Grossmont Hills League and Grossmont Valley League teams kick off league play this weekend. At stake are school pride and playoff berths.
Grossmont Hills League teams will play four games to determine a league champion while Grossmont Valley League teams will play five games.
League champions receive automatic entry into the San Diego Section playoffs.
Steele Canyon (6-0) enters Friday’s game among 12 teams still undefeated in the section following last Friday’s 28-0 non-league win over visiting Dorsey (2-3).
The Cougars have four games remaining on their regular season schedule — all league matchups (Friday against visiting El Capitan, Oct. 17 at Mt. Miguel, Oct. 24 at Helix and Oct. 30 at home against defending champion Granite Hills).
The Men of Steele will be facing a Vaquero team (4-2) on a four-game winning streak following last Friday’s 16-3 win at West Hills. Senior Brody Copp (11 carries, 72 yards) and sophomore Hayden Passanisi (118 passing yards) each scored touchdowns for El Capitan, which has out-scored its last two opponents 54-3.
Senior Nico Jara keyed the Cougars to their latest win with three touchdowns — two receiving (two catches, 63 yards) and one rushing (one carry, three yards).
Junior quarterback Gavin Caha passed for 108 yards and two touchdowns while junior Malcolm Ballard had one catch for 23 yards, junior Marcus Hunt had five carries for 27 yards and junior Abel Lopez had nine carries for 21 yards.
Defensively, senior Tyree Zarkaryan and Jara each recorded one sack while senior Vincent Pryor and junior Jamieson Sablan each had fumble recoveries.
In the other Hills opener, Helix (1-5) will play at No. 7 Mt. Miguel (4-2). Both teams are coming off non-league losses: No. 25 Helix 13-0 at No. 15 Mater Dei Catholic (3-3) and Mt. Miguel 26-25 at No. 12 Oceanside (2-3).
Grossmont Valley League play kicks off with three games: Valhalla (1-4) at Grossmont (4-1), Santana (3-2) at El Cajon Valley (2-3) and Monte Vista (3-2) at West Hills (0-5), all Friday at 7 p.m.
Grossmont improved to 4-1 with last Friday’s 36-13 non-league win over the visiting Mira Mesa Marauders (3-2) as the No. 29 Foothillers racked up 453 total offensive yards.
Junior quarterback Tyler Holmes (83 passing yards, 57 rushing yards) had two rushing touchdowns and passed for another while junior A.J. Hooker broke loose with 189 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Junior Logan Struck caught a 20-yard scoring pass.
Defensively, senior Ryder Robinson had three sacks, senior Jay Smith had an interception and fumble recovery, senior Colton Burke had six tackles and one sack while junior Nate Clark had five stops.
“It’s always good to be in the win column,” Grossmont head coach Anthony Lawrence said. “We hope to win league. It is not the Hills, but still good quality teams that are tough. We have to play well every week to win it.”
