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Week 11 in Review
Ten East County teams qualify for CIF football playoffs
15 league champions land automatic 11-man playoff berths

Posted Nov. 18, 2008
The pairings are set for this year’s San Diego Section football playoffs and 10 East County teams will advance to post-season play. It could have been more.

The ending was dramatic for some teams in last Friday’s slate of final regular season games — win and advance or lose and go home. For others, league championship titles were decided outright.

And a couple teams received a surprise invitation.

Steele Canyon and West Hills both won their final regular season games to qualify for a playoff berth. Meanwhile, the Grossmont Foothillers, who had already finished regular season play the prior week, had to sit in the stands rooting for certain teams to win to enable them to keep their playoff hopes alive.

El Cajon Valley and Mt. Miguel were eliminated from post-season play with losses last Friday.

Monte Vista and Santana both finished regular season play with losses. The Monarchs still got in; the Sultans got the playoff axe.

Helix (Grossmont South League), El Capitan (Grossmont North League) and Foothills Chrisitian (Southern League) all won league titles to gain automatic entry into this year’s playoff field.

Valhalla and Christian, both at 9-1, look to map out possible trips to their respective division title games.

Mountain Empire (3-7) rounds out this year’s 10 East County playoff qualifiers.

Division II
Helix (8-1-1, 5-0) officially clinched the Grossmont South League title with a 27-14 win over visiting Monte Vista (5-5, 2-3). The Highlanders received the No. 3 seed in the Division II playoffs and are byed to the quarterfinal round. The Monarchs kick off first-round playoff action this Friday at Western League champion Serra (7-3).

Travon Van rushed for 192 yards on 20 carries while Ty Culver rushed for one touchdown and threw a pair of scoring passes — an 11-yard pass to Levine Toilolo and a 29-yard pass to Anthony Diaz — to lead Helix. Paul Blakeney also scored on a 20-yard run for the Scotties, who led 14-0 at halftime.

Maurice Payne (48 rushing yards, 126 passing yards) tossed a 36-yard scoring pass to Mike Hodges and also scored on a one-yard run to key Monte Vista. Hodges had two catches for 66 yards.

Serra was upset by Hoover, the 12th seed in the Division II field, by a 31-21 score. The win landed the Cardinals the final playoff berth in the division while Serra received the No. 6 seed in the Division III field.

At 3-6, West Hills needed a win in its Grossmont North League finale at El Cajon Valley last Friday. Conversely, the host Braves — at 4-5 — needed a win to solidify a playoff spot. The Wolf Pack prevailed, 31-24, in what was essentially a “play-in” match-up to earn the No. 10 seed in Division II.

Grossmont, which fell 38-30 to West Hills the previous week but manhandled El Cajon Valley by a 49-7 score earlier in league play, earned the No. 11 seed in the division with a 4-6 overall record.

El Cajon Valley, which fell to its sixth consecutive loss after opening the season 4-0, joined Sweetwater (5-5) as one of the two teams left sitting on the edge of playoff qualification in Division II.

West Hills travels to seventh-seeded Patrick Henry (6-4) this Friday while Grossmont will test sixth-seeded Bonita Vista (6-4) at Southwestern College. Both games kick off at 7 p.m.

Helix will host the Grossmont-Bonita Vista winner on Nov. 28 while the West Hills-Patrick Henry winner will play at second-seeded Eastlake in the quarterfinal round.

West Hills got 163 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Christian Fonseca and a creer-high 156 rushing yards from Alan Parks to key its 31-24 win over ECV. Joe Roberts hit Levi Jacob on a key touchdown pass for the Wolf Pack, which led 21-7 at halftime but was out-scored 17-10 in the second-half as the Braves attempted a rally to prolong their season.

Parks broke off runs of 59 and 84 yards in the first half.

Fonseca has rushed for 1,072 yards and scored 13 rushing touchdowns while Roberts has passed for 1,194 yards this season.

For ECV, Isaac Soliz threw scoring passes to Gavino Pinal (29 yards) and Peter Alkass (31 yards) to finish the game — and the Braves’ season – with 193 passing yards. Pinal finished the season with eight interceptions on defense.

Grossmont's season leaders include Desean Waters (584 rushing yards), Tyler Mutter (1,784 passing yards, 15 touchdowns) and Brett Etherton (736 receiving yards, six Tds).

Division III
When Ramona tied defending Division II state champion Oceanside in the teams’ Valley League final last Friday, the Bulldogs (8-1-1) earned the No. 2 seed in Division III, relegating the Valhalla Norsemen (9-1) to the No. 3 playoff seed.

The Norsemen secured a first-round by with last Friday’s 49-7 victory over Granite Hills (1-9, 0-5) to finish second in the Grossmont South League standings behind Helix with a 4-1 league record. Valhalla’s only loss this season was 28-14 to the Highlanders.

Valhalla will host either Serra or Monte Vista in the quarterfinals.

Pete Thomas passed for 215 yards and four touchdowns, and also scored on a one-yard run, to pace the Norsemen against the Eagles. He hit four different receivers for scores: Manuel Paramo (one catch, 22 yards), James Leighton (three catches, 25 yards), Derek White (five catches, 48 yards) and Matthew Swanger (two catches, 14 yards). Traivonne Brown scored two touchdowns — the first on a 21-yard run and the second on a 97-yard kick-off return. Brown rushed for 132 yards in the game.

For the season, Thomas has passed for 2,496 yards and 25 touchdowns (against just five interceptions) while also scrambling for six scores and tacking on 57 kicking points (36 extra points and seven field goals). Swanger tied a Valhalla school record with seven TD catches this season (40 catches for 562 yards) while White led the team with 45 pass receptions (for 544 yards and two touchdowns).

El Capitan sewed up the No. 5 seed in the division with a 21-7 win against visiting Santana that (1) gave the Vaqueros the Grossmont North League title out right and (2) knocked the Sultans from the Division IV playoff field.

El Capitan (7-3, 4-0) will host Imperial Valley League runner-up Brawley (5-5) in first-round playoff action this Friday.

Tanner Rust passed for two touchdowns and also rushed for a score to lead the Vaqueros to their four straight win. Rust connected twice on scoring passes to Phillip Cook (three catches, 53 yards). For the season, Rust has passed for 2,056 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The Wildcats are coming off a 16-13 loss to Central Union (9-1) in last Friday’s IVL championship game.

After losing 42-13 to Helix on Nov. 7, Steele Canyon faced a must-win situation when the Cougars closed out league play last Friday at Mt. Miguel and responded with a 35-6 victory. Alex Perlin led Steele Canyon with three touchdowns and rushed for 125 yards, breaking off a 50-yard TD run to give the Cougars a 21-0 lead in the third quarter.

The clutch win sends St. Canyon (5-5, 3-2) to El Centro this Friday for a first-round playoff match-up against IVL champion Central Union (9-1).

Perlin has rushed for 1,369 yards and scored 12 touchdowns for the Cougars this season.

Derall Hunter scored Mt. Miguel's lone touchdown while rushing for 131 yards to finish the season with 1,507 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns.

The Matadors (3-7, 1-4) opened the season 2-0 but has lost seven of their last eight games. Hunter rushed for 146 yards and scored one touchdown in Mt. Miguel’s loss to Monte Vista on Halloween and scored on a pair of TD runs in Mt. Miguel’s homecoming game loss to the Norsemen on Nov. 17.

Division V
The Christian Patriots had their season-long nine-game winning streak stopped after losing, 45-21, to host Francis Parker in last Friday’s Coastal League championship game. Both teams finished regular season play with 9-1 overall records, with the Lancers earning the No. 1 seed in the Division V playoffs and the Patriots being seeded No. 2.

Both teams received first-round byes. Christian will host either Holtville (5-5) or newly-crowned Southern League champion Foothills Christian (9-1) in the quarterfinals; Francis Parker will draw either Tri-City Christian (5-4-1) or Calvin Christian (8-1).

The Division V championship game is scheduled Dec. 13 at Southwestern College.

Christian topped Bishop’s, last year’s Division V champion, by a 27-20 score on Nov. 7 to set up last week’s Coast League title showdown against the Lancers. Erick Allen threw three touchdown passes — two to Caleb Farrel — while Charles Thompson rushed for 140 yards and scored on a 70-yard scoring run.

The Patriots matched the Lancers' opening two touchdowns by Deon Randall but Francis Parker reeled off 31 consecutive points to run away with the league title. Randall finished the game with five rushing touchdowns.

Thompson entered the game averaging 169 rushing yards per game but was held to 77 rushing yards while scoring on a six-yard run in the fourth quarter. Mike Ferreira scored on a six-yard run and Allen tossed a 15-yard scoring pass to Tyrone Sauls to complete Christian's scoring in the game.

Thompson leads the Patriots with 1,599 yards and 22 touchdowns (21rushing scores).

The Southern League champion received an automatic playoff berth and that went to Foothills Christian (7-0 in league) after the Knights defeated previously undefeated Calvin Christian (6-1 in league) by a 16-13 score in last Friday’s league championship tilt.

Garret Campbell once again figured heavily in the outcome for Foothills Christian. He kicked a 27-yard field goal with four seconds left to deny Calvin Christian a perfect 9-0 season. Campbell helped set up his game-winning field goal by forcing a Crusaders fumble with just under three minutes left to play. Gage Provencher recovered the ball at the Calvin Christian 42-yard line.

Campbell finished the game with 200 passing yards, with Provencher grabbing 11 passes for 158 receiving yards. Mattison Rundlett scored on a two-yard run to erase a 14-0 Crusaders lead in the third quarter. Cambpell brought the Knights to within a point on the scoreboard, 14-13, when he later scored on a 22-yard run.

In a 49-0 win against San Pasqual Academy two weeks ago, Campbell scored four touchdowns (three on runs and another on a punt return) and passed for another score while supplying all seven point-after-touchdown conversions to finish the contest with 31 points.

Campbell leads the Knights with 1,422 passing yards and 988 rushing yards. He has thrown 16 touchdown passes and rushed for 12 touchdowns. Overall, he has kicked 38 PAT conversions, one two-point conversion and four field goals. He has two kick-off returns for touchdowns (92 and 100 yards), has returned punts of 64 and 70 yards for scores. He also has four sacks on defense.

Division IV
With one week remaining in regular season play, 12 teams were contending for the division's eight playoff berths. At 4-6 overall, Santana found itself out of the playoffs despite playing a tougher schedule than many teams in the division. The Sultans defeated Imperial, 19-0, in a non-league game earlier this season but the Tigers (9-1) advanced to the playoffs (as the No. 8 seed) as the Mountain-Desert League champion.

Santana snapped a three-game losing streak with a last-minute 33-27 win at El Cajon Valley on Nov. 7. Sophomore standout Zach Breidt passed for 161 yards and two touchdowns as the Sultans allied with 16 fourth-quarter points against the Braves. Kris Kimmel and Travis Reynolds caught fourth-quarter TD passes. Breidt connected on a 39-yard score to Reynolds with just 50 seconds left in the game to break a 27-27 tie. Josh Van De Vrudt finished the game with a pair of field goals (27 and 45 yards) and booted PATs for the Sultans, who were buoyed on defense by a 35-yard interception return by Ronald Steen and a game-saving pick by Cody Hosford with 13 seconds to play.

Breidt passed for 148 yards and one score in last Friday’s loss at El Capitan to close out the 2008 season with 1,781 yards and 15 touchdowns. Kimmel had the lone score for the Sultans. Kimmel finished the season with 45 catches for 611 yards and nine TDs.

Six Metro teams advance to CIF playoffs
Eastlake upends Chula Vista for Mesa League title;
Trojans sztop Aztecs for South Bay League banner

Posted Nov. 19, 2008
If one thing was apparent from this year’s San Diego Section football playoff seeding meeting it was that teams from the Mesa League appear to already have earned respect from coaches around the section while teams from the South Bay League are still in the process of earning such respect.

Six Metro Conference teams received admission to this year’s divisional playoffs — five from the Mesa League and just one from the South Bay League.

Eastlake (8-2) qualified as the Mesa League champion after its inspired 28-11 come-from-behind victory at Chula Vista last Friday. The Titans received the No. 2 seed in the Division II field and will host the winner of Friday’s first-round match-up between 10th-seeded West Hills (4-6) and seventh-seeded Patrick Henry (6-4) on Nov. 28.

Chula Vista (7-3) also received a first-round bye and will host a Division I quarterfinal match-up against either 12th-seeded Torrey Pines (3-6-1) or fifth-seeded Carlsbad (5-5).

Three other Mesa League teams earned playoff berths: third place Mater Dei (5-5), fourth place Otay Ranch (5-4-1) and fifth place Bonita Vista (6-4).
Mater Dei received the No. 3 seed in the Division IV playoffs after shocking visiting Otay Ranch, 17-12, last Friday and will host a quarterfinal-round contest against sixth-seeded Mission Bay (5-4-1) on Nov. 28.

Otay Ranch received a road assignment at eighth-seeded Vista (6-4) in first-round Division I play this Friday. The winner plays at top-seeded La Costa Canyon (8-2) in the quarterfinals the following week.

Bonita Vista received the No. 6 seed in the Division II playoffs and will host 11th-seeded Grossmont (4-6) in first-round action Friday at Southwestern College. The winners plays the following Friday at third-seeded Helix (8-1-1).

Castle Park defeated visiting Montgomery, 41-20, last Friday in this year’s South Bay League championship game but the playoff selection committee chose to include only this year’s league champion in post-season play. The victorious Trojans, who finished 6-0 in league play, will put their 7-3 overall record up against visiting Point Loma (5-4-1) in Friday’s Division III first-round game at Swift Stadium.

The Pointers tied Mission Bay for runner-up honors in the Western League standings (to Serra) and own a 21-7 non-league victory against Grossmont North League champion El Capitan (7-3), the No. 5 seed in the division, as well as a commanding 55-13 victory over Hoover in league play. Castle Park lost 14-13 at Hoover in the second week of the season.

The Pt. Loma-Castle Park winner advances against top-seeded (and defending division champion) Cathedral Catholic (10-0) in the quarterfinals.

Montgomery (5-1 in league) finished 5-5 overall. The Aztecs were among a mix of teams vying for the final five playoff slots but lost out to Pt. Loma, Steele Canyon (5-5), Monte Vista (5-5) and Brawley (5-5). Montgomery’s inability to win a non-league game this season — included was a loss to University City, a team that finished 1-9 in the division— had to hurt.

The Aztecs dropped lop-sided games to both West Hills (27-14) and Grossmont (34-6) — teams that received the No. 10 and No. 11 seeds in the Division II playoffs. Hoover, which defeated Castle Park by a point in non-league play, snared the final Division II playoff spot.

The Aztecs weren’t alone in failing to secure a post-season game.

Sweetwater defeated visiting San Ysidro, 35-8, last Friday to secure third place in the South Bay League standings with a 4-2 league record. At 5-5, the Red Devils were left out of the Division II standings along with El Cajon Valley (4-6). What hurt Sweetwater was a season-opening 7-0 loss to Orange Glen — a team that finished just 2-8 this season.

Olympian set a school record with its 6-4 overall record but couldn’t penetrate the limited eight-team Division IV playoff field. Neither did Clairemont, also 6-4. The Chiefs defeated the Eagles, 42-18, in the second game of the season.

South Bay League teams kicked off league play this season with a 5-23 overall non-league record. That will have to improve if league teams hope to extend their seasons past the regular season campaign.

By contrast, Mesa League teams sported a combined 16-12-1 non-league record.


Eastlake 28, Chula Vista 11
The host Spartans — celebrating homecoming with a crowd in excess of 4,000 fans — looked to be in control at halftime with an 11-6 lead. Chula Vista got some help from the Titans on a high snap on a punt into the end zone that was subsequently kicked out the back of the end zone by Eastlake’s Kris Almario. Ahead 2-0 on the safety, Chula Vista tacked on a one-yard touchdown run by Taimi Tutogi and a 29-yard field goal by Jon Villa to offset a 12-yard scoring run by Eastlake’s Daniel Diaz to take a five-point lead at intermission.

The visiting Titans scored the remainder of the game’s 22 points to cap a fantastic second-half turnaround. “I am known to speak several different languages during halftime,” Eastlake coach John McFadden quipped. “Chula Vista had a great game plan and did a great job against us. We were reacting. I challenged our guys at halftime and they responded in the second half. Our offensive line showed why it is one of the best in the county. Our line started blocking and that opened up our offense.”

The Titans racked up 22 points in the third quarter — much like the previous week when they exploded for 21 third-quarter points to pull away from Bonita Vista in an eventual 42-12 victory. Tony Jefferson scored on a 15-yard run with 6:10 left in the quarter to put Eastlake ahead 13-11. Randall Williams then ripped off a 54-yard scoring run with 4:57 left and the Titans went for the two-point conversion, with Jefferson scoring from two yards out to hike the visitors’ lead to 21-11.

Williams scored his second touchdown of the game on a 25-yard run with 1:42 left in the quarter to up the score to 28-11.

Williams totaled 154 rushing yards on 11 carries.

Strong defensive play by both teams, as well as penalties, marred the first half while untimely turnovers stopped promising drives by both teams in the second half. Chula Vista did not benefit from great field possession, starting at its own nine-yard line after recovering a Titan fumble. Chula Vista stopped Eastlake on downs after the Titans’ Patrick Jarin had made a pick in Spartan territory. Eastlake later stopped Chula Vista on downs at the Titan five-yard line, holding human tank Tutogi to no gain.

Tutogi entered the game with 14 touchdowns but found the running difficult against the Eastlake defense. The Spartans countered through the air, with CV signal-caller Victor Perez launching 45 passes in the game, completing 23 for 286 yards. Aaron Taylor was a bright spot on offense, making a sensational 45-yard reception en route to finishing the game with 11 catches for 160 yards.

Spartan coach Judd Rachow said his team will need to play a complete game if it desires to find success in post-season play. “You've got to play four quarters. It bored down to making the plays. I give them credit on doing a nice job. We’ve got to grow from this experience and finish what we start.”

Castle Park 41, Montgomery 20
Senior quarterback Richard Cooper (five-for-six passing, 124 yards) threw three scoring passes — 45 yards to Adam Tolbert, 32 yards to Dominique Fuqua and 27 yards to Miguel Hodges — to balance out a ferocious running attack to lead the host Trojans past the Aztecs. Castle Park ignited its offense for 20 first-quarter points en route to taking a 26-7 halftime lead. Gilbert Lopez gained 148 yards on 12 carries and scored twice, including a 65-yard romp into the end zone in the first quarter and a 49-yard score in the fourth quarter.

CP coach George Senesky called the victory one of his “greatest memories” in his 41-year coaching career.

The Trojans racked up 267 rushing yards and 391 total offensive yards. Fuqua also scored on a 10-yard run.

Cooper has passed for 1,067 yards and 17 touchdowns this season while rushing for 344 yards and five scores. In nine games, Tolbert had 31 catches for 663 yards and eight TDs.

Diego Rodriguez paced Montgomery with 74 rushing yards on 16 carries and caught an 11-yard scoring pass from Marvin Bobadilla, who passed for 131 yards and two scores. Bobadilla hit Tasi Carbullido on an eight-yard scoring pass in the final quarter while Luis Romero scored on a 13-yard run, also in the fourth quarter.

Eastlake Titans power to third consecutive Mesa League championship title

Updated Nov. 21, 2008
Each year Eastlake High School football coach John McFadden sets three goals for his team:

1) Aim for an undefeated season;

2) Win the league title;

3) Advance to the section championship game.

While the Titans did not accomplish the first goal, finishing 8-2 overall with losses to defending state champion Oceanside (26-23) and North County power Mission Hills (21-7), they did zero in on the second goal by capturing this year’s Mesa League championship title with an undefeated 5-0 league record.

As for the third goal, reaching this year’s Division II championship game Dec. 12 at Qualcomm Stadium, the Titans appear to have set themselves up well to possibly reach that goal by earning the No. 2 seed in the division playoffs.

Eastlake will host seventh-seeded Patrick Henry (7-4) in the quarterfinal-round of the playoffs on Nov. 28 after the Patriots defeated 10th-seeded West Hills (4-7) by a score of 28-20 in first-round action on Nov. 21. The Eastlake-Patrick Henry winner will play either third-seeded Helix (8-1-1) or 11th-seeded Grossmont (5-6) in the division semifinals on Dec. 5.

A trip to the championship round would be a program first. A trip to the division semifinals would make it two years running after the Titans hosted Rancho Buena Vista in last year’s Division I Final Four.

Eastlake earned major points with the No. 2 seed over the Highlanders, who finished regular season play ranked third in the section while Eastlake was ranked eighth.

Helix won the Grossmont South League title by turning back challenges from Valhalla (No. 3 seed in Division III), Steele Canyon (No. 10 seed in Division III), Monte Vista (No. 11 seed in Division III), Mt. Miguel (non-qualifier) and Granite Hills (non-qualifier).

Five of the six teams in the Mesa League qualified for this year’s playoffs. Eastlake finished ahead of Chula Vista (No. 4 seed in Division I), Mater Dei (No. 3 seed in Division III), Otay Ranch (No. 9 seed in Division I), Bonita Vista (No. 6 seed in Division II) and Hilltop (non-qualifier).

The Titans took a seven-game winning streak into their quarterfinal match-up. Eastlake kicked off the season with a new quarterback — DeAngelo Barksdale — and without a home field. Resurfacing of the field at Stan Canaris Stadium with new field turf was not completed until late September, forcing the Titans to play their first three games on the road, including the season opener against Oceanside at Southwestern College.

The Titans lost by just three points to the reigning section and state Division II champions and promptly followed up on that with a 35-17 road win the next week at Torrey Pines.

Injuries began to creep in, with Eastlake short-handed for games against Mission Hills, Steele Canyon and Poway. But the Titans managed to win two of those games, including a 21-20 thriller against Poway in the teams’ annual Clash of the Titans match-up.

Eastlake kicked off league play Oct. 17 with a 42-7 homecoming victory against Hilltop and followed that with a 35-6 league victory at Mater Dei. The Titans remaining league scheduled toughen up and so did Eastlake as the defending Mesa League champs cut a path to a third consecutive league title with wins against Otay Ranch (38-7), Bonita Vista (42-12) and Chula Vista (28-11).

The game against Chula Vista proved to be the game for the Mesa League championship and was played in front of more than 4,000 fans on the Spartans’ home field. Chula Vista held an 11-6 halftime lead but the visiting Titans put together an amazing second half of football to win 28-11 with 22 unanswered points.

Tony Jefferson, an all-state defensive player last season, produced a standout season on both sides of the ball this season by rushing for approximately 900 yards and scoring 20 touchdowns. Randall Williams came on strong in the second half of the season, rushing for more than 600 yards and scoring a dozen TDs. As a team, Eastlake rushed for approximately 2,000 yards and scored 26 rushing touchdowns.

Williams scored on runs of 25 and 54 yards in the league championship game while Jefferson turned in a 15-yard TD run.

Barksdale missed three games because of a mid-season injury but was ready for league play, passing for more than 1,000 yards with seven touchdowns.

Donte Haddock led the defense with three interceptions this season, returning one for a touchdown.

Easatlake Titans
Road to a Championshp
8-2 Overall (5-0 Mesa League)
Non-League
•Oceanside 26, Eastlake 23
•Eastlake 35, Torrey Pines 17
•Mission Hills 21, Eastlake 7
•Eastlake 21, Steele Canyon 14
•Eastlake 21, Poway 20

Mesa League
•Eastlake 42, Hilltop 7
•Eastlake 35, Mater Dei 6
•Eastlake 38, Otay Ranch 7
•Eastlake 42, Bonita Vista 12
•Eastlake 28, Chula Vista 11

San Diego Section Playoff Previews
Friday, Nov. 21/All games, 7 p.m.

Division I
Otay Ranch (5-4-1) at Vista (6-4): Injuries have clearly diminished the Mustangs' season. After starting 3-1-1, Otay Ranch is 2-3 in its last five games. Niall Wilkinson kicked field goals of 33 and 32 yards and quarterback Juan Leary scored on a late 19-yard run in last Friday's 17-12 loss at Mater Dei. In nine games, Leary had accumulated 881 rushing yards and five touchdowns while passing for 793 yards and six TDs (with 12 picks). Panthers quarterback David Fisher has passed for 1,085 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 587 yards and six scores.

Division II
Grossmont (4-6) vs. Bonita Vista (6-4) at Southwestern College: The Barons snapped a four-game losing streak with a 42-14 Mesa League win against visiting Hilltop last Friday. Bryan Montreuil rushed for 115 yards and scored on runs of one and 34 yards while Andrew Grimes caught a trio of scoring passes (eight, 14 and 26 yards) from Hector Castellanos. Grimes finished the game with 15 catches for 152 yards while Castellanos completed 12 of 14 passes for 138 yards (Miles Morales had five completions for 38 additional yards).

Castellanos has passed for 1,311 yards and 14 touchdowns while Montreuil has rushed for 744 yards and scored 11 TDs (10 rushing scores). Grimes leads the team's receivers with 60 catches for 957 yards and eight touchdowns.

Grossmont's season leaders include Desean Waters (584 rushing yards), Tyler Mutter (1,784 passing yards, 15 touchdowns) and Brett Etherton (736 receiving yards, six TDs).

Division III
Pt. Loma (5-4-1) at Castle Park (7-3): Castle Park quarterback Richard Cooper has passed for 1,067 yards and 17 touchdowns this season while rushing for 344 yards and five scores. In nine games, Adam Tolbert had 31 catches for 663 yards and eight TDs.

Leslie Rogers leads Pt. Loma with 1,449 rushing yards and had scored 19 touchdowns in eight games while junior QB Keegan Fitzgerald had passed for 797 yards and 10 scores.

San Diego Section Playoffs:
What's at stake in Week 11
One game left in regular season play as teams scramble for precious playoff berths

Posted Nov. 9, 2008

Division I
Vista (5-4) at Rancho Buena Vista (1-8)
The Panthers could scramble the division seeding meeting with a win in their regualar season finale against the cross-town rival Longhorns. Vista defeated Escondido, 28-14, in non-league play but has lost to division rivals Mira Mesa (16-14), Carlsbad (28-18) and Poway (27-23). The Panthers should be ranked ahead of Fallbrook, which they beat 31-6 in non-league action. A win over RBV, could catapult to a high playoff seed while a loss could drop the Panthers toward the bottom. Either way, Vista figures to be somehwere in the middle of the division seedings, possibly earning a home field game in the first round with a solid finish.

La Costa Canyon (7-2) at Torrey Pines (3-5-1)
The host Falcons face a tall order aginst the odds-on favorite to grab the No. 1 seed in the division. Torrey Pines has played a tough schedule and does own a tie against Mission Hills, a team that started off the season in top 10 rankings. A loss against LCC would drop the Falcons to 3-6-1. Is Torrey Pines better than Calexico (4-5), Morse (3-6), San Pasqual (2-7) and El Camino (2-7)? That will be a question for the playoff selection committe to decide. A strong showing against the Mavericks is a must for the Falcons -- win or lose.

Escondido (7-2) at San Pasqual (2-7)
The visiting Cougars have much to lose in this game should they be upset by the cross-town rival Golden Eagles. Escondido's two losses have come against Vista (28-14 in midseason) and LCC (21-17 last Friday). The Cougars opened the season with a 70-0 non-league victory against Calexico -- a team ying for a Division I playoff spot. A win over San Pasqual could hand Escondido the No. 2 seed in the division -- a loss could relegate them to a first-round game.

Eastlake (7-2) at Chula Vista (7-2)
0 Chula Vista's 40-0 win at Otay Ranch last Friday likely places the Spartans in the running for a top four seed. Chula Vista will host Eastlake for the Mesa League title this Friday. A win by the Spartans would give them an 8-2 regular season mark with losses only to Castle Park (14-12 in the season opener) and Mission Hills (23-0 in Week 4). Chula Vista has steadily improved with each game this season and has the potential to go deep in the Division I playoffs. A loss to Eastlake would still place Chula Vista ahead of Otay Ranch in the division seedings. A victory by the Titans would extend their reign as Mesa League champions for another year while almost certainly nail down the No. 3 seed in the Division II playoffs for Eastlake.

Division II
West Hills (3-6) at El Cajon Valley (4-5)
The Wolf Pack may just have the playoffs in sight after defeating Grossmont last Friday. The Foothillers end regular season play 4-6 overall -- a record West Hills can match with a win against the Braves. It would reason that should West Hills and Grossmont tie with identical 4-6 overall records that the Wolf Pack would get an edge in playoff selection based on its head-to-head victory over the Hillers. El Cajon Valley, meanwhile, could conceivably keep its fading playoff hops alive with an upset win against West Hills. Such would give the Braves a 5-5 overall record and drop the Wolf Pack to 3-7. An El Cajon Valley win could put both the Braves and Grossmont ahead of West Hills in the playoff hunt.

Serra (7-2) at Hoover (4-5)
The Conquistadors are going to the playoffs after defeating visiting Mission Bay last Friday for the Western League title. Hoover needs a win in its regular season finale to have any kind of chance of extending its season past 10 games. A loss by the Cardinals would drop them to 4-6 and in a dogfight with El Cajon Valley, Grossmont, Sweetwater and West Hills for a playoff berth. Hoover did beat Castle Park in the second week of the season while Sweetwater lost to Castle Park. Grossmont and West Hills have played a tougher schedule, perhaps giving them an edge.

San Ysidro (1-8) at Sweetwater (4-5)
The formula is simple for the Red Devils -- win and have a chance at snaring the last playoff spot in the division or likely watch post-season play from the stands. Sweetwater currently holds third place in the South Bay League standings and has notched just one victory against a team with a winning record -- Olympian, 23-0, in league play. What could wind up hurting the Devils is a season-opening loss to Orange Glen, a team that ended regular season play with a 2-8 record.

Division III
Central Union (8-1) at Brawley (5-4)
These two long-time rivals meet in the Imperial Valley League championship game, with the winner assured of a berth in the division playoffs. The Spartans' lone loss this season has been 35-15 to Christian, last year's Division V finalist. Central Union could land a high playoff seed with a win but could tumble down the seeding ladder with a loss against the Wildcats.

Pt. Loma (4-4-1) at La Jolla (4-5)
The Pointers could make some noise in post-season play but getting there will likely require a win against the Western League rival Vikings. Pt. Loma is 2-1-1 against division opponents, with wins against El Capitan (24-7) and Monte Vista (29-26) in non-league play, a tie against Mission Bay (38-38) and losses to Serra (34-31) and Cathedral Catholic (42-10) La Jolla needs a win to secure one of the final Division IV playoff berths.

Steele Canyon (4-5) at Mt. Miguel (3-6)
A loss by the host Matadors would almost certainly eliminate them from playoff contention while a loss by the Cougars could still keep them from getting the playoff axe. Suffice it to say that the winner of this game will go into the playoff seeding meeting feeling a whole lot better. Steele Canyon's playoff chances look a bit brighter with a 20-7 Grossmont South League win over Monte Vista already in hand.

Division IV
Bishop's (4-5) at Santa Fe Christian (5-4)
The host Eagles can enhance their chances of qualify for the division's short playoff field with a Coastal League win over the defending Division V champion Knights (who have lost much to graduation this season). Santa Fe Christian lost to La Jolla in non-league play, meaning the Vikings could get the playoff edge should the teams both finish at 5-5.

Santana (4-5) at El Capitan (6-3)
The host Vaqueros have clinched at least a tie for the Grossmont North League championship and earn it outright with a victory over the Sultans, sending them to the Division III plyoffs. Santana can obvously play the spoiler's role with a win and also solidify their chances of landing the final Division IV playoff berth. What the Sultans have going for them is a win over Imperial, and Imperial's win over Palo Verde. Imperial is 8-1 on the season but has not played as tough a schedule as Santana.

College Football:
Poinsettia Bowl tabs WAC opponent in back-up plan

Posted Ocr. 30, 2008
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl officials recently announced they have signed a contingency agreement with the Western Athletic Conference that impacts the 2008 and 2009 bowl games.

The contract stipulates that if the bowl’s agreement with the Pacific-10 Conference doesn’t yield a bowl eligible team with six or more wins, then the Poinsettia Bowl will get a team from the Western Athletic Conference.

The bowl’s primary agreement with the Pac-10 calls for the San Diego post-season game to receive the seventh place team. The WAC agreement is activated only if that seventh place Pac-10 team fails to reach the required six wins.

Currently, UCLA occupies seventh place in the Pac-10 standings with a 2-3 conference record, 3-5 overall.

The Pac-10 or WAC participant will face a team from the Mountain West Conference. The bowl receives the second selection from the MWC; the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl picks first.

"The WAC looks forward to returning to San Diego and hopefully playing in the Poinsettia Bowl this December,” WAC Commissioner Karl Benson said. “There is so much history and tradition with the 'red coats' dating back to the ’80s and ’90s. I know our teams and fans are very excited with this possibility."

The WAC participated in 18 of the first 20 Pacific Life Holiday Bowls. The Holiday and Poinsettia Bowls are produced by the same organizers, the “red coats.”

“We are really excited about this partnership,” 2008 Poinsettia Bowl President Larry Baber said. “This contingency plan assures us a great matchup and creates a natural and necessary regional tie.”

The fourth annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl kicks off at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 23 at Qualcomm Stadium. The game is televised on ESPN. For ticket information, visit www.PoinsettiaBowl.net or call (619) 285-5061.