The Mater Dei Catholic High School football team has already proven it is not invincible after dropping a 51-42 non-league decision at Los Angeles Hawkins on Sept. 16. But the Crusaders are still in line to conclude an undefeated season against San Diego Section teams.
Mater Dei Catholic made that a possibility after recording a 41-14 upset of fourth-ranked Mission Hills Grizzles last Friday.
The Crusaders entered the game ranked ninth among section teams.
But Mission Hills was outclassed throughout most of the game as the hosts zipped in front 28-0 after recording an amazing 21-point second quarter.
Quarterback Chris Jones completed 15 of 23 passing attempts for 225 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for one score. C.J. Verdell rushed 22 times for 113 yards and scored three touchdowns (one rushing and two receiving).
Elias Eribez (two catches, 22 yards) finished the game with one receiving touchdown.
Quentin Frazier caught five passes for 92 yards and Kyle Moses caught two passes for 44 yards, though neither scored a touchdown.
The team’s go-to man, Verdell rushed for 113 of his team’s 114 total rushing yards and caught five passes for 56 yards to finish the night with 169 all-purpose yards.
Defensively, Max Schwenke led the Crusaders with 11 tackles while teammates Jovan Bayless and Eribez each made 10 stops. Mater Dei Catholic recorded four sacks (two by Bayless) and tacked on nine pass deflections.
Mission Hills entered the game 4-0.
MDCHS head coach John Joyner called playing an Open Division team “exciting.”
The Crusaders, who will be vying for a top seed in the upcoming Division II playoffs, certainly made a statement of their own.
While the Grizzlies were able to slow down the speedy Verdell in the first half, Jones attacked Mission Hills’ defense through the air with great success.
The hosts also capitalized on defense by recovering three fumbles. Bayless also stripped the ball on a kick-off to score in the reverse direction.
How good are the 2016 Crusaders? Hawkins is ranked 18th in the state. Mater Dei Catholic finished nine points behind the Hawks in their Wild West shootout contest.
Verdell, who stood out as one of the catalysts of last year’s state bowl championship season, leads the Crusaders with 19 touchdowns this season – 16 rushing, two receiving and one on a kick-off return. He is averaging 180.2 yards per game while rushing for 901 yards on 88 carries. He has accumulated 1,135 all-purpose yards this season.
Jones has passed for 692 yards and eight touchdowns against two interceptions. He’s averaging 138.4 passing yards per game to go with a 104.4 quarterback rating.
Bayless leads the team with 72 tackles while Kyle Caldwell II leads the team with 4.5 sacks. Moses leads the team with three picks.
Mater Dei Catholic (4-1) moved up to fourth overall in the weekly section rankings following last Friday’s victory against Mission Hills (which dropped to seventh). St Augustine still tops the weekly chart at No. 1, followed by parochial school rival Cathedral Catholic at No. 2 and Rancho Bernardo at No. 3. All three teams are 5-0.
Helix (3-2) sits at No. 5 while Madison (4-1) is ranked sixth. Oceanside (4-1) is ranked eighth while Poway (5-0) is ninth and Grossmont (5-0) is 10th. Other teams receiving consideration for inclusion in the top 10 rankings include Valhalla (5-0), Bishop’s (5-0) and San Marcos (3-2).
The Crusaders — winners of last year’s CIF Division IV championship – now clearly appear to have a target painted on their backs. Next up? The Otay Ranch Mustangs who are fresh off their second consecutive win — a 26-6 pasting of visiting Lincoln last Friday.
Following the win over the Hornets, Otay Ranch players were telling TV news crews on site to bring on Mater Dei Catholic.
It might not be an idle boast. The Mustangs have racked up 59 points in their last two games while allowing 20. Otay Ranch appears a different team now than the one that started the season 0-4.
Cristian Zamudio threw two touchdown passes while Fenuki Kauvaka and Gus Espiritu each scored rushing touchdowns to lead Otay Ranch (2-4). Devin Lloyd caught both TD passes while also completing a pass for eight yards.
The Mustang defense recorded two sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries. Nick Sandoval had one pick and one fumble recovery. Dylan Zolezzi recovered one fumble while Casemi Simon and Darian Williams each recorded sacks.
In six games Espiritu has rushed for 344 yards and scored three touchdowns while Lloyd has 14 receptions for 204 yards and three TDs.
Otay Ranch head coach Lance Christensen said the team’s coaching staff was pleased with how their team played against a very good Lincoln squad.
“That win gives us momentum as we move into league play against very tough competition,” Christensen explained. “We begin league play against Mater Dei Friday night. Mater Dei is very talented and well coached, so to achieve a victory Friday night, we know we have play hard, execute, and play mistake free football.”
One team will come out a winner, that’s for sure.
Back in the saddle
As incredible as it may sound, Friday’s prep pigskin match-up at Southwestern College will feature a pair of winless teams — Bonita Vista (0-5) and Castle Park (0-5). The non-league game will crown one winner.
Both teams have played tough opponents this season. The Barons scored a moral victory in last Friday’s 21-6 setback to Helix by trailing 7-6 at halftime. “While we improved a bunch this past week, the bottom line is we didn’t do enough to earn a victory,” BVHS coach Chris Thompson said. “Now we head into league (Oct. 14 against Olympian) knowing more about ourselves. Our season goal is still attainable but it’s time to put up or shut up.”
Nick Esquivias scored the lone touchdown for the Barons in the loss to the top 10-ranked Highlanders (3-2). Helix out-gained Bonita Vista 336-219 in total yards.
Castle Park is coming off a 57-0 non-league loss to visiting San Pasqual (4-2).
Sweetwater 42, Serra 38
Marty Sesma rushed for 251 yards on 33 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the visiting Red Devils to their first win of the season. The teams exchanged leads in the non-league game before Sweetwater finally came out on top in the dying stages of the contest.
SuHi rushed for 481 yards on 68 carries and scored five rushing touchdowns. Alfredo Ulloa (20 carries, 146 yards) and Abel Garcia (nine carries, 38 yards) also scored rushing touchdowns. Manny Salazar completed all four of his passing attempts for 93 yards with one touchdown to Ulloa for 54 yards. Ulloa also was successful on a pair of two-point conversions.
Sesma finished the game with 288 all-purpose yards while Ulloa collected 200 all-purpose yards. Adrian Kercher led the Devils defense with 13 tackles. Sweetwater (1-4) stamped its imprint on the game with three sacks, two fumble recoveries and one interception.
Serra (2-3) passed for 159 yards and rushed for 234 yards in the loss.
Hilltop 41, Escondido 27
Alex Tejeda (267 passing yards) threw three touchdown passes and Domonic Esparza (19 carries, 97 yards) scored two rushing touchdowns to lead the host Lancers (4-2). Cristian Llanes caught two touchdown passes while Gus Ferreira (12 catches, 169 yards) also had one TD reception. Angel Pineda had one interception return for a touchdown.
“It was a great win before our bye week,” Hilltop coach Drew Westling said. “There were lots of contributors to the win!”
