East County Sports

Cougars take over, remain undefeated

2025 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

No. 18 STEELE CANYON 38, EL CAPITAN 14

EastCountySports.com

SPRING VALLEY – Steele Canyon remained perfect on Friday night, extending its winning streak to seven games with a 35-14 victory over El Capitan on homecoming night.

The Cougars (7-0, 1-0 GHL) relied on a potent passing attack and opportunistic defense to pull away after a competitive first half.

El Capitan (4-3, 0-1 GHL) struck first late in the opening quarter when sophomore quarterback Hayden Passanisi lofted a 34-yard pass to Logan Dulyea, who sprinted down the middle of the field for a touchdown. The Vaqueros held a 7-0 lead with just 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Steele Canyon responded immediately, driving into El Capitan territory and finishing the drive with Abel Lopez powering in from five yards out to tie the game at 7-7.

The defenses controlled much of the remainder of the first half.

El Capitan’s front, led by Spencer Chastang and Brewin Ford, limited Steele Canyon’s running game, while the Cougars’ defense, anchored by Luke Rode, Gunner Minich and Vincent Pryor, kept the Vaqueros under 3.1 yards per carry.

The teams went into halftime tied at 7-all.

The second half opened with a bang for El Capitan.

Passanisi connected with Chastang on a short pass that turned into a 63-yard touchdown sprint to give the Vaqueros a 14-7 lead just seconds into the third quarter.

Steele Canyon answered on its next series, driving downfield to tie the game at 14-14 on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Caha to Malcolm Ballard.

The Cougars then seized control.

On El Capitan’s next possession, Passanisi was stripped while scrambling, and Sebastian Castellon recovered the fumble and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown, giving Steele Canyon a 21-14 lead.

Moments later, following another Vaqueros turnover near midfield, Caha found Josiah Stocker for a touchdown pass, extending the lead to 28-14 late in the third quarter.

Steele Canyon capped the scoring early in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass from Caha to Noah De Arcos, making it 35-14.

Caha finished the night with 243 passing yards and three touchdown passes.

Steele Canyon’s defense again proved stout against the run and forcing multiple turnovers that led directly to points.

The win keeps Steele Canyon unbeaten and continues the Cougars’ dominance over El Capitan, extending their win streak in the series to nine games.

El Capitan saw its four-game winning streak snapped.

Steele Canyon will face Mount Miguel next, while El Capitan travels to take on Helix in league play.

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