It’s hard to gauge how a season will turn out based on one game, especially a season-opening game. But it appears East County football teams should be able to hold their own this season.
Of the 13 local squads that took the gridiron in Week 1, seven came away victorious, including the Granite Hills Eagles, Santana Sultans, Steele Canyon Cougars, El Capitan Vaqueros, Mt. Miguel Matadors, Christian Patriots and Mountain Empire Red Hawks.
Granite Hills (28-17 over host Mission Hills) and Mt. Miguel (47-15 over host Long Beach St. Anthony) likely turned in the most impressive victories among teams picked to finish near the top of the San Diego Section rankings.
Both the Eagles (Open Division) and Matadors (Division IV) were coming off CIF division championships when last season ended.
Santana (20-7 win at Canyon Hills), El Capitan (21-14 over visiting Mira Mesa), Steele Canyon (51-41 win at Ramona). Christian (22-21 win at Linfield Christian) and Mountain Empire (8-6 win over visiting Anza Hamilton) each kicked off the new season on an upbeat note.
Granite Hills and Mt. Miguel both ended the 2023 season in the Southern California regional playoffs. Both teams will be shooting for postseason honors in 2024.
Soaring Eagles
Max Turner gained 203 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns on the ground to lead No. 2 Granite Hills past No. 3 Mission Hills. The host Grizzlies kept answering scores by the visiting Eagles to keep the score close throughout.
The reigning Open Division champions racked up 442 total offensive yards in the non-league contest — 234 passing yards and 208 rushing yards.
“It was a good team win,” Granite Hills head coach Kellan Cobbs said. “We had to rotate a lot of guys in our front six between the defensive line and linebackers. They are a good team, so it was good to get out with a win. On offense, we moved the ball well; we just had too many turnovers.”
Turner scored on touchdown runs of three, 36 and 18 yards.
Sophomore quarterback Zac Benitez passed for 237 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Senior Brendan Lewis had eight catches for 98 yards while senior Lathan Fry had five catches for 46 yards and one touchdown.
Junior Tristan Diaz had six catches for 37 yards while Turner added five catches for 27 yards.
Seniors Parker Vance and Trevor Smith supported the GH win with key interceptions in the fourth quarter.
Smith killed a Mission Hills drive with his pick while Vance intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Senior Giovanni Harte rushed for 140 yards for Mission Hills while senior Ryder Tinoisamoa had four catches for 53 yards. Defensively for the Grizzlies, senior Daniel De La Cruz had a fumble recovery while junior Quinn Chavez and sophomore Xavier St. John each had interceptions.
Granite Hills plays at No. 13 Mater Dei Catholic on Friday, Aug. 30, to continue non-league action.
The Crusaders are coming off a 56-28 non-league setback to No. 4 Cathedral Catholic last Friday. Senior Kartell Purvis passed for 220 yards and three touchdowns while senior Isaiah Cook had four catches for 90 yards lead Mater Dei Catholic. Senior Matt Carr tacked on 120 yards in kick returns.
Mt Miguel 47, St. Anthony 15
With a massive wave of top tier talent having graduated, a new class of heroes appears on the horizon for the Matadors. Some of them made their presence felt in last Friday’s season opening win in Long Beach.
Junior A.J. Stowers passed for 298 yards and four touchdowns while junior A.J. Logan had three catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Additionally, junior Parris Vernon had three receptions for 52 yards and one touchdown while senior Ezelle Buchanan had four catches for 56 yards and one TD. Junior D.J. Wilkins (two catches, 45 yards) had one TD.
Trailing 7-0 early, the No. 15 Matadors evened the score on an 80-yard pass play. The visitors weren’t finished after senior Dominic De Arcos recovered a fumble and Stowers promptly connected with Vernon on a 43-yard touchdown pass and a 13-7 lead.
Big plays for both teams dominated the game.
The Matadors came out firing in the second half with 27 unanswered points to take a 40-0 scoring run in the game. The Mt. Miguel defense came up huge with four goal-line stops to deny the hosts just before halftime.
“We came out to a slow start in the first half,” Matadors coach Verlain Betofe said. “We were a little sloppy on offense and defense. Once we settled down in the second half, we found our grove and scored 40 straight points. Hopefully, we worked all the kinks out and will be really to play next week against a much-improved RBV team.”
Mt. Miguel hosts Rancho Buena Vista Friday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. in a bid to extend its season opening record to 2-0. The Longhorns enter Friday’s game 0-1 following a 53-8 loss to No. 9 San Marcos. Stowers completed 14 of 26 passes in his season debut.
Grossmont next plays at Olympian (0-1) on Friday, Aug. 30, at 6:30 p.m.
Cougar country
Steele Canyon won a 51-41 shootout in Ramona to kick-start its season last Friday. Head coach Scott Longerbone called it a “great team win against a very good program.”
Sophomore Gavin Caha completed 10 of 15 passing attempts for 169 yards and two touchdowns while senior John Weaver had 19 carries for 203 yards and four touchdowns. Weaver’s longest jaunt from scrimmage went for 39 yards.
Junior Nico Jara scored a 61-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse while sophomore Jameson Sablan returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
The Cougars next play at Madison (0-1) on Friday, Aug. 30. The Warhawks are coming off a 28-20 loss at Santa Ana Foothill.
Ride ’em cowboy
El Capitan and Mira Mesa were tied 7-7 through the first quarter with the host Vaqueros holding a 14-7 lead at halftime. Both teams scored in the fourth quarter with the host Lakeside team pulling out a seven-point win.
Senior Brandt Barker passed for 190 yards and one touchdown while senior Brady Joreleman (23 carries, 53 yards) scored one rushing touchdown. Senior Ayden Benegas had nine catches for 107 yards and one receiving touchdown.
The El Capitan defense recorded four sacks, including two by senior Lukas Garcia and one each by seniors Marlon Ames and Evan Ortega. Junior Brewin Ford scored a defensive touchdown on a 65-yard fumble recovery to account for the game-winner after Garcia had stripped the ball from the Marauder quarterback.
“It was a very hard-fought game on both sides,” El Capitan coach Ron Burner said. “Both teams were battling all night.”
The Vaqueros host Scripps Ranch on Friday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. The Falcons (1-0) are coming off a 42-27 season opening win over San Pasqual.
Santana 20, Canyon Hills 7
Senior Kaedyn Hallman rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns to lead the visiting Sultans in last Friday’s season opener. Hallman had a big night all around with four punts for 128 yards and two punt returns for 29 yards. He finished the game with 216 all-purpose yards.
Junior Cohen Waider logged eight tackles, including two for a loss, while senior Aiden Thornton posted six unassisted tackles, including two for losses. Junior Maddox Esoo had five unassisted tackles — two for losses. Fresh¬man Julian Mayers had four tackles — two for losses.
Mayers and junior Jordyn Gullissie each recorded one sack.
Santana was scheduled to play at Sweetwater (1-0) on Thursday in another non-league encounter before hosting Hilltop on Sept. 6.
CALPREPS TOP 20
Lincoln (0-1), 2. Granite Hills (1-0), 3. Mission Hills (0-1), 4. Cathedral Catholic (1-0), 5. El Camino (1-0), 6. Carlsbad (0-1), 7. Helix (0-1), 8. La Costa Canyon (1-0), 9. San Marcos (1-0), 10. La Jolla (1-0), 11. St. Augustine (0-1), 12. Del Norte (1- 0), 13. Mater Dei Catholic (0-1), 14. Torrey Pines (0-1), 15. Mt. Miguel (1- 0), 16. Madison (0-1), 17. Bishop’s (0- 1), 18. Central Union (1-0), 19. Rancho Bernado (1-0), 20. La Jolla Country Day (1-0)
East County Football Log
Thursday, Aug. 22
El Capitan 21, Mira Mesa 14
Friday, Aug, 23
Granite Hills 28, Mission Hills 17
Steele Canyon 51, Ramona 41
Mt. Miguel 47, St. Anthony (Long Beach) 15
Santana 20, Canyon Hills 7
Mountain Empire 8, Hamilton (Anza) 6
Patrick Henry 77, Grossmont 48
El Camino 49, Helix 20
Classical Academy 28, Valhalla 0
Crawford 31, El Cajon Valley 0
Vincent Memorial 21, Monte Vista 0
Imperial 28, West Hills 6
Saturday, Aug. 24
Christian 22, Linfield Christian 21
