McGrath moving to Peru

East County Sports.com
PERU, Neb. (8-21-06) -- El Capitan High offensive lineman MIKE McGRATH, who helped the improving Vaqueros offense score more than 22 points per contest last season, has accepted a scholarship to play for Peru State College of the NAIA Central States Athletic Conference.

McGrath, an honorable mention, All-Grossmont North League performer for El Capitan (3-6-1) last season, will become the lone Californian on the Bobcats roster. With the Vaqueros, he blocked for a team which ranked third in the East County in passing, yet also produced the league's second-leading running back (ADAM DENNICK, 692 yards).

McGrath will play for Peru State head coach TERRY CLARK, who played for the Bobcats' 1990 NAIA national championship squad. However, PSU is coming off a subpar 1-10 season.

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (8-19-06) -- The CIF-San Diego Section has announced the participating schools for the fourth annual CIF Kick Off Classic.

The Kick Off Classic begins on Friday (Aug. 25) at Mira Mesa High with always-tough Division III Mount Miguel playing Central League power Coronado at 5:30 p.m. In the following contest at 8 p.m., South Bay favorite Hilltop taking on the Division II semifinalist Mira Mesa.

Grossmont High will host both games on Saturday (Aug. 26), when the always-tough Division IV program from Palo Verde battles Division III powerhouse El Capitan at 5 p.m. In the final Classic contest, North County's Ramona goes against up-and-coming host Foothillers at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $6 each night.

East County Sports.com
LINDA VISTA (8-5-06) -- Early speculation turned into fact as Monte Vista and West Hills high schools will indeed be the participants in a replacement contest to the new CIF-San Diego Section lineup of Thursday Night football games. The ballgame moves from Sept. 22 to Sept. 21, starting at 7:05 p.m. at Wolf Pack Stadium.

However, El Cajon Valley's attempt to regain its slot in the Prime Time lineup fell through, as the Sept. 28 date was filled by the Valley Center at Mission Hills contest. The Braves, which lost their cable appearance against Patrick Henry when San Diego City Schools voted to bypass its participation in the Thursday program, failed to presue the CIF to include a home game with Calexico, as Imperial County schools were shutout from Thursday Night participation Cox Cable Chl. 4.

Complete revised schedule:

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (7-22-06) -- The return to prime time television for the El Cajon Valley High football team has been put on hold.

Slated for cablecast on the new Thursday Night Football showcase in the San Diego Section, the Braves were forced to return their contest with Patrick Henry to its original Fri., Sept. 22, time slot when officials of the San Diego Unified School District recently voted against allowing its member schools from playing on Thursday nights. The kickoff also returned to 6:30 p.m.

"The city school district voted against allowing Thursday night games, which is very, very disappointing," said El Cajon Valley head coach JASON TEXLER. "It was a great opportunity for players from both schools."

Other contests removed include:La Costa Canyon at Mira Mesa (Sept. 28) and Crawford at Coronado (Oct. 26). Two other members of the City Conference -- Cathedral Catholic and St. Augustine -- are slated to close the regular season against each other on Nov. 9, yet since both are private schools, the game is expected to remain on the Cox schedule.

Other games involving East County schools, including the 2006 kickoff opener when Helix hosts Oceanside on Aug. 31, remain as scheduled. The other ballgames featuring Grossmont Conference schools include Poway at El Capitan (Sept.14) and the South League opener featuring Steele Canyon at Valhalla (Oct. 12).

The local CIF section office plans on filling the voids in the 11-game, regular-season schedule on Cox Cable 4 with other contests.

The status of the Mount Miguel at Madison contest, slated for the night of Thurs., Sept. 21 -- although not a Cox cablecast -- has yet to be determined.

East County Sports.com
KEARNY MESA (7-15-06) -- In an apparent repeat of the 2005 contest, the 16th annual Alex Spanos Classic all-star high school football game saw the North forge to an early lead and the South rally late, only to be foiled by a late North touchdown.

Until the final moments.

After the North scored with 2:51 remaining to mount a seemingly comfortable 19-6 lead, West Hills High quarterback PHILIP STABACK scored on a pair of scrambles in the final minute of play, capped by a diving 4-yarder at the pylon with 17.2 seconds remaining to rally the South to a dramatic 20-19 triumph.

"Every time I run towards the end zone, I run as far from the defenders as I can," noted Staback, who completed two long passes to Anthony Walker of Mira Mesa and RYAN SEVIER of West Hills to setup the game-tying touchdown. "I don't know how many guys hit me -- I was just trying to dive for the pylon."

Getting "helicoptered" about, at least two North defenders got pieces of Staback, whose helmet went flying into the lap of several sportswriters along the sidelines. But the officials ruled he crossed the goalline. The conversion kick by Steele Canyon's RICKY ARAIZA accounted for the go-ahead point, although, it took two tries, as a bad snap on the first attempt was nullified by at least four North players jumping offsides.

What a way to conclude a high school career, as 4,128 fans filled Mesa College's Douglas Stadium.

Trailing by 13 points, Staback, named the MVP for the South, capped an 83-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak with 41.3 seconds left. And when La Jolla's Mike Maracle recovered the ensuing onsides kick, one basis for one of the greatest comebacks nearly any of these players have been involved in was set.

"The second half was ours and the onside kick was a big play," said El Cajon Valley wide receiver CLIFTON THOMAS, who will play baseball for Grossmont College this upcoming school year. "Once our blockers figured out their assignments, everyone did their part."

The North built a 9-0 halftime advantage led by a defense which registered five sacks, including two by Valley Center's Trevor Reilly, the later resulting in a safety. However, Staback (6-9-0, 100 yards) avoided much of the pressure in the second half to direct a pair of drives.

Following the onsides kick recovery, South coach STEVE SUTTON of West Hills used a play from the past to move into position to steal the game.

"It was something we used against El Cajon Valley several years ago, so we put it in the game plan," said Sutton. "These guys were a great group to work with. All 45 of them showed up every day for practice -- you don't always get that in all-star games."

All the more remarkable, considering the area's unusually high temperatures of late.

The combination pattern found Walker sneaking out of the backfield and wide open along the left sideline for 26 yards into South territory. On the next play, Sevier motored in front of teammate Albert Novelozo of Hilltop for a leaping grab of 24 yards, despite taking a mighty hit to make the catch.

"No one let down on this team, so it was up to me to hang on," said the Mesa-bound Sevier, who had the wind knocked out of him, yet walked off the field under his own power. "They (the North) all talked all game, but no one wanted to hear them, so we kept working hard."

The South defense limited the North to just five first downs in the second half, while registering four of its five sacks.

"We stormed them and got some sacks, including one by MATT MOSS (of West Hills)," noted Santana linebacker JACOB ANAGNOSASTOPOLIS. "We made the turnaround then didn't stop."

Thomas (46 yards) and Sevier (32) each finished with two receptions. On defense, ABRAHAM MUHEIZE, the CIF Offensive player of the year out of El Cajon Valley, stayed on defense in the secondary all contest and recorded five tackles.

SUMMARY & STATISTICS
16th Annual Spanos Classic high school all-star game
At Merrill Douglas Stadium, San Diego Mesa College
Friday's (July 14) results
SOUTH 20, NORTH 19
North All-Stars 0 9 3 07 -- 19
South All-Stars 0 0 6 14 -- 20

N -- Gomez (Carlsbad) 7 run (Forester (La Costa Canyon) kick), 9:05/2nd (16-86-5:50)
N -- Safety, Reilly (Valley Center) sacked Staback (West Hills) in end zone, 6:40/2nd
S -- Sironda (San Diego HS) 32 pass from Siddens (Otay Ranch), 9:06/3rd (7-80-2:54)
N -- FG Forester 45, 1:01/3rd (9-50-4:09)
N -- Belasco (Torrey Pines) 37 pass from Christian (Carlsbad), 3:51/4th (6-62-2:47)
S -- Staback 1 run (Araiza (Steele Canyon) kick), 0:41.3/4th (8-83-3:00)
S -- Staback 4 run (Araiza kick),0:17.2/4th (3-54-0:24)
Attendance -- 4,128.

Team Statistics North South
First Downs 13 11
Rushes-yards 34-108 28-18
Passing Yards 188 257
Total Offense 296 275
Passes 11-26-0 12-17-0
Punts-avg 5-41.6 5-31.0
Return yards 0 (-2)
Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 6-37 4-31
Sacks by-yards 8-52 5-24

Individual Statistics
RUSHING--North: Leauma (Mission Hills) 10-41, Gyves (Vista) 7-29, Mendoza (escondido) 6-21, Christian (Carlsbad) 5-10, Gomez (Carlsbad) 3-9, Sanborn (Rancho Bernardo) 3-(minus 2); South: Grimsley (Madison) 5-26, Walker (Mira Mesa) 5-21, Sevier (West Hills) 1-3, Christenson (St. Augustine) 1-(minus 3), Siddens (Otay Ranch) 6-(minus 11), Staback (West Hills) 10-(minus 18).

PASSING--North: Christian (Carlsbad) 5-12-0-102, Sanborn (Rancho Bernardo) 6-13-0-86; South: Siddens (Otay Ranch) 6-8-0-157, Staback (West Hills) 6-9-0-100, Thomas (El Cajon Valley) 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING--North: Peek (Army-Navy Academy) 4-46, Hill (Oceanside) 3-52, Belasco (Torrey Pines) 2-57, Bethea (La Costa Canyon) 1-24, Coulter (Westview) 1-9; South: Walker (Mira Mesa) 3-69. Sironda (San Diego HS) 2-67, Thomas (El Cajon Valley) 2-46, Sevier (West Hills) 2-32, Novelozo (Hilltop) 1-37, Mason (Mar Vista) 1-5, Brown (West Hills) 1-1.

East County Sports.com
LA MESA (7-11-06) -- The first-ever installment of Thursday Night high school football on Cox Chl. 4 will feature two perennial powerhouses, when the Helix Highlanders host Oceanside at Jim Arnaiz Field. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m.

The Highlanders saw their streak of five consecutive CIF championship game appearances -- including two titles -- snapped last season, hoping to bounce back against a Pirates crew which has won CIF crowns over three of the last four seasons, including last December's 31-21 decision over El Cajon Valley.

The CIFSDS game of the week schedule includes 11 weeks of regular season games and four weeks of playoffs, culminating with the championships on Mon., Dec. 4, at Qualcomm Stadium.

STEVE QUIS from KUSI Chl. 51 will handle play-by-play duties, while JOHN WEISBARTH, a regular during Padres pregame cablecasts on Cox 4, will do color commentary. Sideline reporters are to be announced.

The regular season slate includes five of the 12 East County based schools. The Grossmont North League will be featured over consecutive weeks, as El Capitan entertains Poway on Sept. 14, then Patrick Henry travels to El Cajon Valley on Sept. 21.

A Grossmont South League showdown is ticketed for Oct. 12, when defending league titlist Steele Canyon goes to league runner-up Valhalla.

The regular season schedule is as follows:

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (7-10-06) -- A roster including 16 East County graduated senior football players from the Class of '06 will lead the South All-Stars against North County's best in the 16th annual Alex Spanos All-Star Classic on Friday (July 14) at San Diego Mesa College. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Inlanders playing their final high school game are: slotback RYAN SEVIER (West Hills-Mesa); wide receiver CLIFTON THOMAS (El Cajon Valley-Grossmont); slotback ELIJAH BROWN (West Hills-Graceland University); quarterback PHILIP STABACK (West Hills-Whittier); free safety ABRAHAM MUHEIZE (El Cajon Valley-Grossmont); corner NATE SCHAD (El Cajon Valley-Grossmont); free safety WES DAVIS (Steele Canyon-Boston College); kicker RICKY ARAIZA (Steele Canyon-UC Davis); linebacker JACOB ANAGNOSASTOPOLIS (Santana-Humboldt State); linebacker DEREK CLAYTOR (Helix-U.S.M.C.); defensive lineman MATT MOSS (West Hills-Grossmont); guard MILES PIVONKA (West Hills-San Diego State); center JOHN COOPER (Santana-Grossmont); tackle MATTHEW LOPEZ (Grossmont-Graceland University); tackle ANDY BICKEL (Granite Hills-Wyoming); defensive lineman JEREMY BROWN (Grossmont-Grossmont).

The South head coach is STEVE SUTTON of West Hills and the North County mentor is Rancho Bernardo's Ron Hamamoto.

The 2005 contest resulted in a 27-7 victory for the North All-Stars.

Tickets are $8 at the gate for adults; children 5-12 $5; 4 years old and under Free.

East County Sports.com
DAVIS (6-20-06) -- JEFF FREEMAN did a little bit of everything his senior year at Mount Miguel High. As a freshman on scholarship to UC Davis in the fall, he expects to challenge for playing time at free safety for the Aggies of the I-AA Great Western Football Conference.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Freeman was named to the All-Grossmont South League first team as a quarterback and second team as a defensive back last season. He also earned All-East County honors as a DB and was a second-team All-CIF San Diego Section pick at DB.

Freeman accounted for 1,858 yards and 16 TDs as a senior. He also was a member of the Matadors' track and field team, running the sprints.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (6-17-06) -- El Cajon Valley graduate SEAN STAHL has accepted an NAIA football scholarship to Ottawa (Kansas) University, while Grossmont High running back JEFF WATERS has received a similar ride and is headed for Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn.

Stahl, a two-way starter in El Cajon Valley's 10-3 surge which led the Braves to the San Diego CIF Division II finals against perennial power Oceanside, is ticketed as a linebacker and fullback at Ottawa.

At 5-foot-9, 212 pounds, Stahl was asked to play center on offense and middle linebacker on defense. Although obviously undersized to toil in the trenches, Stahl rarely left the field. The Braves of Ottawa, who split 10 decisions a year ago, will look to Stahl for his versatility again next fall.

Waters, who rushed for 657 yards and 7 TDs on 131 carries as a senior for the Grossmont North League champion Foothillers (7-3-1), will bid for regular ball-carrying duties for the NAIA Cobbers who finished 10-2 a year ago. The Cobbers are primarily a running team, as they averaged just under 300 yards per game.

East County Sports.com
WHITTIER (6-12-06) -- Seems Whittier College is becoming the place to be for several East County football players.

The latest Inlander to join the Whittier College Poets society is West Hills High graduate PHILIP STABACK. One thing about Staback is he knows how to pass the football. The incoming quarterback completed more than 65 percent of 272 passes for passes for 2,800 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior for the 8-3 Wolf Pack.

Staback has a shot at earning a starting berth as he vies for playing time against a trio of returning signal-callers from last year's 2-8 team.

Staback, who will play in the annual Alex Spanos Senior Football Classic on July 14 at San Diego Mesa College, selected Whittier over Humboldt State, Graceland (Iowa) University and USD.

Sophomore linebacker CARLOS ROJAS and sophomore lineman GABE PENAFLOR also play at Whittier College. Both are products of Helix Charter High.

Mid-American Monster
Offensive lineman MATT SUTTON (6-3, 300) had a bevy of options since graduating from West Hills in 2005. After taking a year off to decide what to do, has cast his future with NAIA power Graceland University of Lamoni, Iowa.

A major influence in wooing Sutton to the Midwest was Yellowjackets assistant coach ADAM CLARK, a former standout linebacker at West Hills High and Grossmont College.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (6-11-06) -- The list of East County high school football graduates gaining college scholarships is not all that long. But quality does prevail.

Top dog is Steele Canyon High alum WES DAVIS, a defensive back headed on scholarship to prestigious Boston College. Granite Hills offensive tackle ANDY BICKEL (6-foot-7, 280) soars to the next level by accepting a full ride to Wyoming.

The latest Inlander to find his way to a four-year college football program is Helix quarterback JERICHO TOILOLO, who will attend California Lutheran in Thousand Oaks.

Davis will have his work cut out for him as Boston College has more than a dozen defensive backs returning from last year's 9-3 squad that extended the nation's longest bowl winning streak to six and snapped Boise State's 31-game home winning streak with a 27-21 win in the Humanitarian Bowl.

Bickel, on the other hand, could step in and play right away for the Cowboys who are not blessed with a bevy of returning linemen.

Toilolo could well wind up redshirting considering two of the four quarterbacks from the Kingsmen's 8-1 team of a year ago return, including the starter.

Weekly Schedule
Team-by-team Schedule

Schedule Subject to Change
All games at 7 p.m. unless noted
(H) -- Homecoming
Revised August 6, 2006

WEEK 1
Thurs., Aug. 31
Oceanside at Helix, 7:05

Fri., Sept. 1
Cathedral at Steele Canyon
Christian vs. Vincent Memorial, at Calexico
Clairemont at Granite Hills
Coronado at West Hills
El Cajon Valley at Sweetwater
Horizon at Grossmont
Patrick Henry at Santana
San Ysidro at Valhalla
Serra at El Capitan