Will this year’s Metro-Mesa League football championship belong to one team or perhaps three? That will be decided Friday at Southwestern College when the Bonita Vista Barons, currently in sole possession of first place, host the Otay Ranch Mustangs, currently tied with the Eastlake Titans for second place in the league standings.
Should Bonita Vista defeat Otay Ranch on Friday, the Barons win undisputed rights to the banner. However, a Mustang win would mean the two teams would share the title and, coupled with an Eastlake victory against visiting Chula Vista, share a tri-championship with the Titans.
“I’ve been telling the team all season long that we control our own destiny, and it’s no different this last game,” explained BVHS head coach Chris Thompson following last Friday’s 47-17 win at Chula Vista.
The Barons (3-0 league, 7-2 overall) rallied from an early 7-0 deficit against the Spartans (0-3 in league, 1-8 overall) with 33 unanswered points. Greg Bell (13 carries, 303 yards) scored three rushing touchdowns, threw a halfback pass to teammate Ethan Williams for another touchdown and scored on a two-point conversion to bolster his already outstanding highlight reel.
Bell enters Friday’s game with 1,437 rushing yards in nine games to go with 19 total touchdowns (18 rushing touchdowns, one receiving touchdown).
Otay Ranch defeated visiting Olympian, 14-7, last Friday to claim bragging rights in the schools’ O’s Bowl rivalry game. Sam Stephens (19 carries, 62 yards) scored one rushing touchdown and Adrian Rodriguez scored on a 17-yard reverse to buttress the Mustangs’ offense.
Bonita Vista overcame a staggering number of penalties to pick up its latest win. The Barons led, 14-7, at halftime but had three touchdowns called back due to infractions.
The Spartans, whose losing streak reached five games, scored the opening touchdown on a quarterback sneak to lead 7-0 with the extra-point conversion.
But BV quarterback Anthony Posada (eight-of-14 attempts, 129 passing yards) got the visitors on the scoreboard courtesy of a 37-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Ellis. The extra-point conversion was blocked, leaving the hosts with a narrow 7-6 lead.
Bell put his team up for good when he scored on a two-yard run with 6:10 left in the opening half.
It took Bell one play to put his team ahead, 21-7, when he took the first hand-off of the second half 64 yards to paydirt.
Bell hit Williams along the sideline for a 12-yard touchdown to increase the Barons’ lead to 27-7. Bell made it 33-7 when he later ripped off a zigzag 70-yard TD run.
Chula Vista responded with a 26-yard touchdown reception by Cameron O’Neal at the end of the third quarter to cut the BV lead to 33-14. But the Barons scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to regain their momentum.
Josh Godfrey (four carries, 57 yards) scored on a 45-yard run while Jordan Ingco scored on a 42-yard interception return.
Bonita Vista finished the game with 510 total yards, including 369 rushing yards.
Quentin Harrison had one catch for 40 yards while Ellis had two catches for 44 yards.
Tristan Janke led Bonita Vista with seven unassisted tackles. The Barons racked up six sacks — one each by Lorenso Perry, Atoa Fox, Diego Torres, Daniel Kemp, Gabe Melhorn and Moli Faalogo — and netted three interceptions. Trevian Lanier and Williams joined Ingco with picks. Lanier ran back his interception 45 yards before stepping out of bounds on the four-yard line on the last play of the first half.
The Barons are already in their championship mind-set. Thompson said his team would enter Monday’s practice with “playoff intensity.”
“If we finish that up, we’re league champs,” he said succinctly. “It’s nine down and one to go.”
Otay Ranch signal-caller Oscar Limon completed nine of 14 passing attempts for 182 yards in the win over Olympian. Devin Lloyd had three catches for 75 yards.
Garry Cannon (101 passing yards, 59 rushing yards) scored the Eagles’ lone touchdown on a fourth quarter run as Olympian (1-2 in league, 5-4 overall) suffered its third consecutive loss.
Cannon led the Eagles with 160 total yards.
Mater Dei Catholic, Castle Park secure co-titles
The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders (Metro-South Bay League) and Castle Park Trojans (Metro-Pacific League) each secured no worse than a tie for their respective league championships by posting runaway wins last Friday.
Mater Dei Catholic defeated host Sweetwater, 42-8, to improve to 2-0 in league play, 8-1 overall, while Castle Park defeated host Montgomery, 40-14, to improve to 2-0 in league, 5-4 overall.
C.J. Verdell rushed for 184 yards on seven carries and scored three rushing touchdowns to key the Crusaders to their seventh consecutive win. Quarterback Chris Jones completed all five of his passing attempts for 138 yards. He threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Eli Shelton (two catches, 81 yards) while also scoring on a qaurterback sneak. Jayden Emberton-Gaines spearheaded the MDCHS defense with 16 tackles while Elias Eribez had an interception and Austin Keller recovered a fumble.
Verdell scored on the first play of the game, rushing 64 yards for a touchdown; he later scored on an 83-yard run in the second quarter and racked up 165 rushing yards by halftime as the visitors led 35-0 at the break.
The Crusaders built a 42-0 lead before Sweetwater’s Marty Sesma averted a shutout loss for the hosts by scoring a rushing touchdown.
Mater Dei could be chasing an undefeated season had it not had to forfeit an early season non-league victory against El Capitan because of eligibility issues.
Castle Park’s Angelo Trujillo passed for 249 yards with touchdowns to Nick Williams and Anthony Navarro while Jesus Ortega, Miguel Flores (19 carries, 115 yards) and Ray Morfin each scored rushing touchdowns in the team’s Warrior Bowl victory. Chris Arana also scored on a 33-yard interception return for the Trojans.
The visitors took an early 6-0 lead on a touchdown run by Flores. However, the hosts responded to go up, 7-6, when Kevin Rivera scored on a scoop and score fumble recovery.
But there would be more scoring by Castle Park. Trujillo found Navarro on a 40-yard touchdown pass and Williams on a 57-yard TD pass as the Trojans took a 20-7 halftime lead.
Montgomery twice threatened to score in the fourth quarter but was turned back each time in the red zone by the Trojan defense. Morfin scored on a 17-yard run with three minutes to play to increase the CP lead to 27-7. The Aztecs finally countered on a 60-yard scoring pass from Israel Dorame to Anthony Parra to trim the Trojan lead to 27-14.
But the visitors would score twice more to seal their victory. Ortega scored on a 37-yard run and Arana then scored on an interception return.
In games on Friday, Mater Dei Catholic hosts Mar Vista (1-1 in league, 7-2 overall) while Castle Park plays at Southwest (1-1 in league, 1-8 overall) as both league leaders attempt to finish undefeated in league play with regular season-ending wins.
Hilltop 19, Mar Vista 16: Lancers stay in hunt for possible tri-championship
Hilltop kept alive its hopes of sharing the league title with Mater Dei Catholic and Mar Vista after defeating host Mar Vista, 19-16, in double overtime last Friday. Emilio Ugarte kicked four field goals for the victrious Lancers (1-1 in league, 4-5 overall).
Angel Pineda (23 carries, 113 yards) scored a third quarter touchdown to offset a one-yard touchdown run by Miguel Godinez (two carries, five yards) in the first quarter to give the visitors a 10-7 lead. However, Mar Vista quarterback Michael Wilson (seven carries, 31 yards) scored on an eight-yard run later in the quarter as the Mariners took a 13-10 lead.
A long kick-off return by Xavier Williams inside the 20-yard line set up Wilson’s TD run. Pineda reversed field before breaking into the secondary to score his touchdown.
Ugarte, who kicked a 31-yard field goal in the first quarter, kicked a 29-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.
Mar Vista kicker Abe Sanchez gave the hosts a 16-13 lead on the first try in overtime on a 47-yard field goal in which the ball hit the crossbar and bounced over. But Ugarte responded with a 27-yard field goal to tie the score and send the game into a second overtime tie-breaker with the teams knotted in a 16-16 deadlock.
Ugarte won the game with a 24-yard field goal – his fourth of the game – in the second OT period as Mar Vista’s field goal attempt fell short.
Hilltop racked up 362 total yards in offense to Mar Vista’s 202 total yards. The Lancer attack was balanced with quarterback Alex Tejeda enjoying one of his better outings on the season by completing 21 of 31 attempts for 182 yards, though he was intercepted twice.
Hilltop rolled up 180 rushing yards, partly aided by 72 yards on the ground from Tejeda.
Gus Ferreira caught nine passes for 102 yards while Luis Hernandez had four catches for 52 yards and Neiko Santana had four catches for 30 yards.
Defensively, Andrew Rivera collected two sacks while David Corona had one sack. Besides his heroics in the kicking game, Ugarte also recorded one caused fumble on defense.
The Lancers held Mar Vista star Khalil Spruill to 95 yards on 11 carries. The Mariners collected 179 rushing yards and just 23 passing yards. Spruill entered the game leading Mar Vista in scoring with eight touchdowns.
Southwest 32, San Ysidro 24
The host Raiders bolted out to a 16-0 halftime lead. But Franklin Forbes connected with Alex Gomez on a touchdown pass to cut the Southwest lead to 16-7. The Cougars then added a field goal at the start of the fourth quarter to further reduce the Raider lead to 16-10.
The fourth quarter remained close as the teams scored multiple touchdowns.
Joshua Sanchez keyed Southwest with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The game was filled with turnovers by both teams, including five in the first quarter alone.
The Raiders improved to 1-1 in league, 1-8 overall, while San Ysidro remained winless on the season at 0-8.
Eight-man football
Ocean View Christian Academy can sew up this year’s Citrus League championship with a victory against visiting Julian on Friday. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
The Patriots improved to 5-0 in Citrus League play, 6-2 overall, after defeating the Borrego Springs Rams, 28-13, last Friday. Ocean View outscored the Rams 22-6 in the second half as the visitors got their offense in gear. Alejandro Perez led the Pats with three rushing touchdowns and also passed for a score.
Four teams enter the final week of league play tied for the lead in the Ocean League with 2-1 league records. All four teams are in action on Friday, which will likely result in the two winners sharing this year’s league banner.
The four teams tied for first place in the Ocean League standings include Calvin Christian (5-3 overall), Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy (8-1 overall), Foothills Christian (5-3 overall) and the Rock Academy (7-2 overall).
Calvary Christian will end regular season play at the Rock Academy in a 2:30 p.m. matinee encounter while Calvin Christian will host Foothills Christian at 6:30 p.m.
Calvin Christian’s lone league loss was 36-16 to the Rock Academy while Calvary Christian lost 44-16 to Calvin Christian.
In a non-league encounter earlier this season, Calvary Christian defeated Ocean View 34-28.
The Commissioner’s Cup will pair teams from the Citrus League and the Ocean League in a championship game.
Prep Football Schedule
Friday, Nov. 6
Metro-Pacific League
Castle Park at Southwest, 7 p.m.
Montgomery at San Ysidro, 7 p.m.
Metro-South Bay League
Mar Vista at Mater Dei Catholic, 7 p.m.
Hilltop at Sweetwater, 7 p.m.
Metro-Mesa League
Otay Ranch at Bonita Vista, 7 p.m.
Chula Vista at Eastlake, 7 p.m.
Non-league
Santa Fe Christian at Olympian, 7 p.m.
Eight Man
Citrus League
Foothills Christian at Ocean View Christian Academy, 6:30 p.m.
Ocean League
Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy at Rock Academy, 2:30 p.m.
Prep Football Scoreboard
Friday, Oct. 30
Metro-Mesa League
Bonita Vista 47, Chula Vista 14
Otay Ranch 14, Olympian 7
Standings: Bonita Vista 3-0 (7-2), Eastlake 2-1 (4-5), Otay Ranch 2-1 (5-4), Olympian 1-2 (5-4), Chula Vista 0-3 (1-8)
Metro-South Bay League
Mater Dei Catholic 42, Sweetwater 8
Hilltop 19, Mar Vista 16 (2OT)
Standings: Mater Dei Catholic 2-0 (8-1), Hilltop 1-1 (4-5), Mar Vista 1-1 (7-2), Sweetwater 0-2 (1-8)
Metro-Pacific League
Castle Park 40, Montgomery 14
Southwest 32, San Ysidro 24
Standings: Castle Park 2-0 (5-4), Montgomery 1-1 (1-8), Southwest 1-1 (1-8), San Ysidro 0-2 (0-8)
Citrus League (8-Man)
Oceanview Christian Academy 28, Borrego Springs 13
Note: Ocean View improves to 5-0 in league play, 6-2 overall
