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San Diego Section

2007 Football Log

Week 12 Game Reports
First-Round Playoffs

Five East County teams remain in CIF title hunt
Quarterfinal football games to set the tone

Posted Nov. 20, 2007
Six East County high school football teams remain in the hunt for coveted San Diego Section championships. A win on Friday, Nov. 23, advances each team to the semifinals -- the Final Four -- of their respective enrollment division. Two more wins separate them from advancing to the title game. Three more wins give them a division title.

Helix (Division II), Steele Canyon (Division III) and Christian (Division V) all had byes in last Friday’s opening round and host quarterfinal-round contests this Friday while Santana (Division IV) also kicks off quarterfinal play. Two of six East County teams to engage in first-round play advanced: West Hills (Division II) and Mt. Miguel (Division III).

Patriots on top
Christian opens defense of its Division V championship with a home game against Holtville (6-4) after the Vikings held off first-year Olympian, 6-3, in last Friday’s duel in the desert. The Patriots, meanwhile, have been idle since defeating host Horizon Christian, 26-0, on Nov. 9 to sew up a Coastal League co-championship with Bishop’s (seeded second among Division V teams and also sporting a 9-0 record).

The quarterfinal match-up will be played at Valhalla High School. Kick-off is 7:30 p.m.

Lawrence Walker is primed to move up the section’s career rushing leaders list. He enters Friday’s game against Holtville with 1,332 rushing yards and has scored 23 touchdowns this season. His 4,590 career rushing yards place him 10th all-time -- but within striking distance of No. 9 record-holder Ricky Williams, formerly of Patrick Henry and an NFL running back .

Walker had two touchdowns in Christian’s regular season-ending win against the Panthers while Charles Thompson also scored once and Sam Hernandez returned a blocked field goal 87 yards for a score. The Patriots defense dominated the line of scrimmage in holding Horizon scoreless. Steven Pitts was credited with the blocked field goal attempt -- his fourth block of the season.

Sophomore Erick Allen completed eight of 10 passing attempts for 89 yards to boost his season totals to 814 passing yards and six touchdowns. Manny Walker caught five passes for 63 yards against the Panthers and has caught 22 passes for 264 yards and one TD this season.

East County match-up
Helix, seeded second, among Division II squads will host West Hills in a battle of Grossmont Conference league champions. Helix won this year’s Grossmont South League title and is 7-1-1; West Hills won this year’s Grossmont North League title and is 6-4 after recording a dramatic, last-second 28-21 playoff win against visiting Westview last Friday. The Highlanders topped the Wolf Pack, 35-0, in non-league play earlier this season.

The Wolf Pack trailed the Wolverines throughout the opening three quarters of last Friday’s Division II elimination game: 7-0 after the first quarter, 7-6 at halftime and 14-12 entering the final quarter. West Hills finally went up 20-14 -- only to have Westview take a 21-20 edge as the minutes ticked down in the game.

The Wolf Pack scored two touchdowns and tacked on two-point conversions to each score to prevail. Eric Fiege finished the game with three touchdowns, including his team’s final three scores. He carried the ball just five times, gaining 48 yards, while catching a 32-yard TD pass from Chris Misensol in the third quarter.

Fiege, who has rushed for 424 yards and tacked on 503 receiving yards this season, scored on a 40-yard run to put the Wolf Pack up 18-14 and then completed a two-point conversion to Tyler Tremor to increase the hosts’ lead to six points. Fiege’s third touchdown of the game -- and second of the fourth quarter -- came on a 12-yard run with 22 seconds to play in the game to lift West Hills to within one point of Westview at 21-20. Misensol then completed the ensuing two-point conversion pass to Tremor to give the Wolf Pack the exciting come-from-behind win.

Rudy Ortega got West Hills on the scoreboard with a three-yard run in the second quarter. Chris Blumka led the Wolf Pack with 54 rushing yards on six attempts, though he broke off one long-distance run for 42 yards.

JohnVillamoor scored all three of the Wolverines’ touchdowns on the night on short runs. His last score -- with 1:10 to play on a fourth-down plunge -- gave his team an apparent 21-20 win.

The Wolf Pack’s game-winning drive was set up as Jonathan Darby returned the ensuing kickoff to the 47-yard line. It took four plays from there to hit paydirt as West Hills successfully worked sideline passes.Misensol, who passed for 206 yards in the contest, hit Blumka for a 37-yard completion with 27 seconds left.

Defensively, the Wolf Pack collected four interceptions in the game, highlighted by a pair by Hayden Kalfell.

Helix has been idle since claiming outright possession of this year’s Grossmont South League title with a 48-7 victory against Monte Vista on Nov. 9.

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 with the victory against Monte Vista. 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.

West Hills claimed sole possession of this year’s Grossmont North League title with a 24-0 victory against visiting El Cajon Valley on Nov. 9. 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, Ortega keyed West Hills in tackles while 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.

Blumka scored on an 11-yard run in the first quarter as West Hills took a 10-0 lead into halftime. 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 finished the regular season as West Hills’ rushing leader with 450 yards and four touchdowns. Fiege rushed for 376 yards and three touchdowns and caught 29 passes for 451 yards and four scores. Misensol threw 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.

Cougar country
Steele Canyon, which finished second behind Helix in this year’s Grossmont South League standings to earn the No. 3 seed in the Division III playoffs, will host sixth-seeded St. Augustine. Something will have to give: the Saints are the defending Division III champions.

Senior Jamie Dale -- one of the leading candidates for the school’s Senior Athlete of the Year award -- tops Steele Canyon (and all conference rushers) with 1,456 rushing yards and has scored 20 touchdowns this season. “The Warrior” is joined by five other senior multi-sport athletes on the team: Brandon Brown, Scott Perlin, Nick Mendoza, Nick Stathas and Justin Johnson.

Besides football, Dale, Perlin, Mendoza and Johnson also play soccer and compete in track and field while Brown and Stathas play basketball as well as compete in track and field.

Stathas has thrown for 646 yards and five touchdowns while Perlin has scored three touchdowns and kicked 19 PAT conversions.

The Cougars best year on the gridiron came last season at 9-4. It will take a 3-0 championship run to better that this season.

St. Augustine (6-4) is coming off a 20-6 first-round playoff win against visiting Monte Vista. Daniel Butler (10 rushes, 112 yards) scored two touchdowns while David Popkins (19-31, 145 passing yards) tossed a seven-yard TD pass to Leighland Koonce to account for the Saints’ three touchdowns in the game. Nick Sowa (12 tackles), Derek Holsapple (11 tackles), Chris Pousson (11 tackles) and Nick Gomez (10 tackles) keyed the St. Augustine defense.

The lone score for the Monarchs came on a 70-yard pass from Maurice Payne to Kyle Richardson that initially cut the Saints lead on the scoreboard to 7-6. The Saints scored one touchdown in each of the last two quarters after being shut out in the second quarter by a Monte Vista team that finished the season 4-6, thus collecting four times as many wins as last year's 1-8-1 squad.

Richardson finished the game with three catches for 100 yards while Nick Williams carried the ball 24 times for 99 yards.

Matador muscle
Mt. Miguel captured a thrilling 34-17 win against visiting El Capitan in first-round Division III action last Friday. The Matadors, who improved to 7-3, will play at fourth-seeded Ramona (6-3) in the quarterfinals with a realistic chance of winning if they can duplicate what they did against the pass-happy Vaqueros.

El Capitan junior quarterback Tanner Rust was coming off a section-record performance against Santana in which he passed for 597 yards and threw seven touchdown passes. Against Mt. Miguel, Rust passed for 232 yards but connected on just 18 of 45 attempts (40 percent). Rust threw just one TD pass and was intercepted three times in the playoff loss.

Rust’s counterpart, Mt. Miguel’s Aaron Bryant, completed four touchdown passes while totaling 203 yards through the air on 14-of-26 passing (54 percent). Defensively, Khaalid Addulah led the Matadors with two sacks.

The playoff win was the first for a Mt. Miguel team since 1987. The Matadors had to rally from a 10-point halftime deficit to claim it.

The Vaqueros (5-5) opened up a quick 10-0 lead by capitalizing on a pair of Mt. Miguel turnovers. Alex Rostamijam booted a 29-yard field goal for the first points of the contest and Rust later hit Phillip Cook on a 19-yard touchdown pass.

Bryant completed his first touchdown of the game in marathon fashion with a 66-yard bomb to Judge Evans that momentarily trimmed the Matador deficit to 10-7. But a third fumble by the hosts helped set up a third El Capitan touchdown as Tila Case completed a half-back option pass to Rust for a 19-yard score and a 17-10 lead.

Mt. Miguel racked up four touchdowns in the second half -- 27 unanswered points.

Bryant passed eight yards to James Montano to close the score to 17-14. Bryant put the Matadors ahead, 21-17, late in the third quarter with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Travon Caples.

Mt. Miguel added 13 more points in the final quarter as Bryant passed 14 yards to Ahmaad Nunley and Mychaquell Shields returned a recovered fumble 20 yards for a touchdown. Elliott Taylor rushed for 73 yards while Rico Smith added 44 rushing yards.

“We came out the first half and didn’t do what we planned to do,” Bryant told a television crew after the game. “The second half we came out with another game plan.”

Rust finished the season with 3,159 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. Case keyed the Vaqueros against Mt. Miguel with seven catches for 90 yards while Cook finished with three catches for 53 yards.

Battle by the bay
Santana (4-6) is one of the few San Diego County teams that got to play its entire 10-game regular season schedule. The Sultans' 11th game this season will come against top-seeded Mission Bay (7-2-1) in Friday's quarterfinals. Kick-off is 1 p.m. at Mission Bay High School. The Bucs, who are led by standout quarterback Evan Taylor, will also be playing their 11th game this season.

The Sultans are led by their own signal-caller James Needy, who has passed for 1,593 yards and thrown 15 touchdown passes while also rushing for 11 scores. Tyler Aubrey and Kyle Romero remain Needy's primary targets with 42 and 40 catches and 629 and 531 receiving yards, respectively.

One and done
Grossmont, which finished runner-up to West Hills in this year’s Grossmont North League standings, dropped a disappointing 28-3 decision to visiting Scripps Ranch in the first round of the Division II playoffs. Josh Simms gave the Foothillers (6-4) an early 3-0 lead on an 18-yard field goal but the hosts were shut out over the remaining three quarters despite getting 151 passing yards from Charlie Piro. For the victorious Falcons, quarterback Robert Forcier rushed for three touchdowns (35, 13 and 45 yards) while also completing a scoring pass. The win was the fifth in six games for Scripps Ranch (6-4), which advances to take on No. 1-seeded Oceanside (8-1).

Mountain Empire (4-6) made the trek to Pacific League champion La Jolla Country Day (7-3) for a Division V first-round encounter and left with a 36-19 loss. Marcus Stephens passed 40 yards to Jeromey Ulmer for one score and ran 14 yards for another touchdown to lead the Redhawks, who also benefited from a 90-yard interception return by Josh Elms. Derek Hatfield led LJCD with 131 rushing yards and three touchdowns while Travis Golia kicked three field goals.


Sidelined
The Granite Eagles faced a must-win situation to have any hopes of qualifying for the playoffs and rewarded their homecoming crowd with a 38-31 victory over the Norsemen on Nov. 9. 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.

Metro Conference
Spartans top Panthers, earn Mesa date with Titans

Posted Nov. 20, 2007
Five Metro Conference high school football teams remain in the hunt for coveted San Diego Section championships. A win on Friday, Nov. 23, advances each team to the semifinals -- the Final Four -- of their respective enrollment division. Two more wins separate them from advancing to the title game. Three more wins give them a division title.

Eastlake and Otay Ranch, both in Division I, both had byes in last Friday’s opening round and host quarterfinal-round contests this Friday while Mater Dei (Division IV) also kicks off quarterfinal play. Two of four South County teams to engage in first-round play advanced: Bonita Vista (Division II) and Chula Vista (Division II).

Mesa League Bowl II
Among the highlight games around the county cancelled on Oct. 26 because of the wildfires was Eastlake's original homecoming game against Chula Vista. The Titans and Spartans did not meet in league play, with Eastlake finishing 4-0 and Chula Vista 2-2 in league play. The teams shared a rare tri-championship last season (with Otay Ranch) but did not get the chance to meet on the gridiron this season to see which had the better team.

Now they will get that chance, though only for bragging rights. Eastlake remains the official league champion in the fire-shortened regular season.

The Spartans earned their date with destiny after twice overcoming leads to post a dramatic 25-22 win against the visiting Vista Panthers in last Friday's opening-round game. Chula Vista moved the ball well in the opening stages of the regionally televised contest, with Andres Canizales coming up just wide from 44 yards out on the hosts' first possession. Chula Vista then had a chance to showcase its defense when Taylor Julio intercepted a pass on the Panthers' third play. Julio's 35-yard return set the ball at the Vista six-yard line and, after no gain on the Spartans' first crack at first-and-goal, Julio took matters -- and the ball -- into his own hands on a six-yard scoring run off right tackle.

The Panthers showcased a big play of their own -- a 50-yard pass from David Fisher to Ian Richardson -- to set up the game-tying touchdown on a two-yard run by Josh Herrera with 1:47 left in the first quarter. More defense by the hosts -- an interception by Eddie Enal at the 19-yard line -- stopped the visitors from going ahead on their next possession. However, a poor snap on a Spartan punt attempt resulted in a two-point safety when Victor Perez booted the rolling ball out of the end zone.

Vista went up 9-7 on the play and took the two-point lead into halftime. The teams exchanged touchdowns to start the second half, giving the Panthers a 15-10 edge with 11:56 to play in the game.

Canizales put the Spartans up 10-9 on a 47-yard field goal with 3:34 left in the third quarter. However, a 41-yard run along the left sideline by Vista running back Jordan Alexander once again put the visitors in position to score. Herrera scored his second of what would be three touchdowns on the night for the Panthers on another two-yard run. Fisher was stopped on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, leaving Vista with a six-point bulge on the scoreboard.

Everything seemed to come together for Chula Vista -- both offensively and defensively -- with the Spartans' season suddenly placed in jeopardy. Timely defense once again proved the best medicine.

Eddie Ortega intercepted an ill-advised pass by Fisher while he was being chased behind the line of scrimmage. The biggest play of the game took place on fourth down when Chula Vista called a fake punt. However, rather than the ball being hiked straight into the hands of Perez, the team's back-up quarterback, the ball took a hop on the turf instead. Perez calmly picked it up and tossed it to Julio, the holder, and Julio took off down the right sideline for a sizable gain all the way to the Panthers' 25-yard line.

Matt Stacy then ripped off a 25-yard gain to the opposite sideline, ending in the end zone for a touchdown. Julio then passed to Ruben Solorio for the successful two-point conversion and the Spartans -- cheered on by their fans -- had an 18-15 lead with 5:51 to play.

More fortune greeted Chula Vista when Vista fumbled on the first play from scrimmage on its next series. The Spartans recovered the ball at the Panthers' 20-yard line with 5:44 remaining. Chula Vista again tested the odds on a fourth-down play, reasoning that a field goal would still enable the visitors to have a chance at winning the game with an ensuing touchdown and PAT conversion. Julio kept the ball and bulled foward for the first down and Stacy scored from two yards out on an ensuing third-down play for a 25-15 lead after Canizales tacked on the extra-point kick.

The Spartans' 10-point bulge was extremely short-lived as Herrera promptly returned the kick-off 95 yards to once again put Vista in position to win the game with some last-minute luck. The Panthers narrowed the score to three points when Jordan Abad nailed the PAT and Chula Vista got the ball back with 1:51 to go when Abad's attempted on-sides kick floated into the arms of the Spartans' Jesus Quezada along the far sideline.

The Panthers defense forced a punt with 17 seconds to play -- enough time for Fisher to launch a Hail Mary pass into the end zone, with the ball up for grabs. The public address anouncer held his breath until the play was over.

Incomplete pass. Spartans win.

Stacy rushed the ball 31 times for 115 yards. He expects to receive some much-needed help in Friday's game against Eastlake with the anticipated return of bruising fullback Taimi Tutogi, who has been sidelined since suffering an ankle injury in a Nov. 2 game against Bonita Vista. Tutogi has rushed for 467 yards and scored a total of 14 touchdowns this season.

Stacy's two TDs give him nine for the season and increased his yardage count to 1,012.

"We just had to play our best," Stacy said. "We knew Vista was a good team. But we had a lot of heart. Our motto this year is 'I owe you.' We owe it to all the people who wore these jerseys before us."

The playoff win was the first for a CV team since 2000.

"These guys believed -- I'm proud of them," Spartan head coach Judd Rachow said. "We had to stay patient. Taimi's been a big part of what we've done this year. We've found people to step in. But I think that's the mark of a good team."

The Spartans are obviously looking forward to Friday's quarterfinal game against the host Titans.The winner earns a trip to the Division I semifinals.

"It's going to be an intense playoff game," Rachow said succinctly. "I think both teams will be fired up for it."

Said Stacy: "That will be a big game for Mesa. Eastllake's a great team but we will be ready to play."

Bonita Vista hangs on to lead, beats North County team
By. J. Carlos Rico
Posted Nov. 20, 2007
It was a game that Bonita Vista coaches and players said shouldn’t have been so close. It was a game played hard by both teams. It was a game that went down to the end. But when the clock hit triple zero on the scoreboard last Friday night at Southwestern College, Bonita Vista made just enough plays to hold off Mt. Carmel’s late surge for a 17-14 victory in the opening round of the San Diego Section Division II playoffs.

“The kids played hard,” Bonita Vista coach Carl Parrick said. “We didn’t break. We bent a little bit, bent a little and came back and won the game.”

It was Bonita Vista defensive back Nick Neely’s interception on the Barons' 40-yard line with 27 seconds left that sealed the victory for the hosts after Mt. Carmel had scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

“We have a great group of kids here,” Parrick proudly said. “We don’t have all the talent in the world, but our kids don’t quit on us.”

One of those players was senior James Nixon, who prevented Mt. Carmel from scoring a touchdown on two occasions. Once, after he ran down Sundevils’ running back Joey Demartino, who he stopped at the seven-yard line after Demartino had gained 63 yards. Two plays later, Niuxon intercepted a pass in the end zone.

“I knew somebody had to make a play,” Nixon said. “I’m always looking to make a play, so when the opportunity came I did it.”

The Barons (7-3) made game-changing plays all night that were significant factors as to why they will be advancing into the second round of the playoffs to face third-seeded Mission Hills (8-1) the day after Thanksgiving.

Mt. Carmel ends its season at 4-6.

Bonita Vista got out to a quick start and led 10-0 at the half. The Barons drove down the field on their first possession, coveirng 64 yards in 12 plays and scored on a 33-yard field goal by Josh Boyd with 59 seconds to play in the first quarter. Fast-forward to 2:18 left in the second quarter when junior running back Ibrahim Hassan (19 carries, 71 yards) took the handoff and leaped into the end zone – ala LaDainian Tomlinson – for a one-yard score.

The junior back was filling in for senior Wesley Roche (7 carries, 37 yards), who after the first series of the game was taken out when he re-aggravated a shoulder injury that kept him out of three games during the regular season.

“He has come in before and shown he can run the ball,” Roche said of Hassan. “It was a good game for him so he can show the coaches he is ready for next season.”

To start the second half, Bonita Vista scored a touchdown off a play the Barons call “Chevy Four.” Quarterback Hector Castellanos – who was 7-of-11 for 90 yards – hit a wide-open Michael Cagigas (2 catches, 39 yards) on a post-wheel route in the end zone for 25 yards and a 17-0 lead.

“That’s a play we always run,” Castellanos said. “We called for that play at half and luckily we got close enough to the end zone to use it.”

Mt. Carmel got on the board by first faking a punt, which kicker Kris Berg ran for 52 yards. That set up a 21-yard seam pattern for Taylor Chapatte and a 14-6 game. The second came off a Barons turnover, when Hassan fumbled the football on his team's own 30-yard line. Eight plays later, Demartino galloped into the end zone.

“We made some mistakes that let them back in the game, but we made adjustments,” Castellanos said.

Parrick’s Barons will now go on the road in the quarterfinal round and face another North County team. In his 16 seasons at Bonita Vista, Parrick is 2-11 against North County foes.

“We know Mission Hills is a hell-of-a football team,” Parrick said after the win. “They’re huge on the defensive line and we've got to prepare for that. That’s a very fine football team. Coach Chris Hauser and I are very, very close friends and it will be an interesting game.”