The 2015 high school football season kicks off this weekend with Saturday’s SDNFL Magazine Kickoff Classic at La Jolla Country Day School. The defending San Diego Section Division II champion El Capitan Vaqueros will help kick off the new season by participating in the showcase event.
The Vaqueros and Hilltop Lancers will meet in a 7:30 p.m. contest to close out the four-game event.
Though officially a scrimmage, the match-up between teams from the Grossmont Hills League and the Metro-South Bay League will be played under game-like conditions.
The 2015 high school football season kicks off this weekend with Saturday’s SDNFL Magazine Kickoff Classic at La Jolla Country Day School. The defending San Diego Section Division II champion El Capitan Vaqueros will help kick off the new season by participating in the showcase event.
The Vaqueros and Hilltop Lancers will meet in a 7:30 p.m. contest to close out the four-game event.
Though officially a scrimmage, the match-up between teams from the Grossmont Hills League and the Metro-South Bay League will be played under game-like conditions.
The event kicks off at noon with a game pitting La Jolla Country Day and Coronado. That game will be followed by a match-up between Palo Verde and San Ysidro at 2:30 p.m. Prior to the El Capitan-Hilltop game, teams from La Jolla and Imperial will take the field at 5 p.m.
Each scrimmage is scheduled to last two hours.
El Capitan turned in what may have been the Lakeside school’s finest season in 2014 when it completed a sterling 14-1 campaign under head coach Ron Burner en route to claiming both Grossmont Hills League and section Division II titles and a runner-up finish in the State Bowl Division III championship game.
The Vaqs came up just short by a 35-28 score in the Division III state final at the StubHub Center in Carson after previously defeating Paso Robles, 41-10, in a regional playoff game at home.
El Capitan took an undefeated 14-0 record into the State Bowl championship game and built a 28-7 lead before falling victim to Campolindo’s heroic comeback that included 28 unanswered points over the final 12 minutes, 45 seconds.
The Vaqueros defeated Rancho Bernardo, 14-7, to capture the school’s first San Diego CIF championship in a game played Dec. 6 at Southwestern College.
This year’s round of championship games will also be played at Southwestern College. Will El Capitan return to roost at the top of its division or will a new champion be crowned?
Fans get can a glimpse on Saturday.
The Vaqueros numbered 29 seniors on last year’s roster, including quarterback Brad Cagle, receiver Isaiah Capoocia and running back D.J. Smith.
Cagle threw for 2,650 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2014 while Capoocia caught 59 aerials for 941 yards and 15 touchdowns. Smith, another talented senior off that blockbuster squad, rushed for 1,195 yards and scored 19 touchdowns.
Capoocia, who amassed 2,052 all-purpose yards and scored 22 total touchdowns as a senior, signed a National Letter of Intent in March to play for Sacramento State. He scored two touchdowns—one rushing and one receiving—to help lead the South team to a 28-0 win over the North team in July’s 25th annual Alex Spanos All-Star Football Classic at Mesa College.
Cagle also competed in the Spanos All-Star Classic.
El Capitan kicks off 2015 regular season play with an Aug. 28 non-league contest against the Madison Warhawks at Cathedral Catholic High School. Game time is 5 p.m. The Vaqueros’ first home game of the season is Sept. 18 against Patrick Henry.
Water polo
The 10th annual Draz Classic is scheduled Friday (Aug. 21) and Saturday (Aug. 22) at Granite Hills High School. Eight games are scheduled for Friday, starting at 1:30 p.m. Twelve games are scheduled for Saturday, starting at 8:30 a.m.
Steele Canyon will engage Mater Dei Catholic Friday at 2:30 p.m. while Helix will meet Clairemont at 5:30 p.m. and West Hills will test Santa Fe Christian in other contests involving East County schools on Friday.
Five Grossmont Conference teams will see action on Saturday. Monte Vista starts it off with the early 8:30 a.m. game against La Jolla Country Day. Valhalla meets San Marcos at 12:30 p.m., with Santana and Canyon Crest Academy following at 1:30 p.m. Grossmont plays University City at 4:30 p.m., followed by the Granite Hills-Serra match-up at 5:30 p.m.
Additionally, Patrick Henry is scheduled to play Poway at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
