Three Metro Conference teams took the field in last Friday’s San Diego Section football semifinal playoffs — each seeking the winning formula to advance to this Friday’s division championship games.
The second-seeded Eastlake Titans were the only one of the three local squads to host a game, and pulled out a 24-21 win against third-seeded Carlsbad in the Division I bracket.
Fourth-seeded Otay Ranch saw its season end in a 42-14 loss at top-seeded Ramona in a Division II game while fourth-seeded Hilltop ended its playoff run with a 62-18 setback at top-seeded Southwest El Centro in the Division III semifinals.
Eastlake (10-2) will play top-seeded El Camino (7-5) in Friday’s Division I championship game at Southwestern College. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
The title game appearance comes after a 2-9 season last year for the Titans.
“If you would have told me last year that we’d be here, I would have thought you were crazy,” EHS head coach Dean Tropp told a gathering of head coaches, media and San Diego Section officials at Monday’s championship production meeting at SWC.
“It’s surreal. It’s been a great year for us. Our kids fought, battled. They overcame a lot of adversity.”
This is the third time in school history the Titans have advanced to a division championship game. Eastlake previously won Division I championships in 2009 and 2012.
Tropp said the current group of players has been together since they were freshmen, building a solid foundation together.
Clash of the Titans
The Titans earned the victory in last Friday’s semifinal matchup in a game that could have gone either way. It was a nail-biter in the last four minutes.
Carlsbad was deemed to have recovered a fumble in the closing minutes, which gave the visiting Lancers new life in an attempt to steal a win.
Carlsbad drove into Eastlake territory but failed in its quest for the upset win on a fourth-down pass break-up by Titan Jalyn Jackson near the goal line.
What Jackson closed, he opened by scoring on a 58-yard scoring pass placed perfectly in his hands by EHS quarterback Daniel Amon.
The Titans never trailed in the game but Carlsbad tied it twice.
The game was tied 7-7 when Lancer quarterback Troy Bloomquist connected with teammate Cameron Thomas on a short pass into the end zone.
However, on the ensuing kickoff Jackson stamped his name on the game once again with a 93-yard return for a touchdown.
However, Carlsbad tied the game, 14-14, in the second quarter when Joel Lazaro muscled his way into the end zone on a short run.
Eastlake took a 17-14 lead in the final minute of the first half when D.J. Del Fierro kicked a 23-yard field goal.
The Titans widened their lead to 24-14 when Roman Coe scored on a 21-yard run in the third quarter.
The game turned in the final 20 seconds when Bloomquist, passing from the Titan 40-yard line, looked to find an open receiver near the goal line. But Jackson, playing defense, went up to tip the ball out of harm’s way.
It was the second nail-biting victory for the Titans in the playoffs. Eastlake used a defensive stand to cap its 21-16 win over visiting Rancho Bernardo the previous week.
“We led the entire game but our backs were against the wall on several occasions,” Tropp said. “We made plays when we needed to make them.”
That will be the mantra for the championship game as well.
Amon completed eight of 15 passing attempts for 101 yards with one touchdown. Jackson had two catches for 59 yards and one touchdown while Coe rushed 16 times for 108 yards with one touchdown.
Jackson finished the game with 152 all-purpose yards, adding 93 yards in kick returns.
Eastlake racked up 301 total yards in the game, including 200 rushing yards. Parker Merrifield rushed seven times for 41 yards while Micah Pietila-Wiggs rushed two times for 46 yards.
On the season, Amon has passed for, 1,554 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has a 102.9 quarterback efficiency rating.
Coe leads the team with 760 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Merrifield has rushed for 674 yards with seven touchdowns.
Jackson tops the team with 663 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches.
Pietila-Wiggs has six rushing touchdowns to his credit to go with four touchdown catches.
Both Jackson and Pietila-Wiggs co-lead the team with 10 total touchdowns.
Jackson leads the team with 998 all-purpose yards; Pietila-Wiggs has 994 all-purpose yards.
Rayshawn Parks-Price and Ryzhon McCoy each have scored four rushing touchdowns.
Qurterback Jaden Casey rushed for a one-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left to lift El Camino over fifth-seeded Oceanside (6-7) in last Friday’s semifinals. Casey finished the highlight reel game with 328 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns — two rushing and five passing.
Casey has passed for 2,711 yards with 23 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 12 games. Chris Brown leads the Wildcats with 770 rushing yards and 10 TDs.
Primary receivers include Malachi Russell (1,293 yards, 12 touchdowns) and Wayne Steward (828 yards, seven touchdowns).
“They’re a big, tough, physical team,” Tropp assessed. “We have our work cut out for us. We’re going to cherish the moment.”
CIF semifinals: Bulldogs top Mustangs, Lancers drop desert duel
The Metro-Mesa League champion Otay Ranch Mustangs saw their magical season come to an end following a 42-14 loss to the undefeated Ramona Bulldogs. Ramona scored 21 points in each half to halt Otay Ranch’s six-game winning streak.
The Bulldogs opened scoring on a blocked punt and recovery in the end zone for a touchdown by Christian Gabriel. The hosts took a 21-0 halftime lead on a pair of one-yard scoring runs by Sean McDonald.
The Mustangs made the score 21-7 at the start of the second half when quarterback Puka Stewart connected with Gus Espiritu on a 12-yard touchdown pass.
But Ramona quickly countered as quarterback Casey Buggeln threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Necochea. Joaquin Gonzalez scored on a 23-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to further buttress the hosts.
Sammy Paranada scored on a 35-yard run for Otay Ranch’s second touchdown of the game but Buggeln ended the game with a 37-yard TD pass to standout receiver Tristan Stacy.
Paranada and Espiritu led Otay Ranch on the ground with 55 rushing yards and one touchdown apiece. Alfredo Garcia had five catches for 74 yards. Garcia led the team with 187 all-purpose yards, including 106 yards on kick returns and seven yards on an interception return.
The Otay Ranch defense had three fumble recoveries. Dominic McManus had two picks for Ramona.
Ramona racked up 469 yards in total offense. Buggeln passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. The Bulldogs tacked on 211 rushing yards, including 103 yards by McDonald, who scored two touchdowns.
Stacy led the hosts with five catches for 94 yards and one touchdown.
This year marked the second time the Mustangs had reached the CIF semifinals in the past four years, and the school’s first outright Mesa League Championship. Otay Ranch shared a league tri-championship in 2006.
“I am so proud of the way my kids played all season long,” ORHS head coach Lance Christensen said. “ They had a ‘no quit” attitude that propelled them to a Mesa League championship and an opportunity to compete in the Division II Semifinals. I feel truly blessed to have been their coach.”
Southwest El Centro’s Cameron Jungers passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another while Tyler Saikhon and Derek Guzman each scored two touchdowns to lead the host Eagles past the Hilltop Lancers 62-18. Southwest El Centro (12-0) led 41-0 at halftime.
Jeremiah Rivera led Hilltop (7-5) with two touchdowns in the loss. Rivera ended the season with 16 touchdowns.
The Eagles amassed 340 rushing yards and piled up six rushing touchdowns. Southwest El Centro racked up nine touchdowns overall in the game.
The Eagles’ scoring barrage also included a 31-yard interception return by Logan Chell. Derek Guzman rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns to brace the host’s offensive attack.
Prep football finals top off season at SWC
While state regional playoffs are still ongoing in some sports, the high school fall sports schedule will essentially wrap up with this weekend’s San Diego Section football finals at Southwestern College.
The section will conduct five division championship games this weekend at the Chula Vista venue — two on Friday and three on Saturday.
It’s a pigskin lover’s delight.
The Metro Conference will have one representative in the elite gathering of 10 teams. The second-seeded Eastlake Titans (10-2) will take on the top-seeded El Camino Wildcats (7-5) in Friday’s Division I title game. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
Prior to that, fourth-seeded Monte Vista (7-5) will tackle second-seeded San Diego (12-0) in the Division IV championship game at 3:30 p.m.
Saturday’s slate of contests starts at noon with the Division III final between second-seeded Santa Fe Christian (8-4) and top-seeded Southwest El Centro (12-0).
The Division II championship game pitting seventh-seeded Steele Canyon (9-4) against top-seeded Ramona (12-0) is set for a 3:30 p.m. kick-off.
The championship weekend will conclude with the Open Division championship game at 7 p.m. between top-seeded Mission Hills (12-0) and second-seeded Helix (11-1).
The five games this weekend are part of six section finals overall played at Southwestern College, including last Saturday’s Division V championship game in which top-seeded Vincent Memorial (11-2) defeated second-seeded Crawford (8-5) by a 45-3 final score.
Thick fog descended on the playing field in the latter stages of last Saturday’s game but did not hinder the Scots’ star power.
Vincent Memorial collected 718 all-purpose yards in the blowout victory, including 330 yards on kick returns (313 by Adolfo Perez). Quarterback Eduardo Valenzuela passed for 154 yards, rushed for 80 yards and also notched 80 receiving yards to amass 314 total yards in the game.
The Scots scored six rushing touchdowns, including two by Daniel Rizzo (10 carries, 45 yards) and one each by Jorge Ruiz, Emilio Abizaid (five carries, 38 yards), Javier Briseno (10 carries, 62 yards) and Valenzuela.
All San Diego Section champions qualify for the state playoffs.
Pigskin parade
This year’s section playoffs have featured a number of stunning upsets — and a lot of new faces. San Diego Section commissioner Jerry Schniepp said of this year’s 12 finalists (Open Division to Division V), 11 are new this year.
Only Helix returns from last year’s championship field.
That’s a refreshing outlook on how competitive this year’s playoffs have been.
Eastlake head coach Dean Tropp can certainly attest to that after his Titans survived a pair of nail-biters to advance to Friday’s title contest.
Eastlake topped seventh-seeded Rancho Bernardo, 21-16, in the quarterfinals and stopped third-seeded Carlsbad, 24-21, in last Friday’s semifinals. In both cases, late defensive stands preserved the victory.
El Camino, the Titans’ championship opponent, had its hands full in finally subduing cross-town rival Oceanside, 49-42, in last Friday’s semifinals.
Steele Canyon, the lowest-seeded team in this weekend’s finals, upset second-seeded Bishop’s, 61-52, in the quarterfinals and edged sixth-seeded Granite Hills, 28-27, in the semifinals.
Bishop’s was one of five teams to post undefeated records during the regular season but was clawed by the Cougars. Granite Hills upset third-seeded Valley Center, 49-30, in the quarterfinals. A failed two-point conversion attempt separated the Eagles from advancing to Saturday’s Division II championship game.
Four undefeated teams will strut their stuff in this weekend’s division finals. Mission Hills (Open Division), Ramona (Division II), Southwest El Centro (Division III) and San Diego (Division IV) are all 12-0.
All four teams bring their own brand of power to the field.
Fourth-seeded Otay Ranch (8-4) ended its season with a 42-14 loss to Ramona in last Friday’s semifinals while fourth-seeded Hilltop (7-5) lost by a score of 62-18 to Southwest El Centro in the semifinals.
Southwest El Centro advances to its first CIF championship game in school history.
“This is an accomplishment for all the finalists,” Schniepp said. “For many teams, it was harder to get here than in previous years.”
Upsets in this year’s playoffs were plentiful. Three road teams won games in the opening round while four road teams captured upset wins in the quarterfinals.
One higher-seeded team fell in the semifinals to mark eight upsets in this year’s playoffs to date. There could be more this weekend.
How to watch
Fans can buy tickets online at www.cifsds.org. The finals will be live streamed on www.NHFnetwork.com. The Open Division game will be live streamed on Facebook.
Tickets will also be sold at the gate prior to each game this weekend. Stadium gates open two hours before each game.
