The high school football season is finally over and what a memorable season indeed.
Two teams from the San Diego Section advanced to state championship bowl games. Both teams came up short in their bid to win a state title — El Camino lost, 31-14, to Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman in the Division 3-AA title game while La Jolla dropped a 52-21 decision to Escalon in the Division 4-A match-up.
All six San Diego Section champions qualified for the state playoffs but only El Camino and La Jolla won their regional match-ups.
Division II champion El Camino defeated Temecula Valley, 34-18, while Division III champion La Jolla defeated Huntington Beach Marina 27-14.
In other regional playoff games, Open Division champion Helix dropped a 38-20 Division 1-AA match-up against visiting Chatsworth Sierra Canyon while Division I champion Oceanside lost, 14-7, to Corona del Mar in a Division 1-A encounter.
Division IV champion Serra lost, 30-18, to El Monte in a Division 5-AA regional playoff game while Division V champion Francis Parker lost, 27-13, to Garden Grove.
La Jolla, which defeated undefeated Scripps Ranch in the section finals, finished its season 10-5 while El Camino, which won a wild 75-59 scoring fest from top-seeded Bishops at Southwestern College to cap a wild run of three consecutive upset victories in the section playoffs, finished its season with a 9-7 record.
Helix head coach Robbie Owens remained proud of how his team persevered through a season in which the team lost its star player, senior running back Elelyon Noa, likely the top offensive player in the section, midway through the regular season.
The Scotties rallied to finish the 2019 campaign 11-2, including a 28-21 victory over Carlsbad in the section’s Open Division championship game. Helix, ranked first in the section, finished the season ranked 12th in the state, according to the MaxPreps website.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted — it happens,” Owens told his team after the disappointing loss to Sierra Canyon, which snapped a 14-14 halftime tie with 24 unanswered second-half points. “We had a tremendous season. Nobody thought we could do what we did.”
Despite the impressive win over Helix, Sierra Canyon was trampled, 34-19, by Fresno Central for the state championship on Dec. 13.
Counting the section finals, there were a whopping 20 upsets in the four rounds of the 11-man playoffs, including five of the six division championship games in a stunning outcome.
Section commissioner Jerry Schniepp suggested parity reared its head this postseason.
“A lot of lower seeds won,” Schniepp said. “When there is a product of competitive divisions, we should have upsets — anyone can win in any division.”
Red and Black
San Diego State University closed out its 2019 football season with a convincing 48-11win over Central Michigan University in last Saturday’s New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque.
Castle Park grad Luq Barcoo made his FBS national co-leading ninth interception of the season to lead a ferocious Aztec defensive attack that forced five turnovers that led to 21 points and recorded three sacks and three picks in one of the top defensive efforts so far in the 2019 college bowl season.
Barcoo, who tied for third on the team with 55 tackles and topped the chart with 16 pass breakups, recently earned honors as an Associated Press All-America third-team selection. He is the first Aztec defensive back to make an AP All-America first, second or third team in program history.
Previously, Barcoo earned second-team All-America accolades by Walter Camp. He was a semifinalist for the Paycomm Jim Thorpe Award for the nation’s best defensive back.
Barcoo also received recognition as a first-team all-Mountain West selection and Pro Football Focus Honorable-Mention All-American in his first season as a starter.
The former Trojans leads the nation in total passes defended (interceptions and pass break-ups) with 25.
Ex-Eastlake standout William Dunkle joined Barcoo in the starting lineup at right guard.
Other San Diego prep products also had an impact in the bowl game victory.
Christian High School alumnus Jesse Matthews caught three passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns to help spearhead the Aztecs’ best offensive showing of the season. The 37-point win was the largest margin of victory in a bowl game by the Aztecs in their history.
“It was great to see it all kind of come together at the last game,” explained Matthews, a redshirt freshman. “We knew what we could do, we knew what we were capable of, and yeah, I’m just glad we got to show it on this stage and I’m glad we got to send the seniors out the right way.
“The defense has really been kind of carrying us all year, and we just wanted to help the many way we could. I’m glad we could put up 48 points in our last performance.”
Matthews made a diving 22-yard touchdown catch in the end zone to help set up the Aztecs for an early 7-0 lead. He later scored on a 74-yard catch-and-carry in the second quarter to make the score 20-3.
The Aztecs (10-3) compiled 510 yards in total offense, including 287 passing yards.
“It was pretty amazing,” Matthews continued. “That long touchdown, I thought no one was with me, so I kind of had a look around for a quick second, found a lane, and I’m just glad I didn’t get caught. These guys were joking with me saying they didn’t know I had any speed, so I had to show them a little something.”
The former Christian Patriot finished the season with 48 catches for 633 yards and two scores.
Place-kicker Matt Araiza (Rancho Bernardo) made two field goals (a career high 48 and 31 yards).
Senior quarterback Ryan Agnew completed three touchdown passes in his final game as an Aztec while sophomore running back Jordan Byrd rushed for 139 yards and one touchdown. Agnew completed passes to 12 teammates while eight SDSU players were credited with rushing the ball.
Ex-Helix quarterback Carson Baker appeared in one game this season, passing for 172 yards with one touchdown in a 13-3 win over BYU on Nov. 30 to close out regular season play.
Holiday Bowl
Local college football fans can get into the holiday bowl spirit when the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl kicks off Friday, Dec. 27, at SDCCU Stadium between the University of Southern California Trojans and Iowa Hawkeyes.
The Hawkeyes (9-3) are ranked 16th in the nation while the Trojans (8-4) are ranked 22nd.
Game time is 5 p.m. The FS1 network will handle the telecast.
Iowa is making its fourth trip to the Holiday Bowl — and first in 28 years. The Hawkeyes are 2-0-1 in their three previous trips, including a harrowing 39-38 win over SDSU in 1986.
This will mark the third Holiday Bowl appearance for USC. The Trojans defeated Nebraska, 45-42, in 2014 and came up short by a score of 23-21 to Wisconsin in 2015.
Iowa is removing its helmet logo for Friday’s game in honor of former head coach Hayden Fry, 90, who passed away on Dec. 17.
