that you do that and you come on the right side of the turnover margin, you’re in a good position. Building on all those pieces, the opportunity, the time on task, and the reps that we’re getting, will continue to help us to develop to get to a consistent level of play that we’re capable of.”
As part of the much-needed victory, sophomore edge Trey White (Eastlake) earned Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors while freshman quarterback Danny O’Neil (Indianapolis) received the MW Freshman of the Week award.
It is the first weekly honors for both players.
White, who serves as a special teams captain, logged four tackles for a loss and three sacks against Hawaii (0-1, 2-3). His four tackles for losses totaled 27 yards while his three sacks were good for 26 yards in losses.
All three sacks helped the Aztecs stop the Rainbow Warriors from scoring.
For the season, the EHS graduate has recorded 28 tackles (21 unassisted), including 12 tackles for losses and nine sacks while adding a pair of pass breakups and a forced fumble. Through five games, he leads FBS in sacks per game (1.80), tackles for loss per game (2.4) and total tackles for loss (12.0) and is tied for first in total sacks (9.0).
O’Neil led the SDSU offense to a fourth quarter comeback victory by going 24-of-33 for 224 yards after completing his first 10 passes of the night.
The 24 completions were a career high. He also completed one touchdown, his fifth of the season, and did not commit a turnover. With the hosts trailing 24-20, O’Neil went four-of-five for 68 yards on the Aztecs’ game-winning drive.
Named the first true freshman starting quarterback in SDSU’s Division I history prior to this season, O’Neil has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for five touchdowns. In four games, he possesses a 136.23 quarterback rating and has yet to throw an interception.
Senior running back Marquez Cooper (30 carries, 109 yards) scored two rushing touchdowns to buttress the Aztecs, who led 17-10 at halftime following a 3-3 first quarter standoff. O’Neil connected on a 15-yard scoring pass to junior Louis Brown IV (five catches, 40 yards) and junior Gabriel Plascencia kicked two field goals.
SDSU continues MW play with a road match-up against the Wyoming Cowboys (1-0, 1-4) Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT on the CBS Sports Network.
“They’re a dangerous team,” Lewis noted of Wyoming. “They’re well-coached, physical, and really sound. Again, just being able to go on the road and handle the environment, the physicality of the game that it’s going to be and being the more physical team in that regard. But they’re dangerous. They’re more than capable and well-coached.”
