The opening week of the 2016 high school football season for South County teams featured a collection of blowouts, dramatic come-from-behind wins and narrow cliff-hanger victories.
In Chula Vista’s 35-30 non-league victory against visiting Mt. Miguel last Friday, for instance, the Spartans and Matadors played a roller-coaster ride that saw the hosts recover from an early 10-7 deficit to lead 21-10 at halftime. The Spartans extended their lead to 27-10 midway through the third quarter and led 27-17 following a touchdown by the Matadors later in the quarter.
Chula Vista seemingly took control of the game on the scoreboard at 35-17 with 7:37 to play in the game. But Mt. Miguel tacked on two touchdowns in the waning stages of the game to narrow the score to 35-30. The Matadors got the ball back with 2:02 left in the game and moved the ball into Spartan territory before sputtering on fourth down with 22 seconds remaining when CV defender Timothy Wilkins recovered a fumble.
Prior to Wilkins’ fumble recovery, it appeared uncertain which team would win the season opener.
The Spartan offense looked impressive despite missing its top offensive performer in the person of Adrian Corona, who twisted his ankle earlier in the week. Corona was held out of the game for precautionary measures, with the workload transferred to Sergio Figueroa, Andre Stewart and Daniel McPherren. The three players carried the team on their shoulders with five touchdowns between them. Figueroa and McPherren each scored two touchdowns while Stewart scored once.
It was McPherren’s 67-yard TD grab that made the score 35-17. He caught a 27-yard scoring pass in the second quarter to put the hosts ahead 14-10. Figueroa scored on a 35-yard pass play to score Chula Vista’s first touchdown of the new season and later scored on a seven-yard run in the second quarter to make the score 21-10.
Stewart scored on a seven-yard run in the third quarter to extend Chula Vista’s lead to 27-10.
“We knew there was pressure on us but we still won the game,” Figueroa said.
“When I caught that pass (to put the Spartans ahead 35-17) I thought that we had a good chance to win,” McPherren explained. “I just wanted to help out my team.”
“I just played all out,” Stewart added.
It was an especially big win for Chula Vista, which won only one game last year.
Spartan head coach Daryl Butterfield termed the victory over what he called “a quality opponent” a “total team win.”
“It took the effort of everyone to win this game,” the Spartan head coach said. “I’m very pleased with our offense, especially without one of the top players in the county (Corona). The other guys stepped it up. One of them (Stewart) was a sophomore. The defense was flying at times out there. The defense won the game for us.”
Besides Wilkins’ fumble recovery, Victor Agraz also recovered a loose ball near the Chula Vista goal line after a fumble on a tackle of Mt. Miguel quarterback Benny Valadez.
Spartan quarterback Paul Escobar threw three scoring passes.
Close call
A pair of untimely fumbles and several offsides penalties kept the visiting Matadors out of the win column. The Spring Valley team showed flashes of brilliance throughout the fiercely-fought contest which promotes optimism for the future.
There’s obviously still a lot of football to be played this season.
Bright spots for Mount Miguel included the play of senior quarterback Benny Valadez and junior running back Shemar Greene.
Greene scored two touchdowns and Valadez ran for one and passed for another to rally their team from an 18-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter to create the thrill-packed ending.
Joel Beas scored the first points of the season for the Matadors on a 33-yard field goal with 3:41 left in the first quarter. Chula Vista responded with its opening points of the season five plays later on the 35-yard scoring pass from Escobar to Figueroa.
Greene scored his first touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run to enable the visitors to take a 10-7 lead.
From there, the hosts took a 21-10 lead into halftime after rallying with back-to-back touchdowns from McPherren and Figueroa. Escobar passed 27 yards to Daniel McPherren to put Chula Vista up 17-10 and Figueroa scored his second touchdown of the game on a seven-yard run with 1:50 to play in the opening half.
The Spartans would follow with a short touchdown run by Stewart to kick off the second half as the hosts extended their scoring run to 20-0.
Much of the Spartans’ success came as Matador standout linebacker/running back Cameron Hanson was being administered to on the sideline with an ankle injury. The loss of Hanson proved costly both offensively and defensively for the visitors.
Yet even with Hanson on the sideline, the Matadors made it close.
Mario Coker caught a five-yard scoring pass late in the third quarter to cut the deficit on the scoreboard to 27-17.
Chula Vista answered with a 67-yard bomb from Escobar to McPherren that, coupled with a successful two-point conversion, raised the hosts’ lead to 35-17.
But the visitors were not finished. Greene, who rushed for 140 yards on the night, scored from three yards out with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter to bring the score to 35-23.
Valadez then scored on a long breakaway run down the sideline with 3:27 to play to trim the deficit further to 35-30. The Matadors got the ball back with 2:02 remaining after the Spartans were pinned at their own 12-yard line on the ensuing kick-off.
But the hosts stiffened on defense and the Spartans had their first win of the season.
The Matadors shot themselves in the foot with costly mistakes. Prior to their dramatic rally, Valadez was stripped of the football at the Chula Vista two-yard line after making a long run toward the Spartan end zone.
The scoreboard for Friday, Aug. 26:
Non-league
Mar Vista 30, San Diego 0
Mater Dei Catholic 35, Valley Center 0
University City 43, Sweetwater 27
Olympian 20, Santa Fe Christian 17
Coronado 39, San Ysidro 12
Holtville 43, Southwest 20
La Jolla 43, Montgomery 0
Hilltop 38, Castle Park 6
Chula Vista 35, Mt. Miguel 30
Rancho Bernardo 38, Eastlake 0
Mt. Carmel 34, Otay Ranch 0
Poway 33, Bonita Vista 14
Carnegie Schools-Riverside 43, Lutheran 14
Eight-Man Results
Borrego Springs 42, Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 26
Rock Academy 28, Ocean View Christian Academy 14
Metro Conference Standings
Metro-Mesa League
Mater Dei Catholic 0-0, 1-0
Olympian Eagles 0-0, 1-0
Bonita Vista 0-0, 0-1
Eastlake 0-0, 0-1
Otay Ranch 0-0, 0-1
Metro-South Bay League
Chula Vista Spartans 0-0, 1-0
Hilltop Lancers 0-0, 1-0
Mar Vista Mariners 0-0, 1-0
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-0, 0-1
Metro-Pacific League
Castle Park Trojans 0-0, 0-1
Montgomery Aztecs 0-0, 0-1
San Ysidro Cougars 0-0, 0-1
Southwest Raiders 0-0, 0-1
Metro Conference/
South County Playoff Tracker
Division I
Eastlake 0-1
Division II
Mater Dei Catholic 1-0
Olympian 1-0
Bonita Vista 0-1
Otay Ranch 0-1
Division III
Chula Vista 1-0
Hilltop 1-0
Sweetwater 0-1
Division IV
Mar Vista 1-0
Castle Park 0-1
Division V
Lutheran 0-1
Montgomery 0-1
San Ysidro 0-1
Southwest 0-1
Eight-Man
Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 0-1
Ocean View Christian Academy 0-1
