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In one corner the 8-0 Eastlake Titans; in the other other corner the 2-6 Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders.
Don’t let the records cloud the significance of Friday’s Metro-Mesa League contest. Despite the apparent disparity in records, the teams will be playing for this year’s league championship.
Both teams are 2-0 in league — the defending league champion Crusaders with a pair of lopsided victories: 48-0 over Montgomery on homecoming two weeks ago and 52-14 at Olympian last Friday.
The Titans squeezed past visiting Otay Ranch, 13-3, two weeks ago and got a bit more breathing room with last Friday’s 34-0 win at Montgomery.
Mater Dei Catholic appears to have returned to form after finally passing through a brutal pre-league schedule.
“Friday’s win over Olympian was another step forward for our program,” Crusader head coach Rashard Cook said. “I’m proud of how our young men have continued to compete, stay together, and improve throughout the season. We challenged ourselves with a tough non-league schedule, and I believe those experiences are starting to pay off.
“Offensively, we had several guys step up and make big plays. Qassim Williams (junior running back/safety) had an outstanding night, rushing for 109 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries. He also caught two passes for 46 yards and another touchdown, finishing with 155 total yards and two scores.
“A.J. Wilson (sophomore running back/free safety) gave us another explosive performance with 90 rushing yards and a touchdown on just five carries, averaging 18 yards per attempt. Xavier Vitela (junior outside linebacker/running back) added 49 rushing yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. As a team, we rushed for 297 yards, which speaks to the work our offensive line has been putting in.
“Jayden Blondin (sophomore quarterback) completed five passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Kamari Alfred (junior free safety/receiver) contributed two receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown, while Khalonie Jordan (junior receiver/defensive back) added three catches for 37 yards. Tyray Ragland (sophomore outside linebacker/tight end) also had three receptions for 28 yards. It was good to see so many different players contributing offensively.
“Defensively, I thought we really set the tone with our physicality and aggressiveness. We finished with 6.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, three interceptions and three forced fumbles.
Ragland had another strong performance with six tackles, two sacks, and two tackles for loss. Vitela added two sacks and two tackles for loss, while senior Ron Pizarro (defensive line/nose guard) contributed 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss. Senior Diego Mendoza finished with six tackles and an interception.
Senior Warren Florence also came away with interception. Junior Roberto Perez forced two fumbles, and junior defensive end Titus Tauanuu recorded a sack and a forced fumble. Sophomore defensive back/receiver Erick West Jr. added four tackles and a tackle for loss.
“What stands out to me is that we’re getting contributions from so many different players,” Cook said. “That’s something we’ve emphasized all year. Football is the ultimate team sport, and when everybody understands their role and does their assignment , we become a much better football team.
“Now we turn our attention to Eastlake, with an opportunity to compete for a league championship. We know they’re a talented, well-coached team, and we’ll need to have a great week of preparation.
“One thing I’ve reminded our players throughout the season is that our goals have always been in front of us, regardless of how we started. Winning a league championship was one of those goals, and now we’ve put ourselves in a position to compete for it.
“I’m proud of the growth we’ve shown, but we’re not satisfied. We still have a lot of football ahead of us, and our focus is on continuing to improve and playing our best football when it matters most.
“We’re excited about Friday’s opportunity. Nothing is going to be handed to us. We must go earn it.”
The same pretty much sums up Eastlake’s mind-set.
The Titans have won their last three games without the services of senior monster running back David Branco, who had amassed 1,037 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns in five games. He’s been hobbled by a leg injury but his return could tip the scales in Eastlake’s favor.
Even without Branco in the lineup, the Titans have shown they can find ways to win
The was showcased in last Friday’s win over the host Aztecs (0-2 in league, 2-5 overall).
Junior quarterback Joe Waters had one of his most successful outings of the season by completing 15 of 25 passing attempts for 203 yards and one touchdown and a 99.3 rating.
Senior Chris Wilson (four carries, 41 yards) scored two rushing touchdowns while senior Eidrin Estrelon (nine carries, 43 yards) tacked on one rushing touchdown.
Senior Santi Aleta (three catches, 51 yards) caught one touchdown pass.
The Titans recorded 325 yards in total offense.
Eastlake collected four sacks, seven tackles for losses, one interception (senior Jeremiah White) and one fumble recovery (sophomore Javian Ceja).
Ceja led the team with eight tackles; senior Noah McCurty had three sacks.
“To be 8-0 you need some good fortune along the way,” EHS assitant coach Ray Ruiz said. “But what really got us here was the kids stepping up and having different unsung heroes pull us through every single week. Our senior leadership has anchored this year’s team through every challenge.
“This graduating class sets the standard by taking full ownership of our culture, holding everyone accountable , and showing exceptional resilience under adversity. The team suffered a major setback after losing our top two running backs to serious injuries. David Branco is sidelined with a sprained ACL, while Jeremiah Holliday is out with a broken fibula. No Branco. No Holliday. No problem.”
Hilltop overcomes Mar Vista, 20-19, opens defense of league title against SuHi
The Hilltop High School football team opens defense of its Metro-South Bay League championship with a road game Friday in National City against the Sweetwater Red Devils.
The Lancers are 4-3 entering league play with a two-game winning streak while Sweetwater is 1-6 with a six-game losing streak. Hilltop sits 58th in the section rankings while the Red Devils are 76th.
But rankings don’t necessarily tell the whole story.
League play levels everything.
“They are always a tough opponent, especially with Brian Hay calling their defense,” Hilltop head coach Bryan Wagner said. “He knows us very well because he was our defensive3 co-ordinator the last two years.”
The Lancers received a well-timed tune-up with last Friday’s 20-19 come-from-behind win at Mar Vista to close out non-league play.
The game pitted the defending Metro-South Bay League champions (Hilltop) against the defending Metro-Pacific League champions (Mar Vista).
It was predictably close.
“It was back and forth game all night long,” Wagner explained. “We had the lead at halftime 10-6. Mar Vista scored late in the third quarter and they were up 13=10. We then put together a drive and went back up 17-13. They scored with less than two minutes left, but missed the extra point. We rallied again and drove down to their 10-yard line and kicked a FG with four seconds left to go ahead.
“We finished off the game with Lajuan Johnson knocking down their last Hail Mary attempt.”
Sophomore Lane Bailey passed for 72 yards with one touchdown to junior Tre Nichols III (two catches, 36 yards). Nichols also rushed 17 times for 92 yards and one TD to finish the game with 196 all-purpose yards, including 68 yards on kick returns.
Junior Max Vaquero rushed 13 times for 102 yards as the Lancers gained 216 rushing yards.
Junior Seven Tarkington amassed 113 all-purpose yards on 83 kick return yards, 26 receiving yards and four rushing yards.
Junior Zach Humphrey led the Hilltop defense with 16 tackles while classmate Dante Hernandez turned in 14 defensive stops. Senior Zion Almazon had 12 tackles.
Senior Victor Ruiz averaged 53.6 yards on kickoffs and 36.3 yards on punts. He was successful on two PAT attempts and two field goals, including a 34-yarder.
Mar Vista (4-3 overall) scored three rushing touchdowns: two by sophomore quarterback Michael Mercado (3 carries, 13 yards) and one by junior Cade Corchado (one carry, 16 yards).
Mercado also passed for 113 yards. Sophomore Jehiel Crawford (seven crtches, 112 yards) led MV receivers.
Red alert
Sweetwater also received a well-timed test, though dropping a 25-23 non-league decision at San Ysidro (2-5 overall).
The Red Devils built a 14-7 halftime lead and extended it to 23-7 with nine points in the third quarter. But the lead collapsed with an 18-0 run by the host Cougars in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Tavion Cunningham passed for 78 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions for the visitors while sophomore Jacob Reynolds rushed 17 times fir 81 yards and one touchdown.
Seniors Abdul Osman (four catches, 54 yards) and Noah Calingay (four catches, 29 yards) each caught touchdown passes.
Calingay also caught a two-point conversion pass.
Sweetwater benefited defensively from a pair of fumble recoveries — one each by Reynolds and sophomore Gabriel Gonzalez. The Devils held the Cougars to negative-three rushing yards.
Senior Rico Calaguas keyed San Ysidro with 139 passing yards and three touchdown passes — one each to seniors Caleb Contreras (four catches, 73 yards), Alexander Almaraz (nine catches, 59 yards) and Eydan Coutinho (one catch, 10 yards).
San Ysidro kicks off Metro-Pacific play at Mar Vista.
