At midseason, it appeared the Eastlake Titans had a berth firmly reserved in the upcoming Open Division playoffs. While that now remains somewhat up in the air due to the fluctuating weekly power rankings, what is certain is that the Titans look to remain champions of the Metro-Mesa League after defeating the host Olympian Eagles, 40-20, on Halloween night in a match-up of teams sporting 2-0 league records.
The victory extends the Titans’ record to 3-0 in league, 6-3 overall, with one game remaining in regular season competition.
The Eagles drop to 2-1 in league play, 4-5 overall, and will play the Bonita Vista Barons (2-1, 4-5) next Friday at Southwestern College in a key match-up that could serve as a back door to a co-championship should Eastlake drop its final game to the visiting Otay Ranch Mustangs (1-2, 5-4) in Friday’s homecoming clash.
Bonita Vista defeated host Laguna Hills, 19-14, Friday to collect its third win in its last four games, while Otay Ranch rolled past the visiting Chula Vista Spartans, 42-6, to capture its first league contest this season.
The season comes down to a furious finish for all concerned teams.
EHS head coach Lee Price called the victory against Olympian a “ big win.”
“Olympian is well coached with very good players,” Price noted. “We are a little banged up going on to the next game against Otay. We will have our work cut out for us because they have great coaches and very good football players.
“We’re working hard this week to be ready for them. It’s our homecoming and we need to work through the distractions to concentrate on this game. It should be fun.”
Titanic showdown
Isaiah Strayhorn got the Titans on the scoreboard first on the strength of a 40-yard touchdown run in the match-up against the Eagles. Strayhorn scored on a fourth-and-two play to cap Eastlake’s first possession with a touchdown.
However, Olympian quickly responded to tie the score on a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore Noah Lacsina to pull the teams even on the scoreboard.
After that, the visitors steadily began to pull away with their superior depth at the running back position.
Greg Bell scored on a 22-yard run to put Eastlake up, 14-7, and back-to-back touchdowns by Traylon Reed of 21 and 47 yards extended the Titans’ lead to 27-7 at halftime.
On Reed’s first TD run, he bowled over the Olympian defender at the goal line.
Dean Klaser added a one-yard scoring run in the third quarter before Will Lampkin scored for the hosts on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Olympian put up 13 points in the final frame but it wasn’t enough. Austin Gurule broke loose on a 54-yard scoring run to push the Titans ahead 40-14 before Anthony Hughes closed out scoring in the game with a 10-yard scoring pass to Eagles teammate Patrick Jeancharles.
Best of the rest
Meanwhile, Otay Ranch quarterback Oscar Limon threw three touchdown passes and Sam Stephens scored on a five-yard run to boost the hosts to a 35-0 lead over Chula Vista. The Mustangs ended a two-game losing streak and a stretch of four losses in five games with the win.
Otay Ranch kicked off the season 3-0.
Bonita Vista received touchdowns from Ethan Williams, Keenan Ellis and Anthony Posada in its non-league win at Laguna Hills. QB Posada finished the game with two scoring passes — 23 yards to Williams and 20 yards to Ellis.
Chula Vista, which has a bye next week, ended regular season play 2-8 overall, 0-4 in league play, after being picked to finish second in league play at the start of the season.
Stat attack
Strayhorn rushed 15 times for 105 yards in the win over Olympian and has amassed 1,246 rushing yards on the season to go with 11 rushing touchdowns. Reed rushed eight times for 83 yards to hike his season total to 594 yards and seven rushing TDs.
Klaser rushed nine times for 54 yards; he now has 422 rushing yards on the season to go with eight TDs. The Titans rolled up 337 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns against the Eagles.
As a team, Eastlake is averaging 297 rushing yards per game; the Titan defense has collected 43 sacks, 10 fumble recoveries and 11 interceptions.
Ronnie Sallee and Michael Kohler have the team lead with 98 tackles each while Nate Sweat is the team’s runaway leader with 18 sacks. Josh Olave has four picks while Santiago Andujo has three interceptions.
Eastlake is currently No. 6 in the Division I power rankings. The top eight ranked teams advance to the Open Division.
Jon Bigornia contributed to this story.
Red Devils, Crusaders to lock horns for Metro-South Bay title
Friday’s Metro-South Bay League championship game will pit the undefeated Sweetwater Red Devils (9-0) against the host Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders (5-4) after both teams picked up key wins Friday to improve to 2-0 in league play.
A slow-starting SuHi squad regrouped at halftime against a resurgent Mar Vista team to post a 24-13 victory, while Mater Dei overcame some early heroics by an undermanned Hilltop team to collect a 42-12 win.
The Red Devils will have to play better if they are to claim back-to-back league championships (Sweetwater won the Metro-Pacific League title last year).
“We’ve got to get better at what we’re doing,” SuHi coach Brian Hay said. “We’re doing some things now that we haven’t had to do all year. We’re learning a couple new schemes. We’ve got to dig down now because Mater Dei is legitimate, especially with all their transfers who have now become eligible.”
The high-scoring Devils looked surprisingly vulnerable early on, taking a 3-0 lead on a 25-yard field goal by Oscar Rodriguez early in the second half. The hosts then found themselves staring at a 7-3 deficit after the Mariners (0-2, 5-4) turned up the intensity on offense as Khalil Spruill scored on a three-yard run with 3:51 left in the second quarter.
But the Devils have shown they can strike quickly from anywhere on the field all season and that was the case as Raven Middleton (14 rushes, 147 yards) broke off an 81-yard scoring run with 2:13 to play before halftime.
The two-point conversion run put the host team in front 11-7.
Sweetwater had a chance to extend its lead further when the Devils recovered a fumbled punt attempt at the Mar Vista 28-yard line with 14 seconds to play before the break. But the hosts sputtered and were unable to take advantage of the scoring opportunity.
An exceptionally strong defensive effort by the visitors kept them in the game, however, and Mar Vista’s passing game drove a stake through the hearts of SuHi defenders in the Halloween contest.
Sweetwater went up 17-7 with 4:13 to play in the third quarter thanks to a controlled ball-possession drive that ate up a significant amount of the quarter.
A 39-yard pass completion from MV quarterback Ben Munoz to Nijal Collins set the Mariners up in grand fashion at the SuHi 11-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. But a fumbled snap on the next play gave the ball back to the Devils, who had to sigh in collective relief.
The what-ifs will haunt the Imperial Beach team after the Mariners appeared to be on another potential scoring march until Antonio Garcia ended that drive with an interception. Garcia returned his pick past midfield and an ensuing penalty on the play advanced the ball to the Mar Vista 27-yard line.
C.C. Portillo capped the turnabout possession with a five-yard scoring run to put the Devils ahead 24-7 on the scoreboard.
But the Mariners never quit, with Munoz hitting Xavier Williams on a 14-yard scoring pass with 0.4 second to play in the game. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving Sweetwater with a hard-pressed 11-point victory.
Munoz passed for 218 yards. The Mariners racked up 330 total yards — two less than the Devils.
“I’m proud of the kids, our defense really, really battled hard,” MVHS coach Tyler Arciaga said. “They played their hearts out. It was a close game and, you know, Sweetwater is a really solid team. I feel good with (my) team, about its character and their heart and their desire out there to play hard.
“Sweetwater is a really fantastic team and should do well in the playoffs.”
Mar Vista will play at Hilltop (0-2, 2-7) in its regular season finale next Friday. The Mariners will likely need a win to secure a Division III playoff berth; a loss to the Lancers could leave the Mariners on the sideline.
Sweetwater, last year’s Division IV champion, is looking to earn a top four seed in the Division III playoffs with a win at Mater Dei Catholic. There is much at stake for the Crusaders as well, with MDC battling for an upper tier berth in this year’s Division IV playoff field.
C.J. Verdell (90 rushing yards, 47 receiving yards) led the Crusaders with three touchdowns in last Friday’s win over Hilltop while quarterback Jarrod Rieta completed all seven of his passing attempts for 128 yards and three scores.
Rieta’s touchdown passes went to Verdell, Quentin Frazier and Kyle Moses. Rieta has passed for 1,238yards and 11 TDs with 11 interceptions this season. Verdell leads the team with 687 rushing yards while Frazier leads MDC receivers with 472 yards.
The Crusaders have won their last thee games, scoring 42 points in two of them.
Warrior Bowl to determine Metro-Pacific League champion
Castle Park (6-3) will host Montgomery (3-6) on Friday with the Metro-Pacific League title at stake after both teams claimed lop-sided wins on Friday to improve to 2-0 in league play.
Castle Park shut out host San Ysidro, 42-0, while Montgomery ruined Southwest’s homecoming with a 43-6 win.
Both the Trojans and Aztecs are vying for Division IV playoff berths, with the winner of next Friday’s Warrior Bowl assured of a playoff spot.
“Montgomery will be tough,” CPHS head coach Hans Graham said up front. “It will be their kids against our kids and whoever wants it more. It’s Senior Night, Warrior Bowl, league championship. It’s what Friday nights are all about … who is going to put a patch on their jacket and banner on the wall, what will you be remembered for.”
Jordan Danielson passed for two touchdowns — one each to Mylik Steen and Adrian Tolbert — and ran for another while teammate Elijza Johnson scored on two touchdown runs and Luc Barcoo scored once to lead Castle Park past San Ysidro.
Danielson completed five of 10 passing attempts for 169 yards while rushing seven times for 108 yards. Johnson rushed six times for 85 yards while Steen rushed eight times for 72 yards and caught one scoring pass for 43 yards. Barcoo collected 40 rushing yards and 47 receiving yards while Tolbert had two catches for 66 yards.
For the season, Danielson has passed for 1,282 yards with two touchdowns against three picks; he has also rushed for 448 yards and scored seven touchdowns. Tolbert has made 29 catches for 629 yards and five TDs while Barcoo has 12 catches for 479 yards and five TDs.
Players to watch include Steen and Johnson, both of whom have played limited games so far. Steen has rushed for 355 yards in six games with two rushing touchdowns, while Johnson has gained 245 yards in four games to go with five TDs.
Barcoo leads the Trojans with nine touchdowns overall, including five receiving and four rushing. Steen has four TDs — two rushing, one receiving and one on a punt return.
Aztec warriors
Touchdown runs by Anthony Parra and Charles Crawford, meanwhile, helped push Montgomery out to a 20-0 lead in its win at Southwest.
Crawford rushed 25 times for 211 yards against the Raiders to hike his season total to 1,044 yards with 12 touchdowns.
“The 2014 Warrior Bowl game will also determine the Metro-Pacific League champion and Montgomery is ready to play,” MOH coach Ted Jarumayan said. “May both teams have a great game.”
Metro-Mesa League Standings
Eastlake Titans 3-0, 6-3
Bonita Vista Barons 2-1, 4-5
Olympian Eagles 2-1, 4-5
Otay Ranch Mustangs 1-2, 5-4
Chula Vista Spartans 0-4, 2-8
Metro-South Bay League Standings
Sweetwater Red Devils 2-0, 8-0
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 2-0, 5-4
Mar Vista Mariners 0-2, 5-4
Hilltop Lancers 0-2, 2-7
Metro-Pacific League Standings
Castle Park Trojans 2-0, 6-3
Montgomery Aztecs 2-0, 3-6
San Ysidro Cougars 0-2, 2-7
Southwest Raiders 0-2, 1-8
