Wolf Pack brings pressure, keeps Cup

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

WEST HILLS 12, SANTANA 3

By Ramon Scott
EastCountySports.com

SANTEE — West Hills kept the Santee City Cup with a defense that made Santana pay for its passing yards and a running game that supplied enough offense to protect their possession of the trophy.

Evin Dill threw two touchdown passes and rushed for 94 yards, while the Wolf Pack recorded five sacks and nine tackles for loss in a 12-3 victory over the host Sultans on Friday night.

Scott Miller’s late fumble recovery ended Santana’s final advance, securing West Hills’ fourth consecutive victory in the rivalry.

The Wolf Pack improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the Grossmont Valley League. Santana fell to 4-3 and 0-2, suffering its third straight defeat after opening the season with four wins.

West Hills rushed for 210 yards on 36 carries, with Dill and E.J. Lee-Fields combining for 169. The Wolf Pack needed that production on a night when penalties erased opportunities and Santana blocked both extra-point attempts.

The defense handled the rest.

Zach Waters led the pass rush with two sacks, and West Hills kept Santana out of the end zone despite 259 passing yards from Ethan Miller and 13 catches for 126 yards by Denton Goar.

The teams finished almost even in total offense — 279 yards for Santana, 278 for West Hills — but the Wolf Pack supplied the two touchdowns and the late defensive plays that decided the game.

West Hills extended its series advantage to 28-10, winning six of the last seven meetings. The Wolf Pack is 11-2 against Santana under coach Casey Ash.

Dill and Lee-Fields deliver first strike

West Hills’ opening touchdown drive included a 30-yard reception by Chuck Rosolino, setting up Dill’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Lee-Fields.

Santana’s Dillon Timanus blocked the extra point, leaving the Wolf Pack ahead 6-0.

The Sultans answered in the second quarter. Ethan Miller contributed a scramble and a 15-yard completion to Kolten “Koko” Thornton, helping Santana reach the West Hills 5-yard line.

The Wolf Pack held near the goal line, breaking up one pass before another fell incomplete. Brendan Varner supplied Santana’s only points with a 23-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 6-3.

West Hills later missed a 32-yard field-goal attempt, keeping the margin at three.

Santana found passing lanes between the scoring opportunities, but pressure and penalties repeatedly disrupted its progress. Scott Miller was involved in a sack of Ethan Miller, and false starts helped derail another Sultans possession.

Dill also contributed to the field-position battle with a punt that pinned Santana deep in its own territory. He finished with two punts for 73 yards.

On Santana’s final possession before halftime, Ethan Miller connected twice with Goar, moving the Sultans into Wolf Pack territory. West Hills stopped the threat, preserving its 6-3 halftime lead.

Rosolino turns catch into separation

Santana’s defense continued giving the Sultans chances after the break.

A stop on fourth-and-1 near Santana’s 39 returned possession to the home team, but the Sultans could not turn the opportunity into points.

West Hills also had an apparent touchdown run by Xavier Moffatt erased by holding.

The Wolf Pack eventually assembled its second scoring drive behind its ground game.

Marcus Leath contributed a first-down run, and Lee-Fields broke loose down the sideline to move West Hills into scoring position.

After reaching the 8-yard line, the Wolf Pack faced third-and-goal following a short Dill keeper and a Santana stop of Lee-Fields.

Dill took the shotgun snap after a timeout and fired over the middle to Rosolino. The junior caught the ball through contact and fell into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown.

Timanus blocked the extra point again, but West Hills had established the 12-3 advantage that held through the finish.

Rosolino caught three passes for 47 yards. Rene Varela Ugalde added a 15-yard reception, while Lee-Fields’ touchdown accounted for Dill’s other completion.

Dill finished 5-for-14 for 68 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Ware answers Santana’s opening

Timanus gave Santana an opportunity to change the game in the fourth quarter, intercepting a deep Dill pass.

The Sultans advanced into Wolf Pack territory, with Ethan Smith contributing a reception after Ethan Miller drew the rush toward him.

Then Mike Ware intercepted to stop the threat.

Ware had returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown against El Cajon Valley the previous week. His takeaway against Santana protected a nine-point lead at a moment when the Sultans were trying to build momentum.

West Hills appeared ready to finish the game on the ensuing possession.

Dill put together consecutive determined runs, stiff-arming one defender and spinning away from another as the Wolf Pack reached Santana’s 4-yard line.

But a penalty pushed West Hills backward, and a dropped pitch and another defensive stop moved the ball farther from the goal line. An incomplete pass eventually gave Santana possession on downs near its own 27.

The Sultans had one last chance.

Ethan Miller found Goar for a short gain, and Santana continued toward midfield before spiking the ball near the West Hills 49.

A subsequent completion advanced the Sultans near the Wolf Pack 30, where a fumble ended the threat. Scott Miller recovered, closing out the victory.

West Hills wins with disruption

Waters finished with eight tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks.

Lee-Fields matched his eight tackles and added two tackles for loss, sharing a sack with Scott Miller. Scott Miller recorded seven tackles and two tackles for loss, along with the fumble recovery.

Ayden Torres added four tackles and a sack. West Hills received another sack from its defensive front to complete the five-sack total.

Leath contributed five tackles and five passes defended, while Rosolino and Moffatt each finished with six tackles. Ware recorded four tackles and two passes defended.

The Wolf Pack was credited with 12 passes defended, making Santana work for its completions even when the Sultans moved the ball.

On offense, Dill carried 18 times for 94 yards. Lee-Fields added 75 yards on 11 attempts, and Moffatt supplied 24 yards on two carries. Leath finished with 16 yards on three attempts, with Varela Ugalde adding one yard on two carries.

Goar leads Santana production

Ethan Miller completed 27 of 45 passes for 259 yards, with Goar supplying 126 yards on 13 receptions.

Smith caught four passes for 56 yards, while Thornton added four receptions for 32 yards. Santana completed passes to seven receivers.

The Sultans could not establish comparable production on the ground. Julian Mayers gained 14 yards on eight carries, and Santana finished with 20 rushing yards on 10 attempts.

Timanus led Santana with 10 tackles and 1½ tackles for loss, in addition to his interception and both blocked PATs.

Tatum Morehouse added nine tackles, Thornton had seven tackles and two passes defended, and Cameron Cipro contributed five tackles.

Santana’s defensive stops kept the game within reach. West Hills’ ability to finish two possessions with touchdowns, then shut down the final threats, kept the Cup with the Wolf Pack.

Lee-Fields supplies production on both sides

E.J. Lee-Fields gave West Hills much more than its first touchdown.

The senior rushed for 75 yards on 11 carries, caught Dill’s 6-yard scoring pass and finished with eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a half-sack.

His rushing average of 6.8 yards per carry helped West Hills maintain a productive ground game. His long third-quarter run also helped establish the possession that ended with Rosolino’s touchdown reception.

Lee-Fields and Dill combined for 169 of the Wolf Pack’s 210 rushing yards.

On defense, Lee-Fields was part of a unit that kept Santana out of the end zone and limited the Sultans to 20 rushing yards.

Waters leads the rush; Miller finishes it

West Hills’ defensive pressure was central to the result.

Zach Waters recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss, finishing with eight tackles.

Scott Miller added seven tackles, two tackles for loss and a half-sack, then recovered the late fumble that ended Santana’s comeback attempt.

The Wolf Pack finished with five sacks and nine tackles for loss. Those negative plays helped offset Santana’s passing production, leaving the Sultans with a field goal despite their 279 total yards.

West Hills also defended 12 passes, led by Marcus Leath’s five.

Santana completed 27 passes. The Wolf Pack repeatedly made the next play difficult.

Timanus blocks kicks, Goar tops 100

Santana received substantial performances from Dillon Timanus and Denton Goar, even as its offense struggled to finish possessions.

Timanus blocked both West Hills PATs, led the Sultans with 10 tackles and recorded 1½ tackles for loss. His fourth-quarter interception gave Santana an opportunity to challenge the Wolf Pack’s lead.

Goar caught 13 passes for 126 yards, accounting for nearly half of Ethan Miller’s passing yardage.

Those performances helped keep Santana competitive, but the Sultans scored only on Brendan Varner’s 23-yard field goal.

Santana has produced 10 combined points in its first two league games.

WEST HILLS LOOKAHEAD: Tony Burner Memorial Trophy carries league stakes

WEST HILLS (6-1, 2-0) at EL CAPITAN (3-4, 2-0)
Friday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m. — El Capitan High
Grossmont Valley League — Tony Burner Memorial Trophy

West Hills follows its Santee City Cup victory with another trophy game, traveling to Lakeside to face an El Capitan team that has also won its first two league contests.

The Tony Burner Memorial Trophy provides the rivalry’s identity. The standings give this meeting additional weight.

El Capitan has won the last two matchups, 16-3 in 2025 and 41-0 in 2024. West Hills’ most recent victory was 35-21 in 2023.

The Wolf Pack enters with a running game capable of sustaining possessions and a defense coming off five sacks.

Dill and Lee-Fields combined for 169 rushing yards against Santana, while Waters helped lead the pressure that kept the Sultans out of the end zone.

El Capitan counters with Michael Castillo, who rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown against Santana in the Vaqueros’ league opener.

Robinson Silva gives El Capitan a productive presence in the middle of its defense, while Ryder Powers supplies a takeaway threat in the secondary. Elijah Arzu is a leading receiving option.

West Hills must improve its finishes. The Wolf Pack overcame two blocked PATs, a missed field goal, a touchdown erased by holding and a fourth-quarter possession that moved backward after reaching the 4.

Against another league unbeaten, those lost opportunities could carry greater consequences.

SANTANA LOOKAHEAD: Turn yards into points versus Valhalla

SANTANA vs. VALHALLA
Friday, Oct. 16 — Grossmont Valley League

Santana’s passing production gives the Sultans something to build around. Its next assignment is making that production count against a Valhalla team coming off a 55-0 victory over El Cajon Valley.

The Sultans have lost three straight after starting 4-0. Their two league defeats have produced just one touchdown and one field goal.

Against West Hills, Ethan Miller threw for 259 yards, Goar caught 13 passes and Santana finished with one more total yard than the winning team.

The missing piece was the finish.

Santana needs to sustain drives through penalties and pressure, produce more support on the ground and turn trips into scoring territory into touchdowns.

Goar’s 126-yard performance provides a dependable receiving target. Smith added 56 yards, while Thornton remains another important option.

Defensively, the Sultans can build on the work of Timanus and Morehouse, along with the fourth-down stops they produced against West Hills.

Valhalla presents a substantially greater scoring threat. Santana may provide a more demanding test than several of the Norsemen’s recent opponents, but the Sultans must give their defense scoring support to keep the game competitive.

For Santana, the immediate measure of progress is straightforward: finish the possessions it has already shown it can create.

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter
West Hills — E.J. Lee-Fields, 6-yard pass from Evin Dill. Kick blocked. West Hills 6-0.

Second quarter
Santana — Brendan Varner, 23-yard field goal. West Hills 6-3.

Third quarter
West Hills — Chuck Rosolino, 9-yard pass from Dill. Kick blocked. West Hills 12-3.

Fourth quarter
No scoring.

Final: West Hills 12, Santana 3.

TEAM TOTALS

West Hills — 210 rushing yards, 68 passing yards, 278 total yards.

Santana — 20 rushing yards, 259 passing yards, 279 total yards.

Related Posts

• 
  Eagles connnect to crush Cougars
• 
  Griffins club West L.A. for four in-a-row
• 
  2026 Flag Football Scores/Schedule