Good to the last drop for Barons, Spartans

A road victory is always something to be cherished. In the case of the Chula Vista High School football team, all games this season are essentially being played on the road because of stadium renovations.

But the manner in which the Spartans came on top in last Friday’s non-league game at Bonita Vista High School has to be noteworthy, and likely a trend-setter for the remainder of the 2025 season.

In other words, it was a great game for both teams with a particularly great finish.
It was good to the last drop.

So good, in fact, that first-year Chula Vista head coach Jimmy Clark III had to take a moment alone on the field to reflect.

“I was wearing my father’s class ring, class of 1973, he passed away recently, and to come back here as an alumnus and get my first coaching win at Chula Vista was very emotional,” Clark said.

It was a roller-coaster evening.

The Barons scored first on an 18-yard pass from senior Greyson Smith to senior Armando Ibarra but the extra point was no good, leaving the hosts up 6-0.

The Spartans responded on a 27-yard scoring run by junior Gabriel Ruiz (nine carries, 72 yards) on a direct snap. The extra point was good to push the visitors in front 7-6.

It was understandably a defensive game from there.

The action picked up in the second half.

Fortune smiled on the hosts when junior Nate Lindquist made a superb over the shoulder catch in the corner of the endzone to give the Barons their second touchdown of the game. Smith then went around end four yards for the two-point conversion for a 14-7 BV lead.

Fortune then smiled on the Spartans with short fourth-quarter scoring runs by junior Elijah Richardson (11 carries, 36 yards) and senior Isaiah Heard (six carries, 23 yards).

Richardson’s TD knotted the score at 14-all with 9:22 remaining in the game and it appeared overtime was a possibility.

But a special teams error negated that on a botched punt as the visitors took over at the BV 23-yard line with 6:16 to play.

Heard got a first down at the nine. Richardson moved the ball to the two. From there, Heard took it into the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown.

Senior Alex Yepis (team-high 17 tackles) blocked the PAT attempt but the Spartans led 20-14.

Junior Marshall Romo entered the game in the final 3:29 in a bid to boost the Barons to a potential game-winning touchdown. He connected on two long passes to move the hosts 53 yards to the CV11-yard line. Sophomore Lucas Cortes Rasulli bulled his way to the five but a penalty moved the ball back to the 10.

Spartan defenders Julian Martinez and Daniel Marquez, both seniors, combined to bat down Romo’s desperation fourth-down pass at the goal line.

It was victory formation in the final 44.3 seconds.

Senior Darrion Frisson keyed the Spartans with 15 tackles while Marquez had an interception.

Lindquist’s grab came from 24 yards out. He also rushed five times for 26 yards for 50 total yards in the game.

Raulli had 62 all-purpose yards, including 56 receiving. Junior Cole Margetts also had an interception for Bonita Vista.

Smith had four completions for 60 yards and two touchdowns.

The Barons play at University City (2-0) this Friday while Chula Vista meets El Capitan in another non-league encounter at Olympian High School.

 

Photos by Phillip Brents
Chula Vista at Bonita Vista, 8-29-2025

 

Mar Vista, Olympian zoom to 2-0 tackle football starts

Sophomore Luke Everett (running back, linebacker, kicker) and senior Ciontae Fewell (wide receiver/cornerback) were named MaxPreps’ Players of the Game in Mar Vista’s 50-12 non-league victory last Friday against Victory Christian Academy.

The game, played at Sweetwater High School, served as the Mariners’ homecoming contest.

The selections seemed well deserved amid the festive backdrop.

Everett rushed 13 times for 139 yards and scored three touchdowns. He also led the team defensively with nine tackles.

Fewell made six catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns. He ranked second on the team with six tackles.

Fewell topped Mar Vista with 202 all-purpose yards by adding 20 yards on kickoff returns and 44 yards on punt returns.

Sophomore quarterback Holden Bell racked up 188 total yards with 174 passing yards and 14 rushing yards. He completed both touchdown strikes to Fewell.

Senior Steven Santos rushed 17 times for 100 yards and scored one touchdown while sophomore Braylon Shumate gained 36 yards on three carries, one going for a touchdown.
Defensively, Mar Vista recorded three sacks (two by junior Arise Alfred and one by junior Noah Hudkins) and two interceptions (one each by senior Gabriel Sanchez and Shumate).

Players are filling multiple duties. Santos had a 26-yard kickoff return while Shumate had a 23-yard punt return.

Seniors Gabriel Aguirre (10 carries, 78 yards) and Chato Garcia (six carries, 57 yards) both scored on touchdown runs for VCA (0-2) while senior quarterback Austin Dill passed for 154 yards.

Aguirre racked up 179 all-purpose yards by tacking on 83 kick return yards.

Senior Alejandro Rodriguez amassed 15 tackles, including two sacks, while senior Ben Cordova recovered a fumble.

The Mariners next play Calipatria (0-1) at 6:30 p.m. at Bonita Vista high School on Friday, Sept. 5. The Hornets are coming off a 28-22 overtime loss to Mountain Empire.

The Knights have a bye week before playing Foothills Christian on Sept. 12 in a road game.

Olympic start
Joining Mar Vista’s Sergio Villalva as a first-year head coach in the Metro Conference is Olympian’s Lew Barnes, a former player in the NFL, who has guided the Eagles to a likewise 2-0 start to the 2025 season.

Senior quarterback Jayden Fuentes turned in a productive night with 216 passing yards, four touchdowns and a 147.7 efficiency rating.

Two TD aerials went to senior Jorgani Estrada (three catches. 37 yards) and one each to senior Patricio Flatts (three catches, 88 yards) and junior Walter Ignacio (one catch, 23 yards).

The Eagles also received rushing touchdowns from junior Jonah Zamora (four carries, 10 yards) and Ignacio (eight carries, 10 yards).

Olympian out-gained Vista 297-153 in offensive yards.

As a team, Olympian rushed for 81 yards — 31 on three attempts by Fuentes and 29 on one carry by junior Gio Ware.

Fuentes tallied 247 total yards in offense.

Senior Mikey Talavera had one catch for 39 yards.

Junior Jeremiah Delgado Faucher led the team defensively with 12 tackles and one fumble recovery for a touchdown while Talavera had two sacks.

Ignacio had two TDs — one rushing and one receiving.

The Eagles travel to Eastlake (1-1) this Friday in a bid to unfold their wings to a 3-0 start. The Titans are hungry after coming off a 21-0 home field shutout at the hands of the Beckman Patriots.

EHS leaders included junior Ryan Hughes (79 passing yards) senior Ryan Branco (46 receiving yards), junior Santi Aleta (42 receiving yards), junior Nicolas Alba (11 tackle, one sack), junior David Branco (11 tackles, one sack), senior Samuel Salcido (one sack) and junior Jovani Ceja (one fumble recovery).

 

Lancers, Aztecs pick up first wins of 2025 prep football season

Playing conditions were brutal with high temps and high humidity for the San Diego Section’s second round of Thursday night games on Aug. 28, especially in East County where the Hilltop Lancers picked up their first win of the season over the host El Cajon Valley Braves.

The Lancers had to deal not only with the Braves and the weather but also a 7-6 halftime deficit.

Hilltop seemed to come alive as the weather cooled as the game progressed with 23 unanswered points to put the clamp on a welcome 29-7 non-league victory.

The Lancers evened their record at 1-1 in advance of their next game Sept. 5 against the visiting Santana Sultans. Kick-off is 7 p.m.

The Braves saw their early season record drop to 0-2.

“It’s always good to get a win,” Hilltop coach Bryan Wagner said. “We started off slow, but we were able to put some offensive drives together in the second half. Our defense did a great job of corralling and containing the running game as well as shutting done their passing game.”

Senior Leo Mendoza led the way offensively with 122 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Senior Alejandro Carranza (three carries, three yards) scored once on the ground while adding 90 passing yards to his total.

The Lancers out-gained ECV 285-85 in total yards, holding the Braves to 53 rushing yards and 32 passing yards.

Hilltop scored 13 points in the third quarter to move in front 19-7 and tacked on 10 points in the fourth quarter.

The win made amends for a 24-7 loss to the visiting Coronado Islanders in the season opener.

The Lancers dominated the rushing game with 195 yards. Sophomore Tre Nichols II jostled the hosts with one burst for 60 yards. Junior Bryson Grant keyed the visitors with three catches for 38 yards.

Senior kicker Manuel Pablos was perfect on three point-after-touchdown attempt and converted one field goal for six kicking points.

Junior Rashaunn Barr led the Braves with 34 total offensive yards.

Santana is coming off a 14-7 win at Crawford behind 150n yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Ethan Miller.

Other contributors included Julian Mayers with 13 carries for 49 yards and two catches for 54 yards, Caleb Carnes with four catches for 33 yards, Kolten Thornton with eight catches for 35 yards, one touchdowns and eight tackles, Sean Gardinera with two catches for 27 yards and one touchdown, Tatum Moorehouse with eight tackles and Jodryn Gillissie with four tackles and two sacks.

Dynamic duo
The Montgomery Aztecs broke into the win column courtesy of a 14-0 non-league victory over the host El Capitan Vaqueros last Friday in Lakeside. The game was a gritty as the score might suggest.

The Aztecs unleashed their dynamic duo of sophomores Isaiah Mena-Malijan and Qassim Williams on the gridiron battlefield.

Mena-Malijan passed for one touchdown (to Williams) and rushed for another while Williams controlled the game on the ground with 82 rushing yards on 14 carries. Williams had two catches for 47 yards.

Offense came at a premium as the visiting Aztecs chalked up 166 total yards to 150 for the Vaqueros, who have been shut out twice to start the season.

Seniors Isaac Espinosa and Vili Trollinger set the tone on defense with 12 and 10 tackles, respectively, while Espinosa and sophomore Andrew Tapia each had two sacks.

Senior Rony Nguyen had one interception for 19 yards. Espinosa averaged 34 yards on four punts.

The Aztecs match up against Patrick Henry (0-2) Friday at San Ysidro High School, 7 p.m.

 

Raiders, Cougars tell foes to take a hike in snaring first wins

The Southwest Raiders finished 5-5 last season, 2-1 in Metro-Pacific League play. The Raiders appeared on course to qualify for the San Diego Section playoffs before midseason injuries to key players sidelined that.

Last Friday’s 39-21 non-league victory against the Bettye Davis East Anchorage Thunderbirds at Hilltop High School could be an indicator of good things to come.

Southwest, which is playing its games at neutral sites this year because of field construction, lit up the scoreboard with six touchdowns, including four by junior Samuel Gonzales and one each by junior Dylan Garcia and sophomore Joseph Ellis.

Junior Leonel Rivera trotted off the field with five kicking points.

The Raiders were opportunistic on defense, registering one sack and two interceptions.
“We have a young group of guys who are trying to figure out how to be good,” Southwest coach Domonic Cruz said. “We had a pretty tough task against East High from Anchorage Alaska. Their frontline on both sides of the ball averaged over 230 (pounds) per player. Additionally, they had a solid running back.

“We were able to prove to ourselves that we can hold our own in a physical matchup, especially our offensive line led by seniors right tackle Daveon Marcus and left guard Dylan Zarzosa. They, along with juniors center Alan Acosta, left tackle Adrian Alfaro, and right guard Reyes Molina. Backup center Sergio Ibarra (junior) came in later to close out the game. Our guys up front are a huge reason we have been having success in the run game.”

Gonzales rushed 22 times for 115 yards. As a team, the Raiders logged 143 rushing yards on 31 attempts. Garcia netted eight yards on five carries in scoring the team’s fifth rushing touchdown in the game.

Ellis scored on an interception return. Junior Diego Valencia had the team’s other pick. Ellis and junior Sergio Ibarra shared a sack.

Sophomore Darrell Moss had two kick-off returns for 85 yards. Rivera had two PAT kicks and a field goal to his credit.

Junior Isaac Munoz keyed the victors with 10 tackles.

Junior Leo Holguin passed for 128 yards while hitting on 15 of 22 attempts. Junior Elijah Lewis had 56 yards on four catches while Rivera had 40 yards on five receptions.

Southwest plays at Clairemont (0-2) this Friday, 6:30 p.m. The Chieftains are coming off a 56-27 non-league loss at San Ysidro.

Cougar country
Senior quarterback Dario Garcia rushed for 152 yards and scored one touchdown and passed for 87 yards with one touchdown to lead an eight-touchdown assault by the host Cougars to claim their first victory of the season.

Garcia finished the non-league game with 239 total yards.

San Ysidro punished Clairemont with 597 yards in total offensive yards, including 510 yards on the ground with seven touchdowns.

Senior Sean Blazen rushed for 191 yards and scored two touchdowns while senior Santiago Plascencia rushed eight times for 63 yards and one touchdown. Junior Wyman Tolbert rushed for 30 yards and one TD while senior Santiago Valenzuela rushed for 74 yards with one score.

Junior Bryan Landeros caught two passes for 14 yards, including one for a touchdown.
Senior Aaron Garcia had four catches for 40 yards while junior Eyden Coutinho had two catches for 33 yards.

Plascencia and Valenzuela combined for one sack while junior Leonel Medrano blocked a field goal attempt. Coutinho was successful on six extra-point kicks.

San Ysidro plays at Crawford this Friday, 6:30 p.m. The Colts (0-2) dropped a 14-7 non-league decision to Santana last week after coming up short, 36-13, to Monte Vista in their season opener.

 

San Diego Section Rankings
(Through Aug. 30)
1. Lincoln (2-0), 2. Cathedral Catholic (2-0), 3. Carlsbad (2-0), 4. La Costa Canyon (2-0), 5. Granite Hills (5-0), 6. Mission Hills (2-0), 7. El Camino (1-1), 8. San Marcos (1-1), 9. Mater Dei Catholic (0-2), 10. Poway (2-0), 11. Torrey Pines (2-0), 12. Helix (0-2), 13. Rancho Bernardo (2-0), 14. Pt. Loma (2-0), 15. Mt. Miguel (1-1), 16. St. Augustine (0-2), 17. Madison (0-2), 18. Del Norte (1-1), 19. Oceanside (0-2), 20. University City (2-0), 21. Central Union (2-0), 22. Bishop’s (2-0), 23. Santa Fe Christian (2-0), 24. Scripps Ranch (1-1), 25. La Jolla (1-1), 26. San Pasqual (1-1), 27. Steele Canyon (2-0), 28. Imperial (2-0), 29. Christian (1-1), 30. Mt. Carmel (2-0)

Others: 36. Eastlake (1-1), 39. Otay Ranch (1-1), 44. Chula Vista (1-1), 45. Montgomery (1-1), 50. Olympian (2-0), 53. Bonita Vista (0-2), 56. Sweetwater (1-1), 70. Hilltop (1-1), 73. Mar Vista (2-0), 77. Southwest (1-1), 79. San Ysidro (1-1), 80. Castle Park (1-1), 86. Victory Christian Academy (0-2)

Thursday, Aug. 28
Hilltop 29, El Cajon Valley 7

Friday, Aug. 29
Chula Vista 20, Bonita Viata 14
Montgomery 14, El Capitan 0
Olympian 49, Vista 0
Mar Vista 50, Victory Christian Academy 12
Southwest 39, Bettye Davis East Anchorage 21
San Ysidro 56, Clairemont 27
Beckman 21, Eastlake 0
Pt. Loma 14, Otay Ranch 0
Granite Hills 52, Mater Dei Catholic 17
RBV 30, Sweetwater 13
Army-Navy Academy 49, Castle Park 6

Next up for South County

Friday, Sept. 5
Olympian at Eastlake, 6:30 p.m.
Escondido at Sweetwater, 6:30 p.m.
Mar Vista vs. Calipatria at Bonita Vista, 6:30 p.m.
Chula Vista vs. El Capitan at Olympian, 6:30 p.m.
San Ysidro at Crawford, 6:30 p.m.
Southwest at Clairemont, 6:30 p.m.
Santana at Hilltop, 7 p.m.
Montgomery vs. Patrick Henry at San Yisdro, 7 p.m.
Castle Park vs. Monte Vista at Otay Ranch, 7 p.m.
Bonita Vista at University City, 7 p.m.
Otay Ranch at San Diego, 7 p.m.
Mater Dei Catholic at Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland), 7 p.m.