© East County Sports.com
VISTA (11-2-08) — When Foothills Christian football coach STEVE PERDUE watched sophomore STEPHEN TARDIFF bull into the endzone from 4 yards out, giving the Knights a 27-0 second-quarter lead in Saturday’s (Nov. 1) Southern Conference game against Vista Calvary Christian, it brought back some memories.

The Chicago Bears had “The Fridge” – William Perry, a 6-foot-2, 382-pound defensive tackle and short-yardage fullback for the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles from 1985 to 1994.

Well now the Knights, who clobbered Vista-Calvary Christian, 54-18, to run their overall record to 7-1 and league mark to 5-0, fondly refer to Tardiff as “The Freezer.”

Week Nine Highlights (Photos by Larry Montalbano and Susan Cooper Photography)

“Stephen has been our starting left tackle the last few weeks,” Perdue said. “All of our linemen have been doing such a great job we let Stephen hit the endzone as a fullback today. It’s just a kind of reward for all the linemen and their hard work.”

It’s not that Tardiff is going to be changing positions anytime soon. His scoring junket was his lone carry of the afternoon at Vista High Stadium.

Foothills, which needs a win at San Pasqual Academy on Friday (Nov. 7) to set up a Southern Conference title bout against Calvin Christian at Junior Seau Field a week later, put this one on ice early. The Knights, winners of five straight, led 41-12 by intermission.

GARRET CAMPBELL laced together another versatile outing to direct the Knights past the winless Lions (0-7, 0-5). The junior standout scored on runs of 9 and 33 yards, and also on a 70-yard punt return.

Even though Perdue is still in the processes of fine tuning the Knights’ passing game, Campbell clicked on six of 11 passes for 198 aerial yards. Those totals included long range scoring strikes of 75 and 65 yards to ZAC IVY. A senior, Ivy collected three passes for 147 yards.

MATTISON RUNDLETT paced the Knights’ ground game with 103 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

“We went to take a knee with a little over a minute to play and the Calvary defense was hooting and hollering with disappointment,” Perdue said. “Never had I seen anything like it. I almost felt like I robbed them of three or four plays. This Calvary football team reminded me of our team last year when we only had 13 or 14 healthy players. Every one of them had heart and they did not quit.”

Calvary ended this contest with only a dozen healthy players.

Foothills Christian concluded activity with a new wrinkle.

“We have started a team group after each game,” Perdue said. “We bring all of our fans, cheerleaders, grandparents, aunts, uncles into our post game talk and prayer. It is one of the most awesome things I have ever seen. This Knights family is a very special one.”

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (11-1-08) — There is something consistent about the El Capitan Vaqueros, and it’s not necessarily good. The Vaqueros, who have clinched at least a share of the Grossmont North League championship, seem to always start out slowly before applying the hammer in the 4th quarter.

That was the case in Friday’s (Oct. 31) West Hills’ Homecoming where the Vaqueros crashed the party with a 34-20 win.

Clinging to a 15-14 lead after three quarters, the visiting Vaqueros produced 19 points to all but eliminate the defending champion Wolf Pack from a repeat performance.

El Capitan, which needs only to beat Santana in the season finale, will celebrate its second GNL championship in the last three seasons.

“We put ourselves in good position,” said Vaqueros quarterback TANNER RUST. “We get stronger and stronger every week and we surely don’t want to be co-champions. We have a bye this week and we’re going to go get Santana in the last game.”

Rust put together his finest game of the season, completing 19-of-33 passes for 302 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also rushed for 55 yards on 12 carries and kicked a 32-yard field goal – his San Diego Section-leading 9th of the season.

PHILLIP COOK was Rust’s leading target in this encounter as he corralled 8 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown.

TYRONE WIGGINS (7 catches, 74 yards) reeled in a 37-yard scoring pass from Rust, while JON MOLZEN (4-72) hauled down a 24-yard scoring pass.

BRANDON SANCHEZ, who garnered 3 receptions for 43 yards, also scored on a 37-yard aerial from Rust.

“It’s been good to get Wiggins and Cook healthy again,” said Rust. “Having those two guys allows us to run our spread offense. At the beginning of the year everybody was pressing us, but now that we have those two guys back who give us great outside speed, it’s made us a stronger team.”

After three quarters West Hills (2-6, 1-1 GNL) trailed by only one point.

“We played harder than we’ve played at any time all year,” West Hills coach CASEY ASH said. “Then we messed things up – we just couldn’t get enough pressure on El Cap’s quarterback. It was a pretty devastating loss.”

Touchdown runs of 80 and 58 yards by West Hills’ CHRISTIAN FONSECA pushed the Wolf Pack in front 14-9 with 2:29 left in the 3rd quarter. Fonseca added a 31-yard scoring burst in the 4th quarter as he finished with 202 yards on a dozen carries. Fonseca also caught 7 passes for 128 yards.

El Capitan junior corner ANTHONY LIMA foiled any comeback hopes West Hills might have entertained as he intercepted a JOE ROBERTS pass and returned it 25 yards for a victory-clinching touchdown with 1:39 to play.

After that Rust ran out the clock.

Roberts still had a decent night throwing the ball, completing 14 of 27 passes for 235 yards. Senter made three catches for 81 yards, while Jacob had five receptions for 54 yards.

West Hills lost the services of senior slotback BARZEEN BARZANJI, who suffered a broken tibia.

Jerrad Scott (2) of Monte Vista returns the punt a school-record 92 yards — the second-longest in Grossmont Conference history — to paste Mount Miguel, 35-14. (Photo by Larry Montalbano)

Since both teams are in Division III, gaining a position in that division won’t come easily. A team that finishes with less than a .500 record has a slim chance, if any.

Sparked by a healthy quarterback, MAURICE PAYNE, the Monarchs (4-4, 2-1 GSL) stormed out to a 21-0 halftime lead.

Although Mount Miguel (3-5, 1-2 GSL) made a strong 2nd-half rally, closing the deficit to 21-14, the Monarchs never lost their grip.

Payne, a junior who suffered a dislocated elbow on Sept. 19, missed a trio of games, leaving the Monarchs’ future in limbo. His return – can be partially measured by his 180 yards in total offense – has to give Monte Vista a rejuvenated outlook to the future.

“It’s amazing he’s able to play at all,” Monte Vista coach PAGE CULVER said of Payne. “It was nice to have him back, he played very well.”

Payne scored 3 rushing touchdowns on a pair of 1-yard runs and a 29-yard dash.

“The last couple of weeks he’s been a little gun shy but he came back strong tonight,” Culver added. “He’s feeling much more confident. He’s got his swagger back. They (QBs) have to be bulletproof.”

Scott’s infusion began in the 1st half when he set a Monte Vista record with the second-longest punt return in Grossmont Conference history, scoring on a 92-yard return to advance Monte Vista’s lead to 14-0. Scott’s effort was 1-yard longer than Helix’ REGGIE BUSH’s best, and 3 yards shy of the record set by El Capitan’s TILA CASE established against King Kekaulike (Hawai'i) in 2007.

Mount Miguel crushed its own chances for victory by turning the ball over on 5 interceptions – by three different quarterbacks.

“That was the difference in the game,” said Matadors coach TOM KARLO. “It was a poor showing by us.”

Even in defeat Mount Miguel running back DERALL HUNTER came through with 143 yards and a touchdown on 23 rushes. His 4-yard scoring burst pulled the Matadors to within 21-7 in the 3rd quarter.

“He’s a great back who had a great game,” Karlo said of Hunter. “We just didn’t play good enough to help him out. It’s been that kind of year for us, with adversity on and off the field.”

The Matadors’ hopes grew even greater when ANTHONY LeBLANC scooped up a Monte Vista fumble and rumbled 22 yards to make it a one-possession game.

Mount Miguel quarterback DE’JAY NOLEN completed 10 of 18 passes for 101 yards. FELIX DELEON led the Matadors with 3 receptions for 35 yards, while JAMES MONTANO had 3 catches for 27 yards.

Monte Vista ’s (4-4, 2-1 GSL) playoff hopes were rekindled by this victory. A split in their final two games will probably land them a spot in the post-season berth.

“Hopefully we’ve turned the corner,” Culver said. “Hopefully we can get two more wins to assure ourselves of a playoff berth rather than praying for them.”

El Cajon Valley back Anthony Jackson (3) gets nailed from behind by the Foothillers' Colton Bugawasin. Grossmont won, 49-7. (Photo by Susan Cooper Photography)

Bradley's scores, which came following failed fourth-down conversion attempts by El Cajon Valley , gave Grossmont a mammoth 42-0 halftime bulge.

"We expected a closer game, but we had a great week of practice," explained Bradley, who rushed for 80 yards on 8 carries. "Our O-line beat them off the line, so I have to give it to them, then El Cajon rolled over."

Grossmont (4-5, 2-1 GNL) generated a season-best 518 total yards. Quarterback TYLER MUTTER completed 9-of-12 passes for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns. He averaged better than 27 yards per completion, including scoring passes of 41 yards to BRETT ETHERTON and 58 yards to COLTON BUGAWASIN.

Etherton paced the Foothillers receivers with 3 catches for 62 yards.

"The coaches said if we wanted to get a top seed in the playoffs, we had to show them that we are players," noted defensive tackle TREY AFOA. "So our defense came hitting hard like we always do and hit them in the mouth like we always do and showed them we're here to stay."

The second-quarter bombardment opened when Mutter connected with DOMINIQUE CHILDRESS with a 33-yard pass to the Braves-2, with CODY SOS carrying the ball in on the following handoff.

The Hillers defense then stepped forward again. CONOR MEREDITH tipped an ECVHS pass to himself, rumbling 12 yards for another score.

"When watching film, I was reading that they like to run slants underneath (the pass coverage)," Meredith explained. "I dropped back in the zone and read the slant, then got lucky and tipped the ball up to myself."

"One of the main things with our defense is coming out each week and being physical," added Meredith, an outside linebacker. "It's one of the main points we wanted to do this week with El Cajon. We wanted to hit them and not let them think they could play with us from the first play of the game. We set that tone right off the bat."

Bradley followed with his TD rushes to put the victory away before halftime.

"On the 49-yarder, the hole opened real wide thanks to CLAYTON RAINEY and THOMAS DE PAZ," noted Bradley. "They're both big and really fast off the ball. They move real good and I fell in behind their blocks all day."

FELIPE VALDEZ rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown on just 6 carries for Grossmont, while DESEAN WATERS added 54 yards on 7 carries.

“This was a very big game for us and it was a real important win for us because we are both Division II schools,” said Grossmont coach RON MURPHY. “We got off to a slow start and then picked up the pace. Defensively we were all over the field and offensively we moved the ball real well.”

El Cajon Valley's lone score came with 6.4 seconds remaining in the third quarter, when GERALD KENDALL scored on a 1-yard dive. Placekicker ARSIM MUSTAFA converted the PAT.

"We had some coverage breakdowns, mistakes which we need to overcome," said Braves outside linebacker ALEJANDRO AGUAYO. "We're still a good team -- we stopped Otay Ranch in the second half, and they're ranked -- but we had some ups and downs, so we can't let people get down on us."

To garner a share of the crown, the Hillers must beat West Hills next week while hoping that Santana upsets El Capitan the final night of the regular season.

It was El Cajon Valley’s 4th loss in a row after opening the season with four straight wins. The Braves need at least a split of their last two contests to stand any chance of a playoff berth.

Steele Canyon's Jebari Robinson (Photo by Susan Cooper Photography)

HELIX 54, GRANITE HILLS 17 – It’s no secret that the Helix Highlanders have Oceanside on their minds.

Yes, the Highlanders do want to complete a perfect run through the Grossmont South League to take the circuit championship for a 3rd straight season.

Ranked No. 3 in the county, Helix (6-1-1, 3-0 GSL) spoiled Senior Night at Granite Hills on Friday (Oct. 31), taking a 26-0 first quarter lead and never looked back. By halftime it was 40-7.

Sure, the Highlanders can’t claim a perfect league ledger until they dispose of Steele Canyon and then Monte Vista. Those are potentials potholes should the Highlanders be gawking too far into the future.

Not likely.

Although the Helix starters played little more than half the game, they certainly left their footprints on Granite Hills’ new Field Turf.

Scotties senior TRAVON VAN ripped off 143 yards, including his 63-yard touchdown dash – on just 6 carries.

Senior quarterback TY CULVER enjoyed another productive night, completing 9-of-12 passes for 125 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 23 yards and one score on just 2 carries.

Culver distributed his scoring strikes to SEAN LINTON (4 catches, 49 yards), LEVINE TOILOLO (3 catches, 44 yards), and TRELAN TAYLOR (1-30).

From the defensive side PAUL BLAKENEY returned an interception 30 yards to put the capper on the big 1st quarter.

Helix back-up quarterback JAKE REED received extensive playing time and responded with 53 yards and a touchdown on 6 carries. He also completed 2-of-6 passes for 18 yards and converted 6-of-8 PATs.

DANIEL VEAL rushed for 29 yards and a score on 7 carries in a back-up role for the Highlanders.

The Helix defense put the clamps on Granite Hills rushing star AARON HARRIS, limiting him to 21 yards on 25 carries. Harris did manage to score his 16th touchdown in the 2nd half. Harris also executed a halfback scoring pass to senior tight end ERIK KRAJNAK of 22 yards.

The Eagles (1-7, 0-3 GSL) received 35 yards on 4 rushed by VICENTE STAFFORD, but totaled only 132 yards as a team on the night.

Granite Hills junior BRIAN CARROLL intercepted his 5th pass, which ties him for the East County lead.

Grossmont quarterback Tyler Mutter fires the football behind pass protection from right tackle Clayton Rainey (77) & Co. (Photo by Susan Cooper Photography)	Norsemen wide receiver Derek White (top) leaps over Ernest Kelly of Steele Canyon for the circus reception in a 28-3 victory. (Photo by Susan Cooper Photography)

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (10-30-08) — Forget about any down-to-the-wire finishes. As many as half of all Grossmont Conference football teams could be eliminated from league title consideration this Halloween night, with three pick-‘em match-ups highlighting Week 9 action Friday (Oct. 31) at 7 p.m.

For El Capitan (5-3, 2-0 GNL), it will be an opportunity to virtually clinch the league title outright, with only last-place Santana remaining on the Vaqueros' schedule. However, the rising Wolf Pack opened its "second season" with a victory following a rough 1-5 start and hopes to spook El Cap with some new tricks.

Some of the experiences from the difficult opening month could vault West Hills (2-5, 1-0 GNL) into position to surprise El Cap.

"Our defense needs to contain their quarterback (TANNER RUST) and keep him from running, while our defensive backs need to cover their receivers," said senior defensive end MATT EVANS. "This is for the league title, so it's important to us."

Most notable among the Pack's near successes was a 17-10 setback to Scripps Ranch, a team which features standout quarterback Robert "Tate" Forcier, who will attend Michigan next fall. West Hills limited the senior to 234 passing yards — his second-lowest total of the season — and just a single touchdown pass.

Expect the Vaqueros passing attack to be similarly challenged.

"Our team camaraderie is growing and we're playing together," added Evans. "And our specials teams are getting better, like in the Montgomery game when (ALAN PARKS) blocked a punt and returned it for a score to turn the momentum around. (In that same game LEVI JACOB) picked up a fumble and ran it in for a touchdown, too."

It's a complete transformation from a team which dropped five of its first six outings.

"The difference is effort — we had a lot of people slacking, but now they’re stepping up and doing their job," noted senior MICHAEL LOBAUGH, who plays both ways as a linebacker and right guard. "It's more of a mental thing."

Taking control of the line has aided in the turnaround.

"The physical part has been there, but now we're hitting too," added Lobaugh. "We gotta want to win and come in focused."

Finishing drives has been a forte for El Capitan. Rust owns 14 touchdown passes, while West Hills has reached the endzone just once via the air, relying on CHRISTIAN FONSECA to complete drives on the ground.

But if the West Hills O-line continues to make strides in blocking, while the secondary prevents El Cap from going deep, this contest has all the makings of the biggest East County Sports' Upset Special of the Year... West Hills, 32-28.

This is a must-win situation for the visiting Cougars, who need a win over Valhalla to earn their shot against Helix next week for the Grossmont South League championship.

For Valhalla, which has already lost to the Scotties, a win over the Cougars is major if the Norsemen hope to land a No. 2 seed in the San Diego CIF Division III playoffs.

The teams are polar opposites. The Cougars rely on the running game led by ALEX PERLIN and JAKE WRAGG, while the Norsemen’s big gun is junior quarterback PETE THOMAS, who has already been offered a scholarship by Boston College.

Both teams play pretty decent defense. Valhalla is anchored by linebacker TANNER HITT, who ranks second in the SDCIF with 98 tackles. SHANE PENNIX (5 sacks) and ANTHONY JOPLIN are excellent up front.

Do-it-all senior JEBARI ROBINSON is another ace the Cougars have up their sleeve.

Steele Canyon, which has won four straight home games, is winless on the road with an offense unable to spark wearing their whites for some reason.

There are again just too many variables to make this one an "upset special" — you know we love to pick those — so unless the Norsemen turn the ball over (like they did three times in last season's 28-7 setback), go with... Valhalla, 27-17.

El Cajon Valley (4-3, 0-1 GNL) at Grossmont (3-5, 1-1 GNL) — The Foothillers are the most predictable ballclub in the East County. They defeat the teams they're supposed to beat, yet can't upset any higher-level opponent, although the Hillers have come close (i.e. Otay Ranch).

But where does one rank the Braves in comparison?

El Capitan already defeated both of these teams, with the contest against Grossmont considerably closer. However, head-to-head matchups in the GNL made comparing scores tenuous at best; it's only a statistical edge toward Grossmont.

The Braves opened with four consecutive victories, but they haven't won in more than a month, falling to opponents with an obvious physical advantage. That could be the case again against Grossmont.

Considering Grossmont hasn’t lost to the Braves since 1998, history is also on its side. Furthermore, only once in that stretch of eight games – last year’s meeting was cancelled due to the area wildfires – has El Cajon Valley dented the Grossmont defense for more than 8 points. That was in 2005 when the ABRAHAM MUHEIZE-led crew fell 13-12.

The possibility of an upset still exists, but give the nod to... Grossmont, 28-21.

Mount Miguel (3-4, 1-1 GSL) at Monte Vista (3-4, 1-1 GSL) — It's the battle of the running backs between Mount Miguel's DERALL HUNTER, the conference rushing leader with 1,152 yards (92 points), and NICK WILLIAMS (104-614, 38 points) of Monte Vista in this Grossmont South League neighborhood rivalry.

Hunter tallied 108 yards in his breakthrough effort during last season's 35-19 triumph – Mount Miguel’s third straight win over the Monarchs. Since then, he's been the big man on campus. Meanwhile, Williams needs just 14 yards to surpass his 2007 totals.

A loss here most likely ends any playoff hopes. This should be a quick one as each side runs first and throws second... Mount Miguel, 20-13.

No. 3 Helix (5-1-1, 2-0 GSL) at Granite Hills (1-6, 0-2 GSL) – The probable showdown between Helix and Oceanside should remain on track Friday (Oct. 31), as both the Highlanders and the defending CIF Division II champion Pirates, who tackle hapless Orange Glen, should win in a breeze.

What else can we say?

Helix is 19-2-1 against Granite Hills over the past two decades and surely won’t trip this time around. However, with important look-ahead contests in coming weeks, it'll be better to grab the early lead, then stay healthy while the reserves take over in the second half... Helix, 49-7.

Foothills Christian (6-1, 4-0 SC) vs. Vista-Calvary Christian (0-6, 0-4 SC), at Vista HS (Sat., Nov. 1, 2 p.m.) — The Knights meet the third of four consecutive second-division Southern Conference opponents when they travel to the North County to duel the toothless Lions.

It's the schools' first-ever meeting in 11-man competition, although Foothills Christian took an 8-man victory in 2005, claiming a 32-28 victory over Calvary Christian.

Just like their namesakes from Chula Vista, the Lions are barely averaging a touchdown per contest — usually scoring late in the second half against the reserves. Enough said — the Knights can call their shot... Foothills Christian, 32-7.