Mesa League Report:

Two teams emerge as powers

By Phillip Brents

Posted Oct. 18, 2005

Last year, three Mesa League teams qualified for postseason play. This year, only two seem worthy: Bonita Vista and Eastlake.

The San Diego Section is set to kick off its history-making five divisional playoff format for 11-man football on Nov. 18. As that date approaches, one gets the distinct impression that the Mesa League has developed into a league of "haves" and "have-nots." It does not take much brain power to back up that statement.

All one has to do is look at the standings. There are six teams in the league — four have yet to win a game more than halfway through the season.

Southwest and Montgomery both dropped to 0-6 following lop-sided losses last week. Chula Vista is 0-5-1 and Sweetwater is 0-4-2 after the pair of long-time rivals played to a 10-10 tie.

Eastlake defeated host Montgomery 63-0. Bonita Vista, also playing the visitor’s role, defeated Southwest 44-0.

This is the time of the season that teams with playoff aspirations start separating from the pack. Teams in the Mesa League already appear to have done so, though that still does not mean that one of the circuit’s lower echelon squads could not make a late run for a postseason berth. But it’s unlikely.

With two ties, Sweetwater might have the best chance but the Red Devils currently rank 17th among 18 Division I teams. Only the top 12 teams advance to the playoffs.

The Red Devils qualified for last year’s postseason tournament with a 4-6 record. Anything less than three wins in most seasons will not get a team into the playoffs.

Bonita Vista and Eastlake, however, both seem to be in great position. The two eastside powers shared last year’s Mesa League championship after battling to a 10-10 tie and the teams’ Nov. 10 date at Southwestern College is shaping up as the Metro Conference’s battle royale.

More importantly, both teams have showed they can hang with, if not beat, North County schools this season. Eastlake led 9-0 before bowing 10-9 to defending Division II champion Oceanside while Bonita Vista held a third-quarter lead on eighth-ranked Vista before routing Fallbrook 49-18 the following week.

Both the Barons and Titans sport 5-1 records heading into play this week — tied for second place in the Division I standings with Torrey Pines and La Costa Canyon.

Ramses Ramirez scored three touchdowns to lead Bonita Vista against Montgomery, including two on passes from Max Tatar. Tatar finished the game with three touchdown throws by also connecting with Justin Mangubat on a 31-yard strike. Tatar’s scoring passes to Ramirez went for 44 and 13 yards. Ramirez also scored on a three-yard run.

Starr Fuimaono (558 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the season) jump-started the Barons’ scoring attack with a 14-yard rushing touchdown. Bonita Vista, which led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and 37-0 at halftime, also scored on a two-point safety when a punt was blocked out of the end zone and on a 77-yard pass from Nick Schaeffer to Terry Love in the final quarter.

Eastlake, which has been carried by its defense all season, finally got some offensive relief. The 63 points scored against the Aztecs nearly matched the 65 points the Titans had scored in five previous games.

Flynn Anderson and Jerrell Mitchell each scored two touchdowns to lead Eastlake, which led 28-0 at halftime. Derek Witte threw a pair of scoring passes in the win, including a 41-yard hookup with Mitchell. In all, seven different Titans reached the end zone. Jeremiah Andujo scored on a 15-yard pass from Witte. Stephen Carr scored on an eight-yard run. Chris Morris scored on a 14-yard interception return. Jordan Koopman scored on a 31-yard run and Jacinto Callu scored on a two-yard run.

The shutout gave Eastlake the section’s top point-scoring defense at 6.0 points per game.

Sweetwater (0-4-2) rallied from a 10-0 deficit to record the tie against the arch rival Spartans. Josh Goldilla got Chula Vista (0-6) rolling by firing an 18-yard scoring pass and the Spartans later added a 37-yard field goal to lift them to their 10-0 halftime lead.

The second half of play featured all Red Devils on the scoreboard. Latherio Hoffman cut SuHi’s deficit to 10-7 on a one-yard scoring run in the third quarter. Esteban Sanchez then kicked the game-tying field goal from 28 yards out in the final quarter.

Anthony Lattin leads Chula Vista with 24 receptions for 470 yards and five touchdowns.

In games on Friday, Oct. 21, Eastlake will host Chula Vista while Bonita Vista will play Montgomery at Southwestern College. Sweetwater will host Southwest in a battle of two winless teams. All games kick off at 7 p.m.

While the Mesa League may have its battle lines sharply drawn, the South Bay League appears to be the most competitive it has been in years. Three teams appear in the running to win the championship, with a pair of teams below them ready to knock one out with an upset win. All six teams in the division have shots at making the playoffs with a couple more wins this season.

Otay Ranch kept rolling with its 35-14 win against visiting Hilltop to raise its unbeaten record to 6-0. DeRaun Deadwiler rushed for 262 yards on 12 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the Mustangs, who improved the program’s two-year varsity record to 14-2. For the season, Deadwiler has scored 11 touchdowns. Robert McCurdy scored his eighth touchdown of the season on a one-yard run while Joey Vega accounted for Otay Ranch’s other touchdown in the game on a 35-yard interception return.

Deadwiler scored his first two touchdowns on breakaway runs of 83 and 75 yards. His third came from 19 yards out. He also had three touchdowns called back because of penalties.

Meanwhile, the Mustang defense stood tall on the field as well by holding the Lancers (2-4) to two scores — a 30-yard fumble recovery by Tyler Trenga and a four-yard pass from Craig Rasmussen to older brother Eric Rasmussen.

The game was close at the onset with the Mustangs holding a 21-14 halftime lead before breaking away with 14 unanswered points in the second half.

Deadwiler has rushed for 716 yards and scored 11 touchdowns while McCurdy has rushed for 691 yards and scored eight times. Jared Jordan has rushed for 566 yards and scored five touchdowns.

Overall, the Mustangs own the section’s third-best point-scoring offense with an average of 44.7 points per game. Otay Ranch ranks second in the section in point-scoring defense (8.3 points per game).

Craig Rasmussen leads Hilltop with 960 passing yards and seven touchdowns. Albert Novelozo has caught 21 passes for 351 yards and one score.

Castle Park (4-2) appeared to make a statement with last Friday’s 38-0 win against visiting San Ysidro, which had won a school-record four consecutive games. The game pitted teams with combined 7-3 records but the Trojans scampered to the victory in runaway fashion as Boogie Blossom scored three times and Russell McGuire fired three touchdown passes.

Johnny Espinoza got Castle Park on the scoreboard with a 42-yard scoring reception from McGuire before Blossom scored on a six-yard pass from McGuire to give Castle Park a 14-0 halftime lead. The teams had battled to a scoreless tie through the first period.

The Trojans, who rank seventh in the section in point-scoring defense (9.5 points per game), put the game away with a 17-0 scoring edge in the third quarter as Blossom scored on a three-yard run, Abelardo Perez booted a 32-yard field goal and McGuire hit Blossom on a 25-yard scoring pass. Anthony Saunders closed out scoring in the game on a 63-yard run in the final quarter.

San Ysidro dropped to 4-2 with the loss.

Marian Catholic picked up its first win of the season in big fashion by defeating visiting Mar Vista 32-0. The Crusaders, who have won the last four South Bay League titles, are hoping to regain momentum at the right time of the season. Edward Taylor scored on runs of 14 and 16 yards to help stake Marian Catholic to a 20-0 halftime lead.

The Crusaders improved to 1-5 on the season after suffering losses against some of the region’s top teams, including third-ranked Oceanside (6-0), defending Mesa League co-champion Eastlake (5-1), Southern Section power San Clemente (4-2), Rancho Buena Vista (3-3) and Division III finalist Brawley (6-1).

Marian Catholic, which had fashioned a 27-game winning streak that included two San Diego Section Division III championships before dropping its final game last season and then opening this season 0-5, has control of its own playoff destiny with a resurgent run through league play. The South Bay League champion automatically qualifies for postseason play.

Mar Vista, meanwhile, retains its playoff hopes despite the loss. The Mariners (3-3) have won three games for the first time since 2001.

Aaron Mason leads Mar Vista with 659 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

In league games on Oct. 21, Castle Park will host Mar Vista, Hilltop will host Marian Catholic and Otay Ranch will visit San Ysidro. Castle Park and Otay Ranch pair up the following week and both teams must be mindful of not looking past this week’s opponents. Hilltop will have an opportunity to throw the proverbial monkey wrench into this year’s title chase by upsetting the defending champion Crusaders.

All games kick off at 7 p.m.