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Two weeks into the new high school football season, just two Metro Conference teams sport 2-0 records: the Eastlake Titans and Hilltop Lancers.
Six teams boast 1-1 records: Castle Park Trojans, Mar Vista Mariners, Olympian Eagles, Otay Ranch Mustangs, San Ysidro Cougars and Sweetwater Red Devils.
Conversely, six local teams remain winless at 0-2: Bonita Vista Barons, Chula Vista Spartans, Montgomery Aztecs, Southwest Raiders, Victory Christian Academy and, somewhat surprisingly, the Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders.
Eastlake defeated 2025 Division V champion Morse Titans, 26-16, in last Friday’s latest round of non-league matchups while Hilltop throttled the visiting El Cajon Valley Braves by a score of 45-6.
Two teams recorded their first victories of the season: Olympian 33-20 over Vista and San Ysidro 42-0 over Orange Glen.
Four teams tasted defeat for the first time: Castle Park 40-8 to Clairemont, Mar Vista 40-13 to 2025 Division V-AA champion Maranatha Christian, Otay Ranch 20-14 to No. 7 Point Loma and Sweetwater 35-14 to Rancho Buena Vista.
Eastlake 26, Morse 16
Senior David Branco was admittedly in “beast mode” when he rushed for 67 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Titans’ season-opening 28-0 shutout win over visiting Bonita Vista in the teams’ rivalry game on Aug. 21.
The six-foot, 220-pound running back ramped that up to “Hulk mode” in last Friday’s win over Morse with 209 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He’s the top vote-getter for Big Man On Campus to start the 2026 prep pigskin season.
Through two games, he’s rushed for 276 yards (9.2 average) with five touchdowns. He’s added 10 tackles (five solo) and one sack on defense.
The Titans are clearly not a one man show, especially on defense.
Eastlake notched seven sacks to muzzle the Tigers (0-2).
Senior Jovani Ceja recorded seven solo tackles and one sack, senior Noah McCurty had six solo tackles and two sacks and junior D’Shawn Sampson added four unassisted stops. Junior Jagger Quilico, senior Andrew Castro and sophomore Javian Ceja each added one sack.
Junior quarterback Joe Waters collected 78 total yards on 54 passing yards and 24 rushing yards.
Eastlake hosts Steele Canyon (1-1) this Friday. The Cougars are coming off a 42-14 loss in a rematch of last year’s Division II championship game in which the Cougars dropped 44-41.
Hilltop 45, El Cajon Valley 6
The host Lancers wasted little time in assuming control of last Friday’s non-league game against the winless Braves (0-2) by racking up 24 first-quarter points.
El Cajon Valley has been out-scored 82-6 in its opening two outings.
“We knew we could win this game, we just had to clean up things we didn’t do well in the season opener,” Hilltop head coach Bryan Wagner said. “We made a statement. We spread the ball around.”
The passing game was minimal (24 yards by senior Octavio Bonilla) but the running game was very effective (253 yards by seven different ball-carriers) to fuel the Lancers. Junior Max Vaquero rushed nine times for 60 yards and scored two toucho3wns while senior Lajuan Johnson carried the ball 11 times for 55 yards and one touchdown and junior Tre Nichols III had four carries for 54 yards and one score.
Additionally Bonilla rushed four times for 53 yards while tossing a six-yard TD pass to junior Zach Humphrey. Bonilla completed three of nine passing attempts in the game, hitting Johnson for a 12-yard gain and senior Markus Sapiera for six yards.
Nichols finished the game with 99 all-purpose yards with 45 yards on three punt returns added to his rushing yardage.
Senior Victor Ruiz collected nine kicking points in the lopsided game with six extra-point conversions and a 42-yard field goal.
Defensively, the Lancers recorded five sacks — two each by seniors Zion Almazon and Ben Reynolds and one by freshman Ben Borquez. The hosts also recorded three interceptions — one each by sophomore Jordan Sanchez (55 yards), Ruiz (four yards) and freshman Mason Ramirez (62 yards).
Ruiz averaged 55.6 yards on seven kickoffs and 42 yards on one punt.
The Lancers visit Otay Ranch (1-1) this Friday. The Mustangs are coming off a 20-14 non-league setback at Point Loma (2-0) to show some promise in their season
“That’s going to be the real test for us,” Wagner said. “We’ll see where we’re at after that game.”
Sophomore quarterback Caleb Delaughter passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns to lead Otay Ranch. Senior Carlos Lopez had seven catches for 117 yards and one touchdown while junior Elijah Jordan had two catches for 67 yards and junior Matteo Borelli had five catches for 54 yards.
Sophomore Jeremiah Jordan keyed Otay Ranch defensively with 12 tackles, including three tackles for losses. Lopez made nine defensive stops, including eight unassisted tackles, while also recording an interception
Delaughter finished the game with 327 total yards by tacking on 22 rushing yards.
Olympian 33, Vista 20
The Eagles registered their first win of the season as senior Walter Ignacio had a big night with three touchdowns — two rushing scores and one on a 105-yard fumble return. Ignacio rushed 14 times for 101 yards and caught two passes for 34 yards.
Junior quarterback Kellan Fish completed nine of 11 passes for 126 yard and rushed five times for 62 yards and two touchdowns. Fish collected 188 total yards in the game while Ignacio notched 135 total yards.
Senior Giovanni Ware had two catches for 47 yards while junior Gael Gonzalez caught one pass for 23 yards. Gonzalez also recorded 2.5 sacks on defense.
Junior Jace Reimer led the Eagles on defense with four tackles for losses while Gonzalez and senior Josiah Rivera each had three defensive stops for losses. Rivera also picked up half sack.
Vista dropped to 0-2. Olympian hosts Mission Bay (0-2) on Friday in a bid to move over the 0.500 mark.
San Ysidro 42, Orange Glen 0
After being held scoreless in a 7-0 loss to Southwest El Centro in the season opener, the Cougars erupted for 42 pionts to even their record at 1-1.
Senior Rico Calaguas passed for 105 yards and two touchdowns — one each to sophomore B Randall (two catches, 72 yards) and junior H Marrero-Manzano (one catch, 23 yards).
Junior Andrew Apatoga (four carries, 93 yards) and senior Lamar Williams each scored one rushing touchdown.
West Hills, Grossmont, Santana and Monte Vista are all 2-0 to start season
Two weeks into the 2026 high school football season, six East County teams are undefeated. Kudos go to the Grossmont Foothillers, West Hills Wolf Pack, Monte Vista Monarchs and Santana Sultans for their 2-0 starts.
The Christian Patriots and Valhalla Norsemen are both 1-0.
Christian kicked off its season with a 41-20 non-league win at Valley Center last Friday while Valhalla had a bye after posting a record-setting 75-0 win in its season opener on Aug. 21.
“Yes, we had a big win.” Grossmont head coach Anthony Lawrence admitted after his team came from behind to nip the visiting La Jolla Vikings, 24-17, last Friday. “The defense played phenomenal. Vinny Michelson (junior defensive end) had a sack and Nate Clark (senior defensive back) had an interception.”
As for the Foothillers offense, senior quarterback Tyler Holmes racked up 385 all-purpose yards and scored three rushing touchdowns.
Grossmont trailed 14-8 entering the fourth quarter. While the passing game wasn’t working to perfection in the opening three quarters, the rushing game came through when it was needed most.
Holmes was sacked twice, fumbled and threw an interception while in passing mode against a strong La Jolla defense that also forced a fumble on a punt return that led to a go-ahead touchdown.
Grossmont rolled up 460 yards in total offense in recording the win. Holmes passed for 210 yards, completing 17 of 29 attempts, and rushed 19 times for 175 yards. His running ability helped the Foothillers control the game and keep the Vikings (0-2) off balance.
Holmes scored his second touchdown of the game on a 23-yard quarterback keeper that included a spin-o-rama move to fake out two linebackers.
La Jolla countered on an 81-yard pass play to set up a 35-yard field goal to creep back in front, 17-16, with less than eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
The hosts answered with the game-winning drive in which Holmes slipped through tacklers for a 20-yard scoring run. Junior Jamar McClendon tacked on a successful two-point conversion to put the Hillers up by seven points.
Clark, who earlier made a key 38-yard catch on Grossmont’s first touchdown drive (a 12-yard scamper by Holmes), made his pick with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Holmes made sure the Hillers kept possession of the ball on another run with two minutes to play.
The game ended in victory formation for Grossmont.
Junior receiver Cedric Norris had seven catches for 74 yards while junior running back Corbin Dow contributed 71 yards on 35 rushing yards and 36 receiving yards. Junior RB Jacob Fee added 40 rushing yards while senior Jonah Martinez (23 receiving yards), senior Max Bewley (19 receiving yards) and junior Jackson Baird (six receiving yards) helped buttress the Hiller offense.
Grossmont was perfect on three two-point conversions.
“Next we have a young but physical Bonita Vista team,” Lawrence said of his team’s upcoming non-league matchup on Friday, Sept. 4. “We need to play clean and execute.”
West Hills 20, Bonita Vista 10
The Wolf Pack remained undefeated while keeping the host Barons winless two weeks into the young season. Senior quarterback Evin Dill passed for 231 yards with one touchdown and tacked on 49 rushing yards with one score to pace the West Hills offense with 280 total yards. He finished the game with a 125.4 quarterback efficiency rating.
Other contributors included junior Rene Varela Ugalde with 143 total yards, including 141 receiving yards on six catches with one touchdown, and junior Evan Dorris (six carries, 16 yards) with one rushing touchdown. Additionally, senior E.J. Lee-Fields gained 74 yards on seven carries and junior Marcus Leath had two carries for 38 yards.
On the receiving end, junior Chuck Rosolino added six catches for 28 yards while senior Zach Waters caught one pass for 21 yards.
Lee-Fields also was active on defense with a team-high 15 tackles and one interception. Senior Seth Creech logged one sack and one fumble recovery.
Junior Fenix Fitzgerald converted two of three point-after-touchdown kicks.
Dill opened the game with a big ground-gainer as the Wolf Pack took the opening possession down the field for a touchdown and 7-0 lead on a five-yard run by Dorris. The Barons tied the game, 7-7, on a 44-yard breakaway run by junior Ta’Vyon Moore (nine carries, 68 yards) and then took advantage of a turnover to boot a 20-yard field goal by sophomore Mark Johnson to go up 10-7.
The visitors did the rest of the scoring in the non-league contest, highlighted by a 54-yard TD catch by Varela Ugalde and a five-yard sneak into the end zone by Dill.
Senior Cole Margetts logged 83 all-purpose yards for Bonita Vista: 52 receiving yards, 29 kick return yards and two rushing yards. Senior Anthony Lorenz collected 78 passing yards while senior Angel Cortes notched 10 tackles on the defensive side.
“Defensively, I thought we did a better job against the pass than we did the first week,” West Hills head coach Casey Ash said. “We really shut them down outside of one long run. Our QB had a great day passing the ball, but the game stayed close because we struggled to finish some drives in the second half.
“We have a huge game against Mira Mesa (2-0) this week; we are looking forward to it.”
Monte Vista 29, Montgomery 14
Junior Daesean Jenkins returned an intercepted pass 95 yards for a touchdown with 27 seconds to play in last Friday’s non-league game against the visiting Montgomery Aztecs to seal a second consecutive win to start the season for the Monarchs.
Jenkins has scored three touchdowns in two games.
Monte Vista trailed 7-0 at halftime before ringing up all 29 of its points in the second half. Junior Braden Silie and senior Dion Hunter scored touchdowns to get the momentum rolling.
Defense also was key. The Monarchs produced a goal-line stand in the first half to keep the score within seven points at the halftime break.
“It was a solid team win.” Monte Vista head coach Page Culver said. “We made a number of mental mistakes in the first half that we were able to clean up in the second half. Dion Hunter and Daesean Jenkins did an excellent job of rushing the football. Josh Hunt (senior lineman) led the defense along with Silie. Both had over 10 total tackles in the game.”
Sophomore Reyes Bonnett (147 passing yards) fired two touchdown passes in the setback for the Aztecs (0-2) — one each to sophomore Liam Wilson (three catches, 56 yards) and senior Aidan Flores (one catch, 60 yards). Senior Marquis Benton keyed the visitors with 64 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Culver said the most impactful newcomer so far this season is junior defensive back/receiver Edwin Smith. “He has done a great job for us on both sides of the ball,” the Monte Vista coach said.
Monte Vista next plays at Morse (0-2) this Friday.
Santana 49, Crawford 0
The Sultans received 358 passing yards and four touchdowns from senior Ethan Miller in the rout of the Colts. Santana finished with five passing scores on the night as senior Josh Pehl had one touchdown pass.
The Santee team also compiled 104 rushing yards as Miller and Pehl combined for 47 yards. Pehl scored once on the ground while junior Julian Mayers (six carries, 31 yards) also scored one rushing TD.
Senior Kolten Thornton led the receivers with eight catches for 124 yards and three touchdowns. Next up were senior Denton Goar (six catches, 81 yards), junior Joaquin Murrieta (one catch, 46 yards, touchdown), sophomore Connor Galarneau (four catches, 35 yards, touchdown), Mayers (three catches, 26 yards) and senior Brenden Varner (one catch, 25 yards).
Thornton had the longest catch of the night at 60 yards.
Miller racked up 379 total yards while Thornton had 148 total yards and Goar had 98 total yards. As a team, the Sultans accumulated 465 yards in total offense to go with seven touchdowns.
Senior Brayton Knight led the defense with eight tackles, including one sack. Juniors Jack Lord and Dominic Johnson each had one fumble recovery.
“Big win for us,” Santana head coach Tim Estes underscored. “Next up Brawley (Friday at 7 p.m.) and they will be tough. Not sure what to expect from them with a new coach. Our season will get tougher as we go.”
Christian opener
Senior Kaleb Runkle passed for 282 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another to finish the game with 318 total yards.
Sophomore Julian Morones collected 113 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns while also catching three passes for 77 yards and one score. Senior Kai Rosier had 148 receiving yards and one TD.
San Diego Section Football Rankings
(Through Week 2)
1. Carlsbad 2-0
2. Cathedral Catholic 0-1
3. Mission Hills 2-0
4. La Coata Canyon 1-1
5. Lincoln 0-2
6. Granite Hills 1-1
7. Point Loma 2-0
8. San Marcos 1-1
9. Torrey Pines 2-0
10. Oceanside 1-1
11. Rancho Bernardo 2-0
12. Poway 2-0
13. Santa Fe Christian 2-0
14. Helix Charter 1-1
15.Del Norte 2-0
16. Mater Dei Catholic 0-2
17. University City 2-0
18. Mt. Miguel 1-1
19. St. Augustine 0-2
20. Scripps Ranch 0-2
21. Grossmont 2-0
22. Patrick Henry 2-0
23. La Jolla 0-2
24. El Camino 0-2
25. Steele Canyon 1-1
Others: 26. Christian (1-0), 29. Santana (2-0), Otay Ranch (1-1), 34. Eastlake (2-0), 35. Valhalla (1-0), 41. Monte Vissta (2-0), 42. Olympian (1-1), 43. West Hills (2-0), 50. El Capitan (1-1)
Crusaders denied again for 0-2 season start
The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders entered the 2026 season as the Metro Conference’s top-ranked football team. The Crusaders still lead the local contingent of gridiron teams in terms of rankings prestige — but with a 0-2 record.
It’s not time to panic on the sidelines yet.
Mater Dei Catholic could easily be undefeated with a different bounce of the ball. The Cruaders were heartbroken to open the season with a 29-28 non-league loss at Del Norte on a blocked PAT attempt. They fell, 38-31, last Friday to visiting Granite Hills on a touchdown with 30 seconds to play in the game.
How close is Mater Dei Catholic to the top? The Crusaders held an early 14-0 lead on the sixth-ranked Eagles, four-time defending CIF champions. But Granite Hills, a 44-29 loser at Oceanside in its season opener, found new life with four unanswered touchdowns to lead 28-14.
But the hosts responded in kind. The game was tied 31-31 with 8:26 left to play in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles had the final word — and touchdown — in the final minute on a one-yard run by senior Gage Spalding (senior running back).
Granite collected 461 yards in total offense to even its record.
Senior quarterback Zac Benitez passed for 181 yards with two touchdowns and one interception (returned for a touchdown).
Spalding tacked on 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries while also reeling in three passes for 27 yards.
Senior receiver Cortney Miller-Thompson caught six passes for 80 yards and two scores while senior receiver/free safety Jesse Wilhite added a 49-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Senior Jacob Nunez tacked on a 32-yard field goal to go with five PAT kicks for eight kicking points in the game.
Defense helped write a large part of the story for the Eagles. Three players — sophomore Jamir Alverez, senior Cayden Phillips and senior Eurijah Schutza — each logged 12 tackles. Phillips had one sack while Wilhite had one fumble recovery. Alverez and Phillips each had six unassisted stops.
Wilhite keyed Granite Hills with 126 kick-return yards — 38 yards on kick-off returns and 88 yards on punt returns — to turn in another outstanding all-around effort.
Sophomore Joey Rodriguez keyed the Mater Dei Catholic defense with 10 tackles, including one sack.
The hosts recorded three sacks overall, including losses behind the line by junior Xavier Vitela and sophomore Shelby Villegas.
Senior Jordyn Fitzpatrick returned an intercepted pass 70 yards for a touchdown while senior Ron Pizarro caused a fumble.
No. 16 Mater Dei Catholic (0-2) will host Bishop O’Dowd on Friday, Sept. 4. Bishop O’Dowd, the defending Division 5-AA state champion, opened the season with a 55-6 win over Castlemont last Friday.
GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD
Bonita Vista 13, Dos Pueblos 7
Bonita Vista 24, Granite Hills 15
Bonita Vista 35, Carlsbad 19
Hilltop 42, Crawford 6
Hilltop 13, Westview 12
Hilltop 32, Sweetwater 6
Otay Ranch 25, Chula Vista 0
Otay Ranch 37, Montgomery 0
Eastlake 13, Valhalla 12
Eastlake 32, West Hills 13
Mater Dei Catholic 35, Francis Parker 14
Mater Dei Catholic 31, West Hills 0
