East County Fearless Forecaster: Playoffs

By Ramon Scott
Updated: November 12, 2025

Helix RB Donte Wright / Vic Marano

2025 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL – QUARTERFINALS

EAST COUNTY FEARLESS FORECASTER

SPRING VALLEY – Neighborhood rivals collide on Friday night in one of the most intriguing matchups of the season as Helix (5-6) travels to Steele Canyon (7-3) for a San Diego CIF Division 2 quarterfinal showdown between Grossmont Hills League foes.

The teams met just a few weeks ago in a thrilling regular-season matchup, with Helix taking a wild 39-34 victory after leading 18-7 at halftime.

Senior Donte Wright led the Highlanders with three rushing touchdowns and 272 yards on the ground, while QB Lee Norman-Lester racked up 299 yards of total offense.

Steele Canyon countered with quarterback Gavin Caha passing for 300 yards and four touchdown passes to four difference receivers, and Cougar senior Nico Jara looks to continue his stellar career as the East County’s top three-way threat.

Helix, the No. 7 seed, has won the last seven meetings, but the second-seeded Cougars will be more comfortable at home to finally get a victory over the Scotties for the first time since 2018.

Fearless Forecaster: Steele Canyon 32, Helix 31

Division 1: (7) Rancho Bernardo (9-2) at (2) Granite Hills (7-3)

Granite Hills brings the county’s top passing attack led by Zac Benitez and a dynamic receiving corps featuring Noah Walker, Tristan Diaz, Zehdan Smith, D.J. Wilkins, and Rocket Demery. No team in the county possesses as much talent at the position.

Add to the mix, Granite Hills’ newest weapon in senior Parker Johnson, who has two kick return touchdowns and a punt return touchdown in just four games with the Eagles.

Rancho Bernardo advanced with a dominant 49-15 win over Del Norte, highlighted by Gaige Weddle throwing for 245 yards and five touchdowns.

The Broncos also counter with Gavin Valencia, one of the county’s top tacklers.

Fearless Forecaster: Granite Hills 34, Rancho Bernardo 27

Division 1: (6) Oceanside (7-4) at (3) Mount Miguel (7-3)

Oceanside and Mount Miguel meet for the second time this season, with the Pirates narrowly winning 26-25 at home in September.

Quarterback Jeremiah Loper passed for 215 yards and four touchdowns in the first meeting. Standout receiver A.J. Logan was on the receiving end of three of them, as he finished with 151 yards in receptions.

The Matadors are coming off a first-round bye. Loper averages 209 passing yards per game, with Logan hauling in 42 receptions and 10 touchdowns.

Oceanside boasts running back Neke Letuli (93.5 ypg) and QB Anthony Barquinero (172.5 passing ypg).

The teams split results against San Marcos earlier this season, with the Matadors beating the Knights, 28-27, while Oceanside lost to the Knights, 52-27.

Fearless Forecaster: Mount Miguel 27, Oceanside 24

Division 3: (6) Christian (4-7) at (3) Ramona (5-5)

Christian looks to continue its playoff momentum after an impressive 37-16 first-round win over Brawley but have to face Ramona on their tough home field.

Kaleb Runkle has been a steady offensive force, averaging 213 total yards per game, while Kai Rosier is one of the top receivers in the county with 59 receptions this season as a junior, with seven touchdowns.

Chase Togerson leads a stout defensive unit for Christian High.

The computers have Christian rated as the stronger team here. The Patriots had one of the county’s top upsets this season when they won at Scripps Ranch, 16-15. Meanwhile, Ramona lost to the Falcons, 36-24.

Ramona presents a difficult road challenge, but Christian’s experience against top competition may give the Patriots the edge.

Fearless Forecaster: Christian 29, Ramona 28

Division 4: (10) La Jolla Country Day (5-6) at (2) El Capitan (4-6)

El Capitan won the Division 3 championship last season, so they should be ready to compete as a high seed in Division 4.

Brewin Ford leads the El Capitan defense with 7.8 tackles per game, while Michael Castillo averages 52 yards on the ground for the Vaqueros, and receiver Logan Dulyea averages 45 yards receiving per game.

La Jolla Country Day upset Bishop’s this season, 28-26, and pulled off a 35-14 win over Coronado in the first round last Friday.

Jett Astephen threw three touchdown passes to lead the Torreys in the win.

El Capitan is averaging just 14.3 points per game, but the Torreys are allowing 28.7 points per contest.

Both teams faced Chula Vista this season, splitting results, setting up a tightly contested quarterfinal. El Capitan won 17-14, over the Spartans, while LJCD won, 30-21, over Chula Vista.

Fearless Forecaster: El Capitan 22, La Jolla Country Day 20

Division 4: (6) Fallbrook (4-7) at (3) Monte Vista (5-5)

Monte Vista narrowly defeated Fallbrook last season 34-33 in a playoff thriller in the North County, Derrick Taylor and Rahshawn Florence connected on touchdown completions of 60 and 57 yards.

Fallbrook was 0-10 coming into that playoff game, while Monte Vista had to be invited into the field after a qualifying team dropped out.

Monte Vista accepted and went on to win the Division 5 championship as technically the last team in the entire county playoff field. This season, Monte Vista earned a first-round bye.

Fallbrook edged Valhalla 35-28 last week in the opening round behind a balanced offensive attack led by Harrison Jones, who threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns. The Norsemen trailed big but eventually scored three straight touchdowns late.

Fearless Forecaster: Monte Vista 40, Fallbrook 24

Division 5: (7) Santana (6-5) at (2) Morse (6-4)

Santana staged a dramatic last-minute win over Bonita Vista last week, using a trick two-point conversion to steal the game when Koko Thornton threw to Xander Bennett in the end zone for a 2-point conversion to give the Sultans the win.

Ethan Miller’s 5-yard scoring pass to Maddox Esso set up the winning play. Miller was 14 of 27 for 112 yards passing with a TD.

Santana has posted deep playoff runs before under head coach Tim Estes, winning a Division 4 title back in 2019, and another pair of finals appearances in the coach’s 12 previous years guiding the Sultans.

The Tigers have one of the county’s most elusive backs in Superior Garror, who averages 126 yards per game, while QB Ethan Esmailian averages 180 yards passing per game.

Santana lost to West Hills, 10-7, while Morse defeated West Hills, 19-16.

This one probably still rates as a toss-up.

Fearless Forecaster: Morse 19, Santana 16

Division 5-AA: (3) Mountain Empire (9-2) at (2) Palo Verde Valley (7-4)

Mountain Empire shocked Victory Christian last week with a last-second touchdown to advance, while Palo Verde Valley dominated O’Farrell Charter 52-0, rushing for nearly 500 yards in the Division 5-AA quarterfinals.

The eight teams in the playoff pool were predetermined to compete out of a 10-team field prior to the season and did not factor in the section’s overall playoff pool, outside of the individual game results.

This is a semifinal playoff game with a trip to the section finals at stake. The Division 5-AA championship will be played Nov. 22 at Escondido High School.

Mountain Empire has transformed under first-year head coach Cameron Keller after winning just three games over the previous two season, but Palo Verde’s ground-heavy offense and staunch defense make them formidable opponent.

For MEHS last week, Chance Ross hit Amar Mahasin for a 50 touchdown with 40 seconds left, then the RedHawks sacked the VCA quarterback on a failed Hail Mary play.

Elisha Lashone Robinson, one of the section’s leading rushers, had 180 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

The computers pretty much rate this one as possibly one-sided, but both teams dispatched a pair of common opponents in Calipatria and O’Farrell, as the Hornets outscored those teams 86-20, while the RedHawks won the game by a combined score of 57-25.

Fearless Forecaster: Palo Verde Valley 34, Mountain Empire 23