WEEK 6 — Oct. 9

MATADOR ON THE RUN

Mount Miguel senior tailback Derall Hunter (24) became the Matadors' career rushing leader after garnering 116 yards and scoring two touchdowns to top host El Capitan, 27-15, in non-league action. (Photo by Leslie Autry)

Mount Miguel Career Rushing Leaders (Through Oct. 10th)

Player Seasons Yards 1. Derall Hunter 2. Earl Bryers 3. Freddy Caesar 4. Kashun McClay 2007-09 1989-91 1977-78 1999-00 2,835 2,760 2,282 2,234

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (10-10-09) — It won’t go down as the greatest run of DERALL HUNTER’s football career, but it was vintage Hunter, it did give him another coveted rushing record, and it probably was the difference in Mount Miguel’s 27-15 come-from-behind victory over snake-bit El Capitan on Friday night (Oct. 9) at Wendall Cutting Stadium.

The record was established on a 14-yard pickup, but let’s back up a bit.

A statistical error in last week’s win over Grossmont led everyone who roots for the Matadors to believe that Hunter had eclipsed the school career rushing record. Turns out, he was 42 yards shy.

Said Mount Miguel coach TOM KARLO, “I texted him during the week, saying I was sorry. My math was off.”

“It’s all good,” replied Hunter.

In the first half against stingy El Capitan (2-4), Mount Miguel (4-1) found itself trailing 9-0 and facing a possible 12-0 deficit just before halftime.

Mount Miguel’s JORDAN GENTNER blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt by BROOKS NOBLE, and DIANTE LEE scooped up the loose ball and raced to the 46-yard line with the return. El Capitan was then penalized for having 12 players on the field, and the 15-yard march-off gave the Matadors a 1st-and-10 at the El Capitan 39-yard line with 38 seconds left in the half.

Needing 2 yards for the record, Hunter burst through right tackle, slashed to a clearing outside the hash marks, dashed around two defenders and smashed into another just before going out of bounds to stop the clock.

Nobody knew it at the time, but that 14-yard carry gave him 2,772 career rushing yards in his two-plus seasons, eclipsing the 2,760 Earl Byers amassed in 1989-91.

More importantly, the Matadors scored four plays later – A.J. STANFORD found WILLIE MORALES in the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown pass – and now trailed just 9-7 instead of being shut out in the first half by a very good defensive unit from El Capitan.

The blocked field goal and the TD presumably made it a 10-point swing.

Aside from a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown sprint by El Capitan’s RYAN McBURNEY, Mount Miguel completely dominated the second half and moved to 4-1 for the first time in a decade.

“This was a great win for us,” Karlo said. “This was the first time we came from behind to win. This was a great effort on both sides of the ball. Guys played hurt. Guys played down. And they played a great second half.

“I can’t remember the last time Mount Miguel was 4-1. I think it was 1999. That was our thing all week.” Actually it was the 2000 season when the Matadors rolled to a 5-1 start.

The Matadors’ only blemish was a sloppy 31-17 loss to Serra two weeks ago, but they came back to crush Grossmont 49-20 last week and put together a terrific overall game against El Capitan.

NO RESPECT FROM THE P.P.R.

Foothills Christian High senior quarterback Garret Campbell (13) escapes the pass rush Friday night against CV-Calvary Christian. Even though the game, a 47-7 Knights victory, started at 6:30 p.m. – all the others were at 7 p.m. – camera crews from local television stations were late for the ballgame and missed Campbell's 94-yard TD burst, the second-longest rush in the school's 11-man football history. (Photo by Ed Piper)

GARRET CAMPBELL, Foothills Christian Career Long-distance Plays (All TDs) Yds  Play Opponent/Year 99 KO Return  vs La Jolla Country Day '08 97 KO Return  at Christian '08 (CIF) 94 Rush vs CV-Calvary Christian '09 93 KO Return  at Christian '08 (CIF) 92 KO Return  at Escondido Charter '08 91 KO Return  vs Holtville '08 (CIF) 90 KO Return  at San Diego Jewish '07 88 KO Return  at Midway Baptist '09 87 KO Return  vs Borrego Springs '07 80 KO Return  at Calvin Christian '07 78 KO Return  vs Escondido Charter '07 75 Pass vs La Jolla Country Day '08 75 Pass vs Vista-Calvary Christian '08 71 Rush at San Diego Jewish '07 70 Punt Ret. vs Vista-Calvary Christian '08 69 Pass vs Borrego Springs '08 66 Pass at San Diego Jewish '07 65 Pass vs Vista-Calvary Christian '08 64 Punt Ret. at San Pasqual Academy '08 63 Interception  at San Pasqual Academy '06 63 Rush at Escondido Charter '08 60 Pass at Midway Baptist '08 59 Rush vs Escondido Charter '09 Note: List is incomplete.

CV-Calvary Christian Royal Knights at Foothills Christian Knights, Junior Seau Field (Slideshow by Ed Piper)

Need 90? Knights again call on Campbell © East County Sports.com LA MESA (10-10-09) — The big-play ability of Foothills Christian senior GARRETT CAMPBELL was again on display Friday (Oct. 9) night. With a career ledger which already features six kickoff returns of at least 90 yards for touchdowns, along with a long list of other coast-to-coast scores, Campbell busted loose on a 94-yard run from scrimmage, lifting the Knights to a 47-7 pasting of visiting Calvary Christian (Chula Vista) in Southern League action at Junior Seau Field. Moments after losing 16 yards on a lazy pitch while running out the half, Campbell immediately regained focus. On a draw play, he side-stepped around a pair of linebackers and a safety on the school's second-longest rush in its 4-year history of 11-man football. BRANDON JOHNSTON still holds the mark at 96 yards in a 2006 contest against Christian Life Academy of Escondido. Foothills also registered the second-longest interception return in team annals after CALEB GARDNER raced 60 yards on his runback on the opening play of the second period to propel the Knights to a 27-0 advantage. (Campbell holds the interception record at 63 yards; see Chart above). "We got them scared early – we were ready to defend," said Gardner, who also rushed for a score and registered one of three sacks by the Foothills defense. "On the pick, I saw their running back shade his block, so I knew where the ball was going. I just grabbed it and ran." By the time Calvary Christian recorded its initial first down, the Knights already had built a 20-0 lead. The lone score by the Royal Knights, who lost 34-0 to Foothills last season, came on a cosmetic score in the fourth period to snap a streak of 81 consecutive points allowed to the Knights. Gardner, who noted the team was unhappy with its defensive performance against Midway Baptist last week, added, "We were ready to get nasty." Campbell opened the scoring on the team's first touch of the ball. After Calvary failed on fourth down deep in its own territory on the ballgame's first series, Campbell scrambled to his right, then bolted forward on a 27-yard score just 2:07 into the contest. On the next possession, Campbell, who completed 5-of-7 passes for 109 yards, tossed the first of his three TD passes by finding ZACH CUMMINGS alone in the back of the end zone for a 17-yard TD strike. Cummings was also a key factor on defense as one of the Knights' leading tacklers. "We stressed defense against the run to force them to throw, which is what we defend against best," noted Cummings. "And our line blocked great." JUSTIN ESSELSTROM followed with a catch along the right flank, then cut against the grain for a 39-yard score. Gardner followed with his "pick six," then a Campbell TD pass on a 17-yard screen pass went to SPENCER GEORGE for a 34-0 cushion. In the second half, Foothills took the kickoff and marched 83 yards on 6 plays. Included was a 63-yard gallop by Gardner, who capped the drive with a 10-yard TD. Calvary quarterback Daniel Henry (16-for-24, 143 yards) avoided the shutout on a 13-yard scoring pass to Nick Seydel. Henry completed 11 of his passes for 101 yards to Forrest Woltman, who also caught a lateral for an additional two yards. For Foothills, DYLAN WESTRICK and ROBERT KAKOS also registered sacks, while HENRY LUSHEI recovered a fumble for the game's only other turnover. The victory moved the defending Southern League champion Knights (2-3, 2-0 SL) to within a half-game of idle San Diego Jewish Academy (4-0, 3-0 SL). Calvary fell to 1-4 overall (0-3 in league).

Including 507 yards his sophomore year and 1,506 his junior year, Hunter now has 2,835 career rushing yards and another contented smile on his face.

“It feels good,” he said. “We all worked hard for the record. It starts at the line. My O-line really made things happen. I give them all the props.

“That’s the best defense we’ve faced this year. But all of our guys put in the effort, and we won the game.”

Among others, El Capitan’s veteran defensive coordinator JUDD HULBERT came away very impressed with Hunter.

“He’s very good,” Hulbert said. “They give him the ball a lot, but he runs just as hard inside as he does outside. He’s got very good speed. Our defense played well against him in the first half, but he just kept coming at us in the second half.”

Said teammate KHAALID ABDULLAH, “He’s a beast.”

And Karlo: “I think you saw two things tonight. I think you saw a great defense in El Capitan. And you saw a great back in Derall Hunter.”

Equally impressive on this night was Mount Miguel’s defense and the left-handed Stanford, who finished 16-of-22 for 207 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions.

“I can’t say enough about our quarterback and how well he played,” Karlo said. “Coming back after throwing three interceptions and playing the way he did was something special.”

The Matadors’ defense allowed only seven first downs, including two on penalties. They held El Capitan’s rushing game to 84 yards on 25 carries and its passing attack to 28 yards on 7-of-21 attempts and intercepted four balls, including one by defensive tackle JOAQUIN IBARRA.

KEVIN MARCH had the first pick, and that led to a 36-yard field goal by JORGE MEDINA that gave the Matadors its first lead 10-9 with 4:44 to play in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Hunter capped a 7-play, 65-yard drive with a 2-yard scoring run to make it 17-9. McBurney’s 90-yard kick return made it 17-15, and it stayed that way because Abdullah intercepted the 2-point conversion pass that might have tied the game.

On the next play, Stanford connected with BRYANT MITCHELL for a 56-yard pass reception, and five plays later Medina made it 20-15 with a 38-yard field goal. Mitchell finished with five catches for 113 yards. The left-footed Medina is now a perfect 22-for-22 on PATs and 3-for-3 on field goals.

Moments later, Abdullah made another interception, and his 12-yard return eventually led to a 1-yard TD run by Hunter for the final score. Officially, Abdullah was credited with only one interception (the conversion pick only counts as a great play), but he nearly got another one on the final play of the game.

“We disagree that they’re the No. 1 defense in East County,” Abdullah said.“So we had to show them what we can do.”

El Capitan also turned in some big defensive plays, but its offense struggled most of the night. JAMES GALLIVAN intercepted his East County-leading fourth and fifth passes and made returns of 35 and 22 yards. BUBBA PROUTY got his third interception of the season. DILLIAN SCHLOTTER tackled Stanford in the end zone for a safety and an early 2-0 lead, and he recovered a fumble that led to MATT BURKETT’s 11-yard touchdown run that made it 9-0.

“It’s my fault,” El Capitan coach RON BURNER said. “I’ll take the blame. The kids played hard. Defense played lights out. I’ll take responsibility for the offense.”

WEST HILLS 27, GRANITE HILLS 26 – If you’re looking for a pattern from West Hills quarterback GARY ISAACSON, forget it. This guy is a broken play artist.

Isaacson doesn’t make anything look easy, but more often than not he makes it successful. At no time in his career has he delivered a bigger pass than he did in Friday night’s (Oct. 9) nonleague victory over visiting Granite Hills.

Perhaps the East County ’s master scrambler, Isaacson managed to hold off a posse of Granite Hills defenders to launch a 67-yard touchdown pass to DONTE ADDISON with what proved to be the winning score with 33 seconds remaining.

“We were just in our double-double, and he was just scrambling around,” West Hills coach CASEY ASH said of Isaacson. “The fact that Isaacson does it so often, the receivers kinda know what to do, so we’ve gotten pretty good at it.

“That’s certainly not the way that play was designed, but that’s about the fourth or fifth time that somebody falls asleep back there (in the secondary) and a broken play ends up sailing over his head.”

Isaacson finished by completing 13 of 21 passes for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns. Only two of those bullseyes went to Addison, who totaled 81 yards and 2 touches.

Senior receiver Addison was so wide open that even the widest lens could not capture how much space there was between him and any other player.

“Addison caught a big pass in one of our first games, but he’s been kind of quiet since then,” Ash said. “It was good to see him get back into the action again. He’s going to have to now, since we lost ADAM COYLE (who suffered a fractured collarbone while catching an 8-yard TD pass in the final 11 seconds of the 1st half). Looks like Coyle’s down and out so somebody else is going to have to step up, and maybe it’ll be Donte.”

West Hills (3-3) finished with 390 total yards.

ANDREW TRAN led the ground forces with 72 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Isaacson pitched in 64 yards on a dozen sorties, while NICK McDANIEL contributed 50 yards and a 6-yard scoring run on 16 carries.

“That last play (the game winner) was amazing,” said Isaacson. “I had a lot of pressure and I had to scramble, then I saw Donte wide open downfield. We work on that scrambling drill in practice and the receivers are supposed to pick up the quarterback. He’s taught to run with me and that’s what he did.”

It was a bitter defeat for Granite Hills (3-2), which not only blew a 20-7 lead but lost junior quarterback CODY LOCKMAN to an ankle injury in the final seconds of the game.

“This is not what you want to have happen right before the start of league,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY DeWITT. “I know Cody went to get X-rays but I wouldn’t want to predict the seriousness of the injury. It could be a high ankle sprain, it could be a broken ankle. We’re hoping for the best.”

Lockman hit 9 of 19 passes for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns before suffering the injury on a desperation 3rd down pass after the Wolf Pack had taken a 1-point lead in the final seconds.

It appeared that the Eagles had the game tucked away in the victory column when FREDDY HALTON scored on a 10-yard dash with 1:27 remaining.

Following the ensuing kickoff Granite Hills had West Hills pinned down on its own 18-yard line with 1.18 remaining. Victory seemed certain for the Eagles after JOE CARDONA and DONOVAN TRUESDALE sacked Isaacson for a loss, leaving West Hills with a 2nd-and-12 at its own 33-yard line with no timeouts left and 39 seconds to play.

That’s when Isaacson performed his magic. BEN SCHUSTER led the Wolf Pack with 8 tackles, while MIKE LIPSCOMB contributed 3 tackles and 2 sacks.

For Granite Hills, do-it-all BRIAN CARROLL notched a game-high 13 tackles, blocked a field goal, broke up two passes and accounted for 151 yards total offense. He also scored on a 26-yard pass from Lockman and completed a 21-yard halfback pass that the Eagles thought would be the game-winning touchdown.

Halton led the Eagles in rushing with 71 yards on 14 carries. GILBERT PEREZ caught 4 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown.

CHRISTIAN 36, EL CAJON VALLEY 22 – Christian coach MATT OLIVER raved about his Patriots’ kicking game – as he does most weeks – following Friday night’s (Oct. 9) come-from-behind victory over El Cajon Valley.

His focus against the Braves was the Patriots’ kickoff team, which perfectly executed a pair of onsides kicks.

“We slipped a couple of slow rollers in on them and got ‘em both,” said Oliver. “And we pooched a couple over their heads, which gave them poor field position.”

If Christian has a secret weapon, it’s got to be senior kicker MICHAEL GRUBER.

“I’m kinda proud of my kicking,” admitted Gruber, who converted all three of his field goals – one a 43-yarder – and was 3-for-3 on PATs against the Braves (1-4). “The thing that I really like to share with the team is the fact that we’re 16-for-16 retrieving onsides kicks over the past two seasons.”

Those are startling numbers.

To boot, Gruber can also kick the long ball. In his 21 kickoffs this season, 18 have gone for touchbacks.

Christian (4-2) staggered out of the gate and found themselves trailing 14-0 after one quarter thanks to touchdown runs of 11 and 45 yards by the Braves’ PATRICK JOHNSON.

“We lost three fumbles at our own end in the 1st quarter and that certainly didn’t help us get off to a good start, in fact it cost us two touchdowns,” Oliver said. “We had some pretty shoddy tackling in the secondary, too.”

The Patriots scrambled back but the Braves maintained a 22-17 halftime lead. However, it was all Christian in the 2nd half as the Patriots blanked El Cajon Valley 19-0.

And once again, a Christian kicker was directly involved. Only this time it was punter JOEL ALESI, who averages 45.4 yards per kick. Ironically, Alesi did not have to make a single punt in this game, but that did not keep him from making an impact.

The 6-foot-1, 260-pound senior tight end/nose guard scored 2 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter that put the Patriots in winning position. Alesi scored on a 45-yard fumble return and later in the same period intercepted a middle screen and darted 43 yards for a touchdown.

“The fumble thing was easy,” said Alesi. “We were running an outside play and they hit our running back, who fumbled the ball. It landed right at my feet so I just scooped and ran. One of their guys tried to ankle tackle me but I just ran through it.”

Alesi: touchdown No. 2 – “I was standing right next to the receiver and I saw the play developing and I yelled ‘Screen!’ The ball came right to me – it’s almost funny how that happened.”

So the big lineman started rumbling downfield.

“I probably wouldn’t have made it if not for a great block by one of my guys, GANNON HARRELL. The quarterback was the only one that had a chance to tackle me and Gannon just wiped him out.

“Yeah, I was winded when I got to the endzone. But I think it was from the excitement of scoring back-to-back touchdowns.”

MALCOLM MURPHY (18-84), MARTIN RUIZ (5-78) and STEVEN PITTS (15-59, 2 TDs) led a tenacious Christian running game.

“We had some early turnovers that hurt us tonight,” said El Cajon Valley coach DANNY GOODRICH. “They got a score right before the half that was huge. They had the ball two-thirds of the game (time of possession for ECV: 15.40). They did a good job of keeping our offense off the field. It was a tough loss. We are definitely looking forward to the start of league play next week.”

One of the Braves’ problems was that Johnson had only 4 carries for 52 yards. He could have used more. He did catch 3 passes for 40 yards and returned a kickoff for 21 yards.

Quarterback ALEX HANN settled for 139 yards total offense, which is well below his season average.

STEELE CANYON 35, GROSSMONT 7 – The Steele Canyon Cougars figure to have the best 1-2 rushing tandem in East County in ALEX PERLIN and JAKE WRAGG. They probably won’t get any argument from the Grossmont Foothillers, who saw the duo run for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns between them Friday (Oct. 9) night in El Cajon.

“No question, they complement each other and they definitely give us a good 1-2 punch,” said Cougars coach RON BOEHMKE.

Perlin set the pace, making the most of 12 rushes for 142 yards including 1st half scoring dashes of 26 and 79 yards. He also caught a pass for 13 yards and intercepted a pass.

“It was a huge game for our team. The offensive line was the key,” Perlin said. “They really played hard and gave us good holes to run through.”

Boehmke agreed that the offensive line is becoming more of a positive factor every week.

“From where we began the season, our offensive line is really beginning to jell now,” the coach said. “We just pounded the ball at them and we were able to do that because of our improved line play.”

Wragg ripped off 97 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries.

“The offensive line did a great job – they are fun to run behind,” Wragg said. “Getting a chance to play last year was a big break for me. I got used to the offense and I know what to expect this year. All week the coaches stressed running the ball down their throats, and that is just what we did tonight.”

Steele Canyon (3-2) scored in every quarter – all on running plays.

“We are more varied on offense this year,” said Perlin. “Playing last year is a big advantage for me. I’m much more familiar with the offense this year. Being in the same backfield with Jake is so much fun – we love to block for each other.”

Grossmont (2-4) kept pace into the 2nd quarter when DESEAN WATERS scored on an 11-yard run that tied the game 7-7.

But the Foothillers made about a half-dozen costly mistakes. They missed two field goals, lost a fumble at the Steele Canyon 1-yard line, and were denied another touchdown when one of their receivers caught a pass on the sideline and was in the clear, but stepped out of bounds.

“I was hoping the referee wouldn’t see it, but he did,” said Grossmont coach RON MURPHY. “It was that kind of night for us.”

Even in defeat Grossmont showed a pretty nice 1-2 rushing combo of their own in Waters (19-109) and DOMINIQUE CHILDRESS (8-101).

Grossmont quarterback TYLER MUTTER completed 9 of 16 passes for 112 yards. Six of those connections went to BRETT ETHERTON for 75 yards.

“I guess you could say, all things considered, this was our best game to date,” said Ron Boehmke.

Murphy obviously did not echo those sentiments.

MADISON 27, SANTANA 0 – It was another long night for the Santana Sultans, who saw their string of scoreless quarters stretch to eight with Friday night’s (Oct. 9) loss to visiting Madison.

The outmanned Sultans (2-4) were rationed to a net of 4 yards rushing in 12 tries. That includes four sacks. Santana put a little air in its passing game by the return of junior quarterback ZACH BREIDT, who missed last week’s game with an injury.

But even Breidt, who completed 22 of 46 passes for 139 yards, was not enough to offset Madison’s overall team quickness.

Santana tight end T.D. GROSS caught a career-best 11 passes, but was tackled immediately and could only generate 59 yards.

The closest Santana came to scoring against Madison (4-1) was on the final play of the first half. The ball was at the Warhawks’ 5-yard line. The Sultans shunned the field goal and went for the touchdown. Madison foiled the plans by sacking Breidt for a 12-yard loss.

All of the scoring came in the first half as the final two quarters were played with a running clock. That choice was made Santana coach DAVE GROSS who was looking forward to next week’s Grossmont North League opener El Capitan.

“We’re already pretty thin and we just didn’t want to risk any more injuries,” Gross said. “League is the most important thing on our mind right now."

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (10-7-09) — For two schools which are about three miles apart, this should qualify them as neighborhood rivals. Not quite.

Different leagues. Different divisions. That seems to be enough to keep this from being an annual affair.

They haven’t played for five years. Yet, the all-time series cries for these teams to keep on playing. At the moment, the El Cajon Valley Braves hold a 7-6 edge over the Christian Patriots.

Stung by key injuries, the Wing-T oriented Patriots have lost two of their last three. So be sure that they are hungry for a victory before beginning Coastal League action next week against Horizon.

One plus is the Patriots will welcome the return of running back-linebacker BRETT HUFF, who has missed the last four games due to injury.

El Cajon Valley, which opens the Grossmont North League campaign against West Hills on Oct. 16, is better than its record. But injuries and eligibility problems have kept the Braves from breaking loose.

“By the time we hit league we should be at full strength,” said El Cajon Valley coach DANNY GOODRICH.

Quarterback ALEX HANN is the engineer of the Braves’ 5-Wide offense, and he poses extra problems for every opposing defensive coordinator.

“I have to give it to that quarterback,” Christian coach MATT OLIVER said. “He may get sacked a lot but you can’t take the game out of him. He just keeps bouncing back.

“One of the things we have to do is take away their quick screen game that they love so much.”

“He makes about 16 tackles a game,” Oliver said.

No telling who is going to get it together first but the pick here is... Christian 21-14.

STEELE CANYON (2-2) at GROSSMONT (2-3), 7 – Both teams are attempting to generate some momentum for the beginning of league play the following week. So does Friday’s (Oct. 9) non-league clash carry any clout?

“I think it does for us,” Grossmont coach RON MURPHY said. “We’ve made some adjustments on our defense. We now start only one senior (defensive end), RYAN JAHNER.

For the Foothillers’ defense to be successful they must get more consistency from their offense.

Quarterback TYLER MUTTER has been inconsistent but it hasn’t been all his fault. Receivers routinely drop passes, which has stalled Grossmont drives.

The key for Grossmont has been DESEAN WATERS, who seems to never leave the field. He’s Mutter’s favorite target although he draws heavy coverage from opposing defenses. He’s also the third-leading rusher in the Grossmont Conference (90.2 ypg) and a blue chip receiver.

No doubt Waters would excel even more on the offensive side if his talents were not commanded in the defensive secondary. By season’s end he could be voted the Grossmont North League Player of the Year.

But Mutter and Waters can’t do it by themselves. Tight end BRETT ETHERTON has been in a slump but could break out at any moment.

Steele Canyon is better than its record as both of its losses have come at the hands of Top 10 teams – No. 3 Cathedral Catholic and No. 7 Eastlake.

One thing about the Cougars is they have great team speed and a superior running game, led by ALEX PERLIN (86 ypg).

And that in itself may be too much for the Foothillers to keep pace.

Steele Canyon has won 3 of the last 4 meetings and doesn’t figure to stumble now... Steele Canyon 22-12.

GRANITE HILLS (3-1) at WEST HILLS (2-3), 7 – Coach RANDY DeWITT’s Eagles are off to their best start in four years and hope to take advantage of a beat-up West Hills squad that suffered a 48-7 loss to Valhalla last week.

The Eagles seem to have found the leadership they need in junior quarterback CORY LOCKMAN, who has completed 23 of 35 passes for 397 yards and 5 touchdowns. Lockman has also scrambled for 71 yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 carries.

This could actually develop into a passing shootout, considering junior quarterback GARY ISAACSON of West Hills has completed better then 71 percent of 45 passes for 473 yards and 7 touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 79 yards and could probably be a receiver if he weren’t so adept at the QB spot.

Not to be overlooked in the fray is Granite Hills’ running back FRANTZ LAROQUE, who is second in the Grossmont conference, averaging 93 yards per game.

These teams haven’t met since 2006, when the Eagles prevailed 17-14. Prior to that West Hills won seven in a row. Is it time for the Eagles to get even?... Granite Hills 24-20.

So they say, speed kills. Does that give the game to the visiting Matadors, who definitely have more foot power than do the Vaqueros?

“We have a lot of respect for El Cap’s defense,” Mount Miguel coach TOM KARLO said.

Karlo also has one of the greatest Mount Miguel running backs in Matadors history in senior DERALL HUNTER, who needs just 42 yards to break the school’s career rushing record. Hunter already owns the scoring (212 points) and touchdown (35) marks.

The Vaqueros’ offense seems to be picking up a little bit of steam behind quarterback MARK SCHARFENBERG as the season progresses, but they definitely don’t have the firepower to involve themselves in a shootout with Mount Miguel... Mount Miguel 31-14.

A comeback is a bit brighter if quarterback ZACH BREIDT (217 ypg) is available. Without Breidt the Sultans were limited to 78 total yards by Steele Canyon.

Madison ’s fortunes are directed by double threat quarterback Lester Fontenette (277.3 ypg, 9 TDs). The 6-foot, 195-pound senior has completed 32 of 64 passes for 469 yards and 4 TDs. He’s been even more effective running with the ball, averaging 10.9 yards on 59 carries.

With or without Breidt the Sultans are most likely headed to their third straight loss in three years to the Warhawks... Madison 41-7.

CALVARY CHRISTIAN SAN DIEGO (0-2, 1-4) vs. FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN (1-0, 1-3), 6:30 – This one won’t be pretty. The defending Southern League champion Foothills Christian Knights are getting healthy and gaining momentum and that spells bad news for the visiting Royal Knights on Friday (Oct. 9) night at Seau Field in La Mesa.

After a season-opening 34-0 win over lowly Vincent Memorial, the Royal Knights have been outscored 169-8 over the past four weeks. Foothills Christian should administer more of the same... Foothills Christian 44-6.