The Chula Vista Spartans captured their first game in the Howard Bannister coaching era by defeating the visiting Morse Tigers, 15-6, in a non-league game Friday night.
Some might consider the outcome an upset but the Spartans were dominant on both sides of the line of scrimmage in the matchup.
“The boys lost their first two games but we took positives out of each game,” Bannister said. “We knew we had some positive things going on. We just need to play more consistent. We did that tonight and that was the difference.”
The CV ground attack was punishing against the Tigers, who entered the game with a 1-1 record
Victor Agraz scored a 15-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter and the Spartans took a 7-6 lead into halftime after Morse quarterback Tim Patrick scored on a six-yard keeper in the second quarter.
The Chula Vista ground attack was in motion once again in the third quarter when quarterback Darrion Hamilton scored on a one-yard run with 5:20 to play in the quarter.
The Spartans then went for a two-point conversion play and Hamilton hit Justin Cantwell for the completion to up the CV lead to 15-6.
Lorenzo Matos intercepted a Morse pass at the 26-yard line with 5:15 to play in the fourth quarter. The hosts drove the ball to the six-yard line before turning it over on downs with 58 seconds to play.
The game ended with Martell Irby, the Tigers’ main rushing threat, firmly shut down by the Spartan defense.
Things could be looking up for Bannister’s team in a major way in the coming weeks.
The Spartans (1-2) host west side rival Castle Park (0-3) next Friday in a non-league matchup, then meet Bonita Vista (0-3) in another non-league matchup Sept. 22 at Southwestern College.
The contest against Castle Park is a key matchup against Division IV teams with early season implications for playoff positioning.
Bannister said the key to Friday’s win was preparation and the team coming closer to grasping the new offensive scheme.
Chula Vista previously ran the wing-T formation; Bannister has brought over the I-formation and ace (single back) formation from his time at Otay Ranch High School.
“The kids are understanding and knowing what to do – it’s starting to gel,” Bannister said. “Everyone has been learning – the players and the coaching staff. It’s all coming together.”
The Spartans rushed for 241 yards against the Tigers, with Eddie Barajas accumulating 131 yards on 17 carries. Agraz gained 52 yards on nine carries while Kajahan Duncan collected 29 yards on 11 rushes. Cantwell caught two passes for 15 yards.
Ray Gomez led the hosts with 13 tackles while Barajas had nine stops. Ubaldo Nolasco topped the winners with three sacks. Sebastian Chairez had one fumble recovery.
Count San Ysidro Cougars among section’s 3-0 teams
Three weeks into the 2017 high school football season, it’s still very much a jumble in determining just which teams belong at the top of their respective divisions. But the picture is becoming clearer.
Teams are battling injuries from training camp, adjusting to new players and coaching staffs, and even new offensive or defensive game plans, so it’s often difficult to get an exact bead on just where teams belong in the weekly rankings.
Also to consider is a clash of styles of play between teams not accustomed to meeting one another outside of league play.
Motivation is also a key factor.
That being said, there are currently 19 teams in the San Diego Section that sport undefeated records through the first three weeks of the season. There are 15 teams with 3-0 records and four more with 2-0 records.
Count the San Ysidro Cougars among the ranks of the undefeated. The Cougars will put their 3-0 record on the line in Friday’s (Sept. 15) non-league road game against likewise undefeated Vincent Memorial (3-0) to be played at Southwest El Centro High School. Kick off is 7 p.m.
The Cougars clawed the visiting Escondido Charter White Tigers, 35-0, Friday, Sept. 8, to rack up their latest win.
Defending Metro-Pacific League champion San Ysidro is the lone Metro Conference team at this point of the season with the chance of completing an undefeated season. It’s a high water mark in the history of the program, noted third-year head coach Robert Hatchett.
“The kids are believing in themselves,” Hatchett explained. “We base our Friday games on how we practice during the week. In our second game (a 28-21 win over Mountain Empire), we were trailing 21-0 at halftime. We didn’t have a great practice that week and we didn’t put our best effort out there in the first half.
“But rather than be angry at the team, we simply told them at halftime ‘OK, now it’s time to play.’ The defense stepped up to the plate and shut them out in the second half. We know we’re capable of scoring at least one touchdown in every quarter. It was a case of returning to our motto of how we practice is how we play.
“We came out after last Friday’s win and had a great week of practice. We were firing on all cylinders against Escondido Charter.”
Jeremiah Martinez rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns to key the effort while Alejandro Bonneau also reached the end zone twice on short runs.
Jazz Gill scored on a slicing run to the end zone to score the first touchdown of the game.
Cougar QB Junior Bueno connected with Christopher Macias on a tipped pass and catch that went for 50 yards in the first quarter. Macias was stopped short of the goal line but Bonneau scored on a one-yard run.
Bonneau leads San Ysidro with seven touchdowns through three games while Gill has collected four TDs.
The San Ysidro defense collected two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery to preserve the shutout victory. Jiovanni Castillo had the pick while Sergio Medina and Daniel Gomez each had one sack. Angel Meza recovered a fumble near the goal line that kept the shutout intact.
Hatchett stressed the importance of maintaining productive practices. “If we play our game that means the other team will have to have a good week of practice to beat us,” Hatchett explained. “If we do what we’re supposed to do, it will take a lot for the other team to beat us.”
Winners circle
While San Ysidro is the lone Metro team with a 3-0 record, there are four other area squads with 2-1 records to start the season: the Eastlake Titans, Montgomery Aztecs, Olympian Eagles and Otay Ranch Mustangs.
Olympian returned to the win column with a dramatic 42-41 non-league victory against the visiting Poway Titans Friday after suffering a 37-21 non-league loss at Grossmont the prior week.
“We played undisciplined football against a well coached Grossmont team,” Olympian head coach Paul Van Nostrand assessed of the loss to the Foothillers. “You can’t make a lot of mistakes and expect to beat a good team.”
Friday’s victory against a Poway team riddled with illness was, in many ways, a reflection of the Eagles’ season opening 41-38 win over visiting Santa Fe Christian when the hosts failed to buckle and went on to win in two overtime periods.
Olympian zipped out in front, 13-0, against the visiting Titans only to trail 28-21 at halftime. Poway led 41-28 entering the final quarter before the Eagles once again soared to a home field victory.
Olympian scored four rushing touchdowns and two passing scores to record its latest win.
Treyvion Davies (16 carries, 117 yards), Rashaun. Brown (seven carries, 105 yards), Arnold Escano (five carries, 46 yards) and quarterback Nico Mendoza (five carries, 21 yards) each scored on touchdown runs.
Mendoza (8-of-22, 167 passing yards) completed touchdown passes to Mikael Tyler (one catch 44 yards) and Isaiah Williams (four catches, 57 yards).
Brown, who scored on a 90-yard romp in the first quarter, also caught one pass for 45 yards to lead the Eagles with 150 all-purpose yards. Davies scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with less than four minutes remaining in regulation play.
Mendoza scored on a 23-yard run to put his team up 21-14 in the second quarter.
Angel Huerta (12), Rock Gonzalez (11), Jared Desmond (11) and Tyler Powers (10) all reached double digits in takles. Gonzalez also contributed two sacks.
Trent Jackson tacked on four kicking points. Brown scored on one two-point conversion.
This was the second time that the Eagles have rallied to win; that’s likely not a coincidence.
“Once again we hung in there and were able to take control of the game in the fourth quarter,” Van Nostrand said. “There’s still a lot of room for improvement and the players are continuing to work at it.”
Olympian will be going for its third home win Friday (Sept. 15) against a Hilltop team coming off a 64-3 non-league loss at Grossmont last Friday.
Poway quarterback T.J. Elkinton threw a pair of scoring passes while also scoring on a run in the loss.
Otay Ranch won its second game of the season by soundly defeating host Rancho Bernardo, 35-14, in a non-league encounter Friday. The Mustangs bounced back from a 28-21 non-league setback the previous week at Valley Center by amassing 401 all-purpose yards against the Broncos (0-3).
Zeek Cruz paced Otay Ranch with three touchdowns — two receiving and one rushing — while Sammy Paranada and Darian Williams each scored one touchdown.
Cruz finished the game with two catches for 31 yards and six carries fore 27 yards. Paranada had nine carries for 79 yards while quarterback Alfredo Garcia rushed seven times for 65 yards, including one 53-yard gainer.
Garcia completed three of five passing attempts for 60 yards with one touchdown while Puka Stewart was 6-of-7 for 74 yards with two touchdowns.
Stewart tossed a 12-yard scoring pass to Williams and a 16-yard TD pass to Cruz; Garcia passed 15 yards to Cruz to ignite the team’s scoring spree.
Gus Espiritu tallied 76 yards in total offense — 38 yards each rushing and receiving.
The Mustangs will host St. Augustine (1-2) on Friday (Sept. 15). Kick off is 7 p.m.
Montgomery won its second consecutive game following a season opening loss to Whittier Pioneer by rallying to defeat host Army-Navy Academy, 21-13, in a non-league game played Friday in Carlsbad.
Hunter Joseph remained a game-changer for the Aztecs on offense by rushing 31 times for 281 yards and two touchdowns. David Vargas (six carries, six yards) also scored one rushing touchdown to highlight the win.
Hunter racked up 362 all-purpose yards by tacking on 81 kick-return yards.
Victor Ayala totaled five tackles for a loss on defense while Robert Dorame recorded one sack. Montgomery nabbed three interceptions in the game — two by Vargas and one by Devin Patterson.
The Aztecs will play the undefeated San Diego Cavers (3-0) Friday (Sept. 15) at Balboa Stadium. Kick off is 6:30 p.m.
Best of the rest
Eastlake fell from the ranks of the undefeated following a 2-0 start by succumbing, 43-41, in a non-league game played lFriday against Corona Santiago.
The Titans were down by scores of 21-10 (first quarter) and 31-13 (halftime) before rallying with 28 second-half points. But the host Sharks (2-1) countered with 12 second-half points of their own to record the victory.
“It was a fun game to be a part of,” EHS head coach Dean Tropp said. “We had opportunities to win but came up short. We learned a lot about our football team … they never quit and believe in themselves and the coaches.”
The teams combined for 1,023 all-purpose yards — 569 by Santiago and 454 by Eastlake.
Quarterback Daniel Amon led the Titans with 194 total yards — 191 passing yards and three rushing yards. Micah Pietila-Wiggs collected 158 total yards — 105 rushing yards, 41 receiving yards and 12 passing yards. Pietila-Wiggs also add three all-purpose yards with an interception.
Jalyn Jackson had 144 all-purpose yards — 115 receiving and 29 on kick returns.
Pietila-Wiggs scored three touchdowns — two rushing and one receiving — while Jackson caught one pass for a touchdown.
D.J. Del Fierro converted five extra-point attempts and kicked a pair of field goals to finish the game with 11 kicking points.
Defensively, Eastlake had four sacks — one each by Christian Coronado, Richard Corpus, Jalen Graham and Robby Hughes. Dylan Kohler led the Titans with 18 tackles while Josh McCurty had 15, including 10 unassisted stops.
Coronado and Alfonso Alvarado II each recorded fumble recoveries.
The Titans next face Grossmont (2-1) this Friday (Sept. 15) in another high profile non-league encounter. The Foothillers, following a 22-13 loss to Bishop’s to kick off the season, has crushed their last two opponents by racking up 101 points.
Castle Park trailed host Coronado, 21-7, at halftime in last Friday’s non-league matchup before putting up 21 second-half points in a 35-28 setback.
Eleazar Cruz threw a pair of second-half touchdowns to rally his team after trailing 35-7. David Sanchez caught a 25-yarder while Chris Arana scored on a 52-yard bomb.
The win was the first of the season for the Islanders (1-1), who entertain Mar Vista (1-2) this Friday (Sept. 15).
Mar Vista is coming off a 19-14 loss Saturday to Las Vegas Bonanza. The game was originally scheduled the prior evening but delayed due to lightning storms in the area.
Da’von Peterson scored both touchdowns for the Mariners — one rushing and one receiving.
Peterson led Mar Vista with 92 all-pupose yards — 75 receiving, 17 rushing.
Sebastian Burke rushed 13 times for 82 yards while quarterback Jacob Beck completed five of 14 passing attempts for 131 yards with one touchdown.
Beck and Peterson hooked up on one 75-yard pass play.
“I felt Bonanza had more energy than we did on Saturday and we made too many mistakes, whether it be turning the ball over or significant penalties on offense or giving up a big play before half on defense,” MVHS head coach Tyler Arciaga said. “It was just a little too much to overcome.
“The defense played great in the second half and we started to get the offense rolling, but, similar to our game at Monte Vista, not playing a complete game came back to haunt us.”
Having the game postponed until Saturday forced the Mariners to alter their trip plans. Arciaga reported the only major event the team got to do was to attend the Penn & Teller Show at the Rio.
“We had multiple kids get called up on stage, so that was pretty neat,” Arciaga said.”Overall, other than the outcome of the game, it was a good trip. The kids acted well and got to experience a different part of the country.”
San Diego Section 3-0 teams: La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad, San Marcos, Mission Hills, Kearny, Crawford, University City, Christian, Central Union, Southwest El Centro, Vincent Memorial, San Ysidro, Ramona, Madison, Mira Mesa.
San Diego Secrion 2-0 teams: San Diego, Serra, Bishop’s, Maranatha Christian.
Metro Conference
Football Scoreboard
Non-league
Friday, Sept. 8
Chula Vista 15, Morse 6
Olympian 42, Poway 41
Otay Ranch 35, Rancho Bernardo 14
Montgomery 21, Army-Navy Academy 13
San Ysidro 35, Escondido Charter 0
Madison 56, Bonita Vista 6
Mission Hills 56, Mater Dei Catholic 7
Grossmont 64, Hilltop 3
Santiago 43, Eastlake 41
Serra 55, Southwest 20
Carlsbad 49, Sweetwater 0
Cononado 35, Castle Park 28
California Lutheran 52, Victory Christian Academy 6
Saturday, Sept. 9
Bonanza (Las Vegas) 19, Mar Vista 14
Friday, Sept 15
St. Joseph Academy at Ocean View Christian Academy, 3 p.m.
Bonita Vista at Point Loma, 6:30 p.m.
Southwest at Kearny, 6:30 p.m.
Montgomery at San Diego, 6:30 p.m.
Castle Park at Chula Vista, 7 p.m.
Hilltop at Olympian, 7 p.m.
St. Augustine at Otay Ranch, 7 p.m.
Lincoln at Sweetwater, 7 p.m.
Mar Vista at Coronado, 7 p.m.
Eastlake at Grossmont, 7 p.m.
San Ysidro vs. Vincent Memorial at Southwest El Centrio HS, 7 p.m.
Victory Christian Academy vs. Warner Springs at Valhalla HS, 7 p.m.
San Diego Section Playoff Tracker
Division I
Eastlake Titans 2-1
Olympian Eagles 2-1
Bonita Vista Barons 0-3
Division II
Otay Ranch Mustangs 2-1
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 1-2
Division III
Hilltop Lancers 1-2
Mar Vista Mariners 1-2
Division IV
Chula Vista Spartans 1-2
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-2
Castle Park Trojans 0-3
Division V
San Ysidro Cougars 3-0
Montgomery Aztecs 2-1
Southwest Raiders 0-3
Eight-Man
Victory Christian Academy 0-1
Ocean View Christian Academy 0-1
San Diego Section Rankings
1. Mission Hills (3-0)
2. Madison (3-0)
3. Helix (1-1)
4. San Marcos (3-0)
5. Carlsbad (3-0)
6. Torrey Pines (2-1)
7. El Camino (2-1)
8. Bishop’s (2-0)
9. Cathedral Catholic (1-2)
10. Lincoln (2-1)
