Spalding on ball, delivers Eagles win

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

Senior rushes for 109 yards, scores twice as Eagles survive wild finish in Chula Vista

NO. 8 GRANITE HILLS 38, NO. 18 MATER DEI CATHOLIC 31

By Ramon Scott

EastCountySports.com

CHULA VISTA — With two other Granite Hills running backs unavailable, Gage Spalding understood that the Eagles’ running game—and perhaps their chance to avoid an 0-2 start—would be placed squarely on his shoulders.

He carried the responsibility all night, then carried Granite Hills into the end zone when it mattered most.

Spalding rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, including the decisive 1-yard score with 35 seconds remaining, as No. 8 Granite Hills survived No. 18 Mater Dei Catholic 38-31 Friday night.

“I knew it was going to be rough, but I knew I could handle it,” Spalding said on the East County Sports Postgame Show.

Granite Hills overcame an early 14-point deficit, scored 28 consecutive points and then watched the Crusaders erase another 14-point advantage during the second half.

The Eagles finally won it after Mater Dei Catholic fumbled with 1:47 remaining in a 31-31 game.

Starting at their own 27, the Eagles leaned on record-setting senior quarterback Zac Benitez, who broke loose on a 21-yard keeper and completed consecutive passes as Granite Hills moved into scoring position.

One of those completions went for more than 20 yards to Courtney “Nino” Miller-Thompson, placing the Eagles deep in Crusaders territory.

Spalding then carried 10 yards to the Mater Dei Catholic 1. With Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” playing in the background, Granite Hills returned to the line of scrimmage and gave the ball to its senior workhorse again.

This time Spalding lowered his shoulders and powered straight through the middle for the winning touchdown. Jacob Nunez converted his fifth extra point, giving Granite Hills a 38-31 lead with 30 seconds remaining.

“I was ready to score,” Spalding said. “I tried to juke when I shouldn’t. I should have just put my shoulder down like I was doing.

“I should have just run through them.”

Mater Dei Catholic had one final opportunity, but the Eagles broke up the Crusaders’ last pass to complete the victory.

The decisive turnover came at the ideal moment. Mater Dei Catholic had taken possession at its own 26 with 6:59 remaining and appeared capable of draining the clock before attempting a winning field goal.

Instead, a dangerous pitch attempt came loose, and Granite Hills recovered.

“Oh, absolutely. That was huge,” Spalding said. “I think that definitely saved us.”

Another difficult beginning

Granite Hills’ second game began much like its first.

One week after falling behind Oceanside 30-7, the Eagles quickly found themselves down by two touchdowns against Mater Dei Catholic.

Senior captain Bryce Howard-Collins opened the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run at the 8:45 mark of the first quarter.

Mater Dei Catholic’s Fitzpatrick then intercepted Benitez and returned the ball 42 yards for a touchdown, giving the Crusaders a 14-0 advantage with 6:33 remaining in the opening period.

It was the second interception returned for a touchdown against Granite Hills in as many games.

The Eagles did not allow the difficult start to become another insurmountable deficit.

Benitez connected with Miller-Thompson for an 8-yard touchdown with 2:38 left in the first quarter. The touchdown was the fifth connection between the two seniors through the season’s first five-plus quarters.

Granite Hills then used its defense and special teams to change the game.

Punter Austin DeGeorge pinned Mater Dei Catholic at its own 1-yard line with a 52-yard punt. After the Eagles’ defense forced the Crusaders to kick from deep in their territory, Jesse Wilhite returned the punt 49 yards for a touchdown.

Nunez’s extra point tied the game 14-14 with 10:55 remaining in the second quarter.

“That was a big momentum shift for sure,” Spalding said.

Cayden Phillips maintained the Eagles’ momentum by sacking Mater Dei Catholic quarterback Jayden Blondin for an 8-yard loss.

Benitez and Miller-Thompson then struck again, this time for a 29-yard touchdown with 6:26 remaining in the half. The score gave Granite Hills its first lead at 21-14.

Spalding extended the advantage with a 20-yard touchdown run at the 3:26 mark.

Mater Dei Catholic salvaged three points on the final play before halftime. Ty Spencer appeared to intercept Blondin in the end zone, but a pass-interference penalty erased the turnover. The Crusaders used the additional opportunity to kick a 30-yard field goal, cutting Granite Hills’ lead to 28-17.

Crusaders come back

Senior James Esquibel intercepted Blondin during the third quarter, but Granite Hills was unable to convert the takeaway into the score that might have put the game away.

Mater Dei Catholic later inserted another quarterback for one play, and the change produced a 38-yard touchdown pass to Cesar Conde with 3:12 left in the third quarter. The extra point pulled the Crusaders within 28-24.

Granite Hills answered by driving to the Mater Dei Catholic 9, but Benitez was sacked for a 7-yard loss. Nunez prevented the possession from coming away empty by making a 32-yard field goal, restoring a 31-24 advantage shortly before the end of the quarter.

The Crusaders continued attacking a Granite Hills defensive front dealing with limited depth and players cramping during the second half.

“We’re so short on D-linemen that we could only run like a 3-3,” Spalding said. “We really needed to stop the run. That’s what they started to pick up on.”

Mater Dei Catholic finally tied the game when Conde caught an 11-yard touchdown pass with 8:26 remaining. A costly 15-yard personal-foul penalty against Granite Hills helped the Crusaders extend the drive.

The Eagles then went three-and-out when Benitez was sacked on third-and-12, giving Mater Dei Catholic possession with an opportunity to complete its comeback.

Granite Hills’ defense provided the turnover, and the offense responded with the winning 73-yard drive.

Ground game returns

Granite Hills finished with 154 rushing yards on 25 attempts, a dramatic reversal after the Eagles recorded minus-2 rushing yards in their opener at Oceanside.

Spalding accounted for 109 of those yards and averaged 7.3 yards per carry. He also caught three passes for 27 yards, giving him 136 yards from scrimmage.

The senior said the Eagles had to adjust after graduating their veteran offensive front from the previous two championship seasons.

“We lost our whole line,” Spalding said. “The last two years, they’ve been pounding it into our heads, telling us that we’ve got to hit the hole a little bit harder. It’s not going to be there as much. We can’t be patient, really. We’ve got to just go.

“It kind of clicked for me toward the second half—and a little bit in the first—but definitely in the second half.”

Granite Hills found additional running room by spreading Mater Dei Catholic’s defense.

“Once we would go three-wide, they would take a couple players out of the box,” Spalding said. “It was really just five-on-five, and it was up to our big guys up front. Once they started doing their assignments and making the blocks, it was good from there.”

Benitez completed 16 of 27 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed nine times for 39 yards despite operating under frequent pressure.

Miller-Thompson caught six passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns. After making 12 receptions for 230 yards and four scores at Oceanside, he has accumulated 18 catches, 310 yards and six touchdowns through two games.

“I told him before the game, ‘You set the bar real high for yourself,’” Spalding joked. “Scoring four touchdowns in one game is going to make you look bad when you don’t score.”

Sophomore Manny Walker added five receptions for 57 yards, while Jaden Sheridan caught one pass for 13 yards.

Wilhite generated 126 return yards, including 88 yards on two punt returns. Nunez accounted for eight points by making all five extra-point attempts and his only field-goal try.

Granite Hills finished with 335 yards of offense—181 passing and 154 rushing—and improved to 1-1. Mater Dei Catholic fell to 0-2 despite losing its two games by a combined eight points.

The victory did not erase the Eagles’ uneven start to the season, their protection concerns or the defensive depth issues that surfaced during Mater Dei Catholic’s comeback.

It did demonstrate that Granite Hills can still find a way through those problems.

“We just have to adjust the little things,” Spalding said. “We’ve got to do the little things right, and then everything else starts to open up.”

By the numbers

• 136: Gage Spalding’s yards from scrimmage.
• 109: Spalding’s rushing yards on 15 carries.
• 126: Jesse Wilhite’s combined return yards.
• 88: Wilhite’s yards on two punt returns.
• 49: Wilhite’s momentum-changing punt-return touchdown.
• 32: Jacob Nunez’s third-quarter field goal.
• 28: Consecutive Granite Hills points after falling behind 14-0.
• 6: Nino Miller-Thompson’s touchdown receptions through two games.
• 5-for-5: Nunez on extra-point attempts.
• 335: Granite Hills’ total offensive yards.

Turning points

DeGeorge flips the field

Austin DeGeorge’s 52-yard punt pinned Mater Dei Catholic at its 1-yard line. The field-position change helped create Jesse Wilhite’s 49-yard punt-return touchdown, which tied the game at 14.

Esquibel provides the takeaway

James Esquibel intercepted Jayden Blondin during the third quarter, producing Granite Hills’ first confirmed takeaway after Ty Spencer’s apparent interception was erased by a penalty.

Defense saves the finish

Mater Dei Catholic possessed the ball in a tie game with an opportunity to run down the clock and attempt a winning field goal. The Crusaders’ fumble with 1:47 remaining instead gave Granite Hills the chance to produce its decisive drive.

Spalding finishes the job

Spalding carried 10 yards to the 1 and then scored the winning touchdown on the next snap. His two carries supplied the final 11 yards of Granite Hills’ 73-yard winning march.

Look ahead: Bye before Mission Hills

Granite Hills has a bye before returning for a major test against Mission Hills, one of San Diego County’s highest-rated teams.

The Eagles lost last season’s meeting 31-21 but won the previous two matchups, beating the Grizzlies 28-17 on the road in 2024 and 27-17 in 2023.

The open week should give Granite Hills valuable time to address its offensive-line issues and restore health along the defensive front.

“We’re definitely going to need everybody, especially for the coming weeks against Mission Hills,” Spalding said. “They’re big boys up front, and that’ll be our ultimate test.”

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