Patriots rally past Imperial, win again

By Ramon Scott
Updated: November 8, 2026

Patrick Henry carries against Imperial on Friday.

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

CIF San Diego Section football playoff roundup | Nov. 6, 2026
By Dave Dickens | EastCountySports.com

No. 10 Patrick Henry 38, No. 7 Imperial 31

IMPERIAL — Cole Farace caught the touchdown that gave Patrick Henry its first lead, then intercepted a tipped pass to turn back Imperial’s best chance to tie it. By the time the Patriots closed the game with a sack, they had erased a 17-point halftime deficit and kept their unbeaten season alive.

Madin Gardini threw for 486 yards and five touchdowns, three to Farace, as No. 10 Patrick Henry defeated No. 7 Imperial 38-31 Friday night in the first round of the CIF San Diego Section Division II playoffs.

Imperial led 24-7 at halftime and went back up 31-24 with 1:18 left in the third quarter. Henry answered before the quarter was over. Gardini found Farace for a first down, then hit a receiver deep downfield for a touchdown. The extra point tied it 31-31 with 19 seconds left in the third.

The Patriots appeared to take the lead midway through the fourth when Gardini scrambled away from pressure and found a receiver along the edge of the end zone. A penalty wiped out the touchdown. On the next snap, facing third and long, Gardini found Farace over the middle. Farace caught the ball near the 2-yard line and ran it in with 6:06 remaining. The extra point made it 38-31.

Imperial drove to the Henry 25 on its next possession, but a sack pushed the Tigers back. On third and long, Santonio Urena’s pass was tipped into the air, and Farace came down with it with 2:18 to play.

Henry ran the clock down before punting, leaving Imperial 10.7 seconds for one last possession. The Tigers completed a short pass and got out of bounds, but the Patriots ended the game with a sack on the final snap.

Patrick Henry (11-0) visits No. 2 Del Norte in the Nov. 13 quarterfinals. Imperial finished 8-3.

No. 5 Mater Dei Catholic 56, No. 12 Mount Miguel 7

CHULA VISTA — Mount Miguel pulled within a touchdown on a 24-yard screen, but Mater Dei Catholic answered with 35 straight points before halftime and won its fifth consecutive game in the Division II opener.

The Crusaders struck twice in 15 seconds late in the first quarter. Qasim Williams opened the scoring on a short run with 2:35 left, and Adrian Wilson returned an interception for a touchdown with 2:20 on the clock to make it 14-0.

The Matadors answered when Enrique Gonzalez found Dominic Lopez underneath on a middle screen. Lopez caught the ball with room to run and went 24 yards for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 14-7.

Williams scored again on Mater Dei’s next drive, and Bryce Howard-Collins followed with a 3-yard touchdown run off the left side. The Crusaders turned two fourth-down stops into touchdowns: Williams ran for his third score, and Jayden Blondin threw a touchdown pass to make it 42-7.

Mount Miguel recovered a fumble at the Mater Dei 35, but Visi Nava got the ball back for the Crusaders with an interception at his own 25. Mater Dei turned that takeaway into another touchdown for a 49-7 halftime lead.

Blondin completed all seven of his passes for 79 yards and rushed for 89 yards. Neither team scored in the third quarter, and Emiliano Juarez-Marquez capped the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown run in the fourth.

Mater Dei Catholic (5-6) advances to face No. 4 Point Loma. Mount Miguel finished 2-8.

No. 1 Escondido Charter 49, No. 8 Foothills Christian 14

ESCONDIDO — Foothills Christian found the end zone twice in its second meeting with Escondido Charter, but the top-seeded White Tigers scored four first-quarter touchdowns on their way to a 35-0 halftime lead in the Division V-AA quarterfinal.

Three of Escondido Charter’s first-quarter touchdowns came through the air. Cameron Iviecevic added a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Silas Greene threw for 246 yards and three scores, and Sam Hinrichs caught nine passes for 164 yards.

The Knights threw for two touchdowns in the third quarter, with an Escondido Charter rushing score between them. The White Tigers led 42-14 heading into the fourth and added one more touchdown pass. Escondido Charter (10-1) advances to host No. 4 Mountain Empire in the semifinals.

Foothills Christian finished 5-5, up from 1-9 a year earlier. In Dustin Turley’s second season, the Knights went 3-1 in the Sunset League and played for a league title on the final night of the regular season. Senior David Stewart gave them a dependable ground game. Between two losses to Escondido Charter, the Knights went from an opening-night shutout to a spot in the eight-team playoff field.

No. 8 Holtville 32, No. 9 Ramona 31

HOLTVILLE — Ryan Shaw put Ramona ahead in the fourth quarter with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Noah Bedia, but Holtville scored with 13.6 seconds remaining and went for the win in the Division II opener.

Kai Gonzalez ran for the late touchdown, then threw to Zavien Aguirre for the two-point conversion that put the Vikings ahead by one. The teams had been tied at 24 entering the fourth quarter.

Leonardo Riebeling rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown and converted three two-point tries for Holtville. Rodrigo Martinez added 106 rushing yards and a touchdown. Holtville (8-3) advances to face No. 1 Poway. Ramona finished its season with a Palomar League title and a playoff loss decided by a single point.

Around the section

Division III: No. 11 Scripps Ranch entered the playoffs with one win and knocked out nine-win Eastlake 31-17. Nolan Cooper threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. No. 10 Mira Mesa shut out Madison 29-0 behind Niko Cato’s 154 rushing yards and two Nico Giusti touchdown passes to Aaron Jones. La Jolla beat Central Union 31-14.

Division IV: No. 11 Brawley beat No. 6 Westview 14-7, with neither team scoring after halftime. Mission Bay blanked Army-Navy 49-0 as Major Scott caught two touchdown passes and returned an interception for another score.

Division V: No. 12 Olympian beat No. 5 Bonita Vista 28-21. Mt. Carmel scored the go-ahead touchdown with 42 seconds left to beat Hilltop 17-13, and Chula Vista stopped a tying two-point try with seven seconds left to beat Coastal Academy 35-33. Fallbrook beat Mar Vista 42-22; La Jolla Country Day defeated Classical Academy 32-13; Hoover beat Canyon Hills 35-13; and Coronado defeated Southwest San Diego 17-10 to set up a quarterfinal at top-seeded Morse.