There’s been a reshuffling of teams at the top of the San Diego Section football rankings after some dramatic finishes over the past two weeks, Helix Charter’s tenuous 14-13 non-league loss to No. 1 Cathedral Catholic last Friday included.
The loss was the first of the season for the Highlanders (3-1) while the Dons evened their record at 2-2 in a potential early season preview of November’s Open Division playoffs. If so, don’t count out the Scotties from making the section’s elite Final Four playoffs.
Entering this week’s spate of games, Cathedral Catholic is ranked No. 1 among the section’s 84 11-man football teams, followed by No. 2 Lincoln (3-1), No. 3 Madison (4-0), No. 4 Carlsbad (2-1) and No. 5 Helix.
Poway (4-0) holds down the No. 6 spot, followed by No. 7 Mater Dei Catholic (0-4), No. 8 Mira Mesa (2- 1), No. 9 Ramona (2-2) and No. 10 Granite Hills (3-1).
Granite Hills is ranked third among the section’s Division II teams, trailing No. 1 Mira Mesa (2-1) and No. 2 Ramona (2-2) The Eagles took flight up the section standings after scoring their third consecutive win on the season, 38-9, at Eastlake last Friday amid inclement weather.
Granite Hills kicked off the 2022 pigskin campaign with a 31-19 nonleague loss at Poway on Aug. 19 before righting their ship with commanding victories against Valhalla (59-6 on Aug. 26) and Oceanside (28-0 on Sept. 2) and now Eastlake.
By the numbers
Helix’s loss to the Dons assures that no East County team will finish undefeated this season. Both the Highlanders and Granite Hills are 3-1 and co-own the region’s top regular season record thus far.
El Capitan, Christian, Mt. Miguel and West Hills are all 2-2 while Monte Vista, El Cajon Valley and Steele Canyon are 1-3. Santana, Valhalla and Grossmont are all still searching for their first wins of the season.
Helix received a rushing touchdown from junior Kevin Allen III (17 carries, 90 yards) and a pair of field goals, including a 39-yarder, from junior Josh Hossmann Lees.
The Highlanders were in this one from start to finish. The Scotties capped a 62-yard drive with 48 seconds remaining in the first half when Allen dragged tacklers into the end zone on a seven-yard scoring run to enable the hosts to take a 10-7 lead.
Ramon Lucero had opened scoring in the high-profile matchup with a 40-yard touchdown reception followed by a 32-yard field goal by Hossmann-Lees to trim the early Dons advantage to 7-3.
Will Bond put the Dons ahead with an eight-yard touchdown run to cap a 57-yard field march by the visitors to open second-half play. However, the Highlanders could only muster a field goal on five second-half possessions. An interception in the final 20 seconds by Cathedral’s Sean Kagen put an end to Helix’s final possession.
Both teams had a touchdown called back because of a penalty. Cathedral Catholic head coach Sean Doyle called defense the backbone of this year’s Dons team and, so far, few might refute that.
The Highlanders, however, definitely appear worthy of mixing it up with the boys in the Open Division playoffs or, in the least, having a chance to defend their Division I championship title.
“Friday’s game was what I expected,” Helix head coach Damaja Jones explained “It was a tough physical game between two good teams in San Diego. Unfortunately, we didn’t make enough plays to win the game. We are hoping to see them later in the season if things work out.”
The normally prolific Helix passing game was blunted by the strong defensive effort by the visitors.
Junior quarterback Ryland Jessee completed only nine of 28 passing attempts for 88 yards.
The Highlanders rushed 26 times for 110 yards and failed to break the 200-yard mark in total offensive yards (198 total yards).
Senior Adren Parker had four catches for 43 yards while senior Quincy Herron had three catches for 35 yards. Junior Jason Sisneros had eight carries for 25 yards. Senior Amarion Wiley paced Helix defensively with one interception.
The Dons are ranked 18th in the state; the Highlanders are ranked 33rd in the state.
Helix is ranked fifth in the section among Division I teams. The top four Division I teams advance to the Open Division playoffs.
Soaring Eagles
Granite Hills remained undefeated for the third week in a row while keeping host Eastlake without a win for the fourth consecutive week.
The Eagles took a 14-0 lead on touchdowns by sophomore Isaiah Jackson (one-yard run) and senior captain Easton Peterson (55-yard fumble return) barely five minutes into the game and pulled away from there.
Senior Royce Harper recovered a bad snap on an Eastlake punt attempt to set up the visitors’ opening touchdown; a fumble on the Titans’ second punt attempt bounced into the arms of Peterson, who raced the rest of the way behind a convoy of blockers.
Granite Hills led, 21-2, at halftime.
Granite Hills relied on reserve signal-caller Parlan Sanders with fellow senior starter Nico Tomasello ruled out of the game. Sanders completed 12 of 15 passing attempts for 144 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Sanders connected with senior Colin Riley on a 17-yard scoring pass to account for the Eagles’ third touchdown. Riley caught three passes for 56 yards while senior Davion Green had three catches for 52 yards.
Sophomore Maxwell Turner (10 carries, 95 yards) scored Granite Hills’ fourth touchdown in the game on a 22-yard run. Junior Robert Petrich booted a 47-yard field goal in the third quarter to extend the Eagle’ lead to 31-2.
Eastlake (0-4) scored its lone touchdown of the game on a one yard run by junior Luke Schwenke to make the score 31-9. But Sanders (four carries, 29 yards) closed out scoring in the fourth quarter with a 19-yard touchdown run.
The Titans had gotten on the scoreboard on the wet night in the second quarter when a Granite Hills punt attempt rolled out of the end zone for a two-point safety. The Eagles have outscored their last three opponents 126-15.
“The defense is really playing well,” Granite Hills head coach Kellen Cobbs underscored. “Any time you score on defense or special teams, you’re going to have a good chance of winning the game and we have been able to do that the past three games. Our offensive line has done a great job for our running backs and all three of the backs – Zak Darling, Pablo Jackson and Max Turner – are playing well.”
The Eagles racked up 361 total yards in their latest victory, including 218 rushing yards. Darling rushed six times for 47 yards while Jackson had nine carries for 34 yards.
Sanders led the visitors with 177 total yards.
Senior Derek Ibarra keyed Granite Hills with 10 tackles. Ibarra was one of four Eagles to register a sack, joining senior Brayden Becker, junior Moshi Tileia and sophomore Cuba Polak. Senior Joaquin Thomas Jr. was credited with two interceptions for 87 yards.
Granite Hills hosts Central Union (2-1) in a key Division II clash this Friday. The Spartans are ranked right behind the Eagles at No. 4 in the division.
SFC 20, CHRISTIAN 14
The teams experienced a flip in the Division II rankings as the higher seeded Patriots dropped a close nonleague matchup to the visiting Eagles last Friday.
Christian senior Jake Davila passed for 142 yards and one touchdown in the loss while senior Brady Bingham rushed for 78 yards and one touchdown. Senior Hunter Provience caught one touchdown pass and was successful on both extra-point conversion attempts.
The Patriots led, 7-6, at halftime but were outscored 14-7 in the second half. Senior Jeremy Love (11 carries, 97 yards) led SFC with two rushing touchdowns while junior Kevin Olah rushed for 103 yards and one touchdown to help spark the visitors. Senior Aidan Hypes rushed for 74 yards while senior Joey Merritt had six catches for 50 yards to help pace the Christian offense. Senior Shane Bailey caught one pass for 39 yards while junior Dylan Eads had a 29- yard reception. Junior Ryder Jennings recorded one sack on defense while senior Aaron Shebloski blocked a field goal attempt. Christian next plays at Point Loma (3-1) on Friday.
CRAWFORD 28, MT. MIGUEL 26
The host Matadors saw their winless streak extend to two games as Hamadi Sharif scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown for the Colts (2-1) on a 10-yard run with 52 seconds to play last Friday.
Mt. Miguel (2-2) held a 26-14 lead entering the fourth quarter. Jeremiah Castillo caught a 48-yard scoring pass from quarterback Matthew Barton to lift the hosts. The Matadors host the West Hills Wolf Pack (2-2) on Friday to kick off Grossmont Valley League play.
POINT LOMA 43, WEST HILLS 14
The Wolf Pack returned to the loss column despite 93 rushing yards and one touchdown from junior Collin Dill and 75 receiving yards from junior Nate Stevens. Junior Diego Calderon passed for 75 yards and rushed for 31 yards while scoring the Wolf Pack’s other touchdown.
West Hills (2-2) was hindered by three sacks, one interception and one lost fumble as the visiting Pointers (3-1) racked up 418 total offensive yards.
SAN YSIDRO 33, MONTE VISTA 26
Alexander Villanueva scored on a 70-yard pass play but the host Monarchs (1-2) could not overcome five touchdown passes from Cougar quarterback Ja’Marcus Jiles. Johnny Castro caught three of Jiles’ TD passes while Jiles (10-of-16, 253 yards) hit Omar Vargas for a 39-yard game-winning score on his last touchdown pass. San Ysidro evened its record at 2-2 on the season.
RBV 42, EL CAPITAN 14
Jakarrie Bryant returned a fumble 24 yards for a touchdown for the Vaqueros (2-2) but the visiting Longhorns( 4-0) produced most of the scoring highlights to remain undefeated. RBV quarterback
Connor Underhill passed for 211 yards and two touchdowns. San Diego Section Football Rankings MaxPreps through Sept. 11
TOP 40 TEAMS
1. Cathedral Catholic (2-2), 2. Lincoln (3-1), 3. Madison (4-0), 4. Carlsbad (2-1), 5. Helix (3-1), 6. Poway (4-0), 7. Mater Dei Catholic (0-4), 8. Mira Mesa (2- 1), 9. Ramona (2-2), 10. Granite Hills (3-1), 11. Torrey Pines (1-3), 12. La Costa Canyon (2-2), 13. Central Union (2-1), 14. Mission Hills (2-2), 15. San Marcos (3-1), 16. University City (2-1), 17. La Jolla (3-1), 18. El Camino (2-2), 19. Del Norte (3-1), 20. Rancho Buena Vista (4-0) 21. Mt. Carmel (3-1), 22. St. Augustine (2-1), 23. Point Lomas (3-1), 24. Fallbrook (3-10, 25. Imperial (3-0), 26. Patrick Henry (0-2), 27. Santa Fe Christian (3- 10, 28. Bishop’s (3-1), 29. Scripps Ranch (1-3), 30. Christian (2-2), 31. Otay Ranch (0-3), 32. Eastlake (0-4), 33. Mission Bay (4-0), 34. Morse (3-10, 35. Brawley (2-2), 36. San Pasqual (3-1), 37. Valley Center (1-3), 38. Rancho Bernardo (1-3), 39. Steele Canyon (1-30, 40. Oceanside (0-4)
DIVISION I
1. Cathedral Catholic (2-2), 2. Lincoln (3-1), 3. Madison (4-0), 4. Carlsbad (2-1), 5. Helix (3-1), 6. Poway (4-0), 7. Mater Dei Catholic (0-4), 8. Torrey Pines (1-3), 9. La Costa Canyon (2-2), 10. Mission Hills (2-2)
DIVISION II
1. Mira Mesa (2-1), 2. Ramona (2-2), 3. Granite Hills (3-1), 4. Central Union (2-1), 5. San Marcos (3-1), 6. La Jolla (3-1), 7. Mt. Carmel (3-1), 8. Santa Fe Christian (3-1), 9. Christian (2-2), 10. Otay Ranch (0-3)
DIVISION III
1. University City (2-1), 2. Del Norte (3-1), 3. Rancho Buena Vista (4-0), 4. Point Loma (3-1), 5. Imperial (3-0), 6. Patrick Henry (0-2), 7. Bishop’s (3-1), 8. Morse (3-1), 9. San PasquaL (3-1), 10. West Hills (2-2)
DIVSION IV
1. Fallbrook (3-1), 2. Mission Bay (4-0), 3. Calexico (4-0), 4. Palo Verde Valley (3-1), 5. Coronado (3-1), 6. La Jolla Country Day (3-1), 7. Montgomery (3-1), 8. Sweetwater (2-2), 9. Mt. Miguel (2-2), 10. Francis Parker (1-2)
DIVISION V
1. Vincent Memorial (3-0), 2. Escondido Charter (4-0), 3. Crawford (2-1), 4. Classical Academy (3-1), 5. El Cajon Valley (1-3), 6. Mar Vista (0-4), 7. Army-Navy Academy (4-0), 8. San Yidro (2-2), 9. Castle Park (1-2), 10. Clairemont (2-2)
