San Ysidro posts first win of football season by piling up 49 points

The Metro Conference realigned its three high school football leagues this season to promote competitiveness. As it’s turned out, district officials couldn’t have spread the teams out in a more balanced arrangement.

The Metro-Mesa League looks to be as competitive as it’s ever been with a state bowl champion and a state bowl runner-up in the mix of five teams.

There doesn’t appear to be a clear favorite in the Metro-South Bay League where Hilltop, Chula Vista, Mar Vista and Sweetwater are set to do battle on the gridiron.

But the Metro-Pacific League appears perhaps to be the most interesting of all. Southwest is 2-3. Montgomery and San Ysidro are both 1-4 and defending champion Castle Park is 0-4.

Could there be a changing of the guard?

“I’m excited for what’s upcoming,” San Ysidro head coach Bobby Hatchett explained after his team picked up its first victory of the season Friday with a 49-6 non-league decision over the Lutheran Knights at Hilltop High School.

“I’m very excited about league play. We got a taste of who our competition was last season. I think we’ve taken steps to be the team we want to be. I think we will be competitive in league.”

The win was Hatchett’s first as head coach at San Ysidro after going 0-9 last year. He was showered with an ice bath as the seconds ticked down in Friday’s game.

The Cougars led 28-0 at halftime and instituted a running clock after they scored their seventh touchdown inside two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Daishawn Lee, a transfer from Michigan, scored the opening three touchdowns to stake the Cougars to an early 21-0 lead. Jazz Gill also scored three TDs for the visitors while Angel Meza rounded out the scoring on a 21-yard run around end in the dying minutes of the game. The Cougars also recorded a two-point saftey when the ball was kicked out of the end zone by Lutheran.

Gill scored on a 41-yard reverse on his first touchdown and dragged tacklers into the endnzone on his second TD, an eight-yard run in the third quarter.

San Ysidro entered the game averaging 18 points per game prior to Friday’s 49-point explosion.

Lutheran quarterback Christian Dufresne entered the game averaging 191 passing yards per game but was hurried throughout the game by a persistent pass rush, resulting in many more incompletions than completions. He completed  12 of 30 passes for 101 yards. The Knights’ lone touchdown of the game came late in the first half. Tyler Pinuelas, playing defense, nabbed a pitch by the San Ysidro quarterback in mid-air and was tackled virtually on the goal line, allowing Dufresne to carry the ball into the end zone on the next play.

Lutheran (1-3) was coming off a spirited 40-28 win two weeks ago against Riverside Sherman Indian. However, the Knights’ depth was overwhelmed by the visitors’ more numerically sizable bench. The hosts had just five subs available on the sideline.

The win was important for another reason as both teams are competing in the same Division V playoff tier.

Hatchett said his team needs to duplicate the effort and apply it to future games.

“We played two quarters in our previous two games but could not end the game by playing four quarters,” the SYHS head coach explained. “We were able to do that tonight.”

 The Cougars hope to make that a formula for success the remainder of the season.

In another game Friday:

Otay Ranch 33, Steele Canyon 14
Cristian Zamudio passed for 106 yards and three touchdowns to help guide the Mustangs (1-4) to their first victory of the season in a non-league match-up against the host Cougars (2-3). Fenuki Kauvaka and Gus Espiritu both scored rushing touchdowns in the win while Devin Lloyd (one catch, 13 yards), Faufano Autele (two catches, 12 yards) and Josh Lira (two catches, 73 yards) each caught touchdown passes. Lira’s TD reception went for 63 yards.

Otay Ranch’s defense made a stellar contribution as well with three interceptions — one each by Lloyd, Andrew Page and Darian Williams.

Game of the Week preview
No. 9 Crusaders crush La Jolla 48-7, No. 4 Grizzlies next up

The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders have shown they can put up points this season — and in bunches. The Crusaders stormed back from their first loss of the season in Los Angeles — 51-42 to the Hawkins Hawks — by trouncing host La Jolla, 48-7, on Friday, Sept. 23.

The visitors put some separation between themselves and the hosts by scoring four touchdowns in the opening quarter. C.J. Verdell rushed for three of them while quarterback Chris Jones passed for another. Jones passed for two touchdowns in the second quarter — both to Elias Eribez — to increase the Crusader lead to 42-0.

Jones then pushed the MDCHS lead to 48-0 by scoring on a seven-yard run in the third quarter. The Mater Dei Catholic defense came away with two picks in the win over the Vikings (1-4).

Jones passed for three touchdowns in the game while rushing for another. Verdell rushed for scores of 20, 21 and 49 yards.

The Crusaders (3-1) hold down the No. 9 ranking among San Diego Section teams and will host No. 4 Mission Hills (4-0) this Friday, Sept. 30, with a chance to move up the weekly San Diego Sportswriters/Sportscasters poll with a victory.

The St. Augustine Saints, coming off a 26-14 non-league win at Eastlake last Friday, remain the section’s No. 1 team with a spotless 5-0 record, followed by No. 2 Cathedral Catholic (5-0) and No. 3 Rancho Bernardo (5-0). Helix (2-2) is ranked fifth, followed by No. 6 Madison (3-1), No. 7 Oceanside (4-1) and No. 8 Poway (5-0). Grossmont (4-0) and Valhalla (4-0) are both tied for the No. 10 spot.

Mission Hills is coming off a 42-25 non-league victory over previously undefeated Oceanside.

Other teams pushing for top 10-ranking recognition include Bishop’s (4-0), La Cost Canyon (3-2) and San Marcos (3-2).
St. Augustine quarterback Rodney Thompson passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another in the win over Eastlake. Isaac Taylor-Stuart led the Saints on the ground with 155 yards on 19 carries and also scored once.

EHS quarterback Josh Montoya made the score 20-7 when he hit receiver Jayln Jackson on a 48-yard TD strike; the Titans then closed to within 20-14 on the scoreboard when Montoya threw a lateral pass to Jae Vitin for a 20-yard touchdown.
Taylor-Stuart then struck for what proved to be a key insurance touchdown shortly after that.

In another game on Friday (Sept. 16):

Southwest 48, Mountain Empire 3
The host Raiders rushed for more than 300 yards in routing the visiting Red Hawks. Joshua Sanchez scored three of his team’s four first-half touchdowns and finished with five TDs on the night.

Zaire Simpson, Leonard Hoar and quarterback David Espinosa also scored touchdowns to lead the Raiders (2-3). Mountain Empire fell to 1-3.

Prep Scoreboard
Saturday, Sept. 23
Non-League

San Ysidro 49, Lutheran 6
Clairemont 14, Montgomery 13
Point Loma 27, Olympian 24 (OT)
St. Augustine 26, Eastlake 14
Otay Ranch 33, Steele Canyon 14
Mater Dei Catholic 48, La Jolla 7
El Capitan 33, Chula Vista 13
Scripps Ranch 41, Sweetwater 27
El Toro (Lake Forest) 49, Hilltop 12
Southwest 48, Mountain Empire 3
Mar Vista (bye)
Castle Park (bye)
Bonita Vista (bye)

EIGHT MAN
Julian 38, Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 0

Friday, Sept. 30
Non-League

Sweetwater at Serra, 6:30 p.m.
Mission Hills at Mater Dei Catholic, 7 p.m.
Eastlake at Chula Vista, 7 p.m.
San Pasqual at Castle Park, 7 p.m.
Escondido at Hilltop, 7 p.m.
Linoln at Otay Ranch, 7 p.m.
Orange Glen at Montgomery, 7 p.m.
Bonita Vista at Helix, 7 p.m.
Murrieta Mesa at San Ysidro, 7 p.m.
Mar Vista at Santana, 7 p.m.
Olympian at Grossmont, 7 p.m.
Southwest at Calexico, 7 p.m

EIGHT MAN
Ocean View Christian Academy at San Pasqual Academy, 3:30 p.m.

Metro Conference Standings
Metro-Mesa League

Mater Dei Catholic 0-0, 3-1
Olympian Eagles 0-0, 3-2
Eastlake 0-0, 1-4
Otay Ranch 0-0, 1-4
Bonita Vista 0-0, 0-4


Metro-South Bay League

Mar Vista Mariners 0-0, 3-1
Hilltop Lancers 0-0, 3-2
Chula Vista Spartans 0-0, 3-2
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-0, 0-4

Metro-Pacific League
Southwest Raiders 0-0, 2-3
Montgomery Aztecs 0-0, 1-4
San Ysidro Cougars 0-0, 1-4
Castle Park Trojans 0-0, 0-4

Metro Conference/
South County Playoff Tracker

Division I
Eastlake 1-4

Division II
Mater Dei Catholic 3-1
Olympian 3-2
Otay Ranch 1-4
Bonita Vista 0-4

Division III
Hilltop 3-2
Chula Vista 3-2
Sweetwater 0-4

Division IV

Mar Vista 3-1
Castle Park 0-4

Division V
Southwest 2-3
Montgomery 1-4
Lutheran 1-3
San Ysidro 1-4

Eight-Man
Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 1-4
Ocean View Christian Academy 0-3