The Granite Hills High School football team returned to the win column last Friday with a 49-16 non-league victory against the visiting Eastlake Titans. The host Eagles scored seven touchdowns — three rushing, three passing and one on a kick-off return.
Granite Hills improved to 3-1 on the season and maintained the No. 5 position in the CalPreps rankings behind No. 1 Lincoln (2-2), No. 2 La Costa Canyon (4-0), No. 3 Cathedral Catholic (3-1) and No. 4 Carlsbad (3-1).
Final regular season rankings will determine the San Diego Section’s four Open Division qualifiers, so the Eagles remain in the hunt to defend their CIF Open Division championship.
Sophomore Zac Benitez completed 15 of 23 passing attempts for 144 yards and three touchdowns — one each to junior De’vell Green (two catches, 39 yards), senior Lathan Fry (three catches, 32 yards) and junior Emilio Vera (one catch, six yards).
Benitez also had six carries for nine yards and one rushing TD to go with his three passing scores.
On the season, he has passed for 677 yards with eight touchdowns.
The Eagles produced a balanced offense with 144 passing yards and 186 rushing yards.
Sophomore Gage Spalding rushed 17 times for 92 yards and one touchdown while senior Max Turner rushed four times for 89 yards and one touchdown. Turner’s longest carry from the line of scrimmage was for 75 yards. He has rushed for 680 yards and 10 touchdowns in four games, an East County best.
Senior Brenden Lewis returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown while junior Kyler Oberg returned two kickoffs for 53 yards. Sophomore Jason Nunez contributed six kicking points while Lewis had one PAT.
Overall, Benitez connected with seven different receivers in the win. Lewis had three catches for 22 yards while Oberg had two catches for 29 yards. Junior Tristan Diaz had two catches for 22 yards.
Granite Hills has a bye this weekend but returns to the gridiron Sept. 27 for a non-league game at Madison.
Grossmont Hills League play kicks off Oct. 4 against visiting Steele Canyon.
The Cougars also improved to 3-1 on the season after dealing visiting El Capitan a 19-13 non-league loss last Friday.
Sophomore Gavin Caha passed for 201 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score to pace Steele Canyon past the visiting Vaqueros, who have now dropped their last three games. Senior Austin Haisch caught 10 passes for 115 yards, including two touchdowns, for the hosts.
Senior Marquis Gamble recorded one sack and one fumble recovery while senior Stefan Raschtshenia also had one fumble recovery. Caha also averaged 45 yards on two punts.
Caha has passed for 720 yards and seven touchdowns to start the season while senior John Weaver IV has rushed for 456 yards and seven touchdowns.
El Capitan (1-3) scored two touchdowns in the game as senior Brandt Barker passed twice to senior Ayden Benegas for two receiving scores. Barker completed 11 passes for 186 yards while Benegas had six receptions for 91 yards. Benegas also rushed six times for 35 yards.
Junior Logan Dulyea caught one pass for 41 yards while senior Brady Joralemon had five carries for 37 yards. Senior Aaron Altamirano keyed the Vaqueros defensively with 16 tackles. Juniors Brewin Ford and Josh Vasquez each had one sack while senior Riley Jones had one interception in the setback.
Barker has passed for 693 yards and six touchdowns in four games while Benegas has accumulated 243 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
