Granite Hills and Grossmont high schools have been longtime rivals for supremacy in East County boys lacrosse and it’s no different this season after both teams faced off the 2020 campaign with 3-0 league records.
At 5-0 overall entering spring break, the defending Grossmont Conference champion Grossmont Foothillers held down the No. 1 ranking among San Diego Section schools, according to the ratings logarithm used by the MaxPreps website.
La Costa Canyon (5-0) followed with the No. 2 ranking among section teams. Scripps Ranch (4-0) was third, followed by fourth-ranked Cathedral Catholic (3-1), fifth-ranked Santa Fe Christian (2-2), sixth-ranked Westview (3-1), seventh-ranked Carlsbad (3-2) and eighth-ranked La Jolla Country Day (2-1).
Those eight teams would comprise the Open Division playoffs.
If such comes to pass, the Foothillers would be looking for redemption after concluding a magical 17-0 regular season last year only to drop their first playoff game, 6-5, to eighth-seeded Bishop’s.
Grossmont appears to be on a mission this season after compiling a prodigious 64-15 scoring differential.
The Foothillers faced off the 2020 season with a 13-3 non-league win against visiting Westview on Feb. 28 and defeated visiting Santa Fe Christian, 5-4, in another non-league encounter on March 9 before entering the spring break.
Grossmont’s league victories have come against visiting Santana (15-1 on March 3) and Valhalla (15-0 on March 4) and at Helix (16-7 on March 6).
Sophomore Ziggy Iannessa tallied three times to lead the Foothillers to a 5-0 start in their win over Santa Fe Christian.
Other Foothillers to watch this season include seniors Ryan Crews and Joshua Howery and sophomore Bryce Scurlock.
Granite Hills, meanwhile, continues to soar after winning last year’s Division II championship. The Eagles carried a 6-1 record into the spring break and were ranked second among this season’s Division II teams, trailing only top-ranked Point Loma (6-0).
The elite ranking appears to be deserved after the Eagles out-scored their opponents 75-28 in their opening seven games.
Granite Hills claimed a narrow 8-6 match-up at Helix in its league opener on March 4, then defeated visiting Valhalla, 12-3, on March 6 and host Monte Vista, 17-1, on March 11.
Granite Hills’ home opener took place against Valhalla following non-league road wins at Del Norte (11-3 on Feb. 25) and Canyon Crest Academy (8-4 on Feb. 28) and a non-league loss at Scripps Ranch (10-7 on March 3).
The Eagles gave their fans something to cheer for after taking a 10-0 halftime lead on the Norsemen.
Granite Hills extended its winning streak to four games following a 12-1 non-league win at defending Mesa League champion Eastlake on March 12.
Grossmont finished 12-0 to win last year’s league banner while the Eagles were 10-2, with both losses to the Foothillers.
The teams are scheduled to meet twice this season, pending any schedule revisions.
Race for the banner
This year’s Grossmont Conference lineup features all seven returning teams from last season. Santana followed Grossmont and Granite Hills in the league standings with a 2-1 league record this season while Valhalla was 2-2, El Capitan was 1-2, Helix was 1-3 and Monte Vista was 0-4.
The conference appears to be well represented with four East County teams holding down positions in the top 10 Division II rankings.
Santana (4-1 overall) was ranked fourth while Valhalla (3-2) was ranked seventh and El Capitan (4-3) was ranked ninth.
Santana opened its season with an 11-6 non-league win over visiting Del Lago Academy on March 2 and defeated visiting Monte Vista, 15-0, on March 6 to chalk up its first league win.
The Sultans extended their win streak to three games with ensuing victories against visiting Mar Vista (12-6 in non-league play on March 9) and host El Capitan (10-8 in league play on March 11).
Valhalla faced off its season with a two-game winning streak. The Norsemen defeated visiting Eastlake, 5-4, in a non-league game on Feb. 26 before capturing a 12-2 win over visiting Monte Vista in their league opener on Feb. 28.
Valhalla defeated visiting Helix, 14-6, on March 11 prior to the spring break.
Helix defeated host El Capitan, 16-11, in its league opener on Feb. 28 while the Vaqueros have scored non-league wins over Hoover (14-4 on Feb. 26), Mira Mesa (20-9 on March 2) and San Diego (10-9 on March 6).
El Capitan won by a score of 9-5 at Monte Vista on March 4 to pick up its lone league win.
What’s next?
Play is suspended among Grossmont Conference schools through April 10 due to the current coronavirus pandemic, though coaches are hopeful for a resumption of play when state and county health officials deem it safe to return to the practice field.
The section’s playoff schedule features competition in three divisions. Opening round games are scheduled May 5-6 in Division I and Division II, followed by quarterfinals May 8-9, including the Open Division. Semifinals are scheduled May 12-13.
A championship game triple-header is scheduled May 16 at Westview High School.
Dates are subject to review by the CIF state governing body in conjunction with individual school districts.
CIF rewind
The Eagles received the No. 2 seed in last year’s playoff field and eliminated fifth-seeded El Camino, 15-2, in the opening round before going on to top seventh-seeded San Dieguito Academy, 17-7, in the ensuing quarterfinals.
Sophomore Cooper Wygrant led Granite Hills in the win over El Camino with three goals while senior Justin Marshall scored two goals. Senior Danny Kier sealed the opening-round playoff victory with a pair of goals.
Granite Hills defeated third-seeded Pacific Ridge, 6-3, in the semifinals and looked to be on a championship game collision course with top-seeded Eastlake before the Titans were upset, 8-7, by fifth-seeded Francis Parker.
The Eagles (15-6) drew Parker instead in the title game and had to hold off another upset bid by the Lancers before finally claiming an 8-7 win.
Adam Shank put Francis Parker (15-6) ahead, 7-6, before the Eagles — cheered on by a vocal fan base — rallied to win on back-to-back goals by Marshall and senior Kyle Weaklem.
Last year’s Division I playoffs featured a complete bracket bust as 11th-seeded Del Norte defeated fifth-seeded La Jolla Country Day, 11-5, in the championship game.
Grossmont, led by Crews, an All-CIF Second Team pick, had received the No. 1 seed in the division but the Foothillers saw their championship hopes dashed following the quarterfinal loss to the Knights.
Grossmont finished 12-0 in league play, followed by Granite Hills at 10-2 in league play, Helix at 8-4, Valhalla at 6-6, Santana at 3-9, El Capitan at 3-9 and Monte Vista at 0-12.
Five Grossmont Conference teams received berths in the Division II playoffs.
Helix received the No. 6 seed and defeated 11th-seeded Mission Hills, 11-1, in the opening round but lost its next game, 11-6 to third-seeded Pacific Ridge.
Valhalla received the No. 10 seed and ended its playoff run in the opening round following an 11-8 loss to seventh-seeded San Dieguito Academy.
Santana received the No. 12 seed and lost its playoff opener 17-7 to fifth-seeded Patrick Henry.
Top-seeded Torrey Pines (20-2) defeated third-seeded La Costa Canyon (16-8) by a 12-4 score to win the Open Division championship.
