The Chula Vista Kiwanis Bowl annually pits west side rivals Chula Vista High School and Hilltop High School in a marquee football showcase. Though the COVID-19 pandemic and Spring Break combined to limit the attendance at last Friday’s game at Chula Vista High School, the Spartans and Lancers combined to score 63 points to thrill the fans who were on hand.
Chula Vista won, 42-21, to snap a five-game winning streak in the series by Hilltop.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Spartan head coach Howard Bannister III said. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve lost to Hilltop three years. I have nothing but respect for Bryan Wagner and his coaching staff at Hilltop. We hope to run it back-to-back in the fall.”
It’s tradition for each team to select an offensive and defensive most valuable player.
Chula Vista receiver Nick Organ earned recognition as the Spartans’ offensive MVP in last Friday’s 19th annual Kiwanis Bowl game. Photo by Phillip Brents
Junior Raymond Cruz earned the Spartans’ defensive MVP honors after recording 18 tackles and one sack while senior teammate Nick Organ was named the team’s offensive MVP after making five catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
Wagner, coaching his first season at his alma mater, selected senior quarterback Jacob Zimmermann as the team’s offensive MVP and senior lineman/punter Michael Rodriguez as the team’s defensive MVP.
Zimmermann completed 17 of 27 passing attempts for 158 yards with one touchdown and one interception while also rushing 20 times for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
Rodriguez collected four tackles while punting three times for 81 yards.
“We had a couple of bad turnovers down in our zone that hurt us,” Wagner said. “We have a lot of guys playing both ways and got tired late in the game. They out-played us.”
The Lancers tied the game early on 7-7 and 14-14 on a seven-yard quarterback run by Zimmermann and a 29-yard pass from Zimmermann to junior Enrique Nunez in the corner of the end zone.
But the hosts scored twice more before the end of the first half to lead 28-14.
CV senior QB Omar Perez passed to senior Aaron Hernandez alone at the back of the end zone with 8:08 to play in the second quarter and then hit Organ for a 27-yard strike with 55 seconds left in the first half.
Perez passed for 266 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for a three-yard score. Senior Karlos Jimenez (four catches, 91 yards) also caught a touchdown while junior Anthony Venegas scored on a one-yard run.
Defensively, the Spartans recorded five sacks (two by Jimenez and one each by Cruz, freshmen Nathan Houck and Santiago Macias), one interception (by Arbahl Saucedo-Franco) and one fumble recovery (by Houck).
Junior Daniel Montes, who finished 6-for-6 in extra-point conversions, earned recognition as the Spartans’ special teams player of the game.
Standouts for Hilltop included Nunez, who had two kick-off returns for 59 yards, along with sophomore Joshua Bernardo (11 carries, 53 yards) and senior Dominic Metzig (nine carries, 45 yards). Mason Morris had 10 catches for 78 yards.
Junior Liam Dougherty had one interception while sophomore Sebastian Calara (eight carries, 38 yards) had one fumble recovery. Junior Aaron Hood and senior Alan Flores shared a sack.
Zimmermann led Hilltop with 233 total offensive yards (158 passing, 75 rushing) while Nunez topped the team with 88 all-purpose yards (29 receiving, 59 on kick returns).
The win was the first on the season for Chula Vista (1-2) while Hilltop (0-2) remained winless.
The teams continue Metro-South Bay League play this Friday as Hilltop hosts Bonita Vista (0-2) and Chula Vista travels to Montgomery (2-1).
The Spartans lead the Kiwanis Bowl series 11-8.
Chula Vista High School now leads the 19-game Chula Vista Kiwanis Bowl series 11-8. Photo by Phillip Brents
Montgomery 42, Bonita Vista 0
The Aztecs made their debut in the Metro-South Bay League a winning one after recording the shutout victory against the Barons in a game played last Friday at Hilltop High School.
Senior Jaheem Williams (eight carries, 106 yards) scored three touchdowns while senior Xander Dixie (five catches, 90 yards) caught two scoring passes. Senior Isiah King caught an eight-yard touchdown pass.
Williams accumulated 165 all-purpose yards, including 31 receiving yards and 28 yards on punt returns. His longest run in the game went for 54 yards.
Junior Nathan Roble-Cristobal completed three of four passing attempts for 49 yards with two touchdowns while junior Ansel Flanagan completed nine of 14 passing attempts for 113 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Senior Daniel Sandoval paced the Aztec defense with nine tackles while senior Ben Larsen collected seven stops. Sandoval and Larsen both had sacks as did sophomore Victor Flores.
Flores also had a 46-yard interception return. Sophomore Francisco Rodriguez was successful on all six extra-point attempts.
