The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders seemed to have an offensive powerhouse in the making with senior running back Aiden Calvert and junior quarterback Trevor Appelman in the back field.

So what happened in last Friday’s season opener?

The Mater Dei Catholic defense rose to the occasion.

The Crusader defense played aggressively all game long and it proved timely until the team’s offense finally found a power surge in the second half.

The combined one-two punch resulted in a 32-6 non-league win over the visiting El Capitan Vaqueros.

“The defense was amazing and special teams for us killed the game,” Mater Dei Catholic head coach John Joyner said. “Our offense found ways to score in the second half.”

The Crusaders appeared to have the early momentum in the game but suffered a setback when a long touchdown run by Calvert was called back due to a penalty.

After that, El Capitan seized the momentum and carried it the rest of the first half. It was primarily due to an inspired effort by the MDC defense that the first half ended in a scoreless draw.

The Vaqueros moved the ball to the Crusader one-yard line with 31 seconds to play before halftime but fumbled on fourth down.

Otherwise, the El Capitan offense was pinned deep in its own territory by the Mater Dei kicking game.

“Any time you can have a kicker put the ball in the end zone is great … you don’t see that too much in a high school game,” Joyner said.

The defenses of both teams were flying to make stops all night. Photo by Phillip Brents

The Crusader defense recorded a blocked punt in the first half and hounded El Cap senior signal-caller Wick Hauser all game long, forcing numerous punts to the Mater Dei offense.

The Crusaders finally figured out what to do with the ball in the second half, and the floodgates opened.

After forcing a punt, Mater Dei Catholic scored on its first offensive play of the third quarter, a 57-yard pass from Appelman to junior Raymond Romero.

The Crusaders were back in the end zone on their next offensive possession after taking over on downs at the El Capitan 16-yard line following a failed punt.

Appelman again found Romero for the clutch catch, this time from 11 yards out.

The Vaqueros finally got their offense untracked on their best drive of the second half when senior tight end Sean Dickson caught a one-yard pass from Hauser in the end zone to make the score 13-6.

But the Lakeside visitors could get no closer on the scoreboard. The game ended with 19 consecutive points scored by the hosts.

Jesse Campbell made two consecutive plays to quickly give the Crusaders some much-needed breathing room. After a long catch set up his team at the 10-yard line, he did the rest by leaping over a Vaquero defender to grab a touchdown pass.

The conversion point failed but the Crusaders led 19-6.

Appelman would finish the third quarter with four touchdown passes and 200 passing yards after hitting Calvert on a 14-yard scoring pass. Mater Dei Catholic had started at the El Cap 19-yard line following a bad snap on a punt by the visitors.

The Crusaders scored 26 points in the third quarter after being held to none in the first half.

Mater Dei Catholic scored its final touchdown with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter on a 20-yard run by Calvert.

Appelman completed 13 of 25 attempts and finished the game with 268 passing yards and four touchdowns.

Romero have five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns while Campbell had three catches for 88 yards and one score.

Calvert finished the game with two touchdowns. He rushed 11 times for 70 yards and one touchdown and had one reception for 14 yards and one touchdown.

Hauser finished the game with 150 passing yards but was beset all game long by a ferocious pass rush from the Crusaders.

Mater Dei Catholic will put its 1-0 record on the line when it travels to take on a likewise undefeated Grossmont Foothillers team this Friday at 7 p.m.

Grossmont, which had both its offense and defense running in high gear from the onset, defeated visiting Mira Mesa, 43-14, in last Friday’s season opener.

Foothiller senior Jamie Odom passed for 288 yards and four touchdowns while the Grossmont defense recorded one interception and a fumble recovery.

El Capitan hosts Hilltop (1-0) this Friday.

Titans stymied in season opener

The Eastlake High School football team will open the season 0-1 after dropping a hard-fought 17-6 non-league decision at Steele Canyon last Friday.

The visiting Titans scored first in the match-up pitting upper tier teams in the San Diego Section on a one-yard run by Jordan Swan. The play was set up by a 67-yard pass from Adriel Colmenero to Holden Stephens.

But the Cougars responded with 17 unanswered points to earn the victory.

Chris Carter returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards to set up teammate Wes Neely’s 12-yard touchdown run and the go-ahead extra-point conversion.

Eastlake looked to quickly match that as Mateo La broke loose for a 70-yard gain to the Steele Canyon three-yard line. But the Titans suffered an inopportune fumble to end the potential go-ahead scoring drive.

The visitors later recovered a fumble at the Cougar 40-yard line but could not take advantage of the opportunity.

Steele Canyon finally managed to break away when Jeremy Mendez-Gal passed 10 yards to Antoine Walker and David Martinez later kicked a 24-yard field goal.

EHS head coach John McFadden credited the Cougars’ stout defense for taking away chances when his team had the ball.

Junior Akintunde had two fumble recoveries for the hosts — one that killed a Titan scoring opportunity and another that set up the final field goal — while Chance Johnson had one interception.

Maximus Susi had one fumble recovery for Eastlake, which hosts second-ranked St. Augustine (1-0) this Friday in another key non-league game.

In other games last Friday:

Olympian 28, Ramona 14
Anthony Gilpin Jr. had seven pass receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yarder, and also made an interception and sack on defense to help the visiting Eagles present new head coach Ryan Van Nostrand with his first victory.

“The win on Friday was big as it set the tone and the momentum for our program this season,” Van Nostrand said. “I feel incredibly thankful to have such a great and supportive coaching staff. They put together a great game plan and our kids executed it. I’m proud of the way our kids played. They proved to be resilient and tough on each play. In the end, they were the harder-working team play-in and play-out, which led us to victory. It’s rewarding to see all their hard work come to fruition with our first win. We will continue to work hard and improve each week as we move through the season.”

Quarterback Lukas Hamilton completed 15 of 28 passes for 221 yards while Alijah Robinson rushed 10 times for 53 yards and scored two touchdowns. Olympian rushed 34 times for 218 yards. Greg Hawkins gained 75 yards on 14 carries and scored one touchdown.

 

Otay Ranch 28, San Marcos 24
The host Mustangs overcame a 14-point third quarter deficit to post the inspirational comeback victory. “I was very pleased with how my team came together and overcame a 21-7 third quarter deficit to achieve victory against a very competitive San Marcos team,” Otay Ranch head coach Lance Christensen said.

Ethan Knight saw action during the game at running back, receiver, quarterback, linebacker, kick returner and punt returner. He had 269 all-purpose yards with two touchdowns — one on offense and the game-winning score on a kick return. He also had three tackles, three assists and one sack on defense.

Middle linebacker Aiden Arguilla was credited with 10 tackles, including two for a loss, and four assists. Senior free safety/receiver Paul Richardson caught one touchdown pass and made a game-saving interception in the fourth quarter.

Otay Ranch racked up five sacks in the game: one each by seniors Jaiden Smith, Albert Medina, Matt Baiza, Jorge Perez and Knight. Medina and Richardson each had one pick while Smith had one fumble recovery. Senior Owen Oswald caused one fumble.

 

Hilltop 45, Escondido 42

The visiting Lancers piled up 528 yards in offense but it took a sack by Isaac Valdespino in the waning seconds to preserve the win. Quarterback Javin Deanda threw for 411 yards and four touchdowns while Marko Aki had 13 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns (65 and 37 yards). Lai Zumstein had six catches for 101 yards and one touchdown while Jeremiah Serrano rushed 26 times for 75 yards and caught three passes for 54 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown.

Serrano scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run with 3:00 to play. It was his second TD run and third score of the game. Andrik Haros kicked field goals of 29 and 25 yards to further boost Hilltop. Tony Candelaria had an interception on defense. “Great to win a close game against a championship-caliber team on the road,” Hilltop coach Andrew Westling remarked.

 

Castle Park 38, O’Farrell Charter 8
Chris Livesay picked up his first win as head coach as Chris Wright rushed for 65 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns and Xavier Alvarado (three carries, 27 yards) and Ramon Cabal (one carry, eight yards) both scored rushing touchdowns. The Trojans rushed 38 times for 197 yards and tacked on 43 passing yards in grounding the second-year Falcons.

Erik Hernandez added 46 rushing yards on three carries and totaled 78 yards on kick returns while Kamea Luna had 45 yards on nine carries. Jose Castro had one catch for 28 yards. Oscar Sandoval had two sacks on defense while Nicolas Magana contributed eight kicking points.

 

Montgomery 33, Hoover 0

The host Aztecs rushed for 172 yards and four touchdowns and added 160 yards through the air and one touchdown to dominate the Cardinals. Christian Venegas (nine carries, 31 yards) rushed for three touchdowns while Xavier Brown (five carries, 37 yards) scored one rushing touchdown. Alexander Dixie completed seven of 13 passing attempts with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Ben Larsen.

Dixie led Montgomery with 57 rushing yards on 10 carries while Daniel Ortiz gained 35 yards on five carries. Zach Pearson had one catch for 62 yards while Isiah King had four catches for 68 yards.

Venegas led the team defensively with 10 tackles while Larsen had eight stops. Venegas and Juan Estrada both recorded one sack while Alex Flores and Adrian Briseno both had one interception.

 

Mar Vista 19, Classical Academy 18

The host Mariners passed for just 15 yards but regrouped in the rushing game (36 carries, 271 yards) and on defense (four interceptions) to eke out the non-league win. “Despite the inexperience, the kids showed they had grit,” MV head coach Tyler Arciaga said. “We were down 12-0 in the second quarter and at the end of the half, Isaac Maldonado sparked the momentum for 19 unanswered points by returning a blocked punt for a touchdown. He also had a touchdown carry and an interception. Jo’Vahn Young rushed for 94 yards and Elias Gomez rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown.

“Our defense showed a lot of heart stopping the Caimans on three two-point conversions, which ultimately decided the game. Our defense was highlighted by our defensive line, led by Paul Fieweger, who had five sacks and put constant pressure on the quarterback. We had some significant injuries in the past two weeks and a lot of guys stepped up to play this game and will need to continue to do so in the near future. We have a tough road trip going up to Santa Ana Valley High School this weekend, so it will be another test for our young team to see how they can handle a true road trip.”

 

La Jolla Country Day 40, Chula Vista 20
The visiting Spartans racked up some credible numbers on offense: quarterback Omar Perez passed for 311 yards and two touchdowns while adding 97 rushing yards for 408 total yards. But defensively, the visitors did not fare as well as LJCD quarterback E.J. Kreitzmann passed for 386 yards and four touchdowns and the Torreys amassed 493 total yards in offense.

“Their quarterback had pin-point accuracy,” CVHS coach Howard Bannister III said. “We had to play catch-up.”

Perez completed 20 of 37 attempts and logged three interceptions to offset the two touchdown passes. Transfer Martin Jellison led the Spartan rushing attack with eight carries for 54 yards while Perez gained 17 yards on seven carries. Karlos Jimenez had seven carries for 26 yards.

Dylan Sallee had five catches for 125 yards and one touchdown while Alex Guzman had seven catches for 98 yards. Carlos Serratos had four catches for 46 yards while Jimenez had two catches for 38 yards. Jellison caught a two-yard pass for a touchdown in his CV debut.

Defensively, Raymond Cruz had one sack and one interception while Nick Ogan recorded a fumble recovery.

Kreutzmann threw touchdown passes to four different receivers while rushing for a score. Nicholas Albert led the LJCD receiving corps with 93 yards on seven catches while Daniel Rosenberg had 75 yards on five catches.

The Torreys excelled on defense as senior Zach Allgood made 20 tackles and senior Brett Grainger had two interceptions. The hosts logged three picks, one sack, one fumble recovery and five tackles for a loss in recording the non-league win.

“They were a better team than when we played them last year (a 27-14 Chula Vista victory),” Bannister said.

 

Mission Bay 20, San Ysidro 14
The host Cougars held the lead until the last play of the game when an errant snap on a punt resulted in the game-winning touchdown on a fumble recovery in the end zone by the Bucs.

The game started on an emotional note when San Ysidro players presented Mission Bay players with a banner honoring their resiliency following the death of head coach Dane Roman at the start of the season.

Josue Juarez led the Cougars with 115 rushing yards on 16 carries. Mathew Jaime gained 23 yards on five carries and scored one touchdown; he also kicked a pair of field goals and made a two-point conversion run.

The San Ysidro defense was stellar by collecing a school record 10 sacks, including two each by Makai Jackson, Philix Kilbourne, Jason Martinez and Hector Lopez. Jackson and Juarez both recorded fumble recoveries while Jesse Hernandez made one interception.

 

San Pasqual 42, Sweetwater 0
The Red Devils were forced to move their non-league game against the Golden Eagles to Hilltop High School after the National City school’s football field was deemed unsafe due to excessive wear and tear in its turf playing field.

“The football field has been deemed ‘unsafe,’ so they have to move all of our home games until the repairs can be made,” Sweetwater head coach Bryan Wagner said. “At this time, it looks like we will not have any home games at all. They are working on finding sites for the games.”

The Devils (0-1) will play again at Hilltop High School this Friday when they host Fallbrook in a non-league encounter. The Warriors lost, 44-0, last Friday at Del Norte in their season opener.

Sweetwater will be out to produce a better showing in its second outing of the season after collecting 106 rushing yards and 63 passing yards in the non-league loss to San Pasqual.

Red Devil leaders included Mario Villa’s 89 rushing yards on 13 carries and Isaiah Atayde’s 63 passing yards (six completions in 17 attempts).

The Golden Eagles scored 21 points in both halves to record the win.

“Take-aways form the San Pasqual game are that we need to do our individual jobs better in order to make things work as a team,” Wagner said. “If we clean up a few things, we should do much better on both sides of the ball.”

 

St. Augustine 37, Bonita Vista 7
Chula Vistans Angelo Paraza and Richard Colmenero III combined for 97 passing yards as the Saints cruised past the Barons in a non-league game at Mesa College. Peraza, the starter in last year’s CIF Division I championship game victory against Helix, completed six of nine passing attempts for 86 yard with two touchdowns while Colmenero, a transfer from Eastlake High School, completed two of seven passing attempts for 11 yards. Colmenero also rushed once for seven yards.

Byron Cardwell led St. Augustine with 158 rushing yards on 13 carries, scoring twice. Samuel Scaife IV (three catches, 69 yards) and Christian Scott (two catches, 20 yards) both recorded touchdown receptions.

The Saints recorded four sacks and two fumble recoveries on defense. William Houston II led the hosts with two sacks while Eavan Gibbons and Connor Heffler both had one interception.

St. Augustine led 34-0 at halftime. The Barons scored their lone touchdown in the final quarter.

 

Friday Night Lights
Friday, Aug. 23
Non-League
Steele Canyon 17, Eastlake 6
San Pasqual 42, Sweetwater 0
La Jolla Country Day 40, Chula Vista 20
St. Augustine 37, Bonita Vista 7
Mission Bay 20, San Ysidro 14
Olympian 28, Ramona 14
Otay Ranch 28, San Marcos 24
Hilltop 45, Escondido 42
Castle Park 38, O’Farrell 8
Montgomery 33, Hoover 0
Mater Dei Catholic 32, El Capitan 6
Mar Vista 19, Classical Academy 18
Southwest (bye)

Friday, Aug. 30
Non-league
All games 7 p.m.
St. Augustine at Eastlake
Mount Miguel at Chula Vista
Bonita Vista at San Ysidro
Sweetwater vs. Fallbrook at Hilltop
Poway at Olympian
California Military Institute at Montgomery
Hilltop at El Capitan
Mater Dei Catholic at Grossmont
Castle Park at Mountain Empire
Otay Ranch at Valley Center
Southwest at Vincent Memorial