After two consecutive losses, the Steele Canyon High School football team is finally back in the win colum. it couldn’t have come at a better time for last Friday’s homecoming game.
The host Cougars left their fans cheering for more.
Final score: Steele Canyon 35, El Capitan 0
The win evened the 25th-ranked Cougars’ season record at 2-2.
Senior quarterback Gavin Caha lit up the night with 200 passing yards and five touchdowns, including two to senior Trevor Zenno (three catches, 66 yards) and one each to juniors Cameron Trujillo (one catch, 11 yards) and Dylan Granados (one catch, 11 yards) and another to senior Josiah Stocker (one catch, three yards).
The hosts compiled 280 yards overall with five players rushing for 80 yards. Senior Marcus Hunt led the group with 37 yards on six carries while classmate Michael Ortiguero had 37 yards on six carries.
Caha connected with six receivers. Senior Malcolm Ballard keyed the attack with six catches for 95 yards through he did not reach the end zone. Hunt caught two passes for 14 yards.
Senior Jordan Harvey finished the game with five successful extra-point conversions.
Steele Canyon started the game with a 7-0 first quarter lead before exploding for 21 second quarter points and a 28-0 halftime lead. The Cougars closed out scoring with a fourth quarter touchdown.
The defensive shutout was led by seniors Luke Rode and Maui Farrera each with six tackles. Rode registered five first hits while Farrera had four solo stops.
The Cougars recorded two sacks — one each by seniors Gunner Minich and Hawkins Ayede.
Rode punted once for 37 yards.
The loss was the third consecutive for the Vaqueros (1-4), who have been hit huge at the quarterback position of late.
Junior Kyle Carnes had 10 passing attempts in the game, completing three for 44 yards. Sophomore Shayne Whitmore came up with a big catch for 38 yards while junior Cota Lachappa caught two passes for six yards.
El Capitan had a bit more success with 65 rushing yards. Sophomore Zaine Burke (six carries, 36 yards) had the bulk of those. Junior Drake Alduenda had eight carries for 14 yards while junior Michael Castillo had five carries for 13 yards.
On the defensive side, sophomore Robinson Silva had nine tackles, including two for losses and one sack for nine yards.
Steele Canyon net travels to play a non-league game at Dorsey (3-2) while the Vaqueros will enjoy a bye week.
Grossmont 54, Otay Ranch 45
The host Hillers didn’t crumble after staring at a 21-14 deficit after the first quarter. No reason, the two teams continued to pile up the points in the non-league gridiron clash.
Grossmont put 40 more points on the scoreboard while the Mustangs managed 24 more.
Senior incumbent quarterback Tyler Holmes passed for 176 yards with three touchdowns and one interception to help lead the comeback. He also rushed 20 times for 172 yards and scored three touchdowns.
Holmes averaged 17.6 yards per pass completion and 8.6 yards per ground play.
Senior Max Bewley had five catches for 98 yards and one touchdown while junior Jamar McClendon had two catches for 44 yards and one touchdown. Junior Jackson Baird had one TD catch for nine yards.
But the rushing game was king with 359 yards on 61 carries. Junior Corbin Dow was the bulldozer with 38 attempts for 162 yards and one touchdown.
The Hillers tallied four rushing touchdowns, three passing touchdowns and one interception return (senior Kaiden Ong).
Grossmont finished the game with 535 total yards in offense — 348 by Holmes.
“We have a great team, a great group of guys who play for each other, do their job and not do too much,” said Holmes, who added a two-point conversion to his lofty numbers.
“Whatever playoff division we wind up in at the end of the season, we want to make a deep run.”
Otay Ranch sophomore signal-called Caleb Delaughter passed for 229 yards with four touchdowns and two picks.
East County Football Log
Non-League
Granite Hills 35, Los Alamitos 7
Grossmont 54, Otay Ranch 45
Steele Canyon 35, El Capitan 0
Valhalla 49, Kearny 0
Christian 44, Calexico 0
El Cajon Valley 26, Castle Park 15
Mountain Empire 50, San Ysidro 6
Foothills Christian 33, Tri-City 13
Cathedral Catholic 24, Helix 19
Poway 42, Mt. Miguel 12
Byes: Monte Vissta, Santana, West Hills
