WEEK 7
Patriots avoid procrastination,
jump early on Santa Fe Christian

© East County Sports.com
SOLANA BEACH (10-14-07) -- The last time a MATT OLIVER coached Christian High ballclub won at Santa Fe Christian's Beauchamp Stadium came in his first game guiding the Patriots.

"It was 1999 in my first game as head coach, and Santa Fe hadn't even installed the turf yet," Oliver recalled. "And we won on the last play of the game."

Eight years later, Oliver avoided waiting until the waning seconds to defeat the Eagles again.

Attempting some trickery on the opening kickoff, a positive result led to a quick Christian touchdown, as the Patriots went on to whip Santa Fe Christian, 30-6, in Saturday's (Oct. 13) Coastal League opener.

Senior running back LAWRENCE WALKER rushed for all four Christian touchdowns. He carried 31 times for 200 yards, leaping two more places on the CIF-San Diego Section career rushing list for the second straight week. Walker now ranks 16th all-time with 4,295 yards after sailing sail past Zay Shepard (Brawley, 2002-04) and MARTY GRAHAM (Helix-Torrey Pines, 1992-95).

Santana at West Hills Slide Show

(Photos by Adolfo Villanueva)

JV SCORES Mount Miguel 21, Granite Hills 14 Grossmont 18, El Capitan 6 Santa Fe Christian 46, Christian 6 Helix 41, Valhalla 13 West Hills 27, Santana 14 Steele Canyon-Monte Vista, no report

FROSH SCORES Mount Miguel 29, Granite Hills 27 Helix 29, Valhalla 0 Grossmont 41, El Capitan 21 Steele Canyon 18, Monte Vista 6 West Hills 13, Santana 0

"You can't say enough about Lawrence Walker or PATRICK KELLY, our linebacker," added Oliver. "They should both make the all-county team based on just the way they played today. But the win all started on that kickoff."

Instead of booting the ball deep, kicker SHAUN DAY was instructed to pooch the ball only halfway to the goalline. By the time any of the Eagles could reach the 35-yard line to grab the loose ball, a wave of Patriots flooded over the area, with JOSH SCHIMPF making the recovery.

Seven plays later, Walker capped the short march with a 4-yard TD run. And when Kelly & Co. on defense forced Santa Fe to punt following three quick downs, Walker polished off another drive with the first of a pair of 1-yard dives for a 14-0 lead right out of the box.

Day closed the half with a 26-yard field goal with two seconds remaining for a 17-0 advantage.

Christian then took the second-half kickoff and went coast-to-coast on a time consuming drive which took 7:08 off the clock. Another Walker dive from the Eagles-1 made it 24-0, leaving the defending league and CIF Division IV champions with no answer against the reigning CIF Division V titlists.

"Coach (Brian) Sipe was quite gracious after the game," added Oliver. "He said we were the best Christian High team he's ever seen."

Eagles back Jeff Lind avoided the shutout with a 1-yard TD run with 9:27 left, but Walker answered with a 20-yard scoring gallop to reach the 200-yard plateau with 1:07 to go to start an early celebration on the Patriots sideline.

Christian's Bobby McNeal (56) with the smackdown. (Photo by Chris Edwards)

"We've won some great games here at Christian -- we've won championships," Oliver noted. "But I told the guys the one thing we've never done recently is beat Santa Fe. This just may be the biggest regular season victory we've ever had."

A last-minute change in game strategy may have triggered the victory.

"We must've looked at 40 hours of video of all of their games," said offensive coordinator DAVID BEEZER. "And we noticed that when Helix and St. Augustine has success was when they ran the ball right at Santa Fe. That's when we decided to do the very same thing."

Running out of the 'I' formation or with double tight ends, the Patriots run game totaled 239 yards on the ground. And among the few passes by quarterback ERICK ALLEN, all but one were completed to balance the attack. Allen went 4-for-5 for 47 yards, but three went for first downs, including a pair to SAM HERNANDEZ.

On the flip side, the Pats slowed Santa Fe's Wing-T attack with a bushel of tackles by Kelly. Oliver also noted the play of linebacker STEVEN PITTS and cornerback MIKE FERREIRA in blanking the Eagles for three quarters.

Note -- With his 200-yard effort, Walker now has 1,035 yards this season, becoming the first East County running back since Helix' REGGIE BUSH (2000-02) to rush for 1,000 yards over three consecutive seasons.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (10-13-07) — In a game most believe will determine the Grossmont North League championship, the visiting Grossmont Foothillers grabbed a 34-31 victory over El Capitan in Friday (Oct. 12) night's circuit opener when senior quarterback JOSH SIMMS scored on a 24-yard run with 1:17 remaining at Wendall Cutting Stadium.

"We didn't do any thing fancy, it was just a quarterback keeper," said Simms of his game-winning score. "We worked a play-action to (running back) KHALID (WATERS) and the whole El Capitan defense went after him."

From there, Simms bobbed and weaved his way to the endzone, unfettered.

"That was a fun game to play," said Simms, who scored 2 touchdowns and passed for a third while completing 14 of 23 passes for 210 yards. "This is a lot like the Valhalla game (when the Foothillers blew a 17-point lead in the final quarter). But obviously the outcome of this one was a lot better."

While the ending was favorable to Grossmont (5-2, 1-0 GNL), the beginning appeared that the Foothillers were going to win on a roll.

Waters scored on the Foothillers' first two offensive plays -- darting 72 yards and then 65 yards to stake the Hillers to a 14-7 first-quarter lead. Simms added a 25-yard scoring scamper and it appeared the rout was on.

But remember, El Capitan (4-3, 0-1 GNL) came in averaging 44 points per game.

The Vaqueros rallied behind the passing of quarterback TANNER RUST, who connected with ANTHONY LYBARGER for a 32-yard score, and ALEX ROSTAMIJAM tacked on a 36-yard field goal to leave El Capitan down 21-17 by intermission.

Once again in the 2nd half the Foothillers pulled away as Simms hooked up with Waters for a 70-yard scoring pass, extending Grossmont's lead to 11 points.

Showing no signs of quitting, El Capitan put together back-to-back scoring drives to take a 31-28 lead with 4:22 left. Then senior linebacker JAKE STEUERMANN intercepted a pass with 2:20 remaining.

"I thought we had them then," said Vaqueros coach RON BURNER.

One play later BEN WILKINS fumbled the ball -- his first fumble in two seasons -- and Grossmont junior safety DOMINIQUE BRADLEY recovered with 2:15 left.

"We were running a "dime" defense designed especially for El Cap," said Bradley, who had 14 tackles, 2 sacks and a fumble recovery. "I think we confused them because we were running nine different defenses -- all that looked like our basic "cover two." We call it "discover and disguise."

Grossmont ground out 429 yards, including 155 rushing yards (on 9 carries) by Waters. Simms finished with 274 yards total offense. Waters finished with 241 all-purpose yards.

Even after the Foothillers had taken the lead, El Capitan surged downfield but the Vaqueros' bid for a scoring touchdown when the Hillers' CONOR MEREDITH intercepted a pass at the 3-yard line in the waning seconds.

While the victory was sweet for Grossmont, the Foothillers may have lost senior wide receiver BRYAN HAAR to a separated shoulder.

For El Capitan, Rust completed 22 of 34 passes for 241 yards. AARON COOK caught 8 passes for 84 yards, and GARRETT JARVIS reeled in 7 for 76 yards.

"I think we have the best chance to win it -- this game was pretty much for the league championship," said Bradley.

Simms agreed. "We've had this game circled since last year," he said. "They beat us on our field last year and we were so looking forward to getting even this year. Yeah, I think we're in the driver's seat, but we can't let up."

HELIX 43, VALHALLA 0 — Six-foot-7, 245-pound junior tight end/defensive lineman LEVINE TOILOLO is just beginning to make an impact for the Helix Highlanders.

Better believe that the college scouts are aware of Toilolo, who caught a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback TY CULVER in Friday's (Oct. 12) Grossmont South League opener at Valhalla.

"We had a fade on the outside and then a play-action pass up the middle," said Toilolo of his two TD passes from Culver.

Although Toilolo would not come right out and say that his obvious height advantage over opposing defensive backs is a major benefit, the facts are clear.

"I just told Ty to look for me," the towering Toilolo said. "Yeah, people try to hold me and jam me at the line of scrimmage, but I just try my best to get released and get out into my route."

It seems almost surprising that Helix (4-1-1, 1-0 GSL) has pitched only 12 passes to Toilolo, who
has 12 receptions for 140 yards and 3 TDs. Look for the Highlanders to take advantage of the big fella in coming weeks.

As an offensive target, he has caught the attention of many Division I colleges, including Florida's Urban Meyer. The Gators, who won the national championship a year ago have already offered Toilolo a scholarship.

"That was pretty exciting," Toilolo admitted. "I really wasn't expecting an offer so soon."

Given his size and talent, this is just the beginning. Cal, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), USC, UCLA, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Colorado, Alabama, Stanford and Boston College are among the DI colleges interested in Toilolo.

Although aware of the nationwide interest in him, Toilolo has maintained his composure. In fact, he's just downright modest.

His focus at the moment is on helping the Highlanders capture the Grossmont South League championship and the SDCIF Division II crown.

The Highlanders' JO-JO PHILLIPS scored on the opening play of the game on an 80-yard dash off tackle. Phillips added a 2-yard run to make it 14-0 and the rout was on.

Culver completed 9 of 18 passes for 116 yards, including a 36-yard scoring bull'seye to MARQUISE DEADWILER and the 2 short lobs to Toilolo.

But the stellar unit in this affair was the Helix defense, which smothered the Norsemen (2-4, 0-1 GSL). Officially, the Highlanders held Valhalla to minus 11 yards rushing on 23 carries.

Valhalla sophomore quarterback PETE THOMAS, who was averaging more than 241 yards passing, was limited to 79 yards through the air against the Highlanders.

"We have talent on this team. Our job as coaches is to make sure they stay intense," said Helix coach DONNIE VAN HOOK. "I believe with the new guys East County coaching has gotten a lot tougher."

The Highlanders rolled up 250 yards rushing, led by Phillips (6-81, 2 TDs) and ANDRAY JACKSON (8-61, 1 TD).

The Helix defense forced 4 turnovers, which enabled the Highlanders to stroll to a 27-0 lead by the break.

Helix safety TRELAN TAYLOR picked off his fourth pass -- tying him for the East County lead.

JAMAR TAYLOR, a Division I prospect, blanked Valhalla's BRANDON GIANDONI, the Grossmont South's leading receiver.

Linebackers ANTHONY LARCEVAL and O.J. AUIMATAG also picked off Thomas passes for the Highlanders. Toilolo also logged 2 sacks and batted down a pass.

MOUNT MIGUEL 28, GRANITE HILLS 7 — In a matchup where each coaching staff played coy regarding the status of key skill-position players, it looked like both teams indeed had secrets to keep -- especially in the backfield. But when the auricular information -- kept internal all week long -- was revealed on the field, it made for a one-sided ballgame in one of East County's most competitive rivalries.

The Matadors welcomed the return of running back ELLIOT TAYLOR, playing in only his second game after suffering a knee injury last spring. Taylor gained 80 first-half yards -- capped by a late 5-yard touchdown for a 21-0 halftime advantage -- en route to an easy Senior Night triumph.

Taylor finished with 85 yards on 15 carries plus a pair of catches to reach 96 total yards, then DERALL HUNTER mopped up with 8 carries for 69 yards.

"I feel good about where I'm at -- it's been a good comeback so far," said Taylor, one of East County's top rushers in 2006. "Sure, I missed some games, but this is where it's at -- winning league games. You gotta start somewhere and we're going for everybody."

On the Eagles' sideline, the news was not good where quarterback JUSTIN MONTGOMERY was out due to a high ankle sprain. Forced to start a third-stringer at quarterback, Mount Miguel quickly realized it would open Grossmont North League play with a victory by simply stopping the run.

While the Matadors defense shined, sophomore quarterback AARON BRYANT enjoyed another strong passing outing (12-24-0, 191 yards) with three touchdown strikes, including a pair of scores to AHMAD NUNLEY in the first period.

Nunley hauled in a short screen pass to the right side, then scampered 50 yards to cap the game's opening series just 1:50 into the ballgame. Nunley then took an 18-yard pass from Bryant with 11.8 seconds left in the period and the romp was on.

"I just try to run my routes as well as I can and catch anything that comes my way," said Nunley. "I hope we keep this up. This is a good start for league -- this is what we wanted."

The start was a bit surprising considering some predicted the Matadors to finish dead-last in the Grossmont South League.

"That's horrible -- I was hurt -- so we put it all out on the field," exclaimed linebacker Ernie "Chocolate" Johnson. "We were picked sixth in league, but we changed all that. We played a good game, with the O-line and D-line picking it up."

Taylor capped an 85-yard drive with his first touchdown of the season. Hunter keyed the march with runs of 8 and 35 yards, then TRAVON CAPLES leaped high to out-muscle a Granite Hills defensive back for a sparkling 27-yard reception along the Eagles sideline for a 3rd-down conversion to set-up Taylor's score.

Meanwhile, Mount Miguel's defense, knowing Granite Hills was unable to pass, took liberties on Eagles ball-carriers by bringing members of the secondary closer to the line of scrimmage. Included was a dramatic hit by linebacker RANDY TAITI, who smacked VINCENTE STAFFORD into a complete, 360-degree flip for the 3rd-down stop just a yard short of a first down marker.

Granite Hills kept going to the well with a counter handoff to BRADLEY CARTER, but after one successful 6-yard gain early, middle linebacker BRANDON KAIMULOA made it his responsibility to prevent the play from working again.

"We just worked harder over the last two weeks -- it was the best bye week we've ever hard -- and we had a good game plan to win," noted Kaimuloa.

For the contest, Granite Hills ran for just 147 yards on 40 carries, including a cosmetic 88 yards by tailback AARON HARRIS. Much of his yardage came on a 35-yard pitch on an option play to the left side, setting up a Stafford TD of 5 yards to break the shutout with 7:31 remaining.

Mount Miguel finished with 405 yards in total offense, including 214 on the ground, much of it going to the left side.

"We just tried to play hard the last two weeks in practice, then came out and tried to dominate them," noted left guard ONASI SOLO. "And we don't mind if Elliot misses every other practice (because of his knee injury) -- he's that good."

Bryant finished the scoring with a 56-yard pass to TONY SWINTON by going over the top of the Granite Hills secondary with 4:37 left. The Matadors intentionally took a knee at the Eagles-1 to expire the clock.

Both teams registered one sack, as KHAALID ABDULAH made one for a 10-yard loss for Mount Miguel, while the Eagles received a backfield hit by EDDIE MINEAR for a 12-yard loss, with FRANK CLAUS gaining an assist.

WEST HILLS 25, SANTANA 7 — Don't count the Wolf Pack out of the Grossmont North League race. West Hills has the defense to make a run for the roses. It's a question of offense. Can the Pack put up enough points to be genuine contenders?

Seeing his offense blanked in three of its first six starts had to concern West Hills first-year head coach CASEY ASH. But the beginning of GNL play provided an emotional spark as did the annual battle for the Santee Mayor's Cup in Friday's (Oct. 12) against crosstown rival at West Hills.

"We were able to throw the ball early," said Ash of his Wolf Pack (3-4, 1-0 GNL) which claimed a 13-0 first quarter lead.

Senior quarterback CHRIS MISENSOL engineered the Pack's fast start, firing scoring passes of 40 yards to ERIC FIEGE and 3 yards to LEVI JACOB. Misensol hooked up with Fiege for a 60-yard TD pass giving West Hills a 19-7 halftime lead. Fiege also collected one of West Hills' two interceptions. JUSTIN STANPHILL picked off the other.

It was Misensol's finest passing night of the season. The 5-10, 190-pound senior transfer from Granite Hills, was efficient, too, completing nine of 14 passes for 155 yards and the three scores. He also rushed for 29 yards on five carries.

It was also another Fiege field day, as the 5-10, 170-pound senior caught four passes for 121 yards. Fiege also rushed for 40 yards on 10 chances.

"Our offensive line was much improved this week," Ash praised. "They opened up some big holes for our running game and blocked well for the passing game."

West Hills senior running CHRIS BLUMKA accounted for all the scoring in the second half, toting the ball 6 yards to the end zone in the third quarter. Blumka led a strong Wolf Pack running game with 67 yards on 13 carries. CHRISTIAN FONSECA added 57 yards on 8 carries.

"Defensively, we controlled the play pretty much. Our defensive backs played really well," Ash said.

Shutting down the Santana offense is no small chore. The Sultans 3-4, 0-1 GNL) brought a 35-point scoring average across the Santee Lakes Bridge. But they did little against the Pack defense, totaling less than 200 total yards.

All the Santana faithful had to cheer about was a 75-yard punt return by TYLER AUBREY for a second quarter touchdown. Aubrey's effort is the second-longest return of a punt in Santana's 42-year history. DON KEY set the Sultans' punt return record of 71 yards in a 1971 game against Monte Vista.

Santana junior QB JAMES NEEDY connected on 16 of 31 passes for 120 yards. KYLE ROMERO caught 10 of those passes for 88 yards. None of the receptions led to gains longer than 11 yards. Needy led an anemic Santana rushing game with 30 yards on 11 carries.

By defeating the Sultans, West Hills won the Mayor's Cup for the 5th consecutive year.

STEELE CANYON 35, MONTE VISTA 14 — There's no stopping JAMIE DALE. The Cougars' senior running back seemed to be rejuvenated after last week's bye, as he raced for 176 yards and 4 touchdowns on 25 carries in Friday (Oct. 12) night's Grossmont South League opener at Monte Vista. It was the 4th time Dale has rushed for 150 yards or more this season.

Dale, the East County rushing leader with 939 yards on 134 carries, scored on runs of 3, 5, 5 and 3 to raise his season scoring total to 78 points.

"We maintained ball control and our defense played solid," said Steele Canyon coach RON BOEHMKE.

It didn't start out that way for the Cougars (4-2, 1-0 GSL). Monte Vista (3-3, 0-1 GSL) took an early lead on an 8-yard pass from MAURICE PAYNE to JOSH GOSSMEYER to make it 6-0.

"We had a bye last week and we came out real flat in the beginning," said Boehmke. "After Monte Vista scored early our leaders took over and brought us back into the game. It was good to start league play with a win. We did a good job of coming back tonight."

After falling behind, Dale & Company broke loose. The Cougars scored 28 unanswered points to claim a 28-6 halftime lead. Dale accounted for 3 touchdowns during that scoring burst. The other TD came on a pass from NICK STATHAS to tight end CAMERON MOSS.

"The offensive line did a good job of blocking all night," Boehmke said.

JEBARI ROBINSON was a multiple threat for Steele Canyon , accounting for 128 all-purpose yards. The 5-foot-10, 168-pound junior caught 2 passes for 37 yards, returned a kickoff 64 yards, returned a punt 25 yards, and intercepted 2 passes.

"He's been outstanding all season," Boehmke noted.

Monte Vista attempted to make a game of it by punching in 8 points in the 3rd quarter. JERAD SCOTT scored on a 1-yard run and Payne passes to Gossmeyer for the 2-point conversion, cutting the Cougars lead to 28-14.

Payne completed nine of 18 passes for 117 yards and the one TD. He also topped Monte Vista in rushing with 47 yards on 11 carries. KYLE RICHARDSON caught seven passes for 70 yards for the Monarchs.

Monte Vista 's ace running back NICK WILLIAMS was limited to 36 yards on 10 carries by the Wolf Pack defense.

ARROWHEAD CHRISTIAN 50, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 0 — With the loss of quarterback GARRETT CAMPBELL due to a season-ending broken foot, the Knights tried three different players behind center, but none could lead the team into the end zone in Friday's (Oct. 12) non-league road loss in Redlands.

"I saw Arrowhead play both Midway Baptist and Sun Valley Charter and thought we matched up well against them," said Foothills coach WAYNE CLARK. "But once we got out there, it was like they were a completely different team."

The Eagles lost to both San Diego County opponents, but avoided the sweep by handing the Knights their second-biggest shutout loss in the program's brief history.

"We implemented new things on both sides of the ball," noted Clark. "But I guess we didn't sufficiently drill them enough to make them work."

Similar to Granite Hills, the Knights stuck primarily to a ground game, missing on both pass attempts. But Arrowhead limited Foothills to just 67 yards on the ground, including a 17-yard burst by MATTISON RUNDLETT, the team's leading rusher with 29 yards on 9 carries.

JOHN MAGANA added 24 yards on 16 rushes. He was also the leading tackler with 10, including 8 solo stops. TRAVIS WOLFE added nine tackles, including a sack.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (10-11-07) -- Some may call it whining or crying, yet there is legitimate concern among several East County schools on their public perception. It may just be a ploy, but coaches often do or say just about anything (often internally to their team) to motivate their ballclubs. Any excuse which can go on the bulletin board, you'll find it posted.

Similar to USC dropping from the top-rung in one major college poll -- did they know something? -- prior to the Trojans' upset loss to Stanford last week, the Scotties dropped to 6th place in the local SSA poll despite a bye, supplanted by a Vista ballclub which also did not play last week.

An excuse to motivate the team? Priceless.

The motivation might be needed since this year may not be the typical Helix vintage, yet the Highlanders could be good enough to repeat as GSL titlists.

The Highlanders own the best defense in East County, yielding less than 10 points an outing thanks to run-stoppers in linebackers ANTHONY LARCEVAL and CHRIS PETERSON, who fill the gaps created by a solid D-line, which includes ISAIA OSOIMALO, JAMAR BURKE and HOMER MAUGA.

Valhalla's ground game is -- statistically -- poorer than Helix' attack, but the Norsemen don't pretend to be a running team anymore. Quarterback PETE THOMAS improves every week as the entire team learns the new aerial system, but the running of sophomonre tailback TRAIVONNE BROWN prevents opponents from bull-rushing Thomas or getting burned on the draw or a screen pass.

Only the physical nature of both Helix lines will prevent an upset, but this contest will be a lot closer than most will expect. . . Helix, 16-14.

Steele Canyon at Monte Vista -- The first leg for the Spring Valley bragging rights could be the quickest game of the season between of a pair of sides content in running the ball.

Both teams are willing to run between the tackles or push it outside, so the defense which can produce turnovers should come out on top. Nobody does that better than Cougars senior JAMIE DALE, who is rushing for an East County best 152.6 yards per game.

The difference is the Cougars' speed in the secondary, which can aid the linebackers to prevent the big play, or prevent a surprise attack from the air. Of course, both teams are reluctant to launch an all-out assault in the air.

Steele Canyon, which has been a defensive power since its inception six years ago, attempts less than 12 passes per game. Nonetheless, senior quarterback NICK STATHAS is a threat, having connected on 45 percent of his passes.

Although Monte Vista is averaging only 47 yards passing per game, sophomore quarterback MAURICE PAYNE is a double threat. Since Payne is averaging 7.5 yards per carry, the Cougars will have to fear the run more than the pass. The Monarchs’ chief running threat is NICK WILLIAMS (89.4 ypg).

Monte Vista 's three victories came against passing teams, the losses were against running teams like. . . Steele Canyon, 21-7.

Granite Hills at Mount Miguel -- None of the East County series is any closer than this one. Both the Eagles and the Matadors own 23 victories, and there was one tie.

It should be that close again Friday night (Oct. 12).

Plenty of question marks leave the outcome of this one up in the air.

Until several injured skill-position players actually put the uniform back on, the Matadors may have slipped into the "bark without bite" category. Which is too bad for all, considering the strides made by head coach TOM KARLO and his staff.

Following a 3-0 start, the team hit an obvious plateau in a pair of recent losses against running teams and due to turnovers.

Similarly, Granite Hills seemed like a squad on the upswing with victories against teams they were supposed to steamroll, mixed with a pair of strong outings in losses against a pair of ranked foes. However, the Eagles hit their own plateau in a setback to Grossmont.

Thus, which side is willing to get off the deck and smack the other in the face?

Although Mount Miguel's advantage include playing at home against a passing team, which will allow its physical cornerbacks to get involved, the more consistent team which has played a more demanding schedule is. . . Granite Hills, 24-21.

El Capitan owns the best offense, but opponents can run on them and pass on them. This is where the adage “offense for show and defense for show” comes in.

West Hills fields the league’s best defense, but offensively they’ve virtually been shutout three times this season.

Grossmont is the most consistent on both sides of the ball, but wilt in the fourth period with too many two-way performers.

Santana may be gritty, but needs more bodies; now as a CIF Division IV program, the postseason may be its times to shine.

And El Cajon Valley has just enough big-play performers to keep its undermanned program in any ballgame. The Braves have suffered some key injuries, none of them bigger than the knee injury to versatile senior KEVIN KELLY.

Grossmont at El Capitan -- If these truly are the top two GNL ballclubs, the league title could be decided on opening night at Wendall Cutting Field at El Capitan Stadium.

While neither side is outstanding, the Vaqueros' offense is lights-out the best single unit among the five competing schools, giving them the inside edge in both this matchup and the league.

However, while the Foothillers coaches have no doubt worn out several DVD units looking at El Cap’s 47-27 loss to Steele Canyon and the Vaqueros’ 49-21 loss to Ramona, searching for clues to repeat those performances.

In a league where one loss might still allow you to gain a share of the league title, neither of these teams want to play catch-up after Round 1. East County Sports' Upset Special. . . Grossmont, 27-21.

Santana at West Hills -- Why can West Hills win? The Wolf Pack can produce turnovers, especially against a Sultans side which has been known to drop the ball on occasion.

Why can Santana win? Because West Hills' offense is currently on life support with an East County low 78 points in six contests.

The difference may be the Sultans' ability to score on almost anyone as they are averaging 35 points per outing.

If there’s anything suspect about the Sultans, it might center around the deliveries of junior quarterback JAMES NEEDY. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Needy averaged 229 yards passing while delivering 10 touchdown strikes in the first four games of the season. In the last two games, however, Needy has completed only 10 of 34 passes for 94 yards and one score.

So a key point in this game is, which Needy will show up?

And figuring last week's lapse to Madison was a look-ahead situation, it's easier to give the benefit-of-a-doubt and the Santee Jack Dale Mayor’s Cup to. . . Santana, 28-13.

Listed among the honorable mention all season, the Pats suddenly fell from the media's grace despite whipping El Central-Central Union, 31-6, two weeks ago. The reasons given were not pleasing, yet tie-in to Saturday afternoon's contest in Solana Beach.

Christian's rankings have always been coupled to Santa Fe Christian, the defending league champions. So when the Eagles lost to St. Augustine to fall from the poll, the Patriots went down with them.

Santa Fe Christian's demanding schedule lists an impressive tie at Helix, but losses to Fallbrook, Brawley and the Saints. The setback to Brawley may be the key to unlocking which team will rule supreme. The Wildcats are only considered a middle-rung team in the Imperial Valley, but Christian already owns a victory over the Valley's best in Central Union.

Although the comparison game only goes so far, if the Patriots can truly stop Santa Fe 's Wing-T running attack, then a victory over the reigning CIF Division IV champions can finally occur.

The key rests in the lines, where SFC has two players of All-county status who believe they can block the Patriots' college Division I prospect and defensive leader, linebacker PAT KELLY (6-2, 240).

SFC’s Beauchamp Stadium has been a House of Horrors for the Patriots, including a 21-0 loss in 2005. The Patriots can either look at that as a jinx or a means to get even… Santa Fe Christian, 20-14.

Foothills Christian at Arrowhead Christian (Redlands) -- A week off has given the Knights a refreshed and complete roster, facing an opponent they match-up well against.

Arrowhead Christian is playing its third opponent from San Diego County, with the first two being quite familiar to Foothills.

Included on the Eagles' schedule is a 28-3 loss to Midway Baptist and last week's 30-20 setback to Ramona's Sun Valley Charter, the team Foothills must defeat in next week's Southern League opener to capture the circuit's inaugural league crown.

Should the Knights handle the long road trip, there is no reason they can't match-up well here, too. . . Foothills Christian, 26-20.