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San Diego Section

2007 Football Log

Week 11 Game Reports

10 East County teams qualify for CIF playoffs

Posted Nov. 12, 2007
A total of 10 East County high school football teams have had their seasons extended at least one more game after securing berths in this year’s San Diego Section divisional playoffs. The top four finishers from each of the Grossmont North League and Grossmont South League, as well as Coastal League champion Christian and Mountain Empire from the Mountain-Desert League, all advanced to post-season play.

A total of 91 teams throughout the section competed for 58 berths in n five 11-man and one 8-man enrollment divisions this year. The top four teams in Division I, Division II, Division III and Division V all received byes and will host quarterfinal-round match-ups on Friday, Nov. 23. The remaining eight teams in each division will square off in first-round playoff action this Friday, Nov. 16.

The eight Division IV playoff qualifiers will kick off quarterfinal-round play on Nov. 23.

Semifinals in all divisions are scheduled Friday, Nov. 30, followed by section championship games on Dec. 7 (Division I-III, V) at Qualcomm Stadium and Dec. 8 (Division IV) at USD.

The 8-Man championship was decided on Saturday, Nov. 10, as the San Pasqual Academy (8-1) won its third consecutive title with a 46-6 victory against regular season Citrus League champion Warner Springs (7-2).

League champions
Besides a last chance for teams to sew up precious playoff berths, last Friday’s regular season finales also helped decide league championships.

•Helix (7-1-1) won its fifth Grossmont South League title in seven years by throttling Monte Vista, 48-7, to finish 4-0 in league play. The Highlanders earned the No. 2 seed in the Division II playoffs and will host either Westview (4-5) or West Hills (5-4) in the quarterfinals.

•West Hills became the surprise champion in the Grossmont North League after recording an impressive 24-0 shutout victory against visiting El Cajon Valley. The Wolf Pack received the No. 7 seed and a home field contest against the Wolverines. The league title is the first for West Hills since 2004 and its 10th overall in 19 years.

•Christian finished regular season play as one of just three undefeated teams in the section after defeating Horizon Christian, 26-0, in a game played at Helix High School. Christian, which tied Bishop’s for first place honors with a 3-0 league record, takes a 9-0 overall record the Division V playoffs as the top-seeded team. Bishop’s, also 9-0, received the No. 2 seed in the division.

The Patriots, the reigning Division V champions, will host either Olympian (2-7) or Holtville (5-4) in the quarterfinals while Bishop’s will test either Tri-City Christian (3-6) or Vincent Memorial (4-4).

All five Coastal League teams advanced to post-season competition, with Horizon Christian, despite a 2-7 overall mark, earning the No. 3 seed in the Division V playoffs, Francis Parker (4-5) earning the No. 4 seed in the division and Santa Fe Christian (3-5-1) getting a chance to defend its Division IV title as the sixth seed in that division.

East County playoff qualifiers also include Grossmont (Division II), Steele Canyon (Division III), Mt. Miguel (Division III), El Capitan (Division III), Monte Vista (Division III), Santana (Division IV) and Mountain Empire (Division V).

•Grossmont (6-3) drew the No. 8 seed in the Division II field after its runner-up finish to West Hills in Grossmont North League play. The Foothillers, who are led by Khalid Waters’693 rushing yards and Nick Floyd’s 621 receiving yards, will host No. 9 Scripps Ranch (5-4) on Friday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. The winner plays at No. 1 Oceanside (8-1) the following week.

•Steele Canyon received the No. 3 seed in the Division III playoffs and a bye in first-round play by virtue of its 25-22 victory against cross-town rival Mt. Miguel in the battle for second place in the Grossmont South League standings. The Cougars (6-3) will host either Monte Vista (4-5) or St. Augustine (5-4) in the quarterfinals. St. Augustine is the defending Division III champion.

•Meanwhile, El Capitan (5-4) will travel to Mt. Miguel (6-3) for the right to advance against fourth-seeded Ramona (6-3) the following week. Both teams are returning playoff qualifiers.

•Santana finished the season at 4-6, 1-3 in league play, and will open the Division IV quarterfinals at top-seeded Mission Bay (7-2-1) in a game that oddly pits two teams to have played all scheduled 10 regular season games. Each team had its bye week on Oct. 26 when all games throughout the section were cancelled because of rampaging wildfires.

•Mountain Empire, which finished 1-4 in Mountain-Desert League play and 4-5 overall, will open the Division V playoffs Friday, Nov. 16. At Pacific League champion La Jolla Country Day (6-3). The winner plays at No. 4 Francis Parker in the quarterfinals.

In key games last Friday:

Steele Canyon 25, Mt. Miguel 22
The host Cougars won a trio of honors in their final regular season game by defeating the Matadors: the Battle of Spring Valley, a tie for second place in the Grossmont South League standings and the No. 3 seed in the upcoming San Diego Section Division III playoffs.

Steele Canyon finished 2-0 in games against its Spring Valley rivals after previously defeating Monte Vista, 35-14, on Oct. 12. The Matadors were 1-1 in the derby.

The Cougars dropped Mt. Miguel from the ranks of league unbeatens, thus preventing the Matadors from finishing with a co-championship with Helix. Steele Canyon and Mt. Miguel each finished with 3-1 league records. Both teams also finished regular season play 6-3.

The Nov. 9 game turned out to be critical for playoff seeding, as the victorious Cougars relegated the Matadors to the fifth seed in the 12-team field, securing a first-round bye in the process.

Steele Canyon’s Jamie Dale secured the Grossmont Conference’s regular season rushing title by gaining 210 yards on 26 carries, scoring twice. Dale opened scoring on a three-yard run and later added a 42-yard scamper into the end zone to lift the Cougars to a 14-8 lead.

The Matadors led at two points in the contest – 8-7 after Aaron Bryant scored on a one-yard run and Rico Smith tacked on a successful two-point conversion run and 15-14 when Elliott Taylor scored from one yard out and the visitors added the extra point.

The Cougars answered with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Nick Stathas to Brandon Brown (to give the hosts a 22-15 halftime lead) and a 25-yard field goal by Scott Perlin in the final quarter to extend their lead to 10 points.

Bryant hit Travon Caples on a 20-yard scoring pass for the final points of the game.

Dale has steadily risen to become one of the section’s most versatile, hard-working and charismatic players. He ended his team’s nine regular season games with 1,456 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns (18 rushing scores).

Stathas finished the game 7-for-11 for 83 yards. The TD pass to Brown in the end zone was actually a tipped pass that Brown came down with during a frantic Hail Mary play to end the first half after an interception by Jebari Robinson had five the hosts the ball at the Matador 35-yard line. The play proved to be a big momentum-shifter in the contest.

Bryant finished the game with 189 offensive yards – 108 passing yards and 81 rushing yards. Ahmed Nunley had four receptions for 61 yards while Caples caught three balls for 70 yards.

For the season, Bryant has passed for 1,442 yards with 13 touchdowns while rushing for 224 yards and scoring eight times on the ground.

Mt. Miguel’s offensive leaders include Derall Hunter (464 rushing yards, three touchdowns) and Nunley (29 catches, 556 yards, six touchdowns). Arthur Hobbs has three interceptions – one of which he has returned for a touchdown.

The Cougars are now unbeaten in six meetings against the Matadors, who were in position to win their first league title since 1987.

El Capitan 46, Santana 14
The Vaqueros made a statement en route to securing a playoff berth, ruining Santana’s elaborate homecoming in the process. Tanner Rust set a section record with 597 passing yards, hitting on 25 of 38 passes. He tied the conference record with seven touchdown passes, joining such illustrious company as Lon Sheriff (West Hills, 1996) and Abraham Muheize (El Cajon Valley, 2005). Rust finished as the section’s regular season passing leader with 2,927 yards and 29 touchdowns, tacking on 145 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.

Rust finished the memorable game against the Sultans (1-2, 5-4) with 615 total offensive yards by adding 18 rushing yards to his passing total.

The previous section passing record was 556 yards, set by Holtville’s Eric Lyerly in 1999.

The victory was the first league win in three attempts for El Capitan, which bulled out to an 11-0 start last season and a trip to the Division III semifinals. The Vaqueros may have played their best game of the season last Friday, with the timing perfect for this year’s playoffs.

Tila Case led the El Capitan receiving corps with 284 yards on 10 catches, scoring on an 87-yard jaunt. The yardage mark fell one yard short of tying the section record of 285 yards in one game, set by Carlsbad’s Glen Kozlowski in 1980.

Phillip Cook caught five passes for 151 yards and scored four times, equaling A.J. Conti’s team record of four TD catches in one game.

Santana’s James Needy threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns to add to the game’s aerial fireworks. Both scoring passes went to Tyler Blackledge (six catches, 48 yards). Tyler Aubrey had five catches for a team-high 83 yards in the game while Kyle Romero had four catches for 64 yards.

Needy has thrown for 1,593 yards and 15 touchdowns and has run for 224 yards and 11 scores. Aubrey leads the Sultans with 42 catches for 629 yards and five TDs while Romero has 40 catches for 531 yards and five scores.

West Hills 24, El Cajon Valley 0
The Wolf Pack completed Grossmont North League play having outscored its three opponents 68-7, finishing 3-0 as undisputed champions in the shortened season. The shutout win was the second consecutive after blanking Grossmont 19-0 the previous week. West Hills opened the season 2-4 before engineering its exciting turnaround.

Wolf Pack coach Casey Ash called this year’s team “real special.”

“They got to go 10-0 as freshmen. They can look back over four years with a league championship now,” said Ash, the youngest coach in the conference at 29.

Defensively, Rudy Ortega keyed West Hills in tackles while Eric Fiege notched an interception to set up teammate Levi Jacob’s 22-yard field goal in the first quarter. Josh Klimczyk threw El Cajon Valley for a loss on a key fourth-down play to force a turnover on downs for the Wolf Pack. The Braves completed just two of 22 passing attempts in the contest.

Chris Blumka scored on an 11-yard run in the first quarter as West Hills took a 10-0 lead into halftime. Chris Misensol scored on a one-yard run in the third quarter while Christian Fonseca added a 60-yard scoring romp later in the period.

Misensol finished the game with 100 passing yards, with a longest completion of 40 yards. Jacob led the Wolf Pack receivers with 47 yards while Blumka gained 64 yards on 14 carries for a 4.6 rushing average.

Blumka leads West Hills’ ground unit with 450 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Fiege has rushed for 376 yards and three touchdowns and caught 29 passes for 451 yards and four scores. Misensol has thrown for 712 yards and five touchdowns.

El Cajon Valley finished 2-7 with several close losses to miss this year’s playoffs. Isaac Soliz etched a standout season with 1,391 total passing yards and 12 touchdowns.

Helix 48, Monte Vista 7
The Highlanders finished the season as the only team to defeat No. 1 Oceanside – that came in the opening game of the season by a 28-20 score. Since then, the Pirates have gone 8-0 while the Scotties have compiled a 6-1-1 record. The lone team to beat Helix this season was Carlsbad (14-10) in week 3. Santa Fe Christian locked Helix in a 7-7 tie in Week 4. The Highlanders are 5-0 in their last five trips to the field, including a 4-0 mark in league play.

Helix allowed just two touchdowns in four league match-ups – one each to Steele Canyon and Monte Vista – and just three touchdowns in the last six games. The Highlanders hung shutout losses on Valhalla (43-0) and Granite Hills (49-0) in league play and also blanked West Hills (35-0) in non-league action.

Anthony Diaz passed for 230 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Scotties to their 16th league title overall and second consecutive. Larry Gist caught six passes for 109 yards, including a 17-yard scoring strike from Diaz. Marquise Deadwiler had three receptions for 49 yards, including a 67-yard pass from Diaz.

Levine Toilolo (three catches, 41 yards) also caught a scoring pass from Diaz while Ty Culver tossed a three-yard TD pass to Anthony Williams in the third quarter. JoJo Phillips paced the Highlanders on the ground with 71 yards on six rushes and scored on a 31-yard run. Paul Blanekey scored on a one-yard run while Danto Daniels rounded out the Helix scoring on a three-yard run in the final quarter.

Season rushing leaders include Phillips (333 yards, six TDs) and Gist (319 yards, two TDs). Gist has caught 22 passes for 323 yards and five touchdowns while Deadwiler has 21 catches for 371 yards and four scores. Culver leads the team with 723 passing yards and 10 touchdowns.

Maurice Payne totaled 101 rushing yards and 76 passing yards for the Monarchs, who finished 1-8-1 last season. For the season, the sophomore has passed for 727 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for 508 yards and six scores.

Granite Hills 38, Valhalla 31
The Eagles faced a must-win situation to have any hopes of qualifying for the playoffs and rewarded their homecoming crowd with the victory over the Norsemen. However, the win did not prove enough, as Granite Hills (3-6) was passed over in favor of Fallbrook (2-7) for the final Division I playoff berth. Valhalla (2-7) was already out of playoff contention.

Tyler Joworski passed for 182 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Eagles while Harold Harris rushed 24 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Harris (two catches, 54 yards) also caught a 46-yard scoring pass to finish the night with three touchdowns. Joworski, a sophomore, threw a 35-yard pass to Brendan Carter and connected with Bradley Carter on a school-record 88-yard scoring pass. Harris broke off an 80-yard scoring run and also ran the ball in from five yards out.

Pete Thomas finished the game with a school-record 378 passing yards for Valhalla. Brandon Giandoni had 10 catches for 154 yards, including a longest reception of 61 yards. The Norsemen were in position to possibly win the game but a pass by Thomas into the end zone was batted down as time expired.

Tanner Hitt set a school record with 116 tackles for Valhalla, which held a 24-21 halftime lead in the game. Chris Brown ran for one touchdown and caught a 45-yarder from Thomas, who kicked a 23-yard field goal. Ivan May returned an intercepted pass 70 yards for another touchdown.

Seven Metro football teams advance to CIF playoffs
A total of seven Metro Conference high school football teams have had their seasons extended at least one more game after securing berths in this year’s San Diego Section divisional playoffs. The top four finishers from the Mesa League, plus South Bay League champion Marian Catholic, as well as Montgomery and Olympian, all advanced to post-season play.

A total of 91 teams throughout the section competed for 58 berths in five 11-man and one 8-man enrollment divisions this year. The top four teams in Division I, Division II, Division III and Division V all received byes and will host quarterfinal-round match-ups on Friday, Nov. 23. The remaining eight teams in each division will square off in first-round playoff action this Friday, Nov. 16.

The eight Division IV playoff qualifiers will kick off quarterfinal-round play on Nov. 23.

Semifinals in all divisions are scheduled Friday, Nov. 30, followed by section championship games on Dec. 7 (Division I-III, V) at Qualcomm Stadium and Dec. 8 (Division IV) at USD.

The 8-Man championship was decided on Saturday, Nov. 10, as the San Pasqual Academy (8-1) won its third consecutive title with a 46-6 victory against regular season Citrus League champion Warner Springs (7-2). Senior quarterback Josh Collazo keyed San Pasqual Academy, which moves up to 11-man play next season, with six touchdowns — three rushing, two passing and one receiving.

League champions
Besides a last chance for teams to sew up precious playoff berths, last Friday’s regular season finales also helped decide league championships.

•Eastlake (7-2) won its second consecutive Mesa League title by edging eastside rival Bonita Vista (6-3) by a 27-16 score in front of an estimated 5,000 fans at Southwestern College to finish 4-0 in league play. The Titans earned the No. 3 seed in the Division I playoffs and will host either Vista (5-4) or Chula Vista (7-2) in the quarterfinals.

•Mater Dei became the surprise champion in the South Bay League after recording an impressive 35-0 shutout victory against visiting Castle Park. The Crusaders, who ended the season with five straight wins (all in league play) after kicking off the season 0-4, received the No. 4 seed in the Division IV playoffs and a home field contest against Central League champion Madison (7-2) to start the quarterfinals. The league title is the first for the Crusaders under the Mater Dei banner and the first for the Crusaders since 2004 (under the Marian Catholic banner).

Bonita Vista, which finished in a tie for second place in the Mesa League standings with the Otay Ranch Mustangs, will host Mt. Carmel (4-5) in an opening round Division II contest Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Southwestern College. The Mustangs (6-3) received the No. 4 seed in the Division I playoffs and are byed to the quarterfinals where they will play either Fallbrook (2-7) or Mira Mesa (6-3).

Chula Vista is seeded sixth in the Division I field and enjoys home field advantage this Friday against the Panthers, who finished fifth in the Avocado League standings. If the Spartans win, they would get the chance to make up their lost game of Oct. 26 against Eastlake that was cancelled by the section because of wildfire damage around the county. Chula Vista finished 2-2 in Mesa League play following last Friday’s 42-0 victory at San Ysidro. The Spartans lost league contests against Otay Ranch(42-0 winners at Sweetwater last Friday) and Bonita Vista.

Rounding out this year’s Metro playoff qualifiers are the Montgomery Aztecs (Division III) and Olympian Eagles (Division V).

Montgomery finished the season 6-3, 4-1 in South Bay League play (along with the Hilltop Lancers), and will travel to Imperial Valley League champion Brawley (7-3) for a first-round game on Friday. The winner advances to face No. 2 seeded Point Loma (6-3), this year’s Western League champion.

Olympian (2-7) advances to post-season play in just its first varsity season, albeit with a seven-game losing streak and 0-5 South Bay League record. The Eagles kicked off the season with a 20-18 win against fellow Division V rival Mountain Empire. Olympian drew a berth in the 12-team Division V playoffs based on strength of schedule and will make its historic post-season debut Friday in a first-round game at Holtville (5-4). The winner gets No. 1 seeded (and defending division champion) Christian (9-0) in the quarterfinals.


Eastlake 27, Bonita Vista 16
An estimated 5,000 spectators turned out to watch the Titans and Barons battle for the Mesa League title as well as attend the Barons’ homecoming festivities. D.J. Shields earned BMOC honors but Eastlake kept the league championship as well as the golden boot in the teams’ annual rivalry game. Let it be said that the sizable crowd may have witnessed one of the best high school football games in the last couple decades.

“The first part of our season we did what we needed to do to get ready for league. The second part of our season we wanted to win league and we did that. The third part of our season is the playoffs.. I think we have a good enough team to get to the stadium and if we can limit our mistakes, it’s attainable,” Titan head coach John McFadden.

Jeremiah Andujo ran for two touchdowns, Will Duka scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown and Michael Holt caught a 72-yard scoring pass from quarterback Derek Witte to provide the offensive highlights for victorious Eastlake, which led 14-10 at halftime but went down 16-14 in the third quarter.

Last Friday’s high profile match-up was as exciting as any game in the series that preceded it and had just as much at stake besides the rivalry trophy. Both offenses produced — especially the Barons when handed the opportunity — and both defenses played exceptionally tough. In fact, the outcome was in doubt until Titan Patrick Jarin intercepted a pass with two minutes left to play.

No. 7-ranked Eastlake used a time-consuming 70-yard drive to score its first points of the contest on a two-yard run by the multi-talented Andujo (11 carries, 83 yards). Bonita Vista answered on a 43-yard field goal by Josh Boyd — his first of three treys on the night.

The Titans went up 14-3 on Witte’s toss over the middle to Holt in the second quarter but the Barons closed to within four points on a three-yard run by Wesley Roche with 5:16 remaining in the first half after the visitors fumbled at the nine-yard line. Prior to that, Eastlake’s Sal Adame had picked off a long pass toward the end zone.

Boyd connected on field goals from distances of 33 and 42 yards to give Bonita Vista a 16-14 edge with 3:45 left in the third quarter. But the visitors regained the lead on Duka’s one-yard plunge on the first play of the fourth quarter. After stopping the Barons on a fourth-and-two with a quarterback sack, the Titans proceeded to add an insurance score courtesy of Andujo, who had to take to the air because of intense run defense and flew the remaining three yards into the end zone like Superman. It was an unbelievable sight in what was a truly unbelievable game.

Witte completed three of five passes for 114 yards with no interceptions while four Titans — Andujo, Duka, Witte and Jordan Koopman — combined for 272 rushing yards.

“It was our running backs. Our O-line excelled,” said Duka, who was Eastlake’s workhorse on the ground with 27 carries for 161 yards. “I think it’s an exciting game whenever we play Bonita. It was a great victory. I’m happy for us. Our season isn’t over yet.”


Chula Vista 42, San Ysidro 0
Matt Stacy rushed for 106 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead the visiting Spartans to their seventh win of the season and a home game in the opening round of the Division I playoffs. Taylor Julio (six rushes, 41 yards) matched Stacy with two touchdowns — the first on an 18-yard interception return and the second on a nine-yard run. Mario Morales (seven yards) , Thomas Tutogi (15 yards) and Andres Canizales (six PAT conversions) rounded out the CV scoring parade. The shutout was the Spartans’ fourth this season.

Southwest 35, Mar Vista 28
The visiting Raiders won the teams’ “Battle for the Bell” rivalry game for the second time in three years despite two touchdowns from Maurice Williams, including one on a 78-yard pass play from quarterback Greg Charley (who also ran for a nine-yard score).

Hilltop 34, Olympian 13
Anthony Acosta rushed for 92 yards and scored three touchdowns as the visiting Lancers’ last game bid to make the Division II playoffs fell just short. Acosta scored on runs of two, one and three yards. Kris Ramirez (25-yard interception return), Ariel Perez (six-yard pass from Michael Alcala) and Miguel Bucio (four PAT convesions) rounded out the Hilltop scoring.

Juan Millan (one yard) and Marquez Garrette (three yards) each scored touchdowns for Olympian as the Eagler outscored the Lancers 13-7 in the final quarter.

Hilltop’s 38-13 homecoming loss to previous winless San Diego the previous week likely kept the Lancers, who finished in a second-place tie with Montgomery in the South Bay League standings, from playoff consideration.

Crusaders stand alone as South Bay League champs
By J. Carlos Rico
Eight weeks ago, Mater Dei had lost its fourth game in a row to start the season and was winless going into South Bay League action. But after winning five straight games the Crusaders find themselves league champions following last Friday’s 35-0 defeat of Castle Park to close out the regular season.

“We have some resilient kids,” head coach Matt White said after being doused with the celebratory Gatorade bath. “We had a tough non-league schedule, but our team hung in there and kept fighting … they deserve it.”

The win is even more special to the players and the coaching staff because it is the first football title won by the first-year school —formally Marion Catholic for 45 years.

“Winning the league means a lot because we haven’t won it in four years,” senior Roman Owens proudly said. “It feels real good to be the first football team (as Mater Dei) to hang a banner up in the gym.”

The Crusaders first got on the scoreboard via a 22-yard slant play from sophomore Jake Marrion to senior Rudy Pereyra to put Mater Dei up 7-0 one minute into the second quarter.

The score stayed the same until midway through the third quarter when Mater Dei scored another touchdown. Marrion threw a 10-yard curl route to junior David Matranga, who took it another 43 yards down the far sidelines.

Then on the very next play for the Castle Park offense, Mater Dei junior linebacker Benito Rios broke into the backfield, hit Trojans running back George Flores, caused a fumble and scooped it up for the Crusaders third TD of the game.

After a Mater Dei interception by junior Charlie Gonzales, Marrion threw his third touchdown of the game. This one was on a go-route to junior Luis Carrillo that went for 29 yards and put the Crusaders up 28-0 with 3:14 left in the third quarter.

With a defense that was allowing 24 points per game, the Crusaders not only shut out a team for the second time this season, but came up with three interceptions, two sacks, three red zone stops and a blocked field goal.

“Our defense stepped up tonight,” White said. “They came up with big plays all night.”

The final scoring of the game came on junior Marcel Pitre’s one-yard touchdown run, but the big play that set up Mater Dei’s fifth score was Pitre’s own 57-yard counter run down the right side line on the previous play.

The Crusaders (5-4, 5-0) will have a week off before hosting a home playoff game Friday, Nov. 23, against Central League champion Madison (7-2, 4-0).
Starting next year, Mater Dei will move up to Division III and shift to the Mesa League.

Three teams from South Bay League move on to prep football's big dance
By J. Carlos Rico
On Saturday, Nov. 10, between 9 and 10 a.m. local high school football teams found out if their season would continue or end by a call from one man. Rex Johnson, the Metro Conference representative, called three teams in the South Bay League to inform them that they had made the playoffs, which teams they would be playing and when.

One of those teams had already known it would be in the playoffs by posting a perfect 5-0 record and winning the South Bay League title. Mater Dei was seeded fourth in the Division IV bracket and will host Madison the day after Thanksgiving.

“It’s really nice to get a home game,” head coach Matt White said, whose team posted a 5-4 overall record. “I’m really happy how (the seeding) turned out because it shows the (CIF) committee is recognizing the strength of the schedule.”

But the road to a league banner was not an easy one for Mater Dei. White and his Crusaders started off the 2007 campaign losing all of their non-league games to teams that were ranked among the section’s top 10 squads at the time of each match-up. All the opponents were larger Division II and III schools and all were playoff teams.
White pointed to his team’s first league game — and win — against Hilltop, 38-7, as the turning point of the season, saying his team did a lot of things well in that game considering it was coming off two poor losses to Cathedral Catholic (49-0) and Valley Center (44-14).

“We knew we had to come out and really play well if we wanted to be contenders,” White told his team before the start of league play. “Nothing that happened in the first four weeks mattered anymore. We just needed to move forward and start a new season.”

Throughout the rest of the season White and his staff preached to his players “we control our own destiny” and his continuing this message of not worrying of what other teams do. As long as the Crusaders “take care of business,” they were moving on in the playoffs, he said.

For those teams that did not win their league, they submitted documentation with their record along with a reason for why they deserve an at large playoff berth to their league representative. Then that representative presented that information to the CIF committee, which was the group that ultimately decided if a team is in or out of the postseason. That is how the next two teams from the South Bay League made it into the big dance.

Montgomery posted a 6-3 overall record and went 4-1 inside the league, while winning six of its last seven games. This is what head coach Julio Alcala said got them into the postseason.

“The team is very excited and happy that they still have an opportunity to accomplish their ultimate goal of winning a (Division III) championship,” Alcala said. “Our guys were disappointed when their game against Mater Dei was canceled (because of fires) and couldn’t face the league leaders.”

At the beginning of the season, the first goal was to win the South Bay League title. But Alcala said his players are mature enough not to let not winning the league title, get them down.

“They know they worked hard all season and deserve a playoff spot,” Alcala said about his team. “They know their ultimate goal is still alive, which is winning a (CIF) championship.”

The Aztecs will go on the road this Friday, Nov. 16, to Brawley (near El Centro) and face the Imperial Valley League champs (7-3, 4-0). A team that Alcala said his team needs no motivation for.

“We have only won one playoff game ever,” the former Aztec lineman said about Montgomery’s football history of over 30 years. “These guys don’t need fuel to add to their fire.
You either win or you go home.”

The last team to make it into the postseason out of the South Bay League is Olympian. The Eagles will travel to Holtville (near El Centro) Friday, Nov. 16, and take on a 5-4, 2-3 team from the Mountain-Desert League at 5 p.m.

Even though Olympian posted a losing record at 2-7, 0-5 and came in last place in the league, its strength of schedule is what got the Eagles a ninth seed in the Division V playoff bracket.
The Eagles won both of their games that were against Division V schools. The rest of their contests were against larger division schools with four of them making the playoffs.

“Physically we match up better against (Holtville) than we did against teams in our own league,” head coach Gil Warren said optimistically. “The kids are excited, the schools excited and it’s something good for a first year program.”

The key thing for coach Warren is not getting so caught up in the wins and losses, so he can build a program that’s going to be solid for a long time.

Looking back on the season, the Eagles had a lot of injuries, but many players stepped up and played more than one position and coach Warren felt this helped his team grow

Another bright spot for the program is that their freshman team went 8-2 and posted the best record in the league. Some players excelled so well that about four or five will be brought up to fill some spots because Warren felt they are athletic enough to help the team.

As for the rest of the teams in the league who didn’t do quite enough to receive a playoff spot, this is how they ended the 2007 season. Hilltop (4-5, 4-1) tied Montgomery for second place, followed by Castle Park (2-7, 2-3), Mar Vista (2-8, 2-4) and Southwest (2-7, 1-4).