The high school football season has passed the midpoint for most teams with league play remaining until the close of the regular season to lay out the seeding for the post-season playoffs.
The Granite Hills Eagles continue to register near the top of the section as its No. 4-ranked team. The Eagles spread their wings with a commanding 45- 0 non-league win last Friday at Madison.
Senior Max Turner rushed for three first-half touchdowns as the East County visitors rushed to a 31-0 lead. Turner finished the game with 84 yards on 11 carries. Meanwhile, sophomore quarterback Zac Benitez passed for 166 yards, hitting senior Brendan Lewis seven times for 75 yards.
Overall, seven players caught passes in the game while seven players handled the ball on rushing plays.
Senior Lathan Fry gained 48 yards on two carries while sophomore Gage Spalding had 34 yards on seven attempts. Junior De’vell Green ripped off one carry for 21 yards. Benitez had two carries for eight yards.
Fry completed two passes for nine yards and one touchdown. He also had two catches for 27 yards.
Junior Tristan Diaz caught four passes for 28 yards while senior Trenton Ingram had two catches for 19 yards. Junior Emilio Vera caught a nine-yard scoring pass from Fry.
Turner had one catch for 17 yards to finish the game with 101 total yards. Benitez was the team leader with 174 total yards in the game.
Eight players combined for four sacks on defense while senior Trevor Smith had two interceptions.
Senior Trent Whillock garnered nine kicking points on six PAT conversions and a 35-yard field goal.
Turner has rushed for 764 yards and scored 13 touchdowns in five games while Benitez has passed for 843 yards and eight TDs.
Granite Hills kicks off Grossmont Hills League play this Friday against the visiting Steele Canyon Cougars, who are com¬ing off a 27-16 non-league loss to visiting Pt. Loma on homecoming last Friday.
The Pointers defense ravaged the Steele Canyon passing game with five interceptions (each by a different player). Sophomore quarterback Gavin Caha wound up passing for 221 yards in the game for the Cougars with touchdown passes to senior Austin Haisch (seven catches, 94 yards) and junior Noah Dearcos (three catches, 37 yards).
The Pointers (3-2) held Steele Canyon to 32 rushing yards. Junior Nico Jara, who led the Cougars with seven tackles on defense with one sack, scored on a pair of two-point conversions.
Grossmont 54, Monte Vista 33
Senior Thomas Donovan passed for 396 yards and six touchdowns to lead the host Foothillers (3-2) over the 0.500 mark in an up-and-down season so far. Junior Noah Walker caught seven passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns while senior Parker Vanderburgh amassed 134 receiving yards on four catches with one TD.
Senior Joshua Herber had seven catches for 101 yards and one touchdown while junior Randy Ballard caught a nine-yard scoring pass.
Donovan had four carries for 19 yards to finish the game with 415 yards in total offense. Junior Damar Smith (seven carries, 38 yards) scored one rushing touchdown.
Senior Julian Garcia and junior Colton Burke each had interceptions on defense for the Hillers.
Senior Alex Villanueva rushed for 351 yards and scored five touchdowns to keep Monte Vista (2-3) within striking distance.
Donovan has now passed for 1,901 yards and 24 touchdowns in five games while Villanueva has rushed for 1,014 yards.
Monte Vista kicks off Grossmont Valley League play this Friday by hosting El Capitan (2-3).
CALPREPS SAN DIEGO SECTION FOOTBALL RANKINGS
TOP 50 TEAMS
1. Lincoln (3-2)
2. La Costa Canyon (5-0)
3. Cathedral Catholic (4-1)
4. Granite Hills (4-1)
5. Mission Hills (4-1)
6. Carlsbad (4-1)
7. San Marcos (4-1)
8. El Camino (4-1)
9. Rancho Bernardo (4-1)
10. La Jolla (4-1)
11. Mt. Miguel (4-1)
12. Del Norte (3-2)
13. Torrey Pines (2-3)
14. Oceanside (3-3)
15. Helix (2-3)
16. Brawley (5-0)
17. Scripps Ranch (4-0)
18. Mater Dei Catholic (2-3)
19. Mt. Carmel (4-1)
20. Poway (3-2)
21. Santa Fe Christian (4-1)
22. Bishop’s (2-2)
23. Pt. Loma (3-2)
24. Central Union (5-1)
25. University City (5-0)
26. Imperial (6-0)
27. Madison (1-4)
28. Christian (3-2)
29. La Jolla Country Day (3-2)
30. Holtville (6-0)
31. Escondido (3-2)
32. Patrick Henry (4-2)
33. Valley Center (4-2)
34. Otay Ranch (3-3)
35. Steele Canyon (4-2)
36. Eastlake (1-5)
37. San Diego (4-2)
38. St. Augustine (0-6)
39. Ramona (1-4)
40. Chula Vista (4-2)
41. San Pasqual (1-4)
42. El Capitan (2-3)
43. Westview (2-4)
44. Army-Navy Academy (4-1)
45. Vincent Memorial (4-1)
46. Mission Bay (2-4)
47. Grossmont (3-2)
48. Mira Mesa (0-5)
49. West Hills (2-3)
50. Santana (4-1)
Others: 69. Monte Vista (2-3),
76. Valhalla (2-3), 82. El Cajon Valley (0-5), 85. Mountain Empire (1-4)
SANTANA 44, CLAIREMONT 8
Senior Kaedyn Hallman rushed 10 times for 116 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Sultans (4-1) past the Chieftains (2-4). Sophomore Ethan Miller passed for 93 yards and an 11-yard touchdown to senior Noah Qualin. Senior Wyatt Williams (five carries, 16 yards) also had
one rushing touchdown.
Senior Aidan Thornton logged two sacks on defense while junior Xander Bennett had a fumble
recovery.
Santana kicks off Grossmont Valley League play Friday at Valhalla (2-3).
CHRISTIAN 30, CHULA VISTA 2
Sophomore Kaleb Runkle passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two scores to enable the visiting Patriots to snap the Spartans’ four-game winning streak. Runkle passed for 134 yards and rushed for 70 yards to chalk up 204 total yards in the non-league encounter. Senior Brady Eads had four catches for 68 yards and one touchdown while senior Jake Marsch had two receptions for three yards and one touchdown.
Senior Max Turvey had one interception while senior Tavin Zawacki had a sack for a two-point safety to stymie Chula Vista (4-2).
Senior Talan Buchmann was four-for-four on extra-point conversions as Christian outgained
Chula Vista 294-136 in total yards.
Christian kicks off City League play Friday at Crawford (3-2).
SAN DIEGO SECTION FALL SPORTS POWER RANKINGS
BOYS WATER POLO
Division I: 1. Santana 8-0, 2. La Jolla 16-3, 3. Cathedral Catholic 7-2, 4. Bishop’s 6-3, 5. Torrey Pines 10-5, 6. Carlsbad 14-6, 7. Poway 14-6, 8. Valhalla 8-4, 9. Eastlake 13-5, 10. Canyon Crest Academy 8-5, 11. Helix 6-5, 12. Clairemont 9-7, 13. San Dieguito Academy 7-5, 14. Coronado 3-6, 15. Pt. Loma 5-7, 16. Classical Academy 4-4, 17. Patrick Henry 4-4, 18. Mt. Carmel 4-9, 19. Vista 4-9, 20. Rancho Bernardo 3-12
Division II: 1. La Costa Canyon 12-3, 2. Granite Hills 12-7, 3. Pacific Ridge 2-1, 4, Steele Canyon 6-3, 5. Francis Parker 7-5, 6. Oceanside 9-7, 7. Mission Bay 5-6, 8. Ramona 7-6, 9. El Camino 1-1, 10. Westview 5-9, 11. High Tech High San Diego 9-6, 12. Bonita Vista 5-2, 13. El Capitan 6-4, 14. Olympian 4-6, 15. San Marcos 3-6, 16. La Jolla Country Day 3-4, 17. Del Norte 1-6, 18. Mar Vista 4-6, 19. Grossmont 1-7, 20. Castle Park 0-2, 21. Mira Mesa 3-4
Division III: 1. Hilltop 8-3, 2. University City 7-4, 3. West Hills 8-8, 4. Army-Navy Academy 3-3, 5. Scripps Ranch 4-3, 6. Otay Ranch 5-2, 7. San Pasqual 3-2, 8. Mission Hills 4-4, 9. Rancho Buena Vista 5-2, 10. Mater Dei Catholic 5-8, 11. Fallbrook 6-9, 12. Valley Center 2-6, 13. Monte Vista 3-5, 14. Southwest 3-4, 15. Canyon Hills 2-5, 16. CVLCC 3-2, 17. Escondido 3-7, 18. Santa Fe Christian 1-7, 19. Montgomery 0-1, 20. Chula Vista 0-3, 21. San Ysidro 0-6, 22. Mt. Miguel 1-12
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Division I: 1. Torrey Pines 13-4, 2, San Marcos 19-3, 3. Westview 16-5, 4. Francis Parker 19-5, 5. San Dieguito Academy 17-7, 6. Eastlake 10-7, 7. Bishop’s 15-4, 8. Our Lady of Peace 17-4, 9. Christian 12-7, 10. Sage Creek 21-9. Others: 18. El Capitan 7-6, 21. Helix 3-13
Division II: 1. Coronado 25-3, 2. La Jolla Country Day 20-5, 3. Scripps Ranch 16-5, 4. Rancho Buena Vista 11-2, 5. University City 17-4, 6. San Pasqual 8-2, 7. Patrick Henry 15-11, 8. Granite Hills 13-8, 9. Maranatha Christian 19-4, 10. Mission Bay 18-8. Others: 15. Valhalla 6-4
Division III: 1. High Tech High San Diego 10-1, 2. Brawley 16-1, 3. Central Union 20-8, 4. Escondido `5-14, 5. Santana 12-5, 6. West Hills 10-13, 7. Oceanside 12-6, 8. Foothills Christian 11-3, 9. Valley Center 11-3, 10. Olympian 10-16. Others: Steele Canyon 7-12
