Foothillers slide out of playoffs

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

CIF SAN DIEGO SECTION DIVISION II — FIRST ROUND
No. 6 EL CAMINO 29, No. 11 GROSSMONT 26
Friday, Nov. 6 — Herb Meyer Stadium, Oceanside

By David Dickens | EastCountySports.com

OCEANSIDE — Even after El Camino had cut a 19-point halftime deficit to five, Grossmont still had an answer. Tyler Holmes faked a handoff, kept the ball around the left side for a 4-yard touchdown and kicked the extra point. The Foothillers led by 12 with 7:49 to play.

Twenty-six seconds later, El Camino was back within five. Two stops on downs and a 33-yard touchdown run by Kai Storer sent the Wildcats to a 29-26 victory Friday night at Herb Meyer Stadium and ended Grossmont’s season in the first round of the CIF San Diego Section Division II playoffs.

Storer found Mael Willingham twice on the drive that got El Camino back in the game. The first completion took the Wildcats from their own 24 to the Grossmont 43. The second went for a 36-yard touchdown with 7:23 left, and Adam Spencer kicked the extra point to cut Grossmont’s lead to 26-21.

El Camino took over on downs at the Foothillers’ 40 on the next possession. Storer broke loose from the 33 to give the Wildcats their first lead of the night, and Ian Wall ran in the two-point conversion to make it 29-26.

Grossmont got the ball back at its 20 and reached its own 40 with about a minute left. The Foothillers were still at the 40 when they faced fourth down inside the final minute. El Camino held there for the second time in the quarter.

Norris scores one, throws another

Grossmont had controlled the first half. Jacob Fee opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run with 3:48 left in the first quarter. The two-point run failed, and the Foothillers led 6-0.

Holmes extended the lead in the second quarter when he spotted Cedric Norris behind the coverage over the middle. Norris reached up to pull in the pass in stride and went untouched for a 53-yard touchdown. Holmes added the extra point for a 13-0 lead.

After Kaiden Flores recovered an El Camino fumble at the Wildcats’ 24, Grossmont worked the ball to the nine. Norris lined up in the left slot, took a handoff and threw to Jonah Martinez for a touchdown with 14 seconds left in the half. The two-point pass was intercepted, and Grossmont went to the break ahead 19-0.

El Camino turns two punts into touchdowns

Brandon Williams intercepted a Grossmont pass at El Camino’s 12 on the Foothillers’ opening possession of the second half. Grossmont got the ball back on downs, but its next two possessions ended in punts, and the Wildcats scored after each one.

Storer found Milo Thompson for a long gain and went back to him for a 23-yard touchdown. After the next punt gave El Camino the ball at the Grossmont 47, Storer broke a run to the 14 and Wall finished the drive from a yard out. Spencer made both extra points to bring the Wildcats within 19-14 entering the fourth.

Grossmont recovered another El Camino fumble in the fourth quarter, this time at the Wildcats’ 15. That set up Holmes’ keeper and gave the Foothillers their only points of the second half. El Camino scored the final 15.

What’s next

Grossmont (7-4) finished with seven wins after closing the regular season with back-to-back victories over Steele Canyon and Mount Miguel. El Camino (2-9) advances to face No. 3 seed St. Augustine in the Division II quarterfinals Friday, Nov. 13.

Score by quarters

Grossmont — 6 • 13 • 0  • 7  — 26
El Camino — 0 • 0  • 14 • 15 — 29

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