Granite Hills Eagles soar to 2-0 prep football start

Seven East County high school football teams kicked off the 2024 season with timely vic­tories. Two of them — the Gran­ite Hills Eagles and Mt. Miguel Matadors — remain undefeated through the opening two week­ends of non-league play.

Granite Hills posted a 56-28 win at Mater Dei Catholic while Mt. Miguel recorded a 54-12 win over visiting Rancho Buena Vis­ta in games last Friday to both stay unbeaten on the season with 2-0 records.

For the second consecutive week, the Eagles put up big numbers on the road, tallying 579 yards in total offense in blowing past host Mater Dei Catholic. Sophomore quarter­back Zac Benitez completed 16 of 19 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns while senior Max Turner rushed 20 times for 189 yards and scored four rush­ing touchdowns.

On the receiving end of the ball, junior Tristan Diaz had four catches for 103 yards and one touchdown while senior Brendan Lewis had six catch­es for 72 yards and one touch­down. Senior Lathan Fry had five catches for 46 yards and one touchdown while also complet­ing one pass for a 55-yard touch­down to junior Kyler Oberg.

Senior Parker Vance had one catch for 37 yards.

Benitez, who logged one in­terception, completed the game with a 142.0 passer rating.

As a team, the Eagles passed for 313 yards in the game and rushed for 266 yards.

Sophomore Gage Spalding fol­lowed Turner on the scoresheet with 50 yards on seven carries while senior Luis Huertas had 15 yards on seven attempts.

On defense, Vance had one in­terception for 22 yards. Senior Trent Whillock had seven kick­ing points while Lewis convert­ed one extra-point conversion.

The Mater Dei Catholic de­fense gave up eight touchdowns.

Through two games, Turner has rushed for 392 yards and seven touchdowns while Benitez has passed for 492 yards and four touchdowns. Vance has two interceptions in as many games to his credit.

Granite Hills tees it up next against the Perry Pumas from Gilbert, Arizona, on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 4 p.m. (Honor Bowl at Cathedral Catholic).

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Meanwhile, it was another all-around effort for the host Mata­dors, who racked up 354 yards in total offense and received touchdowns from four players.

Junior K.J. Shields (six car­ries, 147 yards) scored three rushing touchdowns while ju­nior Zane Rottier (seven carries, 64 yards) scored two rushing touchdowns. Junior A.J. Logan tacked on a five-yard rushing score while senior Sha-hei Phil­lips scored on an interception return.

The Matadors will grapple with likewise unbeaten La Jolla Country Day (2-0) this Friday in La Jolla.