Valhalla sets 75-0 scoring record; Granite Hills beset by 44-29 loss

A total of 12 East County high school football teams kicked off their 2026 seasons last Friday. Eight came out winners.

Most notable among them was the Valhalla Norsemen’s 75-0 victory over San Jacinto Valley Academy. The score set a Grossmont Conference record for largest winning margin.

It was certainly an auspicious debut for new Valhalla head coach Jason Carter.

Senior running back Jayden Hunter, a transfer from Mt. Miguel, led the history-making rout by rushing for 79 yards on four carries and four touch­downs. It was a most efficient evening.

Senior Jeremiah Loper, an­other Mt. Miguel transfer, added two touchdowns on two carries.

The new-look Norseman racked up 420 yards in total offense as junior quarterback Adrian Wilson completed seven of nine passes for 216 yards and four touchdowns. Loper completed two passes for an additional 33 yards to hike Valhalla’s prolific passing per­formance to 249 yards on the night.

Freshman A.J. Wright turned a short pass into a 78-yard breakaway score for the game’s most spectacular touchdown. He later caught a 33-yard scor­ing pass to make his varsity debut with 151 receiving yards and two scores.

He also made a statement on defense with a 30-yard inter­ception return to set up anoth­er VHS touchdown and finish the game with 181 all-purpose yards.

The Norsemen scored in a variety of ways: seven rushing touchdowns (four by Hunter. Two by Loper and one by Wil­son), six touchdown passes (four by Wilson and two by Loper) and one defensive score on a fumble recovery.

Valhalla led 48-0 midway through the second quarter en route to ending the game with a running clock.

The Norsemen finished 3-8 last season and look to put the bad taste of a 0-10 season in 2018 well behind them.

Other teams coming out of the chute with wins included Mountain Empire (39-0 over Anza Hamilton), Steele Can­yon (7-3 over San Diego), West Hills (28-13 over Chula Vista), Mt. Miguel (42-26 over Mont­gomery), Grossmont (34-7 over Madison), Santana (37-12 over Morse) and Monte Vista (31-23 over Crawford).

Not everyone was fortunate to win their season opener, even among the section’s top 10-ranked teams.

Granite Hills, which entered the season ranked at No. 6, dropped a 44-29 non-league decision at No. 13 Oceanside. The four-time defending CIF champion Eagles trailed 21-0 early on and were down 30-7 at halftime before engineering a late spurt that fell short.

Granite Hills out-scored the host Pirates 22-14 in the second half.

Senior signal-caller Zac Benitez threw four touchdown passes in the game for the Eagles — all to senior transfer Nino Miller-Thompson (from Lincoln). Benitez finished the contest with 312 passing yards. Miller-Thompson logged 15 catches for 238 yards.

Benitez was intercepted twice, including one that went for a pick six (36 yards by Lucas Tunning) to aid the Oceanside scoring. The Granite QB also lost a fumble.

The Eagles also coughed up a two-point defensive safety.

The Oceanside defense lim­ited Granite Hills to just nine rushing yards on 19 attempts. Benitez finished the game with negative 17 yards on nine car­ries.

Senior Davion Williams led the Eagles with 16 rushing yards on three carries. Senior Gage Spalding had 13 yards on seven carries.

It was tough going against a tough opponent. The teams flipped positions in the section rankings. Oceanside moved up to No. 6 for Week 2 while Gran­ite Hills slipped to No. 7.

Senior Eurijah Schutza led Granite Hills defensively with 10 tackles while sophomore Jamir Alvarez had eight tackles and one sack. Sophomore Levi Moore recorded a 14-yard inter­ception return.

Senior Jameson Garrison keyed the Pirates with seven tackles, three sacks and four tackles for losses. Junior Neke Letuli scored three rushing touchdowns.

The season is just starting. The Eagles enter their next game this Friday at Mater Dei Catholic with a 0-1 record against a Crusaders squad also sporting a 0-1 mark after suf­fering a 29-28 setback at Del Norte in their season opener. Mater Dei Catholic enters the game ranked at No. 16.

Both teams will be looking for a better showing. However, since there are no longer any regular season ties, one team will walk of the field with a 0-2 start.