Trailing 13-0 at halftime, the host Otay Ranch Mustangs rallied with two fourth quarter touchdowns to record a 21-16 come-from-behind victory over the Hoover Cardinals in a non-league game last Friday. Cody Springsguth threw two touchdown passes to Chris Martin, the second of which stood up as the game-winner as the Mustangs erased a 16-7 third quarter deficit.
Springsguth completed eight of 13 passing attempts for 103 yards. Martin had four catches for 80 yards while Nicolas Gula had two receptions for 17 yards. D.D. Cunningham rushed nine times for 63 yards, scoring once, while Anthony Williams had 10 carries for 64 yards. David Monday led the team with 16 rushes for 144 yards. Otay Ranch (3-2) controlled the ground with 317 rushing yards and finished the game with 420 total offensive yards.
Justin Doton keyed the Mustangs with 10 tackles while James Adams had nine tackles and also blocked a punt. Adams, Andre Jones, Doton and Rasheed Farha each collected one sack.
Hoover quarterback Dionte Whitfield passed for 102 yards and rushed for 62 yards. Deshawn Degrate scored one rushing TD while Julian Lopez had one receiving TD for the Cardinals (3-2), who also received a 15-yard field goal from Luis Garcia in the third quarter.
Otay Ranch travels to Castle Park (1-3) this Friday for a non-league game. Kick-off is 7 p.m. Hoover defeated Castle Park, 35-28, on Sept. 23.
Playoff ticker
Division I: Eastlake 4-1, Otay Ranch 3-2, Chula Vista 2-2, San Ysidro 2-3, Sweetwater 1-3
Division II: Bonita Vista 2-2-1, Hilltop 1-3
Division III: Montgomery 4-1, Mar Vista 3-1, Southwest 2-2, Olympian 1-3
Division IV: Mater Dei Catholic 3-2, Castle Park 1-3
Division V: Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 1-3
Eight-man: Kuyper Prep 4-0, Ocean View Christian Academy 4-1, Lutheran 0-3
Prep notebook: Olympian Eagles, CV Spartans earn respect in pigskin setbacks
This year’s Metro-Mesa League should be as balanced as ever when league play kicks off Oct. 14 if the results of last weekend prove typical. Eastlake’s 26-7 loss to Cathedral Catholic, coupled with Otay Ranch’s come-from-behind 21-16 victory over Hoover, Bonita Vista’s 14-7 win over Scripps Ranch and narrow losses by Olympian and Chula Vista to Top 10 section teams would seem to indicate that no team in the five-team circuit is unbeatable.
Chula Vista dropped a 27-21 heartbreaker at ninth-ranked Mira Mesa after leading the Marauders 14-3 early, while Olympian fought to the end in its 42-28 setback at defending Division IV champion Madison. The Eagles closed to within 35-28 on the scoreboard with four minutes left before the Warhawks managed to score an insurance touchdown.
The five Mesa teams are a combined 12-10-1.
Javante Reed and Donovan Mendez each scored early TDs for Chula Vista and Mendez added another scoring run in the fourth quarter.
Olympian rallied from a 28-0 deficit as Kevin Ehm scored twice and Sergio Bailey and Asante Gibson each once.
