Both the Mt. Miguel Matadors and Montgomery Aztecs lost key athletes to transfers during the offseason. Both teams had a chance to showcase their new-look rosters in last Friday’s non-league season opener. The Matadors got the better of the battle 42-26.
Junior Enrique Gonzalez led Mt. Miguel with 202 passing yards and three touchdowns while senior Dominic Lopez rushed for 97 yards and one score. Junior Cayden “Prince” Mobley led receivers in the game with eight catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Lopez also had a 30-yard TD catch.
Defensively, sophomore Jeziah Eister had one interception while Lopez and junior Tylan Young-Hall each had one fumble recovery. Sophomore Luke Wallace had one sack.
Young-Hall returned the ball 89 yards. Sophomore David Watt compiled 111 yards in kick returns, including an 80-yard kickoff return for a score, to hand new head coach James Simon a win in his first game for the Spring Valley squad.
Senior Marquis Benton led Montgomery with 155 rushing yards and one touchdown while sophomore quarterback Reyes Bonnett passed for 111 yards with one touchdown.
The Aztecs scored three rushing touchdowns in the game, adding one each by junior Ronnie Jonier-Castanon (eight carries, 55 yards) and freshman Abel Venegas (two carries, 10 yards). Senior Mario Hernandez caught a 15-yard scoring pass.
The teams combined for 723 yards — 363 by Montgomery and 360 by the Matadors, who forced four turnovers in the win. Mt. Miguel gained the advantage with 21 points in the second quarter.
The Matadors next play at University City on Friday. The Centurions are coming off a 38-13 non-league win at Olympian.
A trio of East County heavyweights dropped their season openers: Granite Hills 44-29 at Oceanside, Helix 38-6 at Santa Fe Christian and El Capitan 28-21 in Hawaii.
