The annual battle of Santee isn’t scheduled until Oct. 22, but the West Hills Wolf Pack and Santana Sultans have been showcasing their teams all season as a preview.
The two crosstown rivals remained undefeated following last Friday’s dramatic come-from-behind non-league victories on the road.
West Hills overcame a 12-10 halftime deficit against the host Escondido Cougars with 24 points in the second half to top the host Cougars, 34-20, while Santana rallied from three deficits to finally slip past the host Sweetwater Red Devils, 28-21, in National City.
The Wolf Pack and the Sultans — both 4-0 — are the only unbeaten teams left in the Grossmont Conference through four weeks of play.
The head coaches of both teams admitted it’s been a collective effort to remain perfect on the season.
“The team has shown a lot of grit in overcoming challenges to start the season with four wins,” West Hills sideline boss Casey Ash said. “We have had a number of players step-up and contribute from one game to the next, and we’ve gotten all of our kids playing time. A number of teams in our league have gotten off to strong starts this season, and we are looking forward to competing for a league championship.”
Ash will get his wish as the Wolf Pack hosts the Mount Miguel Matadors to kick off Grossmont Valley League play Friday. The Matadors are riding high after collecting their first win of the season last Friday — 27-0 at the Crawford Colts.
“We figured out a way to win — we’ve done that a couple times this season now,” said Santana head coach Tim Estes, whose team trailed by scores of 7-0, 15-14 and 21-14 before notching the final two touchdowns of the game — the last with a minute to play — to emerge with a fortuitous victory.
Howling like the wolf
Senior quarterback Braden Oberg rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another to keep West Hills rolling.
Oberg piled up 233 yards in total offense by completing nine of 15 passing attempts for 129 yards and rushing 15 times for 104 yards. He finished the game with a 110.1 quarterback rating.
He passed 16 yards to senior Dylan Snyder to give the visitors a 7-6 lead in the first quarter and opened the second half with scoring runs of 42 and 14 yards to put his team in the lead for good.
Junior Tyler Haley kicked the first of his two field goals on the night from 36 yards to inch West Hills within two points at halftime and later split the uprights from 39 yards out to stake his team to a 27-12 advantage.
Sophomore backup quarterback Collin Dill scored on a 48-yard run with 9:09 remaining in the fourth quarter to wrap up scoring for the visitors.
Oberg has completed 56.1 percent of his passes for 499 yards (124.8 per game) and eight touchdowns without an interception to start the season. He’s also the team’s leading rusher with 260 yards and four touchdowns.
Snyder caught seven aerials on the night for 115 yards and the one score to give him 11catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns through four games.
Senior Cohen Benavente recorded one interception in the game.
Senior Max Conaway leads West Hills with 293 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Defensively, the Wolf Pack has recorded seven interceptions and one fumble recovery.
Two-minute warning
The host Red Devils (73-yard run by sophomore Xzavier Crews) and Sultans (45-yard reception by senior Ethan Wright) were locked into a 7-7 standoff at halftime.
Santana broke the deadlock on a four-yard run by Wright before Sweetwater scored on a six-yard run and ensuing two-point conversion by senior Carlos Hopper (nine carries, 105 yards) to go up 15-14.
The Devils increased their lead to 21-14 on another short run by Hopper (and a missed two-point conversion attempt) before senior Brayden Breshears bolted 33 yards to trim the Santana deficit to 21-20. The Sultans were unsuccessful on the two-point conversion attempt, however, to leave them at a one-point disadvantage with 2:52 to play.
A 20-minute game stoppage due to an injury to a Sweetwater player wound up switching momentum in the Sultans’ favor. The game didn’t end fast enough for the hosts.
When play resumed, SuHi senior quarterback Nick Jenkins fumbled the snap but managed to recover the ball. The Devils were not as fortunate the next time as Santana senior Logan Jorden wrestled the ball away from the SuHi quarterback on a sack.
The Sultans didn’t waste any time after the gift as junior Nick Leger connected with senior Dylan Anderson on a 38-yard touchdown pass down the home sideline to push the visitors ahead 26-21. Anderson then caught the two-point conversion for icing on the cake.
Sweetwater rolled up 253 rushing yards in the game while accumulating only eight passing yards.
Breshears rushed 13 times for 85 yards with one touchdown while Wright had 11 carries for 71 yards and one touchdown.
Leger completed 23 of 37 passing attempts for 220 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Anderson collected 90 yards on eight receptions while Wright had 73 yards on 10 catches.
The Sultans benefitted from a strong ground game, especially in the third quarter, as Breshears and Wright took the majority of handoffs.
“We were making the yards and we kept doing it,” Estes said.
The Valhalla Norsemen (1-3) stand in the way of a 5-0 start for Santana as Grossmont Valley League play kicks off Friday.
“I only look to the next game,” Estes said. “The next game is the most important game on the schedule.”
East County Scoreboard
Non-League
Friday, Sept. 10
El Capitan 21, Rancho Buena Vista 12
West Hills 34, Escondido 20
Santana 28, Sweetwater 21
El Cajon Valley 41, Clairemont 12
Mount Miguel 27, Crawford 0
Mt. Carmel 38, Valhalla 0
St. Augustine 27, Steele Canyon 0
Eastlake 31, Granite Hills 0
Cathedral Catholic 52, Helix 0
Rancho Bernardo 32, Grossmont 6
Santa Fe Christian 28, Christian 15
Mission Bay 49, Mountain Empire 0
Army-Navy Academy 27, Foothills Christian 6
Friday, Sept. 17
Grossmont Valley League
El Capitan at El Cajon Valley, 7 p.m.
Mount Miguel at West Hills, 7 p.m.
Valhalla at Santana, 7 p.m.
Non-League
Imperial at Monte Vista, 7 p.m.
San Bernardino Cajon at Grossmont, 7 p.m.
St. Augustine at Helix, 7 p.m.
Lincoln at Steele Canyon, 7 p.m.
Granite Hills vs. Otay Ranch at Hilltop, 7 p.m.
Christian at Central Union, 7 p.m.
Hoover at Foothills Christian, 7 p.m.
Crawford at Mountain Empire, 7 p.m.
Top records: Santana 4-0, West Hills 4-0, El Capitan 3-1, Christian 3-1, Helix 2-1, Granite Hills 2-2, Grossmont 2-2
