Metro-South Bay League play kicks off Oct. 21. With a handful of games left in regular season play, all the teams seem to have thrown their names into the hat.
Reach in and pick one; it doesn’t seem to matter which one.
The Chula Vista Spartans sent tremors through the region by defeating previously undefeated El Cajon Valley, 28-22, last Friday. The win raised the Spartans’ record to 4-3 on the season with three league games remaining.
The Mar Vista Mariners, meanwhile, upped their stock following last Friday’s 56-7 blowout non-league win over visiting Montgomery to improve to 5-2 on the season.
Hilltop, which was idle due to its bye week, is 4-2.
The Sweetwater Red Devils round out the four-team league with a 1-5 record following last Friday’s 52-20 non-league loss to visiting St. Margaret’s.
With just three league games to determine a champion, there appears to be little room for error as the teams charge toward the end of regular season play.
“I think the South Bay League will be extremely competitive,” MVHS head coach Tyler Arciaga explained. “It will be difficult for any team to run the table and I don’t think anyone will get swept.
“Hilltop has a nice up-tempo offense, Sweetwater plays hard-nosed football, and Chula Vista just knocked off an undefeated El Cajon Valley and played Eastlake really tough.”
Chula Vista 28, El Cajon Valley 22
KUSI-TV’s “Prep Pigskin Report” touted the Spartans’ win as the “upset of the night.”
The Braves (5-1) were off to their best start in school history, led by dual-threat quarterback Tyson Smith.
Smith led the section in rushing through six weeks and while he rushed 21 times for 187 yards and scored two touchdowns, the Chula Vista defense managed to contain him in the first half.
The Spartans scored early in the game as CV signal-caller Paul Escobar hit receiver Cameron O’Neal with a jump ball in the end zone.
Smith scored on a two-yard run in the second quarter and the visitors tacked on a successful two-point conversion to lead 8-7.
El Cajon Valley led 16-13 at halftime and extended its lead to 22-13 on an 80-yard TD run by Smith to open the second half.
But when Sergio Figueroa scored his second rushing touchdown of the game, the hosts pulled to within 22-20 on the scoreboard.
A defensive play turned the game around when CV’s Darrion Hamilton intercepted a pass by Smith and returned it into ECV territory. Hamilton then made a big offensive play when he caught a 16-yard touchdown strike from Escobar for what would prove to be the game-winning points.
Hamilton had seven catches for 90 yards while Escobar passed for 201 yards with two touchdowns.
The Spartans head into their bye week before kicking off league play with a game at longtime west side rival Sweetwater.
Mar Vista 56, Montgomery 7
Khalil Spruill scored on Mar Vista’s second play of the game by reeling off an 80-yard touchdown run. Noah Berry quickly made it 14-0 in favor of the host team and quarterback Mike Wilson upped the hosts’ lead to 21-0 by scoring on a five-yard run in the first quarter.
A blocked kick led to Berry’s touchdown.
Berry hiked the score to 28-0 on a 17-yard touchdown run and Spruill broke off a 45-yard run up the middle to extend the Mar Vista lead to 35-0 at halftime in the non-league match-up.
The Mariners tacked on 21 more points in the second half to extend their fireworks on the field during the school’s homecoming game.
Mar Vista employed a punishing ground game to record the victory by rushing 20 times for 363 yards. Spruill rushed seven times for 208 yards. Kyle Denney rushed twice for 58 yards while Berry rushed four times for 48 yards.
Wilson completed three of four passing attempts for 56 yards and rushed four times for 28 yards. Alfredo Ramirez had one catch for 41 yards.
“I thought we played a complete game on all three phases of the ball,” Arciaga said. “It was good to get back on the winning track going into the Battle for the Bell game against Southwest.”
Extra points
Sweetwater rushed the ball 61 times for a staggering 385 yards in the loss to the St. Margaret’s Tartans from San Juan Capistrano. Marty Sesma led the Red Devils with 36 carries for 234 yards and scored one touchdown. Alfredo Ulloa had 16 carries for 104 yards while quarterback Manny Salazar passed for 74 yards and rushed for 23 yards and scored one rushing TD. Richard Malixi was credited with a two-yard touchdown run.
Sesma has been a force on the ground with 1,047 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He is averaging 174.5 yards per game and has four 100-plus yard games to his credit this season.
Ulloa has rushed for 512 yards in five games and scored two touchdowns while Salazar has passed for 407 yards and five TDs.
Prior to meeting Chula Vista in its annual Legacy of Pride rivalry game, the Red Devils will host Vincent Memorial (3-3) in a non-league game on Friday, Oct. 14.
Hilltop resumes play Friday with a non-league game at Granite Hills (2-4).
Domonic Esparza has rushed for 311 yards and scored five touchdowns to lead the Lancers on the ground while quarterback Alex Tejeda has passed for 1,162 yards and thrown 12 touchdown passes against just three picks.
Gus Ferreira leads Hilltop receivers with 55 receptions for 594 yards and five TDs. Cristian Llanes (10 catches, 88 yards) has three receiving TDs.
On defense, Llanes and Angel Pineda each have logged two interceptions while David Corona and Alex Torres each have recorded two fumble recoveries.
Cougars score impressive 27-0 win over White Tigers
The San Ysidro Cougars bounced back from their 40-6 thrashing at the hands of visiting Murrieta Mesa on Sept. 30 by scoring a key 27-0 victory against host Escondido Charter last Friday. The win doubled the Cougars’ win total to two on the season.
Jeremiah Martinez scored on a three-yard run to ignite the San Ysidro scoring parade. The Cougars scored on their second possession as well to hike the score to 13-0 following a missed extra-point conversion.
Quarterbck Angel Guardado connected on a short pass to Martinez for the team’s second touchdown of the game.
Axel Mendoza returned an intercepted pass in the end zone 43 yards to set up the Cougars for another drive.
Martinez scored his third touchdown of the game on a pitch from Guardado and Axel Mendoza scored San Ysidro’s fourth touchdown of the game. The Cougars closed out scoring in the game on a successful two-point conversion.
San Ysidro (2-5 overall) has a bye before kicking off Metro-Pacific League play Oct. 21 with a game at Montgomery (1-6 overall).
