Metro-Mesa League football contests produce unexpected endings

Last Friday’s slate of Metro-Mesa League football games provided fans with unusually high entertainment value — and, to go with that, unexpected endings.

Olympian’s Isaiah Williams recovered a blocked field goal attempt and raced 100 yards for a touchdown in the dying stages of the Eagles’ highly anticipated match-up against host Bonita Vista to spoil the Barons’ homecoming with a dramatic 20-13 come-from-behind victory.

Meanwhile, Otay Ranch’s Devin Lloyd recorded four interceptions, including two for touchdown returns, as the visiting Mustangs defeated the Eastlake Titans for the first time in the teams’ 14-year rivalry.

It was a night of firsts, especially for Olympian, which held onto sole possession of first place in the league standings with its win over Bonita Vista.

The Eagles, who last won the Metro-Mesa League championship in 2012, defeated the Barons for the first time since 2013.

With the win, the Eagles improved to 2-0 in league play, 5-3 overall. Bonita Vista — the defending league champion — dropped to 0-1 in league play, 1-6 overall.

“Our defense kept us in the game and came up huge at the end,” Olympian head coach Paul Van Nostrand said. “Special teams are always a factor in big games.”

Bonita Vista has had a tough luck season while facing some of the top teams in the county. Add Olympian to that list of tough competition.

The goal-to-goal touchdown was the second for Williams on the memorable night after first catching a 15-yard scoring pass from signal-caller Nico Mendoza in the second quarter.

The touchdown was set up after the Eagles took possession of the ball deep in BV territory on a fumble recovery.

However, the first half ended 7-6 in the Barons’  favor as the defenses of both teams set the tone.

A 44-yard punt return helped set up the Barons’ opening score as quarterback Anthony Posada connected with Jake Rozar on a 15-yard scoring pass.

Miscues proved costly for both teams in the second half.

Olympian capitalized on a bad snap by the hosts as Noah Lacsina punched the ball in from the two-yard line to record the visitors’ second touchdown of the game and give them a 12-7 advantage on the scoreboard.

Bonita Vista then went back on top, 13-12, as a fumble set up Rozar’s second TD in the game from Posada, a five-yard score.

The Eagles scored last to seize the win, tacking on a two-point conversion by Williams in the process.

Olympian’s running game produced 171 yards, including 96 by Lacsina on 19 carries and 50 yards by Trey Curry on 10 carries.

Mustangs grab history-making win
Otay Ranch dropped Eastlake into sole possession of last place in the Metro-Mesa League standings after taking a 14-0 lead on the Titans and then closing the game with 13 unanswered points.

Lloyd put the visiting Mustangs in front 7-0 courtesy of a 67-yard interception return and clinched the victory on a 46-yard pick six in the fourth quarter to spoil the Titans’ homecoming celebration.

Between that, Otay Ranch (1-1 in league, 3-5 overall) received touchdowns from Zeek Cruz on an 84-yard pass from QB Cristian Zamudio and a Gus Espiritu one-yard run.

Eastlake (0-2 in league, 2-6 overall) got its points on a pair of touchdown passes from Alfredo Garcia — 14 yards to Carlos Loaiza and 25 yards to Evan Farrage to tie the game, 14-14, at halftime.

But the visitors finished strong. Espiritu’s short run put Otay Ranch in front again and Lloyd sealed the win with his second pick six of the game.

Lloyd was the defensive star of the game with four interceptions, including two runbacks for TDs.

“Our game against Eastlake was a hard fought contest by both teams,” Otay Ranch head coach Lance Christensen explained. “It took some big plays for us to win. Our coaching staff was very proud of the resilience our players displayed throughout the game.”

Zamudio completed six of 15 passing attempts for 172 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Garcia completed nine of 18 passing attempts for 103 yards with two touchdowns and four picks.

Eastlake rushed for 73 yards on 30 carries — a 2.4-yard per carry average. Garcia was the Titans’ leading rusher with 13 carries for 44 yards.

Mater Dei Catholic 41, Castle Park 6
Mater Dei Catholic continued to roll by rolling over visiting Castle Park to improve to a Metro Conference best 6-1 on the season. The Crusaders entered the week No. 1 in the Division II power rankings.

Quentin Frazier caught two scoring passes from Chris Jones and Kyle Moses added an interception return to take the hosts to a quick 20-0 lead. C.J. Verdell scored his 20th touchdown of the season on a 24-yard run.

Mar Vista tops Southwest, 52-18, in annual Battle for the Bell

Mar Vista trounced host Southwest in the schools’ annual Battle for the Bell match-up, 52-18, last Friday to retain the rights to the rivalry trophy.

Khalil Spruill (eight carries, 104 yards) scored three rushing touchdowns for Mar Vista as the Mariners improved their season record to 5-2 in the non-league win over the Raiders (2-5). Noah Berry (two catches, 76 yards) scored on a pass reception and run while Kyle Denney (seven carries, 112 yards) and signal-caller Mike Wilson (93 passing yards) also scored on short TD runs.

Mar Vista led 49-0 before Southwest’s offense erupted for 18 unanswered points late in the game. Zaire Simpson (15 carries, 146 yards) scored one rushing touchdown while Daniel Belton caught a 25-yard scoring pass from David Espinosa (126 passing yards) and Emmanuel Padilla kicked a 25-yard field goal.

The Mariners closed out the game with a 32-yard field goal by Cesar Macias.

Both Mar Vista and Southwest embark on perhaps their most important games on the season this Friday. The Mariners travel to Hilltop (4-3) to kick off Metro-South Bay League play while the Raiders travel to Castle Park (0-7) to kick off Metro-Pacific League play.


Sweetwater 50, Vincent Memorial 29

Sweetwater showed it can put up points as it readies to kick off Metro-South Bay League play with a homecoming encounter Friday against visiting Chula Vista. The Red Devils scored seven rushing touchdowns against the Scots (3-4) last Friday.

Alfredo Ulloa had 16 carries for 136 yards and scored two touchdowns while five SuHi players each scored once: Marty Sesma (23 carries, 131 yards), Raul Romero (five carries, 71 yards), Francisco Velazquez (two carries, 71 yards), Abel Garcia (six carries, 40 yards) and Adreille Lagda (two carries, 30 yards).

METRO CONFERENCE FOOTBALL STANDINGS

Metro-Mesa League
Olympian Eagles 2-0, 5-3
Mater Dei Catholic 1-0, 6-1
Otay Ranch 1-1, 3-5
Bonita Vista 0-1, 1-6
Eastlake 0-2, 2-6

Friday, Oct. 14
Olympian 20, Bonita Vista 13
Otay Ranch 27, Eastlake 14

Metro-South Bay League
Mar Vista Mariners 0-0, 5-2
Hilltop Lancers 0-0, 4-3
Chula Vista Spartans 0-0, 4-3
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-0, 2-5

Metro-Pacific League
Southwest Raiders 0-0, 2-5
San Ysidro Cougars 0-0, 2-5
Montgomery Aztecs 0-0, 1-6
Castle Park Trojans 0-0, 0-7

Non-League

Mater Dei Catholic 41, Castle Park 6
Mar Vista 52, Southwest 18
Sweetwater 50, Vincent Memorial 29
Granite Hills 34, Hilltop 21

EIGHT MAN
Ocean League: Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 50, Rock Academy 24
Citrus League: St. Joseph 40, Ocean View Christian Academy 6

METRO-MESA LEAGUE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing

•Anthony Posada (Bonita Vista) 1,067 yards (6 games), 12 touchdowns
•Chris Jones (Mater Dei Catholic) 1,014 yards (6 games), 11 touchdowns
•Nico Mendoza (Olympian) 750 yards (8 games), 11 touchdowns
•Cristian Zamudio(Otay Ranch) 631 (6 games) 8 touchdowns
•Alfredo Garcia (Eastlake) 537 yards (6 games), 8 touchdowns

Rushing
•C.J. Verdell (Mater Dei Catholic) 970 yards (6 games)
•Noah Lacsina (Olympian) 619 (8 games)
•Rashaun Brown (Olympian) 405 yards (7 games)
•Gus Espiritu (Otay Ranch) 344 yards (7 games)
•Trey Curry (Olympian) 325 (8 games)
•Alfredo Garcia (Eastlake) 319 yards (6 games)
•Kaleb Dueitt (Eastlake) 268 yards (6 games)
•Josh Godfrey (Bonita Vista) 258 yards (5 games)
•Dean Klaser (Bonita Vista) 217 yards (3 games)

Receiving

•Eli Shelton (Mater Dei Catholic) 331 yards (4 games)
•Keenan Ellis (Bonita Vista) 319 yards (3 games)
•Devin Lloyd (Otay Ranch) 310 yards (8 games)
•Isaiah Williams (Olympian) 309 yards (8 games)
•Robert Cota (Bonita Vista) 264 (6 games)
•Jake Rozar (Bonita Vista) 240 (4 games)
•Quentin Frazier (Mater Dei Catholic) 235 yards (6 games)

Scoring/Touchdowns

•C.J. Verdell (Mater Dei Catholic) 19
•Devin Lloyd (Otay Ranch) 8
•Isaiah Williams (Olympian) 7
•Rashaun Brown (Olympian) 6
•Fenuki Kauvaka (Otay Ranch) 5

•Jake Rozar (Bonita Vista) 4

•Gus Espiritu (Otay Ranch) 4
•Alfredo Garcia (Eastlake) 4
•Nick Esquivias (Bonita Vista) 3

Metro Conference/
South County Playoff Tracker

Division I
Eastlake 2-6

Division II
Mater Dei Catholic 6-1
Olympian 5-3
Otay Ranch 3-5
Bonita Vista 1-6

Division III
Hilltop 4-3
Chula Vista 4-3
Sweetwater 2-5

Division IV

Mar Vista 5-2
Castle Park 0-7

Division V
Southwest 2-5
Lutheran 1-5
Montgomery 1-6
San Ysidro 2-5

Eight-Man
Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 3-5
Ocean View Christian Academy 0-5