Grossmont (El Cajon) has produced its share of big-league athletes over the years.
That list includes quarterback Brian Sipe, the 1980 National Football League MVP with the Cleveland Browns, and New York Jets linebacker Bill Ferguson, whose claim to fame was making the tackle on Buffalo's O.J. Simpson when the Bills superstar set the NFL season rushing record (at the time) of 2,003 in the 1973.
Granted, the latest achievement by coach Ron Murphy's upstart Foothillers isn't anything of that magnitude. But the 10 sacks of Valhalla quarterback Frank Foster that Grossmont registered in knocking off the Norsemen 13-7 on Friday was eye-catching to say the least.
Multiple takedowns by linebackers Colton Alexio (2.5 sacks) and Michael Davis-Tucker (two sacks) allowed the Foothillers to rally from a 7-0 deficit, while the defense shut down the Norsemen to the tune of just 53 yards of total offense in the second half.
"Tonight was a little different because usually we're able to force the ball out (cause fumbles)," Alexio told EastCountySports.com. "But we were in their backfield all night – we'll take all those sacks for sure."
Also wreaking havoc for Foster were Grossmont defenders Brennan Darling (a solo sack plus two shared stops) and Taylor Rathbun (a pair of shared sacks).
"We knew they were a passing team, so we tried to put as much pressure as we could on their quarterback all game," Rathbun said in the EastCountySports.com report. "It was all defense tonight – we really played together."
However, the biggest stop of the ballgame was registered by defensive back Dylan Cooper.
With Valhalla on the verge of re-claiming the lead early in the fourth quarter, Cooper charged into the Norsemen backfield to register a 2-yard loss to foil a 4th-and-goal from the Grossmont 2-yard line.
Foothills Christian back enjoys career rushing night
Running back
Spencer George of
Foothills Christian (El Cajon) had rushed for an unnoticeable 114 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns in the Knights' first three games.
In week four, the 5-foot-10, 160-pound sophomore turned into King George as he rushed for 363 yards and four touchdowns on 34 carries as the Knights came from behind to knock off Borrego Springs 34-22 at Junior Seau Field in La Mesa.
George scored on runs of 1, 15, 25 and 22 yards to lead the Knights (2-2) to their second Southern League win in as many decisions. It was his 22-yard run that erased a 22-21 deficit in the fourth quarter.
"Our offensive line did a great job blocking," George said. "They opened a lot of holes."
Georg's rushing total is the ninth highest according to the CIF-SDS record book. He fell nine yards short of reaching the fourth highest mark on the books. None of the numbers seemed to blow George away. The one that probably stuck out in his mind the most was the number of times he carried the ball.
"This was the most times I've carried the ball in one game," George said.
He had to be proud of averaging 10.7 yards per carry, let alone scoring 26 points, which included a 2-point conversion.
ENA RESCUES WILDCATS IN FINAL SECONDS
Six-foot-5, 220-pound senior
Ryan Ena reeled in a 22-yard touchdown pass with 31 seconds to go to help
El Camino (Oceanside) edge Fallbrook 15-14. Ena finished with six catches for 63 yards. Doubling as a defensive end he also recorded two sacks, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble. To prove he's a triple threat, Ena also dropped a punt at the Fallbrook 2-yard line in the fourth quarter.
BREWER CAPTURES THE GOLD
Chris Brewer of
Rancho Buena Vista (Vista) captured the gold medal in the race for No. 1 runners in the Southern California Boys Cross Country Invitational, covering Vista's Guajome Park 3.1-mile course in 15 minutes, 34.86 seconds. His time was the fastest of the day by 14 seconds.
MILLER UNSTOPPABLE IN SO-CAL INVITATIONAL
Brianna Miller of
Carlsbad won the race for No. 1 runners in the Southern California Girls Cross Country Invitational, covering Guajome Park's 3.1-mile course in 18:36.34 – 18 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES— Sophomore quarterback
Tofi Pao Pao of
Oceanside passed for 216 yards and three touchdowns while completing 8 of 10 passes in a 56-24 win over Rancho Buena Vista.
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Brawley senior quarterback
Donnie Wharton rolled up 240 total yards and accounted for two touchdowns as the Wildcats (5-1) whipped Imperial 28-12 to take the lead in the Imperial Valley League.
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Jamarie Sanders averaged 30.7 yards on nine rushes and scored three touchdowns as
Madison (San Diego) (5-1) mauled Mission Bay 45-13.
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Garrett Krstich, a senior quarterback at
La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad), clicked on 16 of 22 passing for 214 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-15 victory over Carlsbad.
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Felix Garcia of
Bonita Vista (Chula Vista) collected 201 yards and three touchdowns on 25 rushes in the Barons' win over San Diego Mater Dei Catholic.
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Jake Wragg of
Steele Canyon (Spring Valley) compiled 257 all-purpose yards to go along with scoring four touchdowns as the Cougars clobbered Granite Hills 49-16.
— Adam Renteria of
Mission Hills (San Marcos) galloped for 185 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries as the Grizzlies edged San Pasqual 28-27.
— Grossmont has turned the ball over only once in six games.
— Despite a running clock throughout the second half,
Mount Miguel (Spring Valley) tied its 27-year-old single game scoring record with a 63-0 rout of Grossmont Valley League rival El Cajon Valley.
COMING ATTRACTIONSLongtime CIF-SDS rivals Grossmont and
Helix (La Mesa) have been playing for the symbolic Musket trophy since 1951 when Helix first opened its doors. Grossmont, one of the oldest schools in San Diego County – originally welcoming students in 1920 – trails in the all-time series against the Highlanders 34-18-2. This neighborhood rivalry has been rather lopsided of late as Helix is 23-1-2 against the Foothillers since 1979. Grossmont's only win over that span was a 28-14 verdict in 1991. Due to league changes these teams did not meet on an annual basis the past decade. Both teams come into Friday's encounter with Helix boasting a 6-0 record. The Highlanders stand No. 6 in The San Diego Union-Tribune rankings, while Grossmont is No. 10.
DICKENS' DEALINGS
Some schools just don't get it.
In these times where funds are short and media interest is surprisingly high, way too many high school administrators don’t go out of their way to cooperate with the press. Too many cater to one television highlight show in San Diego and blow everybody else off.
Granted the majority is in love with the TV highlights show but there’s a tendency to forget about newspapers that have covered these schools for decades and internet broadcasts that need press box accommodations as well.
Let's face it – all forms of the media are valuable, so favoring one over the other is foolish. Whether it means building bigger press boxes or providing more electrical outlets, publicity is a must to get the word out to the public and help high school football continue to serve as a revenue-generating sport.
Fortunately there are those administrators who try to balance the books. They go out of their way to accommodate all media. And that's what it's going to take to keep high school football coverage in the limelight.
