With Granite Hills, El Capitan and Monte Vista high schools all winning prestigious San Diego Section tackle football championships this fall, it’s no surprise the all-section team was skewed somewhat by East County representation.
Granite Hills High School senior Max Turner earned recognition as the section’s 2024 Offensive Most Valuable Player after rushing for 2,036 yards with 32 rushing touchdowns. He finished the season with 36 total touchdowns in 14 games by tacking on 211 receiving yards.
Turner scored rushed for 242 yards with five touchdowns in the third-seeded Eagles’ 42-35 victory over the top-seeded San Marcos to capture the Division I championship title — the team’s third consecutive CIF championship in as many years (Division II in 2022, Open Division in 2023 and Division I in 2024).
A total of five Granite Hills players earned placement on the All-CIF team. Joining Turner on the pigskin honor roll were junior tackle/guard Jeremiah Maze (first team offense), sophomore quarterback Zachary Benitez (second team offense), senior safety/receiver Parker Vance (first team offense) and senior cornerback/safety Trevor Smith (second team defense).
Benitez passed for 2,410 yards with 27 touchdowns against nine interceptions to finish the season with a 107.6 quarterback rating.
Smith led the Eagles with 115 tackles, including 56 unassisted tackles, while Vance ranked second with 91 defensive stops. Vance also had nine interceptions and one fumble recovery on defense.
The reigning Grossmont Hills League champions finished the season 11-3 overall with a berth in the Southern California regional playoffs.
Grossmont junior receiver Noah Walker (first team offense) and senior quarterback Thomas Donovan (second team offense) both earned a spot on the section’s elite list while Mt. Miguel had three players named: junior A.J. Logan (first team offense), senior Braylon Cardwell (first team defense) and junior Brandon Arrington (second team defense).
Logan had 67 receptions for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also recorded one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown.
Arrington had five receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown on offense and 26 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery on defense.
Cardwell was credited with 27 tackles and one fumble recovery on defense.
Walker grabbed 114 passes in 12 games for 1,590 yards and 26 touchdowns in the Foothillers’ pass-oriented offense. Donovan passed for 4,134 yards with 53 touchdowns and 16 interceptions to finish with a 106.1 quarterback rating.
Other notables included senior Christian Brady Eads (second team offense), Steele Canyon senior guard/tackle Jayden Manley (second team offense), El Capitan senior tight end/defensive end Marlon Ames (second team defense) and Helix Charter senior Pablo Jackson (second team offense).
Eads, a standout two-way player, caught 60 passes for 773 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 129 yards and five scores. As a rusher and receiver, he totaled 902 all-purpose yards and team-leading 18 touchdowns in 12 games. He added 49 tackles, two interceptions and 1.5 sacks on defense.
Jackson rushed for 1,657 yards and 19 touchdowns while passing for one touchdown.
Ames logged 58 tackles, 11 sacks and three caused fumbles.
Monte Vista senior Alex Villanueva, the section’s leading rusher, was named to the offensive first team after setting a new section record with 2,930 rushing yards in 16 games. He scored 15 touchdowns to steer the Monarchs to the Division V section championship and a berth in the Division 6-A state championship game.
Monte Vista coach Ron Hamamoto earned honors as the section’s coach of the year.
Second-seeded El Capitan defeated fifth-seeded Westview, 17- 14, to win the Division III championship. The Vaqueros (11-4) finished their season with a loss in the Division 5-AA state final.
Mt. Miguel (9-3) advanced as far as the Division I quarterfinals while Christian (9-3) advanced as far as the Division II section quarterfinals.
Helix (5-7) ended its season in the Division I semifinals while third-seeded Grossmont (5-7) advanced to the Division III section semifinals with a season-ending loss to El Capitan.
Steele Canyon (4-7) lost in the opening round of the Division III section playoffs.
