The San Diego Section tackle football playoffs are down to the semifinals with five Grossmont Conference teams still in contention for coveted division titles.
The survivors through the quarterfinal round include the No. 3-seeded Granite Hills Eagles (Division I), third-seeded Helix Charter Highlanders (Division II), No. 2-seeded El Capitan Vaqueros (Division IV), No. 3-seeded Grossmont Foothillers (Division IV) and No. 12-seeded Monte Vista Monarchs (Division V).
Yes, that is not a misprint. The 12th-seeded Monarchs did indeed pull off one of the biggest upsets so far in the playoffs after eliminating the fourth-seeded Hoover Cardinals, 47-46, in a high-scoring affair last Friday.
Monte Vista (7-5) advances to meet No. 1 Vista (4-7) in Friday’s semifinals. Can the Monarchs keep their upset train rolling to advance to the championship round?
“As far as I know, we are the first 12 seed to advance to the semis,” veteran Monarch coach Ron Hamamoto said. “With two one-point victories, our players keep fighting until the end.”
Senior Alex Villanueva controlled the line of scrimmage with 43 carries for 365 yards and six touchdowns as the Spring Valley visitors racked up 468 total yards in offense.
Senior Sir Autry keyed Hoover (6-5) with 1,621 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns in a pairing of the section’s top two rushers.
“Alex thanked the team and his offensive line after the game as he has now more than 2,000 yards rushing and 40 touchdowns to lead the county,” the coach said.
Vista edged No. 8 Coronado (6-6) by a score of 14-11 in last Friday’s quarterfinals to advance.
“Vista is a very good team and the No. 1 seed in the tournament,” Hamamoto said. “We have a very tough opponent this week.”
There were some stunning upsets in the quarterfinals, including No. 7 St. Augustine (2-10) eliminating previously undefeated Holtville (10-1) in Division III and No. 8 Montgomery (9-3) taking down No. 1 Ramona (2-9) in Division IV.
The “wow” factor: After going through the regular season 0-10, the Saints have now won their opening two playoff games, including last Friday’s matchup at No. 2 Holtville by a gritty 10-6 score.
The Aztecs toppled the host Bulldogs by a whopping 28-7.
East County is assured of at least one CIF finalist with second-seeded El Capitan (8-3) hosting third-seeded Grossmont (5- 6) in Friday’s semifinal with the winner advancing to the Division IV championship game against either fifth-seeded Westview (5-7) or No. 8 Montgomery.
EL CAPITAN 44, CHULA VISTA 13
The Grossmont Valley League champion Vaqueros lost to visiting Chula Vista in the third week of the season but didn’t let the Spartans — fresh off a 55-16 first-round playoff win over No. 10 Classical Academy — get past them in the season rematch.
Senior quarterback Brandt Barker completed 10 of 16 passing attempts for 163 yards and three touchdowns while the running game was equally strong with three rushing touchdowns. Barker hit three receivers for one touchdown apiece: senior Ayden Banegas (six catches, 102 yards), sophomore Michael Valencia (two catches, 32 yards) and sophomore Braiden Linder (one catch, 18 yards).
Senior Brady Joralemon rushed 12 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns while junior Brody Copps had two carries for 13 yards and one touchdown. The Vaqueros out-gained the Spartans 255-35 in rushing yards, 418-201 in total offensive yards.
Junior Brewin Ford totaled 11 tackles on defense while senior Lukas Garcia had 10 stops. Senior Aaron Altamirano had one interception for 32 yards.
Senior Brayden Ford kicked a 30-yard field goal to finish the game with eight kicking points.
Senior Elijah Gillespie (three catches, 27 yards) and sophomore Gabriel Ruiz (two catches, 43 yards) each caught one touchdown pass for the visitors.
GROSSMONT 49, MIRA MESA 24
The Foothillers pulled up short in last year’s Division III championship game and will looking to claim this year’s Division IV title.
Grossmont finished fourth deep in the Grossmont Hills League standings but possess one of the section’s top offenses, particularly in the passing department. Senior Thomas Donovan kept pace with 315 passing yards and four touchdowns, including a pair to junior Noah Walker (13 catches, 230 yards). Senior Joshua Herber had seven catches for 54 yards and one touchdown while junior Kenneth Krause had four catches for 10 yards and one TD.
The Foothillers can also run the football as junior Damar Smith had 20 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore Alek Hooker had seven carries for 27 yards and one score.
“I thought the defense played one of their best games of the season with turnovers and big fourth down stops — they played hard and physical all night,” Grossmont coach Anthony Lawrence said. “Drew Sasena (10 tackles), Jonah Yost, Gage Weichelt (seven tackles), Andrew Montano and Ryder Robinson all played great and had big games.
“Offensively, we ran the ball really well led by Jay Smith. Tommy Donovan threw it well and Noah Walker had a massive game. Josh Herber and Kenny Krause also contributed with big touchdowns and conversion catches.”
Smith and Sasena (junior) each had one sack on defense while Yost (sophomore) had one interception.
Waiting in the wings, Westview upset No. 4 Mission Bay (3-8) by a score of 18-14 in the quarterfinals.
GRANITE HILLS 31, TORREY PINES 19
The Grossmont Hills League champion Eagles won last year’s Open Division title and are vying to win this year’s Division I title as an encore. Granite Hills (9-2) got off to solid footing following a first-round bye with the home field win over the No. 6 Falcons (5-7).
The Eagles advance to meet the second-seeded Carlsbad Lancers (8-3) in Friday’s semifinals. The winner moves onto the Division I championship game against either top-seeded San Marcos (10-1) or fourth-seeded El Camino (6-5).
El Camino earned its wings with a 43-27 win over fifth-seeded Mt. Miguel (9-3) in last Friday’s quarterfinals while San Marcos blew out ninth-seeded Del Norte (7-5) by a score of 35-7.
Granite Hills coach Kellan Cobbs called the Eagles’ win over the perennial section power Torrey Pines “a good team win.”
“We started slow on both sides of the ball on Friday but made some adjustments and kids started making some plays,” Cobbs said as the hosts pulled away in the second half.
Sophomore Zac Benitez passed for 95 yards and two touchdowns — both to senior Brenden Lewis (13 catches, 85 yards) — while se¬nior Max Turner rushed for 120 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Gage Spalding tacked on 46 yards and one touchdown while Lewis finished the game with 127 all-purpose yards with an additional 42 yards in kick returns.
Senior Parker Vance had an interception on defense.
Granite defeated host Carlsbad in last year’s Open Division semifinals.
“Carlsbad is well coached and have some big bodies on both sides of the line,” Cobbs assessed. “We will need to establish the line of scrimmage on defense and rally to the football. Offensively, we will need to have a balanced attack to put up points. Their defense is only allowing 11 points per game, so it will be critical to create some explosive plays.”
HELIX 41, LA JOLLA 25
The host Highlanders (5-6) began their CIF championship odyssey with a key win over No. 6 La Jolla (7-5) in last Friday’s quarterfinals. Senior Pablo Jackson rushed for 275 yards and four touchdowns, including a 66-yard scamper, while senior Harlem Harris uncorked a 78-yard scoring pass to senior Jett Gottlieb.
The Highlanders travel to No. 2 Mater Dei Catholic (8-2) for Friday’s semifinal matchup. The host Crusaders are on eight-game winning streak.
“Our team played with great physicality last Friday,” Helix coach Damaja Jones said. “We have been playing our best football in the last few weeks. I’m proud how we compete and stay engaged throughout the season.
“We are going to play a tough opponent this week. Our plan will be similar on how to win. We must win two out three phases of the game and we must limit turnovers and try to create some. We also need to lean into our identity.”
Teams ending their seasons included No. 8 Christian (9-3) in a 41-28 Division II loss to No. 1 University City (10-1), No. 6 West Hills (6-6) in a 21-14 loss to No. 3 Crawford (6-5) and No 7 Santana (7-5) in a 14-0 loss at No. 2 Bonita Vista (6-5), both in Division V.
