New CVHS coach excited about Kiwanis Bowl XIII rivalry match-up

oach of Chula Vista High School’s football team this season, departing coach Judd Rachow had a couple of words of advice: Do not lose to Hilltop or Sweetwater.

“That was pretty much it,” Westling explained.

Westling, the Spartans’ first-year head coach, will get a taste of Chula Vista’s longtime rivalry with both aforementioned schools in the team’s two upcoming  games.

Up next is Friday’s 13th annual Chula Vista Kiwanis Bowl at Hilltop High School; the Legacy of Pride match-up takes place the following Friday at Sweetwater High School.

“The more I hear about it, the more I am starting to get into it,” Westling said. “We’re excited to be there.”

The Spartans enter Friday’s Kiwanis Bowl game 0-2 following losses to Steele Canyon (48-18 on Aug. 29) and San Marcos (41-24 last Friday).

Chula Vista started slow in its last outing but finished fast. The Spartans’ up-tempo game plan appears to be coming around and Westling’s troops would like nothing better than reward their new coach with his first victory.

Hilltop is 1-1 after dropping a 38-17 non-league match-up at Patrick Henry last Friday.

Head-to-head

Westling called last Friday’s loss to the Knights (2-0) “very frustrating.”

“We started out slower than we would have liked, down 21-0, but all our mistakes are fixable,” the CVHS coach explained. “We came back to make it 21-18 just after halftime and missed a two-point conversion.”

Quarterback Mario Cabada has thrown five touchdowns in the team’s two opening games, including three to Elias Torres and one each to Demetrius Gibbs and Brandon Cabrera. Jaylon Candler and Junior Meza both have scored rushing touchdowns for the Spartans thus far.

Torres had two TD catches in last Friday’s game (one for 12 yards and the other for five yards) while Cabrera and Candler also scored touchdowns.

Cabrera hauled in a 32-yard scoring pass while Candler scored on a one-yard run.

“The guys are fired up for these next two games,” Westling said.

The Spartans lead the overall Kiwanis Bowl series 9-3, though Hilltop won last year’s contest 21-7.

Hilltop is led offensively by senior quarterback Daniel Sanchez, who has thrown for 368 yards and three touchdowns in two games this season, and senior running back Bryton Madarang, who has rushed for 160 yards and scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one passing).

Sanchez is the Lancers’ next top rusher with 124 yards on 16 carries and one rushing TD. Madarang has caught six passes for 128 yards.

Hilltop is averaging 184.0 passing yards per game and 173.5 rushing yards per game.

Michael Talbert has five catches for 124 yards and one TD while Isaiah Dillon had three catches for 87 yards and one receiving score in the team’s opener — a come-from-behind 24-21 non-league win over visiting Castle Park.

Sanchez is the team’s overall total yards leader at 492 (passing and rushing yardage combined).