It’s called the second season and entry into this year’s San Diego Section tackle football playoffs will ring true for a bounty of 12 East County high school teams.
The Granite Hills Eagles and Mt. Miguel Matadors lead the way with berths in the Division I field. Grossmont Hills League champion Granite Hills is seeded No. 2 while Grossmont Hills League runner-up Mt. Miguel is seeded No. 3.
Both teams are 7-3 and have byes in the opening round that kicks off Friday, Nov. 7.
Three East County teams are entered in the Division II field: No. 2 Steele Canyon (7-3), No. 7 Helix Charter (4-6) and No. 9 Grossmont (9-1). Steele has a first-round bye and will face either Helix Charter or No. 10 San Pasqual (7-3) in the division quarterfinals.
The Grossmont Valley League champion Grossmont Foothillers have a road assignment at No. 8 St. Augustine (4-6) in Friday’s opening round. The winner faces No. 1 Santa Fe Christian (10-0) in the quarterfinals.
Christian (3-7) received the No. 6 seed in the Division III field and will host No 11 Brawley (2-8) in Friday’s opening round. The winner meets No. 3 Ramona (5-5) in the quarterfinals on Nov. 14.
El Capitan has the rare chance to win back-to-back Division IV championships after receiving the No. 2 seed. The Vaqueros (4-6) will host either No. 7 Coronado (6-3) or No. 10 La Jolla Country Day (4-6) in the division quarterfinals.
West Hills (4-6) received the No. 12 seed and will play at No. 5 Eastlake (4-6) in Friday’s opening round.
The Division V bracket boasts three East County teams: No. 3 Monte Vista (5-5), No 7 Santana (5-5) and No. 11 Valhalla (3-7).
Sunset League runner-up Mountain Empire (8-2) received the No. 3 seed in the six-team Division 5-AA bracket and will host No. 6 Victory Christian Academy (5-5) in the quarterfinals on Nov. 8.
Top notch
Granite Hills (7-3) will host Friday’s winner between No. 7 Rancho Bernardo (8-2) and No. 10 Del Norte (4-6) while Mt. Miguel will host Friday’s winner between No. 6 Oceanside (6-4) and No. 11 Holtville (9-1).
Mt. Miguel met Oceanside in non-league play on Sept. 26, dropping a 26-25 decision. A rematch would take place on the Matadors’ field.
Should both Granite Hills and Mt. Miguel win their quarterfinal games, they would pair up in the division semifinals on Nov. 14. Granite Hills edged visiting Mt. Miguel, 26-16, in a Grossmont Hills League contest on Oct. 10.
Both the Eagles and Matadors enter post-season play with momentum on their side.
The Eagles defeated host Steele Canyon, 35-10, on Oct. 30 to wrap up an undefeated Grossmont Hills League season at 4-0 in league play. It’s the El Cajon team’s fourth consecutive league title.
“It is great to win another league championship,” Granite Hills head coach Kellan Cobbs said. “It’s our fifth in the last six years and our coaches and players are very proud of that. We will have a first-round bye then take on the winner of Rancho Bernardo and Del Norte. If we win, we will have with Mount Miguel, Holtville or Oceanside. Somehow Lincoln fell to Division I, so if we can get that far it should be a great game for both of us.”
The Eagles topped the Hornets, 27-26, on the last play of the game two years ago in the Open Division final. Granite Hills defeated San Marcos, 42-25, to win last year’s Division I title.
Junior quarterback Zac Benitez passed for 197 yards with four touchdowns and one interception while junior Seth Rodriguez rushed nine times for 58 yards and one touchdown. Senior Isaiah Rodriguez had two catches for 39 yards and two touchdowns while senior Noah Walker (four catches, 57 yards) and senior Rocket Demery (two catches, 38 yards) each caught one scoring pass.
Granite Hills out-gained Steele Canyon 351-257 in total offensive yards, including 157-60 in rushing yards.
Junior Gage Spalding rushed six times for 62 yards while junior Davion Williams rushed five times for 22 yards. Junior Zhedan Smith had three catches for 44 yards.
Benitez led the team with 210 total yards by tacking on 13 rushing yards.
The Granite defense was like a rock with one fumble recovery and 8.5 sacks, including 1.5 by senior Kyler Oberg and one each by freshman Jamir Alvarez, junior Cayden Phillips, senor Landon Hart, senior Wyatt McLeod, senor Hunter Hamilton and senior Braydon Wells. Seniors A.J. Lytle-Oleson and Keaton Boyce shared on sack.
Hart had the fumble recovery while junior Jacob Nunez logged five kicking points.
In 10 games, Benitez has passed for 2,969 yards with 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’s also rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns to finish the regular season with a 113.9 quarterback efficiency rating.
Rushing leaders include Williams with 451 yards and two touchdowns, Spalding with 146 yards and two touchdowns, junior Anthony Mattar with 135 yards and two touchdowns and Rodriguez with 125 yards and two touchdowns.
Receiving leaders include Walker with913 yards and 11 touchdowns, senior D.J. Wilkins with 481 yards and four touchdowns, Smith with 467 yards and three touchdowns, senior Tristan Diaz with 453 yards and one TD and Demery with 41Sizrt4 yards and five touchdowns.
Overall, 11 players have caught at least one pass and eight have caught at least one touchdown. Sixteen players have had at least one carry and seven have scored at least one touchdown.
The Matadors topped host El Capitan, 42-10, also on Oct. 30 to finish 3-1 in league play.
Junior Jeremiah Loper passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns and rushed three times for 49 yards and one score. Senior A.J. Logan caught four aerials for 104 yards and two touchdowns while passing two yards to Loper for a score. Sophomore Andre Jackson passed for 59 yards and one touchdown.
The Matadors had four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in the win over the Vaqueros. Freshman Tmarrion Williams had two catches for 51 yards and one touchdown while senior Brandon Arrington had one catch for 45 yards and a TD.
Loper buttressed his stats with 331 yards in total offense.
Williams and sophomore Kalonie Jordan each recorded one interception on defense.
Season leaders for Mt. Miguel include Loper with 2,098 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, junior Jayden Hunter with 543 rushing yards and Logan with 751 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
The Division I bracket is loaded. The Lincoln Hornets, who buzzed at the top of the division rankings until the last two weeks of regular season play, dropped down to the No. 5 section ranking to earn the No. 1 seed among Division I teams. The Hornets take an 8-2 record into the playoffs with a first-round bye after wrapping up City Western League play with a 49-13 win at Scripps Ranch last Friday.
Lincoln lost 42-33 to Cathedral Catholic on Oct. 24 in the Western League championship game.
Cathedral Catholic (8-2) earned the No. 4 seed in this year’s elite four-team Open Division playoffs behind No. 1 Mission Hills (9-1), No. 2 La Costa Canyon (9-1) and No. 3 Carlsbad (9-1).
The all-North County Open Division semifinals are scheduled Nov. 14.
The Hornets will host the winner of Friday’s first-round matchup between No. 8 Torrey Pines (4-6) and No. 9 Poway (4-6).
In other Division I pairings, No .4 San Marcos (6-4) will host either No. 5 Pt. Loma (10-0) or No. 12 Mater Dei Catholic (7-3) in the quarterfinals.
Pt. Loma is among three undefeated teams left in the section, joining Santa Fe Christian (10-0) and Mission Bay (10-0).
The Pointers are the defending City Eastern League champion while Mater Dei Catholic is the defending Metro-Mesa League champion. The teams will be playing for pride as well as playoff advancement.
All the King’s Men
A Helix-Steele rematch would be a blockbuster pairing if the teams’ Oct. 24 Grossmont Hills League matchup won 39-34 by the Scotties is any indicator.
The Foothillers, despite possessing a 9-1 record and league championship, find themselves on the road to start the playoffs for at least the first two rounds. Other seeds in the division include No. 3 Mission Bay, No. 4. El Camino (1-9), No. 5 La Jolla (6-4) and No. 6 Imperial (9-1). El Camino’s seeding is an eyebrow raiser.
Grossmont defeated visiting Monte Vista, 56-33, on Oct. 30 to clinch an undefeated league season.
St. Augustine won last year’s Division III title.
“I’m very proud of the team and how they have played,” said Grossmont head coach Anthony Lawrence, whose team takes a seven-game winning streak into the playoffs. “We will definitely need to be at our best the next few weeks. Saints is a good team is physical and has a few stud playmakers. We need to continue playing tough and clean up our execution in order to make a run.”
Junior Tyler Holmes passed for 245 yards and four touchdowns, including two to senior Randy Ballard (seven catches, 123 yards) and one each to senior Kenny Krauss (one catch, seven yasrds) and junior A.J. Hooker (one catch, two yards). Holmes also rushed for 57 yards and one touchdown to lead his team with 302 total offensive yards.
Sophomore Corbin Dow led the Grossmont ground assault with 238 rushing yards and one touchdown while Hooker (10 carries, 46 yards) also scored vis the rush.
The Hillers racked up five interceptions in the win, including three by junior Kaiden Ong amd one each by seniors Drew Sasena and Gage Weichelt.
In 10 games, Holmes has passed for 1,636 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for 529 yards and nine touchdowns.
Sophomore Corbin Dow leads the Hillers with 912 rushing yards and has scored seven touchdowns while junior A.J. Hooker has risherd for 635 yards and six touchdowns.
Receiving leaders include senior Randy Ballard with 513 yards and nine touchdowns and senior Kenny Krauss with 257 yards and four touchdowns.
The defense might shine brightest for Grossmont with 27 sacks, 13 interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries.
Senior Ryder Robinson had 10 sacks to his credit while junior Kaiden Ong has four interceptions and senior Colton Burke has four fumble recoveries. The carnage can come from anywhere: 12 players have recorded at least one sack.
Steele Canyon, meanwhile, enters postseason play riding a three-game losing streak following a 7-0 season start. Still, the Cougars are in prime position to make a run at a CIF championship.
In the loss to Granite Hills, junior Gavin Caha passed for 197 yards but no touchdowns or interceptions. Sophomore Dreyvione Lewis rushed 12 times for 56 yards and one touchdown.
Senior Jacob Henton had six catches for 109 yards in the loss.
On defense, senior Vincent Pryor had one interception for the Cougars wile junior Luke Rode had one fumble recovery.
In 10 games, Caha has passed for 1,828 yards with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions for a 177.1 quarterback rating. Junior Abel Lopez has rushed for 345 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Nico Jara has four receiving touchdowns to his credit while Henton and junior Josiah Stocker have each caught three TD passes. Senior Noah De Arcos and junior Trevor Zenno each have two touchdown grabs.
Defensively, junior Gunner Minich leads the team with 46 tackles and two interceptions while senior Tyree Zarkaryan has four sacks and Pryor has two fumble recoveries.
Helix coach Damaja Jones called the CIF playoffs “the best time of the year.”
“My biggest challenge for our team is to enjoy the moment,” Jones said. “I understand that playoffs bring a certain level of excitement and anxiety but I’m happy for our seniors that they get one more opportunity to play a game. I feel good about our opportunity and looking forward to our game this week.”
Team leaders for the Scotties include senior Lee Norman Lester with 941 passing yards and six touchdowns to go with 519 rushing yards and five scores. Junior Donte Wright has rushed for 317 yards and five touchdowns while senior Jordan Lindley has rushed for 246 yards and five TD.
The Highlanders have rushed for 16 total touchdowns and scored nine receiving touchdowns. Junior Jeremy Davis leads the team with 76 tackles and three sacks.
Other seeded teams in Division III include No. 1 Central Union (8-2), No. 2 Army-Navy Academy (8-1), No. 4 University City (5-5), No. 5 Madison (3-7), No. 7 Olympian (8-2), No. 8 Bishop’s (7-3), No. 9 Montgomery (6-4), No. 10 Patrick Henry (5-5) and No. 12 Otay Ranch (4-6).
Making the grade
El Capitan defeated Westview in a close game last year to win the Division IV championship. The Vaqueros finished 0-4 in Grossmont Hills League play, so the overall record is somewhat deceiving. El Cap entered league play on a four-game winning streak and was 4-2 against non-league opponents.
In wrapping up regular season play agasinst Mt. Miguel, the Vaqueros received a rushing touchdown from sophomore Michael Castillo and a field goal and PAT by junior Ryder Powers. Sophomore Hayden Passanisi passed for 127 yards as the hosts were out-gained 443-207 in yardage and trailed 28-0 at halftime.
Passanisi has passed for 963 yards and six touchdowns while Castillo has rushed for 522 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Brody Copp has scored three rushing touchdowns while senior Logan Dulyea has nabbed three receiving TD.
What the Lakeside team may lack in offense, the team makes up for in defense.
Senior Spencer Chastang, who has rolled up 525 all-purpose yards with two scores, ranks second on the team defensively with 65 tackles and first with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Senior Brewin Ford tops the Vaqs with 70 tackles, including 14.5 stops for a loss to go with seven sacks.
West Hills topped host El Cajon Valley, 42-13, last Friday to secure a playoff appearance. Junior Evin Dill passed for three scores while senior Jacob Romero scored two rushing touchdowns.
“We are going to have to continue to excel on defense and in the kicking game,” said West Hills coach Casey Ash, whos tream enters postseason play having won four of its last five games after opening the season 0-5.
“Offensively, we are going to have to take better care of the football and find some explosive plays–that would make life easier for all of us.”
Monte Vista returns to defending its Division V title. The Monarchs wlll host either No. 6 Fallbrook (3-7) or No. 11 Valhalla in the quarterfinals after a first-round bye.
Monte Vista, Valhalla and Santana all finished 2-3 in Grossmont Valley League play. The Norsemen hung a 28-0 loss on Santana in the regular season finale to qualify for the playoffs.
Senior Jackson Newman (18 carries, 162 yard) led Valhalla with three rushing touchdowns.
Santana will host No. 10 Bonita Vista (3-7) in Friday’s opening round with the winner advancingt to meet No. 2 Morse (6-4).
Mountain Empire and Victory Christian Academy are not strangers as they met in Sunset League play on Sept. 26 with the Redhawks pulling off a tantalizing 36-35 victory.
Mountain Empire is coming off a 54-12 victory against Foothills Christian on Halloween as junior Chance Ross completed 10 of 13 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns and sophomore Elisha Lashone-Robinson rushed for 228 yards with three TD.
