The latest high school football rankings are out following last weekend’s slate of regular season games and the postseason playoff pairings could take a slight detour for some teams, and that’s not necessarily all that bad.
The No. 4 Granite Hills Eagles hosted No. 2 Cathedral Catholic Dons last Friday in a marquee match-up as the San Diego Section Open Division starts to sort itself out. Cathedral Catholic, buoyed by a large class of transfers who are now eligible to play, proved rude visitors with a 52-6 win over defending Open Division champion Granite Hills.
The Dons (6-1) out-gained the Eagles (5-2) in total yards 427-158, holding the hosts to 48 rushing yards and 110 passing yards in uncharacteristic fashion.
Senior Max Turner, Granite’s touchdown-scoring machine, was held to 26 yards on 13 carries while senior Lathan Fry had four catches for 55 yards. Senior Trent Whillock accounted for all six Eagles points on a pair of field goals, including a game-opening upright-splitting to provide the hosts with an early 3-0 lead on the scoreboard.
Sophomore quarterback Zac Benitez completed 12 of 21 passing attempts with one interception.
Cathedral junior Brady Palmer passed for 199 yards and three touchdowns while scoring once on the ground. Junior P.J. Johnson had two touchdowns — one receiving and one on a 51-yard punt return.
Senior Wyatt Grunsky (four carries, nine yards) scored one rushing touchdown. Sophomore Honor Falaave scored on a 44-yard interception return.
Senior Gage Eastlack collected 10 kicking points on seven PAT conversions and a 25-yard field goal.
The Dons registered four sacks on defense — two each by seniors Sidney Dupuy and Luke Westfall.
Cathedral will host No. 1 Lincoln (5-2) this Friday as the Open Division pecking order further clarifies itself.
In the meantime, the Eagles (5-2) have dropped to No. 6 in the rankings — two spots out of the Open Division for the moment.
Undefeated La Costa Canyon (7) holds down the No. 3 ranking while Mission Hills (6-1) has moved up to No. 4 to bump down Granite Hills.
The Eagles are now rated No. 2 among the remaining Division I teams behind No. 1 San Marcos (6-1).
If the playoffs were to start tomorrow, Granite Hills would still be among the favorites to capture a CIF title, maybe just not the Open Division.
But there’s still quite a few games left to decide which teams go where for the playoffs — and which teams emerge with league championships as automatic playoff qualifiers.
Granite Hills resumes Grossmont Hills League this Friday at No. 11 Mt. Miguel in a match-up of league unbeatens in what is already shaping up as the possible league championship game.
The Eagles enter Friday’s game 1-0 in league after a 39- 0 win over visiting Steele Canyon on Oct. 4 while Mt. Miguel (6-1 overall) improved to 2-0 in league play following last Friday’s 48-35 win at Helix (0-1 in league, 2-5 overall).
Numbers game
The GHL standings are off to a competitive start after the Grossmont Foothillers defeated visiting Steele Canyon, 60-49, to even their league record at 1-1.
“It feels good to be 2-0, but we know the work is not done,” Matadors coach Verlain Betofe said. “One of our team goals was to win league then win CIF. We have a lot more work to do, but it felt good in beating Helix, one of our rivals.”
The No. 11 ranking at present would place Mt. Miguel seventh among Division I teams, likely earning the Matadors homefield advantage in at least the opening round of the playoffs.
Sophomore Jayden Hunter scored three second-half touchdowns to help provide a cushion for the visitors after scoring 28 second quarter points. Junior Brandon Arrington helped give the Matadors some early momentum with an 85-yard kickoff return to reverse an 8-7 Highlanders lead.
Junior A.J. Stowers followed with a touchdown pass to sophomore Delontay Williams in the back corner of the end zone. It was a leaping catch over a Helix defender, also up in the air.
Senior Pablo Jackson keyed Helix with 27 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw a halfback pass to senior Harlem Harris for a length of the field completion.
Williams and Sophomore Dominic Lopez each recorded an interception for the Matadors. Lopez scored on a 35-yard return.
The Matadors led by 20 points twice in the second half.
Grossmont senior Thomas Donovan passed for 508 yards and seven touchdowns to continue his amazing season behind center. He also rushed for one touchdown.
Donovan has now passed for 2,579 yards and 34 touchdowns in seven games.
The Cougars dropped their third consecutive game to fall to 0-2 in league play, 4-4 overall.
The Grossmont Valley League standings are equally showing some early shifts. Three teams entered league play with 1-0 records last Friday but only one — the El Capitan Vaqueros — remains undefeated in league play entering this Friday slate of contests.
El Capitan improved to 2-0 in league play following last Friday’s 42-0 win at the Valhalla Norsemen in an early pairing of 1-0 league unbeatens.
Senior Brandt Barker passed for 251 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Vaqueros to their third consecutive win. Senior Brady Joralemon had 10 carries for 80 yards and one rushing touchdown and alco caught a 37-yard scoring pass.
Barker delivered touchdown passes to four players: sophomore Braiden Linder (five catches, 78 yards), sophomore Michael Valencia (three catches, 75 yards), junior Brody Copp (one catch, 25 yards) and Joralemon.
Senior Marlon Ames scored on a punt return.
The Norsemen dropped to 1-1 in league play, 3-4 overall.
El Capitan ranks 43rd overall in the section, third among Division IV teams behind Grossmont (first) and Chula Vista (second) in a very interesting top three. Grossmont finished runner-up in last year’s Division III finals while Chula Vista was the runner-up in Division IV.
