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2026 STEELE CANYON SEASON PREVIEW
- Updated: August 20, 2026
2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW
STEELE CANYON’S RESURGENCE HAS COUGARS AIMING EVEN HIGHER
After reaching CIF Division II championship game, Steele Canyon returns QB Caha, deep receiving corps, nine defensive starters from team that finally broke through last fall.
By EastCountySports.com
SPRING VALLEY — Steele Canyon spent much of the past several seasons trying to rediscover the standard that once carried the Cougars to a CIF championship and a state bowl victory.
Last fall, the Cougars found it.
Steele Canyon transformed from a program that had endured four consecutive losing seasons into a 9-4 CIF Division II finalist. The Cougars defeated Helix and San Diego in the postseason before falling three points short against Santa Fe Christian, 44-41, in the championship game.
Now, with senior quarterback Gavin Caha returning alongside three productive receivers and nine starters back on defense, Steele Canyon enters 2026 looking less like a one-year surprise and more like a program capable of remaining among the better teams in the San Diego Section.
The Cougars also enjoyed an outstanding summer, winning three passing tournaments. Although seven-on-seven success does not guarantee victories once the pads go on, it reinforced what Steele Canyon already knew: its passing game should be one of the team’s greatest strengths.
The challenge is taking the next step in the Grossmont Hills League.
Steele Canyon finished only 1-3 in league play last season despite winning nine games overall.
The Cougars lost competitive games to Mount Miguel and Helix before falling to Granite Hills, but they reversed one of those results by beating Helix, 22-19, in the Division II playoffs.
Based strictly on last season’s results and Steele Canyon’s returning personnel, the Cougars still deserve consideration alongside—or perhaps slightly ahead of—Helix entering 2026.
However, the Scotties appear capable of returning toward their traditional level, making their Oct. 23 meeting at Steele Canyon one of the most intriguing and closely matched games in the Grossmont Hills race.
Granite Hills remains the clear favorite. Steele Canyon’s place in the group immediately behind the Eagles will be determined by whether the Cougars can turn last year’s postseason breakthrough into regular-season league success.
A TRUE RESURGENCE
Steele Canyon’s 2025 turnaround was substantial.
The Cougars had finished 3-8 in 2021, 2-9 in 2022, 5-6 in 2023 and 4-7 in 2024. Following, the shortened pandemic spring season, Steele Canyon entered last fall with a 14-33 record over its previous five seasons.
Then came the breakthrough.
Steele Canyon opened 2025 with six consecutive victories, beating Ramona, Madison, Morse, Rancho Christian, Valhalla and Dorsey. The Cougars outscored those opponents 221-49 and recorded two shutouts while establishing themselves as a legitimate contender.
League play exposed the remaining gap between Steele Canyon and the Grossmont Hills’ top teams. The Cougars lost at Mount Miguel, 28-21, battled Helix in a 39-34 defeat and fell to Granite Hills, 35-10.
Instead of allowing those defeats to define the season, Steele Canyon responded in the playoffs.
The Cougars turned around the Helix result with a 22-19 victory, then controlled San Diego, 21-7, to advance to the Division II final. Steele Canyon’s season ended in a 44-41 shootout against Santa Fe Christian, but simply reaching championship night represented enormous progress for Scott Longerbone’s program.
Longerbone enters his 15th season with evidence that the Cougars have again become a factor beyond merely accumulating nonleague victories.
CAHA COMMANDS THE OFFENSE
Steele Canyon begins with one of the section’s more experienced returning quarterbacks.
Caha completed 169 of 264 passes for 2,426 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior. He completed 64 percent of his attempts, averaged more than 14 yards per completion and started all 13 games during the Cougars’ run to the championship game.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior is not simply returning as a caretaker. He gives Steele Canyon the ability to attack defenses vertically and distribute the ball among several proven targets.
Caha’s production becomes even more significant because so much of his receiving corps returns.
Senior Josiah Stocker caught 30 passes for 464 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games. He also produced touchdowns on both a kickoff return and punt return, making him Steele Canyon’s most dangerous all-purpose threat.
Malcholm Ballard, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior, returns after making 20 receptions for 284 yards.
At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, senior Trevor Zenno provides a much different matchup. Zenno caught 12 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns in seven games and can work as either a large receiver or a traditional tight end.
Senior Morgan Myers adds experience to a receiving group that also includes Stocker, Ballard, Zenno, Azavier Doctor and Ethan Williams III, with several younger players competing for roles.
The Cougars graduated their two leading receivers who combined for 948 yards and 12 receiving touchdowns. Their loss is substantial, but Steele Canyon returns 931 receiving yards among Stocker, Ballard, Zenno, Marcus Hunt and Myers.
After winning three passing tournaments during the summer, Caha and his receivers should enter the opener with considerable timing and confidence.
RUNNING GAME MUST REPLACE PRODUCTION
The larger offensive question is in the backfield.
Caha’s supporting cast must provide enough balance to prevent opponents from concentrating entirely on the passing game.
Senior Marcus Hunt is the most accomplished returning runner. Hunt carried 44 times for 321 yards as a junior, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt. His combination of size, speed and versatility should allow Steele Canyon to use him at running back, receiver and potentially in the secondary.
Junior Dreyvione Lewis gained 99 yards and scored once on 22 carries in limited action last season.
Senior Michael Ortiguero Jr., who is listed at 5-foot-6 and 190 pounds, provides another physical option after averaging 10 yards on five attempts.
Senior linebacker-running back Cameron Buchanan could also contribute in short-yardage situations.
Steele Canyon does not necessarily need a 1,000-yard feature back. It does need Hunt, Lewis, Ortiguero and the offensive line to produce a dependable running threat that keeps Caha out of obvious passing situations against the Grossmont Hills’ stronger defensive fronts.
EXPERIENCE IN THE TRENCHES
The Cougars have the size and senior experience to remain physical up front.
Senior offensive linemen Artur Vanchynskyy, Michael Rahn, Isaac Craven, Isaiah Castro, John Turner, Yousef Lazim and Jagger Manley give Steele Canyon a veteran foundation.
Junior Colton Van Nooijen, Julian Hanna and Travis Starr add depth across the guard, tackle and center positions.
Craven, listed at 5-foot-10 and 252 pounds, can play nose guard and center. Rahn is 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, while Vanchynskyy and Hanna are both listed at 240. Manley checks in at 255 pounds, and John Turner gives the group additional length at 6-foot-4.
That experienced line will be critical as Steele Canyon attempts to replace its leading rusher while protecting the player around whom its offense is built.
NINE STARTERS BACK ON DEFENSE
If the offense gives Steele Canyon its ceiling, the defense should provide its foundation.
Nine starters return from a unit that allowed 18.1 points per game and held eight opponents to 14 points or fewer. The Cougars surrendered only 26 points across their first two playoff victories before the championship game became a shootout.
Senior Gunner Minich returns after recording 55 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack and two interceptions. He should again be one of the leaders in the middle of the defense.
Luke Rode led Steele Canyon’s returning players with 57 tackles last season. The senior safety/outside linebacker also recovered a fumble and contributed as a place-kicker.
Jamieson Sablan returns in the secondary after making 30 tackles, intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble.
Cameron Buchanan recorded 16 tackles and a sack in eight appearances as a junior and should take on a larger role at middle linebacker. David Khayat, Jordan Rodriguez-Guardado,
Michael Zetouna and Brady Swain give the Cougars additional options at linebacker.
Up front, senior Seabastian Castellon returns after registering five tackles for loss in nine games. Jackson Turner, Maui Farrera, Marcus Lapointe, Jose Morales, Isaac Craven and Hawkins Ayede give Steele Canyon a large group of experienced defensive linemen.
Junior Billy Latham, listed at 6-foot-4 and 208 pounds, is an intriguing edge defender, while Joshua Banuelos and Laith Jamous add further depth.
Rode and Sablan headline a secondary that also includes Hunt, Ballard, Stocker, Ethan Williams III and a group of promising junior cornerbacks.
Jaeden Blossom brings excellent size to the position at 6-foot-1 and 178 pounds.
The sheer number of returning defenders should allow Steele Canyon to play faster and use a deeper rotation than it did at the beginning of last season.
A FAMILIAR SCHEDULE
Steele Canyon opens Friday at home against San Diego in a rematch of last season’s Division II semifinal. The Cavers will look considerably different under new head coach Stephen Cooper, the former Chargers linebacker, and with former Mount Miguel standout Delontay Williams joining the program.
The Cougars then visit Santa Fe Christian in an immediate rematch of the Division II championship game.
Road games at Eastlake and Dorsey are separated by home contests against Rancho Christian and El Capitan. Steele Canyon beat Rancho Christian, El Capitan and Dorsey by a combined score of 105-28 last season.
After a bye, the Grossmont Hills schedule begins Oct. 9 at Granite Hills. That is the most difficult assignment on the schedule and will immediately measure how much closer the Cougars have moved toward the league favorite.
Steele Canyon then visits Grossmont before finishing with consecutive home games against Helix and Mount Miguel.
The final two weeks could determine whether the Cougars remain fourth in the league or climb directly into the race behind Granite Hills.
OUTLOOK
Projections calling for significant regression appear overly pessimistic when measured against Steele Canyon’s actual returning personnel.
This is not a roster being rebuilt around a new quarterback and an inexperienced defense. Caha returns after throwing for 2,426 yards and 25 touchdowns. Three proven targets return. Hunt and Lewis give the Cougars viable options in the backfield. The offensive line is loaded with seniors, and nine starters return on defense.
Steele Canyon must replace important production, and last year’s 1-3 league record cannot be ignored. But neither can the Cougars’ playoff victories over Helix and San Diego—or the fact that they finished three points short of a CIF championship.
A record around 7-3 appears realistic, with eight wins attainable if the running game develops and the Cougars avoid a championship-game hangover during a demanding opening stretch.
Granite Hills remains the team to beat in the Grossmont Hills. After that, Steele Canyon belongs in the conversation with Helix and Mount Miguel now appears to be more longshot than contender this season.
The Cougars spent several years trying to regain relevance. They accomplished that last season.
In 2026, the goal is no longer merely to return.
It is to remain—and to finish the job.
