WEEK 6 -- Oct. 5-7

El Cap remains perfect entering GNL play
Vaqueros move to 6-0 in downing Clairemont

(c) East County Sports.com
CLAIREMONT (10-8-06) -- The Clairemont Chieftains thought they would throw a different defensive look at the 4th-rated El Capitan Vaqueros during Saturday (Oct. 6) afternoon's non-league game.

They wanted to find some way to ground the passing antics of Vaqueros senior quarterback RYAN LINDLEY, who entered the contest ranked as the top passer in the state.

"It was a weird alignment," El Capitan coach RON BURNER said. "Their only down lineman was a nose guard. They had two standup ends, five linebackers and three safeties."

Nice try.

El Capitan came out running the ball and took an early lead and continued on to a 48-21 victory. The Vaqueros are now 6-0 heading into next week's Grossmont North League opener at West Hills.

"When we saw them come out in that defense we just pounded them for a while with BEN WILKINS and ADAM DENICK," Burner said.

That forced Clairemont (2-3) to loosen up its pass defense to protect against the run and that was mistake No. 2. While Wilkins (nine carries, 98 yards, 2 TDs) and Denick (4 carries, 28 yards, TD) tenderized the Chieftains rather handily, Lindley was even more effective.

A.J. Conti makes an over-the-shoulder catch, helping El Capitan swamp Clairemont, 48-21. (Photo by Chris Edwards)

The Chieftains quarterback gets sacked by Vaqueros defensive end Charlie Darling (77). (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)

This game was surprisingly close (at least on the scoreboard) after one half, as El Cap led just 28-14.

A 20-yard TD run by Wilkins and a 4-yard scoring pass from Lindley to BEN NOY stretched El Capitan's lead to 41-13 with 7:06 left in the third. It was the second Lindley-to-Noy scoring pass of the game as the two combined for a 70-yarder in the first quarter.

"The big thing is we got a lot of kids who don't get much playing time a chance to see a little more action," Burner said. "Kids like Mason. I'm so happy we were able to get him a pass in the endzone. Everybody wants to have a hand in this thing, and that was his contribution."

A.J. CONTI never reached the endzone, but led El Capitan receivers with eight catches for 104 yards.

Wilkins, who scored 20 points, caught three passes for 35 yards and a TD.

(c) East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (10-7-06) -- With an important league opener and a short week of preparations in front of them, Steele Canyon welcomed the opportunity to quickly put Friday's (Oct. 6) non-league contest behind them. And it took only one play to do so.

JAMIE DALE placed a quick, sharp dagger into the El Cajon Valley defense, romping 87 yards for a touchdown on the Cougars' first play from scrimmage, leading Steele Canyon to a 41-3 decision over the visiting Braves. Dale carried the ball 23 times, finishing with 220 yards and three scores.

"The hole opened up and I kept my feet moving until I was in the endzone," said Dale, who ran for a school-record 264 yards in his varsity starting debut last week. "(El Cajon Valley) probably thought they could run over us like last year, but we worked harder and it paid off."

Dale scored on runs of 87, 3 and 2 yards, with the first two touchdowns coming in the game's opening 5 1/2 minutes. And when JOEY GUILLORY, who moved back to fullback when Dale took the tailback spot last week, scored from the Braves-1, Steele Canyon (3-2) mounted a 21-0 advantage just 8:46 into the contest.

Meanwhile, the interception bug continues to pester El Cajon Valley (3-3). After throwing five picks in a victory over Calexico last week, a pair of Braves quarterbacks threw four more against the Cougars, including two thefts by free safety JESSE RICHARDS.

El Cajon Valley's Brandon Gettridge (25) drags Steele Canyon tackler Arlin Taylor following one of his three receptions. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Cougars back Jamie Dale (3) finds a hole en route to 220 yards and three TDs. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Extra defensive backs, sure, but no defensive linemen? That was the unique strategy utilized to counter ECV's 5-Wide spread offense.

Steele Canyon placed two stand-up defensive ends covering the Braves front line, while a linebacker occasionally stood just inside of one of them. Otherwise, not a single member of the Cougars was situated between the tackles or within three yards of the line of scrimmage.

"You have to fight fire with fire," noted Steele Canyon coach RON BOEHMKE, who was wearing a sling on his left arm following surgery after losing a friendly wrestling match with an undisclosed member of the Cougars. "We tried to make it tough for them to throw the ball and do the things they do, so we tried to contain them."

Braves quarterback KIANIE BROOKS, faced with the extra defensive backs, completed just 4-of-11 passes for 28 yards, while scrambling for 74 yards on 16 carries. He moved El Cajon Valley into position for a 23-yard field goal by KEVIN KELLY in the second period, but missed most of the second half with an asthma attack.

Meanwhile, Cougars quarterback NICK STATHAS (4-for-12, 25 yards) was content handing the ball off, although he did close the first half with a 2-yard TD toss to tight end TIM ORANGE for a 28-3 halftime lead.

In the second half, Dale registered his third score in the third period, then BRANDON HUGHES returned a fourth-period punt a school-record 88 yards to cap the scoring.

JEBARI ROBINSON and JUSTIN WOODS also registered interceptions for Steele Canyon , while Woods was joined by SCOTT PERLIN and TONY MINNIFIELD in collecting sacks.

"It was great payback for them talking that they were going to take us again," said Robinson of the Cougars' loss to ECV in 2005. "But we definitely wanted it more -- we had great coaching and some great practices -- so we stood up in a line and waited for them to lineup before we called our plays, then took it to them."

Guillory added 84 rushing yards, as the Cougars ran the ball for 301 of the team's 326 yards in total offense. Dale also returned a kickoff 51 yards.

El Cajon Valley was limited to 144 total yards, including three receptions by BRANDON GETTRIDGE for 30 yards.

The Matadors did not fold. Instead, they pulled off a dazzling 44-yard touchdown connection between quarterback AARON BRYANT and speedy KENNY VAUGHN along the right sideline. Vaughn was so wide open that even KUSI's Prep Pigskin Report cameras did not show a West Hills defender in the area.

The blown coverage allowed Vaughn to reach the endzone, tying the game at 20-all. ANTHONY AMODEO converted his third straight PAT, giving the Matadors the edge with 1:04 remaining.

"They ran a wheel pattern," said West Hills coach STEVE SUTTON. "I don't know whether it was a blown coverage or not, but the guy (Vaughn) was wide open."

Trailing 14-12 entering the fourth quarter, West Hills appeared to change the momentum. The pivotal play of the night came in the early stages of the quarter when what appeared to be a halfback pass from Evans to TRAVON CAPLES near the goaline resulted in a fumble for a touchback.

The Wolf Pack's JUSTIN STANPHIL stripped the ball from Caples and made the recovery to keep the Pack alive.

Taking over at its own 20-yard line, the Wolf Pack marched 80 yards in seven plays and took the lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by JOSEPH HUTCHINGS.

"Things were getting so wild there at the end that we started drawing plays up in the dirt," said Sutton.

Sutton's artistry proved to be effective as struggling senior quarterback ERIC FIEGE completed one of his two passes (on 11 tries) for 45 yards to TREVOR KOLOCHESKI at the Mount Miguel 5-yard line. That set up the tying touchdown.

West Hills lost leading rusher RALEIGH SEVIER -- 9 carries, 31 yards -- to an apparent broken nose in the second quarter. CHRIS BLUMKA helped pick up the slack with 58 yards in 15 carries. Hutchings rushed for 25 yards on 4 attempts, while ANDREW DELGADILLO chipped in 23 yards on 3 rushes.

Mount Miguel elected to pass the ball only six times, but connected every time for 112 yards.

Running back ELLIOT TAYLOR spear-headed the Matadors with 91 yards and 2 touchdowns on 18 carries.

In spite of the last second turnaround, Mount Miguel (3-2) actually laid the groundwork on a blocked punt by JUDGE EVANS and an interception by SAMATRE JONES.

Mount Miguel should be considered a contender for the Grossmont South League title.

VALHALLA 49, SANTANA 35 -- Playing without their top two returning running backs -- SPENCER MYERS and JONATHAN MURRAY -- the visiting Norsemen showed that they have additional weapons during Friday's (Oct. 6) non-league game in Santee.

Not surprisingly senior quarterback TOMAS KARAGIANES took charge, touching the ball only 20 times yet having a hand in all seven of the Norsemen's touchdowns in a wild night of gridiron pinball.

Karagianes rushed for five touchdowns and lofted scoring passes of 62 and 35 yards to MARK COATES (4 catches, 118 yards) as the Norsemen improved to 3-2.

No doubt Karagianes could have inflated his already-impressive 225 passing yards on 9 of 11 connections had coach DAVE HOSTETLER elected to do so.

Myers, East County's leading rusher, left the game with an apparent knee injury after gaining nine yards on his third carry of the night. The severity of the injury is unknown at this time, but it doesn't look like Myers will be available for Thursday (Oct. 12) night's Grossmont South League opener against Steele Canyon.

However, Murray is expected to return to the Valhalla lineup.

Valhalla understudy ZACK ROMERO provided relief for the Norsemen and Coach Hostetler by rushing for 208 yards on 29 carries. Romero's role could be compared to the Padres' record-breaking reliever Trevor Hoffman. That is, Romero's carries allowed the clock to continue to run.

Talk about a team player, Romero is the prototype. He was willing to grind out yardage without pressure of reaching the endzone. Although he didn't score, he is only the second East County running back to break the 200-yard rushing barrier.

Despite coming up on the short end, Santana senior quarterback COLLIN TAYLOR generated 297 yards and 3 touchdowns. Taylor completed 19 of 33 passes for 206 yards, including scoring strikes to JON TIPPIN (4 yards) and KYLE ROMERO (4 yards).

Tippin hauled in 9 passes for 117 yards and finished the night with 153 all-purpose yards and 4 touchdowns. He scored 15 points on the night, which raised his season total to a Grossmont Conference-leading 83 points.

Steven Glover leaps high to make the catch against Monte Vista in a 14-14 tie. (Susan Cooper Photography)

Grossmont quarterback Charlie Piro fires the ball downfield against Monte Vista. (Susan Cooper Photography)

GROSSMONT 14, MONTE VISTA 14 -- In a battle of two frustrated teams trying to find an offense, it seems almost poetic that Friday (Oct. 6) night's game in Spring Valley ended in a tie.

A muffed Monte Vista punt led to a Grossmont recovery with just over four minutes to play and the visiting Foothillers (2-3-1) trailing 14-6.

"That play right there just killed us," said Monte Vista coach PAGE CULVER.

A little more than a minute later sthe Foothillers scored on a 20-yard slant pass from quarterback CHARLIE PIRO to JOSH SIMMS, cutting Monte Vista's advantage to 14-12. Piro then threw perhaps his best pass of the game, hitting the diving STEVEN GLOVER for the tying 2-point conversion.

It was a bittersweet tie for Culver's Monarchs (1-3-1). On the surface the Monarchs had to be pleased that they scored a touchdown for the first time in four games. Make that two touchdowns, as NICK WILLIAMS scored on a 45-yard run in the second quarter and a 1-yard run in the third period.

"I think we've rounded the corner," Culver said. "The kids played much harder than they have in the past. Right now everything is positive."

Williams, a 5-foot-10, 153-pound sophomore, took over at quarterback this game. He rushed for a career-best 115 yards on 16 carries and completed 2 of 4 passes for 15 yards. Both of Williams' aerials went to KYLE RICHARDSON.

JAMES CODY, who intercepted one pass in the end zone and a second at the Grossmont 7-yard line was Monte Vista's unsung hero.

With the score tied 6-6 in the third quarter, the Monarchs took advantage of Cody's second interception and put together a time-consuming 99-yard scoring drive.

"We used the whole third quarter on that one series," said Culver. "I think that's what we need to do to be successful."

Williams' 1-yard dive that ended the marathon drive gave Monte Vista a 12-6 lead. Cody then proved that he can play more than defense, as he ran across the 2-point conversion.

Grossmont, however, was able to capitalize on Monte Vista's inability to field a punt to escape with a tie.

The Foothillers took the early lead on a 5-yard run by KHALID WATERS in the opening quarter.

But in a game where offense was at a premium, the Foothillers were denied their second victory in the last 14 years against Monte Vista.

In addition to his two key interceptions, Cody rushed for 50 yards on 13 carries.

As it turned out, the Eagles' scoring blitz was five short of the school record and the fifth highest on the Granite Hills books.

Senior quarterback CODY SWANSON made the most of six passing attempts, completing 4 for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both of his scoring strikes came in the first quarter -- one to JUSTIN MONTGOMERY for 29 yards, and a second to BRENDAN CARTER for 27 yards.

Senior running back JOEY SUTHERLAND also scored three touchdowns in the first half on runs of 1, 4 and 29 yards. Not a bad effort considering he carried the ball only eight times for 53 yards.

The Eagles (4-1) are off to their best start since going 6-0-1 in 1993.

THE WEEKLY WIZARD -- PREDICTIONS
Last Week: 7-2 (.778)
Season: 37-11 (771)

Football observations from a futbol fan

(c) East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (10-5-06) -- My cousin from Europe is visiting, so I am attempting to explain some of the nuances of football -- American football, not soccer (obvious to most readers of this website, not my cousin).

Some of the language and terms are confusing, so we went to a couple of games last weekend to give him a first-hand look at the sport. However, many of the so-called "truths" and "rules" which I attempted to explain, well, were not quite accurate in practice.

Here are some items I attempted to describe about American football, along with my cousin's reaction.

Fact No. 1 -- It is important to maintain possession of the football and not to "turn it over."

On the field --- My cousin noted, besides the fact that the center, who is often not in the middle because of something called a "tight end," often "turns the ball" over before the play starts. Then there were teams such as Helix (6 turnovers) and El Cajon Valley (7) which won last week anyway.

Looking over the statistics, I then noticed that a pair of East County schools only had one turnover -- but lost. Somehow, I failed to mention this (saving face?) to my cousin.

Fact No. 2 -- Unlike baseball or cricket, football doesn't have many superstitions. Hitting the other guy hard takes care of any strange beliefs.

On the field -- My cousin asked, "Then why is Granite Hills swearing they will never wear their blue pants anymore? They think they're unlucky and vowed to wear only white pants from now on."

Fact No. 3 -- No matter how well a team passes, the ability to run the ball effectively is critical for an offense to be successful.

On the field -- Cousin: "Then how did El Capitan come back from down 21 points to win over Santa Fe Christian? They didn't need to run the football."

And when my cousin asked why we Americans rarely use our feet in football, instead using our hands most of the time, I politely let him know the hockey season started Wednesday.

Fri., Oct. 6
El Cajon Valley at Steele Canyon -- What contrasts... and similarities!

The visiting Braves, supported by their offense all season, are starting to find their defense. Included was a near safety which actually resulted in a touchdown last week, plus several forced turnovers in defeating Calexico.

The host Cougars, supported by their defense all season, are starting to find an offense. In his first varsity start at tailback, JAMIE DALE established a school record with 264 rushing yards.

The Braves, who rusted Steele Canyon 20-7 a year ago, missed winning their first league championship in a generation by a single point last season. That loss was to Grossmont, 13-12, whom they meet next week in a critical look-ahead situation.

The Cougars won the Grossmont South League title a year ago because they were able to tie undefeated Valhalla -- next week's look-ahead opponent. And that future encounter is the Thursday Night Special on cable television, making for a short week of preparation.

For now, though, focus on this week and. . . Steele Canyon 24-21.

Grossmont at Monte Vista -- Both teams are similar, but when you break down critical segments, the Foothillers seem to have an advantage across the board, which may explain last season's lopsided 40-7 victory by Grossmont.

Both teams like to run the ball, yet the Foothillers have a few more threats in the backfield, especially since Monte Vista lost its top ball-carrier three weeks ago.

Plus, Grossmont has the ability to throw the ball a little bit. Maybe not to the extent of El Capitan , yet more than the Monarchs, who try only a half-dozen passes per contest.

It shouldn't be the blowout like 2005, but it's still . . . Grossmont, 27-7.

Valhalla at Santana -- This is another pairing which resulted in a one-sided win for Valhalla last year. It's time for the Sultans to remove their Dave Winfield-like tag. The former Padres outfielder was coined "Mr. May" by George Steinbrenner when he played for the Yankees' owner because of his quick starts each season, but failure to deliver when crunch time arrived toward the end of each summer.

Thus, Santana must reverse its label ("Mr. September"?) into something more meaningful. However, they probably selected a poor time to play the Norsemen. Valhalla is coming off a stinging 31-0 pasting by El Capitan , then getting an extra week off to think about it. Talk about a hornet's nest ready to explode.

Sure, the Sultans can turn it around and be a contender in the Grossmont North League, but this isn't the spot to expect a turnabout. Look for . . . Valhalla, 34-14.

Mount Miguel has done well against opponents with one-dimensional offenses, but that's not the case with West Hills. Look for the Wolf Pack to claim its fourth straight home-field victory . . . West Hills 28-12.

Sweetwater at Granite Hills -- The Red Devils fell hard to: El Cajon Valley , 41-0; and Santana, 56-0. Enough said.

The Eagles win or forget about making any kind of run in the Grossmont South. Sweetwater has been shutout in three of its four outings. Make it four out of five thanks to The Rock . . . Granite Hills 48-0.

Sat., Oct. 7
El Capitan at Clairemont -- The 4th-ranked El Capitan Vaqueros again venture to the coast for a Saturday (Oct. 7) afternoon (time change to 1:30 p.m.) contest, this time meeting the Division IV Chieftains (2-2). Clairemont dropped its opener to Granite Hills, 33-21, yet has won two straight ballgames entering this match-up.

However, those triumphs were against lowly San Marcos and Morse -- certainly not the class of foe the Vaqueros have faced of late. However, since El Cap opens GNL play against West Hills next week, look for a vanilla offense -- after quarterback RYAN LINDLEY's collects his 300 yards... El Capitan 42-6.