Knights keep rising with road victory

By Ramon Scott
Updated: September 13, 2026

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 25, HAMILTON 20

Knights’ back Stewart carries 38 times for 228 yards, 2 TDs in second-straight win

EastCountySports.com staff report

ANZA — Four weeks into the season, Foothills Christian hardly resembles the football team that walked off the field following a 48-point opening-night loss.

And David Stewart might be the biggest reason why.

Stewart carried a staggering 38 times for 228 yards and two touchdowns, Foothills Christian forced three turnovers and the Knights survived Hamilton’s frantic fourth-quarter comeback for a 25-20 road victory Friday night.

The Knights (2-2) have won consecutive games for the first time since 2023 and have transformed an 0-2 start into something that suddenly carries legitimate momentum into league play.

This one required considerably more than last week’s 41-7 runaway at Orange Glen.

Foothills Christian built a 19-6 halftime advantage, battled Hamilton through a scoreless third quarter and eventually stretched the margin to 25-6 before the Bobcats scored twice late and turned the final minutes into a fight for survival.

The Knights survived it.

And after wondering only three weeks ago where their first victory might come from, they will head to Vista next Friday for a league game against 3-1 Tri-City Christian with an opportunity to establish themselves as a legitimate factor among the section’s small-school programs.

Stewart has become the foundation of the transformation.

The senior followed his 221-yard performance against Calipatria and 185-yard, three-touchdown effort against Orange Glen with his biggest rushing total of the season.

He averaged 6.0 yards on 38 carries, with a long run of 31 yards, despite Hamilton knowing where the football was going for much of the evening.

Foothills Christian ran for 236 yards on 40 attempts.

Stewart accounted for 228 of them.

The Knights finished with 315 yards of total offense, and although their passing game wasn’t particularly efficient, junior quarterback Hayden Oleson did enough to keep Hamilton from completely selling out against the run.

Oleson completed 8 of 25 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown without an interception.

Sophomore Isaac Maisonet caught six passes for 43 yards and the Knights’ receiving touchdown of 16 yards, while sophomore Liam Dailey supplied their biggest pass play with a 45-yard reception.

But Foothills Christian didn’t build its lead through offense alone.

The Knights scored four touchdowns in three different ways.

Stewart supplied two on the ground, Oleson connected with Maisonet for another, and sophomore Cahlil Martinez produced a fumble-recovery touchdown.

That defensive score was part of a turnover disparity that became one of the game’s defining factors.

Hamilton fumbled three times.

Foothills Christian recovered all three.

Maisonet was credited with two fumble recoveries, giving the sophomore an unusually productive two-way evening to go with his six receptions and touchdown. Junior Wyatt Matlock recovered the other.

The Knights established control early, scoring 13 unanswered points during the first quarter.

Hamilton had opportunities to answer but repeatedly encountered a Foothills Christian defense that was particularly effective when the Bobcats tried to establish their running game.

Hamilton finally reached the end zone in the second quarter when senior quarterback Jesaiah Daniels connected with Antonio Acuna for a 15-yard touchdown. A missed extra point left Foothills Christian ahead 13-6.

The Knights responded and carried a 19-6 advantage into halftime.

Neither team scored during the third quarter.

That defensive stalemate became increasingly important because Hamilton entered the game with a productive rushing attack, but Foothills Christian essentially eliminated it.

The Bobcats finished with only 47 rushing yards on 21 attempts, an average of just 2.2 yards per carry.

Senior Kaleb Lafourche, Hamilton’s leading ball carrier, was held to 34 yards on eight attempts. No Bobcats runner reached 35 yards.

That forced Hamilton to become increasingly dependent upon Daniels and the passing game.

Meanwhile, Foothills Christian continued leaning heavily on Stewart.

The Knights eventually extended their advantage to 25-6 in the fourth quarter, appearing to put themselves in position to finish off a relatively comfortable road victory.

Hamilton had other ideas.

Daniels connected with junior Jerimi Brown for a 15-yard touchdown, reducing the margin to 25-12 after an unsuccessful two-point conversion.

Foothills Christian tried to shorten the game with its running attack and still held a 13-point advantage inside the final minutes.

Then Hamilton struck again.

Daniels found Acuna for a 45-yard touchdown, and sophomore Liam Knowlton ran in the two-point conversion.

Suddenly, the Knights’ once-commanding advantage had been reduced to 25-20.

There would be no final reversal.

Foothills Christian held on to complete its second consecutive road victory and hand Hamilton (2-2) its first home loss of the season.

Daniels finished 12 of 27 for 217 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

Acuna caught three passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, while Brown finished with five receptions for 75 yards and a score.

Hamilton consequently enjoyed considerably more success through the air than on the ground.

But Foothills Christian had already done enough damage.

The Knights outgained Hamilton 315-264, rushed for 189 more yards than the Bobcats and finished plus-three in turnovers.

Those numbers provided the formula for the victory.

Junior Drew Mikulsky led Foothills Christian’s recorded defense with seven tackles, including a tackle for loss.

Maisonet added five tackles and two tackles for loss to his offensive production and two fumble recoveries.

Asher Cross recorded three tackles and a tackle for loss.

Sophomore Duke Houston, sophomore Jake Mangini and junior J.J. Hernandez combined for four quarterback hurries, with Hernandez credited with two.

The defensive tackle totals appear incomplete, but the larger team numbers tell the story clearly enough.

Hamilton ran 21 times for 47 yards and lost three fumbles.

Foothills Christian ran 40 times for 236 yards and didn’t throw an interception.

For a team learning how to win, those are useful formulas.

And the change has occurred rapidly.

Escondido Charter blanked Foothills Christian 48-0 in the season opener.

The Knights responded by pushing Calipatria before losing by three points.

Then came a 41-7 victory over Orange Glen.

Now they have gone to Anza and defeated a Hamilton team that entered the night 2-1 and had beaten Tri-City Christian one week earlier.

Foothills Christian isn’t merely showing improvement anymore.

The Knights are winning football games.

STEWART HAS BECOME THE KNIGHTS’ IDENTITY

There isn’t much mystery surrounding what Foothills Christian wants to do offensively.

Give David Stewart the football.

Then give it to him again.

Stewart’s 38 carries against Hamilton represented 95 percent of the Knights’ 40 rushing attempts.

He produced 228 of their 236 rushing yards and scored twice.

That came one week after he rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns against Orange Glen and two weeks after producing 221 yards and two touchdowns against Calipatria.

Over those three games, Stewart has rushed for 634 yards and seven touchdowns.

The production represents a dramatic jump for a player who gained only 311 rushing yards during the entire 2025 season.

More significant than the raw yardage has been Stewart’s ability to remain productive when the opposition knows what’s coming.

Hamilton recorded 14 tackles for loss, including five by senior William Behrendt, yet Stewart still averaged six yards per carry and Foothills Christian continued feeding him.

His emergence has given the Knights something every developing program needs:

An identity.

Oleson and a young group of receivers provide enough complementary production to prevent opponents from completely abandoning the perimeter, but the equation has become straightforward.

Opponents have to stop No. 5 first.

For three consecutive weeks, they haven’t been able to do it.

KNIGHTS WON HIDDEN BATTLE

Hamilton actually outgained Foothills Christian through the air, 217-79.

Daniels threw three touchdown passes.

Those numbers could suggest Hamilton enjoyed a productive offensive evening.

They don’t tell the entire story.

Foothills Christian dominated two categories that mattered considerably more.

Hamilton managed only 47 rushing yards.

And the Bobcats lost three fumbles.

That left Hamilton with only 264 yards of total offense compared with Foothills Christian’s 315.

The Knights also received a defensive touchdown from Martinez and repeatedly forced Hamilton to play from behind.

Hamilton’s 14-point fourth-quarter surge made the final score uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t obscure what occurred during most of the evening.

Through three quarters, the Bobcats had scored six points.

The Knights’ defense gave their offense enough time to build a three-score advantage.

That proved just enough.

LOOKING AHEAD: HOT TEAMS KNIGHTS, EAGLES MEET

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN (2-2) at TRI-CITY CHRISTIAN (3-1)
Friday, Sept. 18, 7 p.m., Vista

Foothills Christian doesn’t need to search very far for a measuring stick for its next opponent.

The Knights just beat it.

Not Tri-City Christian itself, but the Hamilton team that defeated the Eagles 28-20 in Anza on Sept. 4.

One week later, Foothills Christian traveled to the same field and defeated Hamilton 25-20.

Transitive comparisons don’t decide football games, particularly with next week’s matchup moving to Tri-City’s home field in Vista.

They do demonstrate just how much Foothills Christian has changed.

This suddenly looks like one of the more evenly matched small-school games on next week’s schedule.

Tri-City Christian is 3-1 after surviving Nuview Bridge 31-30 on Friday.

The Eagles opened with a 36-0 victory over Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac Catholic, defeated Temecula Prep 26-20, lost at Hamilton 28-20 and bounced back with the one-point victory over Nuview Bridge.

The records favor Tri-City.

The recent trajectory may favor Foothills Christian.

The Knights have improved almost every week since their opening loss.

They went from scoring zero points against Escondido Charter to pushing Calipatria in a three-point loss, overwhelming Orange Glen and then winning at Hamilton.

Tri-City has won three of four, but its last three games have all been competitive — a six-point victory over Temecula Prep, an eight-point loss to Hamilton and a one-point victory over Nuview Bridge.

The current Division 5-AA ratings illustrate just how little separates the teams.

Foothills Christian is currently No. 4 in 5-AA with a 14.11 rating, immediately behind Clairemont.

Tri-City Christian is No. 6 at 11.87.

Calipatria — which defeated Foothills Christian by three points — sits between them at No. 5 with a 13.00 rating.

At the top are Palo Verde Valley and Mountain Empire.

Division 5-AA operates as its own separate postseason tournament, rather than being included in the section-wide playoff pool, making games among teams clustered within the division particularly useful measuring sticks as the season develops.

Friday’s matchup presents a clear contrast in offensive identity.

Foothills Christian wants to run the football.

The Knights are averaging approximately 195 rushing yards per game, with Stewart emerging as one of the division’s most productive backs.

Tri-City offers greater offensive balance and one particularly difficult assignment.

Senior quarterback Donovan Cronkhite is the centerpiece of the Eagles’ offense.

Cronkhite enters averaging approximately 149 passing yards and 120 rushing yards per game, giving Foothills Christian a dual-threat challenge considerably different from the Hamilton offense it just faced.

Tri-City averages approximately 315 total yards per game, compared with about 278 for Foothills Christian.

Noah Haber provides another offensive option for the Eagles, while Carter Williams has been among their defensive leaders.

But Foothills Christian now has evidence that its formula travels.

The Knights are 2-0 in true road games, winning at Orange Glen and Hamilton.

Tri-City is 2-0 at home.

Something has to give.

The Eagles should receive a legitimate advantage from playing in Vista, and Cronkhite presents perhaps the most significant challenge for the improving Foothills Christian defense since the opening weeks of the season.

But the Knights will arrive with the more compelling recent trajectory, a running back who has become increasingly difficult to contain and a defense coming off a game in which it forced three turnovers and limited Hamilton to 47 rushing yards.

This no longer looks like a game in which Foothills Christian is simply trying to prove it belongs.

The Knights have already done that.

Now they get a chance to find out how far their rapid climb can take them.

Home field provides just enough separation to give the Eagles the narrow edge.

But based upon what Foothills Christian has shown over the past three weeks, a Knights victory in Vista wouldn’t qualify as much of an upset.