SD Prep Sports:

2006 Metro Conference

Prep Football Playoff Round 1 Report

Mustangs score history-making first playoff win

Five Metro Conference teams remain in CIF quarterfinals

Posted Nov. 22, 2006

By Ryan Rudnansky
Sports intern

Otay Ranch’s 42-7 victory against Rancho Bernardo in last Friday’s first round of the San Diego Section Division I playoffs was its first-ever playoff victory in its three-year history.

“No one can ever take this away from us,” head coach Gene Alim told his emotionally revved-up squad after the game.
But perhaps what was even more significant was that Otay Ranch proved it could compete with a North County team.
Before last Friday night’s game, South County teams were perceived by many to be inferior to North County teams.

But Otay Ranch (8-3) proved that sentiment faulty by blowing out Rancho Bernardo (4-6) and advancing to Friday’s quarterfinals against second-seeded La Costa Canyon (8-2).

“It was a big statement game,” Otay Ranch junior quarterback Marcus Vasquez said.

Added Alim: “It feels great. It’s a nice feeling all around. It’s something (the players) will remember forever.”

One thing the Bronco defense would like to forget is the way the Mustangs moved on the ground.

It didn’t seem to matter who ran the ball for Otay Ranch.

Three Mustangs scored at least twice on the ground and, by the end of the game, Otay Ranch had amassed 464 rushing yards.
“Our (offensive) line blocked tremendously,” said Vasquez, who had three rushing touchdowns in the game, including a 71-yard scamper. “They stepped up.”

And with the offense in high gear, senior defensive back Edgar Valles made sure Rancho Bernardo didn’t get within striking distance the whole game.

Valles grabbed two interceptions and forced a fumble, deeming it the best game of his career.

But what may have overshadowed all of that was his ferocious hit in the second quarter on Bronco running back Daniel Lemus. The tackle left Lemus on his back and brought both the sidelines and the crowd to their feet.

“It’s one of the biggest hits I’ve ever had,” Valles said.

Alim had nothing but praise for Valles after the game.

“Edgar’s as good a defensive back as there is in the county,” the Otay Ranch coach said.

But it was the entire defense that stopped Rancho Bernardo running back Richard Caldwell, who had gained 1,120 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns in the regular season.

The Mustangs were able to hold Caldwell to 46 yards and a touchdown.

Alim credited the defensive scheme.

Otay Ranch’s defense will need to be ready to go again as it faces La Costa Canyon. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at La Costa Canyon High School.

The Mavericks ended Torrey Pines’ perfect season with a 29-13 victory in the last regular season game to claim the coveted Palomar League championship.

Trojans stop Barons, 13-10, draw #2 Helix in quarterfinals

Castle Park 13, Bonita Vista 10
For a game that generally seemed lackluster from its start, the final three minutes of last Friday’s opening round Division II matchup between the host Castle Park Trojans and visiting Bonita Vista Barons provided some welcome excitement. The question became whether the visiting Barons could pull off a final game-winning march down field.

Bonita Vista quarterback Ace Morales almost answered the call by carrying the ball from the CP 38-yard line to the 10-yard line before a hit from a host of Trojan defenders dislodged the ball. Castle Park’s Boogie Blossom fell on the loose ball to preserve his team’s narrow 13-10 win.

Quarterback Russell McGuire gave the seventh-seeded Trojans (7-3-1) a 7-0 lead on a three-yard scoring run while twin brother David McGuire later scored on a nine-yard run to extend Castle Park’s lead to 13-0 in the second quarter.

The Trojan defense allowed 226 passing yards but coughed up only a 15-yard scoring pass from Morales to Terry Love and a 28-yard field goal by Josh Boyd. The Barons, who ended their season 5-6, could have won the game had an apparent 39-yard touchdown run by Wesley Roche not been called back because of a holding penalty. Boyd also nailed a booming field goal attempt early in the game that appeared high enough and long enough but was ruled no good by the officials.

Blossom, who enters Friday’s quarterfinal-round game at second-seeded Helix (8-2) with 1,280 yards and nine touchdowns to his credit, rushed for 161 yards. Russell McGuire has passed for 1,183 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Castle Park will have to increase its intensity level if it expects to contend with the Highlanders, who captured this year’s Grossmont South League title with a 55-7 victory against visiting Monte Vista on Nov. 9 by racking up 336 offensive yards. Eric Forney and Andray Jackson each scored two rushing touchdowns while Dorian Staton tossed scoring passes to Matt Cobb and Derric Miller in the rout. Forney has rushed for 765 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season while Staton has thrown for 834 yards and eight scores.

Helix has won nine consecutive games on the field after opening the season with a 27-0 loss to Oceanside, though only the last eight count after being required to forfeit a victory against visiting Logan (Utah) in the second week of the season because of the use of an ineligible player. Helix finished 5-0 in league play and has outscored its 10 regular season opponents this season 264-154.

RBV 28, Chula Vista 14
Matt Stacy rushed for 163 yards, including a dramatic 67-yard touchdown run, and Josh Goldilla passed six yards to Taylor Julio for another score but it was too little, too late for host Chula Vista (6-5) in its Division I opening round matchup against Rancho Buena Vista (5-5-1). Cameron Chadwick paced the opportunistic Longhorns with two touchdown passes while also running for one score.

Quarterfinal-round playoff previews
All games Friday, Nov. 24, at 7:30 p.m. unless noted

Division II
San Pasqual (6-4-1) at Eastlake (7-3)
The fifth-seeded Golden Eagles earned the right to test the fourth-seeded Titans after eliminating 12th-seeded Grossmont, 39-14, in first round Division II action last Friday. San Pasqual countered an early 7-6 Grossmont lead with five unanswered touchdowns, including three orchestrated by quarterback Daniel Minamide, who scored on runs of 27 and seven yards while also tossing a 27-yard scoring pass to Brandon Hartley. Bryan Fiorito rushed for 116 yards and scored one touchdown on a six-yard run while Kyle Albini scored on a 58-yard run and Kyle Herrera scored on a one-yard run.

Division III
Brawley (8-2) vs. St. Augustine (7-3)
Friday, Nov. 24 7 p.m. at Southwestern College
Chris Forcier leads the fourth-seeded Saints with 1,943 passing yards and 19 touchdowns. Top receivers include Leighland Koonce (578 yards, five TD), Larry Parker (485 yards, six TD) and Leitch James (437 yards, four TD). James keys St. Augustine with 846 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Forcier has also scrambled or 427 rushing and scored five rushing touchdowns. Forcier passed for 258 yards and James scored twice in the Saints’ 31-23 victory against Cathedral Catholic in the teams’ annual Holy Bowl game that was attended by an estimated 6,000 fans Nov. 9 at the Chula Vista venue.

Brawley eliminated Southwest, 32-7, last Friday as the Wildcats held the Raiders, who scored first to take a 7-0 lead on Adrian Jones’ 95-yard fumble return, to 109 total offensive yards. Brawley received two scores from Darren Clark on runs of 83 and 37 yards. Chauncey Rowe (18-yard run), Cesar Hernandez (two-yard run) and Gilly Rebollar (five-yard run) also scored touchdowns as the Wildcats ended the game with 32 unanswered points. Hernandez has more than 1,000 rushing yards.
to his credit.

Division IV
Palo Verde (7-3) at Marian Catholic (4-5-1)
Will this be the last-ever football game at Marian Catholic High School? The Crusaders have a chance to advance to the Division IV semifinals on Nov. 30 with a quarterfinal victory against the Yellow Jackets. Marian Catholic ended regular season play with a 21-21 tie against visiting Castle Park, which won its first-round Division II playoff contest. Palo Verde is led by quarterback David Ortega, who has thrown for section-leading 3,089 yards and 36 touchdowns. A.J. Kemp has 77 catches for 1,298 yards and 18 touchdowns while Aaron Quintanilla has 53 catches for 839 yards and 15 touchdowns. Brandon Rogers has rushed for 510 yards and seven touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets, who are led defensively by Robert Spivey’s 10 sacks.

Metro Conference
2006 Standings
Final Regular Season

Mesa League
League Overall
School W-L-T W-L-T
x-Eastlake 4-1 7-3
x-Otay Ranch 4-1 7-3
x-Chula Vista 4-1 6-4
Bonita Vista 2-3 5-5
San Ysidro 1-4 3-7
Sweetwater 0-5 0-10
x-tri-champions

Friday, Oct. 13
Bonita Vista 35, Sweetwater 0
Eastlake 42, San Ysidro 0
Otay Ranch 27, Chula Vista 10

Thursday, Oct. 19
Chula Vista 42, Sweetwater 0

Friday, Oct. 20
Eastlake 25, Otay Ranch 20
Bonita Vista 35, San Ysidro 3

Friday, Oct. 27
Otay Ranch 52, Bonita Vista 7
Chula Vista 21, Eastlake 13
San Ysidro 28, Sweetwater 7

Friday, Nov. 3
Eastlake 44, Sweetwater 3
Chula Vista 24, Bonita Vista 21
Otay Ranch 42, San Ysidro 0

Thursday, Nov. 9
Eastlake 34, Bonita Vista 10
Chula Vista 41, San Ysidro 0
Otay Ranch 63, Sweetwater 0

END REGULAR SEASON

South Bay League
League Overall
School W-L-T W-L-T
Castle Park 4-0-1 6-3-1
Marian Catholic 3-1-1 4-5-1
Southwest 3-2-0 5-5-0
Montgomery 2-3-0 5-5-0
Hilltop 2-3-0 3-7-0
Mar Vista 0-5-0 1-9-0

Friday, Oct. 13
Marian Catholic 52, Hilltop 14
Castle Park 52, Mar Vista 7
Southwest 9, Montgomery 7

Friday, Oct. 20
arian Catholic 62, Mar Vista 34
Hilltop 35, Montgomery 35 (Hilltop wins tiebreaker)
Castle Park 41, Southwest 6

Thursday, Oct. 26
Hilltop 29, Mar Vista 22

Friday, Oct. 27
Castle Park 45, Montgomery 7
Marian Catholic 35, Southwest 7

Friday, Nov. 3
Hilltop 55, Castle Park 28
Montgomery 26, Marian Catholic 21
Southwest 20, Mar Vista 7

Thursday, Nov. 9
Castle Park 21, Marian Catholic 21
Southwest 17, Hilltop 7
Montgomery 35, Mar Vista 14
END REGULAR SEASON

Metro Conference Team Leaders
Rushing
Castle Park: Boogie Blossom 1,119 yards, 9 TD.
Hilltop: Jose Duran 920 yards, 7 TD; Craig Rasmussen 584 yards, 5 TD.
Southwest: Louis Johnson 577 yards, 6 TD; John Edwards 405 yards, 3 TD.

Passing
Castle Park: Russell McGuire 1,178 yards, 17 TD.
Chula Vista: Josh Goldilla 1,170 yards, 14 TD.
Eastlake: Derek Witte 1,119 yards, 9 TD.
Hilltop: Craig Rasmussen 1,589 yards, 14 TD.

Receiving
Hilltop: Kyle Howard 959 yards, 5 TD; Chris Prather 447 yards, 4 TD.

Metro Conference Statistical Leaders
(Based on team reports)

Rushing Leaders
Player (school) Yards
Roman Owens (Marian) 1,214
Boogie Blossom (CP) 1,055
Jose Duran (Hilltop) 857
Marcus Vasquez (Otay Ranch) 779
Ramses Ramirez (BV) 709
Juan Moriel (Mont) 665
Momo Williams (MV) 664
Will Duka (Eastlake) 604
Brandon Meredith (Mont) 534
Robert McCurdy (Otay Ranch) 517
Louis Johnson (Southwest) 487
Craig Rasmussen (Hilltop) 478
Jared Jordan (Otay Ranch) 438
John Edwards (Southwest) 382
Ricky Daniels (Otay Ranch) 226
Ezra Rubio (Otay Ranch) 209
Adrian Jones (Southwest) 172
James King (Montgomery) 165
Touchdowns: Owens 14, Vasquez 10, Blossom 9, Duka 9, Moriel 8, Ramirez 8, Meredith 7, Duran 7, Johnson 5, Rasmussen 5, Williams 5, Daniels 4, Jones 4, Jordan 4, Edwards 3, Rubio 2, McCurdy 1.
Note: Chula Vista rushing statistics not reported.

Passing Leaders
Player (school) Yards
Craig Rasmussen (Hilltop) 1,374
Russell McGuire (Castle Park) 1,126
Derek Witte (Eastlake) 1,119
Josh Goldilla (Chula Vista) 1,012
Chris Pizarro (Montgomery) 991
Ace Morales (Bonita Vista) 767
Michael Alcala (Hilltop) 573
Touchdowns: McGuire 16, Goldilla 13, Rasmussen 13, Pizarro 10, Witte 9, Morales 7.

Receiving Leaders
Player (school) Yards
Kyle Howard (Hilltop) 888
Michael Davis (Mar Vista) 792
Terry Love (Bonita Vista) 589
Jeremiah Andujo (Eastlake) 547
Edgar Valles (Otay Ranch) 497
Juan Moriel (Montgomery) 468
Chris Prather (Hilltop) 447
Martin Bayless (CP) 349
Brian Pike (Hilltop) 322
James King (Montgomery) 293
Carlos Ugarte (Hilltop) 208
Onil Vallecillo (Montgomery) 198
Carlos Ruiz (Southwest) 181
Jose Duran (Hilltop) 126
Adrian Jones (Southwest) 82
Jose Rivas (Hilltop) 81
Eugene Afalla (Montgomery) 73
Touchdowns: Love 7, Valles 7, Andujo 5, Bayless 5, Howard 5, Moriel 4, Pike 4, Prather 4, Davis 3, King 3, Vallecillo 3, Afalla 2, Gaytan 2, Jones 1, Rivas 1, Ugarte 1.

Scoring Leaders
Player (school) TD
Roman Owens (Marian) 14
Juan Moriel (Montomery) 12
Matt Stacey (Chula Vista) 11
Ramses Ramirez (BV) 10
Jeremiah Andujo (Eastlake) 9
Will Duka (Eastlake) 9
Jose Duran (Hilltop) 7
Terry Love (Bonita Vista) 7
Brandon Meredith (Mont) 7
Edgar Valles (Otay Ranch) 7
Craig Rasmussen (Hilltop) 5
Kyle Howard (Hilltop) 5
Louis Johnson (Southwest) 5
Adrian Jones (Southwest) 5
Momo Williams (Mar Vista) 5
Martin Bayless (Castle Park) 5
John Edwards (Southwest) 4
Chris Prather (Hilltop) 4
Brian Pike (Hilltop) 4
Michael Davis (Mar Vista) 4
Carlos Ruiz (Southwest) 2

Kick Scoring Leaders
Player (school) Total Points
Julian Sesma (Castle Park) 44
Jason Myers (Marian Catholic) 38
Adrian Canizales (Chula Vista) 37
Jonathan Alcala (Montgomery) 35
Josh Boyd (Bonita Vista) 33
Billy Loss (Hilltop) 25
Enrique Gaytan (Southwest) 11

Thursday Night Game of the Week
All games 7:05 p.m.
Channel 4 San Diego
Regular Season Schedule
August
31: Oceanside 27, Helix 0
September
7: Bogalusa (Louisiana) 19, Bonita Vista 14
14: El Capitan 46, Poway 28
21: West Hill 31, Monte Vista 3
28: Mission Hills 21, Valley Center 7
October
5: Escondido 38, Ramona 19
12: Steele Canyon 31, Valhalla 7
19: Chula Vista 42, Sweetwater 0
26: Hilltop 29, Mar Vista 22
November
2: Carlsbad 7, Rancho Buena Vista 7
9: St. Augustine 31, Cathedral Catholic 23

San Diego Section Rankings
SD Sportscasters/Broadcasters Poll
(Nov. 6)
(Records throiugh Nov. 4)
1. Torry Pines (9-0-0)
2. El Capitan (9-0-0)
3. Oceanside (6-2-1)
4. La Costa Canyon (5-2-0)
5. Carlsbad (6-0-2)
6. Escondido (7-2-0)
7. Helix (7-2-0)
8. Mission Bay (7-1-0)
9. Point Loma (8-1-0)
10. Mission Hills (7-2-0)

Others (in order of votes): Santa Fe Chrisitan (7-2), St. Augustine (6-3), Hoover (7-2), Mira Mesa (5-4), El Camino (6-3), Poway (5-4), Steele Canyon (6-3), Brawley (7-1), Central Union (8-1)

San Diego Section: The Undefeated
(Through Nov. 10)

Division I
Carlsbad (7-0-2)

Division III
El Capitan (10-0-0)

Eight-Man
San Pasqual Academy (9-0-0)

Measuring up

Metro Conference
Non-League Standings
(Through Oct. 7)
Team Record
Bonita Vista 3-2-0
Eastlake 3-2-0
Montgomery 3-2-0
Otay Ranch 3-2-0
Castle Park 2-3-0
Chula Vista 2-3-0
San Ysidro 2-3-0
Hilltop 1-4-0
Mar Vista 1-4-0
Marian Catholic 1-4-0
Southwest 1-4-0
Sweetwater 0-5-0

Metro Tracker
Non-conference opponents
Metro Conference: 13-31 (.295)

Metro Conference Schedule/Results

Friday, Sept. 22
Castle Park 38, Morse 6
Eastlake 32, Marian Catholic 14
Chula Vista 45, Granite Hills 7
Montgomery 42, Kearny 0
Southwest 17, San Ysidro 0
Point Loma 20, Otay Ranch 11
Santana 56, Sweetwater 0
Scripps Ranch 42, Mar Vista 0

Friday, Sept. 29
Eastlake 28, Castle Park 19
Otay Ranch 35, Marian Catholic 20
Steele Canyon 33, Hilltop 17
Orange Glen 20, Montgomery 10
Vista 28, Bonita Vista 3
Coronado 19, Mar Vista 7
Hoover 34, Southwest 7

Friday, Oct. 6
Chula Vista 47, Hilltop 7
Santa Fe Christian 35, Marian Catholic 14
San Ysidro 22, Mar Vista 21
Bonita Vista 27, RBV 14
Granite Hills 52, Sweetwater 6
Otay Ranch 48, Sultana (Hesperia) 3