The San Diego Section skims off the top four teams from the 16-team Division I tier to form its elite Open Division playoffs. The remaining 12 teams vie for the Division I championship.
The Carlsbad Lancers, Lincoln Hornets and Helix Highlanders are generally regarded as the top three teams in the division so far this season. Lincoln is 6-0 while Carlsbad and Helix are both 5-0 at the midpoint of the season.
Could the Granite Hills Eagles just be that fourth team needed to fill out this year’s Open Division bracket? It’s starting to look that way, fingers crossed. The fourth-ranked Eagles improved to 5-0 following last Friday’s 31-0 shutout win over the ninth-ranked Madison Warhawks.
It was Granite Hills’ latest all-around win and extended the team’s winning streak to 14 games dating to last year’s state championship season.
“It was a good win — Madison is a solid program,” Eagles head coach Kellan Cobbs said. “Our defense has continued to get better and better every week. They pitched a shutout against a top 10 team and will only get better with the addition of (transfer) Travis Ford.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to be able to possibly compete in the Open Division. Obviously, we have to finish up strong in our league and be playing great football towards the end of the year. But as a competitor, you always wanna see what you can do against the best of the best.”
Junior receiver Brendan Lewis walked off the field with two touchdowns against the Warhawks (2-3). He opened scoring in the non-league contest with a 13-yard pass reception from freshman quarterback Zachary Benitez and later scored on a 95-yard kickoff return to open the second half.
Lewis had plenty of support. Sophomore receiver Tristan Diaz caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Benitez to make the score 14-0 while a two-yard run by junior Pablo Jackson advanced the score to 24-0 at halftime.
Lewis finished the game with 132 all-purpose yards.
The hosts opened with some trickery as senior Robert Petrich executed a pooch kickoff that was recovered by teammate Austin Whillock to set up the first score of the game.
Cobbs said this one of the “biggest and fastest” teams he’s coached.
Lewis was interviewed on local television after the game. “Our team just came out with that fire,” he told KUSI’s Prep Pigskin Report. “We had something that Madison didn’t. Hopefully this gives us an energy boost moving forward.
“It feels amazing. Some people have questioned whether we’re an Open Division team. I think we proved that we’re one of the top teams in the county and that people shouldn’t sleep on us.”
“The chemistry of this team is insane,” Jackson added.
Granite Hills kicks off expanded Grossmont Hills League play this Friday at Santana (4- 1), then hosts West Hills on Oct. 6. The Eagles visit Steele Canyon on Oct. 13, then host Helix on Oct. 20 in what is shaping up as the game in which the winner will clinch an Open Division berth.
Granite Hills concludes regular season play at Grossmont on Oct. 26.
West Hills improved to 4-1 after dealing visiting El Capitan (3-3) its second consecutive loss, 35-21, last Friday. Senior Collin Dill rushed for 106 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead the Wolf Pack while senior Diego Calderon (13 carries, 134 yards), junior Joseph Hamilton (10 carries. 36 yards) and senior Nathan Stevens (one carry, eight yards) each scored once.
Calderon accumulated 191 all-purpose yards by tacking on 57 receiving yards. Dill totaled 119 all-purpose yards while also making an interception on defense as West Hills captured the Tony Burner Memorial Cup trophy. In another GHL opener on Friday, Grossmont is at Steele Canyon in a match-up of 3-2 teams while Helix was scheduled to play at West Hills on Thursday.
