The Castle Park Trojans are basking in the glow of back-to-back Metro-Pacific League championships. But be assured they will have their game faces on for Friday’s opening round San Diego Section Division IV playoff game against the visiting Monte Vista Monarchs. Game time is 7 p.m.
The Trojans defeated the host Southwest Raiders, 53-8, last Friday to wrap up their second consecutive league championship. They are 6-0 in Metro-Pacific games over the past two years.
But CPHS head coach Hans Graham is now looking ahead to Friday’s playoff game. The sixth-seeded Trojans are 6-4 overall while the 11th-seeded Monarchs are 2-8.
The winner of Friday’s game plays at third-seeded Bishop’s, last year’s division champions. The Knights are 6-4 this season.
Castle Park is led by quarterback Angelo Trujillo, who has clearly established himself as the top signal-caller in the Metro-Pacific League, and perhaps the entire Metro Conference as well. Trujillo has passed for 1,854 yards and 17 touchdowns with five interceptions. He’s also been a force on defense with five picks and four pass deflections, and has scored six rushing touchdowns.
He was involved in six touchdowns in last Friday’s win over Southwest. He threw for two scores, scored three rushing touchdowns and also returned an intercepted pass for a touchdown on defense.
He completed five of 13 passes for 129 yards, rushed three times for 13 yards and returned his pick-six 60 yards.
“He’s a great kid,” Graham lauded. “He’s becoming a coach on the field.”
Dual-threat standout Luq Barcoo was injured in the Trojans’ league opening game against visiting San Ysidro on Oct. 23, forcing his teammates to step up in his absence.
Anthony Navarro has stepped into the role as a pass-catcher. He’s made 15 catches for 237 yards with four touchdowns this season. He had three catches for 43 yards and one touchdown in the regular season finale while also piling up 79 yards on two carries and scoring one rushing touchdown.
Charles Tolbert also caught a 76-yard touchdown pass in the game against the Raiders (1-9).
Miguel Flores is another major standout for Castle Park. He’s rushed for 394 yards and scored three touchdowns. He is even better on defense, according to Graham. He had 10 tackles in the win against Southwest and leads the team with 101 stops on the season.
“He should be the league’s defensive player of the year,” Graham said.
While the Trojans have racked up 127 points in their three Metro-Pacific games, they may find the going a bit tougher against Monte Vista, which plays in the more competitive Grossmont Valley League. The Monarchs finished 0-4 in league play and have been outscored 326-116 this season.
Standouts for Monte Vista include Tre Owens with five rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns in eight game appearances. Jacob Dardin rushed for 126 yards in last Friday’s 28-7 loss to visiting West Hills.
“We have to be prepared for them,” Graham said. “I have a lot of respect for their coach (Ron Hamamoto). They are going to be fundamentally sound. We’ve got to get the job done.”
The Monarchs finished runner-up to Sweetwater in the Division IV championship game in 2013.
Castle Park is the lone Metro-Pacific team to qualify for the playoffs; all five Grossmont Valley League teams are in the playoffs. GVL champion Granite Hills (9-1) received the No. 3 seed in the Division II playoffs.
Barcoo continues to lead the Trojans with 10 touchdowns in nine game appearances.
