It’s still mid-summer but the high school football season is set to start just around the corner.
Granite Hills High School kicks off the 2025 season with a pair of heavyweight opponents to engage home fans. The Eagles host the Oceanside Pirates on Aug. 22 and turn around to host the Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders on Aug. 29.
Mater Dei Catholic finished runner-up in last year’s San Diego Section Division II championship game while Oceanside earned the No. 8 seed in the Division I field.
Granite Hills is in the midst of a CIF three-peat after defeating Ramona, 48-12, to win the Division II title in 2022, topping Lincoln, 27-26, with an exciting comeback in the 2023 Open Division final and using a late surge to eclipse San Marcos, 42-25, in last year’s Division I championship game.
The Eagles captured the 2-A state bowl championship in 2022 with a 31-24 overtime victory against San Ramon Valley. Over the past three seasons, Granite Hills has amassed a 36-6 record, including 13-2 in its state bowl championship season and 12-1in the Open Division year.
The Eagles are coming off an 11-3 season last year to buttress their streak of three consecutive Grossmont Hills League championships.
“We look to compete for our fourth straight league and CIF championship,” Granite Hills head coach Kellan Cobbs said. “I believe we have one of the toughest schedules in San Diego County, so I’m hoping that will prepare us for the playoffs.
“We’re very excited about the experience on our offensive line. We returned seven players who had starts for us last season, so it should be a very complete group up front. Defensively, we replaced a lot of experience in the secondary, so we’re excited to see what guys step up and make plays.”
Cobbs isn’t kidding about his team’s ultra-tough schedule this year. After matching up against the Pirates and Crusaders, the Eagles travel to Gilbert, Ariz., on Sept. 6 to tackle Perry High School. Three additional road games follow: Sept. 12 at Mission Hills, Sept. 19 at Los Alamitos and Sept. 26 at Cathedral Catholic.
Mission Hills and Cathedral Catholic were both Open Division qualifiers in 2024, with Cathedral Catholic dropping a 31-13 contest to Lincoln in the championship game.
Los Alamitos competed in last year’s Southern Section Division II playoffs while Perry competed in last year’s Arizona Conference 6A state playoffs.
Top returners for Granite Hills include junior All-CIF quarterback Zac Benitez, All-CIF offensive lineman Jeremiah Maze, senior receiver Tristen Diaz, senior first team all-league defensive lineman Hunter Hamilton, senior first team all-league athlete Kyler Oberg and second team all-league offensive lineman Julian Bailey.
Benitez passed for 2,410 yards and 27 touchdowns against nine interceptions last season.
Diaz, who has committed to Utah for lacrosse, had 23 catches for 344 yards and three touchdowns while Oberg had 11 catches for 196 yards and two scores.
Both players will look for increased numbers with expanded roles this season.
The team’s impact newcomers include senior receiver Noah Walker, senior defensive back/wide out Rocket Demery and senior wide receiver D.J. Wilkins.
Walker posted a whirlwind season in 2024 with 1,590 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns in 12 games at Grossmont High School. He accumulated 1,628 total yards for 135.7 yards per game.
As a sophomore in 2023, Walker tallied 557 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns as the Foothillers snared a runner-up finish in the Division III section playoffs.
Demery had 17 catches for 304 yards and three touchdowns for Eastlake last season while also playing the quarterback and running back positions.
Wilkins had 16 catches for 199 yards and one touchdown in nine games for Mt. Miguel last year.
Granite Hills’ league schedule kicks off Oct. 10 with a home game against the Mt. Miguel Matadors and continues with games against Helix Oct. 17 at home and road games to close out regular season play Oct. 24 at El Capitan and Oct. 30 at Steele Canyon.
El Capitan returns to the Grossmont Hills League lineup after winning last year’s Division IV section title while Grossmont moves to the Grossmont Valley League, which now also includes Monte Vista, West Hills, Santana, Valhalla and El Cajon Valley.
Monte Vista won last year’s Division V section title en route to a runner-up finish in the Division 6-A state bowl championship game.
