The Granite Hills High School football team had moved up to the No. 4 slot in the San Diego Section rankings two weeks ago as the final of four Open Division candidates. The Eagles have since dropped to No. 7 behind No. 6 Helix Charter as both East County juggernauts jockey for supremacy in the Grossmont Hills League standings.
If the playoffs started today, both Helix and Granite Hills would rank among the top three seeds in the restructured Division I playoff field that has been reduced to eight teams from 12.
A rankings clash is thus on hand for this Friday’s Grossmont Hills League championship game. Start time is 7 p.m. at Helix Charter High School.
Both teams are 7-2, 3-0 in league play. The winner receives an automatic berth in the upcoming section playoffs as a league champion. The loser appears a shoo-in for the playoffs.
Helix is coming off a spirited 42-14 win at Steele Canyon last Friday while Granite Hills edged state power San Jacinto, 14-13, also on the road.
Like a rock
Senior Zac Benitez passed for 222 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions against San Jacinto (8-1). The Eagles pushed out to a 6-0 halftime lead on a pair of field goals by senior Jacob Nunez. The Tigers tied the score, 6-6, through three quarters before the visitors notched eight points in the final quarter to offset a touchdown by the hosts.
Benitez connected with junior Jonah Hamilton for the passing score and then scored on the two-point conversion run to give the Eagles the one-point edge in the game.
Granite Hills was limited to 42 rushing yards. Senior Gage Spalding was the leading ball-carrier with 37 yards on 17 carries. His longest run from scrimmage was 11 yards.
The passing game was a bit more successful. Sophomore Many Walker had five catches for 116 yards, including one 49-yard gain. Senior Courtney Miller Thompson had three catches for 56 yards, including one catch for 20 yards.
The Eagles slowed San Jacinto with five interceptions, including three by junior Ty Spencer totaling 46 yards. Seniors Jesse Wilhite and Daeveon Brown also had interceptions to buttress the defensive effort.
Sophomore Kolton Hopkins led the team with eight tackles while seniors Romeo Pepi and Cayden Phillips and sophomore Jamir Alverez each logged seven stops.
San Jacinto also came prepared defensively with seven sacks and two interceptions.
On the season, Benitez has passed for 2,122 yards with 28 touchdowns against six interceptions and a 122.5 quarterback efficiency rating.
Spalding leads the ground game with 482 yards and six touchdowns.
Helix has won four consecutive games, seven of its last eight, and will present a challenge.
“We need to establish the run early in the game,’ Granite Hills head coach Kellan Cobbs said. “If our defense plays like they did last week ,we are going to be tough to beat. The quarterback needs to be better at getting us into the right play and distributing the ball where it needs to go. It should be a great game.”
Despite a loss last week to La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad (8-1) remains the section’s No. 1 team. Mission Hills (7-2) is No. 2, followed by No. 3 Cathedral Catholic (6-3). LCC (6-3) moves up to No. 4 ahead of No. 5 Santa Fe Christian (10-0).
The shakeup has moved Lincoln (4-5) to No. 8 followed by No. 9 Oceanside and No. 10 San Marcos, both 5-4 on the season. Rancho Bernardo (7-2) is No. 11 while Torrey Pines (5-4) is No. 12.
The last time the Highlanders won the league title was during the 2021-22 season.
“Our biggest challenge this week is trying to slow down their offense,” Helix coach Damaja Jones said. “ Zac is a great high school QB — he has been great since his freshman year.”
Maybe next year
The Mountain Empire Redhawks will end regular season play this Friday with a road game at Palo Verde Valley. The Redhawks carry a 5-3 overall record into the Desert League game against the Yellow Jackets, who are 7-2 overall.
Mountain Empire is guaranteed a winning regular season record but cannot win the league title after the team’s Oct. 16 game against Southwest El Centro was canceled because of high wind.
The Redhawks, who are 1-1 in league, will play one fewer league game than Palo Verde Valley, the current leader in the standings at 3-0. Vincent Memorial is in second place in the league standings at 3-1. Southwest El Centro (3-5 overall) is 0-2 in league play while Calipatria (3-6 overall) is 0-3 in league.
Palo Verde Valley can win the league title outright with a win over Mountain Empire or possibly share the league title with Vincent Memorial with a loss to the Redhawks.
League champions are guaranteed entry into the upcoming San Diego Section playoffs.
Mountain Empire is looking to secure a berth in the Division V-AA field. The Redhawks rank 62nd among the 86 section teams, which would place them fourth overall in the division. Eight of the 10 teams in the division qualify for the playoffs.
No. 28 Escondido Charter (8-1) is the top-ranked team in the division. Palo Verde Valley is 37th in the section rankings while Vincent Memorial is 49th. Clairemont (4-5) is 66th in the section rankings while Foothills Christian (5-3) is 71st.
Southwest El Centro is 72nd while O’Farrell Charter (4-5) is 74th, Tri-City Christian (5-3) is 78th, Calipatria is 79th and Victory Christian Academy (0-9) is 86th.