It’s emblazoned on the back of the jerseys of Chula Vista High School’s football team: HOC.
It’s not a name but a state of mind: Home of Champions.
Chula Vista High School was indeed the home of champions in the Metro Conference during the 1980s and 1990s.
It could still be again.
The Spartans reached the halfway mark on their quest to capture this year’s Metro-Pacific League football title after defeating the Mar Vista Mariners, 50-13, during last Friday’s festive homecoming game.
Metro-Pacific League teams will play four league games to determine a champion. Chula Vista improved to 2-0 in league play with the lopsided win over the Mariners, who dropped to 0-1 in league, 2-5 overall.
The Spartans evened their overall record at 4-4 with their fourth consecutive victory. The school’s football team last won a league banner in 2006, so the anticipation is certainly building.
“We got healthy and we started believing in each other,” CVHS head coach Howard Bannister III said in regard to the team’s timely winning streak. The boys are fighting for each other. They’re playing four quarters of football.”
After dealing visiting Bonita Vista a 49-14 non-league loss on Sept. 30, Mar Vista appeared to be just perhaps the Spartans’ top challenger for this year’s league banner. But the hosts, playing in front of their largest home crowd of the season, made an early statement in building a 20-0 lead.
Sophomore quarterback Izaac Baca completed nine of 19 passing attempts for 117 yards and three touchdowns while senior Gio Barrios had 10 carries for 147 yards and three touchdowns. Baca (four carries, 31 yards) also scored a rushing touchdown from his signal-caller position.
The hosts scored seven touchdowns in the game.
Barrios averaged 14.7 yards per carry with a 48-yard run thrown in. Junior Paul Alverez had 24 carries for 200 yards with an 8.3 yard-per-carry average. Alverez broke loose for a 41-run.
Pulling in touchdown receptions were sophomore John Paul Zapata (three catches, 52 yards), senior Arbahl Saucedo (three catches, 36 yards) and sophomore Elijah Gillespie (one catch, six yards). Senior Nick Gillespie had one catch for 15 yards while senior Jacob Pedroza had one catch for eight yards.
Ramirez and Baca both scored on two-point conversions.
Junior Franky Olmedo keyed the defense with six tackles while seniors Matt Robertson, Octavio Ramirez and Luis Lopez each had five tackles.
Chula Vista recorded five sacks (two each by Olmedo and Robertson and one by Nick Gillespie), one interception (senior Josh Aguirre) and one fumble recovery (senior Jeremy Wood) to stymie the high-powered Mar Vista offensive attack.
Mar Vista recouped some pride with two late touchdowns.
Mariner senior quarterback Aleks Wojcik entered the game having thrown for 1,392 yards with 15 touchdowns. He had also rushed for 445 yards and four touchdowns.
Junior Elijah Clark was the team’s top receiver through six games with 380 receiving yards and six touchdown catches.
Both Chula Vista and Mar Vista are chasing playoff positions in their respective divisions.
The Spartans continue to move up the San Diego Section Division IV rankings, landing ninth overall in the MaxPreps divisional rankings and 14th in the formula the section will use for playoff seeding.
Mar Vista sits seventh in the Division V MaxPreps rankings and sixth in the section rankings.
Twelve teams qualify for the playoffs in both divisions, with league champions being automatic qualifiers.
The Spartans have a bye this week while Mar Vista will tangle with neighborhood rival Southwest in the teams’ annual Battle for the Bell rivalry game. Kick-off is 6:30 p.m. at Mar Vista High School.
Southwest is coming off a 12-6 league loss to San Ysidro last Friday to fall to 4-4 on the season. The Raiders enter Friday’s game on a two-game losing streak, both in league play.
Chula Vista’s remaining two games on its regular season schedule are Oct. 21 at Southwest and Oct. 28 against visiting Castle Park.
San Ysidro 12, Southwest 6
Freshman A.J Logan rushed for 51 yards and scored one touchdown on the ground while returning a punt 70 yards for another score to lead the visiting Cougars (1-1 in league, 3-4 overall).
Senior Angel Garcia had 13 carries for 93 yards in the win.
Sophomore Nery Gomez had 92 rushing yards for the Raiders (0-2, 4-4).
“The goal line stand on their first possession in the second half was the difference in the game,” San Ysidro coach Keith Aguon said. “All 11 defenders did their job on four straight plays, which they had to do in order to stop them from scoring.
“This was a big-time rivalry game, and we feel fortunate to come away with a win, but we’ll definitely take it.”
Titans no longer winless, kick off Metro-Mesa play
The time has arrived and none too soon for the Eastlake Titans, who had endured the stigma of a winless season through the opening six weeks of the 2022 campaign.
But the Titans — armed with an invigorating 21-7 win at Montgomery High School last Friday — are suddenly poised to kick off Metro-Mesa League play this Friday by hosting Bonita Vista High School in the teams’ annual Battle for the Boot rivalry game.
Kick-off is 6:30 p.m. at Eastlake High School.
The teams’ league opener pits the Titans with a 1-6 record and the Barons with a 2-5 record. As in many rivalry series, the records of the teams do not necessarily matter. And this year, that appears to exactly be the case.
Bonita Vista coach Tyler Aricaga has first-hand experience with the teams’ long-time rivalry series.
“As a Baron alum, I’ve played in three of the games that were all highly contested and well attended,” he said. “These games always contain a lot of emotion for both sides and it’s important to both schools.
“We are coming off a tough loss to Olympian, but I feel our kids have rebounded this week at practice and feel the importance of this game. Eastlake is a really solid team that has played a tough schedule. They have a really solid coaching staff and some talented players. I also realize that it’s their homecoming game so I’m sure they’ll be added attendance and emotion as well.”
Eastlake had been outscored 214-81 in its previous six games while playing one of the San Diego Section’s toughest schedules. Throw in some ill-timed injuries and it wasn’t necessarily a pretty sight on the scoreboard at times.
Apple Valley 42, Eastlake 7
Poway 14, Eastlake 6
La Habra 35, Eastlake 28
Granite Hills 38, Eastlake 9
Villa Park 39, Eastlake 3
Oakley Freedom 46, Eastlake 28
But the Titans finally turned the corner with last Friday’s victory against the Aztecs, one of the top-rated teams in Division IV while sporting a five-game winning streak.
But the Titans finally turned the corner with last Friday’s victory against the Aztecs, one of the top-rated teams in Division IV while sporting a five-game winning streak.
The game was close early on with the visitors holding a slim 7-0 halftime lead.
The teams combined for 21 points in the third quarter with Eastlake taking the lead with two touchdowns, including an interception return.
The fourth quarter was scoreless to set up a tense finish between the non-league combatants.
Junior Fabian Gerbella (four carries, 58 yards) and sophomore Nate Rodriguez (four carries, 13 yards) both scored rushing touchdowns for the Titans while senior A.J. Rodriguez scored on a 35-yard pick-six.
Gerbella had two completions for 11 yards at quarterback.
Teams are often measured by their defense and Eastlake didn’t rate too poorly with two interceptions, two sacks and one caused fumble.
Montgomery out-gained Eastlake 220-207 but only crossed the goal line once in the contest when senior receiver Jordan Benton (four catches, 39 yards) scored on a pass from junior quarterback Diego Villanueva (75 passing yards, 29 rushing yards).
Senior Isaac Cervantes rushed 25 times for 116 yards in the loss.
Senior Gideon Baraka led the Aztec defense with eight tackles.
Montgomery was scheduled to kick off Metro-South Bay League Thursday at Olympian (3-4). While favored to win their league, the Aztecs (5-2) will have to wade past three league opponents before anything concrete is decided.
Olympian is coming off a 25-23 non-league win against host Bonita Vista last Friday in which the Eagles racked up 203 rushing yards, including 22 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns by Tristan Anderson.
Sophomore quarterback Kristian Noriega completed seven of 11 passing attempts for 131 yards with touchdowns to Javon Jordan (37 yards) and Jake Marcial (48 yards). Luke Mena had eight tackles and one sack while Jace Watson had six tackles and one sack. Ethan Roberts had six tackles and one interception.
“We were able to establish the run early and stop the run on defense,” Olympian coach Jimmy Clark III said. “That’s always a recipe for success. I am proud of the way our guys battled for four quarters and came up with a huge stop on defense to seal the game.”
In other tune-ups for Friday’s Metro-Mesa League openers, Otay Ranch (3-3) defeated visiting Sweetwater, 42-20, while Mater Dei Catholic (3-4) recorded a 51-0 win at Hilltop.
Junior Tolani Olasifarin led Otay Ranch with five touchdowns — four rushing and one receiving after scoring four touchdowns a week earlier.
Senior Gilbert Garcia (12 carries, 85 yards) and junior Izell Wright (four carries, 18 yards) scored rushing touchdowns for Sweetwater (3-4). Junior Xzavier Crews also scored on a kick-off return.
San Diego Section Football Rankings
(MaxPreps through Oct. 11)
TOP 30 TEAMS
1. Madison (7-0), 2, Lincoln (7-1), 3. Carlsbad (6-1), 4. Cathedral Catholic (3-5), 5, Poway (5-2), 6. Helix (5-2), 7. Granite Hills (5-2), 8. El Camino (5-2), 9. Mater Dei Catholic (3-4), 10. La Costa Canyon (4-3), 11. Mission Hills (4-3), 12. Mira Mesa (5-2), 13. Point Loma (6-1), 14. Ramona (4-3), 15. Torrey Pines (2-5)
16. San Marcos (4-3), 17. St. Augustine (3-4), 18. University City (5-2), 19. Central Union (4-3), 20. Fallbrook (5-2), 21. Del Norte (4-3), 22. Palo Verde Valley (7-1), 23. Mt. Carmel (5-2), 24. Santa Fe Christian (6-1), 25. Imperial (6-1), 26. Otay Ranch (3-3), 27. Christian (3-4), 28. Bishop’s (5-2), 29. La Jolla (5-3), 30. Valley Center (3-4). Others: 31. Eastlake (1-6)
Division I
1. Madison (7-0), 2, Lincoln (7-1), 3. Carlsbad (6-1), 4. Cathedral Catholic (3-5), 5, Poway (5-2), 6. Helix (5-2), 7. El Camino (5-2), 8. Mater Dei Catholic (3-4), 9. La Costa Canyon (4-3), 10. Mission Hills (4-3), 11. Torrey Pines (2-5), 12. St. Augustine (3-4), 13. Eastlake (1-6), 14. Rancho Bernardo (3-4), 15. Steele Canyon (1-6), 16. Scripps Ranch 2-5
Division II
1. Granite Hills (5-2), 2. Mira Mesa (5-2), 3. Ramona (4-3), 4. San Marcos (4-3), 5. Central Union (4-3), 6. Mt. Carmel (5-2), 7. Santa Fe Christian (6-1), 8. Otay Ranch (3-3), 9. Christian (3-4), 10. La Jolla (5-3), 11. Valley Center (3-4), 12. Brawley (5-2), 13. Oceanside (0-7), 14. Grossmont (0-7), 15. San Diego (3-5), 16. Vista (0-7)
Division III
1. Point Loma (6-1), 2. University City (5-2), 3. Del Norte (4-3), 4. Imperial (6-1), 5. Bishoip’s (5-2), 6. Rancho Buena Vista (5-3), 7. San Pasqual (4-3), 8. Morse (5-3), 9. West Hills (5-2), 10. El Capitan (5-2), 11. Patrick Henry (2-40, 12. Santana (3-5), 13. Escondido (3-5), 14. Olympian (3-4), 15, Canyon Hills (1-5), 16. Bonita Vista (2-5), 17. Orange Glen (0-7)
Division IV
1. Fallbrook (5-2), 2. Palo Verde Valley (7-1), 3. Calexico (5-2), 4. Mission Bay (5-2), 5. La Jolla Country Day (5-2), 6. Montgomery (5-2), 7. Coronado (5-2), 8. Mt. Miguel (3-5), 9. Chula Vista (4-4), 10. Sweetwater (3-4), 11. Francis Parker (3-4), 12. Hilltop (3-4), 13. Holtville (3-4), 14. Westview (1-6), 15. Kearny (4-3), 16. Valhalla (0-7), 17. Monte Vista (1-6)
Division V
1. Escondido Charter (6-1), 2. Crawford (6-1), 3. Vincent Memorial (4-2), 4. Classical Academy (6-1), 5. Army-Navy Academy (6-1), 6. El Cajon Valley (3-5), 7. Mar Vista (2-5), 8. Castle Park (2-4), 9. San Ysidro (3-5), 10. Southwest El Centro (1-6), 11. Hoover (3-4), 12. Clairemont (3-5), 13. Mountain Empire (2-5), 14. Southwest (4-4), 15. Maranatha Christian (2-5), 16. Tri-City Christian (1-7), 17, O’Farrell Charter (0-8), 18. Calipatria (0-6)
