Eastlake High School’s football team recorded its sixth consecutive win by defeating host Mater Dei Catholic, 56-21, last Friday, though the Titans had to come from behind in doing so.
The host Crusaders were fresh off a 42-7 victory against Bonita Vista in the teams’ Metro-Mesa League opener the previous week and carried that momentum into last Friday’s game by shocking heavily favored Eastlake, currently ranked fifth among the San Diego Section’s Division I teams, by taking a quick 7-0 lead.
It took a while but the Titans, coming off a bye week, eventually recovered the momentum that had launched them on their current winning streak and out-scored their opponent 56-14 over the duration of the game.
Eastlake bounced back to lead 28-14 at halftime and piled up a 28-7 scoring edge in the second half.
“Mater Dei played well in the first half and capitalized on a few mistakes on offense/defense and special teams,” explained Eastlake head coach John McFadden, whose team hiked its record to 6-1 on the season, 1-0 in Metro-Mesa League play.
“Josh McCurty, as our leader on defense, stepped up his play and led the defense to a dominant performance after one bad series.
“Offensively, the offensive line led by Jack Hay, Jaime Jimenez, Lavonte Webb, McJed Atendido and Vincent Santos, dominated Mater Dei at the line of scrimmage. This allowed (quarterback) Richard Colmenero III to break every single-game Eastlake passing record in school history.”
Colmenero, a sophomore, completed 23 passes in 29 attempts for 377 yards and five touchdowns against one interception. He finished the game with a massive quarterback rating of 145.5. His longest play from scrimmage went 83 yards to Kevin Bateman.
Darius De Los Reyes racked up receiving yards on eight catches. He finished the game with two touchdowns. Bateman had three catches for 117 yards with one touchdown.
A.J. Hernandez had four receptions for 71 yards and one touchdown while Sebastian Scholl had a one-yard scoring catch.
In a switch, the Titans rolled up just 105 rushing yards. Roman Coe had 13 carries for 82 yards while Mateo La had four carries for 23 yards.
McCurty led the Eastlake defense with 18 tackles, two sacks, two fumble recoveries and two pass deflections. He scooped up a blocked punt to score a touchdown and ran in a forced quarterback fumble for another score.
Overall, the Titans racked up three sacks, seven tackles for a loss and three fumble recoveries.
Jose Rivas recovered one fumble while Alfonso Alvarado III had one sack. Maximus Susi blocked one punt.
D.J. Del Fierro was successful on all eight extra-point conversions.
Aiden Calvert (43 rushing yards, 127 receiving yards) scored two of the Crusaders’ three touchdowns in the game, including one on a 97-yard kickoff return.
The numbers added up to another dominating win by the Titans, whose only loss this season remains 13-0 to the undefeated Torrey Pines Falcons (7-0), currently ranked second in the section to Cathedral Catholic (6-1).
Eastlake will be looking to extend its league record to 2-0 by defeating visiting Bonita Vista in Friday’s annual Battle for the Boot rivalry game. The Barons took it on the chin in a 38-20 loss at Otay Ranch last Friday to fall to 0-2 in league play, 2-6 on the season.
The Titans have outscored opponents 267-69 in their current six-game win streak while Bonita Vista has been outscored 316-90 on the season and 98-7 in their last two games.
As with most rivalry games, however, it’s time to wipe the slate clean for both teams.
“Bonita Vista has had a tough schedule this year, but (head coach) Sam Kirkland has done a good job, with two big wins over Hilltop and Patrick Henry,” McFadden assessed. “I expect our team to make less mistakes and come ready to play. I’m sure Bonita will do the same. It is our Senior Night and Boot Bonita is a special week for both teams.”
Mater Dei Catholic (1-1 in league, 3-5 overall) will close out its home schedule with a game Friday against the visiting Olympian Eagles (0-1 in league, 1-6 overall).
The game is important for both teams as it possesses playoff implications. Mater Dei Catholic enters the week ranked 11th in the Division II standings while Olympian is ranked 12th.
Bonita Vista is ranked 15th.
The top 12 teams qualify for the playoffs.
Clash of the Titans
Colmenero has passed for 1,395 yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has an overall 123.4 quarterback rating.
Parker Merrifield leads the EHS rushing attack with 424 yards and five touchdowns while Coe has rushed for 360 yards and three touchdowns.
De Los Reyes has made 22 catches for 482 yards with six touchdowns while Bateman has 20 catches for 408 yards and two scores.
De Los Reyes leads the Titans with 617 all-purpose yards (135 rushing yards, 482 receiving yards).
McCurty is having a monstrous season with 113 total tackles (16.1 per game), six sacks, two fumble recoveries.
Saiyvionn Williams tops the Barons with 257 rushing yards in six games with two touchdowns while Roland Cota leads the team in scoring with five touchdowns (two rushing, two receiving and one on a kickoff return).
BV quarterback Kevin Rozar has passed for 647 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Cota leads the Barons with 510 all-purpose yards (87 rushing, 236 receiving and 187 on kick returns).
Player Pictorial:
Josh McCurty (two fumble returns for touchdowns)
Photos by Jon Bigornia
Mustangs top Bonita Vista, hike Metro-Mesa League record to 2-0
The Otay Ranch Mustangs improved to 2-0 in defense of their Metro-Mesa League football championship after defeating the visiting Bonita Vista Barons, 38-20, last Friday.
The Mustangs improved to 5-3 overall and have two games remaining on their regular season schedule following this weekend’s bye.
Otay Ranch hosts Mater Dei Catholic on Oct. 19 before traveling to Eastlake on Oct. 26 in what is shaping up as the match-up for this year’s league title.
But, first things first.
The Mustangs built a 10-0 first quarter lead in last Friday’s game and tacked on 21 second quarter points to lead 31-7 at halftime.
Jonte Stewart completed seven of 12 passing attempts for three touchdowns with one interception while rushing eight times for 103 yards and scoring once.
Noah Isley (16 carries, 127 yards) led Otay Ranch’s ground attack that racked up 242 yards with 16 carries for 127 yards.
Marwan Phillips caught three passes for 42 yards, two of which went for touchdowns. Dylan Baca (two catches, 17 yards) also had a touchdown catch.
Stewart led the Mustangs with 191 total offensive yards — 103 rushing yards and 88 passing yards.
Defensively, Otay Ranch accumulated four sacks — one each by Dylan Zolezzi, Miguel Felix, Cameron Galloway and Chad Sapinoso — and four tackles for a loss.
Vita Hafoka and Felix each made interceptions, with Hafoka returning his pick 47 yards for a touchdown.
Manuel Martinez supplied eight kicking points on five extra-point conversions and a 40-yard field goal.
Bonita Vista’s first touchdown came on a 15-yard scoring pass from Kevin Rozar to Roland Cota to make the score 10-7 in the Mustangs’ favor.
Stewart remains the catalyst of the Otay Ranch offense. Through eight games, the Mustang signal-caller has collected 1,422 total yards — 912 passing yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions and 510 rushing yards with five rushing touchdowns.
Isley has rushed for 633 yards and six touchdowns. Phillips and Baca each have three receiving touchdowns.
Felix leads the team defensively with 83 tackles Zolezzi, who ranks second with 78 stops, has six sacks and 12 tackles for a loss.
Prep Football Standings
Metro-Mesa League
League/Overall
School W-L W-L
Otay Ranch 2-0 5-3
Eastlake 1-0 6-1
Mater Dei Catholic 1-1 3-5
Olympian 0-1 1-6
Bonita Vista 0-2 2-6
Friday, Oct. 5
Eastlake 56, Mater Dei Catholic 21
Otay Ranch 38, Bonita Vista 20
Friday, Oct. 12
Bonita Vista at Eastlake, 7 p.m.
Olympian at Mater Dei Catholic, 7 p.m.
Non-League
Friday, Oct. 5
Montgomery 21, Sweetwater 17
Mar Vista 43, Southwest 7
Castle Park 40, El Cajon Valley 21
Metro-South Bay League
League/Overall
School W-L W-L
Mar Vista 0-0 5-2
Chula Vista 0-0 2-5
Hilltop 0-0 2-5
Sweetwater 0-0 2-5
Friday, Oct. 12
Hilltop at Sweetwater, 7 p.m.
Mar Vista at Chula Vista, 7 p.m.
Metro-Pacific League
League/Overall
School W-L W-L
Castle Park 0-0 3-4
Montgomery 0-0 3-4
Southwest 0-0 3-4
San Ysidro 0-0 0-7
Friday, Oct. 12
Montgomery at Castle Park, 7 p.m.
Southwest at San Ysidro, 7 p.m.
CITRUS LEAGUE
League/Overall
School W-L W-L
Borrego Springs 3-0 6-1
St. Joseph Academy 4-0 4-2
Victory Christian 2-2 2-4
Horizon Prep 1-2 2-3
Rock Academy 1-2 1-4
Ocea View Christian 0-3 0-4
Warner 0-3 2-5
Friday, Oct. 5
St. Joseph Academy 64, Victory Christian 24
Friday, Oct. 12
Victory Christian at Horizon Prep, 3:30 p.m.
Rock Academy at Ocean View Christian Academy, 7 p.m.
Ocean League
League/Overall
School W-L W-L
Foothills Christian 3-0 5-2
Calvin Christian 2-0 4-3
Julian 2-0 3-4
Calvary Christian 0-2 4-2
SD Jewish Academy 0-2 2-2
West Shores 0-3 2-5
Friday, Oct. 12
Calvary Christian Academy at San Diego Jewish Academy, 2:15 p.m.
Prep Football
MaxPreps Rankings
(Through Oct. 9)
Division I
- Cathedral Catholic (6-1), 2. Torrey Pines (7-0), 3. La Costa Canyon (6-1), 4. Helix (4-3), 5. Eastlake (6-1), 6. St. Augustine (5-2), 7. San Marcos (6-1), 8. Carlsbad (4-3), 9. Madison (5-2), 10. Mission Hills (2-5), 11.Rancho Bernardo (5-2), 12. Oceanside (3-4), 13. Steele Canyon (5-2), 14. Otay Ranch (5-3), 15. El Camino (1-6). 16. Grossmont (2-5)
Division II
- Granite Hills (7-0), 2. Poway (6-2), 3. Vista (5-2), 4. Point Loma (4-3), 5. Ramona (5-2), 6. Lincoln (6-1), 7. Valley Center (4-3), 8. Mira Mesa (5-2), 9. San Pasqual (4-3), 10. Bishop’s (4-3), 11. Mater Dei Catholic (3-5), 12. Olympian (1-6), 13. Westview (1-6), 14. Mt. Carmel (0-7), 15. Bonita Vista (2-6), 16. Southwest El Centro (3-4), 17. Valhalla (0-7)
Division III
- Christian (7-0), 2. Central Union (7-0), 3. Monte Vista (6-1), 4. Brawley (6-1), 5. Morse (4-3), 6. Santa Fe Christian (4-3), 7. Imperial (4-3), 8. University City (4-3), 9. El Capitan (2-5). 10. West Hills (6-1), 11. Rancho Buena Vista 3-4, 12. La Jolla 2-5, 13. Escondido 3-4, 14. Scripps Ranch 4-3, 15. Mount Miguel 2-5, 16. Hilltop (2-5), 17. Patrick Henry 1-6
Division IV
- Kearny (7-0), 2. San Diego (5-1), 3. Mar Vista (5-2), 4. Del Norte (4-3), 5. Santana (4-4), 6. Chula Vista (2-5), 7. Coronado (6-1), 8. Classical Academy (4-3), 9. Serra (4-3), 10. Calexico (3-4), 11. La Jolla Country Day (2-5), 12. Montgomery (3-4), 13. Fallbrook (2-5), 14. Sweetwater (2-5), 15. Crawford (3-4), 16. Mission Bay (1-6), 17. El Cajon Valley (0-7)
Division V
- Francis Parker (7-0), 2. Tri-City Christian (6-1), 3. Holtville (6-1), 4. Vincent Memorial (6-1), 5. Orange Glen (5-2), 6. Palo Verde Valley (3-4), 7. Maranatha Christian (4-4), 8. Mountain Empire (4-3), 9. Southwest (3-4), 10. Castle Park (3-4), 11. Army-Navy Academy (2-5), 12. Calipatria (3-4), 13. Clairemont (0-7), 14. Escondido Charter (1-6), 15. Hoover (0-7), 16. San Ysidro (0-7)
Eight-man Standings
Borrego Springs 6-1, Foothills Christian 5-2, Calbary Christian Academy 4-2, St. Joseph Academy 4-2, Calvin Christian 4-3, San Diego Jewish Academy 2-2, San Pasqual Academy 1-1, Julian 3-4, Horizon Prep 2-3, Victory Christian Academy 2-4, West Shores 2-5, Warner 2-5, Rock Academy 1-4, Ocean View Academy 0-5
Undefeated teams
- Torrey Pines 7-0
- Granite Hills 7-0
- Christian 7-0
- Central Union 7-0
- Kearny 7-0
- Francis Parker 7-0
Prep Football Pictorial
Eastlake at Mater Dei Catholic
Photos by Jon Bigornia
