2026 GROSSMONT FOOTHILLERS PREVIEW

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

GROSSMONT FOOTHILLERS PREVIEW

With guests TYLER HOLMES, KAIDEN ONG, JONAH YOST, DANIEL VIDAURI

 

Valley champions take Holmes, Dow and experienced offensive front into much tougher Grossmont Hills League

By Ramon Scott
EastCountySports.com

EL CAJON — Grossmont spent 2025 reminding everyone what the Foothillers can look like when the offense gets rolling.

They scored 438 points in 11 games, averaged nearly 40 points per game, finished 9-2, swept the Grossmont Valley League at 5-0 and captured the program’s first league championship since 2005.

Now comes the reward. Or is it the punishment?

Grossmont has been promoted into the Grossmont Hills League, where coach Anthony Lawrence and the Foothillers will trade last year’s Valley schedule for games against Granite Hills, Helix, Steele Canyon and Mount Miguel.

That is quite a jump. But Grossmont isn’t walking into it empty-handed.

Senior quarterback Tyler Holmes returns after accounting for nearly 2,400 yards of offense and 34 touchdowns last season.

Junior running back Corbin Dow is back after a 1,000-yard sophomore campaign.

Senior receiver Jonah Martinez returns, and a receiving corps being rebuilt around him has added Cedric Norris and Jamar McClendon.

Perhaps most importantly, the offensive line includes veterans Daniel Viduari, Dylan Woodward, Kaiden Flores, Logan Taylor and Brian Contreras.

On defense, senior Kaiden Ong returns after four interceptions last season, with Jonah Yost, Nate Clark, Darion Crawford and junior Mateo Miller among the secondary pieces.

Vinny Michelson and Jackson Baird return on the defensive front, and newcomer Diego Encinas adds another potentially important piece.

The models aren’t particularly enthusiastic about Grossmont’s move upward. One preseason projection places the Foothillers around 4-6 and fifth in the Grossmont Hills League.

That’s understandable.Grossmont graduated 28 seniors from a championship team. But Lawrence lost almost an entire senior class the year before, too. Then Grossmont went 9-2.

So before anybody dismisses the Foothillers as simply the team moving up to fill out the Hills schedule, it might be wise to remember what remains.

It starts at quarterback.

Holmes gives Grossmont chance every Friday

There aren’t many high school teams replacing this much personnel that can begin the discussion with an established senior quarterback who produced the way Holmes did last season.

Holmes completed 154 of 274 passes for 1,848 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2025.

He wasn’t merely a passer.

Holmes carried 129 times for another 547 yards and nine touchdowns, giving him 2,395 yards of total offense.

That’s 34 touchdowns directly accounted for by a player who returns to run Lawrence’s offense for another season.

And Holmes believes Grossmont can become more balanced, not less explosive.

“I think we’re ready for a big season,” Holmes said. “We have a few new weapons.”

The interesting part is where Holmes thinks the improvement can come.

Grossmont was hardly incapable of throwing the football last season, but its running game became so dependable that the Foothillers frequently didn’t need to force the issue.

“Obviously our run game will always be there with two great running backs, Corbin and Jacob Fee who came up from JV,” Holmes said. “Obviously looking this year to pass the ball more and balance those. We were, obviously, I think, more run-heavy last year than the normal Grossmont offense.”

That may sound strange for a quarterback who threw 25 touchdown passes.

But Grossmont rushed for 1,827 yards and 22 touchdowns last season, and the offense often found little reason to abandon something that consistently worked.

Holmes sees one part feeding the other.

“When we can open up the pass game with the run and we can open up the run game with the pass,” Holmes said, “I think we should be able to do both pretty effectively this year.”

That’s the offensive identity Grossmont would like to carry into the Hills.  Not a spread team that has to throw. Not a running team that can’t throw. A team capable of choosing whichever answer the defense gives it.

Dow already has a 1,000-yard season

Having Corbin Dow next to Holmes makes that philosophy a lot easier to sell. Dow was only a sophomore last season when he rushed 135 times for 1,002 yards and nine touchdowns. That’s 7.4 yards per carry. He also caught nine passes for 89 yards and finished with 1,091 yards from scrimmage. Now he’s a junior.

Grossmont’s new roster also includes Jacob Fee, whom Holmes specifically mentioned after Fee moved up from the lower level. Juniors Caleb Domingo and others give the Foothillers additional backfield depth.

The biggest difference is that Dow no longer arrives as somebody Grossmont hopes can produce. He already has.

If his junior season resembles his sophomore year, defenses in the Hills League will have to respect the backfield before they ever begin worrying about Holmes pulling the ball and running it himself.

That’s a difficult equation. Holmes rushed for nine touchdowns last year. Dow rushed for nine. Together, they’re already responsible for 18 returning rushing touchdowns from 2025.

Receiving corps changes, but Martinez leads new group

This is where Grossmont must replace substantial production.

Senior Jonah Martinez becomes the most established returning receiver after catching 14 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns in eight games last season.

Senior Max Bewley also returns after catching 10 passes for 142 yards and two scores.

The 2026 roster adds considerable competition around them.

Cedric Norris and Jamar McClendon are two junior newcomers specifically identified among the Foothillers’ important additions, while Holmes also mentioned another new receiver arriving from Las Vegas during the preseason interview.

Holmes named Martinez, Bewley and Norris when discussing the group.

“We’ve got a number of guys and a lot of guys that are ready to have big years,” Holmes said.

The current roster offers plenty of candidates: seniors Roy Fife, Julian Uribe and Edgar Plateros, junior Henry Ficarola, and junior Marquise Edmond are among the receiving options.

Nobody needs to duplicate all of last year’s departed receiving production alone. That’s probably the point. Lawrence has a veteran quarterback and enough athletes to distribute the work.

Viduari believes the personnel is there to make Grossmont’s passing game even more prominent.

“With the receivers we have now,” he said, “I think it’s possible we get that passing game going.”

Offensive line might be Grossmont’s most important unit

The quarterback is established. The 1,000-yard running back is established. The line may determine whether any of it translates against the substantially bigger and faster fronts Grossmont will see in its new league.

The good news is that this isn’t a completely reconstructed unit.

Daniel Viduari moves from right tackle to center after playing extensively last season. Dylan Woodward returns as a senior. Kaiden Flores, an all-league lineman, is now a junior. Logan Taylor and Brian Contreras also return with varsity experience.

The roster adds senior linemen Edgar Ocampo, Devin Houston and others, with juniors Xavier Banks, Ace Meeks and Kane Mills providing more depth.

Viduari sounded comfortable with the group.

“We got Dylan Woodward coming back,” he said. “He’s been on varsity for, I think, like three years now.”

He also singled out Flores.

“He improved a lot, I think, this offseason, and he was still pretty good last year.”

Viduari’s own position change may be particularly important.

“I’m switching positions to center,” he said. “I was right tackle last season, so it’s a big change-up for me.”

That means more than snapping the football. The center has to identify fronts, recognize pressure and help set protection for Holmes. Viduari already has begun taking that responsibility.

“I’ll call, like, slides to the left or right or any blitzes that I see coming,” he said.

Holmes has confidence in him.

“He was awesome at right tackle,” Holmes said. “He works hard and he’s going to be good anywhere we put him.”

And Viduari knows exactly what’s coming.

“Especially towards the end of our season, especially in playoffs, we played a strong D-line,” he said. “This season we’ll definitely see a lot better D-line units.”

That’s essentially the Grossmont Hills promotion summarized in one sentence.

Ong headlines experienced secondary

Grossmont’s offense gets most of the attention because of the numbers it produced last year. The defense may be where the Foothillers’ ceiling gets decided.

Senior Kaiden Ong is the most accomplished returning playmaker in the secondary.

As a junior, Ong recorded 31 tackles, two tackles for loss and four interceptions in 10 games. He also scored two defensive touchdowns.

His biggest night came against Monte Vista, when he said he intercepted three passes. Ong believes the unit has established the right way of handling mistakes.

“We work together, communicate, and if we mess up something, we do constructive criticism and we make sure we get it done,” Ong said.

The personnel around him is experienced.

Senior Jonah Yost returns after recording 17 tackles in five games last season. Nate Clark had 26 tackles and two interceptions. Darion Crawford played varsity snaps as a junior.

The current roster also includes Mateo Miller, Shabani Ombeni, Francisco Sajche, Julio Gonzales and others competing in the defensive backfield.

Ong listed Clark, Crawford and Yost among the players he trusts in the secondary.

“Nate Clark, which is going to be at the nickel spot or safety — he plays both of them,” Ong said. “Darion Crawford, he also plays there too. Me and Jonah Yost, we go at whatever side we want.”

Yost believes the secondary’s fundamentals will be particularly important against the passing attacks Grossmont will see later in the season.

“I have full faith in me and Kaiden and the other guys on defense to stop the pass,” Yost said. “I think that we’ve been really fundamentally coached to do so.”

The basic rule is simple.

“Don’t let anybody get past you,” Yost said. “No one gets deeper than you in your zone.”

That philosophy will be tested. Granite Hills has Zac Benitez. Steele Canyon has Gavin Caha. Helix has Caden Thompson.

Grossmont may have one of the best quarterback rooms on its own sideline, but its defensive backs will spend October facing some of the county’s better ones.

Michelson, Baird give defensive front returning production

The defensive line loses major production from last season, but the cupboard isn’t bare.

Junior Vinny Michelson played nine games as a sophomore and recorded 22 tackles, eight tackles for loss and two sacks.

Junior Jackson Baird had six tackles, 1½ tackles for loss and a sack in seven games.

Both now enter larger roles. Ong didn’t hesitate when discussing Michelson.

“Vinnie’s returning. He’s a junior. He’s a dog.”

The current roster adds junior Diego Encinas, whom the preseason scouting report identifies as a key newcomer, along with Khudur Khudur, Izrael Lewis, Allen Wuertz and Vincent Launiu.

Senior Mark Rosas and Devin Boggs add experience. Encinas particularly caught Ong’s attention during camp.

“He’s been working his tail off,” Ong said. “I’m excited to see what he can do this year against the opponents that we got.”

At linebacker, Rudy Gomez returns, while junior Max Vick is another player Ong specifically praised.

“He’s going to be a great asset to the team this year,” Ong said. “He’s been working hard in the weight room.”

The roster also includes Noah Rodriguez, Tyler Giangregorio, Jonathan Brazwell and Elias Irigoyen among the linebacker candidates.

Grossmont doesn’t have the same volume of returning defensive statistics it has on offense. That’s the concern. But there are enough experienced pieces at all three levels to keep this from becoming a complete defensive rebuild.

Lawrence’s offense remains the foundation

Anthony Lawrence enters his fourth season as Grossmont’s head coach, and the former Foothillers quarterback has already changed expectations around the program.

Last year’s championship was his first. It was Grossmont’s first since 2005. More significantly, the Foothillers didn’t simply edge their way through the Valley.

They overwhelmed much of it.

Grossmont scored 38 against Valhalla, 46 against Santana, 48 against West Hills, 60 against El Cajon Valley and 56 against Monte Vista.

The Foothillers averaged 39.8 points per game for the season.

Lawrence’s background at quarterback is naturally part of the program’s offensive identity, and Holmes believes playing for him accelerates the development of everybody involved.

“He goes out of his way to teach us everything that he knows about the game and to try and make us better,” Holmes said.

That relationship could matter even more this year.

Grossmont no longer has the luxury of simply being more explosive than most of its league opponents.

Granite Hills routinely scores in the 40s. Steele Canyon returns an accomplished quarterback and receiving corps. Helix believes its passing game is poised for a major jump.

Grossmont will need Lawrence and Holmes to continually find answers.

The 9-2 record was legitimate — but 2026 is different

Grossmont didn’t simply beat weak opponents last year. It dominated several games.

The Foothillers opened with a 42-14 victory at Patrick Henry, beat Westview 36-14, handled Mira Mesa 36-13 and defeated Otay Ranch 28-20.

Their only regular-season loss came at La Jolla, 40-28.

Then Grossmont swept the Valley before running into St. Augustine in the playoffs, where Saints ended the season 45-20.

That playoff loss is part of why Viduari welcomes the promotion.

“I do appreciate moving back up,” he said.

His reasoning wasn’t about prestige. It was preparation.

“I feel like we weren’t really prepared for the playoffs against St. Augustine,” Viduari said. “Now I feel like going into the Hills League, we are going to face a lot tougher opponents, and hopefully it’ll get us more prepared for the playoffs.”

That is the tradeoff. Grossmont’s record may not look as pretty this November. The team itself may be better prepared when November arrives.

Madison provides immediate test

Grossmont opens Friday at Madison, one of the more interesting games on the East County opening-night schedule.

There is no easing into the season.

The Warhawks traditionally bring speed and athleticism, and this opener should give Grossmont an immediate indication of whether its returning offensive front and reconstructed defense are ready for the level of football it will see later.

The matchup also gives Holmes and Dow an early opportunity to demonstrate that last year’s production wasn’t simply a product of the Valley schedule.

For a team moving into the Hills, this is exactly the kind of nonleague game that makes sense.

La Jolla rematch comes immediately

One week later Grossmont hosts La Jolla.

That one has been sitting with Yost.

La Jolla handed Grossmont its only regular-season loss last year, 40-28.

“There’s a couple missed opportunities against the La Jolla game, especially in turnovers,” Yost said. “I know I dropped a pick. It still kind of haunts me in my nightmares about that game.”

The rematch gives Grossmont an early measuring stick.

A year ago, the Foothillers could score with La Jolla but couldn’t create enough stops.

If the defense really has progressed, this is the type of game where it should show.

Bonita Vista, Point Loma and Otay Ranch complete nonleague stretch

Grossmont then hosts Bonita Vista before traveling to Point Loma and returning home against Otay Ranch.

The Otay Ranch matchup is another rematch. Grossmont won 28-20 last season.

Point Loma provides a significantly different test against one of the county’s stronger programs, and it may be the best approximation in Grossmont’s nonleague schedule of the physical challenge awaiting in October.

Then comes a particularly interesting Sept. 25 trip to West Hills.

Grossmont beat the Wolf Pack 48-27 last season in a game that helped decide the Valley championship.

Now Grossmont has moved up. West Hills stayed down. Yet this may still be every bit as competitive.

The Wolf Pack finished 4-1 in league last season and returns quarterback Evin Dill, E.J. Lee-Fields, linemen Aidan Swiney, Phil Hoadley and Cole Cota, and defensive lineman Zack Waters.

Grossmont’s league designation may have changed. That doesn’t automatically mean the gap between these teams has.

Then the Hills begin — at Granite Hills

Oct. 2 is when Grossmont officially discovers what promotion means. The Foothillers visit Granite Hills.

There isn’t much mystery about the preseason hierarchy.

The Eagles begin the season ranked No. 2 in the East County Sports Top 25, are the defending Grossmont Hills champions and return quarterback Zac Benitez after his 4,009-yard, 42-touchdown junior season.

Grossmont will be an underdog. Probably a significant one. But the matchup is useful because it establishes the new standard immediately. The Foothillers don’t have to wonder where the top of the league is. They’ll see it across the field on opening night of conference play.

The Musket rivalry returns

Then comes the game Grossmont people have been waiting to make relevant again. Helix at Grossmont. Oct. 9. The Musket. Helix has won 27 consecutive meetings, an almost incomprehensible streak in a rivalry this old.

The series returns after a one-year hiatus, and this Grossmont senior class has at least experienced success against Helix players at lower levels.

“From our freshman year, we win,” he said, pointing to success the group had before reaching varsity.

That doesn’t erase 27 varsity losses. But it does matter psychologically.

This Grossmont team doesn’t have to view Helix as some unknowable opponent from another level. Many of these players have competed against the Highlanders’ current players before.

Helix enters 2026 with Caden Thompson at quarterback, Donte Wright in the backfield, Jeremy Davis leading the defense and a much deeper roster than it had through parts of the last two seasons.

Grossmont has Holmes and Dow. If the Foothillers can protect Holmes and turn this into a quarterback game rather than a line-of-scrimmage mismatch, the Musket matchup becomes considerably more interesting.

Hillers, Cougars could light up scoreboard

If you enjoy offense, circle Oct. 16.

Steele Canyon visits Grossmont.

The Cougars return quarterback Gavin Caha, who threw for 2,426 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, along with receivers Josiah Stocker, Malcolm Ballard and Trevor Zenno.

Holmes remembers what these matchups can become.

“Every time we play them, there’s tons of points,” he said. “Obviously got to step it up on the defensive side and keep doing what we can do on the offensive side.”

That’s about right.

Holmes versus Caha could be one of the better quarterback matchups in the Grossmont Conference.

The question is whether Grossmont’s secondary — Ong, Yost, Clark, Crawford and the rest — can force one or two possessions to end without points.

In a potential shootout, that may be enough.

Mount Miguel may become a pivotal finale

Grossmont closes the regular season Oct. 23 at Mount Miguel.

The Matadors are undergoing substantial transition after an 8-4 season. James Simon takes over as head coach, and much of last year’s roster has changed.

Still, Mount Miguel returns Dominic Lopez, Cayden Mobley and Ivan Williams, with younger linemen Brandon Reed and Kalani Tausaga among the new core.

For Grossmont, this could become an extremely important game.

If Granite Hills begins clearly ahead of the league and Helix and Steele Canyon occupy the next tier, Grossmont-Mount Miguel could have significant consequences for positioning, playoff seeding and whether the Foothillers’ first Hills season is considered successful.

It’s also the kind of game Grossmont probably needs to learn how to win if it wants to establish permanent residence in the upper league.

What constitutes success?

This is where Grossmont becomes difficult to evaluate. A 9-2 record again would be extraordinary. It also isn’t a reasonable baseline. The schedule is substantially tougher.

The Foothillers go from five Valley League games in which they went 5-0 and averaged 49.6 points to a Hills slate featuring Granite Hills, Helix, Steele Canyon and Mount Miguel.

The preseason model projects roughly four victories. That may be too pessimistic.

Grossmont has an experienced quarterback, an established 1,000-yard runner, a veteran offensive line and enough receiving talent for Lawrence to construct another productive offense.

The bigger unknown is whether the defense can replace enough production quickly enough. Ong and Yost provide experience on the back end. Michelson and Baird have shown they can make plays up front. Encinas, Vick and several younger defenders will have opportunities to become significant contributors.

If that group develops, Grossmont has enough offense to make the Hills League interesting.

Outlook

The easiest way to analyze Grossmont would be to say the Foothillers lost 28 seniors, moved into a much stronger league and therefore should fall backward. Maybe.

But that analysis ignores Tyler Holmes. It ignores Corbin Dow.

It ignores an offensive line with Daniel Viduari, Dylan Woodward, Kaiden Flores, Logan Taylor and Brian Contreras.

It ignores Jonah Martinez, Max Bewley, Cedric Norris and Jamar McClendon in the passing game.

And it ignores a defensive secondary built around Kaiden Ong, Jonah Yost, Nate Clark and Darion Crawford.

Grossmont won’t be favored to win the Grossmont Hills League. Granite Hills has earned that position. Helix and Steele Canyon begin the year ahead of the Foothillers in the East County Sports county rankings as well.

But Grossmont’s offense gives it a chance to make games uncomfortable for virtually anybody on the schedule.

Holmes can throw it. He can run it. Dow already has a 1,000-yard season before his junior year begins.

And Lawrence has established an offensive system in which Grossmont expects to score rather than hopes to score.

Last season answered whether the Foothillers could win the Valley. They went 5-0. Now comes a much harder question.

Can the Foothillers take the same offense, the same confidence and a reconstructed defense into the Grossmont Hills League and prove they belong there?

That’s what 2026 is about. The championship banner already went up.

Now Grossmont gets to find out how high the program has actually climbed.

Related Posts

• 
  EAST COUNTY FEARLESS FORECASTER – Week 1
• 
  2026 EL CAJON VALLEY BRAVES PREVIEW
• 
  2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL POLL