Unbeaten Eastlake faced a near monumental upset from the Spartans of Chula Vista Friday night at Stan Canaris Stadium. In front of a boisterous home crowd and playing on senior night, the Titans trailed Chula Vista 14-0 heading into halftime.

Led by stand-out running back Tony Jefferson, the Titans of Eastlake High (8-0-2; 5-0) scored 28 unanswered second-half points to defeat the Chula Vista Spartans (6-4: 4-1) 28-14. With the victory, Eastlake secured the Mesa League Championship and a trip to the CIF playoffs.

Entering the match-up, the Eastlake Titans sat firmly atop the Mesa League standings. The team seemed poised to cruise to an easy victory against Chula Vista in the final game of the regular season, but the Spartans had different plans.

The Chula Vista defense dominated Eastlake in the first half, holding Jefferson to 33 yards on ten carries. Without an effective run-game, something Eastlake has used successfully early and often, quarterback D’angelo Barksdale was forced to try to make plays downfield.

On consecutive drives early in the half, Barksdale threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. Chula Vista DB Tyrone Richardson zigged and zagged his way 100 yards for the score while corner Aaron Taylor took his 80 yards to the house. The Eastlake offense would continue to sputter and entered halftime trailing 14-0.

Something happened in that locker room, because a different Eastlake team reemerged. Fueled by passionate speeches from some of the seniors, the team awoke from its scoring slumber. On their first offensive possession, the Titans pounded the ball downfield and Jefferson capped off the drive with a 19 yard touchdown scamper. This would prove to be the turning point in the game.

Hungry to get their seniors a final regular season victory, the Eastlake defense immediately got the ball back for their offense. An interception by safety Zach Bannon resulted in a 10 play, 93-yard scoring-drive that ended with Jefferson scoring his second TD of the night.

“In the locker room, it was basically just getting our offensive line pumped up,” said Jefferson referring to the halftime break. “We basically just had to get a pump up speech, not even by the coach but by the players, and we came out here and executed.”

Jefferson wasn’t about to let his team lose on senior night

“Losing this game would have just crushed me,” he said post-game. “I knew we were going to come out here and win. It’s a great way to end my senior year regular season.”

Jefferson finished the game with 28 carries for 176 yards and three TDs. Even with only 33 yards in the first half, head coach John McFadden never lost faith in his stellar senior running back.

“He’s an incredible kid,” said the head coach of Jefferson. “Every time I think he drives me crazy with the spinning and stuff, he hurdles over three guys and I just say ‘wow.’ He’s just an incredible kid.”

Besides Jefferson, several seniors made the most of their final regular season game. RB Daniel Diaz was a constant outside running threat; used in combination with Jefferson, Diaz totaled 76 yards on 11 carries.

After throwing two early interceptions, QB D’angelo Barksdale rebounded with a second-half TD pass that put the Titans in the lead. And the offensive line led by senior Gabe Gomez handled the Spartans defensive line in the second half, helping Jefferson and Diaz total 189 yards after halftime.

Jefferson knows that his team faces challenges in the CIF playoffs, but is confident that his team will overcome them.

“We have a lot of work to do; we have to fix a lot of things,” he said. “We can’t tell what the future holds, but I can see us in a stadium.”

Eastlake will most likely have earned a first-round bye in the CIF championships. They will rest up and prepare for which ever team they draw in two weeks time. Behind the dangerous running attack of Tony Jefferson, the Titans of Eastlake will be a formidable CIF opponent.

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

Postion: Outside Hitter Height: 6’1” Class: 2010 School: Cathedral Catholic High School San Diego, CA

Kelly Reeves signed her National Letter of Intent with UCLA to play volleyball for them this past Wednesday. Kelly is captain of the Cathedral Catholic team which won last years Division III Championship as well as the Western League title. A dominant outside hitter, Kelly’s coach, Kelly Drobeck told The San Diego Union-Tribune, “Kelly is always the one we know will never run out of energy. She definitely hasn’t changed at all in that aspect. She has gotten a lot stronger and smarter. I’ve definitely seen her mature, too. Now she’s developed into our team leader.” Reeves has racked up 294 kills this season alone while leading Cathedral Catholic to another impressive season with playoffs starting this week, which the Dons are sure to go far in. Reeve’s is also looking for big things with her club team, The Encinitas Wave, telling ESPN Rise she hopes her team wins the Junior Olympics.

Positions: QB Height: 6’5″ Weight: 215 Class: 2010 School: Valhalla High School, El Cajon, CA

Quarterback Peter Thomas has etched his name into San Diego high school football history. With a 14-7 win last Friday, Thomas led his Valhalla Norsemen to their first league football championship in the school’s 35-year history. Thomas threw the game winning 65-yard touchdown pass late in the 3^rd quarter to secure the win. He was elated after the game telling The San Diego Union-Tribune, “This is absolutely awesome, no one in the 35 years of our school has ever experienced this moment before.” Thomas, who is ranked by MaxPreps.com as a top 100 player and the 6^th best pro-style quarterback in the country has committed to playing football at Arizona State University next fall.

Many SportsForce athletes have been receiving local recognition and one continues to receive national press coverage as Dillon Baxter continues his quest to be the national player of the year for high school football. With the high school fall sports season wrapping up, national signing day is inching closer we are looking forward to more amazing athletic performances throughout the play offs.

Dillon Baxter is receiving constant attention as he moves forward in a phenomenal season breaking records along the way. This has caused many people to draw comparisons between Dillon and a few other football players from San Diego. MaxPreps took on the subject comparing Dillon to Helix High School Alum, Reggie Bush:

Visit Dillon Baxter’s SportsForce profile HERE

Baxter has had an outstanding season, punctuated by his performance Friday night against Lincoln. The 6-foot, 205-pounder, who lines up at quarterback for Mission Bay, threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 268 yards and two scores. He also intercepted a pass on defense.

For the season, Baxter has amassed 781 passing yards and 1,090 rushing yards. He’s even kicked three PATs.

Baxter has good speed, excellent balance and the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, all characteristics that have folks in the San Diego buzzing about the area’s next great rusher.

In a September matchup with Paloma Valley, Baxter rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another as Mission Bay won 38-15. Paloma Valley head coach Bert Esposito was highly complementary of Baxter after the game.

“That’s the best high school football player I’ve ever seen, and I saw Reggie Bush at this age,” Esposito told North County Times afterward. “But this kid’s phenomenal.”

The San Diego Union-Tribune published November’s Athletes of the Month. Two former SportsForce Athletes of the Week received honors, Lauren Birks for Girls Volleyball and Kenny Stills for Football. The Union-Tribune writes of Lauren:

Lauren Birks, La Jolla Country Day

Helping the Torreys to a glittering 27-1 season record, Birks, a junior outside hitter, was credited with a team-leading 287 kills on 478 attempts. Showing her all-around ability, Birks compiled 230 digs and 39 service aces.

Visit Lauren Birk’s SportsForce profile HERE

While Kenny had another month of stand out performances,

Kenny Stills, La Costa Canyon

Stills, a senior, led the Mavericks to a 4-0 record in October. For the month, Stills caught 23 passes for 447 yards and three touchdowns. He tossed a 29-yard touchdown pass and ran for 26 yards on four carries. On defense, he picked off one pass and recovered a fumble.

Visit Kenny Stills’ SportsForce profile HERE

By Craig at 619Sports.net

VALLEY CENTER- The Valley Center Jaguars are an elite Division IV program, with five CIF championship banners to prove it. But each year when they meet Oceanside in Valley League play, coach Rob Gilster’s team gets to see a level of talent and speed that rarely travels up Cole Grade Road.

“Our kids only see speed like that once a year,” said Gilster.

On Friday night, #1 Oceanside raced past #4 Valley Centerso quickly, the Jaguars and their fans barely got a glimpse before the Pirates were off with the treasure. Oceanside (9-0, 5-0) jumped out to a 24-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and completely throttled the Valley Center offense in a 45-7 final that was not nearly as close as the score.

Pirates head coach John Carroll was proud of his team’s intensity on a night when the Pirates’ first-team defense held the Jaguars (8-1, 4-1) to 37 yards, three first downs and zero points in 13 possessions.

Oceanside scored two touchdowns in the first 2:44 of the game to quickly drain any drama from a matchup of 8-0 teams. The Pirates marched 72 yards on the opening drive, scoring on a Devin Taverna wide receiver option TD pass to Demario Coleman. Moments later, senior cornerback/running back Noah Tarrant picked off a Beau Reilly pass in the left flat and easily scampered 26 yards for a pick six, making it 14-0.

Oceanside racked up 152 of their 381 total yards of offense in the first quarter, with quarterback Quentis Clark (9-for-17, 125 yards, TD) hooking up with Jerry Whittaker on a 27-yard scoring toss to make it 21-0. The Pirates ran for a combined 210 yards, with Whittaker (8 carries, 82 yards) and King Holder (3 carries, 52 yards, 2 TD) leading the way.

But the story on this night was on the other side of the football, where the Pirates’ defense regularly induced gasps from the Valley Center crowd with their pad-rattling hits. Stanton Upson, an all-league running back who entered the game with over 1200 yards and 13 touchdowns, was held to a paltry 26 yards on 22 carries.

With Upson under wraps and the score out of hand, the Oceanside defenders were left free to pin their ears back and chase the quarterback. Beau Reilly wound up being sacked six times, three times by Molesi.

Noah Tarrant, meanwhile, enjoyed an unusual two touchdown day. After his pick six score as a corner, Tarrant found himself in the right place at the right time in the third quarter, when a bad snap on a punt left Jaguars’ punter David Last awkwardly booting a scrambling kick from his end zone. Tarrant grabbed the short wobbler on the run and raced 12 yards for his second non-offensive touchdown of the game:

On a night where there wasn’t much to enjoy from a Valley Center perspective, head coach Rob Gilster saw something very important on the field: a Jaguars team that met the physical challenge offered by the Pirates without backing down.

Oceanside further bolstered their #1 section and #5 state ranking, and at 9-0, they are a week (and a win over Ramona) away from both securing another Valley League title and completing a 10-0 regular season. While John Carroll’s team once had a 10-0 season that included a forfeit, they’ve never completed a 10-0 regular season on the field, a fact he shared with his team in the postgame huddle.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars will still be a #1 or #2 seed for the Division-IV playoffs, where they will likely roll until they see another brilliantly fast San Diego athlete, Mission Bay’s Dillon Baxter.

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

Positions: RB / DB Height: 5′ 7″ Weight: 150 Class: 2010

Point Loma High School San Diego, CA

Despite his small stature, Point Loma running back Stephan Jackson continues to come up big for the Pointers this season. He rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown on only 7 carries to help propel his team over conference rival Serra last Friday. Jackson is averaging nearly 8 yards per carry this season and has 363 total yards from scrimmage. Jackson looks to continue his stellar play this season when the Pointers take on the Hoover Cardinals in a battle of 5-3 teams this Friday night.

Visit Stephan’s full SportsForce profile HERE

Height: 5’4″ Position: Center Forward Class: 2010 School: Scripps Ranch High School

Andi Earle is the senior captain from the Scripps Ranch Field Hockey team that took first place at the Serra Tournament and is the defending Division II CIF Champions. This season alone, Earle has recorded 20 games played, all of which she has started, 34 goals, 13 assists and 94 points. She assisted in the lone goal that lifted Scripps Ranch over Fallbrook in the finals of the Serra Tournament.

A member of the highly competitive US Field Hockey Futures Elite team, Earle was also a qualifier for the Junior Olympics in field hockey in 2008. Earle is a forward for her high school team and a dominant scorer. Her coach, Jane Morrill, told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “She’s the one. When you need a goal, she’ll get it done,” said Falcons coach Jane Morrill. Earle is currently considering Michigan, University of California Berkeley, Stanford and UC Davis to continue her field hockey career.

Visit Andi’s SportsForce profile HERE

This past weekend, Ricky Seale broke the San Diego CIF rushing record that has been standing since Demetrius Sumler (2002-05) set it. Seale surpassed the 5,650 yard record by 161 yards. 619Sports.net writes:

“Seale electrified the boisterous home crowd in Escondido by eclipsing the section rushing record on the game’s first series, scampering 28 yards for a touchdown. That gave him 50 yards for the game and 5,651 yards for his career, one more than Demetrius Sumler of Cathedral Catholic. But while Seale kept the 5th ranked Cougars (6-1-1, 1-1-1 Avocado) close, once running 10 straight times on a drive out of the wildcat formation, eventually he wore down. After carrying 26 times for 178 yards in the first half, Seale was held to just 34 yards in the second half by the athletic “Gang Green” defense of LCC.”

Another San Diego football star who has been garnering lots of attention is La Costa Canyon wide reciver, Kenny Stills. The question now stands where Kenny will play after high school. 619Sports.net caught up with Kenny to see what schools top the list:

“I’m looking at Florida and Oklahoma, and if I can stand the cold weather, I could go to Michigan,” said Stills, who plans on making his official announcement on December 1st.

However things could change:

“If Stills delays his decision, that would be good news for two more schools who have popped up on his radar screen. Stills told 619 Sports he’s been offered a scholarship by the University of Miami, a school that has a tradition of developing NFL wide receivers.”

Stills’ Miami trip isn’t scheduled until December 11th-13th, so the Hurricanes have to hope Kenny is still undecided by that point. Stills also said the only way he will be at school for the spring semester (he’s on target to graduate in December) would be if he is trying to qualify academically for Stanford.”

Kenny is also very grounded when it comes to his recruiting decision

“’I know this body still needs to fill out, and my education is really important to me. You need something to fall back on after football is over.’”

Visit 619Sports.net for both full articles.