We have a winner! It’s Otay Ranch over previously undefeated Olympian
EAGLES TASTE FIRST LOSS OF SEASON IN BATTLE OF THE O’S MATCHUP
The Battle of the O’s rivalry game between the Otay Ranch and Olympian high school football teams doesn’t have quite the stature yet of the Legacy of Pride matchup between Sweetwater and Chula Vista high schools, the Battle for the Boot contest between Eastlake and Bonita Vista high schools or even the Chula Vista Kiwanis Bowl between Hilltop and Chula Vista high schools.
But it’s definitely growing.
The rivalry game took a huge leap forward last Friday as visiting Otay Ranch scored a touchdown with 35 seconds to play in regulation to overcome a late Olympian lead to post a dramatic 35-31 non-league win and, in the process, shake up the San Diego Section rankings.
What was up? It was the first loss of the season for Olympian after a 5-0 start.
It was the first win for the Mustangs (2-4) to snap a four-game losing streak.
“The Battle of the O’s is what a rivalry game is supposed to feel like,” victorious Otay Ranch head coach Howard Bannister III said. “it was gritty, tough, full of highs and lows for each team.
“We struggled in the passing game, so I needed our run game to take over … and it did.”
Otay Ranch rushed 39 times for 238 yards en route to collecting 362 total yards. Junior Jaidon Castillo led the way with 21 carries for 153 yards while senior Christian Walker had four carries for 57 yards and one touchdown and senior Darius Hawkins had six carries for 23 yards.
Senior David Smith had one catch for 67 yards and one touchdown while senior Deinko Williams had one catch for 29 yards and one touchdown. Senior Xander Mendez had two catches for 14 yards and the game-winning score.
Mendez was wide open on the fateful touchdown toss.
Senior quarterback A.J. Lopez passed for 124 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for one score.
The Mustangs broke out to an early 7-0 lead, stormed back from a 10-7 Olympian edge to lead 21-10 at halftime and were up 28-24 as late as the third quarter before the Eagles unfolded their wings for flight. Olympian, bidding to remain undefeated on the season, overturned that with a late 31-28 lead.
Bannister recounts the game’s furious ending.
“With six minutes left, we were down 31-28,” the Mustangs coach duly noted. “We got the ball of our 20. We ran 10 plays straight — all run plays in a cloud of dust. With 35 seconds left, it was third- and-goal from the one-yard line. I called another run play and our quarterback, A.J. Lopez, noticed that the cornerback left our wide receiver unguarded to blitz and kill our run play. Even though it was a designed run, A.J. saw the open wide receiver and threw it to him. We kicked the PAT to go up four points. After our kickoff, they got the ball on their 30 with 30 seconds left and ran out of time to score.”
Smith keyed the Otay Ranch defense with 12 tackles while senior Joshua Visser and Walker each recorded sacks. Senior Mikie White notched one interception.
Otay Ranch now leads the series 8-5.
Olympian racked up 433 total offensive yards in the loss.
Senior Jayden Fuentes passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, including a 43-yard strike to junior Walter Ignacio. Senior Andie Deanda had seven catches for 119 yards and one touchdown.
Ignacio rushed 20 times for 83 yards and one touchdown to finish the game with 128 all-purpose yards. Fuentes rushed seven times for 75 yards to lead all performers in the game with 300 total yards.
Deanda had a 40-yard reception.
Junior Josiah Rivera logged 14 tackles and two sacks while senior Jorgani Estrada had a 52-yard interception to dazzle the crowd.
Otay Ranch gets no rest with Friday’s game at Sweetwater (3-3) to kick off Metro-Mesa League play.
Olympian has a bye as do all teams in the Metro-South Bay and Metro-Pacific leagues.
Sweetwater is riding a two-game winning streak following last Friday’s 34-6 non-league win over visiting Palo Verde Valley as senior Chris Corpus (13 carries, 74 yards) rushed for three touchdowns, senior Zane Willis (11 carries, 66 yards) scored once on the ground and senior Jonathan Figueroa passed to junior Abdul Osman (seven catches, 66 yards) for one TD.
Crusaders kick off defense of Metro-Mesa League title
The Mater Dei Catholic High School football team’s season is down to four games in a bid to repeat as Metro-Mesa League champions. All are league games and anything can happen.
The Crusaders (3-3) host the Chula Vista Spartans (1-5) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the teams’ league opener. Mater Dei Catholic then plays at Otay Ranch (2-4) on Oct. 10, hosts Sweetwater on Oct. 24 and plays at Eastlake on Oct. 31.
Otay Ranch is currently 2-4 after handing the Olympian Eagles a last-minute 35-31 non-league loss last Friday to spoil the Eagles perfect 5-0 start to the season. Sweetwater improved to 3-3 following a 34-6 thrashing of visiting Palo Verde Valley last Friday while Eastlake carries a somewhat deceptive1-4 record into Friday’s non-league match-up at winless Vista (0-6).
If the playoffs were to start today, Mater Dei Catholic, currently ranked 15th in the latest San Diego Section poll, would lie near the bottom of the Division I rankings while Otay Ranch would seem to in the middle of the Division III tier, Eastlake would be hovering near the top of the Division IV tie and Sweetwater near the bottom while Chula Vista would seem to be near the middle of the Division V segment.
A lot can still change over the course of the last month of regular season play. The league champion gets automatic entry into the section playoffs at whatever level it would qualify.
The regular season ends on Halloween night. Someone will get the booby prize.
The Crusaders kick off league play on a high note after suffocating the visiting Helix Highlanders, 13-0, last Friday in a key top 25 rankings matchup.
Senior Noah Cook (three catches, 32 yards) scored the lone touchdown in the game, that coming in the third quarter to add to a narrow 3-0 Mater Dei Catholic halftime lead.
The Crusaders out-gained the Highlanders (1-5) 371-120 in total offensive yards.
Senior Jordan Dumaran controlled the ground game with 120 rushing yards on 24 carries while senior quarterback Victor Voneiff passed for 118 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Senior Angel Mendoza collected seven kicking points on a pair of field goals, including a 42-yarder, and one PAT conversion.
Sophomore Jasir Fontenot had two catches for 41 yards while senior J Hawthorne accumulated 33 yards on an interception return. Cook also had three sacks on defense.
Barons put back-to-back wins together for first time this season
With a 1-4 record, the Bonita Vista Barons pretty much had their backs against the wall when hosting the Crawford Colts on a rare Thursday night non-league counter on Sept. 25 with both teams jockeying for position in the Division V playoff tier.
In fact, the teams met in last year’s Division V semifinals, with the Barons posting a 27-12 win to advance to the division championship game.
A lot has changed over the intervening year due to graduation and, in the case of Bonita Vista, a rash of untimely injuries.
The Barons won the 2025 rematch 7-6 to improve to 2-4 (no. 4 in the division) while Crawford saw its record drop to 1-4 (No. 10 in the division).
Moreover, the hosts had to play catch-up after Colts senior Khalid Ali (13 carries, 102 yards) broke off a 74-yard sideline run on the first offensive play of the game to go up 6-0. Thankfully for Bonita Vista, the visitors missed the point-after conversion.
That would prove critical after the Barons matched the Crawford touchdown on a 14-yard run by senior Kenneth Watson on the next possession. Bonita Vista junior Diego De La Fuente made the conversion kick for a 7-6 lead.
Defense and field position proved on order the remainder of the game for both teams.
The Barons managed just 25 passing yards and 32 rushing yards in the win. The Colts’ 187 total yards were offset by two interceptions by junior Cole Margetts and a caused fumble by junior Edward Armenta.
Sophomore Shamar Warren was active for Crawford with 16 tackles while sophomore M Castor had one pick for 14 yards. The Colts also collected two sacks and a fumble recovery.
“This was a great win, especially being a close game,” BV head coach Jay Hernandez said. “The defense gave up an 80-yard run first play of the game, but they missed the PAT. Our offense came back with a TD and PAT to take the lead. It was all defense after that. Luckily, Cole Margetts had two interceptions to help with the victory.
“We going to the bye week and getting a few players back from injury before league play.”
Hilltop has no problem scoring in 57-6 win over Castle Par
What senior Julian Moran started on a 40-yard interception return on the first play from scrimmage in last Friday’s non-league game against the Castle Park Trojans, junior Octavio Bonilla finished on a seven-yard run to highlight Hilltop’s 57-6 non-league victory.
The Lancers (3-3) scored eight touchdowns in the game, including three by Moran (pick six, 72-yard pass reception and 75-yard kickoff return).
Senior Leo Mendoza (eight carries, 108 yards) scored two rushing touchdowns on a two-yard run and a 61-yard breakaway.
Junior Bryson Grant (two carries, 44 yards) scored on a 32-yard run to push Hilltop up 231-0 with 43 seconds to play in the first quarter.
The Lancers led 28-0 before Castle Park (1-5) managed its lone score of the contest on a 17-yard run.
Sophomore Zachary Humphrey caught a four-yard pass to round out the Lancers’ scoring parade.
Hilltop lit up the scoreboard with 537 all-purpose yards on offense and two sacks and six tackles for losses on defense.
Senior Manuel Pablos uncorked a 49-yard punt.
“You’ve got to tip your hat to them (the under-manned Trojans) for the season they’ve had,” Hilltop coach Bryan Wagner said. “We have one more non-league game, then it’s going to get tough in league.”
Redhawks win 36-35 squeaker over VCA, advance record to 5-1
The Mountain Empire High School football team is 5-1 on the season, 2-0 in league.
That is certainly something to cheer about, but the season isn’t over quite yet, especially with a possible playoff berth looming as the wins keep mounting.
The Redhawks scored their latest win in dramatic fashion with last Friday’s 36-35 squeaker over the visiting Victory Christian Knights from Chula Vista.
“We scored late and went for two points to put us up by one,” Mountain Empire coach Cameron Keller said. “Michael Noble (senior) made an interception late in the fourth quarter. We had to convert on third-and-short, got penalized, and had to punt. Victory missed a 40-yard field with three seconds left.”
The Knights’ misfortune proved to be the winning formula for the Redhawks.
Top performers last Friday included sophomore Elisha Lashone Robinson with 230 yards rushing and three touchdowns and junior Chance Ross with 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
The Redhawks out-gained the Knights 453-335 in total offensive yards.
VCA (1-1 in league, 1-4 overall) led 21-12 at halftime before the hosts out-scored the visitors 28-14 in the second half.
Senior Chato Garcia passed for 115 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 112 yards and scored once on the ground.
Senior Gabriel Aguirre (17 carries, 87 yards) also scored one rushing touchdown while seniors Austin Dill (four catches, 79 yards) and Ben Cordova (one catch, 22 yards) each caught scoring passes.
Aguirre, who amassed 121 yards on five kick returns, scored on a kickoff return and tacked on one kicking point.
Mountain Empire travels to the city to next take on the O’Farrell Charter Falcons (1-0, 2-3) Friday at 4 p.m.
VCA hosts the Rock Academy (2-1, 3-2) on Friday, 7 p.m.
O’Farrell Charter is coming off a 20-13 non-league win over visiting Orange Glen (1-4).
Cougar country
San Ysidro has quietly upped its season record to 4-2 after recording its third consecutive win, 24-21, at Southwest El Centro last Friday. The Cougars next host the Montgomery Aztecs (also 4-2) on Oct. 10 before embarking on Metro-Pacific League play.
San Ysidro hosts Castle Park (1-5) on Oct. 17, Southwest (3-3) on Oct. 24 before closing out regular season play Oct. 31 with a designated road game against Mar Vista (3-3). The league title — and the automatic berth in the Division V section playoffs — looks up for grabs.
Three players caught touchdown passes for the Cougars in their latest win: junior Caleb Contreras (six catches, 59 yards) and Bryan Landeros (six catches, 41 yards) and senior Aaron Garcia (six catches, 59 yards). Junior quarterback Josh Wade (nine completions, 90 yards) passed for two scores while senior Dario Garcia (seven completions, 69 yards) passed for another.
Junior Wyman Tolbert rushed 19 times for 132 yards to help the South County visitors control the clock.
Junior Eydan Coutinho turned in six kicking points, including a field goal that stood as the difference in the game’s outcome.
Senior Aldo Garcia had one sack on defense.
South County Football Log
Non-League
Thursday, Sept. 25
Bonita Vista 7, Crawford 6
Friday, Sept. 26
Hilltop 57 Castle Park 6
Otay Ranch 35, Olympian 31
Mater Dei Catholic 13, Helix 0
Mission Bay 21, Montgomery 20
San Ysidro 24, Southwest El Centro 21
Coronado 63, Mar Vista 7
Kearny 14, Southwest 0
Sunset League
Mountain Empire 36, Victory Christian Academy 35
Friday, Oct. 3
Mesa League
Otay Ranch at Sweetwater, 6:30 p.m.
Chula Vista at Mater Dei Catholic, 6:30 p.m.
Sunset League
Rock Academy at Victory Christian Academy, 7 p.m.
San Diego Section Football Rankings
TACKLE FOOTBALL
(Through Sept. 27)
1. Lincoln 5-1
2. Cathedra Catholic 5-0
3. La Costa Canyon 5-0
4. Mission Hills 5-0
5. Carlsbad 5-0
6, Granite Hills 3-3
7. Mt. Miguel 4-2
8. San Marcos 4-1
9. Poway 2-3
10. El Camino 2-3
11. Pt. Loma 5-0
12. Oceanside 2-3
13. Imperial 6-0
14. Torrey Pines 3-2
15. Mater Dei Catholic 3-3
16. Rancho Bernardo 5-0
17. Steele Canyon 6-0
18. Del Norte 3-2
19. Madison 2-3
20. Mission Bay 6-0
21. Santa Fe Christian 6-0
22. Scripps Ranch 4-2
23. St. Augustine 1-4
24. Central Union 6-0
25. Helix 1-5
26. University City 4-1
27. La Jolla 3-2
28. San Pasqual 3-2
29. Grossmont 4-1
30. Holtville 4-1
31. Olympian 5-1
32. Bishop’s 4-1
33. San Diego 4-1
34. Ramona 2-4
35. Christian 1-4
36. Montgomery 4-2
37. Otay Ranch 2-4
38. Mira Mesa 3-2
39. Army-Navy 5-0
40. Brawley 1-5
41. Mt. Carmel 3-3
42. Patrick Henry 2-4
43. Eastlake 1-4
44. Valley Center 1-5
45. El Capitan 4-2
46. La Jolla Country Day 2-4
47. Escondido 2-3
48. Westview 2-4
49. Sweetwater 3-3
50. Fallbrook 2-4
51. Santana 3-2
52. Morse 2-3
53. Rancho Buena Vista 3-3
54. Calexico 3-2
55. Coronado 3-2
56. Bonita Viata 2-4
57. West Hills 0-5
58. Hoover 3-2
59. Chula Vista 1-5
60. Coastal Academy 5-1
61. Vista 0-6
62. Crawford 1-4
63. Monte Vista 3-2
64. Palo Verde Valley 2-4
65. Hilltop 3-3
66. Kearny 3-2
67. Classical Academy 2-4
68. San Ysidro 4-2
69. Vincent Memorial 0-4
70. Maranatha Christian 4-1
71. Valhalla 1-4
72, Southwest 3-3
73. Canyon Hills 2-3
74. Escondido Charter 2-3
75. Southwest El Centro 1-5
76. Mar Vista 3-3
77. El Cajon Valley 2-3
78. Clairemont 1-5
79. Mountain Empire 5-1
80. Calipatria 2-2
81. Orange Glen 1-4
82. Castle Park 1-5
83. Rock Academy 3-2
84. O’Farrell Charter 2-3
85. Victory Christian Academy 1-4
86. Tri-City Christian 0-5
87. Foothills Christian 0-6
FLAG FOOTBALL
(Through Sept. 27)
1. Bonita Vista 12-0
2. Torrey Pines 14-6
3. Carlsbad 14-4
4. Westview 12-2
5. Classical Academy 12-8
6. Grossmont 13-3
7. Mission Hills 12-3
8. Cathedral Catholic 11-2
9. Vincent Memorial 13-3
10. Imperial 14-3-2
11. Poway 9-5
12. Steele Canyon 12-4
13. Granite Hills 9-2
14. Calexico 9-2
15. Mater Dei Catholic 10-1
16. Escondido Charter 9-2
17. Clairemont 10-3
18. Del Norte 8-4
19. Helix 8-4
20. San Marcos 6-6
21. Santa Fe Christian 5-1
22. San Ysidro 8-4
23. Pt. Loma 6-5
24. O’Farrell Charter 8-2
25. University City 9-4
26. Mira Mesa 6-6
27. Brawley 8-10-1
28. La Costa Canyon 4-5
29. San Dieguito Academy 9-5
30. Ramona 5-8
31. Santana 7-7
32. Scripps Ranch 6-6
33. Our Lady of Peace 6-8
34. Mission Bay 11-8-1
35. Preuss UCSD 2-1
36. Castle Park 8-3
37. Mt. Carmel 6-3
38. El Capitan 7-5
39. Otay Ranch 4-7
40. Hilltop 4-4
41. Patrick Henry 4-7
42. Kearny 8-4-1
43. San Diego 7-5-1
44. Francis Parker 2-4
45. Canyon Crest Academy 6-6
46. San Pasqual 7-3
47. Morse 4-6-1
48. West Hills 3-4
49. Olympian 3-9
50. Escondido 6-8
51. Valhalla 3-7-1
52. Southwest El Centro 4-9
53. Lincoln 2-8-1
54. Rancho Bernardo 3-10
55. Central Union 3-10
56. Sage Creek 4-9
57. Oceanside 2-7
58. Montgomery 3-2
59. El Cajon Valley 4-7
60. Holtville 5-11
61. Eastlake 2-9
62. Tri-City Christian 2-4
63. CVLCC 2-5
64. Madison 5-7-1
65. Logan Memorial 6-8
66. Southwest 4-7
67. El Camino 3-9
68. Valley Center 1-8
69. Hoover 1-13-1
70. Pacific Ridge 0-3
71. Monte Vista 1-8
72. Rancho Buena Vista 1-9
73. Coastal Academy 0-5
74. Mar Vista 2-8
75. Sweetwater 2-8
76, Chula Vista 0-5
77. Crawford 1-6
78. Canyon Hills 1-10
79. Vista 0-8
Categories
Recent Posts
GET MORE INFORMATION
