The Hilltop Lancers earned no worse than a share of this year’s Metro-South Bay League title by defeating the Sweetwater Red Devils, 28-6, in a game played last Friday at Chula Vista High School.
The win advanced Hilltop’s league record to 2-0; the Lancers can advance their league record to 3-0 with a win Friday at Mar Vista.
A win over the host Mariners would allow Hilltop (5-4 overall) to claim its first uncontested league championship since 1979.
Perhaps understandably, there was an extra air of excitement during Lancer practices this week.
“We have the opportunity to be the first undefeated league champion team (at Hilltop High School) since 1979,” Hilltop head coach Drew Westling said. “We could also secure a bye in the first round of the playoffs if we win.”
Jeremiah Rivera rushed for a school-record 311 yards and scored four touchdowns for the Lancers, including one on an 80-yard sprint, in the win over Sweetwater. He now has 1,214 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns to his credit through nine games.
The Lancers, who led 15-6 at halftime, rushed for a total of 384 yards and finished the game with 484 total yards in offense.
Quarterback Daniel McPherren completed six of 11 passing attempts for 100 yards. He has thrown for 1,014 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions in nine games.
Brandon Sweeney threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to account for Sweetwater’s lone score in the game. Sweeney completed 10 of 28 passing attempts for 177 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Marty Sesma rushed 21 times for 84 yards to increase his season total to 1,190 yards. He continues to lead the Red Devils with 11 touchdowns.
Hilltop entered the week fourth in the Division III power rankings. Westling said a season-ending win in Imperial Beach could enable his team to secure a first-round bye in the upcoming San Diego Section playoffs.
He called the win over Sweetwater an all-around team effort. “We did an excellent job on defense with the exception of a few plays,” the Lancer coach said. “Our offensive line did a tremendous job controlling the tempo.”
Mar Vista (5-4 overall) is mired in a two-game losing streak following last Friday’s 14-3 homecoming game loss to the visiting Chula Vista Spartans.
“Chula played us tough and made a couple of big plays when they needed to be made,” Mar Vista head coach Tyler Arciaga said. “Everyone is banged up right now and we’ve had the injury bug bite us over the past few weeks, but our job as coaches is to try and find a way to make the remaining pieces work.
“Our defense has played really well — only giving up two touchdowns over the past two weeks — but our offense needs to do better than scoring three points and giving up two defensive touchdowns over the past two weeks.
“We have a tough matchup against Hilltop. Coach Westling and his staff have a lot of energy and I’m sure their kids will be ready to go. Our defense needs to continue to fly around and play assignment football. Our offense needs to limit the turnovers and find a way to break a couple of big plays.
“This is a big game for us to try and get some momentum going into the playoffs. I foresee us playing away as the current power rankings have us right now, so this will more than likely be this senior class’s last home football game.”
Legacy of Pride
Chula Vista (1-1 in league play, 5-4 overall) will host Sweetwater (1-1 in league play, 1-8 overall) Friday in the teams’ annual Legacy of Pride game. Both teams will be playing for more than just pride.
With a Mar Vista win over Hilltop, the Chula Vista-Sweetwater winner will earn a league co-championship.
The Spartans have won 12 of the last 14 meetings against Sweetwater in the county’s longest-running rivalry game, though the Red Devils continue to lead the series 38-29-3 overall.
“The Mar Vista game was a battle of back-up quarterbacks,” CVHS head coach Howard Bannister said. “It was a muddy defensive battle and very competitive. We were able to eventually rush for 200 yards. Sophomore Kajahan Duncan was our MVP as he played great on both sides with a pick six and rushing touchdown.”
Duncan scored both Chula Vista touchdowns against the host Mariners — the first on a 24-yard interception return and the second on a 20-yard run from scrimmage.
Cesar Macias opened scoring in the game with a 35-yard field goal for Mar Vista.
The Spartans rushed for 200 yards in the game — Victor Agraz rushed 20 times for 95 yards while Duncan rushed 14 times for 87 yards.
Moses Contreras, who entered Chula Vista’s game against Hilltop the previous week in relief of injured starter Darrion Hamilton, did not complete a pass in eight attempts.
The Spartans are averaging 213.9 rushing yards per game this season. Agraz leads the team with 519 rushing yards, followed by Duncan with 475 rushing yards and Hamilton with 340 rushing yards. Duncan and Hamilton have each scored four rushing touchdowns this season.
The CV defense registered four sacks, including two by Ubaldo Nolasco, against Mar Vista. Nolasco has recorded 12.5 sacks this season.
Duncan has two picks this season on defense.
Friday’s matchup against Sweetwater figures to be a rushing battle, though the Red Devils may have an edge in the passing game should it come down to that.
“Our sole focus this week is Sweetwater,” Bannister said. “They are much improved since Sesma’s return to the backfield and we know that he will present a challenge for us. Look for us to continue to play tough defensively and try to grind out another victory. We have a lot of respect for Sweetwater head coach Bryan Wagner and his staff and expect it to be very competitive.”
Aztecs top Trojans in Warrior Bowl; can win it all with win over Cougars
The Montgomery Aztecs remained unbeaten in Metro-Pacific League play following a 42-14 victory against visiting Castle Park in the teams’ annual Warrior Bowl rivalry game last Friday.
Hunter Joseph keyed the victorious Aztecs (2-0 in league play, 6-3 overall) by scoring on four touchdown runs, including scampers of 71 and 47 yards.
The win sets up the Aztecs for a chance to claim outright possession of this year’s league banner with a victory Friday at San Ysidro.
The host Cougars (1-1 in league, 4-5 overall) are the defending league champions and can still win a share of this year’s league championship by handing Montgomery its first league loss on Friday.
It should be an intense matchup with much riding on the outcome for both teams.
San Ysidro is coming off a 50-38 loss at Southwest last week and will be looking to rebound in a big way.
Montgomery led Castle Park (0-2 in league, 0-9 overall) by a score of 27-7 at halftime, though the visiting Trojans cut the early Aztec lead to 13-7 with an arcing touchdown pass from Eleazar Cruz to Joel Torres.
Montgomery outscored Castle Park 29-7 over the final three quarters.
Joseph rushed for 199 yards in the game on 13 carries while teammate Samson You rushed for 123 yards on 19 carries. As a team, the Aztecs rolled up 440 rushing yards.
The Montgomery defense recorded five sacks, two interceptions and three forced fumbles against Castle Park. Daniel Betain-Torres had two sacks while Guillermo Rojas and Timothy Crawford each had one pick.
The Aztecs scored six rushing touchdown in the game – four by Joseph and one each by You and Crawford.
Raider Nation
Should San Ysidro defeat Montgomery, it would open the door for a possible tri-championship should Southwest (1-1 in league play, 3-6 overall) defeat visiting Castle Park in Friday’s final regular season matchup. The Raiders remained alive in the league championship race by sidelining the Cougars last Friday to the delight of a homecoming crowd.
Leonard Hoar got Southwest rolling on a 15-yard touchdown run. He would go on to score five touchdowns in the game while rushing for 168 yards on 18 carries.
Joshua Sanchez (14 carries, 174 yards) scored one rushing touchdown as the Raiders rushed for 412 yards and scored six rushing touchdowns in the game.
Sanchez finished the game with 214 all-purpose yards — 174 rushing and 40 on kick returns.
Keyshawn Smith led Southwest with 10 tackles on defense. He and Sanchez were each credited with two pass deflections.
Xzavier Thomas, Noah Ballesteros and Jamarea Lowery each had one fumble recovery. Ballesteros scored on a 30-yard fumble return.
Sanchez tacked on eight conversion points to round out scoring for the Raiders, who scored seven touchdowns.
The Raiders are averaging 256.2 rushing yards per game. Josh Sanchez has rushed for 900 yards and scored six touchdowns in nine games. In seven games, Hoar has rushed for 774 yards and scored nine touchdowns.
Quarterback David Espinoza has passed for 713 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions. Sanchez leads the team with 237 receiving yards and two scores.
Hoar tops Southwest in team scoring this season with nine touchdowns; Sanchez ranks second on the team with eight TDs (six rushing, two receiving).
Sanchez also had two interceptions to his credit on defense.
