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2006 Metro Conference
Prep Football Playoff Round 2 Report

Titans carry torch for Metro into CIF semis

Posted Nov. 30, 2006
The participants in Monday’s San Diego Section divisional championship games will be decided, at least in Divisions I through IV, in Thursday’s semifinals. Of the seven Metro Conference teams that qualified for this year’s CIF playoffs, only the Eastlake Titans remained in the hunt for a berth in Monday’s elite cadre of teams. The Titans reserved a berth in the Division II Final Four by defeating visiting San Pasqual, 18-6, in last Friday’s quarterfinals.

Seeded fourth in this year’s post-season draw, Eastlake is scheduled to pair up against top-seeded Oceanside in Thursday’s semifinal round, with the winner advancing to Monday’s championship game at 4:30 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium.

As the playoffs have unfolded, there is no question that the Titans deserved to be left standing among the top four teams in the division. Joining the reigning Mesa League tri-champions and the No. 1 Pirates were second-seeded Helix and third-seeded Mission Hills.

Both Helix and Mission Hills finished with 8-2 regular season records while Oceanside ended regular season play 6-3-1 following losses to San Clemente (27-9) and Torrey Pines (37-14) in non-league play, a 10-10 tie against Carlsbad in Avocado League play and a 24-13 loss to El Camino in the Avocado League championship game.

The Titans ended regular season play 7-3 with non-league losses to Poway (22-20) and Helix (27-21) in the opening three weeks of the season and a 21-13 setback at Chula Vista in a game that ultimately forged a three-way tie for the Mesa League championship along with Otay Ranch.

Of the three Mesa League top dogs, only Eastlake remained unscathed through two rounds of post-season competition. Chula Vista saw its season end via a 28-14 loss to visiting Rancho Buena Vista in the first round of the Division I playoffs. Otay Ranch defeated visiting Rancho Bernardo, 42-7, in the opening round of the Division I playoffs to record the first playoff victory in school history but saw its season come to an end in last Friday’s 24-10 loss at second-seeded La Costa Canyon.

While the Division I playoffs remain an exclusive North County affair with top-seeded Carlsbad, LCC, fourth-seeded Escondido and surprising Poway (the 11th seed) all battling for the final two championship berths, Eastlake carried the torch — and proudly so — for South County teams in the Division II playoffs.

In fact, Titan coach John McFadden felt his team had some unfinished business after suffering narrow losses to both Oceanside and Helix in most recent encounters.

The Pirates topped Eastlake, 10-9, in last season’s opener while the Titans held a late lead on Helix — considered one of the section’s powerhouse teams — until the last minute when the visiting Highlanders pulled out the win.

The victory by Helix on Sept. 15 made amends for a 24-14 Eastlake win on the Highlanders’ turf the previous season.
“We’ve beaten those teams before. We feel we match up well against anyone in the division,” McFadden said when asked to sketch out potential playoff matchups.

The Division II bracket turned out to be one of the most competitive of the five enrollment divisions, with a .500 team (Montgomery Aztecs) left out of this year’s 12-team draw. It is not uncommon for one or two teams with losing records to make the playoffs in each division but to have teams with respectable records excluded (the Aztecs had to forfeit a 35-35 tie against Hilltop because of the use of an ineligible player) only reaffirmed the depth of this year’s field.

Overall, four Metro teams participated in last Friday’s quarterfinals, with Eastlake and Marian Catholic both having received first-round byes and Castle Park and Otay Ranch both advancing with first-round victories.

Helix ended Castle Park’s season with a 49-7 win last Friday.

Eastlake defeated Castle Park, 28-19, on Sept. 29 in a battle of what turned out to be the top teams in the Mesa League and South Bay League.

The Metro Conference champions, if you will, received a strong defensive performance to end San Pasqual’s season. The Titans trailed 6-0 on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Minamide to Cory Teed but the hosts slowly worked their way back into the game on a nine-yard scoring run by Jeremiah Andujo to tie the game. A 23-yard field goal by Kris Almario gave Eastlake a 9-6 halftime lead.

The Titans added nine more points in the second half as Almario booted a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter and Andujo scored his second touchdown of the game on a two-yard run in the fourth quarter.

An interception by Dyson Waddles sealed the win for the Mesa League tri-champs.

The story of the game, McFadden said, was the play of his team’s offensive line as the Titans nearly quadrupled their rushing yardage over that of the Golden Eagles. Eastlake racked up more than 300 rushing yards, keyed by Will Duka with 106 yards and followed by Andujo with 85 yards and quarterback Derek Witte with 81 yards.

Oceanside pummeled visiting West Hills, 50-13, as quarterback Steve Carroll passed for three touchdowns and ran for another. The Pirates were the consensus No. 1 preseason pick in the entire section and entered Thursday’s home game matchup against Eastlake seeking their third consecutive division title.

Helix 49, Castle Park 7
Kenslow Smith scored two rushing touchdowns, Larry Gist, George Conley, Jojo Phillips and Desmond Jackson each scored one rushing touchdown and quarterback Dorian Staton threw a 64-yard scoring pass to Matt Cobb to highlight Helix’s offensive surge that generated 337 yards.

The Highlanders (9-2) led 14-0 and answered the Trojans’ lone touchdown of the game — a six-yard run by Boogie Blossom in the second quarter — with five touchdowns to close out the game. The defending Grossmont South League champions led 35-7 at halftime.

“Helix is good,” said Castle Park head coach Paul Van Nostrand, whose team finished 7-4-1. “Helix is fast and well-coached. They played a very disciplined game against us. We weren’t very fast and didn’t play as disciplined a game. Turnovers also hurt us. In all our losses this year, we had at least three turnovers in every game we lost.”

The Highlanders drew third-seeded Mission Hills (9-2) in Thursday’s semifinals.

La Costa Canyon 24, Otay Ranch 10
The host Mustangs (8-4) built a 10-0 halftime lead on a 22-yard field goal Brad Greenway (the section’s kick-scoring leader) and a 20-yard scoring run by quarterback Jose Mohler and put the game away on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Mohler to Kort Gibson after the Mustangs had closed to within 17-10 on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.

Brian Lewis kicked a 22-yard field goal to get Otay Ranch — winners of four consecutive games — on the scoreboard in the third quarter to trim the LCC lead to 10-3. However, the Mavericks responded on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Mohler to Rusty Leedy to take a 17-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. But the Mustangs would not go down easily as Edgar Valles returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to make it a one touchdown game. Otay Ranch came up big defensively to keep the score closer as Niko Salazar blocked a punt and Julian Samson later came up with a fumble recovery.

After Gibson’s insurance touchdown, the Mustangs later drove into the LCC red zone but failed to convert on a fourth down play.

The win was the sixth straight for the Mavs, who entertain dangerous Poway (27-21 upset winners against third-seeded Torrey Pines) in Thursday’s semifinals. Mohler was credited with 238 passing yards for LCC, which received 122 receiving yards from Gibson and 91 rushing yards from Leedy in the victory against Otay Ranch. In their six consecutive victories, the Mavs had not allowed more than 14 points scored against them in any one game.

Palo Verde 34, Marian Catholic 21
The host Crusaders trailed early 14-0, rallied to tie the game at 14-all and then took a 21-20 lead before surrendering the final two touchdowns of the game to the Yellow Jackets in last Friday’s Division IV quarterfinal matchup.

Roman Owens scored two of Marian Catholic’s three touchdowns in the game, bursting into the end zone from 35 yards out to cut Palo Verde’s lead to 14-7 and later scoring on a four-yard run to give the Crusaders (4-6-1) a 21-20 lead in the third quarter.

But Yellow Jackets quarterback David Ortega had a hand in all five of his team’s touchdowns with two scoring passes and three rushing scores. Ortega, who finished as the section passing leader with 3,419 yards and 38 touchdowns, fired TD passes of 57 yards to A.J. Kemp (the section’s leading receiver with 1,477 yards and 19 touchdowns) and 13 yards to Aaron Quintanilla to stake the sixth-seeded Yellow Jackets (8-3) to a 14-0 advantage. His three rushing touchdowns would eventually prove the difference. His 12-yard run in the fourth quarter pushed the visitors ahead 26-21. He closed out the game with a one-yard TD run to hand Palo Verde a 13-point victory and a semifinal date opposite second-seeded Santa Fe Christian (9-2).


St. Augustine 58, Brawley 12
The fourth-seeded Saints (8-3) earned a headline matchup in the Division III semifinals against top-seeded and undefeated El Capitan (11-0) after drubbing the fifth-seeded Wildcats (8-3) in last Friday’s quarterfinal-round contest in front of an estimated 3,500 fans at Southwestern College. Quarterback Chris Forcier, who will attend UCLA next fall, led the way for defending division champion St. Augustine (8-3) by scoring three rushing touchdowns, throwing a pair of scoring strikes and even catching a half-back option pass for an 11-yard touchdown as the Saints rolled up 479 yards in total offense. Forcier, who entered Thursday’s semifinal matchup against the No. 1 section ranked Vaqueros with 2,172 passing yards and 21 touchdowns, scored on runs of one, eight and 62 yards. Leighland Koonce caught two touchdown passes while Leitch James scored on a seven-yard pass from reserve QB David Popkins and Daniel Butler added a 26-touchdown run. The Saints defense was also active with a safety and blocked punt.

Sants-Dons: a rivalry like no other
As long as most can recall, the annual gridiron battle between St. Augustine High School and Cathedral Catholic High School (formerly University of San Diego High School) has been played at Southwestern College. As long as I can recall, the attendance at the rivalry game has hovered near capacity at DeVore Stadium.

That is, around 7,000 fans.

The game has taken on legendary proportions and, as pure entertainment value, few other rivalries can match it.

The annual battle between what is likely the San Diego region’s top two parochial schools has acquired a name: Holy Bowl.

While the game has determined the championship in the City Conference Eastern League in the past, the much-anticipated matchup — like most long-held rivalries — usually reduces both teams’ records to 0-0 when they meet. Regardless of the teams’ respective records, this game usually takes on a bigger significance.

The annual rivalry game between Chula Vista and Sweetwater high schools reached its 60th meeting this year, and has been regarded among the oldest continuous rivalry matchups in the San Diego Section. The first game was played in 1947 and Sweetwater owns a 36-21-3 edge in the legendary series. Chula Vista prevailed 42-0 in the regionally-televised game played Oct. 19 at National City’s Gail Devers Stadium.

A massive trophy — the Legacy of Pride trophy — made its debut at this year’s game, which also doubled as Sweetwater’s homecoming, thus assuring a large crowd.

With all due respect, the Saints-Dons matchup deserves to be placed alongside that of the Spartans-Red Devils.

Television cameras were at Southwestern College to record the teams’ Nov. 9 meeting. So were about 6,000 fans.

It was easily the best game played in South County this year, at least in the regular season — and most likely the best attended.

Fans began arriving early. The line at the Subway sandwich shop across the street at Bonita Point Plaza extended to the door by 5:45 p.m. You guessed it, the line was quite colorful with purple and yellow-clad Saints and red and yellowclad Dons fans mingling while getting a bite to eat before the big game. (Besides providing area fans with a top-notch high school football game, the St. Augustine-Cathedral Catholic rivalry contest also impacts the Chula Vista economy.)

Once 7 p.m. chimed, however, fans were firmly rooted on either side of DeVore Stadium — about 85 percent full on this occasion.

Sweetwater district schools can learn a little bit about dressing up their product by sending a few representatives to watch the annual Holy Bowl tilt.

It will likely raise eyebrows.

In fact, the annual Saints-Dons matchup has all the trappings that one might find at a Midwest college football game: brightly-colored balloons, cheer squads, student cheer sections, body-painted fans, masses of supportive alumni, halftime pageantry, an on-field DJ spinning CDs (the choice of cuts was perfect for every moment) and a public address announcer whose tongue-in-cheek humor was equally well-timed.

Oh, and the football played on the field was pretty good, too.

The reigning San Diego Section Division III champion Saints won 31-23 in a game that can only be described as a thriller.

Both schools draw their student bodies on a regional basis — St. Augustine High School is located in North Park and Cathedral Catholic opened its new campus last year in Carmel Valley — and thus the Nov. 9 contest also served as a homecoming for the Saints’ and Dons’ South County students and their families.

Chula Vista resident Frank Unpingco has served as the wrestling coach at St. Augustine High School since 1989 and has drawn supervision duty at the Holy Bowl matchup the last six years. He, too, has difficulty placing the game anywhere else but at Southwestern College.

He has been a Chula Vista resident for 33 years.

What strikes Unpingco most about the game is the friendly rivalry it promotes between the two teams.

“The players are more like brothers out there,” Unpingco said. “There’s a friendly rivalry that inspires the players to perform at their best. Even though the Dons moved farther away from us, I don’t think there is any less of a rivalry felt between the two schools.”
The Dons lead the venerated series 26-18.

The game’s feel-good atmosphere (Saints players enter the field through the stands to chords of “When the Saints Go Marching In” courtesy of the school band) complements the talent assembled on the field.

In the past two years, St. Augustine High School has sent 40 players to college football programs across the country. Former standout quarterback Jason Forcier is now at Michigan while a pair of former Saintsmen — Todd Newell and Paul Madrid — are now playing at Air Force Academy. Other major colleges with St. Augustine players currently on their rosters include Stanford, USC and Nebraska, among others.

Bonita’s Matt Gabbard (who was last seen as a prep leading the cheers —and planting the shovel — at Qualcomm Stadium following the Saints’ emphatic 46-14 Division III championship game win against Point Loma last December) is a member of this year’s University of San Diego football team. The Toreros (10-1) completed a 7-0 run through the non-scholarship Pioneer League and will play Monmouth in the upcoming Gridiron Classic Saturday, Dec. 2, in West Long Branch, N. J.

Two-time defending Pioneer League champion USD had its 18-game winning streak snapped following last Saturday’s 37-27 loss at UC Davis. The Toreros entered the game ranked 14th among NCAA I-AA teams.

The charismatic Gabbard earned the Saints’ 2005 team Most Valuable Player award and was recognized not only as an all-league selection but as an all-section and all-state pick at his linebacker position. He totaled 145 tackles his senior year and 130 tackles his junior year after playing only three years of organized football. He chose to attend USD (majoring in engineering) after being recruited by SDSU and the Colorado School of Mines.

The Saints, seeded fourth in this year’s Division III playoff bracket, returned to Southwestern College for last Friday’s quarterfinal-round playoff game against Brawley. The crowd was once again sizable — filling about half the 7,000-seat stadium —and St. Augustine head coach Jerry Ralph pulled out some trickery as the Saints (8-3) easily prevailed, 58-12, in a show of supreme force on the field.

Quarterback Chris Forcier (younger brother of Jason and bound for UCLA next fall) ran for three touchdowns, threw a pair of scoring strikes and even caught a half-back option pass for an 11-yard touchdown as the Saints rolled up 479 yards in total offense. Forcier, who enters Thursday’s semifinal matchup against No. 1-ranked El Capitan with 2,172 passing yards and 21 touchdowns, passed for 229 yards and ran for 82 yards, including scoring runs of one, eight and 62 yards.

Also for St. Augustine, Leighland Koonce caught two touchdown passes while Leitch James scored on a seven-yard pass from reserve QB David Popkins and Daniel Butler added a 26-touchdown run.

A win on Thursday against the previously undefeated Vaqueros (11-0-0) would propel the Saints into Monday’s Division III championship game at Qualcomm Stadium against either second-seeded Point Loma (9-2) or sixth-seeded Steele Canyon (9-3). But whatever the outcome, the images of the latest Saints-Dons matchup will linger for a while — such is the stature of that one game.