After seven weeks of play, the San Diego Section power rankings for football are finally starting to fall into place with some reasonable sense. While some movement up or down seems likely over the remaining four weeks of regular season play, the top teams in each division appear to have made themselves known.
There are a few surprises – particularly pleasant ones for South County teams.
Mater Dei Catholic and Mar Vista, both sporting 5-1 records, are ranked first and second, respectively, in the Division IV power rankings while Bonita Vista (4-2) occupies the No. 2 spot in the Division III power rankings, Olympian (5-1) sits second overall among Division I teams and Otay Ranch (3-3) is fourth among Division II teams.
The playoffs could be very rewarding, indeed.
“I don’t see why us, Eastlake, Olympian and Otay Ranch, teams from the Metro-Mesa League, can’t go on and have successful runs in their respective divisions in the playoffs,” Bonita Vista head coach Chris Thompson noted.
Olympian and Eastlake (sixth in the Division I power rankings) are both guaranteed of making the playoffs – seeded either in the top eight in the Open Division or in the nine through 20 slots in Division I.
Here’s an update on each of the 13 Metro Conference teams by division:
Playoff forecast
Division I
Olympian Eagles
The Eagles soared to their fifth consecutive win by defeating visiting Chula Vista, 33-9, in the Metro-Mesa League opener for both teams last Friday. Olympian built a 33-0 edge on the Spartans.
Garry Cannon competed nine of 11 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed six times for 72 yards and one touchdown to finish the game with a spectacular 161.9 quarterback rating.
Noah Lacsina rushed six times for 84 yards and one touchdown while Tyson Stevenson (two catches, 41 yards) and Michael Kipling (two catches, 73 yards) each made TD receptions. Kipling also scored on a short run to finish with two scores in the game.
The Eagles rolled up 363 total yards of offense, including 186 rushing yards on 28 attempts (a 6.6 average).
Andrew Whyte led Olympian with 11 tackles while teammates Isreal De Leon and Jerome Hoover each had nine tackles. The Eagles racked up seven sacks in the game – Antonio Riggens had three sacks while whyte had two sacks.
Kipling and Brennen Vicente each made fumble recoveries.
Olympian may face one of its toughest games when it travels to Eastlake on Friday to face the Titans (0-1 in league, 2-5 overall). Eastlake will host homecoming and will have a very large and motivated student cheering section. The Titans, who have been in and out of the San Diego Section top 10 rankings the first half of this season, have lost three straight games but all three to teams either in the top 10 or just out of it.
This will be the Eagles’ statement win of the season if they can subdue Eastlake to go up 2-0 in the league standings.
Through six games, Cannon has completed 58.3 percent of his passes for 479 touchdowns and four touchdowns without an interception. He’s also rushed 48 times for 355 yards and five touchdowns. He sports a solid 120.1 quarterback rating.
Lacsina leads Olympian with 467 rushing yards and has scored five rushing touchdowns; Kipling has rushed for 334 yards and a team high seven rushing touchdowns.
As a team, the Eagles are averaging 240 rushing yards per game and have scored 21 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Paul Thompson Jr. has 13 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns. Kipling has caught four passes for 96 yards and one TD. Kipling leads the team with eight total touchdowns.
Lacsina leads Olympian with 487 all-purpose yards, followed by Kipling with 455 all-purpose yards.
Whyte (57) and Riggens (45) top Olympian in total tackles while Riggens leads the team with eight sacks. The Eagles have collected 20 sacks, four interceptions and seven fumble recoveries thus far.
Olympian finished runner-up in the 2013 Division III final and could be in position to win the school’s first CIF banner this season at the Division I level.
Eastlake Titans
Traylon Reed leads the Titans with 532 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in five games. He’s missed two starts and is averaging 106.4 yards per game and 8.6 yards per rush. He accumulated 120 yards on 23 carries n last Friday’s 28-23 league loss to Bonita Vista.
As a team, the ground game remains supreme for Eastlake, which is averaging 218 rushing yards per game against just 68 passing yards per game. Nate Sweat ranks second on the team with 234 rushing yards and three rushing TDs while Kaleb Dueitt has rushed for 179 yards and two scores.
Quarterback Izzack Morales has completed 34 percent of his passes for 476 yards with five touchdowns and four picks. He has a 51.4 quarterback rating.
Top receivers include Chris Olave (nine catches, 139 yards, one touchdown) and Josh Olave (four catches, 100 yards, three touchdowns). Josh Olave leads the team with 566 all-purpose yards.
Sweat (63), Buzz Akerlund (56) and Jae Vitin (47) lead the EHS defense in total tackles. Greg Raby and Declan Fernandez each have a team high three sacks. As a team, the Titans have collected 13 sacks, four interceptions and nine fumble recoveries.
Sophomore Micah Pietila-Wiggs is averaging 34.8 yards per punt while Sweat and Jax Crawford are averaging 22.0 yards per kick return. Josh Olave leads the team in scoring with five touchdowns while Emilio Aldaz has nine total kicking points (six PAT conversions and a 22-yard field goal.
Eastlake closes the season with an Oct. 23 game at Otay Ranch and a Nov. 6 home game against Chula Vista. The Titans do not get their bye week until Oct. 30 – a grueling schedule of eight consecutive games against top flight opponents while playing with a roster beset by injuries.
A win over the visiting Eagles on Friday, however, could set Eastlake in motion for a late season drive for a top Division I playoff seed. The Titans do have history on their side after winning Division I championships in both 2009 and 2012.
Division II
Otay Ranch Mustangs
Otay Ranch eased into its bye week with a 3-3 record and No. 4 power ranking among the section’s Division II squads. What is left on the Mustangs’ schedule are four key Metro-Mesa League games – and a possible run at the division championship.
Otay Ranch plays at Chula Vista (0-1 in league, 1-6 overall) on Friday, then host Eastlake (0-1, 2-5) on Oct. 23 before hosting Olympian (1-0, 5-1) on Oct. 30 and finishing the season in a marquee matching against Bonita Vista (1-0, 4-2) on Nov. 6 at Southwestern College.
The Mustangs defeated host Lincoln, 48-21, in a non-league game on Oct. 2 in their latest trip to the gridiron. Prior to that, Otay Ranch dropped a 17-6 non-league match-up to visiting Steele Canyon on Sept. 25.
Quarterback Oscar Limon has completed 50 percent of his passes for 902 passing yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions. He has also rushed for three touchdowns to hold a 114.6 quarterback rating.
Running back Sam Stephens lead Otay Ranch with 634 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He’s averaging 105.7 yards per game.
Receiver Adrian Rodriguez has 16 catches for 446 yards and four touchdowns. He’s averaging 74.3 yards per game and 27.9 yards per catch.
Defensive team leaders include Nick Sandoval with 62 total tackles and Sergio Ayon with 53 total tackles, Fenuki Kauvaka with four sacks and Rodriguez with three interceptions.
Devin Lloyd is averaging 33.5 yards per punt while Bernardino Soto has kicked a pair of field goals to go with nine PAT conversions for 15 kicking points.
Rodriguez leads the team in scoring with six touchdowns (four receiving, one rushing and one on a punt return).
Division III
Bonita Vista Barons
The Barons scored what could be their breakthrough win of the season after defeating east side rival Eastlake in dramatic come-from-behind fashion, 28-23, last Friday in front of a large crowd at Southwestern College. Bonita Vista now has the Battle of the Boot trophy in its possession for the first time after last besting the Titans in 2005.
Senior Greg Bell has been the catalyst for the Barons all season. He’s rushed for 888 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in six games, is averaging 147.2 yards per game and 8.3 yards per carry. He scored on runs of 80 and 70 yards last week against Eastlake to boost Bonita Vista to a 22-8 lead.
The Barons are averaging 200.7 rushing yards per game and have scored 17 rushing touchdowns this season. Chris Boguille (38 carries, 245 yards) has scored three rushing TDs while Josh Godfrey (10 carries, 107 yards) and Dennis Rosario (five carries, 16 yards) each have scored once this season.
Junior quarterback Anthony Posada has completed 58.8 percent of his passes for 612 yards with three touchdowns and three picks to go with a 78.2 quarterback rating. He’s also scored one rushing touchdown.
Jake Rozar leads the team with 173 receiving yards, though Ethan Williams (10 catches, 107 yards), Bell (nine catches, 67 yards0) and Quentin Harrison (four catches, 57 yards) each have one touchdown reception.
Bell leads the Barons in scoring with 12 touchdowns and 1,050 all-purpose yards.
Luis Pena leads the BVHS defense with 22 unassisted tackles, followed by Boguille and Aaron Diehl with 20 each, Tristan Schultz with 19 and Atoa Fox with 18.
Moli Faalogo has three of his team’s 12 sacks while six players each have on fumble recovery. Fox has amassed 389 yards in kick returns. Boguille has kicked two field goals and five PAT conversions while Matt Michaud has seven PAT kicks to his credit.
Bonita Vista next plays at Castle Park (3-3 overall) on Friday. The Barons sit at No. 2 in the Division III power rankings while the Trojans sit No. 6 in the Division IV power rankings.
Bonita Vista closes the season with Metro-Mesa League games at Olympian on Oct. 23, at Chula Vista on Oct. 30 and host Otay Ranch in the regular season finale on Nov. 6.
Hilltop Lancers
The Lancers (2-4) are No. 10 in the division power rankings with losses to No. 1 Granite Hills (28-14 last Friday) and No. 8 Patrick Henry (40-14 on Sept. 4) and a win over No. 14 Chula Vista (35-33 on Sept. 11).
Hilltop hosts Lincoln (2-4) this Friday, then kicks off Metro-South Bay League play Oct. 23 with a home game against Mater Dei Catholic before finishing with away match-ups at Mar Vista (Oct. 30) and Sweetwater (Nov. 6).
The Lancers missed a last-second bid at a game-winning field goal in a 19-17 loss to defending Division IV champion Bishop’s on Sept. 25 and defeated host Castle Park (8-6 on Aug. 28) in a pair of games decided by two points.
Alex Tejeda has completed 54.5 percent of his passes for 709 yards and three touchdowns but has thrown seven picks to give him a somewhat unfavorable 58.0 quarterback rating. He has also rushed for three touchdowns, however.
Hilltop is averaging 102.8 rushing yards per game and 126.5 passing yards per game. Dylan Trenga has rushed for 259 yards and three touchdowns and caught 16 passes for 193 yards and two TDs to average 75.3 yards per game in all-purpose yards. He leads the team in scoring with five touchdowns.
Luis Hernandez leads the team’s receivers with 21 receptions for 356 yards and one touchdown. He is averaging 89.0 receiving yards per game.
Domonic Esparza (36), Andrew Rivera (34) and David Corona (31) lead the team in total tackles. The Lancers have racked up 19 sacks, including seven by Rivera to lead the team in that category. Esparza has 4.5 sacks while Edi Sanchez has four sacks and Corona has three sacks.
Hilltop’s defense also has made three interceptions and three fumble recoveries.
Jaime Mendoza is averaging 30 yards on six kick-off returns.
Sweetwater Red Devils
The Devils (1-6) picked up their first win of the season on Oct. 2 by defeating visiting Calexico, 48-18, to snap a season-opening five-game losing streak. The win over the Bulldogs was the first for new SuHi head coach Wesley Charles.
Sweetwater has a bye this week before kicking off defense of its Metro-South Bay League championship Oct. 23 at Mar Vista. The Red Devils host Mater Dei Catholic on Oct. 30 and close out regular season play Nov. 6 against visiting Hilltop. The National City team likely needs to pull off what would be considered an upset win in one of those games to have a chance of qualifying for post-season play.
Sweetwater is currently No. 12 in the division power rankings but have lost to Chula Vista, which sits two slots below. The Devils will need to perform well in their final three games to maintain that position, if not move up a slot.
Alfredo Ulloa earned Sweetwater’s overall MVP award in the win over Calexico. He led the Devils with three touchdowns – two receiving and one rushing. He had eight carries for 157 yards, including one 65-yard jaunt from scrimmage, and caught two passes for 65 yards (including one catch of 44 yards) to finish the game with 222 total offensive yards. He also had 38 yards in kick returns for 260 all-purpose yards in the game.
Francisco Velazquez also racked up some impressive statistics in the win. He rushed 15 times for 222 yards, ripping off one carry for 72 yards, and scored two touchdowns. He also supplied five extra-point conversions in the game to finish with 17 points on the scoreboard – one point behind Ulloa.
Overall, the hosts rushed 48 times for a staggering 533 yards, with four rushing touchdowns. Javier Fuentes had five carries for 30 yards and scored one touchdown while Oscar Gutierrez had six carries for 39 yards and Marty Sesma had six carries for 53 yards.
Quarterback Manuel Salazar completed two of his five passing attempts – both for touchdowns to Ulloa. The Devils finished the game with 598 total yards.
Jakari Lowe led Sweetwater with nine total tackles, including seven solo stops, while Isaac Piche had six total tackles. Alberto Carreon and Joel Ojeda each had sacks while Trevor Talbert and Anthony Orosco each had interceptions. Adielle Lagda also recovered one fumble while Aaron Porras caused one fumble.
The Devils were competitive in last Friday’s 49-21 non-league setback at Mira Mesa. Sweetwater rushed for 301 yards and tacked on 81 passing yards to finish the game with 382 total yards. Ulloa led the visitors with 12 carries for 146 yards and scored one rushing touchdown. He also caught a 36-yard scoring pass for a touchdown and amassed 51 yards in kick returns to finish the game with 233 all-purpose yards and two TDs.
Gutierrez rushed eight times for 47yards and one touchdown while Velazquez tallied 45 rushing yards, 29 receiving yards and 26 kick return yards for 100 all-purpose yards. Sesma had five carries for 35 yards.
Lowe paced SuHi defenders with 12 tackles while Carlos Burgeno had one sack.
On the season, Ulloa leads Sweetwater with 519 rushing yards and six total touchdowns (three rushing and three receiving), while Velazquez tops the team with 960 all-purpose yards (455 rushing, 67 receiving, 333 kick-off returns and 105 punt returns).
Lowe leads the Devils with 60 total tackles. Ojeda and Piche each have two sacks to lead the team while Talbert has a team-leading two picks.
Chula Vista Spartans
The Spartans (1-6) have three Metro-Mesa League games left on their schedule: Oct. 16 against visiting Otay Ranch, Oct. 30 against visiting Bonita Vista and Nov. 6 at Eastlake. Chula Vista would be considered the under dog in all three games.
The Spartans dropped their league opener, 33-9, at Olympian last Friday. Chula Vista trailed, 20-0, at halftime and was down 33-0 before scoring its nine points in the contest in the fourth quarter. The visitors were sacked seven times and lost two fumbles.
One thing in their favor down the stretch: Chula Vista owns a head-to-head win over Sweetwater and could rack up valuable power rankings points even in losses to highly-regarded Metro-Mesa League competition.
Division IV
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders
The Crusaders, finalists in last year’s division championship game, offered an early playoff preview of its fortunes this year after defeating host Castle Park, 28-12, last Friday.
C.J. Verdell scored one rushing touchdown, one receiving touchdown and one touchdown on a kick-off return to enable the visitors to have an edge on the field.
The Castle Park defense held Mater Dei Catholic to 76 rushing yards but the Crusaders threw for 212 yards through the air to finish the game with 288 total yards. The Trojans had 274 yards in total offense – 156 passing yards, 118 rushing yards.
Verdell rushed 14 times for 56 yards. He had one touchdown catch for 70 yards and an 89-yard kick-off return to finish the night with 215 all-purpose yards.
Chris Jones hit on nine of 23 passing attempts for 212 yards with one TD and no interceptions to record a 65.4 quarterback rating. Quentin Frazier had three catches for 95 yards to lead MDCHS receivers.
Jayden Emberton-Gaines led the Crusaders with 14 total tackles while Ruben Duran had 11 stops in the win over Castle Park. The winners notched six sacks, including two by Mario Williams, and 11 pass deflections (three by Frazier). Mater Dei Catholic also forced three fumbles (two by Emberton-Gaines).
Alex Golembiewski had three PAT conversions and also kicked a 40-yard field goal to account for the remainder of the Crusaders’ points in the victory against the Trojans.
Jones has passes for 818 yards with nine touchdowns and no interceptions through six games for a 132.9 quarterback rating. He’s also rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns.
Verdell has rushed for 896 yards and scored 10 rushing touchdowns. The Crusaders have 18 rushing touchdowns to their credit this season. Williams has rushed for 173 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns.
Top ball-catchers include Frazier (10 catches, 238 yards), Eli Shelton (four catches, 164 yards, three touchdowns), Verdell (eight catches, 143 yards, two touchdowns) and Kyle Moses (six catches, 124 yards, two touchdowns).
Verdell leads the team with 1,224 all-purpose yards – an average of 204 yards per game – and a team-leading 13 TDs (10 rushing, two receiving and one on a kick-off return).
Duran leads Mater Dei Catholic with 69 total tackles while Williams tops the team with six sacks and Jovan Bayless has four interceptions. As a team, the Crusaders have racked up 19 sacks, 14 picks and two fumble recoveries. Frazier and Elias Eribez each have three interceptions.
Golembiewski is averaging 47.9 yards on kick-offs while Duran is averaging 31.6 yards on punt returns. Frazier is averaging 39.3 yards on kick-off returns while Verdell is averaging 30.8 yards on kick-off returns.
Mar Vista Mariners
The Mariners take a three-game winning streak into Friday’s non-league game against Southwest in the teams’ Battle for the Bell rivalry game. Mar Vista defeated visiting Santana, 27-21, on Oct. 2 and topped host Montgomery, 41-7, last Friday.
Season leaders include Khalil Spurill with 419 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Michael Wilson has thrown for 302 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions and also rushed for 233 yards and four touchdowns.
Paden Hazuga leads the team with 125 receiving yards on 12 catches while Xavier Williams has two touchdown receptions (five catches, 64 yards) and Alejandro Sosa (five catches, 45 yards) has one TD catch.
Hugh Antony has five sacks to lead the Mariners defensively while Wilson has one interception to his credit.
Mar Vista scored five rushing touchdowns against Montgomery, including two by Wilson (nine carries, 68 yards) and one each by Jacob Hinojosa (six carries, 55 yards), Nico Figueroa (three carries, five yards) and Spruill (three carries, 22 yards). Sosa also scored on a fumble return.
The Mariners racked up 237 rushing yards while Wilson tacked on 59 passing yards by completing five of six attempts. Alfredo Ramirez and Hazuga each had 24 yards in reception yardage.
The game against Santana featured a wild finish. Mar Vista rushed out to a 21-7 lead on touchdowns runs by Noah Berry (nine carries, 71 yards), Miguel Godinez (eight carries, 48 yards) and Diego Gonzales (four carries, 61 yards) after Bobby Wallace (15 carries, 52 yards) had given the Sultans an early 7-0 lead on a 12-yard run.
Santana’s Timmy Tischer kicked a 40-yard field goal to close the first half with a 21-10 deficit and opened the third quarter with a 17-yard field goal to narrow the MV lead to 21-13.
Santana quarterback Frankie Gutierrez (15-of-22, 129 passing yards) scored on a 12-yard run with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter and then completed a two-point conversion to enable the Sultans to pull into a 21-all tie with the hosts.
But the Mariners had the last drive and, with under a minute to play, Xavier Williams (10 carries, 153 yards) scored from one yard out to put the hosts on top 27-21. Mar Vista controlled big chunks of the clock by rushing 47 times for 460 yards. Wilson rushed nine times for 97 yards, including one 60-yard jaunt. Williams (69 yards) and Gonzalez (49 yards) also turned in breakaway runs in the game.
Hugh led the Mariners with three sacks in the win.
Castle Park Trojans
The Trojans entered this season as Metro-Pacific League champions and, despite playing tough schedule against physical teams, still rate as the top team in the league this year. Castle Park kicks off defense of its league title Oct. 23 against visiting San Ysidro.
Castle Park’s passing game has blossomed under the direction of Angelo Trujillo, who has thrown for 1,094 yards with nine touchdowns and three picks for a 103.2 quarterback rating. He’s also rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
Luq Barcoo is the team’s deep threat. He’s caught 48 passes for 594 yards and six touchdowns. He’s averaging 13.8 yards per catch and 99.0 yards per game. He’s also rushed for two touchdowns and leads the team with 840 all-purpose yards and eight total TDs.
Miguel Flores leads the team with 232 rushing yards and two touchdowns; Nick Williams has caught 13 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
The big story might be on defense. The Trojans have collected 12 sacks, nine picks (three by Trujillo) and three fumble recoveries. Flores leads the team with 57 total tackles.
Trujillo had 156 passing yards and kicked two field goals in the loss to Mater Dei Catholic; Luq Barcoo had 61 receiving yards and 35 rushing yards to collect 96 all-purpose yards to go with one rushing TD.
Diego Ibarra and Andre Arriola each recorded sacks on defense
