D- III: Cathedral On Top Again

Cathedral Catholic and Point Loma battled it out in what proved be a closer match than years prior considering the Dons blowout win against the Pointers in the 2007 CIF Championship , beating them 41-3. The Pointers able to lead the Dons in the second half through the third quarter with a score of 14-6, but that is where the lead would end. The Dons finally gained momentum with a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, however, their attempt at a 2 point conversion pass was knocked down.

After the defense held, Cathedral got the ball back at its own 36 with 5:19 remaining. On 3rd-and-9, Cathedral Catholic coach, Sean Doyle, sent in word to go for the downs. Dons QB, Max Brewer called a slant-and-go for WR Chance Early, who was lined up in single coverage split to the left against Point Loma’s Davis Callejon. The slant move drew in Callejon and allowed Early to get a half-step behind his coverage.

Brewer delivered a perfect throw, running back Early made the catch, then broke free of Callejon’s tackle at the 35-yard-line. The rest was clear sailing to the end zone and a third-straight Section championship.

D-IV Final: Baxter Scores 7 TDs in 48-17 Rout of Valley Center

Baxter, in a performance for the ages, rushed for 384 yards and seven touchdowns as the top-seeded Mission Bay Bucaneers (13-0) ran past Valley Center 48-17 in Chula Vista. Baxter, who already owns the state scoring record, came within 40 yards of the single-game San Diego section rushing record, held by Kenneth James Jr. of Mt. Carmel, who ran for 424 yards against Westview earlier this year.

His first carry of the night went for 34 yards, but that was just a warmup. On his final carry of the first half, Baxter broke a 92-yard scoring run. On his first carry of the third quarter, it was Dillon Baxter for 87 yards and another score. A 46 yard scoring romp on 4th down sealed the deal in the final quarter.

Baxter’s take on the game:

It was a special night for Mission Bay coach Willie Matson, who saw 30 years of hard work rewarded with his first CIF title:

Baxter said he fulfilled a promise by delivering a title plaque to Matson before he left for USC:

Jaguars head coach Rob Gilster had nothing but praise for his great running back:

But in the end, both coaches could only watch and admire the individual brilliance of Dillon Baxter, who will surely go on to great things at USC in the next four years. From the opposing sideline, Gilster could only grit his teeth after missed tackles and long Baxter runs:

Meanwhile, Baxter’s high school career can now be compared to the greats who have preceded him, such as Marcus Allen and Reggie Bush. Has there ever been a more dominant player in the section than Baxter? Matson said simply that Baxter was the best player he had ever coached:

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

D-I: Eastlake Holds Off Vista 21-14

Twelve seconds remained and Vista stood but 15 yards away from the tying score in the D-1 CIF championship game against Eastlake. Down 21-0 in the 3^rd quarter, the Panthers clawed their way back into the game; both teams’ entire seasons boiled down to these final seconds. QB Christian Gallardi snapped the ball, rolled to his left, and tossed it towards the end zone. Qualcomm Stadium was silent as the entire crowd held their collective breaths.

With a tremendous leaping grab, Daniel Johnson intercepted his third pass of the game to secure the D-1 CIF Championship for Eastlake High School (11-0-2). The Titan’s 21-14 victory over Vista High School (10-3) brought Eastlake the school’s first ever CIF title.

Eastlake RB Tony Jefferson:

Eastlake head coach John McFadden:

D-II Final: Oceanside Opens Championship Six-Pack

The Oceanside Pirates took advantage of sloppy play from the Helix Highlanders to win the DII San Diego Section CIF Championship 26-10. The win extended their own record to six straight CIF Championships dating back to 2004.

Helix came into Friday’s game after stunning Valhalla and Scripps Ranch the previous two weeks. The Highlanders started the game as well as they could have hoped. After a tremendous kickoff return from star DB Jimmy Pruitt, the Helix offense drove the ball 56 yards culminating in a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore QB Brandon Lewis.

But as Quentis Clark told 619 Sports after the game, this team knew they would bounce back. While admitting that they were not used to being down early, Clark reiterated that the team never lost its swagger that had led to a perfect record in 2009. With a sixth straight title, Oceanside is in a class all by themselves.

Oceanside head coach John Carroll:

Helix head coach Troy Starr:

Oceanside quarterback Quentis Clark:

Oceanside linebacker Jake Fely:

Oceanside linebacker Sam Niu:

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

Positions: RB / DB Height: 5’10” Weight: 170 Class: 2010 School: Santa Fe Christian High School Solana Beach, CA

Sam Hoekstra may have played his last game for Santa Fe Christian, but he went out with a performance to remember. Hoekstra rushed an exceptional athlete with speed and quickness rushed for 313 yards and 4 touchdowns on only 13 carries for a mind-boggling 24-yard per carry average in a losing effort against Mission Hills last Friday. Hoekstra finished his senior year with over 2,000 all-purpose yards and 24 touchdowns.

Visit Sam’s SportsForce profile for more statistics and details

Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

by Kyle Englehart for 619Sports.net

The Titans of Eastlake battled the Escondido Cougars in a heated CIF semifinal match-up Friday night in Chula Vista. Standing in each other’s path towards a CIF championship appearance, the two teams fought to for a chance to play at the “Q.”

The ball found its way into Tony Jefferson’s hands most of the night and the Eastlake Titans (10-0-2) defeated the Cougars of Escondido (8-3-1) 35-14. The win sends the Titans to the D-1 final against Vista under the bright lights of Qualcomm Stadium.

Jefferson (23 carries, 217 yards) continued upon his fantastic 2009 campaign scoring three touchdowns on offense and making big plays on the defense; including a spectacular leaping interception in the end-zone.

Yet it was the Titans that got off to an extremely slow start. The team found their 1^st first-down with 1:02 left in the first quarter, and trailed Escondido with under a minute left in the first half.

Escondido’s Ricky Seale, who has more touchdowns this season (35) than the Cougars had passing yards tonight (21), was not a factor in the game. Seale had 12 first-half carries for 42 yards. On the final play of the half, he was tackled out of bounds and never returned to the game. Seale injured his left knee and was on crutches after the game.

“We knew Ricky Seale was the main factor of this game,” said Jefferson post-game. “In the second half he didn’t come back in and we took full advantage of it.”

Without the running threat of Seale, Escondido was forced to throw the ball in the 2^nd half. Two quick interceptions in the 3^rd quarter resulted in Jefferson TD runs and the Titans would never look back.

A 69 yard TD run by RB Daniel Diaz made the score 28-7 in the final quarter and a stingy defense and clock munching running attack finished the game out with no difficulties.

“We’ve been in some close games they just keep on fighting, there is absolutely no give-up in them,” said Titan head coach John McFadden

The victory at Stan Canaris Stadium was the last of Tony Jefferson and the Eastlake seniors’ high school careers. Jefferson, who is graduating early and starting college this spring, is still deciding upon USC or Oklahoma.

“This is a very emotional and fun time for me,” said Jefferson. “I’m having a lot of fun right now.”

The excitement will only continue as Eastlake travels to Qualcomm Stadium next Friday, December 11. There they will face the Panthers from Vista High School (10-2) for the Division 1 CIF Championship.

Vista comes into the bout scorching after upsetting top ranked La Costa Canyon. The Panthers demolished the Mavericks 47-7 on LCC’s home turf.

But don’t overlook the Titans. They are riding a ten game winning streak and are scoring 38.7 points per game during that time, while allowing only 9.2.

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

Positions: RB / LB Height: 5’10” Weight: 200 Class: 2010 School: Mission Hills High School San Marcos, CA

Chad Dobbins and the Mission Hills Grizzlies ran their way into the semifinals of the CIF San Diego DII playoffs last Friday with a dominating 35-7 victory over Grossmont. The 5’11 200 lb senior running back set a career high with 192 yards and 3 touchdowns on only 13 carries. Dobbins has gone somewhat under the radar this season as his grind it out style doesn’t receive the same exposure as the flashy style of a Ricky Seale. Dobbins told the North County Times, “I don’t usually have those big, flashy runs like Ricky does. I’m one of those running backs who chips away. Today, maybe I turned that around.” And turned it around is exactly what he did with touchdown runs of 76, 54 and 32 yards. With his stellar performance, Dobbins eclipsed the 1,000 rushing yard mark for the season. Dobbins may need a little more of the flash he showed against Grossmont as his Grizzlies take on the #1 ranked, undefeated Oceanside Pirates in a semi-final showdown this Friday night.

Check out Chad’s SportsForce profile here

Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

Positions: RB Height: 5′ 11″ Weight: 200 Class: 2010 School: Mira Mesa High School San Diego, CA

The CIF playoffs are finally here, and Damien Williams made sure his Mira Mesa Marauders weren’t going to have an early exit. The 5’11” 200 lb running back ran all over the Carlsbad Lancers, rushing for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns as he led his team to a 48-29 victory. Lancers head coach Bob McAllister was well aware of the explosive ability of Williams telling the North County Times, “He’s the real deal, we knew we had to stop him, and we didn’t. We just had to tackle better than we did.” Williams now has 2, 285 rushing yards with 24 touchdowns on the season. Next up for Williams and the Marauders is a date with the #3 ranked Escondido Cougars in a division 1 showdown this Friday. With Williams and the all-time CIF San Diego rushing leader Ricky Seale positioned to receive a lot of carries, both defenses might want to brace themselves for an all out rushing assault for the ages.

Visit Damien’s full SportsForce profile

by Kyle Englehart at 619Sports.net

There was an offensive explosion Friday night at Scripps Ranch High School. The scoring frenzy left one casualty: the Orange Glen defense. Scripps Ranch lit up the scoreboard all night long scoring a season high 63 points.

Orange Glen fought hard, but Brennan Clay and the Scripps Ranch offense were too much to handle. Routing the Patriots 63-34, the Falcons (6-5) soared their way into the quarterfinals of the Division II CIF Playoffs, where they will face Lincoln. Clay, a University of Oklahoma commit, looked spectacular rushing for over 150 yards with two touchdowns; all in less than two quarters of play.

The Falcon offense was firing on all cylinders throughout the game. In the first half, Scripps Ranch got into the end zone on all but one drive. After trailing early 14-7, the Falcons quickly rallied and entered the half with a 42-14 lead. Déjà vu struck in the last 42 seconds of the half when QB Jake Fish found WR Jeff Brown for two 10-yard TD strikes.

“Tonight we came together and played well, these past few weeks this offense has been out of sync,” said Clay post-game. “We finally got this offense clicking. With the offense clicking it brings the defense together and makes them play harder.”

The Falcons defense certainly played hard, but they could have taken the night off.

Scripps Ranch punted the ball only once in the game (3:06 4^th Quarter) and scored touchdowns on all but three drives. Halfway through the second quarter, Clay broke off a stunning 65 yard TD run that gave Scripps a 28-14 lead, the closest Orange Glen would be the rest of the game.

The victory sends the Falcons to Lincoln next week to face off against their Valley League counterparts. Three weeks ago, Scripps Ranch was pummeled 41-7 by the Hornets. Clay is expecting a different outcome this time around.

“That’s going to be a hard fought game, a shootout. There’s probably going to be a lot of points scored,” said an anxious Clay. “The defense just has to hold tight, they’re a speed team, and speed kills.”

Clay and the Falcons played what is likely their last home game of the season, and for seniors like Clay, the last home game of their high school career.

“It felt great; we had a good crowd, a lot of supporters, a lot of family and friends, and alumni.”

Next week, the Scripps Ranch Falcons travel to Lincoln in hopes of earning a spot in the semifinals. Clay will be looking to punish the Hornets defense which allowed 306 rushing yards in their final regular season game against Mira Mesa.

—Courtesy 619Sports.net

Nolan Mera is a center fielder for the University City High School baseball team. Nolan also plays for the SoCal Blast. Visit Nolan’s full profile and see his video below.

Nick Sloan is kicker/ punter for Scripps Ranch High School. The 5’11 185lb junior has been a member of the varsity squad since his sophomore year and was named the Special Teams MVP in 2008. Visit his full profile and see him in action below.

Mar Vista High Softball pitcher, Angelica Iacovetti has received much recognition for her talents, named 1st Team All-Southbay League Led league in HRs(6) 2nd Team CIF San Diego Section Div III Union Tribune Athlete of the Week(5-12-09) and San Diego Section III CIF Finalist. Angelica has her sights set on a few schools: St.John’s University; Academy of Art University; Stanford; University of California; Berkeley; Wagner College; San Francisco State; Savannah College of the Arts. Visit her full profile.

Shelby Isley is a midfielder for the Girls Soccer team at Archbishop O’Leary High School in Alberta, Canada. She is also a member of the track and field team. See her video below and visit her full profile.

A senior at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, CA, Thomas Pluschkell plays third base and first base. Thomas received the All Academic Team AZ Fall Classic HS Coaches Award and is looking at MT, UCLA, Stanford, USC, UCSD and Notre Dame to continue his baseball career. See his video below and visit his full profile.

Chelsea Maestas is a junior at Murrieta Valley High School and plays second base and center field for the Nighthawks softball team. She also plays for the San Diego Legacy and was a member of the the 2009 League Champions and recieved the 2009 Golden Glove Award. Check out her full profile.

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

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.