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San Diego Section

2007 Football Log

Week 10 Game Reports

Christian rejoins ranks of undefeated teams

Posted Nov. 5, 2007
The defending San Diego Section Division V champion Christian Patriots recorded a win without even playing a game -- and then added a resounding victory on the field -- to rejoin the ranks of the undefeated. The Patriots toppled Francis Parker, 20-10, in a rematch of last year's division final Nov. 3 at Valhalla High School to officially hike their record to 8-0. Despite the section having cancelled all games the week of Oct. 22-28 dure to rampaging wildfires through the county, Christian was informed it had received a forfeit victory from Diamond Ranch.

The Patriots had originally dropped a 6-0 decision in a non-league game at Diamond Ranch on Sept. 15. However, Diamond Ranch has since reported the use of an ineligible player and has had to forfeit seven games, including five wins. With the forfeit losses, Diamond Ranch -- ranked No. 5 in the Southern Section's Southwest Division -- dropped to 0-7.

Christian now becomes just one of three teams in the San Diego Section sporting undefeated 8-0 records. However, because of the shortened season, the Patriots will be unable to score a perfect 10-0 regualr season campaign. Instead, Christian will be out to conclude regular season play 9-0 by defeating Horizon Christian Nov. 9.

Christian joins Coastal League rival Bishop's and 2006 Division I runner-up Poway with 8-0 records. The Patriots' Oct. 26 league game against Bishop's was among those cancelled by the section. However, as both teams compete in the Division V enrollment level, there is the possibility of a high-stakes match-up in the upcoming playoffs.

Should both Bishop's and Christian win their final regular season games, they will share this year's Coastal League championship title. Both teams own 2-0 league records. Horizon is 1-1 in league play, followed by Santa Fe Christian at 1-2 and Francis Parker at 0-3.

Francis Parker is 4-4 overall while Santa Fe Christian -- last year's Division IV champion -- is 2-5-1 and Horizon Christian is 2-6. Horizon Christian will be competing for a Division V playoff berth along with Bishop's, Christian and Francis Parker.

Lawrence Walker, a senior running back, rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Patriots in their CIF championship game rematch against the Lancers. Walker broke off an 81-yard scoring scamper for his first score of the game. He has rushed for 1,246 yards and 20 touchdowns this season and now ranks 12th among the section career rushing leaders with 4,507 yards. Patrick Henry's Ricky Williams, who went on to play in theb NFL, ranks 10th all-time in the section with 4,685 yards.

Charles Thompson added 86 rushing yards as Christian totaled 285 rushing yards in the contest.

The Lancers, who suffered their fourth consecutive loss, scored their only touchdown of the game courtesy of a turnover by the Patriots.Francis Parker cut the Christian lead to 13-10 when quarterback Deon Randall scored on a 30-yard keeper just moments after Ben Swingley recovered a fumble. However, the Christian defense was more than up for the task by limiting the Lancers to just 129 yards in total offense.

Walker capped an 87-yard drive by the Patriots with his third TD to secure the homecoming game win. Patrick Kelly and Colin Ryan both stood out defensively for the Pats.

Playoff picture
Twelve of the 19 teams in Division V qualify for the playoffs. Ten teams in the division have at least four wins and 14 have at least three wins. Two teams hover in the background with two wins, meaning that no team currently with three wins is safely guaranteed a playoff berth.

Top teams in the division include Bishop’s (8-0), Christian (8-0), Sun Valley Charter (6-2), Army-Navy Academy (5-2), La Jolla Country Day (5-3), Imperial (5-3), Julian (4-3), Midway Baptist (4-3), Francis Parker (4-4), Holtville (4-4), Tri-City Christian (3-5), Vincent Memorial (3-4), Mountain Empire (3-5) and Foothills Christian (3-5).

Note: Army-Navy Academy may have to forfeit its five victories, pending an official ruling.

Grossmont North League
West Hills 19, Grossmont 0
The Wolf Pack earned at least a co-championship in the Grossmont North League by taming the host Foothillers, who had entered the game in sole possession of first place in the league standings. Eric Fiege racked up 211 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns to lead West Hills, which improved to 2-0 in league play and evened its overall record at 4-4. At one point this season, West Hills’ record stood at 2-4.

Fiege, the Wolf Pack’s starting quarterback last season, got the call to go behind center late in the first quarter and responded by rushing 70 yards for the game-opening touchdown. The PAT conversion failed, leaving West Hills with a tenuous 6-0 lead. However, Chris Misensol – this year’s starting signal-caller for the Wolf Pack, threw a 66-yard TD pass to Fiege to double the score to 12-0 in the second quarter. The score held up until the third quarter when Chris Blumka scored from one-yard out and Levi Jacob added the extra-point conversion.

The West Hills defense, meanwhile, shut down Grossmont’s vaunted running attack, holding the Foothillers to just more than two yards per carry on the night. The Grossmont passing game was disrupted when standout Josh Simms went down with an injury in the second quarter. Charlie Piro, the Foothillers’ starter the past two seasons, passed for 124 yards in relief duty.

The loss dropped Grossmont to 2-1 in league play, 6-3 overall. The Foothillers now await the result of the Wolf Pack’s regular season finale against last place El Cajon Valley. A West Hills victory would hand sole possession of this year’s league banner to the Wolf Pack and relegate the Foothillers to second place.

Santana 21, El Cajon Valley 17
The Sultans recorded the dramatic come-from-behind victory on a 90-yard kickoff return by Tyler Aubrey after coughing up two touchdowns to the Braves to trail 17-14 in the final quarter. James Needy ran one yard for one score and hit Aubrey on a nine-yard pass to help guide the Sultans to a 14-3 lead through three quarters.

El Cajon Valley went ahead on a pair of unanswered scores courtesy of quarterback Isaac Soliz to receiver Kevin Kelly. Kelly narrowed the score to 14-10 on a five-yard reception and later gave his team the lead by grabbing a 25-yard aerial. The lead, however, did not last long as Aubrey returned the ensuing kickoff for what proved to be the game-winning points for visiting Santana (1-2 in Grossmont North League play, 4-5 overall).

The Sultans forced five turnovers in the contest – three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Kris Kimmel’s fifth interception of the season helped set up Santana’s first touchdown while a fumble recovery by Daniel Carel helped set up the victors’ second TD. Kyle and Brett Romero each made interceptions in the game while Nik Hodge had a fumble recovery. Four of the Braves’ five turnovers came with them driving inside their opponent’s 20-yard line.

Danny Peterson opened scoring in the game on a 20-yard field goal. Soliz finished the game with 184 passing yards.

Dustin Sackett converted three PAT kicks for the Sultans.

After its upset win against El Capitan to kick off league play, El Cajon Valley dropped to 1-1 in league play, 2-6 overall.

Grossmont South League
Helix 35, Steele Canyon 7
The visiting Highlanders raced to a 28-0 lead in the battle for first place in the Grossmont South League standings, building what proved to be an insurmountable 21-0 halftime edge in winning their fourth consecutive game. Anthony Diaz rushed for 91 yards and passed for 35 yards, scoring on runs of 11 and nine yards. Larry Gist got the scoring going on an eight yard run en route to finish with 57 rushing yards on the night while JoJo Phillips scored on a three-yard run and Travon Van closed out scoring on a 10-yard run.

On an individual basis, offensive yardage came grudgingly on both sides of the ball. Phillips rushed 10 times for 45 yards while Paul Blanekey carried the ball nine times for 51 yards. But the sum total was 284 yards for the victorious Scotties. Steele Canyon standout and conference rushing leader Jamie Dale gained 95 yards on 24 attempts. Dale scored the Cougars’ lone touchdown on a three-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The longest run by anyone in the game was 26 yard by Gist while the longest pass went for 31 yards, also to Gist.

Defensively, Helix held Steele Canyon to 160 total yards. Miles Minich led the Cougars with 12 tackles while Brandon Brown had 11 stops. Brown also collected one pick in the game.

Nick Stathas completed five of 16 passing attempts for Steele Canyon, finishing with 41 yards and one interception.

Helix, which entered the game ranked fifth in the section, improved to 3-0 in league play, 6-1-1 overall. The Highlanders will now zero in on registering their fifth league title in the last seven years with a season-ending victory against Monte Vista. The loss dropped Steele Canyon to 2-1 in league play, 5-3 overall, facing a season-ending battle against Mt. Miguel with Division III playoff seeding at stake.

Mt. Miguel 21, Valhalla 14
The visiting Matadors remained in the hunt for a Grossmont South League co-championship with Helix by recording the come-from-behind win to spoil the Norsmen’s homecoming festivities. Tony Swinton caught a 12-yard pass from Aaron Bryant and Derall Hunter (13 rushes, 62 yards) scored on a five-yard run to catapult Mt. Miguel to the victory with the final 14 points of the game.

The Norsemen led 14-7 at halftime as Zack Romero scored on a 43-yard run and Peter Thomas caught a half-back pass option from Nino Mallory. Thomas passed for 128 yards, completing 12 of 29 attempts with one interception. Romero gained 100 yards on 14 carries.

Bryant finished the game with 256 passing yards, including an 83-yard strike to Ahmad Nunley in the second quarter to put the Matadors on the scoreboard. Nunley finished the game with six catches for 158 yards.

The loss dropped Valhalla to 0-3 in league play, 2-6 overall, and seriously jeopardized the Norsemen’s playoff hopes. Tanner Hitt keyed Valhalla with 16 tackles.

Samatre Jones ended a late Norsemen drive with an interception.


Monte Vista 21, Granite Hills 14
The Monarchs – 1-8-1 in 2006 – improved to 4-4 after moving out to a 21-7 lead on the host Eagles and then holding on for the victory. Monte Vista improved to 1-2 in league play after suffering losses to Steele Canyon and Mt. Miguel. Maurice Payne keyed the Monarchs with a pair of touchdown runs (three and two yards) while tossing a 45-yard scoring pass to Josh Gossmeyer. Payne also ran in a two-point conversion.

Monte Vista finished with five sacks against sophomore starter Tyler Joworski, who had led his team down to the Monarch 14-yard line for a potential game-winning touchdown before Granite Hills was called for a holding penalty and Joworksi was sacked on the final play of the game by Josh Paris and Tracy Shields. Paris recorded two sacks in the contest.

Gossmeyer finished the game with three catches for 90 yards. Kenneth Tribble had one interception for Monte Vista, which also received sacks from Taylor Rodney-Wallace and Brandon Burton.

Harold Harris (10-yard run) and Richie Beswick (14-yard pass from Jaworski) scored the Eagles’ two touchdowns. Granite Hills recovered an onside kick but was thwarted by an interception by Gossmeyer. The Eagles later forced a punt and quickly moved down field before finally being stopped by the Monarch defense.

Joworski passed for 144 yards but was overshadowed by the more mobile and more experienced Payne, who passed for 122 yards in the contest.

Metro Conference
Barons, Titans to vie for Mesa League title
South Bay League title is Mater Dei’s to lose

For lack of a better term, it might be fitting to call Friday’s game between the Bonita Vista Barons and Eastlake Titans high school football teams at Southwestern College the Mesa League Championship Bowl, for the winner of the match-up between the two league unbeatens will own this year’s league championship title.

Bonita Vista and Eastlake both enter Friday’s contest with 3-0 league records, as well as 6-2 overall records to thus place them among this year’s section elite. The Barons earned the right to play for this year’s Mesa League championship banner by taming the Chula Vista Spartans, 21-3, to spoil the Spartans’ elaborate homecoming celebrations last Friday. The Titans smoked visiting Sweetwater by a 72-14 score last Friday.

The winner of Friday’s high profile match-up will be 4-0 in league play and, as the league champion, earn automatic entry into this year’s San Diego Section divisional playoffs. A tie — as happened in 2004 between the two eastside rivals — will earn each team a league co-championship.

Friday’s contest doubles as the teams’ annual “Battle for the Boot” rivalry game. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
The CIF playoffs are slated to start Friday, Nov. 16. Eastlake, which entered the week ranked seventh among the section’s top 10 teams, will contend in the Division I field while Bonita Vista will take aim on advancing in the Division II bracket.

Meanwhile, Mater Dei has the South Bay League banner to win (or tie for) by the outcome of its home game against Castle Park. The Crusaders are 4-0 in league play and, with second-place Montgomery idle with a 4-1 league record, can win outright possession of this year’s league title — and automatic entry into this year’s Division IV playoff field — with a victory against the Trojans (2-2, 2-7).

Mater Dei (4-4 overall) won its fourth consecutive game by defeating host Southwest, 27-14 last Friday.

Mesa League Bowl preview
Bonita Vista took control of its own destiny with an impressive victory against eighth-ranked Chula Vista (1-2, 6-2). The Barons clicked on all cylinders on both offense and defense against a Spartan team that faced the loss of one of its star two-way players, fullback Taimi Tutogi, to an injury late in the first quarter.

D.J. Shields put his monster 6-foot-4, 221-pound frame into showcase form with a pair of diving touchdown grabs. He staked his team to a 7-0 lead by leaping to snare a seven-yard aerial from quarterback Hector Castellanos (14 completions, 158 yards) with 4:24 to play in the opening half.

Shields (six catches, 61 yards) gave the Barons a 14-3 lead with 3:43 left in the game with a spectacular one-handed grab of a 20-yard Castellanos pass while in the process of falling backward into the end zone. If they weren’t already, college scouts had to be salivating after witnessing that catch.
Running back Ibrahim Hassan later scored an insurance touchdown in the waning stages of the contest.

“It was a huge win. We play another huge team (Eastlake) next week. It’s our homecoming,” Shields said during a post-game interview on KUSI-TV’s “Prep Pigskin Report.”

The BV defense, led in part by Shields, played its trademark rugged style of play, holding the Spartans to a 44-yard field goal by Andres Canizales in the second quarter.

CV workhorse Matt Stacy was held to just 37 yards on 19 carries — an average of 1.9 yard per rush. In four carries before departing because of injury, Tutogi had gained 34 yards (an 8.5 rushing average).
Taylor Julio passed for 106 yards with one interception in the loss.

Castellanos threw two TD passes but was intercepted twice.

Meanwhile, Will Duka keyed Eastlake’s scoring parade against Sweetwater (0-3, 2-6) with four rushing touchdowns while Jordan Koopman scored three times, including twice on runs of four and 18 yards and on a three-yard pass from quarterback Derek Witte.

Duka (eight carries, 74 yards) and Koopman (six carries, 72 yards) combined for 146 rushing yards while Witte completed seven of 10 passing attempts for 126 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Also for Eastlake, Dennis Clay scored on a 25-yard fumble return while Anthony Harris broke off a 43-yard scoring scamper, Randall Williams scored on a 19-yard run and Kris Almario tacked on nine PAT conversions.