Holmes, Hillers win wild Homecoming

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

No. 19 GROSSMONT 54, OTAY RANCH 45

By Ramon Scott
EastCountySports.com

LA MESA — Grossmont had enough offense to score eight touchdowns Friday night. Finding a comfortable place to stop was another matter.

Tyler Holmes passed for 176 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 172 yards and three more scores, leading the Foothillers through a wild 54-45 Homecoming victory over Otay Ranch that featured a lost two-touchdown lead, a second-half surge and one last uncomfortable reminder that the Mustangs were still playing.

Corbin Dow added 162 rushing yards and a touchdown, giving Grossmont two runners above 160 yards, while Kaiden Ong’s 38-yard interception return for a touchdown helped the Foothillers build a 21-point fourth-quarter advantage.

Grossmont improved to 4-1, rebounding from its 28-20 loss at Point Loma. Otay Ranch fell to 2-3, although the Mustangs produced enough offense to make the Foothillers work considerably harder than the home crowd might have expected after a 14-0 start.

Holmes and Dow combined for 334 rushing yards. Holmes’ passing brought the yardage accounted for by that pair to 510, with touchdown throws to Max Bewley, Jamar McClendon and Jackson Baird.

That production captured the appeal of coach Anthony Lawrence’s approach. Grossmont can threaten a defense in several ways, and its quarterback is as dangerous keeping the ball as delivering it downfield.

The closing minutes also illustrated the risk. Even with a substantial advantage, the Foothillers continued attacking through the air. A late interception returned for a touchdown gave Otay Ranch another opening when the more conservative objective would have been to make the clock disappear.

Grossmont played as though its best protection was another productive possession. For most of the second half, Holmes made that confidence look entirely reasonable.

Fast start, then necessary response

Dow scored on a 5-yard run to open the scoring. After a failed two-point attempt, Holmes connected with Bewley for an 8-yard touchdown, and a successful conversion run made it 14-0.

Otay Ranch answered with 21 consecutive points before the first quarter ended. Sophomore Jeremiah Jordan supplied two 5-yard touchdown runs, with an 18-yard scoring pass between them.

The Mustangs had a quarterback capable of sustaining the exchange.

Sophomore Caleb Delaughter completed 16 of 22 passes for 229 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions.

Brayden Hyman caught seven passes for 130 yards and three scores, while Carlos Lopez added six catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.

Holmes scored on a 15-yard keeper in the second quarter, but a failed conversion left Grossmont behind 21-20. Otay Ranch answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass, then missed the extra point.

Grossmont’s response arrived just before halftime.

McClendon ran past his defender on a deep route, and Holmes found him in stride for a 30-yard touchdown with 30 seconds remaining. The two-point rush failed, but the Foothillers had reduced their deficit to 27-26 before the break.

Holmes takes control on ground

Grossmont moved ahead for good in the third quarter, with Holmes finishing both touchdown drives himself.

Facing fourth-and-one at the Otay Ranch 4, he faked a handoff and kept the ball for a touchdown with 8:03 remaining. Dow ran in the two-point conversion for a 34-27 lead.

Holmes then broke a 33-yard run to the Mustangs’ 3, setting up his own 2-yard touchdown run at 4:37. On the conversion, Baird went up on the left side and leaned back to secure Holmes’ pass, extending the advantage to 42-27.

The Foothillers had turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 15-point lead without asking Holmes to abandon either half of his game.

Otay Ranch answered with an 8-yard touchdown pass before the quarter ended. Grossmont stopped the two-point rush, preserving a 42-33 advantage entering the fourth.

Two touchdowns in 10 seconds

Dow helped put Grossmont in position to separate again, running off the left side and inside the 5. A facemask penalty pushed the Foothillers back, but they recovered to finish the possession.

Holmes found Baird in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown with 7:21 left, making it 48-33 after an unsuccessful conversion.

Just 10 seconds later, Ong returned his interception 38 yards for a touchdown. The extra-point kick failed, but Grossmont led 54-33.

The defense produced other important possessions. Mateo Miller recorded seven tackles and recovered a fumble, and Jonah Yost intercepted a pass.

Still, Otay Ranch refused to let the final minutes become a Homecoming procession.

Delaughter found Hyman for a 24-yard touchdown with 4:48 remaining, trimming the margin to 54-39 when the conversion failed. Then Joshua Washington returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown with 2:27 left.

McClendon intercepted the ensuing two-point pass in the end zone, keeping Grossmont’s lead at nine. Otay Ranch came no closer.

Jordan finished with 57 rushing yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, and Jaidon Castillo carried 11 times for 61 yards. The Mustangs totaled 353 offensive yards. Jordan also made 17 tackles, while Luke Childers had 16 tackles and an interception.

Grossmont’s conversion decisions were part of its familiar approach. Lawrence, who quarterbacked the Foothillers under Tommy Karlo, went for two after each of the team’s seven offensive touchdowns. Grossmont converted three, including both attempts in the third quarter, before trying a kick following Ong’s defensive score.

The Foothillers did not make the evening quiet. They made enough plays to win it — and now carry that same attacking identity into a road game where every extra possession could matter.

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
OTAY RANCH	21	6	6	12	45
GROSSMONT	14	12	16	12	54

LOOKAHEAD: Unbeaten Wolf Pack await in Santee

GROSSMONT (4-1) at WEST HILLS (4-0)
Friday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., at West Hills High

Grossmont’s next opponent has spent the season winning games that look considerably different from Friday’s shootout.

West Hills has allowed 52 points in four games, fewer than Grossmont scored against Otay Ranch alone. The Wolf Pack return from a bye with an unbeaten record, home-field advantage and an opportunity to measure their strong start against one of the conference’s most difficult offenses to contain.

With Cathedral Catholic visiting Granite Hills on the same night, this matchup shares the local spotlight with a major county attraction.

Among games matching two Grossmont Conference teams, however, Grossmont at West Hills is the centerpiece.

The teams enter with a combined 8-1 record. Grossmont’s move back into the Hills League gives the meeting a different setting from last year: this is a non-league crossover between Hills and Valley programs, with no league-standing result attached to it.

There is still plenty at stake. Grossmont wants to reach its Hills schedule with five wins and evidence that it can manage a difficult road assignment. West Hills wants to show that its unbeaten start can withstand a substantial increase in offensive pressure.

West Hills has earned opportunity

Coach Casey Ash’s Wolf Pack opened with a 28-13 victory over Chula Vista, followed by wins over Bonita Vista, 20-10; Mira Mesa, 17-9; and Hilltop, 27-20 in overtime.

Those results have required West Hills to protect leads and finish close games. The Wolf Pack have yet to allow more than 20 points, and their most recent win required an overtime response on the road.

The bye gave West Hills an additional week between that Hilltop game and Grossmont’s visit. The Foothillers, meanwhile, are coming off a night in which the outcome still demanded attention deep into the fourth quarter.

Evin Dill gives West Hills its own quarterback who can hurt an opponent on the ground. He averages 86.5 rushing yards and 127.3 passing yards per game, accounting for approximately 214 yards of offense per outing.

That makes discipline against the quarterback a requirement for Grossmont in both directions. The Foothillers know what Holmes can do when defenders follow the handoff. Against Dill, they must avoid giving the Wolf Pack comparable opportunities.

West Hills averages 211.3 rushing yards and 345.5 total yards per game. Rene Varela Ugalde, at 44.5 receiving yards per game, provides a receiving threat that prevents Grossmont from treating the matchup solely as a test of its run defense.

On the other side, EJ Lee-Fields averages 9.5 tackles, and Zach Waters leads the displayed sack averages at approximately 0.9 per game. West Hills averages 2.8 sacks, but its challenge will be more complicated than simply getting into the backfield. A defender who rushes past Holmes can create the very running lane he is trying to close.

Grossmont’s advantage comes with a responsibility

The Foothillers have the stronger offensive case entering the matchup. Holmes just accounted for six touchdowns, Dow supplied another 162 yards on the ground, and three different receivers caught scoring passes.

That variety matters against a defense accustomed to keeping games within reach. West Hills cannot commit entirely to stopping Holmes’ keepers without accounting for Dow, and it cannot crowd both runners without leaving opportunities for Bewley, McClendon and Baird.

For Grossmont, the challenge is to turn that variety into sustained control. Running the football need not mean becoming passive. With Holmes and Dow, the Foothillers can continue seeking first downs while making West Hills spend time and possessions trying to get the ball back.

Friday’s late interception return offered a useful warning. Grossmont does not need to discard the aggressiveness that produced 54 points. It does need to recognize when the opponent’s best remaining chance is an extra possession supplied by a mistake.

West Hills has won at a much narrower scoring margin throughout its start. Letting the Wolf Pack remain within one possession at home would put the game in circumstances they already know how to handle.

The common-opponent comparison offers little reason to dismiss either team. Grossmont beat Bonita Vista, 28-14; West Hills won 20-10 on the Barons’ field. Both handled that assignment, and neither result suggests an overwhelming separation.

A series with swings in both directions

Grossmont won last season’s meeting 48-27 at West Hills, following Wolf Pack victories of 29-18 in 2023 and 24-6 in 2022. Those recent results supply a better warning against assumptions than any simple appeal to tradition.

The series stands 16-16 through 2025 across the completed meetings, beginning with Grossmont’s 65-8 victory in 1989. The history even includes a split in 2004: West Hills won 41-10 during the regular season before Grossmont answered 23-15 in the playoffs.

Lawrence has a personal chapter in that history.

On Nov. 8, 2013, Grossmont’s future head coach completed 20 of 25 passes for 280 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-6 victory at West Hills, breaking the San Diego Section’s career passing-yardage record along the way. Now he returns to Santee directing another productive Foothillers quarterback, with Holmes coming off a six-touchdown performance.

Last year’s result gives the Foothillers a recent success on this field. This year’s West Hills start gives them ample reason to expect a more demanding reception.

Grossmont deserves the early edge on offensive range, and the comparative computer rankings also place the Foothillers higher. But West Hills’ home field, extra preparation time and defensive consistency make this a serious test rather than a routine stop before Hills play.

The Foothillers have already shown how quickly they can score. In Santee, their next step is to show how well they can control a game against an unbeaten opponent that has made a habit of staying in it.

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