There was a fair degree of upsets throughout Friday’s (Nov. 17) quarterfinal round of the San Diego Section football playoffs, though all three higher-seeded Metro Conference teams prevailed.
Second-seeded Eastlake defeated seventh-seeded Rancho Bernardo, 21-16, in a Division I matchup while fourth-seeded Otay Ranch routed fifth-seeded Lincoln, 49-26, in a Division II game that had to raise its share of eyebrows.
Hilltop, seeded fourth in the Division III field, slipped past the fifth-seeded Imperial Tigers, 36-35, in a contest that went down to the wire.
In other games involving South County teams, fifth-seeded Chula Vista was unable to hold onto a second-half lead in dropping a heart-breaking 29-28 overtime decision at fourth-seeded Monte Vista in a Division IV encounter while eighth-seeded Olympian saw its season end following a 29-21 loss at top-seeded El Camino in a Division I matchup.
Division I
Eastlake pounced on Rancho Bernardo for a 21-9 halftime lead and allowed the visitors just one touchdown in the second half to record the win. The Titans (9-2) will host third-seeded Carlsbad (6-5) in next Friday’s semifinals (Nov. 24) after the Lancers eliminated sixth-seeded Cathedral Catholic, 38-28, Friday.
“We played a very good Rancho Bernardo team that never gave up,” EHS head coach Dean Tropp said. “We executed when we needed to, that gave us the victory. Our kids played hard and never gave up.”
Quarterback Daniel Amon connected with receiver Jalyn Jackson on a 40-yard scoring pass to stake Eastlake to a 7-0 lead. The visitors closed the gap to 7-6 on a one-yard touchdown run by Jack Gaylord. But the hosts would score twice more in the first half to seize momentum in the game.
Rayshawn Parks-Price made the score 21-9 in the Titans’ favor after returning an intercepted pass 57 yards for a touchdown.
Eastlake’s defense sealed the win when RB quarterback Noah Morris was unable to advance the ball on a fourth-down play with 20 seconds to play in the game in search of a potential game-winning touchdown for the Broncos (6-6).
The playoff win was the first for Eastlake since 2013. The Titans remain undefeated at home this season with a 5-0 record.
Rancho Bernardo out-gained Eastlake 277-267 in total yards. The Titans rushed for 173 yards, led by Roman Coe (13 carries, 84 yards) and Parker Merrifield (17 carries, 79 yards, one touchdown).
Amon completed nine of 12 passing attempts for 94 yards. Jackson had two catches for 60 yards.
Morris completed 18 of 35 attempts for 162 passing yards with one touchdown (eight yards to Angelo Ducksworth). Gaylord paced RB on the ground with 86 rushing yards on 21 carries and one touchdown.
Matt Araiza finished the game with a field goal and two extra-point conversions in the loss.
Eastlake’s Josh McCurty led all players on the field with 22 tackles, including 14 solo stops. Richard Corpus had one sack while Jalen Graham had one fumble recovery.
A.J. Hernandez had two caused fumbles and three pass deflections.
Olympian’s Isaiah Williams ripped off an 80-yard touchdown run to get the visiting Eagles going in their matchup against the top-seeded Wildcats. Quarterback Nico Mendoza threw a touchdown pass to match El Camino’s second touchdown.
Rashaun Brown later scored on a seven-yard catch to boost Olympian (6-6) to a 21-17 lead through three quarters.
The lead could have been more as the visitors fumbled after a long running play deep into Wildcat territory.
But the final quarter belonged to El Camino (6-5) as the hosts scored two touchdowns to prevail and advance to meet cross-town rival Oceanside — 51-35 upset winners at fourth-seeded Point Loma — in next Friday’s division semifinals.
Eagles head coach Paul Van Nostrand summed up the game in one sentence: “A tough loss of a very winnable game.”
Division II
The reigning Metro-Mesa League champion Mustangs captured their sixth consecutive win by stinging the visiting Hornets. Otay Ranch beat Lincoln by playing the Hornets’ own game — piling up points.
Sammy Paranada rushed for a game-high three touchdowns while teammate Gus Espititu rushed for two touchdowns to lead the Mustangs.
Otay Ranch took a 21-12 halftime lead when signal-caller Puka Stewart connected with Zeek Cruz on a 31-yard touchdown pass.
Kenyon Sims led Lincoln (9-3) with 124 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
The Mustangs (8-3) advance to take on top-seeded Ramona (11-0) in next Friday’s semifinals.
Stewart completed five of six passing attempts for 105 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Otay Ranch otherwise played to its strength: rushing the football.
The Mustangs racked up 314 yards via the ground game, with Paranada collecting 133 yards and 17 carries and Espiritu running nine times for 111 yards.
Alfredo Garcia rushed twice for 10 yards, scoring one touchdown. He also had one catch for 36 yards.
Defensively, Nathan Castro had one interception while Darrian Williams blocked a kick.
Kristian Salazar finished the game with seven successful extra-point kick conversions.
Espiritu leads Otay Ranch with 982 rushing yards while Paranada leads the team with 16 touchdowns.
Stewart has passed for 990 yards with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. He has a 121.7 quarterback efficiency rating.
Division III
Jeremiah Rivera scored on a four-yard touchdown run in the final minute of play to bring the Lancers to within a point of the Tigers on the scoreboard at 35-34. Noe Sanchez then scored the decisive points on a two-point conversion run to put Hilltop up by a point, 36-35.
The two-point conversion run proved to be the winning points in a game that featured gigantic momentum shifts.
“It was a great win for our team,” HHS head coach Drew Westling said. “We proved to ourselves we can get a big lead on a good team as well as lose it.”
The Lancers (7-4) built an early 21-0 lead on a pair of touchdown runs — 35 and two yards, respectively — by Rivera and a 51-yard scoring run by Sanchez. Hilltop led, 28-14, in the third quarter when quarterback Daniel McPherren hit Max Ugarte on a 30-yard scoring pass.
But the visitors rallied with three touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter to take a one-point lead, 35-34. Brandon Hueso led Imperial (5-7) with two touchdowns in the game.
Rivera scored three touchdowns to lead the Lancers into Friday’s semifinal matchup at top-seeded Southwest El Centro (11-0). Rivera said his third TD run of the game made up for an earlier fumble in the contest.
Hilltop recorded 495 yards in total offense in the win. Rivera rushed 25 times for 130 yards while Sanchez had five carries for 127 yards.
Westling said the decision to go for the winning two-point conversion was a no-brainer. “We felt we had the momentum and that there was no way Noe Sanchez would be stopped on the two-point conversion,” Westling said.
McPherren completed 18 of 24 passing attempts for 199 yards with one touchdown. Gus Ferreira had nine catches for 109 yards. Ugarte had two catches for 60 yards.
Hueso led Imperial with 150 rushing yards on 28 carries, with two touchdowns, while quarterback Joseph Tarango passed for 176 yards and one score.
Josh Brown led the Lancers with 16 tackles. Brown and Sanchez each had two sacks while Marcos Deanda had one sack. Deanda also made one two-point conversion.
Spartans lose late lead, lose 29-28 in overtime thriller to end pigskin season
The Chula Vista High School Spartans had all the necessary tools to go deep in this year’s San Diego Section Division IV playoffs. As a primer, the fifth-seeded Spartans blanked 12th-seeded Coronado, 37-0, in the opening round on Nov. 10.
However, Chula Vista could not hold onto a late eight-point lead in tumbling, 29-28, in overtime at fourth-seeded Monte Vista on Friday (Nov. 17).
It was a premature ending to the season for the Spartans.
“Our game against Monte Vista was one of the best games I’ve ever witnessed,” Spartan head coach Howard Bannister III related. “It was a battle of wills and, unfortunately, we came up one play short. Hats off to (Monte Vista head coach) Ron Hamamoto and staff on an excellent game.”
Chula Vista (7-5) and Monte Vista (6-5) exchanged early touchdowns as the teams battled to standoffs of 7-7 and 14-14.
However, the visiting Spartans took a 22-14 lead when Kajahan Duncan scored his second touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run and an ensuing successful two-point conversion play.
The host Monarchs sent the game into overtime on a touchdown with 59 seconds to play in the fourth quarter coupled with a successful two-point conversion of their own: 22-22.
The Monarchs scored first in the overtime tiebreaker on a 15-yard touchdown run by Elshaddai Levi. The Spartans matched that with a five-yard TD run by Duncan.
However, with Monte Vista up 29-28, Chula Vista elected to go for a game-winning two-point conversion rather than to attempt the extra-point kick to extend the game into a second OT tiebreaker.
However, Duncan was stopped short of the goal line to advance the Monarchs to next Friday’s (Nov. 24) semifinal round against top-seeded University City (10-1).
“I went for two because I believe in our team,” Bannister said. “We executed the play well but No. 33 on Monte Vista (junior defensive end Blake Schmidt), who was a grown man that night, grabbed Kajahan Duncan’s shoe from his stomach. It was a hell of a play. We came up one yard short but I do not regret the decision at all.”
Jahmon McClendon rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Monarchs. Duncan amassed 228 rushing yards on 30 carries in a superb showing for the Spartans, who also received a rushing score from quarterback Darrion Hamilton.
Overall, Chula Vista accumulated 301 rushing yards in the game.
Hamilton attempted just four passes in the contest, connecting with Justin Cantwell twice for 23 yards.
San Diego Section Football Playoffs
OPEN DIVISION
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 17
(1) Mission Hills 52, (8) Grossmont 42
(5) Torrey Pines (40, (4) La Costa Canyon 0
(3) San Marcos 41, (6) St. Augustine 20
(2) Helix 19, (7) Madison 11
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 24
(5) Torrey Pines (7-4) at (1) Mission Hills (11-0), 7 p.m.
(3) San Marcos (9-2) at (2) Helix (10-1), 7 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, Dec. 2
Southwestern College
Torrey Pines-Mission HIlls winner vs. San Marcos-Helix winner, 7 p.m.
DIVISION I
First Round
Thursday, Nov. 9
(6) Cathedral Catholic 63, (11) Mt. Carmel 0
(7) Rancho Bernardo 23, (10) Valhalla 6
Friday, Nov. 10
(8) Olympian 28, (9) Poway 14
(5) Oceanside 35, (12) Bonita Vista 19
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 17
(1) El Camino 29, (8) Olympian 21
(5) Oceanside 51, Point Loma 35
(3) Carlsbad 38, (6) Cathedral Catholic 28
(2) Eastlake 21, (7) Rancho Bernardo 16
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 24
(5) Oceanside (6-6) at (1) El Camino (6-5), 7 p.m.
(3) Carlsbad (6-5) at (2) Eastlake (9-2), 7 p.m.
Championship
Friday, Dec. 1
Southwestern College
Oceanside-El Camino winner vs. Carlsbad-Eastlake winner, 7 p.m.
DIVISION II
First Round
Friday, Nov. 10
(9) Westview 21, (8) Christian 14
(5) Lincoln 40, (12) Vista 21
(6) Granite Hills (8-2) 35, (11) West Hills 10
(7) Steele Canyon 36, (10) Mira Mesa 22
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 17
(1) Ramona 40, (9) Westview 27
(4) Otay Ranch 49, (5) Lincoln 20
(6) Granite Hills 49, (3) Valley Center 30
(7) Steele Canyon 61, (2) Bishop’s 52
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 24
(4) Otay Ranch (8-3) at (1) Ramona (11-0), 7 p.m.
(7) Steele Canyon (8-4) at (6) Granite Hills (10-2) 7 p.m.
Championship
Southwestern College
Saturday, Dec. 2
Otay Ranch-Ramona winner vs. Steele Canyon-Granite Hills winner, 3:30 p.m.
DIVISION III
First Round
Friday, Nov. 10
(9) Mt. Miguel 27, (8) Escondido 18
(5) Imperial 41, (12) Patrick Henry 0
(6) Rancho Buena Vista 62, (11) Santana 43
(7) La Jolla 28, (10) Mar Vista 0
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 17
(1) Southwest El Centro 39, (9) Mt. Miguel 21
(4) Hilltop 36, (5) Imperial 35
(3) San Pasqual 27, (6) Rancho Buena Vista 25
(2) Santa Fe Christian 63, (7) La Jolla 14
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 24
(4) Hilltop (7-4) at (1) Southwest El Centro (11-0), 7 p.m.
(3) San Pasqual (7-4) at (2) Santa Fe Christian (7-4), 7 p.m.
Championship game
Saturday, Dec. 2
Southwestern College
Hilltop-Southwest El Centro winner vs. San Pasqual-Santa Fe Christian winner, noon
DIVISION IV
First Round
Thursday, Nov. 9
6) Kearny 45, (11) Calexico 6
Friday, Nov. 10
(8) Serra 50, (9) El Cajon Valley 9
(5) Chula Vista 37, (12) Coronado 0
(7) La Jolla Country Day 52, (10) Clairemont 6
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 17
(1) University City 42, (8) Serra 0
(4) Monte Vista 29, (5) Chula Vista 28 (OT)
(3) Central Union 61, (6) Kearny 15
(2) San Diego 31, (7) La Jolla Country Day 21
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 24
(4) Monte Vista (6-5) at University City (10-1), 7 p.m.
(3) Central Union (10-1) at (2) San Diego (11-0), 7 p.m.
Championship
Friday, Dec. 1
Southwestern College
Monte Vista-University City winner vs. Central Union-San Diego winner, 3:30 p.m.
DIVISION V
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 10
(1) Vincent Memorial 43, (8) Southwest 8
(4) Classical Academy 13, (5) Maranatha Christian 7
(6) Tri-City Christian 52, (3) Montgomery 14
(2) Crawford 34, (7) Army-Navy Academy 16
Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 17
(1) Vincent Memorial 59, (4) Classical Academy 0
(2) Crawford 38, (6) Tri-City Christian 20
Championship
Saturday, Nov. 25
Southwestern College
Vincent Memorial (10-2) vs. Crawford (8-4) 7 p.m.
