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San Diego Section

2007 Football Log

Week 7 Game Reports

Mustangs hand Spartans first loss, tackle Titans next

Posted Oct. 18, 2007
The best of the eastside? Well, the Bonita Vista Barons would like to believe they have something to say about that — and will get the chance in upcoming weeks — but Friday’s Mesa League contest pitting the Otay Ranch Mustangs and visiting Eastlake Titans will determine which team settles into the proverbial driver’s seat in pursuit of this year’s league championship banner.

Both the Mustangs and Titans enter the game with 1-0 league records and 4-2 overall marks after recording impressive victories in last week’s spate of league openers. The winner improves to 2-0 in league play and virtually clinches at berth in the upcoming Division I San Diego Section playoffs.

Otay Ranch enters the high profile match-up ranked 10th among section teams; Eastlake remains just a few votes shy of returning to the weekly top 10 rankings.

Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Otay Ranch High School.

Mustangs on the move
The host Mustangs appear once gain to be on the upward swing after handing the visiting Chula Vista Spartans their first loss of the season, 21-17, last Friday. The Spartans entered the game ranked seventh in the section and curiously remain in that position this week despite losing to Otay Ranch (which did not move up in the rankings). If the Mustangs don’t feel they have received enough respect, they certainly have the opportunity to earn it this Friday against a Titan squad that advanced to last year’s Division II semifinals and entered the 2007 campaign as the preseason pick to capture this year’s Mesa League title.

Otay Ranch got a barometer reading of where it stands after sending the Spartans to their first loss of the season after five consecutive victories. The Mustangs parlayed opportunistic football en route to taking an early 14-0 lead. Otay Ranch’s Sean Rush recovered a fumble at the CV six-yard line on the Spartans’ first play from scrimmage and Shannon Daniels scored on the next play for the Mustangs, who then used an 81-yard punt return by Randy Robledo to set the ball at the one-yard line for an ensuing score by quarterback Marcus Vasquez.

Chula Vista (0-1, 5-1) tied the score, in part on a return gift by the hosts, when quarterback Taylor Julio took the ball in from the one-yard line after his teammates had recovered a fumble. Taimi Tutogi scored his 10th touchdown of the season on another one-yard run later in the second quarter to knot the score at 14-all.

Vasquez gave his team the lead heading into halftime when he connected with Robledo for a 41-yard TD strike.

The closest the visitors could get in the second half was a 25-yard field goal by Andres Canizalez in the final quarter. Julio was picked off twice by Otay Ranch’s Scott Catlin to end promising drives.

“We knew we had a talented team. We just had to stop hurting ourselves with mistakes,” said first-year coach Brad Burton. “Our offensive line got it together and we got our passing game going later.”

The value of Vasquez to the Mustangs was amply demonstrated in the team’s last two games. Vasquez was held out of Otay Ranch’s Oct. 5 non-league game against visiting Sultana (from Hesperia) because of a leg injury. The Mustangs failed to find their normal rhythm without Vasquez in the saddle and suffered a disappointing 24-6 setback.

With Vasquez back behind center against Chula Vista last Friday, Otay Ranch was a much different team — one that seized the opportunity with ferociousness when it was presented .
Shannon Daniels leads the Mustangs with four touchdowns. A total of eight Mustangs have scored touchdowns this season.

Terrific Titans
Eastlake pummeled host San Ysidro, 51-0, last Friday as Will Duka scored three short rushing touchdowns and quarterback Derek Witte completed 12 of 15 passes for 182 yards and one touchdown. Four other Titans scored touchdowns — Jeremiah Andujo, Marco Carr, Anthony Harris and Randall Williams — while place-kicker Kris Almario tacked on six extra-point conversions and booted a 37-yard field goal.

Andujo (five rushes, 63 yards) and Duka (eight rushes, 78 yards) combined to touch the ball 13 times and gained 141 yards. Duka opened scoring in the game on a four-yard run and later added a pair of one-yard plunges. Andujo also scored on a one-yarder while Harris and Williams scored on second-half runs of three and 14 yards, respectively. Witte hit Carr (two catches, 54 yards) on a three-yard scoring strike. Jordan Koopman had two catches for 45 yards to go with five rushes for 20 yards while Michael Kelley had three catches for 42 yards. Eastlake led 30-0 at halftime.

The Titans’ lone losses this season have been against Poway (6-0) and Oceanside (5-1), both currently ranked first and second in the section. It’s puzzling why Eastlake hasn’t received its due amount of respect from the section’s sportswriters but that could change with a victory against Otay Ranch.

Season leaders include Duka (501 rushing yards, five TD), Andujo (306 rushing yards, four TD), Koopman (271 rushing yards, two TD), Witte (844 passing yards, six TD) and Almario (21 of 24 PAT conversions, three of five field goals made). Andujo leads the team’s receiving corps with 17 catches for 258 yards and four touchdowns while Michael Holt has 13 catches for 139 yards, Koopman has nine catches for 104 yards and one touchdown and Dennis Clay has eight catches for 177 yards. Overall, Andujo leads the Titans with nine touchdowns, including a punt return for a score.

Defensively, Andrew Feaster and Nikko Barnes each recorded interceptions against the Cougars. On the season, Tony Jefferson paces Eastlake with 69 tackles (51 solo hits), three sacks, one fumble recovery, three caused fumbles, two deflections and eight tackles for a loss. He is followed on the Titans’ defensive points chart by Dyson Waddles with 44 tackles (29 solo hits), two sacks, one caused fumble, one deflection and three tackles for losses and Patrick Jarin with 45 tackles (30 solo hits), two interceptions and two tackles for losses.

Mesa League Previews
All games start at 7 p.m.
Sweetwater at Chula Vista
The Spartans (0-1, 5-1) and the Red Devils (0-1, 2-4) are meeting for the 61st time, thus denoting the longest-running rivalry series in the section. Sweetwater holds a 36-21-3 lead after last year’s 42-0 victory in National City.

Bonita Vista at San Ysidro
Wesley Roche and D.J. Shields each scored two touchdowns to help lead visiting Bonita Vista past Sweetwater, 35-7, last Friday in the teams’ Mesa League opener. Roche rushed 15 times for 130 yards while Shields grabbed five passes for 79 yards. Quarterback Hector Castellanos completed 12 of 14 passes for 183 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Ibrahim Hassan rushed 12 times for 101 yards and one touchdown. The Barons (1-0, 4-2) built a 28-0 lead before the Red Devils scored on a one-yard run by Micah Gleason in the third quarter.

South Bay League title up for grabs after Lancers upset Aztecs 27-23
By J. Carlos Rico
Posted Oct. 18, 2007
In a game that on paper favored Montgomery because of the Aztecs’ size, experience and record, the Hilltop Lancers came out fast throwing the ball in a spread offense and held on to defeat first place Montgomery, 27-23, last Friday night at home.

“It was a huge win because (Montgomery) has a winning record and for us to come into this game at 1-4 and beat a team with a winning record, that’s big for our kids,” Hilltop head coach Mike Martinez said. “That’s a confidence booster.”

Hilltop’s defense also came up big when it needed to. The undersized Lancers blocked a punt, which led to a touchdown, intercepted a pass and stopped Montgomery’s offense twice on fourth down with the Aztecs threatening to score.

“The defense did a hell of a job tonight,” Martinez said. “Montgomery threw a bounce pass, halfback pass and the defense stopped everything they threw at us. The defense won this game for us.”

But Montgomery also beat itself, according to Aztec head coach Julio Alcala, who told his team this after the loss; dropped passes and critical penalties like holding, offside and personal fouls cost the team in the loss.

Hilltop’s offense came from senior quarterback Michael Alcala (no relation to the Montgomery coach) and his speedy receivers who put up 300 yards and four touchdowns.

The Lancers scored on their first three possessions and put 20 points on the scoreboard at halftime. Senior wide receiver Kris Ramirez (three receptions, 70 yards) scored two touchdowns on slants going for 16 and 44 yards. Junior running back Ariel Perez (three receptions, 76 yards) scored the third TD on another slant that went for 70 yards.

But Montgomery did go into intermission with nine points. After a safety, which put the Aztecs on the scoreboard, senior running back Juan Moriel scored a touchdown that went for 37 yards.

In the third quarter, Montgomery added another score with the help of a Hilltop fumble at the Lancers’ 14-yard line. Four plays later, senior halfback Brandon Meredith ran a draw from the one, which narrowed the score to 20-15 after a missed two-point conversion.

Later in the quarter, Montgomery hurt itself with a holding call on fourth down that negated a score. Two plays later, Alcala threw a 55-yard TD pass that junior wide receiver Chris Prather (five receptions, 109 yards) jumped and took away from Montgomery defender Donovan Myers, and the Lancers padded their lead to 27-15.

However, after a Hilltop three-and-out, Montgomery scored again on a 14-yard run by Moriel (36 carries, 245 yards), his second touchdown of the game. After a two-point conversion that put the Aztecs down by four points, Hilltop fumbled the ball on a controversial call that appeared to be an incomplete pass. Montgomery took over on Hilltop’s 40-yard line at the 8:01 mark of the fourth quarter.

After seven plays, which put the Aztecs on the Lancers’ 22-yard line, Hilltop’s defense came up huge with another fourth-down stop with less than four minutes left in the game. Hilltop was able to run out the clock with two key first downs by Perez and sealed the victory for the Lancers.

“It’s a big win,” Michael Alcala said. “We want to be in the race for the league and we know we started off slow in the beginning of the year, but we’re picking it up and we think we’re big contenders this year.”

After six games, Hilltop’s aerial attack is one of the best in the county. Alcala ranks third in passing yards with 1,429 and has passed for 10 touchdowns with three interceptions. Prather has 594 receiving yards, which is fifth among receivers, and has caught four touchdowns.

With the win, Hilltop (2-1, 2-4) has won back-to-games and will face a Southwest team (0-2, 1-5) on the road that has lost four in a row. Montgomery (2-1, 4-3) will try to regroup at home against an Olympian team (0-2, 2-4) that also has lost four in a row.

Prep profile:
Otay Ranch QB has traveled a long road to get where he is

By J. Carlos Rico
Posted Oct. 18, 2007
Coming off a season during which he was named the Mesa League’s Offensive Most Valuable Player, senior quarterback Marcus Vasquez is looking to improve on last season’s success and lead Otay Ranch to another banner year.

“Our goal is to win the league again,” Vasquez confidently said. “But we know it’s not going to be easy.”

This year the senior quarterback has had to learn a new offensive system with the promotion of Mitch Burton as the offensive coordinator, but Vasquez has adapted well to it.

“It’s been a learning curve for him, but he has put in the work to learn this new system and has shown a lot of progress,” head coach Brad Burton said.
One of those improvements has been his decision-making. According the Mustangs coach, Vasquez is reading coverages better, going through his progression and passes the ball to the open man. Also, Vasquez (6-2, 185 pounds) has a good pocket presence and knows when to tuck the ball and run and is not afraid to take or give a hit.

“He is a playmaker,” Burton said. “He can make something out of nothing and leaves everything he’s got on the field.”

By doing so, Vasquez has become the leader of the team. He is vocal when he needs to be, but for the most part, he likes his play on the field to do all the talking. In addition, he is a fierce, enthusiastic competitor, which is contagious on the field.

“His teammates feed off his energy and raise their level of play,” Burton said.

His success at the quarterback position did not come without some hurdles. In fact, when he first arrived at Otay Ranch, the coaches didn’t want him to play quarterback. The coaches saw his athleticism and speed on the field in training camp his sophomore year and wanted to make him a running back or a receiver.
“The coaches were kind of iffy about me playing quarterback because I had only been playing (the position) since I was a freshman,” Vasquez said. “I had to prove myself and the coaches stuck with me and I have been the quarterback ever since.”

Vasquez has been playing football since he was in the third grade and has played almost every position, including defensive back, defensive end, tailback and wide receiver.

But this isn’t his only sport. Vasquez is an all-around athlete and when it’s not football season, he is on the hardwood playing basketball in the winter and running track in the spring.

He is a shooting guard on the Mustang basketball team and averaged 10 points and five rebounds in eight games in a season that was cut short by an injury. On the track team, Vasquez competes in the 110-meter hurdles, high jump and long jump. He holds school records for all three events. He loves all the sports he plays, even though basketball was his first love and the game of football will most likely get him a college scholarship.

And when it comes to taking his game to the next level, Vasquez will have numerous options. Several universities have contacted Vasquez to try to recruit him including Oregon, UNLV, Washington State, San Diego State and Villanova. Vasquez said his mother wants him to choose a school that is close to where she lives (Kentucky) so she can see him play. This will definitely play a role where Vasquez plays next year, but he says the decision will come down to what universities have the best to offer him as a student and athlete.

“I want to major in either sports medicine or business — to become a sports agent,” the second year starter said. “I want to stay close to sports because I love it.”
San Diego County, and specifically Otay Ranch, has been good to Vasquez. Not only is it helping his chances of getting into a good university, it is helping him in life as well. Vasquez has only been living in San Diego since his sophomore year and moved from Kentucky (where he grew up) because his mother felt there would be better opportunities for him in California.

“My mom wants the best for her kids,” Vasquez said. “She works hard and tries to give us everything.”

The opportunity came for Vasquez when his aunt and uncle decided to move to the West Coast from Kentucky.

“My family is very loving and very supportive,” he said. “They want to see me succeed.”

Not many teenagers would be willing to leave their home, friends and comfort zone for a place they barely know going into their sophomore year. However, Vasquez saw the move as an opportunity as well.

“Otay Ranch has been great,” he said. “The diversity is so rich out here of students and nationalities. In Kentucky it’s a sight you don’t see. You learn about different people and different cultures, which I learned that I like.”

He was not afraid of the move because he said he is a “people person” and likes to talk and meet new people, but there was an adjustment period.
“I’m not shy, but when I first got here I didn’t really speak because it was a culture shock,” he said. “But after a couple weeks I got used to the atmosphere and football helped bridge that gap.”

Now when he walks around campus everyone says, “What’s up?” to him and wishes him and the team good luck. In fact, he has fit in so well and made so many friends that he is now nominated for BMOC (big man on campus), which will be announced the week leading up to the school’s homecoming game on Nov. 2.

East County Power Poll
1. Helix (4-1-1)
2. Steele Canyon (4-2)
3. Grossmont (5-2)
4. El Capitan (4-3)
5. Christian (6-1)
6. Valhalla (2-4)
7. Monte Vista (3-3)
8. West Hills (3-4)
9. Mt. Miguel (4-2)
10. Granite Hills (2-4)
11. Santana (3-4)
12. El Cajon Valley (1-5)
13. Mountain Empire (2-4)
14. Foothills Christian (3-3)