Eagles get seven takeaways in IE win

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

Benitez finds Hamilton for late touchdown, then runs in winning two-point conversion as the Eagles hand Tigers first loss

No. 4 GRANITE HILLS 14, at SAN JACINTO 13

By RAMON SCOTT
EastCountySports.com

SAN JACINTO — Zachary Benitez had just brought Granite Hills within one point of an unbeaten opponent on its home field. The Eagles had a decision to make.

They put the ball back in their senior quarterback’s hands.

Benitez threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jonah Hamilton with 1:58 remaining, then ran for the two-point conversion, giving Granite Hills a 14-13 victory over San Jacinto in a nonleague game Friday night.

The Eagles’ defense forced seven turnovers, including three interceptions by junior Ty Spencer, to keep Granite Hills within reach throughout a demanding road assignment in the Inland Empire.

When the offense needed one final answer, Benitez and Hamilton supplied it. The Eagles later took a knee to finish off a win over a San Jacinto team that entered 8-0 and ranked No. 56 in California.

Granite Hills improved to 7-2 and returns home next week to face Helix for the Grossmont Hills League championship. The Highlanders have climbed back into the county’s top 10, setting up a finale with considerable postseason implications as well.

The winning decision

San Jacinto scored the first 13 points of the second half to take a 13-6 lead, putting pressure on an Eagles offense that had managed only two field goals against the Tigers’ defense.

Benitez found Hamilton for the late touchdown to cut the deficit to one. Rather than settle for a tying extra point, Granite Hills went for two, and Benitez’s run put the Eagles in front.

Hamilton, a junior, finished with six receptions for 46 yards and the decisive touchdown. Benitez completed 16 of 28 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown, with two interceptions.

Sophomore Manny Walker gave the Eagles their biggest receiving production, catching five passes for 116 yards, including a 49-yard gain. Senior Courtney “Nino” Miller-Thompson added three catches for 56 yards.

The passing game did much of the work against a defense that limited Granite Hills to 42 rushing yards on 32 attempts. Senior Gage Spalding carried 17 times for 37 yards.

Seven chances for the Eagles

The Eagles’ defense repeatedly gave their offense another opportunity against a San Jacinto team that had averaged more than 33 points through its first eight games.

Granite Hills finished with five interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Spencer’s three interceptions led the way. Seniors Daeveon Brown and Jaylen Smith also intercepted passes, while Jesse Wilhite and Gio Giovannu recovered fumbles. Wilhite and Giovannu were each credited with a forced fumble.

One of Spencer’s takeaways turned the final seconds of the first half into points.

With approximately 20 seconds remaining and San Jacinto possessing the ball at its own 35, Spencer intercepted a sideline pass at the Granite Hills 44 and returned it to the Tigers’ 31.

With 8.2 seconds left, Benitez completed a quick out to Hamilton at the 26. Senior Jacob Nunez then connected on a 43-yard field goal as the half expired, extending the Eagles’ lead to 6-0.

Nunez had opened the scoring with a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter. He finished 2-for-3 on field-goal attempts, and his six points proved essential in a game decided by one.

Sophomore defensive lineman Kolton Hopkins led Granite Hills with eight tackles and was credited with five quarterback hurries. Jamir Alvarez, Cayden Phillips and Romeo Pepi had seven tackles apiece, while Levi Moore added six.

Alvarez and Travin Shabazz each recorded a tackle for loss.

Tigers rally, Eagles respond

San Jacinto erased the halftime deficit in the third quarter when junior quarterback Josue Estrada connected with senior Devin Sandville for an 18-yard touchdown. The extra point was missed, leaving the score tied at 6.

Senior running back Elijah Robinson put the Tigers ahead in the fourth quarter with a 4-yard touchdown run. The conversion kick gave San Jacinto a 13-6 advantage.

The Eagles needed eight points to regain the lead. Benitez and Hamilton produced six through the air, and the quarterback supplied the final two on the ground.

The victory gave Granite Hills a result that could carry weight beyond its record: a road win over an undefeated Inland Empire opponent while the Eagles continue to pursue a berth in the San Diego Section’s four-team Open Division field.

Granite Hills | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 14
San Jacinto   | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 13

Spencer takes center stage

Ty Spencer’s three interceptions highlighted a Granite Hills defensive performance that kept the Eagles in the game while both offenses battled for room.

Spencer returned his interceptions for a combined 46 yards, according to the team statistics. His late first-half takeaway was particularly valuable: it gave Benitez enough time to find Hamilton near the sideline and gave Nunez a chance to kick the 43-yard field goal that put Granite Hills ahead 6-0.

The junior’s production followed another impact play a week earlier, when he returned a fumble for a touchdown in the Eagles’ victory over Mount Miguel.

Against San Jacinto, Spencer was part of a secondary that accounted for five interceptions, with Daeveon Brown and Jaylen Smith also coming away with picks. Two recovered fumbles brought the Eagles’ takeaway total to seven.

Nunez’s kicks make difference

The final margin belonged to Zachary Benitez’s two-point run, but Jacob Nunez’s right foot gave Granite Hills a chance to make that decision.

Nunez’s 26-yard first-quarter field goal and 43-yarder as the first half expired accounted for all six Eagles points before their late touchdown. Without either kick, a touchdown and two-point conversion would have left Granite Hills short.

The senior made two of his three field-goal attempts in a game in which the Eagles’ offense had to work for every scoring chance.

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