Eagles advance to CIF championship
The Southwest High football team came out early and often in its CIF-San Diego Section Div. III semifinal game, scoring three touchdowns in its first three possessions of the game en route to a 62-18 win over Hilltop at Eagle Field here on Friday night.
The win pushes Southwest to a remarkable 12-0 record on the season and perhaps, more importantly, lands them in the CIF-SDS Div. III championship game a week from today.
“I’m just so excited for (the players), the school, the administration, and the community,” said an elated Eagle Head Coach John Mitosinka. “We jumped on the board quick and didn’t stop.”
The Eagles reached the Div. IV semifinals last season, where they fell to La Jolla, which gave them a bit of extra motivation heading into Friday’s game, explained Mitosinka.
“They do remember last year, and they didn’t want that to be the outcome of this game, so they were ready to do whatever it took to win,” he said.
In the win, a total of six Eagles saw the end zone, including senior Derek Guzman, who recorded the first touchdown of the game on a 4-yard spurt with 8:40 left in the first quarter.
“For us getting that early score is really important,” Guzman said. “When we get up early it’s hard to stop us.”
Following Guzman’s score game a 32-yard pass from Cameron Jungers to Tyler Saikhon, which made the game 13-0 after the Sergio Ruiz PAT.
Saikhon scored again on the Eagles’ next possession after the Southwest defense forced a fumble, setting up Saikhon’s 25-yard dash.
The defense then came up with another key play that gave the Eagles a 27-0 lead by the start of the second quarter, when Logan Chell intercepted a pass and ran it back more than 20 yards for a score.
Mitosinka credited the defense with another solid effort and noted the spark Chell’s return and play gave the team.
In the second half, it was Jungers’ time to shine as the senior rushed for a 65-yard touchdown and also caught Tristan Smith from 10-yards out to lift Southwest over the Lancers, 41-0, with 5:01 left before the half.
While neither team scored after the 10-yard Jungers pass, the third quarter saw both teams reach the end zone two times, making the score 56-12 at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Lancers put on their first score with 10:09 on the clock, while Southwest answered at the 7:10 mark on an 11-yard spurt from Guzman for his second score of the game.
“It’s just unbelievable,” said Guzman with a smile about the win. “I’ve very glad we were able to do it, and I’m excited to keep going.”
After Guzman’s score, the PAT snap was a bit off target, but a quick-thinking Jungers scooped up the ball and found Saikhon alone in the end zone for twopoint conversion score.
At 4:32 the Eagles’ Justin Cordova found the end zone on a 1-yard jump, made possible with a lengthy pair of runs by Guzman.
Just before the start of the fourth quarter, Hilltop recorded its score of the game, yet couldn’t capitalize on the PAT, sending the game into the fourth with a 56-12 score.
Each team added on more score in the fourth with Hilltop getting on the board at 10:18 and Southwest answering with 3:47 left in the game on a 4-yard dash from Wesley Dykeman, cementing the team’s spot in the Div. III final.
The Eagles are seeded No. 1 and will face No. 2 Santa Fe Christian, who advanced with a 14-12 win over San Pasqual on Friday.
The teams will compete for the Div. III title at noon, a week from today at Southwestern Community College, located at 900 Otay Lakes Rd. in Chula Vista.