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The neighborhood rivalry football game between Eastlake and Bonita Vista high schools has not diminished over the years. If anything, it has grown.
A truly massive assemblage of automobiles filed out of the Eastlake High School parking lot after the ending of last Friday’s non-league matchup.The host Titans prevailed, 28-0, for their 10th consecutive victory in the long-running series.
“Personally, it feels amazing,” said EHS senior running back David Branco, who rushed 12 times for 67 yards and scored two touchdowns with a third called back because of a penalty.
“I feel we’re going to have a great season. We have a lot of energy. We’re more together.”
The Titans finished runner-up in last year’s Division IV section title game to Valley Center with a final 7-7 record.
Bonita Vista finished 3-8 overall with a first-round playoff exit. The Barons are playing under a new coaching staff this season.
Familiarity breeds success. Eastlake generated 111 yards in the passing game from junior Joe Waters and racked up 95 rushing yards on 29 carries. Bonita Vista’s defense did a decent job on run defense, holding the hosts to 3.3 rushing yards per gain.
But the Barons couldn’t stop Branco, who averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Junior Jeremiah Holliday had nine carries for 49 yards for a 5.4-yard average.
Waters completed seven of 10 passes for a 70-percent completion rate.
Junior Jeremiah Holliday collected 103 total yards by tacking one one catch that went for 54 yards. He scored one of the team’s three rushing scores. Junior Davion Sampson had three catches for 30 yards and one TD.
Sophomore Justice Alcantara had one catch for 24 yards.
Defensively, senior Noah McCurty led EHS with 13 tackles, including three for losses. McCurty and senior Jovani Ceja (nine tackles) each were credited with one sack. Junior Stephen Guevara III turned in eight defensive stops.
Senior Christian Vargas unleashed four punts for a 33.8-yard average, dropping two inside the BV 20-yard line.
Senior Tomas Zaldivar returned two punts for 49 yards, with a long of 34 yards.
Eastlake head coach Jose Mendoza said his team is looking to build on the season-opening performance.
“It looks like we are back to running the ball,” he said. “With a staple of running backs Branco, Holliday, (senior Eidren) Estrelon, (junior R.J.) Yamasaki) and (junior Zach) Gurule. Stepping up as quarterback Joe Waters with receivers Santiago Aleta (senior), Zymir Webb (junior) and Davion Sampson (junior).
Mendoza said adding offensive coordinator Demarco Sampson (ex-Castle Park, SDSU as a player, ex-Montgomery as a coach) has transformed the Titans’ offense “giving our kids a new outlook and excitement.”
“Defensively we have our main components back with Jovani Ceja, Nicky Alba (senior), Chris Wilson (senior) and David Branco and stepping up to finish off last season Stephen Guevara, Jalen Turner (senior), also adding newcomers Noah McCurty, D’Shawn Sampson (junior).
“We’re looking forward to another year on the gridiron.”
Statistics for Bonita Vista were unavailable.
Mariners open new football stadium with 37-0 shutout win
Mar Vista High School opened a new chapter in its football history with an explosive offensive performance and a dominant defensive effort in the first game played at its new on-campus stadium while posting a 37-0 shutout win over El Cajon Valley in non-league play last Friday.
Junior Cade Corchado made Mariner history by scoring the first touchdown in the new stadium on a 21-yard scoring pass over the middle from sophomore quarterback Michael Mercado.
Corchado finished the season opener with two receptions for 41 yards and one touchdown while making an even greater impact on defense with two intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown. He also averaged 49.2 yards on five kickoffs.
Junior Braylon Shumate delivered a spectacular all-around performance with three touchdowns. The explosive receiver caught three passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including one score for 77 yards. Shumate also returned a punt 68 yards for another touchdown, giving him three scores on the night and 236 all-purpose yards.
Mercado directed the offense efficiently, according to head coach Sergio Villalva, by completing six of 12 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns.
Sophomore Isaac Miller also played well before suffering a broken collarbone that ended his night. Miller completed all three of his passes for 65 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game.
Mar Vista’s defense recorded three sacks, six tackles for losses and two interceptions, including Corchado’s defensive touchdown.
“The combination of explosive plays, efficient quarterback play and relentless defense gave Mar Vista’s players and fans a memorable first football game inside their new stadium,” the Mariners head coach said.
Mar Vista next plays at Maranatha Christian on Friday at 7 p.m., the defending San Diego Section Division V-AA champion.
PREP FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD
Friday, Aug. 21
Non-League
Hilltop 8, Coronado 7
Castle Park 32, Victory Christian Academy 0
Eastlake 28, Bonita Vista 0
Mar Vista 37, El Cajon Valley 0
Otay Ranch 23, RBV14
Sweetwater 47, Vista 46
West Hills 28, Chula Vista 13
Mt. Miguel 42, Montgomery 26
University City 38, Olympian 13
Hoover 52, Southwest 21
Southwest El Centro 7, San Ysidro 0
EASTERN EXPOSURE
Re-tooling Matadors get better of re-tooling Aztecs, 42-26
Both the Mt. Miguel Matadors and Montgomery Aztecs lost key athletes to transfers during the offseason. Both teams had a chance to showcase their new-look rosters in last Friday’s non-league season opener. The Matadors got the better of the battle 42-26.
Junior Enrique Gonzalez led Mt. Miguel with 202 passing yards and three touchdowns while senior Dominic Lopez rushed for 97 yards and one score. Junior Cayden “Prince” Mobley led receivers in the game with eight catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Lopez also had a 30-yard TD catch.
Defensively, sophomore Jeziah Eister had one interception while Lopez and junior Tylan Young-Hall each had one fumble recovery. Sophomore Luke Wallace had one sack.
Young-Hall returned the ball 89 yards. Sophomore David Watt compiled 111 yards in kick returns, including an 80-yard kickoff return for a score, to hand new head coach James Simon a win in his first game for the Spring Valley squad.
Senior Marquis Benton led Montgomery with 155 rushing yards and one touchdown while sophomore quarterback Reyes Bonnett passed for 111 yards with one touchdown.
The Aztecs scored three rushing touchdowns in the game, adding one each by junior Ronnie Jonier-Castanon (eight carries, 55 yards) and freshman Abel Venegas (two carries, 10 yards). Senior Mario Hernandez The teams combined for 723 yards — 363 by Montgomery and 360 by the Matadors, who forced four turnovers as the difference.
Mt. Miguel gained the advantage with 21 points in the second quarter.
The Matadors next play at University City on Friday. The Centurions are coming off a 38-13 non-league win at Olympian.
A trio of East County heavyweight dropped their season openers last Friday: Granite HIllx 44-29 at Oceanside, Helix 38-6 at Santa Fe Christian and El Capitan 28-21 in Pearl City, Hawaii.
Valhalla sets Grossmont Conference record with 75-0 blowout
It was a seemingly never-ending cascade of points for the host Valhalla Norsemen in topping visiting San Jacinto Valley Academy last Friday in non-league play. The 75-0 win was the largest winning margin in Grossmont Conference history.
That’s how the new head coaching era of Jason Carter began.
Senior running back Jayden Hunter, a transfer from Mt. Miguel, led the history-making rout by rushing for 79 yards on four carries and four touchdowns. It was a most efficient evening.
Senior Jeremiah Loper, another Mt. Mguel transfer, added two touchdowns on two carries.
The new-look Norseman racked up 420 yards in total offense as junior quarterback Adrian Wilson completed seven of nine passes for 216 yards and four touchdowns. Loper completed two passes for an additional 33 yards to hike Valhalla’s prolific passing performance to 249 yards on the night.
Freshman A.J. Wright turned a short pass into a 78-yard breakaway score for the game’s most spectacular touchdown. He later caught a 33-yard scoring pass to make his varsity debut with 151 receiving yards and two scores. He also made a statement on defense with a 30-yard interception return to set up another VHS touchdown and finish the game with 181 all-purpose yards.
The Norsemen scored in a variety of ways: seven rushing touchdowns (four by Hunter. Two by Loper and one by Wilson), six touchdown passes (four by Wilson and two by Loper) and one defensive score on a fumble recovery.
Sophomore Camryn Conley (three catches, 82 yards) and freshman Jordan Codre (two catches, 30 yards0 also caught scoring passes in the game for the victors.
Valhalla led 48-0 midway through the second quarter en route to ending the game with a running clock.
The Norsemen finished 3-8 last season and look to put the bad taste of a 0-10 season in 2018 well behind them. They will be out to prove their season-opening win against an over-matched opponent was not fluke when they travel to Castle Park for a non-league game on Sept. 4.
Castle Park, 1-9 last season, defeated visiting Victory Christian Academy, 32-0, last Friday in non-league play to record the first varsity football victory in its new on-campus stadium.
East County Scoreboard
Friday, Aug. 21
Non-League
Valhalla 75, San Jacinto Valley Academy 0
Mt. Miguel 42, Montgomery 26
West Hills 28, Chula Vista 13
Grossmont 37, Madison 7
Steele Canyon 7, San Deigo 3
Monte Vista 31, Crawford 23
Santana 37, Morse 12
Mountain Empire 39, Anza Hamilton 0
Oceanside 44, Granite Hills 29
Santa Fe Christian 38, Helix 6
Pearl City (Hawaii) 28, El Capitan 21
Escondido Charter 48, Foothills Christian 0
Steele Canyon posts 7-3 win over Cavers in season opener
Scoring was minimal in last Friday’s non-league football season opener between the Steele Canyon Cougars and San Diego Cavers. The teams combined to put 10 points on the scoreboard, seven by the host Cougars and three by the visiting Cavers.
Malcolm Ballard caught the only touchdown of the night during the second quarter — a ball that bounded off a defender’s helmet on a pass from senior quarterback Gavin Caha. The Steele Canyon QB finished 11-of-22 passing for 124 yards. He also rushed four times for 62 yards to end the night with 186 yards in offense.
It was key as the Cougars gained 237 yards in total offense. Ballard had three catches for 27 yards while senior Trevor Zenno had one catch for 30 yards and junior Cameron Trujillo had two catches for 29 yards.
Caha helped keep the Cavers at by dropping two punts inside the San Diego 20-yard line.
Steele Canyon next faces a rematch of last year’s San Diego Section Division II championship game against Santa Fe Christian in the Eagles’ nest. SFC won last year’s CIF thriller, 44-41,to completed an undefeated 13-0 section season. The Eagles kicked off this season with a 38-6 non-league win over Helix in non-league play last Friday.
Grossmont flattens Warhawks with 34 unanswered points
The visiting Grossmont Foothillers erased an early 7-0 deficit with 34 unanswered points — 14 of them from junior receiver Cedric Norris — in spoiling the home opener for the Madison Warhawks in non-league play last Friday, 34-7.
Norris put the visitors ahead 14-7 on a one-yard direct snap followed by a two-point conversion pass from senior quarterback Tyler Holmes to junior Jackson Baird. Norris later hauled in a pair of scoring passes from Holmes to cap a productive night.
Holmes was certainly productive in his own right with 168 passing yards, two scoring passes, and 57 rushing yards with a touchdown on the ground.
Junior Jacob Free scored on a 37-yard TD run to push the Hillers ahead 26-7 at halftime. He finished the game with 83 rushing yards.
Senior defensive back Nate Clark keyed the Grossmont defense with seven tackles and an interception while junior Izzy Lewis had one fumble recovery.
The Foothillers turn around to host La Jolla in their home opener this Friday. The Vikings dropped a 35-30 non-league decision at Patrick Henry in their season opener.
In other games, El Cajon Valley was shut out, 37-0, at Mar Vista while Foothills Christian was shut out, 48-0, by Escondido Charter.
Sultans swat Tigers, 37-12; Monarchs trip up Colts
Senior quarterback Ethan Miller passed for 228 yards with three touchdowns and also rushed for a score in helping guide the visiting Santana Sultans past the host Morse Tigers, 37-12, in last Friday’s non-league opener.
“They beat us last year in the playoffs, so it was nice to come back to their place and get the win,” Santana coach Tim Estes said. “First game of the season is usually tough. I never think we have enough time to get ready. The kids came out and played hard and it showed on the scoreboard.”
Senior Koko Thornton had four catches 42 yards with one receiving touchdown and one rushing score. He also had five defensive tackles. Senior Denton Goar had three catches for 86 yards and one TD while junior Tatum Moorehouse recorded 15 tackles and two sacks.
The Sultans offense was spread around with six receivers and seven ground-gainers.
Monte Vista 31, Crawford 23
Junior Daesean Jenkins returned the opening kickoff 86 yards and later added a 45-yard scoring run as the Monarchs opened the season with a 31-23 road victory at Crawford. Junior Braden Silie tacked on two rushing touchdowns as Monte Vista built a 23-point lead before withstanding a late rally by the host Colts.
Jenkins’ second touchdown increased the Monarch lead to 28-8 and a 35-yard field goal by senior Juan Duran made it 31-8. Silie scored on runs of 5 and 10 yards. Monte Vista hosts Montgomery (0-1) this Friday in a bid to go 2-0.
