SD Prep Sports:

2006 Metro Conference

Prep Football Week 9 Report

Upsets galore!
It’s now a four-way race for Mesa League title

CHULA VISTA, Nov. 2, 2006 -- It appears there could be more than one Mesa League football champion this year. How many? The current scenario allows for up to four.

All the drama was set in motion by last Friday’s 21-13 victory by Chula Vista against visiting Eastlake and host Otay Ranch’s 52-7 drubbing of defending league champion Bonita Vista.

Entering this Friday’s league slate, four teams — the Bonita Vista Barons, Chula Vista Spartans, Eastlake Titans and Otay Ranch Mustangs — all boast 2-1 league marks.

The remaining two weeks of regular season play look to make for a trademark fantastic finish.

“We played three tough ballgames back-to-back-to-back,” said Otay Ranch head coach Gene Alim, who won eight consecutive league titles and two CIF championships at Sweetwater during the 1980s. “We hung in there against Chula (a 26-17 Mustang victory on the strength of three touchdowns in the final two minutes). We were fortunate to win that at the end. It was a great learning experience for us. Coming out of that game, I knew they (the Spartans) would surprise someone. They did that immediately.”

Otay Ranch did a bit of surprising its opponent last Friday as well. The Barons entered the key tilt riding a three-game winning streak that included a 27-14 non-league victory against Rancho Buena Vista — a team the Mustangs suffered a 22-21 loss against earlier this season, also in non-league play.

In its last two games against Sweetwater and San Ysidro, Bonita Vista owned a 70-3 scoring advantage. Meanwhile, Otay Ranch was coming off a stinging 25-20 setback the previous week at Eastlake — a game in which turnovers on the Mustangs’ part played a significant role in the outcome.

Alim called last Friday’s emotional victory against an established program like Bonita Vista the “best” by his team so far this season.

“That was our best game all-around — offense, defense, special teams, punt returns, every facet of the game” said Alim, whose squad broke out to a quick 13-0 lead and finished the game with 39 unanswered points. “That was our best game of the season. The most impressive thing is that we were coming off a very disappointing loss (against Eastlake) and knowing how kids can be sometimes, there is a tendency to expect some kids to hang their heads out there. But our kids came out just the opposite. We’re proud of how the kids bounced back.”

Edgar Valles caught three touchdown passes and the Mustangs received rushing touchdowns from four players to vanquish the high powered Barons in a show of force. Respect? The Mustangs — at 5-3 overall with three losses by a combined 15 points — have to have it now, no question.

Otay Ranch scored on its third play of the game as starting quarterback Marcus Vasquez lofted a 68-yard pass to Valles, who caught the ball in the open and raced the rest of the way into the end zone. Less than four minutes later it was 13-0 as Vasquez tossed a 39-yard scoring pass to Valles, though the extra point failed.

Two passes, two touchdowns for Vasquez.

Bonita Vista answered on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Beto Padilla with 1:59 left in the first quarter to make the score 13-7 in the Mustangs’ favor. However, Otay Ranch promptly responded with on a 10-yard scoring run by Vasquez just 1:18 into the second quarter. The hosts were in line possibly to grab more points when Vasquez fumbled the ball on the Bonita Vista 12-yard line with less than two minutes in the first half.

Trailing 21-7, the Barons looked to get back in the game with a scoring drive but after making a catch at the 36-yard line, Terry Love fumbled the ball back to Otay Ranch.

Needing a score to further distance themselves from their opponent, Brian Lewis may have supplied the back-breaker on a 54-yard field goal with 51 seconds left in the quarter to raise the score to 24-7.

Vasquez was a one-man army for the Mustangs with 197 yards in the opening half (four-for-four passing for 135 yards and 62 rushing yards). Valles had three catches for 120 yards, including two touchdowns. As a team, Otay Ranch amassed 285 total offensive yards in the first two quarters.

However, the talented junior went down with a bruised pelvis early in the third quarter and did not return for the game. That did not deter the Mustangs from scoring four more touchdowns. Jeff Smith completed the drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Valles (his third of the game). Jared Jordan then scored on a 12-yard run to hike the score to 38-7 through three quarters.

Scott Catlin intercepted a halfback pass attempt by the Barons and Brian Mark also picked off a Bonita Vista pass to keep possession for the hosts in the waning minutes of the second half.

Ezra Rubio and Ricky Daniels rounded out scoring in the game with fourth quarter touchdowns for Otay Ranch.
The Mustangs can claim their first varsity league title in school history by winning their final two league games against San Ysidro (1-2, 3-5) and Sweetwater (0-3, 0-8). Bonita Vista defeated San Ysidro, 35-3, and Sweetwater by a 35-0 score. Eastlake topped San Ysidro, 42-0, in another head-to-head league matchup.

Should Otay Ranch prevail in both games, the Mustangs would crown themselves champions (or co- or tri- or quad-champions) during the school’s first-ever homecoming game on Nov. 9 against Sweetwater.

“The focus is on San Ysidro this week,” Alim said with a cautious tone. “You don’t show up and expect the other team to hand you a win. You have to go out there and earn it.”

All the Spartans have done is to bounce back from an 0-3 start to the season with four consecutive wins, including a 47-7 Kiwanis Bowl victory against Hilltop and a 42-0 win against longtime rival Sweetwater in the teams’ annual “Legacy of Pride” contest.

Fitting in with that comeback, Chula Vista rallied from an initial 7-0 deficit against the Titans with 21 unanswered points and then held off a determined and talented Eastlake club in the game’s critical waning moments.

Will Duka opened scoring in the game by hauling in a 34-yard touchdown pass from Titan quarterback Derek Witte. However, the Spartans responded with three unanswered scores. Matt Stacy (26 rushes, 114 yards) scored on a 13-yard run to tie the game at 7-7 by the end of the first quarter. Chula Vista added two more touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 21-7 halftime lead. Josh Goldilla (10-of 14 completions, 148 passing yards) connected with Brandon Taylor on a 23-yard pass play down the sideline to give the hosts the lead at 14-7 and Taimi Tutogi (13 rushes, 90 yards) later scored on a two-yard run to push the Spartans ahead by two scores.

Defense by both teams highlighted the second half of play. Duka scored his second TD of the game in the fourth quarter to trim the Chula Vista lead to 21-13. However, the extra point attempt was no good, leaving Eastlake down by eight points.

The Titans continued to have chances but Tutogi, playing defense, forced a fumble after the visitors had driven to the Spartans’ nine-yard line. Chula Vista also stopped Eastlake on a fourth-down-and-one play earlier in the third quarter.

The game featured more than 580 yards in combined offense between the teams, with the Spartans amassing more than 350 yards in an impressive showing.

Chula Vista can earn at least a share of this year’s Mesa League title by winning its final two games against Bonita Vista (Friday at Southwestern College) and San Ysidro (Nov. 9 at the Spartans’ homecoming game). The same scenario exists for both the Barons and Titans, who meet up in the regular season finale for both eastside teams.

Eastlake plays at winless Sweetwater on Friday. The Titans are heavily favored to own a 3-1 league record heading into their Nov. 9 contest against visiting Bonita Vista. The Barons will either be 3-1 or 2-2 in league play. If both Bonita Vista and Eastlake boast identical 3-1 league records by that game, the winner will earn at least a share of the league title.

A tie in any of the final two games could eliminate any of the four contenders.

It’s mathematically possible for all four contending teams to finish with 3-2 league records, thus creating a four-way tie for the league championship, but it would take an upset victory by San Ysidro or Sweetwater to accomplish that.

But then, anything is possible.

San Ysidro 28, Sweetwater 7
The Cougars (1-2, 3-5) captured their first homecoming victory by keeping the visiting Red Devils (0-3, 0-8) winless on the season. San Ysidro received two rushing touchdowns from Aaron Perez and one touchdown each from Josh Morrison and Darcy Diaz.

South Bay League Report:
Pass-happy Lancers hope to play spoiler’s role

CHULA VISTA, Nov. 2, 2006 -- The South Bay League championship race got a bit more interesting when it was announced earlier this week that Montgomery would forfeit its 35-35 tie against Hilltop on Oct. 20 because of the use of an ineligible player. The forfeiture dropped the Aztecs to 0-3 in league play, 3-5 overall, while raising the Lancers’ league record to 2-1, 3-5 overall.

Hilltop has the opportunity thus to play a potential spoiler’s role in its final two league games against Castle Park and Southwest.

Castle Park (5-3 overall) enters Friday’s home game against the Lancers sporting a 3-0 league mark.

The Trojans obviously will be out to nip any upset bid by Hilltop in anticipation of its Nov. 9 showdown game against Marian Catholic for the league title.

Castle Park tuned up for Friday’s game against the Lancers by defeating visiting Montgomery, 45-7, last Friday. The game was a rematch of last year’s San Diego Section Division II first-round playoff pairing and, like last season’s outcome, the Trojans steadily pulled away for the victory.

Boogie Blossom scored on runs of seven and four yards and Russell McGuire hit Martin Bayless Jr. on touchdown passes of seven and 19 yards while Victor Redd scored on a 55-yard fumble recovery, David McGuire scored on a 46-yard run and Julian Sesma kicked a 27-yard field goal to account for the Castle Park scoring.

Blossom finished the game with 155 rushing yards after setting a school record the previous week with 283 yards. He now has 827 rushing yards on the season to go with eight touchdowns.

McGuire has passed for 1,046 yards and 14 touchdowns in eight games while Bayless has caught 22 passes for 349 yards and five touchdowns.

McGuire threw a pair of touchdown strikes to Joey Valencia in the team’s previous game against Southwest.

Hilltop continued to display its comeback ability by rallying for a 29-22 victory against visiting Mar Vista on Oct. 26 in front of a regional television audience. The Lancers scored 22 unanswered points after initially dropping behind the Mariners (0-3, 1-7) by a 19-7 score.

Craig Rasmussen (11-of-23 completions, 200 yards) scored on a 19-yard run to put Hilltop ahead to stay in the third quarter while throwing touchdown passes to Brian Pike (three catches, 67 yards) and Chris Prather (two catches, 60 yards). Jose Duran also scored one rushing touchdown for the Lancers, who trailed 22-14 at halftime but won the second-half scoring derby by a 15-0 shutout margin.

Defensively, Tyler Tablit had two sacks totaling nine yards. Duran and Kyle Goode each had fumble recoveries in the game.
Hilltop engineered a similar rally in coming back from a 21-7 deficit against Montgomery to eventually forge the 35-35 deadlock and then winning the tiebreaker for playoff seeding purposes.

Rasmussen passed for 1,173 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Kyle Howard has 49 catches for 742 yards and four touchdowns while Prather has 21 catches for 396 yards and two touchdowns. Pike has caught 15 passes for 275 yards and three scores.

Duran leads the Lancers with 810 rushing yards and seven touchdowns while Rasmussen has scampered for 435 rushing yards and scored five times. Tackle leaders include Bryce Robison (82), Benz Seaton (57), Michael Tupuola (50), Princeton Sialega (48), Tablit (42) and Javier Martinez (39).

Pike caught eight passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns in the game against Montgomery, including one score on a scramble by Rasmussen that was nominated for “Play of the Week” honors on KUSI-TV’s Prep Pigskin Report.

Meanwhile, Marian Catholic (3-0, 4-4) won its third consecutive game by out-dueling visiting Southwest by a 35-7 score.
Roman Owens scored three rushing touchdowns to hike his season total to 13 (with 1,214 rushing yards) while Michael Fajardo threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to D’Andre Henry. The Crusaders led 21-0 at halftime.

Southwest (1-2, 2-6) countered with an 88-yard punt return by Carlos Ruiz. A week earlier against Castle Park, John Edwards returned a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown.

Metro Conference
2006 Standings

Mesa League
League Overall
School W-L-T W-L-T
Bonita Vista 2-1-0 5-3-0
Eastlake 2-1-0 5-3-0
Otay Ranch 2-1-0 5-3-0
Chula Vista 2-1-0 4-4-0
San Ysidro 1-2-0 3-5-0
Sweetwater 0-3-0 0-8-0

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

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

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

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 at Rancho Buena Vista
9: Cathedral Catholic vs. St. Augustine

San Diego Section Rankings
SD Sportscasters/Broadcasters Poll
(Oct. 23)
(Records throiugh Oct. 21)
1. Torry Pines (7-0-0)
2. El Capitan (7-0-0)
3. Carlsbad (5-0-1)
4. Oceanside (4-2-1)
5. La Costa Canyon (5-2-0)
6. Helix (5-2-0)
7. Mission Hills (6-1-0)
8. Poway (5-2-0)
9. Escondido (5-2-0)
10. Mission Bay (6-1-0)

Others (in order of votes): Hoover (6-1), Santa Fe Chrisitan (5-2), Point Loma (6-1), Steele Canyon (5-2), El Camino (5-3), St. Augustine (4-3), Brawley (5-1), Mira Mesa (3-4), Scripps Ranch (5-2).

San Diego Section: The Undefeated
(Through Oct. 28)

Division I
Torrey Pines (8-0-0)
Carlsbad (6-0-1)

Division III
El Capitan (8-0-0)

Eight-Man
San Pasqual Academy (7-0-0)

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, 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

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, 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