Three Metro teams remain in contention for CIF football titles

The San Diego Section tackle football playoffs are down to the semifinals with three Metro Conference teams still in contention for coveted division titles.

The survivors through the quarterfinal round include the No. 2-seeded Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders (Division II), eighth-seeded Montgomery Aztecs (Division IV) and No. 2-seeded Bonita Vista Barons (Division V).

Metro-Mesa League champion Mater Dei Catholic (8-3) will host the third-seeded Helix Highlanders (5-6) in Friday’s semifinal, starting at 7 p.m. The Crusaders are riding an eight-game winning streak, including a 47-14 win over No. 7 Bishop’s (7-4) in last Friday’s quarterfinals, while the Highlanders are coming off a 41-25 win over No. 6 La Jolla (7-5) last Friday.

The winner advances to the Division II championship game Friday, Nov. 29, at Southwestern College at 7:30 p.m. The Mater Dei Catholic-Helix winner will face the winner between No. 1 University City (10-1) and No. 4 Poway (4-7).

University City eliminated No. 8 Christian (9-3) by a 41-28 score in the preceding quarterfinals while Poway ended the season for No. 5 Point Loma (6-6) with a 28-7 quarterfinal win.

“We are excited to continue our season,” Mater Dei Catholic head coach Rashard Cook said. “We are also aware of the challenge that Helix will present. We have great momentum offensively and defensively. We need to keep playing our brand of football and stay focused on the task at hand, which is stop the running game from Helix and win all three phases of the game.”

Senior quarterback Kartell Purvis unleashed a near-perfect performance with 11 for 13 passing, 249 yards and five touchdowns for a 164.3 quarterback rating. Sophomore Julian Cromartie and junior Larell Parker each caught two scoring passes while junior Mekhi Oluwa had one touchdown reception.

The Crusaders also added two rushing scores from junior Jordan Dumaran and senior Jeremiah King.

On defense, senior Isaiah Cook had a 60-yard interception while senior Matt Carr, beneficiary of a 55-yard pass from Purvis, recovered a fumble.

Senior Pablo Jackson rushed for 275 yards and four touchdowns, including a 66-yard scamper, while senior Harlem Harris uncorked a 78-yard scoring pass to senior Jett Gottlieb to pace Helix past La Jolla.

“Our team played with great physicality last Friday,” Helix coach Damaja Jones said. “We have been playing our best football in the last few weeks. I’m proud how we compete and stay engaged throughout the season.

“We are going to play a tough opponent this week. Our plan will be similar on how to win. We must win two out three phases of the game and we must limit turnovers and try to create some. We also need to lean into our identity.”

Montgomery 28, Ramona 7
Metro-South Bay League champion Montgomery (9-3) recorded one of the biggest upsets in the quarterfinals with a 28-7 conquest of No. 1 Ramona. The Aztecs will stay on the road at the No. 5 Westview Wolverines (5-7) this Friday. The Wolverines defeated No. 4 Mission Bay (3-8) by a score of 18-14 in the quarterfinals to advance.

The Montgomery-Westview winner will face either No. 2 El Capitan (8-3) or No. 3 Grossmont (5-6) in the Division IV championship game Friday, Nov. 29, at Southwestern College (3 p.m. kickoff).

El Capitan eliminated No. 7 Chula Vista (5-7) by a 44-13 score in the quarterfinals while Grossmont dumped No. 6 Mira Mesa (1-11) by a 49-24 score from this year’s playoff tournament.

Montgomery used three rushing touchdowns — two by junior Mikey Silva — and a fumble recovery for a touchdown by junior John Ingram to sideline the top-seeded Bulldogs.

Silva rushed for 84 yards on 18 carries while freshman Gassim Williams gained 43 yards on five carries. Frosh quarterback Isaiah Mena-Malijan scored one rushing touchdown while passing for 75 yards.

Senior Zantez Thomas had four catches for 51 yards while junior Andie Deanda had two catches for 34 yards to help key the offense.

“The team made some second-half adjustments offensively for 21 unanswered points and the defense created four turnovers,” Aztec head coach Freddy Dunkle said. “To continue playing we can’t beat ourselves with penalties and turnovers. We have to play smart and together.”

Ingram had two fumble recoveries for 52 yards while senior Marcus Trujillo added a 54-yard interception on defense. Senior Royal Iapala also recorded one sack while junior Viliamu Trollinger caused a fumble.

Trollinger led the visitors with 12 tackles while senior Amio Fox had 11 stops.

The Montgomery defense limited Ramona to 139 rushing yards and 10 passing yards.

Bonita Vista 14, Santana 0
Bonita Vista, the Metro-South Bay League runner-up with a 6-5 overall record, will host the No. 3 Crawford Colts (6-5) in Friday’s semifinal tilt after eliminating the No. 7 Santana Sultans (7-5) by a 14-0 shutout in last Friday’s quarterfinals. Crawford dispensed with No. 6 West Hills (6-6) last Friday by a score of 21-14 to advance.

The Bonita Vista-Crawford winner will meet the semifinal winner between No. 1 Vista (4-7) and No. 12 Monte Vista (7-5) in the Division V championship game Saturday, Nov. 30, at noon at Southwestern College.

Monte Vista upset No. 4 Hoover (6-5) in a high-scoring game, 47-46, in the quarterfinals while Vista out-lasted No. 8 Coronado (6-6) by a 14-11 score.

Bonita Vista defeated Crawford, 17-7, on Sept. 27. But the playoffs could bring a different result if the Barons are not in tip-top health. In the game against Santana, the hosts lost the services of senior rushing leader Kenneth Jordan very early in the contest but had just enough in reserve to nudge past the Sultans, 33-18 winners over 10th-seeded Kearny (7-4) in the opening round.

The Barons took a 7-0 lead on a blocked field goal attempt in the second quarter. After senior D.K. Roberson made the block, senior Diego Lopez picked up the loose ball and ran 90 yards the other way unscathed for a defensive touchdown. Senior quarterback Isayah Luna connected with sophomore Nate Lindquist on a wide-open catch in the end zone later in the quarter.

Lindquist (39 rushing yards, 39 receiving yards) later left the game with an injury and the hosts hunkered down with defense to preserve the playoff win.

The Barons out-gained the visitors 191-183 in total yards in the low-scoring game.

Jordan, who rushed for 205 yards with one touchdown in the regular season win over the Colts, was limited to five carries for 15 yards in the game. In Jordan’s absence, senior Abel Meza rushed eight times for 70 yards.

Senior Kaedyn Hallman rushed 21 times for 87 yards and junior Caleb Carnes had six carries for 48 yards to lead Santana, which kept the score close via interceptions by senior Noah Qualin and junior Maddox Esoo. Hallman keyed all players in the game with 104 all-purpose yards.

The Sultans only gained 25 yards in the passing department.

“It was really important for us to perform well on special teams, offense and defense,” BV senior kicker Richie Rojas said.

Local teams ending their seasons in last Friday’s quarterfinals included the No. 5-seeded Eastlake Titans (Division III) and No. 7-seeded Chula Vista Spartans (Division IV). The Titans (5-7) lost 34-13 at No. 4 San Pasqual (6-5).

Senior signal-caller Izaac Baca passed for 166 yards and two scores — one each to senior Elijah Gillespie and sophomore Gabriel Ruiz — in the loss to the Vaqueros. as the Spartans, held to 35 rushing yards, finished their season 5-7.