WEEK 2 — Sept. 11-12

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (9-12-09) — For the inaugural game on West Hills’ new two-tone blue, Field Turf field, perhaps the Wolf Pack should have scheduled an opponent whose color scheme doesn’t also include blue.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have scheduled such a good team,” West Hills coach CASEY ASH said. “I guess that’s my fault.”

Steele Canyon, a bit darker shade of blue than the home team, initiated the wild blue wonder with the first touchdown, a SDCIF record tying kickoff return, the first defensive touchdown, the first hat trick TD performance, and a 48-28 victory over the Wolf Pack on Friday (Sept. 11) night.

“I guess on this field we can hide just like they can hide,” joked Steele Canyon coach RON BOEHMKE. “I’m just glad I don’t have to practice on it every week.”

The Cougars (1-1) could do little wrong from the onset. The coach’s son, junior BRAD BOEHMKE, passed 20 yards to senior CODY SIMPSON on the first play of the game. Two plays later, MICHAEL WINTER scampered 58 yards for the first touchdown on the decidedly bright new turf.

West Hills came right back with NICK McDANIEL racing 35 yards with a pitch right to take a 7-6 lead.

Then JAKE WRAGG turned in the play of the game. Tip-toeing next to the end zone on the ensuing kickoff, he bolted 99 yards for a SDCIF-record tying kickoff return touchdown. TOMMY LONG set the Steele Canyon KOR record in 2003 against Monte Vista, and JAMIE DALE matched it in 2007 against St. Augustine. (In high school football, 99 yards is the maximum kickoff return.)

Later in the first quarter, 5-foot-8 and 230-pound senior nose tackle JOSHUA HARRIS intercepted a Wolf Pack pass and bulled 8 yards forward for the score and a 20-7 lead for the Cougars, who had only run six offensive plays to that point, none by returning All-SDCIF running back ALEX PERLIN.

No matter, Perlin scored the next three touchdowns of the game – on runs of 26, 24 and 5 yards – to give the Cougars a 41-7 lead early in the third quarter.

Perlin finished with 97 yards on 12 carries, three more yards than he gained last week in a tough loss to defending state champion Cathedral Catholic. Wragg tallied 80 yards on 13 carries, including a 9-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

“My offensive line made it real easy tonight,” Perlin said. “They opened up some big holes, and I just ran as fast as I could through them.”

Agreed Wragg, “I have to give it up to our offensive line. They made our jobs easy.”

Overall, the Cougars rushed 35 times for 249 yards. Boehmke was just as impressive at quarterback, going 8-for-10 for 101 yards.

“That’s what’s exciting about our offense this year,” Coach Boehmke said. “We have so many weapons. The guys will just have to take their turns and share the workload.”

One of Boehmke’s incompletions was clearly a throw-away so he nearly had a perfect night throwing the ball.

“Brad had a really nice game,” Coach Boehmke said. “He bounced back really well from last week.”

To their credit, the Wolf Pack (1-1) didn’t roll over and die. Backup QB GARY ISAACSON threw two second-half touchdown passes, and McDaniel scored on a 2-yard run on the final play of the game. Isaacson finished 8-for-10 for 128 yards, and McDaniel led the ground attack with 57 yards on 11 carries. Starting QB ADRIAN MARAZITI was 8-for-14 for 94 yards, but his three interceptions in the first half were costly.

“We did a terrible job of taking care of the ball,” Ash said. “You can’t do that and expect to win.

“I was proud of the way the kids kept playing. We just have a lot of things we need to work on next week (before playing Mount Miguel ). I was glad to see Gary have some success in the second half. He definitely has the ability to make some plays wherever he is lining up.”

Surprisingly, West Hills outgained the Cougars, 361-350 total yards. West Hills’ ADAM COYLE had four receptions for 142 yards, including a 77-yard TD pass from Isaacson.

Hasten, whose uncle AARON HASTEN was a star wide receiver for Valhalla in the 1990s, snagged 5 receptions for 101 yards and a TD, as the Norsemen smothered the Foothillers, 34-7. The younger Hasten got his first varsity start after senior wide receiver MATT SWANGER was injured last week.

The Norsemen had some pretty good receivers on defense as well. Cornerback HANSELL WILSON picked off two errant passes and returned them for a combined 94 yards; BRANDON STEED and KWEISHI BROWN also had interceptions for Valhalla.

Known for his wide-open passing attack, Sutton prepared his troops to run this week, reeling off 175 rushing yards, with 10 different players dividing up the 38 carries. Senior quarterback PETE THOMAS and sophomore QB JOE KENNEDY combined for 177 yards on 20 passing plays, completing 11 between them.

“We know we can run the ball,” said Sutton almost defensively. “That’s what we chose to do a little more than pass in this game.”

Another plus is the kicking game. Kickoff specialist NICK GIANDONI started the contest with a booming kickoff into Grossmont's endzone for a touchback, something the Hillers got used to as Giandoni planted 5 of his 7 kickoffs beyond the goal line.

Valhalla (1-1) led 24-0 at halftime as the Norsemen held the Foothillers to zero yards rushing on nine attempts.

Thomas, who did everything except catch one of his own passes, was 10-of-19 for 175 yards, threw two TD passes, rushed for another, kicked two field goals, and added 4 PATs. And he didn’t play but one minute of the 4th quarter.

“’Pistol’ had a good game (no turnovers after committing four against Our Lady of Good Counsel last week),” Sutton said. “Those guys we played last week are the best team we’ll see all year. They were like playing a JC team.”

Valhalla's defense limited the'Hillers to 222 yards total offense and forced 4 turnovers. Linebacker GREG GOULDING notched 13 tackles for Valhalla.

“The four picks killed us,” Grossmont coach RON MURPHY said.

That and the fact that the Valhalla defense neutralized Grossmont’s all-purpose guy DESEAN WATERS, blanking him on his only pass reception and holding him to 54 yards on 10 rushes. His all-purpose numbers were174 yards shy of his season average.

“They did a nice job of doubling down on Waters and that took him out of our passing game,” Murphy said.

Starting at the game at its 20-yard line, Grossmont couldn't generate much offense in its initial series as the Norsemen defense, led by linebacker Goulding and defensive end SHANE PENNIX, didn't allow the'Hillers a first down. After a short punt, Valhalla had good field position on the Grossmont 46-yard line and quickly marched to the Foothillers’ 7-yard line. The Norsemen had to settle for the first of Thomas’ two field goals – this one a 24-yarder – with 6:06 remaining in the opening quarter.

A couple of passes from TYLER MUTTER to BRETT ETHERTON advanced the Foothillers to the Valhalla 36. That’s where the drive stalled when Steed got position on the receiver and intercepted Mutter's pass, giving Valhalla the ball at their own 29-yard line. On first down, Thomas connected with Hasten for a 39-yard pickup to the Grossmont 32.

With the momentum shifted back to Valhalla, TRAIVONNE BROWN found a huge hole opened by a GUS HAYES block and motored 32 yards for the game's first touchdown. Thomas' PAT gave the Norsemen a 10-0 lead with 3:08 left in the first quarter.

Thomas found senior slotback NINO MALLORY wide open in the endzone for a 20 yard TD to close the opening frame with Valhalla coasting 17-0.

Early in the second quarter, Valhalla's KWEISHI BROWN snagged the third Norsemen interception at mid-field. Six plays later, Thomas and Hasten collaborated on a 27-yard TD pass, with Hasten showing some nifty moves to evade tacklers as he cruised into the endzone, giving the Norsemen a 24-0 lead with 5:30 left before intermission.

Valhalla opened up the second half with a 14-play "Martyball" drive that consumed more than half of the 12 minutes, ending with another Thomas field goal, this time for 28 yards, at the 5:18 mark.

Following the kickoff, the Foothillers put together an impressive drive, with some strong runs by junior running back Waters and an 18-yard pass completion from Mutter to RONNIE DODD at the Valhalla 25-yard line. On the next play, Mutter threw a strike to the endzone, but Valhalla's Wilson stepped in front of the receiver for his second interception and raced down the sideline 76 yards to the Grossmont 24. Four plays later, Thomas called his own number and scored on a 6-yard run, putting the game out of reach, 31-0, with 1:42 remaining in the third quarter.

Grossmont managed to avoid the shutout midway through the 4th quarter when Etherton caught a 6-yard pass from Mutter, who finished with 160 yards by completing 12 of 24 passes. Etherton finished with six catches for 105 yards.

In Friday’s (Sept. 11) home opener against Mira Mesa the game turned into a scoring free-for-all and the No. 5 ranked Highlanders (2-0) found a way to prevail.

Their ticket to victory lane was junior quarterback JAKE REED, who scored 4 touchdowns, passed for a 5th and was 5-for-5 on PAT kicks. Reed completed 16 of 27 passes for 120 yards, including a 14-yard scoring strike to SEAN LINTON.

“I can break it out at times,” Reed said. “I think I’ve just kinda matured more.”

Reed did his best work on the run, collecting 118 yards on 12 carries. He gave Helix its first lead on a 46-yard bootleg in the opening minutes of the 3rd quarter to make it 23-21. But he was just warming up.

Reed went on to score 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter on runs of 5, 9 and 2 yards.

“We’re exciting to watch,” Reed said. “I’ve never played on a team like this where we’ve been able to fight back like we have (in back-to-back come-back victories). Our defense stepped up great in the 2nd half, and I guess it’s made us a 2nd-half team.”

Not to be overlooked was Reed’s kicking as he converted all five of his PAT kicks.

“It’s like I told you before the season, I know a Division I quarterback when I see one because I’ve coached seven in a row and I know what they look like,” Starr said. “He’s pretty quick right now and he’s going to mature – get bigger and faster in the future. He’s the real thing.”

Helix displayed its depth in the running game when it went against Mira Mesa without its leading rusher CHRIS HUNTER, who is nursing a slight injury. That opened the door for RAYMONT NAILON.

Unlike Hunter who is an outside runner with breakaway speed, Nailon (5-foot-10, 185) runs up the middle like a fullback and then breaks to the outside like a tailback.

“I’m more like a power back, but if I get open field I feel like I can make something happen,” said Nailon, who rushed for 120 yards on 23 carries.

Linton led the Highlanders with 7 catches for 64 yards.

Safety KACY SMITH got 11 tackles to lead Helix.

BRANDON WATSON made a key interception and returned 2 kickoffs for 44 yards for the Highlanders, who are looking forward to hosting Cathedral Catholic on Friday (Sept. 25).

No doubt that’s why Christian is sitting on a 2-0 record after Friday’s (Sept. 11) slamming of Santana (1-1).

“To think we could shut down Santana – which scored 52 points in its first game against Kearny – as easily as we did has to make us feel good,” Oliver said. “We’re a young team still trying to get in step.”

What the Patriots did was step on the Santana offense. Outside linebacker TYRONE SAULS made 12 tackles and 6-foot-5, 200-pound WILL MARTIN batted down 3 passes and chalked up a half-dozen tackles to set the pace.

“We haven’t had that kind of kicking around here for quite awhile,” Oliver noted.

Meanwhile, Christian ground out 433 yards total offense with three running backs breaking the century mark for rushing.

MARTIN RUIZ, who had only one carry for no yards in last week’s win over Mar Vista, stormed for 137 yards and 3 touchdowns on 15 carries against Santana.

MALCOLM MURPHY, who carried the ball only 3 times for 6 yards against the Mariners, stung the Sultans for 129 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

Double-threat Sauls chipped in 114 yards rushing on 12 carries as Christian finished with 370 yards rushing.

“Our Wing-T was really cracking,” Oliver said.

Coach Mitchell credited the Patriots’ offensive line of center MARTY BARRICK (6-2, 250), MATT KNIGHT (6-1, 250), GANNON HARRELL (6-1, 230), RYAN HUGHES (6-2, 220), JON McNEAL (6-4, 225) and JOEL ALESI (6-1, 260) for controlling the line of scrimmage.

“We made some key adjustments and wound up running the football very well tonight,” Mitchell said.

Christian’s sophomore quarterback SHANE DILLON put the ball in the air only eight times, but completed eight for 63 yards, including a pair of touchdowns to Martin.

“There were two great fade patterns that Dillon and Martin executed perfectly that went for touchdowns,” noted Oliver.

Santana did all of its scoring in the 4th quarter.

Quarterback ZACH BREIDT threw a 67-yard TD pass to JOHN BURKE and then scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

“Even though it may not look like it, Santana is definitely a better team than Mar Vista,” Mitchell said. “It’s just that we did a lot of things better, like eliminating blocking mistakes.”

But when the Vaqueros offense not only failed to score, but allowed a pair of scores to Ramona defensive back Trevor Kerchner, the Bulldogs accepted an unsatisfying 9-0 decision in a non-league encounter on the north end of State Highway 67.

Kerchner intercepted a screen pass and returned the ball 19 yards for the lone score in the first half. The senior defensive back later blitzed to catch the Vaqueros quarterback in the end zone for a safety in the ballgame's final two minutes to account for all of the game's scoring.

"Our defense shut them out, but then we shot ourselves in the foot on our one big drive with stupid mistakes," said Vaqueros coach RON BURNER. "That one screen pass turned out to be the game."

Following four short passes to the outside, Kerchner was waiting when pass No. 5 fluttered out in a similar pattern to his direction.

"From our scouting reports, we knew their formations and their offense," said Kerchner, who read the pass by MARK SCHARFENBERG with 10:55 left in the half. "I was just waiting and here came the ball."

Ramona handed El Capitan its first shutout defeat since the 2004 season finale (48-0 to Grossmont prior to the arrival of Burner) -- a stretch of 46 contests.

The Bulldogs (2-0) controlled the ball throughout, yet could never find the end zone, faltering every time they reached the Vaqueros red zone.

In the first half, they stalled on a missed field goal, a turnover on downs, a punt and an interception by JAMES GALLIVAN for a touchback in the final minute of play. In the second half, the Dawgs opened with a 16-play drive which ended on another missed field goal, then a 12-play march which was capped by a punt which setup Ramona for its game-clinching safety.

Prouty was credited with 14 tackles in the first half alone. DANIEL WADE gained the team's lone sack, while JT WILDES also reached double figures in tackles.

"What Prouty did was amazing -- he's out there firing and making stops," noted Gallivan, a senior cornerback. "Ramona has a strong offensive line, but we made some adjustments to slow them down. Plus, this is a tough place to play.

"We just have to get our O-line going -- we'll be good."

The Vaqueros offense floundered to the tune of just 105 total yards (Ramona recorded 295), mustering just a single first down in the second half. The lone big play was a nice rainbow pass over the cornerback down the left sideline, as quarterback Scharfenberg connected with receiver TYLER MASON for a 28-yard hookup.

The focus on El Cap's defensive showing returned to Prouty.

"Prouty was our defensive player of the year," added Burner. "But no one gave him any credit last year -- no one thought he was any good."

Both offenses are in deep need for some quick development with key contests next week. El Capitan travels to meet a Division I opponent in Point Loma, while Ramona takes on defending Division I section titlist Poway.

Ramona claimed the Wildcat Canyon Trophy for the third season running (49-21 in 2007, 35-7 in 2008). El Capitan won when the series started in 2005, then again in 2006.

"Nice, but where do you spit?"     — Former Chargers lineman Walt Sweeney, circa mid-1960s, on introduction of Astroturf

The debut of the new Field Turf playing surface at El Cajon Valley High School Stadium on Friday. (Photos by Scott Wilkins, Courtesy GUHSD) CLICK ON ANY PHOTO FOR ENLARGEMENT

After the Monarchs (1-1) fumbled the ball at their own goal line in the 1st quarter, the Braves (1-1) eventually took a 6-0 lead on a 5-yard run by AJ WHITE.

Monte Vista was hardly ready to fold as it scored three consecutive touchdowns to all but put the game away. KENNETH TRIBBLE, who recorded two of those scores, made a pivotal play when he took the ball away from an El Cajon receiver and rumbled 40 yards for the game-tying touchdown.

JESUS VELVARDE’s PAT gave Monte Vista a lead it would not lose.

“We started out kinda rough,” Monte Vista coach PAGE CULVER said. “We practically gave them the first touchdown, but then Tribble came up with the play of the game after that.”

Culver was praising Tribble’s ability to steal the ball for the go-ahead TD in the opening quarter.

“He just stripped the ball away,” Culver noted. “And I think that was the key play of the game.”

SHAMAR BARNES scored on an 81-yard run to give the Monarchs a 14-6 halftime lead. He finished the evening with 2 touchdowns and 162 yards on 10 carries.

Then it was Tribble’s turn again, as he scored on a 25-yard run to make it 20-6 in the 3rd quarter.

The Braves’ versatile ALEX HANN once again proved he’s the chief of the offense and the defense. The senior southpaw quarterback generated 249 total yards. Most of that came on passing out of the Braves’ 5-Wide offense as Hann completed 22 of 41 passes for 212 yards. He also scrambled for 37 yards on 17 carries, including a 6-yard scoring dash that cut Monte Vista’s lead to 20-13 in the 3rd quarter.

The 4th quarter belonged to Monte Vista, however, as the Monarchs blanked the Braves 14-0.

MAURICE PAYNE – sometimes quarterback, other times running back or slotback – joined up with Monte Vista’s other quarterback SHERVIN IRANIHA for a 35-yard touchdown that all but put the game out of reach. For good measure Barnes scored his second touchdown – this one on a 20-yard run.

“I feel like we ran the ball well and a lot of that’s due to our offensive line, which did a much better job of blocking than they did last week,” Culver said.

ANTHONY JACKSON caught 11 passes for 139 yards for El Cajon Valley and finished with 286 all-purpose yards.

“It was a whole new atmosphere – good crowd and excited players,” said El Cajon Valley coach DANNY GOODRICH. “Our defense played well most of the game but our offense just went awry at the wrong time. I’ll have to admit overall, it was a pretty exciting game.”

Granite Hills trailed only 21-14 at halftime but could never recover.

“It was just a tough game,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY DeWITT. “Olympian’s Gil Warren has coached at least 40 years and his team was well-coached. He had his boys ready to play.”

Make no mistake about it, Granite Hills senior BRIAN CARROLL was definitely ready to play. He returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, and caught a 17-yard pass from quarterback TYLER JOWORSKI in the 2nd quarter. He also blocked a PAT attempt in addition to handling his free safety duties on defense.

“Carroll is a really good athlete,” said DeWitt. “He’s the captain, the leader of our team. He leads by example. He played really well tonight.”

Granite Hills’ final touchdown came on a 28-yard pass from CORY LOCKMAN to RICHARD PEREZ in the 4th quarter.

TYLER STRICKLAND made all three of his PATs in addition to contributing on the defensive side.

Carroll finished the game with 162 all-purpose yards.

Joworski completed 10-of-15 passes for 81 yards, while Lockman was 2-for-5 for 35 yards.

JONATHAN VALENCIA was Granite Hills’ leading receiver with 4 catches for 43 yards.

FRANTZ LAROQUE led Granite Hills with 47 yards on 3 carries.

Sat., Sept. 12
For Knights, Vegas no pair-o'dice

© East County Sports.com
LAS VEGAS (9-13-09) — With the majority of its team leaders banged up and out of uniform prior to Saturday’s (Sept. 12) kickoff at Mountain View Christian, the visiting Foothills Christian Knights (0-2) had to realize that they were in trouble.

“We were beaten by a good team and our own youth and inexperience, as well as some critical injuries,” Knights coach STEVE PERDUE said about a 46-0 pasting from the host Saints (2-1). “I think the mindset of our younger kids seeing our key players on the sidelines had a bigger effect than we’d like to see.”

“But you can’t take anything away from Mountain View Christian,” Perdue continued. “We saw them beat Army-Navy and they’re a pretty good team in our area. We were using our fourth string quarterback, who has virtually no experience and we had a lot of other players out of their normal positions.”

Perdue added, “We’ve just got to forget this game and move on. Hopefully we’ll get some of our team leaders back but that might be two or three weeks down the line.”

EAST COUNTY SCOREBOARD Other Friday Scores Santana 14, at Christian 41 Mira Mesa 35, at Helix 43 Monte Vista 34, El Cajon Valley 21 Grossmont 7, at Valhalla 34 Granite Hills 21, at Olympian 41 El Capitan 0, at Ramona 9 Saturday's Game LV-Mountain View Christian 46, Foothills Christian 0 Only game scheduled

© East County Sports.com
RAMONA (9-9-09) — One of the East County’s newest rivalries is the Wildcat Canyon Series which will be renewed Friday (Sept. 11) at 7:30 for the fifth time before a passionate home crowd in Ramona.

Senior Ryan Morgan (29 carries, 205 yards, 4 TDs) is the main cog in a Ramona lineup that features double tight ends. The Bulldogs will present El Capitan’s defense, which shutout University City 32-0 in last week’s opener, with a much taller challenge.

Inside linebacker J.T. WILDES led a smothering Vaqueros defense against the Centurions with 10 tackles, including a safety and a fumble recovery. BUBBA PROUTY had 9 tackles from his strong safety slot, and DANIEL WADE, another inside linebacker, recorded 7 tackles. DILLIAN SCHLOTTER chipped in with 6 tackles from his outside linebacker spot. DAKOTA FURR recovered a fumble and JAKE BURTON – nephew of former Vaqueros BRAD and MITCH BURTON – blocked a kick from his nose guard position.

“No question about it, this will be a tougher game for us,” Burner said.

“Ramona has a very fast defense so we’re going to have to make our offense click,” said Burner of the Bulldogs, who beat Serra 28-14 in the opener.

Will it be enough? Upset Special of the Week... El Capitan 22-21.

STEELE CANYON (0-1) at WEST HILLS (1-0), 7: West Hills will celebrate its first home game of the 2009 season by inaugurating “The Den’s” new blue Field Turf field. Festivities begin at 6:30 with dignitaries welcomed and ribbon cutting on the track.

Following player introductions of both teams there will be a featured fly in of the LEAP FROGS – the U.S. Navy’s official parachute team.

The Wolf Pack lost both its offensive and defensive leaders in the season-opening 28-20 victory over Patrick Henry. So all the festivities don’t mean a whole lot to Pack head coach CASEY ASH, who is trying to revamp his team.

“I just hope it’s more of a celebration than a distraction,” Ash said. “We’ve had TV people out here this week and an article on MaxPreps.com. I’m just hoping our kids can keep their focus and motivation on the football game.”

The loss of running back ALAN PARKS and free safety DANNY EISENBARTH has caused Ash to reshuffle his lineup. One of the newcomers to the team will be running back MICHAEL SCALES, who hopes to fill Parks’ shoes.

Ash and athletic director DON RUTLEDGE had a lot to do with the fact that West Hills has a blue field.

“I dunno, but I think it makes us special,” Ash said. At least unique. “I hope it works to our advantage.”

The bottom line for West Hills though comes down to stopping Steele Canyon sprinter ALEX PERLIN, who barged for 94 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries against state power Cathedral Catholic.

Even though the Cougars lost that game 27-7 it must not be forgotten that the Rancho San Diego squad led by one point going into the 4th quarter.

“I know what the score said but we didn’t do any major revisions,” Cougars coach RON BOEHMKE said. “Sure we revised some stuff, but I think we’ll be ready to go this week.”

Boehmke admitted that all the hoopla at West Hills could have an effect.

“This will be their first game on their new field,” he said. “They’ll be going crazy and so will their fans. It’s up to us to not be overcome by their excitement. We need to play for field position and control the game.”

The Cougars have captured the last two meetings of these teams by a composite 47-10 score. This one shouldn’t be as lopsided as the past two, so the nod goes to... Steele Canyon 28-7.

MIRA MESA (0-1) at HELIX (1-0), 7: When second year Helix head coach TROY STARR celebrated his 150th career win in last week’s conquest of Rancho Buena Vista, he ended the game on crutches.

“This is not exactly the way I wanted to celebrate my 150th coaching win,” said Starr, who pulled a muscle during the Highlanders 21-19 victory over the Longhorns. “Now I think I’m going to have to wind up sitting in the press box and call plays from there. I’ve never done that before – I’m not sure I’ll like it.”

The bottom line is the Highlanders will have rely on a pair of sophomores – quarterback JAKE REED (12-24, 161 yards) and running back CHRIS HUNTER (12, 146, 2 TDs) as well as receiver SEAN LINTON (7–101) – to carry the offensive load.

“Mira Mesa has exceptional athletes, much faster than RBV,” Starr said. “This is a big game for us. I think we’ll be a better team than we were last week, and I sure hope the results show that.”

The Highlanders have not had a lot of success against Mira Mesa, losing three of the four games to the Marauders... Helix 17-14.

MONTE VISTA (0-1) at EL CAJON VALLEY (1-0), 6:30: One thing about the East County, there’s a lot of parity. This matchup is a perfect example.

But the Braves’ home opener against the visiting Monarchs offers a lot more. El Cajon Valley will play the first game on its new Field Turf surface after knocking off Montgomery 40-24 in last weeks season opener in South Bay.

Monte Vista, meanwhile, threw up a major block of defense but couldn’t find its offense in a 14-6 loss to Point Loma.

El Cajon Valley will recognize its graduating classes of the 1950s and 1960s, which should make for a large, supportive fan base for the Braves.

“We’re not as physical as they are, so it comes down to whether we’re able to stop them on defense and use our speed to beat them on offense,” said El Cajon Valley coach DANNY GOODRICH.

Senior quarterback ALEX HANN accounted for an East County high 380 yards and 5 touchdowns total offense against the Aztecs, and senior receiver ANTHONY “Action” JACKSON scored 3 touchdowns in the win over Montgomery.

“This should be a big night for us because our kids are excited and we should have a lot of fans,” said Goodrich.

It could be a really big night for El Cajon Valley, which hasn’t beaten Monte Vista since 1978. The Monarchs are 14-1-1 against the Braves over the last 29 years.

Points will be more at a premium against Monte Vista, which relies on its attacking defense to shut down its opponent.

The Monarchs totaled only 38 yards in their loss to the Pointers. They’ll need a lot more offense to keep up with the Braves this time... El Cajon Valley 21-16.

GROSSMONT (1-0) at VALHALLA (0-1), 7: After pulling a narrow escape on a CHASE HOUSE 18-yard field goal with 5:2 seconds left in a 16-14 upset of Otay Ranch, the visiting Foothillers are seeking to knock off another of the San Diego CIF’s elite.

The Foothillers have a lot of weapons, led by quarterback TYLER MUTTER and versatile RB/Slot/Safety DESEAN WATERS. Even so, Otay Ranch outgained Grossmont 324–268 and led 14-0 midway through the 2nd quarter. But Grossmont somehow found a way to pull out a win and will need similar good fortune to nail the Norsemen.

Valhalla lost to Maryland ’s Our Lady of Good Counsel 28-16 in the season opener.

“There’s no question they’d be a top-ranked team in our section,” said Norseman coach STEVE SUTTON. “But our defense played extremely well. We led 10-7 in the 3rd quarter but got a couple of bonehead penalties that really hurt us.”

Despite the disappointing setback Sutton said his Norsemen are not hanging their heads. Sutton praised linebacker GREG GOULDING, end SHANE PENNIX and back KWEISHI BROWN for Valhalla ’s superb defensive effort.

“No one’s really down,” he said. “But we’re ready to go after Grossmont.”

The Norseman have won three of the last four meetings from Grossmont and shouldn’t stumble this time... Valhalla 35-13.

SANTANA (1-0) vs. CHRISTIAN (1-0) at Granite Hills, 7: Can Christian’s defense foil a rebuilding Santana offense? Hmm. No certainty there.

The Patriots have toppled Santana three years in succession by a composite 106-64 score. It doesn’t figure to be that wide open this time around. Christian has become a more conservative, ball control offense and does not want to get into a shootout with the ZACH BREIDT-led Sultans.

Santana’s lopsided 52-13 romp over Kearny was somewhat stunning, as the Sultans coaches figured it would be a fight to the finish going in.

Christian, meanwhile, had a scoreless tie going for three quarters against Mar Vista before erupting for 21 points in the final period. TYRONE SAULS leads the Christian defense and MICHAEL GRUBER is a blue-chip kicker, but that won’t be enough... Santana 28-20.

GRANITE HILLS (1-0) at OLYMPIAN (0-0), 7: Visiting Granite Hills will attempt to open the season 2-0 for only the second time in seven years when the Eagles fly south to take on veteran coach Gil Warren and his upcoming Eagles who finished 6-4 a year ago. That’s more wins than Granite Hills has produced in the past three seasons.

While veteran quarterback Ryan Van Nostrand returns along with 20 starters for Olympian, Granite Hills relies on a much younger cast to keep in step. FREDDY HALTON and FRANTZ LAROQUE are the mainstays of the East County team’s running game while TYLER JOWORSKI does a respectable job throwing the ball. All three proved themselves in the mix as Granite Hills smashed San Ysidro 31-0.

This is the first meeting between these two and a tough one to call... Granite Hills 17-14.

Among the missing is quarterback GARRET CAMPBELL, who generated 223 yards and scored 27 points in a 59-41 loss to Escondido Charter in a game called with 7:30 remaining when a light curfew at Seau Field halted play. Campbell is expected to miss a month with a sprained foot.

Foothills’ top defender – CALEB GARDNER – is sidelined with a broken wrist. The hospital roll call has erased three additional Knights from the starting lineup.

On the flip side Mountain View, which knocked off Army-Navy 32-28, fielded only 13 players. QB Tj Engel – 13-33, 135 yds (.394), 2 TDs, 4 interceptions – is second leading rusher behind Cortland LeBoeuf and is the second leading tackler behind Karl Benjamin... Mountain View 33-20.