HORNETS, EAGLES SEEKING TITLE

Two Open Division semifinal games go to overtime period(s)

Too often, great games on paper don’t live up to the hype.

Not so in the San Diego Section Open Division semifinals, where Granite Hills upset Carlsbad 46-45 in overtime, while Lincoln outlasted Helix 45-38 in double overtime.

“Think people got what they paid for,” said Granite Hills coach Kellan Cobbs, whose game was played before a raucous sellout crowd of nearly 4,000 at Carlsbad.

“Really, both games. Both went to overtime. Both went down to the last play. Great football.”

Second-seeded Granite Hills (11-0) plays No. 1seeded Lincoln (11-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday in Snapdragon Stadium.

Granite Hills is the defending State 2A champion. Lincoln is the defending State 1AA champion and the winner of 23 games in a row.

Only the Open Division champion advances to the State Bowl Championships, so essentially, the secondbest team in San Diego, a one-loss team, will be left at home.

Thursday night’s game between Granite Hills and Carlsbad came down to the final play. After scoring second in overtime at Carlsbad, Cobbs decided to go for two and win the game.

The Eagles came out in a swinging-gate formation and ran a jet sweep, with Pablo Jackson running left to right and just getting into the end zone for the win.

“That’s a play we’ve worked on for three weeks,” Jackson said. “I have the option to run it in, or pop the ball over the defense if they close in on me.”

One night later, Lincoln stopped Helix’s Kevin Allen a yard short in the second overtime.

“I think the team responded very well,” said Lincoln coach David Dunn. “That’s what we needed to see, who we are. I think everybody wanted to see that.

“We kind of ran over all the teams during the regular season and everybody wanted to see how we’d respond when we had a game. We’ve got fight, and the guys are not going to back down. They’re going to keep coming.”

Division 1

(9) Madison 21, (1) Torrey Pines 0: Madison (6-6) posted its third consecutive shutout. The Warhawks limited Torrey Pines (7-4) to 113 yards of total offense, including just 6 rushing. James Tivao blocked a secondquarter punt which led to his 13-yard scoring run, and Jaylon Brown rushed for 102 yards on 17 carries, including TD runs of 33 yards and 1 yard, the latter following an interception by Allen Sola. Another interception, this one by Titus Toilolo, came at the goal line as time expired. Warhawks QB Ryley Parenteau completed 11 of 14 for 57 yards and rushed for 62 yards on nine attempts. Madison meets St. Augustine in the semifinals.

(5) St. Augustine 32, (4) La Costa Canyon 17: The Saints (8-4) rushed for 229 yards — 75 by Parker Johnson, 73 each by Honor Faalave-johnson and Brady Palmer and 58 by William Flores. Palmer completed 20 of 26 passes for 226 yards with a pair of TDS to Parker Johnson. Isaiah Hasten had

Lincoln High players celebrate tying the game 31-31 to send it to overtime on a 36-yard field goal by Felix Radilla Benavidez (42).

eight catches for 104 yards and had an interception in the end zone. Andrew Maes finished his marvelous career with 81 rushing yards and a TD for LCC (5-6). Maes also caught five passes for 54 yards. QB Connor Rath threw for 219 yards, with tight end Trevor Ladd catching five passes for 90 yards.

(3) El Camino 28, (6) Cathedral Catholic 21: The El Camino (7-4) defense intercepted four passes. Jake Williams had 15 tackles while Sal Avila and Devin Escobar had 10. QB Carson Howard completed 17 of 23 passes for 150 yards and a TD and rushed five times for 98 yards and a 67-yard score. Ray Taele had TD rushes of 5 and 3 yards. Cathedral Catholic finishes 4-8 and has posted back-to-back non winning seasons for the first time since 2000-2001. El Camino is at Mission Hills in the semifinals.

(2) Mission Hills 27, (7) San Marcos 13: Mission Hills (8-3) running back Giovanni Harte rushed 36 times for 280 yards and TDS of 1, 5, 11 and 25 yards. Defensive end Jon Class had a sack and two tackles for loss. The defense held San Marcos to 21 rushing yards. San Marcos (9-3) scored on a 14-yard pass from Kreet Makihele to Jace Nix and on an 80-yard run with a blocked FG by Jake Vorhees. Justus Woods got the block.

Division 2

(1) Del Norte 19, (8) Oceanside 3: Del Norte (9-2) quarterback Jack Schneider threw three TD paases, two to Ty Olsen. Trey Coleman made a 53-yard FG to tie a school record. Khalid Farah had eight tackles and two tackles for loss while Kaden Barrett had six tackles and two TFLS as the Nighthawks had four sacks and six TFLS. Oceanside finishes 7-5. Del Norte hosts Point Loma in the semifinals.

(5) Point Loma 32, (4)

San Diego Section Open Division title game

No. 1 Lincoln vs. No. 2 Granite Hills Saturday:

7 p.m., Snapdragon Stadium See semifinal schedule for the other divisions,

Note:

Scripps Ranch 12: Brady Allen was Mr. Do-it-all for Point Loma (8-4). At quarterback, Allen rushed for 123 yards on 17 carries and scored three TDS, anchored the defense at safety and punted. His TD runs came from 1, 5 and 1 yard. The Pointers won despite not completing a pass. On defense, Point Loma forced three turnovers. Ian Metayer and Matteo Correia recovered fumbled punt returns and Romeo Carter intercepted a pass. Scripps Ranch finishes 7-4.

(3) La Jolla 28, (6) Central Union 22: La Jolla (9-2) quarterback Jackson Diehl threw for 182 yards and a TD, plus rushed for 154 yards and two scores. Aiden Mcgill rushed for 101 yards and a TD. Carson Diehl had five catches for 61 yards, a TD and an interception. Central Union finishes 9-3. La Jolla goes to Rancho Bernardo in the semifinals.

(2) Rancho Bernardo 28, (7) Bishop’s 16: Rancho Bernardo (6-5) running back Terrick Fisher rushed 19 times for 191 yards and two TDS. Gavin Valencia had 13 rushes for 75 yards and added five tackles on defense. Tanner Whitford had a 77-yard TD reception and recovered a fumble. QB Trey Durham completed all six of his passses for 170 yards and two TDS as RB rolled up 530 yards total offense. Dyllan Irman had nine tackles and two sacks. Bishop’s finishes 8-4.

Division 3

(1) Mission Bay 14, (9) El Capitan 0: Jacob Morgan intercepted two passes in the red zone and Gavin Marzion intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble for Mission Bay (8-3). It was the Buccaneers’ second shutout of the season. Charlie Hutchison threw a TD pass to David Dunn. El Cap, which came in averaging 29.5 points per game, finishes 7-5. Mission Bay hosts Grossmont in the semifinals.

(4) Grossmont 24, (5) Santa Fe Christian 21: Grossmont (6-5) quarterback Hudson Herber passed for 200 yards and three TDS. Noah Walker had six receptions for 88 yards and two scores while Isaac Aceves had 114 yards rushing. Josh Ferrera had 16 tackles while Ailshon Kushaliyev added eight tackles and 11⁄2 sacks and Jacob Suter had seven tackles and a sack. Santa Fe Christian finishes 6-6.

(6) La Jolla Country Day 35, (3) West Hills 7: LJCD (9-3) quarterback Jaden Mangini threw for three scores, ran for two and had one of three interceptions along with Gianno Kassab and Madden Craig. Craig also had a 45-yard TD catch. Quentin Cesaire had TD catches of 12 and 33 yards. The Torreys play at Fallbrook in the semifinals.

(2) Fallbrook 27, (7) Imperial 21: Fallbrook (5-6) running back Chris Bausch rushed 21 times for 185 yards and a TD and quarterback Evan Thomas threw for 169 yards and two TDS, both to Wilson Christopherson, who had seven catches for 124 yards. Will Sherman had an interception while George Aguilar had a sack and broke up a pass on fourthand-8 to halt the final Imperial (8-4) drive.

Division 4

(1) Mount Miguel 56, (9) Escondido 13: Mount Miguel (10-1) quarterback Matthew Barton completed

15 of 23 passes for 185 yards and three TDS. Parris Vernon caught four passes for 97 yards and a pair of TDS, while Jeremiah Castillo and Eric White also had receiving scores. Escondido finishes 3-9. Mount Miguel hosts Santana in the semifinals.

(4) Santana 35, (5) Crawford 14: Quarterback Jayden Goldman was 12 of 19 for 153 yards and four TDS to lead Santana (5-6). Trent Taylor caught nine passes for 125 yards and four TDS. Michael Valenzuela led the defense with an interception TD. Crawford finishes 8-4.

(3) Westview 14, (6) Bonita Vista 10: Westview (7-4) QB Mason Walsh threw for 104 yards and Amare Gomez ran for 119 yards and a TD. Gaven Hern returned an interception 38 yards for Westview’s other score. Lukas Ho Sing Loy had 11 tackles, while Logan Factor had seven tackles and a tackle for loss. Caden Ada-tannehill scored on a 1-yard run for Bonita Vista (7-5) and Richie Rojas made a 42-yard FG. Westview advances to play at Chula Vista.

(2) Chula Vista 27, (7) Olympian 10: Paul Alvarez scored on 10-yard runs to lead Chula Vista (9-2), rushing 20 times for 97 yards. La’darrione Perkins got Chula Vista going with a 35yard TD fumble recovery. Elijah Gillespie led Olympian (7-5) with five receptions for 50 yards, including a 40-yard TD from QB Izaac Baca.

Division 5

(1) Vincent Memorial 47, Hoover 21: Down 21-20 entering the fourth quarter, Vincent Memorial (9-3) erupted for 27 points for the victory. Quarterback Jacobo Elias passed for 289 yards and three TDS and added 95 rushing yards and one rushing score. Receiver Miguel Ruiz had touchdown catches of 35, 38 and 45 yards, while Joel Cervantes rushed for 123 yards and two

scores and caught passes for 78 yards. The Scots’ defense had four sacks, recovered three fumbles and had an interception. Hoover finishes 7-5. Vincent Memorial plays Sweetwater at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Escondido High for the championship.

(2) Sweetwater 38, (3) El Cajon Valley 16: RB Xzavier Crews rushed for 191 yards and scored four times to lead Sweetwater (6-6). Izell Wright added 152 yards on 24 carries and Carlos Delgado gained 98 yards on eight as Sweetwater rushed for 454 yards. El Cajon Valley finishes 6-6.

Division 5AA

(1) Holtville 49, (5) Maranatha Christian 0: Quarterback Alonso Cuevas completed 8 of 14 passes for 106 yards and three TDS and rushed for a score to lead Holtville (8-2). His top target was Alan Carrillo, who caught four passes for 61 yards and three TDS. Griffin Garcia rushed for 151 yards on 21 carries, scoring once. Maranatha finishes 5-7. Holtville plays Army-navy at 1 p.m. Saturday at Escondido High School for the championship.

(2) Army-navy 50, (3) Tri-city Christian 0: Tonton Drobny scored two TDS on defense, one on an interception, the other on a fumble recovery, for Army-navy (8-3). Landon Schrom had TD receptions for 36 and 45 yards. Nehemiah Brunson Jr. ran for 96 yards and a TD. Tricity Christian finishes 10-2.

Division 6 (8-man)

(1) Foothills Christian 29, (4) Coastal Academy 8

(2) St. Joseph Academy 32, (3) Calvin Christian 14

Foothills Christian and St. Joseph Academy play at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Escondido High for the championship.

U-T