The Sweetwater High School Red Devils’ undefeated season ended Friday at Gail Devers Stadium with a 12-0 loss to the Morse Tigers in a San Diego Section Division III quarterfinal-round playoff game. The Devils held the longest winning streak in the section at 18 games, but will have to start over after the setback to the athletic Tigers.
“There’s not much you can do if the team across from you is much faster and much bigger,” Sweetwater head coach Brian Hay said flatly. “That’s what we said all along that stops our offense.
“Our defense played a great game minus for two plays, really. Our offense was pounding away; they were doing some things right. But give Morse credit. They’ve got some amazing athletes; they have some big bodies up front, they’re very well gifted.”
Morse, seeded 11th in the division, advances to next Friday’s semifinals. The Tigers carry a 6-6 record into the match-up against second-seeded Christian (11-0).
The third-seeded Devils’ season ended at 10-1.
Morse’s two touchdowns were set up by big plays. Tiger quarterback Khyran Jackson-Barbee broke off a 45-yard run to position the ball at the SuHi six-yard line on the visitors’ opening possession of the game. Two plays later, Jackson-Barbee hit receiver Martell Irby for a touchdown pass to lead 6-0.
An 85-yard catch-and-carry by Jaylin White moved the ball inside the Devil 10-yard line with time ticking down in the fourth quarter after the Tiger defense had stopped the hosts at their own seven-yard line on downs. Two plays later, Jackson-Barbee hit David Lewis on a perfectly-placed ball in the back of the endzone to double the score with just 3:18 left in the game.
Morse missed both extra-point conversion attempts in the contest.
Meanwhile, the Morse defense, which clearly starred in its 14-7 overtime win over sixth-seeded Bonita Vista in the previous playoff round, excelled to near perfection in stopping the Devils’ vaunted double-wing rushing attack. The hosts were held to a minimum of plays over 10 yards. Moreover, the team’s two 1,000-yard rushers — Raven Middleton and Antonio Garcia — never managed to break free for the long, meandering runs that had characterized their play in the regular season.
Jackson-Barbee rushed for 230 yards in the playoff win over Bonita Vista. Other than the long run on the Tigers’ opening series, the Sweetwater defense generally had his number, sacking him several times to blunt what appeared to be promising Morse drives.
The Devils’ pass rush also performed well, forcing Jackson-Barbee out of the pocket. However, the speedy Tiger signal-caller was contained for the most part by the SuHi linebackers and linemen who swarmed to meet him.
Sweetwater appeared to have two promising scoring drives in the works only to sputter in the face of the endzone. The Devils advanced got the visitors’ 28-yard line with 3:40 to play in the third quarter before punting. A 12-yard interception return by Ricardo Flores with 9:05 left in the game placed the ball at the Morse 25 and the hosts eventually managed to move the ball to the seven-yard line before quarterback Chris Amon was sacked on fourth-and-five to turn the ball over on downs.
The Devils also botched a trick play on a half-back pass in the first quarter when the receiver downfield, without a defender behind him, had the ball bounce off his chest. Had the player caught the ball, the play would likely have gone for a touchdown.
But Hay made no excuses for his team, giving credit to Morse for playing a superior game.
“We didn’t execute to their talent level,” the SuHi coach said. “We were getting pushed around a little bit. It came down to being physically beat up by their kids. I give their kids credit.”
Still, Hay noted there was a lot to savor this season for the Devils.
“Ten wins in any season is a great season,” he said. “I’m very happy with the season, but a little disappoint with the exit. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I love the effort the kids gave all the way through.”
Around the section
While Sweetwater’s season ended in disappointing fashion, Castle Park’s season continues after the fourth-seeded Trojans downed the fifth-seeded University City Cenurtions, 31-14, Friday night at Swift Stadium in a Division IV quarterfinal match. The game was a rematch of last season’s opening-round game that went the Centurions’ way by a score of 20-0.
Jordan Danielson kicked a 31-yard field goal, threw one scoring pass and also scored on a 20-yard rushing play to pace the winners, who led by a score of 24-7 at one point in the third quarter. Mylik Steen caught a seven-yard TD pass while also connecting with receiver Adrian Tolbert on a half-back option play for a 37-yard touchdown. Elijza Johnson also scored on a five-yard rushing play
Castle Park improved to 8-3 on the season while University City saw its season end at 7-5. The Trojans will play top-seeded Bishop’s (11-0) in the semifinals.
Mater Dei Catholic, seeded second in Division IV, also remained in the hunt for a championship game berth after defeating visiting Clairemont 35-13. The Crusaders scored four rushing touchdowns and became the first Mater Dei Catholic team to reach the semifinals in school history.
The seventh-seeded Chieftains (5-7) managed to hang close early, trailing by scores of 7-6 and 14-13 before MDC’s Chris Jones scored on a 28-yard run to put the Crusaders ahead by eight points. A rushing touchdown by Luis Victoria later nailed down the win for the hosts.
Mater Dei Catholic (6-5) will host third-seeded Central Union (6-5) in the semifinals.
Eastlake, seeded fifth in the Open Division, dropped a 38-27 quarterfinal contest at fourth-seeded Mission Hills on Friday to join Sweetwater on the sidelines for the rest of the section playoffs. The Titans end their season 7-4 while the Grizzlies move on to the semifinals against top-seeded Oceanside (11-0) with a 9-2 mark.
Mission Hills dominated early to take a 14-0 lead on a 58-yard touchdown catch-and-carry by Martel Holmes and a 90-yard punt return by Holmes. But the reigning Metro-Mesa League champions responded to tie the score, 14-14, on short touchdown runs by Dean Klaser and Isaiah Strayhorn. The Titans later knotted the game up, 21-all, on a 58-yard scoring run by Greg Bell.
But the Grizzlies piled on the points late, going up by 10 points, 31-21, on a one-yard run by Will Stricklin and a 42-yard field goal by Eric Cabataio. Klaser cut the Mission Hills lead to four points, 31-28, on a one-yard run but Dechaun Holiday caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dakota Miller (his third of the game) with 2:30 to play to close out scoring for the hosts.
A total of four lower-seeded teams picked up wins on Friday to increase the number to 10 upsets in two weeks of post-season play.
Besides the Morse-Sweetwater shocker, other notable outcomes included fifth-seeded Granite Hills over fourth-seeded Fallbrook, 38-7, in another Division III encounter, while seventh-seeded El Camino edged second-seeded Steele Canyon, 33-31, on a late field goal in a Division II match-up and fifth-seeded La Jolla Country Day eliminated top-seeded (and defending champion) Holtville, 53-20, in a Division V contest.
LJCD has posted upset wins in both of its playoff games. The Torreys (6-6) will face second-seeded Vincent Memorial (10-1) in the Division V championship game scheduled Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. at Southwestern College.
Online tickets available for purchase for CIF football finals
Tickets to the upcoming CIF San Diego Section Toyota Football Championships will be available for purchase online for the first time, enabling students, parents and fans to use credit cards to get tickets in advance and easing ticket lines at Southwestern College.
Tickets to all six section championships are $13.00 for adults and $9.00 for students and seniors (over 60).
To purchase tickets online, go to cif.varsitywallet.com All six championships will be held at Southwestern Community College’s DeVore Stadium.
The schedule for this year’s football championships is:
Division V: Nov. 28, 7:05 p.m.
Division IV: Dec. 5, 3:35 pm
Division I: Dec.5, 7:05 pm
Division III: Dec. 6, 12:05 pm
Division II: Dec.6, 3:35 p.m.
Open Divisio: Dec. 6, 7:05 p.m.
