After absorbing a deflating 43-0 home field defeat at the hands of the Mira Mesa Marauders the previous week, it might have been time for the ball to take a few fortuitous bounces for the Chula Vista Spartans.
Indeed, the Spartans benefitted from three big plays, in particular, to post a 21-10 non-league victory against the visiting Castle Park Trojans on Friday.
Trailing 7-0 following an improvised 28-yard scoring run by CP quarterback Jordan Danielson, the Spartans tied the score on a fourth-down pass from Mario Cabada to Demitrious Gibbs early in the second quarter.
Chula Vista went for the play despite facing fourth-and-17 and Cabada hit Gibbs on a 28-yard scoring pass into the back corner of the end zone.
With just over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter and trailing by three points, the Spartans scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on a 14-yard run by Chris Alonso.
At first, Alonso appeared stopped by the Trojan defense, but somehow the shifty Spartan running back managed to stay on his feet while being sandwiched by a host of CP defenders and was able to find a hole to escape through to burst untouched into the end zone.
Chula Vista’s third touchdown of the game was easily the most dramatic — and controversial — as Gibbs went up with a Trojan defender near the corner pylon. Gibbs came down with the ball and needed some brief medical attention after hitting the ground hard.
The question on everyone’s mind was did Gibbs catch the ball in-bounds and, if he did, did he actually make it into the end zone?
Video replays certainly add spice to the bang-bang nature of the play. But, in the end, the on-site official ruled Gibbs’ catch a touchdown, and that’s what counted.
21-10 Spartans.
The win by CVHS snapped a two-game losing streak while the Trojans’ three-game winning streak came to an end.
In all fairness, Castle Park should have come away with more points in the game and, with a few better bounces, might have even spirited away a win.
Consider this:
The Trojans had the ball first-and-goal at the 10-yard line in the aftermath of a poor snap on an attempted punt by the hosts. However, the visitors were unable to come away with any points as the Spartan defense clamped down.
Castle Park did come back with some points, however, when Danielson booted a 29-yard field goal with six seconds left in the half to enable the Trojans to take a 10-7 lead at halftime. Danielson’s field goal was set up by a long pass grab by receiver Adrian Tolbert with 31 seconds left in the half.
The Trojan trey came after Chula Vista had missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.
With 10:49 to play in the fourth quarter, Danielson missed a 38-yard field goal attempt. Previously, it appeared that he had hit a receiver in the end zone for a touchdown, but the receiver dropped the ball.
Gibbs scored his second TD of the game on the ensuing change of possession and the momentum remained on the Spartans’ side the rest of the game.
The inability to chalk up points on two incursions inside the red zone ultimately proved costly for the Trojans, who fell to 3-2 on the season.
The Spartans, who improved to 2-4 on the season, triumphed despite having two of their top players sidelined on crutches. Both Jaylon Candler and Greg Fernandez were injured in last week’s loss to Mira Mesa.
CV rookie coach Drew Westling called the win over west side rival Castle Park a “competitive, stressful game.”
“This was another tough opponent where we were fortunate to come away with a win,” Westling said.
“I’m very excited and proud of our guys for fighting hard. I think we found our identity today. I’m very proud of quarterback Mario Cabada. We pulled him in the last game to give another guy a chance and he came back from adversity to lead us to victory. I’m very, very proud of all our guys.”
“We played as a team, we came through with a big win and got some momentum for the coming week,” Gibbs said.
Westling said his team is looking ahead to a “new” season.
Chula Vista kicks off Metro-Mesa League play next Friday (Oct. 10) against the Bonita Vista Barons in a 7 p.m. game at Southwestern College. The Barons dropped to 1-4 on the season following a 42-0 non-league loss at Helix on Friday.
Castle Park returns to play next Friday with a key non-league road match-up at Mater Dei Catholic. The Crusader dropped to 2-3 on the season after a 38-21 setback at Bishop’s on Friday.
The CP-MDC match-up will have seeding ramifications for post-season play as both teams are in the same Division IV competition tier.
Orange Glen currently leads the division with a 6-0 record while Bishop’s, the higher-ranked team, is 5-0.
Castle Park, University City and Horizon Christian all sport 3-2 records while Coronado is 3-3. Four teams follow with 2-3 records; Central Union, Mater Dei Catholic, Southwest El Centro and El Cajon Valley. San Ysidro and Clairemont are both 2-4.
San Ysidro posted a 35-16 non-league win over visiting Crawford on Friday while Clairemont shut out visiting Southwest 48-0.
For more details, pick up Friday’s (Oct. 10) print edition of The Star-News
Prep Scoreboard
Non-League
Friday, Oct. 3
Chula Vista 21, Castle Park 10
Otay Ranch 44, Hilltop 13
Sweetwater 49, Calexico 0
San Ysidro 35, Crawford 16
Lutheran 38, Foothills Christian 22
Cathedral Catholic 17, Eastlake 14
Hoover 36, Olympian 7
Helix 42, Bonita Vista 0
Santana 35, Mar Vista 21
Bishop’s 38, Mater Dei Catholic 21
Clairemont 48, Southwest 0
