Sharing Sultans turn back Monarchs

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

No. 36 SANTANA 35, MONTE VISTA 18

EastCountySports.com staff report

SPRING VALLEY — Three touchdown passes would have made a productive night for the Santana Sultans. Three players throwing them made it something fun and special.

Ethan Miller, Ethan Smith and Landen Braaksma combined for four touchdown passes as the No. 36 Sultans defeated host Monte Vista, 35-18, on Friday night in a Grossmont Valley League game.

Miller, a senior quarterback, completed 12 of 16 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns, but Santana’s passing production extended beyond its starter. Smith and Braaksma, a sophomore, each threw a touchdown pass as the Sultans finished with 228 passing yards and four passing touchdowns.

Smith also caught a touchdown pass, Julian Mayers broke a 59-yard scoring run, and Dillon Timanus led an active defense for Santana.

The Sultans improved to 6-3 overall and 2-2 in league, winning their second consecutive game after a three-game losing streak. Monte Vista dropped to 3-6 and 1-3.

“Ethan Smith caught a TD pass and threw a TD pass,” Santana coach Tim Estes said. “Offense scored to help out our defense.”

That assistance mattered against a Monte Vista running game that continued to demand attention.

“It was tough to keep them in check,” Estes said. “When they get running, it was hard to stop them. Our defense bent a little but didn’t break. We stopped them when we had to.”

Big plays build advantage

Santana’s first touchdown came when Miller connected with senior Denton Goar, continuing a scoring combination that also produced a touchdown in the previous week’s 20-19 victory at Valhalla.

Goar finished Friday with three receptions for 65 yards, including a 54-yard gain.

The Sultans also scored on a double-pass trick play, with Smith delivering a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior Brenden Varner.

Mayers supplied the biggest rushing play, breaking loose for a 59-yard touchdown on the first snap of a possession. The junior finished with 69 yards on seven carries, averaging nearly 10 yards per attempt.

Miller added a touchdown pass to sophomore Alex Markevicz, extending the play before finding him in the back of the end zone. Markevicz’s scoring reception covered 17 yards.

Santana’s other touchdown came on Braaksma’s 58-yard pass to Smith, completing an evening in which five different Sultans reached the end zone.

“We had a lot of explosive plays by Denton Goar and Ethan Smith,” senior Kolten “Koko” Thornton said. “Julian also had a long touchdown run.”

The variety helped Santana establish an early advantage, although its offense did not maintain that initial pace throughout the game.

“It was a good game,” Thornton said. “We went up early, then slowed down for a bit, but our defense did its job and we won.”

Timanus leads pursuit

Timanus finished with 14 tackles, including 10 solo stops, following another productive performance in the victory at Valhalla.

Junior Tatum Morehouse and junior Cameron Cipro each recorded 13 tackles in Santana’s detailed final statistics. Cipro had 11 solo stops, while Morehouse contributed nine solo tackles and two tackles for loss.

Thornton added 10 tackles and a pass breakup, and junior Ryder Miller finished with nine tackles, including one for a loss.

Goar singled out Thornton, Ryder Miller and Timanus for their activity.

They were “flying around making tackles left and right,” Goar said.

Senior Ethan Toth added eight tackles, two tackles for loss and Santana’s only sack. The Sultans were credited with nine tackles for loss overall.

The effort did not eliminate Monte Vista’s running threat, but it supplied enough stops to protect Santana’s lead.

“It was another game when we needed the whole team to come through, and they did,” Estes said.

Sultans finish with 335 yards

Santana gained 335 yards of total offense, combining its 228 passing yards with 107 rushing yards on 17 attempts.

Senior Jacob Pehl contributed 24 yards on three carries, complementing Mayers’ work on the ground.

Thornton caught three passes for 44 yards, including a 30-yard gain. Varner added three receptions for 30 yards to go with his touchdown catch.

Varner also converted all three of his extra-point attempts, while Thornton caught a two-point conversion. Those contributions completed Santana’s scoring: five touchdowns, three PAT kicks and one two-point conversion.

The victory extended Santana’s winning streak against Monte Vista to five meetings. The previous two had been much closer, with the Sultans winning 38-35 in 2024 and 14-7 last season.

Friday’s result gave Santana consecutive road league victories and an opportunity to finish the regular season with seven wins.

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SULTANS: Three passers, four touchdown throws

The identity of Santana’s touchdown receivers told only part of the story.

The Sultans had three players throw scoring passes, forcing Monte Vista to account for more than Miller’s work at quarterback.

Miller supplied the majority of the passing production, completing 75 percent of his attempts for 160 yards and touchdowns to Goar and Markevicz.

Smith completed his only pass for a 10-yard touchdown to Varner.

Braaksma went 1-for-2 for 58 yards, with his completion producing Smith’s touchdown reception.

Together, the three completed 14 of 19 passes, averaging more than 16 yards per completion.

Smith’s touchdown catch and touchdown throw made him a central figure in the offensive variety, while Goar led the Sultans in receiving yards.

Goar also returned two kickoffs for 58 yards, including a 40-yard return, giving him 123 all-purpose yards.

Thornton contributed in all three phases. Along with his receiving and defensive work, he returned a kickoff for 25 yards and two punts for 16 yards, finishing with 85 all-purpose yards.

Mayers added 76 all-purpose yards, including a seven-yard reception.

Those contributions supported Estes’ assessment that the victory required the entire team.

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DEFENSE: Numbers reinforce view

Goar’s description of Santana defenders arriving at the ball was supported by the final tackle totals.

Five Sultans finished with at least nine tackles, led by Timanus’ 14.

Morehouse and Cipro followed with 13 apiece, Thornton had 10, and Ryder Miller recorded nine.

The production extended beyond that group. Toth supplied eight tackles, senior Andrew Terry had six, and sophomore Cameron Galarneau added five.

Morehouse and Toth each recorded two tackles for loss. Timanus, Cipro, Ryder Miller, junior Trevor Jordan and senior Yusuf Isse were each credited with one.

For a defense facing a running game Estes acknowledged was difficult to contain, that distribution reflected the number of players involved in finishing possessions.

Santana had won at Valhalla by shutting out the Norsemen after halftime. Against Monte Vista, the challenge was different, but the Sultans again received enough defensive work to leave with a league victory.

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SANTANA LOOKAHEAD: Seven wins within reach

EL CAJON VALLEY at SANTANA, Friday, 7
Regular-season finale — Grossmont Valley League

Santana returns home with a clear opportunity to finish the regular season 7-3 overall and 3-2 in league.

The Sultans will be heavy favorites against El Cajon Valley, which is coming off a 41-0 loss to El Capitan after falling 56-6 to Monte Vista the previous week.

Santana’s task is to carry its recent progress into the finale.

The Sultans have followed a three-game losing streak with consecutive victories, rediscovering their running game at Valhalla before displaying a wider assortment of scoring plays against Monte Vista.

Miller’s accuracy, Mayers’ rushing threat and the receiving contributions of Goar, Smith, Thornton and Varner give Santana several ways to establish control.

Defensively, the pursuit that showed up in Friday’s tackle totals should put the Sultans in position to dictate the game.

The Braves’ recent offensive difficulties make this a favorable assignment for Santana. Establishing an early advantage and sustaining its execution would allow the Sultans to enter the playoffs with three consecutive victories.

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MONTE VISTA LOOKAHEAD: Monarchs seek home finish

MONTE VISTA vs. WEST HILLS, Friday, 7
Regular-season finale — Grossmont Valley League

Monte Vista’s final regular-season assignment offers an opportunity to turn a disappointing league stretch into a more encouraging finish.

A victory over West Hills would leave the Monarchs 4-6 overall and 2-3 in league, while a defeat would send them into the postseason picture at 3-7.

Friday’s loss demonstrated that Monte Vista could continue challenging a defense even after falling behind. Estes acknowledged the difficulty Santana had stopping the Monarchs once their running game gained momentum.

The next step is pairing that threat with enough defensive stops to control the direction of a game.

Santana scored through its starting quarterback, two additional passers and a long rushing play. Against West Hills, Monte Vista needs to reduce those sudden scoring opportunities and make the Wolf Pack sustain possessions.

West Hills has shown it can win a low-scoring league game, defeating Santana 12-3 earlier this month. That result is a useful reminder that Monte Vista cannot count on offensive explosiveness alone.

The Monarchs need disciplined assignments, sound tackling and productive possessions to give themselves a chance to finish with a victory.

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