Patriots hankering for state title

By Ramon Scott
Updated: December 11, 2025

Christian High's Hank Houston / Vic Marano

2025 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

EAST COUNTY FEARLESS FORECASTER

CIF State Division 5-AA Championship

FRIDAY (DEC. 12) At Buena Park HS

East County Sports.com

EL CAJON — For all the ups and downs that come with a football season played across nearly four months, the Christian High Patriots have managed to save their best for last.

And now, improbably, they’re the last East County team standing, heading to Buena Park on Friday for a shot at the CIF State Division 5-AA Championship — the first state appearance in program history.

Christian (8–7) has played the role of the slow-building storm, entering the postseason a game below .500 but now riding a six-game winning streak that includes road wins, defensive standouts, and a belief that has grown with every Friday night.

Their latest triumph — a 27–13 regional championship win at Valley Christian last week — showcased exactly why the Patriots have become one of the state’s most dangerous teams nobody wants to face in December.

It was there that Kai Rosier continued his late-season surge, hauling in 93 yards and two touchdowns — his highest TD output since August — on a night when quarterback Kaleb Runkle eclipsed 2,700 passing yards on the season.

And while the offense put up enough points to win, it was Christian’s defense that delivered the knockout shots.

Hank Houston, already doing everything except driving the team bus this year, produced yet another signature moment: a pick-six that flipped momentum and further cemented his status as one of San Diego County’s most underrated players.

Houston now enters the title game with 101 tackles, five sacks, three interceptions, plus touchdowns as a receiver and running back.

Christian’s run defense, surprisingly stout all postseason, held Valley Christian to -1.5 yards per carry, part of a defensive performance that included three interceptions and relentless pressure. The Patriots have become opportunistic, physical, and confident — a combination that has turned a once-struggling team into a legitimate state contender.

But if the Patriots have transformed, so has their opponent.

THE ELLIS EFFECT

To win the school’s second-straight state title, Bishop O’Dowd (10–4) will again lean on a player East County fans are about to meet — and may never forget: running back Lamar Ellis.

Ellis is the type of running back that gives defensive coordinators nightmares and forces entire game plans to revolve around him.

After sitting out the transfer-mandated five weeks, Ellis has played only nine contests — and still rolled up 1,252 yards and 19 touchdowns. The Dragons were 2-3 without him, but 8–1 since he debuted.

Ellis admires Marshawn Lynch. His coach, former NFL All-Pro linebacker Hardy Nickerson, says Ellis is basically Ashton Jeanty. And the tape backs it up: Ellis is violent, explosive, and refuses first contact.

If Christian’s defense was suffocating last week, they will need that and more on Friday — because Ellis is probably the most talented player the Patriots have faced all season.

But Ellis isn’t alone.

CB/WR Ian Garrick averages a staggering 26.1 yards per catch with nine touchdowns, plus two interceptions on defense. LB Zay Latu anchors a physical Dragon front. This is a veteran team, a defending champion, and a group comfortable in tight situations — as shown in last week’s tense 23–20 win over Chico, their closest game in over a year.

Christian, meanwhile, is the newcomer on this stage — but that may also be their strength. There is no pressure. No expectations. Just a program playing its best football at the perfect time under head coach Patrick Bugg, the former Eastern Kentucky All-American tight end who has guided this group through adversity, injuries, and an unforgiving early-season schedule.

The Patriots have the firepower to score, the playmakers to disrupt, and the belief to compete with anyone. They’ve already rewritten their season once. Now they’re 48 minutes from adding a state title to a program with a rich local history.

If Christian can keep Ellis from taking over — and that’s a big “if” — the Patriots have the weapons to push the Dragons into the fourth quarter.

And if Runkle, Rosier, Houston, and the defensive front can produce one more week of magic, the state trophy could very well be headed to El Cajon.

But the margin for error will be razor thin. A fourth-quarter score by Ellis could seal a hard-fought state title game, but the Patriots’ run — one of East County’s most remarkable postseason streaks — deserves to be remembered no matter the final outcome.