Eagles settle score, then set Open stage

By Ramon Scott
Updated: September 21, 2026

Nino Miller-Thompson, of Granite Hills, races through Los Al on Friday. / Vic Marano

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2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

Eagles romp over Los Al, prepare for Open showdown with Dons

No. 3 GRANITE HILLS 35, LOS ALAMITOS 7

EL CAJON — Granite Hills did not need another night of trading touchdowns with Los Alamitos. The Eagles had tried that a year ago, scored 42 points and still headed home with a loss.

This time, they made the Griffins wait until the fourth quarter to score at all.

Zac Benitez threw three touchdown passes, Gage Spalding rushed for 105 yards and two scores, and Granite Hills turned a 14-point halftime lead into a 35-7 victory Friday night with an explosive third quarter at Granite Hills Stadium.

The Eagles improved to 3-1, followed their dramatic 28-27 victory over Mission Hills with a considerably more comfortable finish and reversed last season’s 49-42 loss to the Griffins.

They also gave themselves something substantial to carry into Friday’s home showdown with Cathedral Catholic: a defense that produced four sacks, eight tackles for loss and three takeaways, and an offense capable of turning a modest opening into a long touchdown.

Los Alamitos fell to 0-5. Its difficult Southern Section schedule had offered reason to regard the Griffins as more dangerous than their record. Granite Hills gave them little opportunity to turn that argument into a competitive second half.

Benitez completed 14 of 24 passes for 177 yards, finding Manny Walker, Jesse Wilhite and Courtney “Nino” Miller-Thompson for touchdowns. Miller-Thompson finished with five catches for 106 yards, including the 74-yard score that put the Eagles ahead 28-0.

Spalding needed only nine carries to reach his 105 yards. His touchdown runs of 25 and 69 yards supplied the first and last scores of the Eagles’ night.

Granite Hills established its intentions on the opening possession. A Benitez completion to Jonah Hamilton on a play beginning at the Eagles’ 46 helped move the offense into scoring position. Two plays later, Spalding took a handoff at the Los Alamitos 25 and went off right tackle into the end zone.

Special teams soon provided an even shorter route. The Eagles blocked a rugby-style punt, took over at the Griffins’ 8 and cashed in when Benitez hit Walker for a 5-yard touchdown.

The 14-0 start suggested an easy evening. The rest of the first half required considerably more patience.

A bad snap forced Benitez to cover the ball at his own 5, leaving second-and-22. Holding penalties complicated the Eagles’ work, and Los Alamitos blocked a Granite Hills punt.

Senior offensive lineman Seth Haisch also was helped off the field by coaches, adding a personnel concern to an uneven stretch of offense.

Granite Hills’ defense kept those problems from changing the score.

Eurijah Schutza delivered an 8-yard sack during a Los Alamitos possession that ended with a missed short field goal.

Ty Spencer and Wilhite intercepted passes, helping the Eagles reach halftime without surrendering a point despite their offensive interruptions.

Then Granite Hills found its finishing plays.

Benitez connected with Wilhite for a 15-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, expanding the lead to 21-0. Later in the period, the senior quarterback delivered a beautiful pass down the right sideline to Miller-Thompson, who completed the 74-yard touchdown play.

The Eagles’ next long strike came on the ground. After freshman Jeriah Searcy replaced Benitez at quarterback, Spalding took a handoff on the second play, broke two tackles and raced 69 yards for a touchdown.

Granite Hills had scored 21 points in the quarter and led 35-0 entering the fourth.

Los Alamitos finally scored when Elijah McDaniel connected with Ashton Gogue for a touchdown pass. The extra point made it 35-7, but the Griffins had spent the decisive portion of the game chasing an offense that could score quickly and a defense that would not let them answer.

Hamilton added three receptions for 44 yards. Searcy completed three of six passes for 38 yards, and Granite Hills finished with 346 total yards — 215 passing and 131 rushing.

The Eagles did not eliminate every concern. They did demonstrate that an imperfect stretch no longer had to become a shootout. Against the team that scored 49 on them last season, that was a meaningful change.

Team	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Final
LOS ALAMITOS	0	0	0	7	7
GRANITE HILLS	14	0	21	0	35

Defense supplies difference in the rematch

The most important number in Granite Hills’ rematch with Los Alamitos was the one that stayed on the visitors’ side of the scoreboard through three quarters.

Zero.

The Eagles reduced the Griffins’ scoring by 42 points from last season’s meeting, when Los Alamitos running back Kamden Tillis rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-42 victory.

Friday’s defensive work extended well beyond the interceptions that stopped first-half possessions.

Cayden Phillips and Eurijah Schutza each finished with 10 tackles and a sack. Phillips had two tackles for loss.

Travin Shabazz recorded three tackles for loss among his five stops, repeatedly putting Los Alamitos behind schedule.

Jaylen Smith and Silas Miller added a sack apiece, giving Granite Hills four from four different defenders.

Gabe Luera recovered a fumble, joining Spencer and Wilhite in the takeaway column.

Those contributions mattered most before the score became lopsided. Granite Hills went scoreless in the second quarter, but Los Alamitos could not reduce the 14-point deficit. By protecting that margin, the defense allowed the Eagles’ third-quarter burst to decide the game.

Wilhite contributes in all three phases

Jesse Wilhite’s touchdown reception was only part of his evening.

The senior intercepted a pass in the first half, caught the 15-yard touchdown that opened Granite Hills’ second-half scoring and returned three punts for 65 yards, including a 46-yard return.

Wilhite finished with two catches for 15 yards and two tackles. His receiving and punt-return yardage combined for 80 yards, giving the Eagles production in all three phases.

His work also reflected the variety in Granite Hills’ offense. Walker supplied the short touchdown catch, Wilhite scored from 15 yards and Miller-Thompson stretched the defense with the 74-yard strike. Spalding provided the two rushing touchdowns.

Granite Hills spread five touchdowns among four players, a useful reminder for a Cathedral defense that will have more than one matchup to consider.

Eagles notebook: Haisch exits; Searcy gets work

Seth Haisch’s status bears watching after the senior offensive lineman was helped off the field in the first half. No subsequent injury update was available for this report.

The Eagles’ protection and execution up front will receive increased attention with Cathedral next. Friday’s bad snap and holding penalties showed how quickly a possession could become difficult even during a comfortable victory.

Freshman Jeriah Searcy, the Eagles’ No. 2 on offense, received work in relief of Benitez and threw for 38 yards. His appearance also put a name to the quarterback who handed off on Spalding’s long third-quarter touchdown.

Jacob Nunez and Nick McKindley combined to make all five extra points, with Nunez converting two and McKindley three. Granite Hills was unsuccessful on two field-goal attempts.

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Up next: Cathedral returns to East County with even tougher task

CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC (2-2) at GRANITE HILLS (3-1)
Friday, Sept. 25, at Granite Hills Stadium

Cathedral Catholic has already discovered that a trip to East County does not come with a comfortable ride home.

One week after escaping Helix with a 24-19 victory in La Mesa, the Dons return to face the area’s top-ranked program on its own field. Granite Hills gets an opportunity to make its strongest statement yet in the competition for an Open Division playoff berth.

It is still September. But this matchup has the feel of an Open Division audition played directly against another candidate.

Granite Hills already has the one-point victory over Mission Hills. Adding Cathedral would give the Eagles another significant head-to-head result and a compelling argument for a place among the county’s top four.

For Cathedral, the visit brings another demanding road assignment and a chance to demonstrate that its narrow escape at Helix was a step forward rather than a sign of lingering vulnerability.

The Dons are 2-2, and their reputation remains stronger than their record alone. But a five-point victory over Helix did not establish much separation. Cathedral comes to Granite Hills with something to prove, too.

A Granite Hills victory could alter the Open discussion in two directions: strengthening the Eagles’ claim while moving Cathedral closer to the edge of the field. The rest of the county’s results and the games still ahead will matter, but a direct comparison between two contenders would be difficult to ignore.

That makes the home setting especially valuable. The Eagles get to present their case at Granite Hills Stadium, while Cathedral must handle a second consecutive East County road crowd and another opponent with reason to treat the game as one of its season’s biggest opportunities.

The immediate football questions begin up front.

Granite Hills has the quarterback and receiving options to produce sudden scores. Benitez’s three touchdown passes against Los Alamitos went to three different players, and Spalding added enough balance to punish a defense that concentrated too heavily on the passing game.

But the Eagles also had possessions disrupted by a bad snap and penalties. Haisch’s first-half exit adds uncertainty to the offensive line heading into a game in which sustained protection and manageable down-and-distance situations will be essential.

The defense brings encouragement of its own. Four sacks, eight tackles for loss and three takeaways against Los Alamitos showed that Granite Hills could create the negative plays needed to take control. Repeating that disruption against Cathedral would give Benitez and the offense more opportunities to dictate the game.

There is also a lesson in the scoreless second quarter against the Griffins. Granite Hills survived its mistakes because its defense never let the lead shrink. Against Cathedral, the Eagles will want to spend less time relying on that rescue work.

The win over Los Alamitos settled an old score. Friday offers a chance to establish where Granite Hills belongs now.