With a 34-28 win at El Toro in hand, the Eastlake Titans brace for an onslaught of contests against perennial top 10-ranked teams within the San Diego Section that should give them a very good idea of where they stack up in the section’s power rankings.
The Titans (1-1) entered last Friday’s game ranked 10th among section teams. Following the win over El Toro, Eastlake enters this Friday’s game at third-ranked Helix (0-1) ranked eighth overall.
Last Friday’s non-league victory was the first of the season for the Titans after opening with a 14-13 loss to visiting La Serna on Aug. 28.
“It’s more fun when you win but we still have a lot of work to do,” EHS head coach Lee Price explained. “Our schedule gets very difficult and we need to play a complete game. I’m very proud of the players for working hard and we’ll see how the next couple of months turn out. I wish we weren’t so banged up but that is the nature of the game. We’re missing a number of starters right now but that also gives other kids opportunities to shine.”
The Titans were without defensive starters Declan Fernandez and Micah Mendillo for last week’s game. However, the Eastlake offense looked better in terms of moving the ball.
Traylon Reed rushed 19 times for 138 yards with three touchdowns while Kaleb Dueitt had 15 carries for 75 yards and one score. Quarterback Izzack Morales rushed six times for 23 yards and one touchdown. Jax Crawford had six carries for 40 yards.
Dueitt had two catches for 22 yards while Micah Pietila-Wiggs had two catches for 15 yards.
Reed put the first points on the scoreboard for the visitors, though the ensuing PAT was blocked to give the Titans a 6-0 edge in the first quarter.
Morales ran the ball in for a touchdown in the second quarter and, with a successful two-point conversion, Eastlake took a 14-0 lead. Reed scored a second rushing touchdown to put the Titans ahead 21-0 at halftime.
El Toro finally got on the scoreboard in the third quarter and kept the EHS defense busy. The hosts had scoring drives in the fourth quarter to close the gap to 28-14 with 6:20 left in the game and to 28-21 with 2:37 remaining.
El Toro attempted on-side kickoffs after each scoring drive, but Eastlake was able to recover the ball. The Titans scored in the closing minutes of the game for a final 34-28 victory.
Eastlake rushed for 297 yards in the win against just 37 passing yards. El Toro amassed 278 passing yards and 188 rushing yards in the contest.
Defensive leaders for Eastlake included Nate Sweat with 20 tackles, including 13 solo stops, and Greg Raby with two sacks. Sweat and Crawford each had one interception while Tyreece Tarrant-Patane recorded one fumble recovery.
The Eastlake-Helix game is being touted as the KUSI-TV Prep Pigskin Report’s Game of the Week.
Jon Bigornia contributed to this story
Kiwanis Bowl XIV matchup set for Hilltop, Chula Vista football teams
Friday’s Kiwanis Bowl XIV match-up between the Hilltop Lancers and Chula Vista Spartans is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Chula Vista High School. Chula Vista leads the series 10-3 and won last year’s game by a score of 36-27.
Both teams are coming off non-league losses last Friday. Hilltop (1-1)fell, 40-14, to visiting Patrick Henry while Chula Vista (0-2) suffered a 50-0 setback at San Marcos.
Dylan Trenga leads Hilltop with 103 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He had one TD in the loss to Patrick Henry.
2015 High School
Football Scoreboard
WEEK 2 SCOREBOARD
Friday, Sept. 4
Non-league
Olympian 49, Sweetwater 0
Mater Dei Catholic 28, El Capitan 14
Bonita Vista 54, Imperial 6
Eastlake 34, El Toro 28
Mar Vista 28, Clairemont 7
Grossmont 28, Otay Ranch 27
San Marcos 50, Chula Vista 0
Patrick Henry 40, Hilltop 14
El Cajon Valley 28, Montgomery 0
El Centro Southwest 49, San Ysidro 0
South Delta (Canada) 48, Southwest 22
Lutheran 44, Temecula Prep 26
Eight-Man
Oceanview Christian Academy 70, Foothills Christian 44
Calvary Christian Academy 52, Warner Springs 0
WEEK 3 SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 11
Non-league
Rock Academy at Ocean View Christian Academy, 3:30 p.m.
Bonita Vista at Madison, 6:30 p.m.
Hilltop at Chula Vista, 7 p.m.
Morse at Olympian, 7 p.m.
Mt. Miguel at Otay Ranch, 7 p.m.
Mission Bay at Sweetwater, 7 p.m.
Clairemont at Montgomery, 7 p.m.
Xochicalco (Tijuana) at Southwest, 7 p.m.
Calvary Christian Academy vs. San Pasqual Academy at Eastlake, 7 p.m.
Eastlake at Helix, 7 p.m.
Castle Park at Santana, 7 p.m.
Mater Dei Catholic at Francis Parker, 7 p.m.
Mar Vista at Durango (Las Vegas), 7 p.m.
San Diego Section Football Rankings
SD sportswriters/sportscasters poll
(Through Sept. 5)
1. Mission Hills (2-0), 2. St. Augustine (2-0), 3. Helix (0-1), 4. Rancho Bernardo (2-0), 5. Madison (1-1), 6. Oceanside (1-1), 7. Christian (2-0), 8. Eastlake (1-1), 9. Cathedral Catholic (0-2), 10. El Camino (2-0), 11. Torrey Pines (1-1), 12. Bonita Vista (2-0), 13. Hoover (2-0), 14. San Marcos (1-1), 15. Poway (2-0), 16. (tie) Lincoln (2-0), La Costa Canyon (1-1), 18. (tie) Mater Dei Catholic (2-0), Bishop’s (2-0), 20. (tie) Mt. Carmel (2-0), Grossmont (2-0)
