All 13 Metro Conference football teams were in action last Friday; four strode off the field with victories.
The Castle Park Trojans, Chula Vista Spartans, Montgomery Aztecs and Southwest Raiders are all 1-0 to kick off the 2018 high school season. All will be looking to improve to 2-0 following this Friday’s spate of non-league games.
Meanwhile, nine other Metro squads will be looking to post their first wins of the season.
Castle Park entered last Friday’s home game against O’Farrell Charter having recorded an 0-10 season in 2017. The Trojans snapped that dubious string with a rousing 55-6 win over the Falcons, who were playing their first varsity 11-man football game.
“It feels good to get the monkey off our back and get that first win under our belts,” CPHS head coach Bernard Ansolabehere said, “but we have a lot to work on and a long way to go to get where we want to be.
“I am very proud of our players and coaches for their hard work and dedication. As far as O’Farrell goes, they have a very bright future and coach Tim Baxter along with his staff and players are doing a heck of a job for a first year program.
“Finally I want to thank all those who support us as players and coaches. Fight on!”
Senior Diego Martinez passed for two touchdowns and also rushed for two scores to pace the Trojans to their first victory in more than a year. Meanwhile, senior Airrien Smith (211 all-purpose yards) passed for one touchdown, rushed for one touchdown, scored a touchdown on a 54-yard interception return and caught two touchdown passes.
Martinez scored on touchdown runs of 20 and 65 yards. Smith broke off one run of 50 yards.
Junior Chris Wright scored one rushing touchdown while senior Joel Torres had a 48-yard TD catch.
Castle Park led 21-0 after the first quarter and 35-6 at halftime.
The Trojans will get a better gauge of where they fit into the 2018 prep football hierarchy when they travel to take on Mar Vista on Friday. The host Mariners will have something to prove after being shut out, 44-0, in last Friday’s non-league game at Monte Vista, the 2017 Division IV section champion.
Spartans find spark with late TDs to cut down Torreys, 27-14
The Chula Vista Spartans, rallying around an impressive defensive effort, capped last Friday’s non-league game against visiting La Jolla Country Day with a pair of timely fourth quarter touchdowns to post a 27-14 victory.
Chula Vista’s defense allowed only one touchdown, with the other coming on a blocked punt. Senior Naseem Monroy led the defensive effort with two tackles, one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.
“Offensively, we started quickly and then stalled until midway through the third quarter when we made a quarterback change to junior Carlos Serratos, who came in and provided not only a spark, but led the team in rushing in a short period of time,” said CVHS head coach Howard Bannister II, whose team erased a 14-13 deficit on the scoreboard with the late scores.
Serratos racked up 51 of the team’s 192 rushing yards. Senior Angel Jimenez rushed seven times for 34 yards and scored two touchdowns while senior Andre Stewart had eight carries for 45 yards and scored one touchdown.
“We have a long way to go in terms of firing on all cylinders, but we are happy to get a win and hopefully some momentum as we move on to Mt. Miguel this week,” Bannister said.
In other games last Friday:
Aztec territory
Montgomery handed new head coach Freddy Dunkle his first career win with a gritty 12-6 comeback win over visiting Hoover. Freshman Christian Venegas scored both touchdowns.
Hoover took a 6-0 lead on a 76-yard fumble return by Derrick McCullough before the Aztec defense thoroughly shut down the Cardinals’ offense and the hosts began to create holes in the Hoover defense for Venegas and fellow running back Xavier Brown.
Venegas scored on runs of four and 10 yards to provide the difference on the scoreboard while the Cardinals’ final drive expired as time ran out.
“We hope to build on last week’s win and learn from what we did well and what we can improve on from week to week,” explained Dunkle, whose team plays at Classical Academy this Friday. “My first win as head coach was awesome. I’m extremlye happy for the players and the coaches as we are in it together — win or lose.”
Raider Nation
Daniel Belton (10 carries, 169 rushing yards) scored four touchdowns to lead host Southwest past Escondido Charter, 57-26. The Raiders scored eight touchdowns in the game, including seven rushing scores. Jovahn Young (328 all-purpose yards) rushed 10 times for 176 yards, scoring two touchdowns, while also catching a touchdown pass
Prep Kick-off 2018
Friday Night Lights
Friday, Aug. 17
Non-League
Chula Vista 27, La Jolla Country Day 14
Castle Park 55, O’Farrell Charter 6
Montgomery 12, Hoover 6
Santa Fe Christian 28, Olympian 25 (OT)
Escondido 31, Hilltop 20
Southwest 57, Escondido Charter 26
St. Augustine 35, Bonita Vista 0
Torrey Pines 13, Eastlake 0
Monte Vista 44, Mar Vista 0
Mission Bay 38, San Ysidro 14
Ramona 28, Mater Dei Catholic 0
San Marcos 24, Otay Ranch 21
San Pasqual 48, Sweetwater 7
Friday, Aug. 24
Non-League
San Ysidro at Mountain Empire, 6:30 p.m.
Madison vs. Bonita Vista at Southwestern College, 7 p.m.
Hilltop at Eastlake, 7 p.m.
Valley Center at Otay Ranch, 7 p.m.
Castle Park at Mar Vista, 7 p.m.
Vincent Memorial at Southwest, 7 p.m.
Chula Vista at Mt. Miguel, 7 p.m.
Mater Dei Catholic at El Capitan, 7 p.m.
Olympian at Poway, 7 p.m.
Montgomery at Classical Academy, 7 p.m.
Sweetwater at Fallbrook, 7 p.m.
San Diego Section Football Rankings
MaxPreps/Top 10
Division I: 1. Helix (0-1), 2. Torrey Pines (1-0), 3. Madison (1-0), 4. Mission Hills (0-1), 5. La Costa Canyon (1-0), 6. San Marcos (1-0), 7. Carlsbad (1-0), 8. Eastlake (0-1), 9. Steele Canyon (0-1), 10. Grossmont (1-0). Others: 13. Otay Ranch (0-1)
Division II: 1. Ramona (1-0), 2. Valley Center (1-0), 3. Granite Hills (1-0), 4. Bishop’s (0-1), 5. Lincoln (1-0), 6. Mira Mesa (1-0), 7. Southwest El Centro (0-1), 8. Point Loma (0-1), 9. Westview (1-0), 10. Vista (1-0). Others: 11. Olympian (0-1), 14. Mater Dei Catholic (0-1), 15. Bonita Vista (0-1)
Division III: 1. Monte Vista (1-0), 2. Santa Fe Christian (1-0), 3. University City (1-0), 4. Christian (1-0), 5. West Hills (1-0), 6. Central Union (1-0), 7. Brawley (1-0), 8. El Capitan (0-1), 9. Escondido (1-0), 10. Morse (1-0). Others: 11. Hilltop (0-1)
Division IV: 1. San Diego (1-0), 2. Chula Vista (1-0), 3. Kearny (1-0), 4. Sweetwater (0-1), 5. La Jolla Country Day (0-1), 6. Classical Academy (0-1), 7. Santana (1-0), 8. Del Norte (1-0), 9. Serra (0-1), 10. Mar Vista (0-1). Others: 13. Montgomery (1-0)
Division V: 1. Vincent Memorial (1-0), 2. Francis Parker (1-0), 3. Tri-City Christian (1-0), 4. Palo Verde Valley (0-1), 5. Holtville (1-0), 6. Army-Navy Academy (0-0), 7. Mountain Empire (0-1), 8. Maranatha Christian (0-1), 9. Orange Glen (1-0), 10. Southwest (1-0). Others: 11. Castle Park (1-0), 15. San Ysiro (0-1)
