SD Prep Sports: Football

www.geocities.com/sdprepsports

E-mail us at sdprepsports@aol.com

Home   Swimming/Diving   Cross Country  Track & Field   Roller Hockey   Water Polo   CIF Scorecard

San Diego Section

Week 0 Game Reports

San Diego Section 2K5 Scoreboard

San Diego Section 2K5 Standings: The Undefeated

Hilltop Lancers hand new coach first win in first game

By Phillip Brents

CHULA VISTA, Sept. 2, 2005 -- The post-game cheer came in unison and with particular gusto: "One-and-oh, baby!" To be certain, Hilltop High School’s football players had something to celebrate following Friday’s 21-16 non-league victory against Hoover.

"We’ve asked the guys to find that heart they showed in practice and to put it into the game," said new Lancer coach Andy Diaz.

Photos: The 2005 Hilltop football team would like to remake its image into that of a consistent winner under new Hilltop Lancers head coach Andy Diaz.

The season-opening win was huge for a Hilltop team that finished 1-10 last season with three forfeits. Diaz thanked the players for "having confidence in the coaching staff." He called Friday’s come-from-behind victory a "gut-check" for his team.

"That was a key to get that first win. That sets the tone for the season," Diaz said.

The new Lancer coach said he outlined three goals for the team this season. All look to be attainable, at least to some degree, as the Hilltop program attempts to make a new name for itself by asking its players to believe in themselves.

"Our first goal was to win our first game. Our second goal is to improve. Our third goal is to win the league (title) or at least to battle for the league championship," Diaz said.

The Lancers return three key players from last season: running back Tyler Trenga, wide receiver/defensive back Albert Novelozo and linebacker Carlos Carley. One of the smallest players on the field, Trenga proved to be among the game's biggest players after rushing for two scores, including a 37-yard breakaway romp for the game-winning touchdown with 4:27 to play in the game to erase a 16-14 Cardinal lead.

Photo: Hoover quarterback Bobby Trung Tran helped stake his team to an early 13-0 lead.

Left-handed quarterback Craig Rasmussen – the South Bay League’s 2005 Player of the Year for baseball – heads the list of impact newcomers. Rasmussen passed 25 yards to Vince Pernicano for the team’s first touchdown of the Andy Diaz era. The score, which came midway through the third quarter, made the score 13-7 in the Cardinals’ favor.

Diaz said his style of coaching focuses on smash-mouth football, with a particular emphasis on tough defense. Enough cannot be said about the Hilltop defense in the season-opening game. The Lancers dug deep on several occasions to stop promising Hoover drives and had to contend with playing on a short field throughout the first half because of offensive turnovers.

Hoover took a 13-0 lead by capitalizing on a pair of fumbles. The Cardinals went 10 yards for their first score -- scored by quarterback Bobby Trung Tran on third down – and drove from the Lancer 27-yard line for their second touchdown, a throw from Trung Tran to Todd Doxey.

Hoover went up 16-7 on the strength of a 26-yard field goal with 10:26 left in the game. The Cardinals had positioned themselves for what looked like an even larger lead when David Sheehan hauled in a long pass to place the ball at the three-yard line. But Hilltop’s defense held, pushing Hoover back six yards to force a field goal attempt on fourth down.

The Lancers promptly answered back on the ensuing kickoff when Novelozo returned the ball to the Hoover 33-yard line. Rasmussen then ran for six more yards before handing off to Trenga on third-and-three. A third-year varsity player whose speed enables him to find holes through opposing defenses, Trenga burst up the middle to the 12-yard line and then advanced the ball to the five-yard line before taking the ball into the end zone with 7:40 left. An unsportsmanlike penalty on Hilltop forced an unusual 37-yard PAT but the successful conversion trimmed the Cardinal lead to 16-14.

The missed extra-point on the Cardinals’ second score looked to possibly figure in the outcome after Hilltop received the football on Hoover 48 with 5:51 to play, needing only a field goal to win.

However, Trenga, who was credited with 219 rushing yards on 26 carries in the game, made two long runs, bolting 37 yards on the final jaunt on second-and-15 to give Hilltop its first lead of the contest -- and the come-from-behind win. Jose Duran’s PAT made the final score 21-16.

Photo: Tyler Trenga takes a hand-off in Hilltop's season-opener.

Diaz called Friday’s win a "team victory."

"I think we had something like four turnovers in the first half. Our players were trying to make big plays rather than just making plays," Diaz said. "The players showed some confidence in the second half. The guys know they score 21 points in one half."

Goal #1 achieved. Goal #2 will be addressed when Hilltop hosts Escondido in another non-league game on Sept. 9. Kick-off is 7 p.m.

Cathedral Catholic 14, Steele Canyon 10

Demetrius Sumler (20 carries, 166 yards) rumbled 85 yards from scrimmage on the second play of the game to score Cathedral Catholic's first-ever touchdown in school history (at least under the school's new name). However, a 47-yard field goal by Ricky Araiza and a four-yard Ross Epperson touchdown pass to Tony Smith put visiting Steele Canyon up 10-7 before the former USDHS Dons pulled out some season-opening magic on a two-yard Ben Schwartz run in the final minute of play for the dramatic victory.   

Oceanside 10, Eastlake 9

A 34-yard punt return by Stephen Carr helped set up a 37-yard field goal by Daniel Ortega to give host Eastlake an early 3-0 lead and a fumble recovery in the end zone by all-state defensive specialist Marcus Yarbrough later give the Titans a 9-0 lead against the defending San Diego Section Division II champion Pirates. However, Oceanside responded with a 27-yard field goal by John Gomez to trim the Eastlake lead to 9-3 and later scored the game-winning points on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Steve Carroll to Evan Davis in the fourth quarter to steal the 10-9 win in an otherwise defensive struggle.

Otay Ranch 42, Cetis (Mexico City) 6

The Mustangs closed their season-opener in Mexico City with 42 unanswered points after yielding an early touchdown to the hosts.  Robert McCurdy and Ricky Daniels each scored twice in the game while quarterback Chris Siddens hit transfer DeRaun Deadwiler on an 80-yard scoring play. Jared Jordan also scored on an 80-yard run. Robert Williams and Julio Torres keyed the Otay Ranch defense. Williams had 25 tackles, including 17 solo stops, while Torres chipped in with 14 tackles and three sacks.

Vista 21, Mira Mesa 21

The defending San Diego Section Division I co-champion Panthers took a quick 7-0 lead on the opening kickoff return but it was the host Marauders who engineered a late comeback under QB Mike Coughlin to score 14 fourth-quarter points to earn the tie.

Torrey Pines 28, Santa Fe Christian 14

The defending San Diego Section Division IV champion Eagles surprised the defending San Diego Section Division I co-champion Falcons by grabbing an early lead but it was Torrey Pines that would own the momentum over the balance of the contest in doubling the score on the small schools champion. Connor Bird scored twice for Torrey Pines while Bill Bennett blasted a 51-yard field goal for the winners. 

Helix 51, Patrick Henry 7

The San Diego Section Division II finalist Highlanders romped to the win with the help of Minnesota transfer Justin Johnson. Poor punting by the visiting Patriots set up the first two scores of the game for Helix, which appears to be ready to make another deep run into the playoffs. Minnesota transfer Justin Johnson had a spectacular debut by scoring two touchdowns, including one on a 73-yard punt return. Quarterback Jericho Toilolo opened the scoring on a 13-yard pass.

El Cajon Valley 39, Central Union 21

Abraham Muheize may have found a new position this year after quarterbacking the Braves to a season-opening victory. Muheize broke three school records in the process. His 360 total yards (272 passing, 88 rushing) eclipsed the previous school record of 346 total yards set in 1974 by Mark Malone, who would go on to play in the NFL. Muheize completed 22 of 35 passes, breaking the old record of 20 completions in a game set by Paul Ayuob in 2001. Muheize’s third school record in the game came on a 91-yard interception return on defense, surpassing the previous school record of 87 yards set by John Owens in 1971.

Muheize threw three touchdown passes in the victory against Central Union, which finished 3-7 last season. Two of those scoring passes went to Jeremy Young, who also scored on kickoff returns of 87 and 90 yards to turn in another blockbuster individual performance in the contest. Young’s touchdown receptions went for 27 and 50 yards. He finished the contest with six reception for 113 yards. Clifton Thomas also caught a scoring pass from Muheize for three yards as the Braves broke open the game with 20 third-quarter points.

Santana 27, Montgomery 0

The Sultans made use of their experienced returners by scoring in every quarter in turning back the visiting Aztecs, 27-0, on Sept., 2. Senior Chris Diaz caught a 43-yard scoring pass from quarterback Collin Tayor and later rushed 16 yards for his second touchdown of the game. However, it was Anagnosastopolis who opened scoring in the game on a 24-yard interception return. Jacob Anagnosastopolis also had two fumble recoveries in the game. Taylor, who passed for 143 yards in the contest, accounted for Santana’s final score on a one-yard run. Jonathan Tippin caught five passes for 68 yards in the game.

Valhalla 52, San Ysidro 13

Running back Garen Demery made his season debut a memorable one by rushing for 212 yards and scoring four touchdowns in Valhalla’s 52-13 romp past host San Ysidro on Sept. 2. Other scores were tacked on by Spencer Meyers (nine-yard run), Tomas Karagianes (13-yard run) and Jonathan Murry (34-yard run). The Norsemen, who were led defensively by Brandon McClintic’s 11 tackles, also added a two-point safety. John Parks had two fumble recoveries and two sacks for Valhalla. Phillip Hoy bolted 51 yards for one touchdown and caught a 40-yard scoring pass for San Ysidro.

El Capitan 41, Serra 8

The Vaqueros are hoping to erase much of the misery associated with a 1-9 record last year and appear to be on the right track after side-tracking host Serra, 41-8, in the teams’ season-opener on Sept. 2. Six different players scored for thehe Vaqueros. Ryan Lindley opened scoring on a two-yard run, then followed that by throwing a 17-yard scoring pass. A.J. Conti’s 10-yard scoring reception hiked the El Capitan lead to 28-0. The Vaqueros led 35-0 at halftime.

Serra, which tied for a share of last year’s City Conference Western League championship before losing 24-19 to San Marcos in the opening round of last year’s Division III playoffs, turned the ball over five times against El Capitan. Linebacker Justin Morris was involved in three of those turnovers, making two interceptions and recovering one fumble. Morris returned one pick 52 yards for a touchdown.

West Hills 41, Kauai (Hawaii) 13

West Hills kicked off its 2005 season in style with a 41-13 victory in Hawaii. Philip Staback, who tossed seven touchdowns and passed for 644 yards in part-time duty last season, threw three touchdown passes to lead the Wolf Pack in the season-opener. West Hills racked up 370 total offensive yards. E.J. Brown scored two touchdowns and rushed for 151 yards.

Christian 48, Vincent Memorial 6

Sophomore Lawrence Walker ran for 219 yards and two touchdowns (on breakaway runs of 54 and 45 yards) to lead Christian, which will compete in the Coastal League once again this season. Scott Allen was credited with three touchdowns in the game for the Patriots, who finished the game with 48 unanswered points. Kyler Dwyer scored twice in the game for Christian, including a 75-yard run. The Patriots intercepted three passes and made three quarterback sacks on defense.