All eyes will be on Friday’s Granite Hills-Helix Charter football game and rightly so.
Both teams enter the game with 8-0 overall records and spotless 3-0 Grossmont Hills League marks. The game is much more than just for the league title. Helix enters the game ranked third among San Diego Section Division I teams while Granite Hills is just a tick back at No. 4.
The top four teams in the Division I rankings advance to the elite Open Division playoffs. It’s obviously an honor to be included in that group and even more of an honor to win it.
Kick-off for Friday’s must-see game is 7 p.m. at Granite Hills High School.
Eagles head coach Kellan Cobbs expects a great game.
“They are very good,” Cobbs said in regard to Helix. “They have 10 seniors on defense who start and 10 on offense, so they are very experienced. They have a Division I quarterback, Division I running back and two wide receivers who are Divisions I players, so it will be a great test for our defense. Our defensive starters have not allowed a point since Week 3, so it should be a great match up. We commin.’”
Granite Hills continued its season roll by defeating host Steele Canyon, 45-7, last Friday after Helix shut out visiting Santana, 58-0, in the Highlanders’ homecoming game on Thursday, Oct. 12.
The win was the 17th consecutive for Granite Hills, dating to last year.
The Eagles led 38-0 after the opening quarter. The host Cougars (4-4) did not score until the final quarter.
Freshman Zachary Benitez continued his amazing debut high school season by passing for 252 yards with four touchdowns to go with a 154.9 quarterback rating.
Junior Pablo Jackson had six carries for 99 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns to spearhead the ground game.
Junior Brendan Lewis ruled the air waves with eight catches for 130 yards and three touchdown grabs. Senior Josh Zander had six catches for 54 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, senior Rowan Haynes recorded one sack while senior Travis Ford had one fumble recovery.
Senior Robert Petrich kicked off eight times with seven touchbacks. He finished the game with nine kicking points on six extra-point conversions and a 25-yard field goal.
On the season, Benitez has passed for 1,263 yards with 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions while Lewis has 33 catches for 432 yards and six touchdowns.
Junior Max Turner leads the ground attack with 697 rushing yards and eight touchdowns; Jackson is next up with 413 rushing yards and seven rushing scores.
The Eagles defense has notched 14 sacks, eight interceptions and three fumble recoveries in eight games.
Granite Hills closes out the regular season with an Oct. 26 game at Grossmont.
Helix remained undefeated on the season by jumping on the Sultans (4-4) early with 30 first-quarter points and 21 second-quarter points to lead 51-0 at halftime.
Senior Ryland Jessee completed seven of eight passing attempts for 161 yards and three touchdowns while senior Kevin Allen III scored two touchdowns on just three carries. Allen rushed for 66 yards – 43 yards coming on one carry and 23 yards on the other.
Sophomore Lee Norman-Lester also got a chance to showcase his talent at the signal-calling position by hitting on all three of his passes for 89 yards and two touchdown completions.
Senior Jackson Daniels had two catches for 87 yards – both touchdowns — while sophomore Jake Williams (three catches, 56 yards), senior Kyzza Matovu (two catches, 53 yards) and Brandon Arrington (two catches, 51 yards) each caught one scoring pass.
Senior Jirah Savaiinaea led the Helix defense with eight tackles, five unassisted and 3.5 for a loss, while senior Carter Ross had one fumble recovery and 2.5 tackles for a loss.
Santana rushed 32 times for negative 43 yards.
Eight players tallied points in the win. Senior Joshua Hossman-Lees recorded five extra-point kicks while junior Aubrey Laue tacked on three successful PAT conversions.
On the season, Jessee has passed for 1,120 with 13 touchdowns and one interception while Allen has rushed for 941 yards and scored 16 rushing touchdowns.
Daniels has amassed 364 receiving yards with eight touchdowns to his credit.
Senior Anthony Gash tops Helix with six sacks while Jackson has two interceptions.
The Scotties close regular season play with an Oct. 27 home game against Steele Canyon.
Matador pride
Don’t look now but Mt. Miguel’s amazing season continues to pick up momentum following a 46-20 Grossmont Valley League victory against visiting El Capitan on Thursday, Oct. 12.
The Matadors improved to 7-1 on the season and 2-0 in league play. Mt. Miguel has two games left on its regular season schedule before entering the Division IV playoffs.
The Matadors, who next play at El Cajon Valley (5-3 overall, 1-1 in league) on Friday and close out regular season play by hosting Monte Vista on Oct. 27, remain at the top of the Division IV rankings, followed by No. 2. Westview (5-3), No. 3 Santana and No. 4 Chula Vista (6-2). El Capitan (5-4 overall) sank to second place in the league standings with a 2-1 league mark and one game remaining on its regular season schedule.
Senior Matthew Barton passed for 322 yards with six touchdowns and one interception while senior Jeremiah Castillo had six catches for 89 yards and three touchdowns. Barton has now passed for 2,091 yards with 29 touchdowns and three interceptions while Jeremiah has 36 catches for 736 yards and 11 touchdowns. Castillo leads the Spring Valley team with 94 points and 15 total touchdowns.
The Matadors racked up 444 total offensive yards in the victory.
Sophomore Parris Vernon had 13 catches for 171 yards with two touchdowns while junior Braylon Cardwell had three catches for 34 yards and one touchdown. Senior Davian McGowan rushed 16 times for 95 yards.
Grossmont Conference Football Standings
GROSSMONT HILLS LEAGUE
League/Overall
Granite Hills 3-0, 8-0
Helix Charter 3-0, 8-0
West Hills 1-2, 5-3
Grossmont 1-2, 4-4
Steele Canyon 1-2, 4-4
Santana 0-3, 4-4
GROSSMONT VALLEY LEAGUE
League/Overall
Mt. Miguel 2-0, 7-1
El Capitan 2-1, 5-4
Monte Vista 1-1, 2-6
El Cajon Valley 1-1, 5-3
Valhalla 0-3, 2-7
San Diego Section Rankings
(Through Oct. 14)
Division I: 1. Lincoln (9-0), 2. Carlsbad (8-0), 3. Helix (8-0), 4. Granite Hills (8-0), 5. Mission Hills (4-3), 6. Torrey Pines (5-3), 7. Cathedral Catholic (3-6), 8. El Camino (6-2), 9. La Costa Canyon (5-3), 10. St. Augustine (4-4), 11. Mater Dei Catholic (4-3), 12. San Marcos (6-2), 13. Madison (3-5), 14. Poway (3-5), 15. Ramona (4-3), 16. Mira Mesa (2-6)
Division II: 1. Del Norte (7-1), 2. La Jolla (6-2), 3. Rancho Bernardo (4- 4), 4. Oceanside (6-3), 5. Scripps Ranch (5-3), 6. Point Loma (5-4), 7. Central Union (6-2), 8. Brawley (7-1), 9. Bishop’s (5-3), 10. Eastlake (3-5), 11. Mt. Carmel (3-5), 12. Steele Canyon (4-4), 13. Christian (4-4), 14. University City (1-7), 15. San Pasqual (4-4), 16. Rancho Buena Vista (0-8)
Division III: 1. Mission Bay (7-1), 2. Fallbrook (3-5), 3. West Hills (5-3), 4. Santa Fe Christian (5-4), 5. Patrick Henry (4-4), 6. La Jolla Country Day (5-3), 7. Imperial (6-2), 8. El Capitan (5-4), 9. Morse (4-4), 10. Grossmont (4-4), 11. Valley Center (3-5), 12. Otay Ranch (2-6), 13. Palo Verde Valley (3-6), 14. San Diego (2-6), 15. Montgomery (3-5), 16. Vista (0-8)
Division IV: 1. Mt. Miguel (7-1), 2. Westview (5-3), 3. Santana (4-4), 4. Chula Vista (6-2), 5. Bonita Vista (5-3), 6. Crawford (4-3), 7. Olympian (4-4), 8. Calexico (5-3), 9. Escondido (2-6), 10. Escondido Charter (3-5), 11. Coronado (3-5), 12. Hilltop (3-5), 13. Francis Parker (2-6), 14. Orange Glen (4-4), 15. Classical Academy (2-6), 16. Canyon Hills (0-8)
Division V: 1. Sweetwater (3-5), 2. Vincent Memorial (6-2), 3. El Cajon Valley (5-3), 4. Hoover (5-3), 5. Valhalla (2-7), 6. Southwest El Centro (2-6), 7. Kearny (5-3), 8. Monte Vista (2-6), 9. Castle Park (4-3), 10. Clairemont (4-4), 11. Southwest (5-4), 12, Mar Vista (2-6), 13. San Ysidro (1-7)
Division V-AA: 1. Holtville (5-2), 2. Army-Navy Academy (5-3), 3. Tri-City Christian (7-1), 4. Rock Academy (3-4), 5. Calipatria (3-5), 6. Maranatha Christian (3-5), 7. Mountain Empire (1-8), 8. O’Farrell Charter (0-8)
Eight-person: Foothills Christian (5-2 record), 3-0 in Ocean League
