Roundup: How San Diego’s high school football teams fared in the first week of the 2025 season

by John Maffei

Locked in a tie game in the fourth quarter of a hotly contested season opener, No. 8-ranked Mount Miguel High School went back to what had worked all night … a power run game.

The Matadors used 12 plays — 11 of them rushes — to drive 81 yards and score the go-ahead touchdown in what was a 28-27 win over No. 7 San Marcos on the road.

“We got away from what was working,” said Mount Miguel coach Verlain Betofe. “But we saw they were tired, had guys cramping. So we went right at them.”

Jayden Hunter carried seven times in that drive for 36 yards before quarterback Jeremiah Loper scored on a 10-yard run.

“I take what the defense gives me and roll with the punches,” Hunter said. “I went into the game hungry. I knew my coach would get me the ball, and rely on me. I’ll take every opportunity I can.”

Hunter finished the game with 20 carries for 81 yards.

The Matadors forced five turnovers, but still had to weather San Marcos’ last-ditch opportunity to win.

The Knights scored with 44 seconds to play to cut the deficit to one point. But their two-point PAT try failed when quarterback Kreet Makilhele was pressured, rolled out of the pocket and threw high and wide to the deep left corner.

“We went for the win,” said San Marcos coach Tom Carroll. “Had to go for the win.”

Top 10

No. 1 Lincoln 57, Honolulu Punahou 29: Jordan Roa completed 15 of 19 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 42 yards for the visiting Hornets. Kainan Manna completed 6 of 9 passes for 68 yards and a TD, and Rashad Robinson rushed 14 times for 148 yards and a score. Junior Curtis carried 16 times for 79 yards and a TD, and Dareyen Bridges caught eight passes for 106 yards. Courtney Miller-Thompson had seven catches for 86 yards and a TD.

No. 2 Cathedral Catholic 49, Mater Dei Catholic 7: Cade Smith returned a blocked field goal 85 yards for a touchdown and Matijis Beals returned a blocked punt 22 yards for a score. Brady Palmer completed 8 of 11 passes for 167 yards and two TDs. Willie Flores carried 13 times for 101 yards and two TDs. Honor Fa’alave-Johnson carried three times for 104 yards, including an 80-yard TD.

No. 3 Mission Hills 31, Quartz Hill 0: Troy Huhn threw for a pair of touchdowns and rushed for another for Mission Hills. Josh Gonzales had a TD catch, and Patrick Fleming had rushing and receiving scores.

No. 4 Granite Hills 45, No. 9 Oceanside 29: Zac Benitez completed 38 of 45 passes for 456 yards and four touchdowns as Granite Hills won. Tristan Diaz caught 14 passes for 113 yards. Zhedam Smith caught seven passes, DJ Wilkins added six catches and Noah Walker had two catches for 92 yards.

No. 5 La Costa Canyon 43, St. Augustine 14: LCC’s Quinn Roth was 5 of 8 for 103 yards and a 54-yard touchdown to Jackson Maggiore. Ford Mitchell had 200 yards in returns, including a 94-yard kickoff return. Coby Herman had a pair of rushing TDs and returned a punt for a score. Luke Ivey rushed for a TD. LCC defense had three sacks and forced a pair of fumbles. PaI Polamalu scored both Saints touchdowns and intercepted a pass, forced a fumble and had a sack.

No. 6 Carlsbad 43, Lakewood 0: Carlsbad’s Eli MacNeal completed 9 of 10 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Travis Jeffery had six catches for 173 yards and a score, and Ashawn Cranford had 3 1/2 sacks.

El Camino 31, No. 10 Helix 21: Gavin Wasserman completed 18 of 25 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown and rushed 11 times for 89 yards for El Camino. Micah Sega caught seven passes for 147 yards. Blake Sega had two rushing touchdowns and Aaron Garcia added one. Jordan Lindley scored twice for Helix, once on a 3-yard run and on a 67-yard interception return. Lee Norman-Lester passed for a pair of TDs.

Other games

San Pasqual 42, Classical Academy 6: Robert Renteria completed 9 of 14 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for two more scores for San Pasqual. Marcus Rocha had four catches for 95 yards and two TDs, and Christian Quintero had 12 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Poway 41, Scripps Ranch 6: Luke Jorgensen rushed seven times for 108 yards and two scores for Poway. Noah Schuback was 10 for 10 for 137 yards and three scores and rushed for 100 yards and a 78-yard TD. James Clifford had a TD reception and keyed the defense alongside Colin Raibert and Davis Rodriguez. Parker Armstrong threw a TD pass for Scripps Ranch.

Rancho Bernardo 15, Whittier La Serna 13: Aiden Wood’s 30-yard FG was the difference for RB. Gaige Weddle completed 13 of 20 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown and returned an interception 55 yards for a score. Gavin Valencia had 18 tackles.

Torrey Pines 43, La Jolla 19: Blake Miller threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns for the Falcons. Dom Rocha carried 15 times for 118 yards and three TDs. Carter Rose intercepted a pass. La Jolla’s Hudson Smith completed 19 of 28 passes for 274 yards and three TDs. Carson Diehl caught 11 passes for 161 yards and a TD.

Fallbrook 27, Escondido 24: Fallbrook snapped a 12-game losing streak as Grant Hall rushed 14 times for 45 yards and a touchdown and Harrison Jones completed 7 of 11 passes for 131 yards. Kendall Collings had 15 tackles and Mason Mendez added three sacks. Carter Sanchez intercepted a pass, while Hudson Quinn had a TD catch and a fumble recovery.

Mt. Carmel 43, Westview 21: Trevor Taumoepeau completed 21 of 30 passes for 340 yards and five touchdowns. Andrew Kcmot had nine tackles and a sack and forced a fumble.

Thermal Coachella Valley 33, Vista 21: Broc Schweikhard rushed 17 times for 162 yards and two TDs and had 11 tackles for Vista. Celestine Visecio caught two passes for 91 yards. Keoki Becerra had 11 tackles, three TFL and a sack.

Holtville 44, West Hills 19: Enrique Armas rushed 24 times for 230 yards and four touchdowns for Holtville. Andre Gonzalez added 71 yards and a score on 10 carries. The defense had a fumble recovery for a score and blocked two kicks. West Hills’ Evin Dill completed 13 of 16 passes for 124 yards and a TD. Zack Marticorena rushed for 305 yards.

Valhalla 51, San Jacinto Valley 27: Jackson Newman gained 118 yards on 11 carries and scored two touchdowns for Valhalla. Ahmed Husaini added a pair of rushing TDs and Jaime Pimental had one. Brody Shartel had seven tackles and a sack. Adrian Rojo-Hernandez added five tackles and a sack.

Sweetwater 31, Morse 0: J.J. Figueroa completed 9 of 13 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown while Zane Willis rushed 14 times for 114 yards to lead Sweetwater. Abdul Osman caught five passes for 93 yards and a score. Joshua Roman and Cordell Hunter both intercepted passes.

Otay Ranch 37, Rancho Buena Vista 6: Jaidon Castillo rushed for two TDs for Otay Ranch. AJ Lopez threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Castillo and a 65-yard pass to Sean Zabayle.

Central Union 44, Jurupa Hills 14: Joshua Garcia caught three passes for 103 yards and a touchdown and returned a kickoff 87 yards for a score for Central Union. Matthew Lizaola rushed for two TDs and caught a 14-yard pass for another score.

Imperial 49, Phelan Serrano 35: Santonio Urena accounted for seven touchdowns for Imperial. Gio Robles added three scores and Max Gaviola had two TD receptions.

La Jolla Country Day 30, Chula Vista 21: Keenan Ward rushed for 150 yards and four touchdowns for LJCD. Nicholas Hedgecock intercepted a pass while Miles Brogwicz and James Picinich recovered fumbles. Chula Vista was led by Isaiah Heard, who rushed for 119 yards and a TD. Elijah Richardson scored twice.

Bishop’s 41, Valley Center 28: Cash Herrera rushed for three touchdowns and threw for three more, including a 71-yard strike to Dane Larson. Reid Dielman had the game-clinching interception as the Knights forced seven turnovers.

Santa Fe Christian 30, Madison 20: SFC rallied behind QB Dax Labrum, who completed 21 of 30 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns. Cole Hajjar had seven tackles. Brandon Scott made three field goals, including a clinching 39-yarder.

Escondido Charter 42, Foothills Christian 6: Charter’s Blake Jurges completed all five pass attempts for 76 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 76 yards and a score and caught a 28-yard pass. Ethan DeBenedictis rushed for two TDs, Jimmy Boslaskov ran for a score and Liam Ricciardi caught a TD pass.

O’Farrell Charter 36, Rock Academy 30: AJ Ortegon rushed 15 times for 120 yards and three touchdowns for O’Farrell. Dakobi Coleman threw for 55 yards and a TD and rushed for 112 yards.

Mountain Empire 28, Anza Hamilton 25: Elisha Lashore Robinson rushed 15 times for 115 yards and a touchdown for Mountain Empire.

Army-Navy 49, Las Vegas The Meadows School 22: Vincent Leatherwood rushed for three touchdowns for ANA while Troy Samoa and Landon Schrom had TD catches. Jeremiah Torres returned a kickoff for a score. Jonah Tua had 2 1/2 sacks. Orange Glen 55, Tri-City Christian 12: Orange Glen snapped a 34-game losing streak, which includes 10 forfeits in 2023. Aldair Samano threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two more. Xavier Wilde and Isaiah Cardenas caught TD passes.

Coastal Academy 32, Maranatha Christian 20:Jake Locker completed 27 of 32 passes for 282 yards and two TDs for Maranatha. Ryan Niguidula had a pair of rushing TDs.

Monte Vista 36, Crawford 13: Monte Vista’s Daesean Jenkins returned two interceptions for touchdowns, Deon Hunter had a pair of rushing scores and Rashawn Florence had a TD catch. Crawford’s Khalid Ali carried 16 times for 129 yards and a TD and returned a fumble for a score.

Santana 30, Canyon Hills 0: Ethan Miller completed 20 of 32 passes for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Santana. Julian Mayers rushed for 69 yards and a score.

Grossmont 42, Patrick Henry 14: Grossmont’s Tyler Holmes threw for 179 yards and four touchdowns. Three of them went to Randy Ballard, who finished with 12 catches for 91 yards. Ryder Robinson had seven tackles and three sacks.

Steele Canyon 23, Ramona 13: Zarius Pascual and Trace Kelly scored for Ramona.

Castle Park 20, Victory Christian 14: Evan Lopez completed 9 of 11 passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns for Castle Park. Aiddien Smith and Chris Collins both caught TD passes.

Eastlake 21, Bonita Vista 0: Eastlake’s J.P. Navarrete rushed 12 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Alexander Yepis had an interception for Bonita Vista.

University City 55, Temecula Rancho Christian 20: Decklan Houston intercepted two passes and caught a touchdown pass for UC. Deshaun Hille had three rushing TDs and caught a TD pass. Quentyn DeMara threw for two TDs and ran for a third. D.J. Ferguson and Desmond DeMara each had a TD catch.

Mira Mesa 11, El Capitan 0: Niko Cato had 10 tackles, two sacks and caught a touchdown pass for Mira Mesa.

Hoover 40, Southwest-San Diego 19: Hoover’s Hez Manuel completed 11 of 19 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown and rushed nine times for 110 yards and two TDs. Jayden Cunningham carried 14 times for 59 yards and two scores, and Rhani Grant had four catches for 79 yards and a TD.

Point Loma 42, Del Norte 24: Romeo Carter caught seven passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns for Point Loma. Braden Lane added three rushing TDs. Ryder Watson completed 7 of 14 passes for 202 yards and two TDs, and Henry Heuser passed for 122 yards and a TD. Braeden Bartocci had two sacks and Chase Thomas intercepted a pass.

Coronado 25, Hilltop 7: Coronado’s Spencer Reiderson scored an 8-yard touchdown. Jack O’Sullivan threw a 40-yard TD to Reese Pagon and Nico Derkash kicked a 42-yard field goal. The Islanders’ Jake Nelson intercepted two passes,

San Diego 22, Montgomery 0: Miles Johnson and Xavier Wilson each had 10 tackles for San Diego. Kye Cooper caught two touchdown passes and K.J. Shields rushed for a score.

Mission Bay 55, Kearny 0: Trey Arnold completed 18 of 26 passes for 412 yards and six touchdowns. Kai Barrios caught six passes for 108 yards and two TDs and Sean Lander caught three passes for 128 yards and two TDs. Kearny’s Jaylin Hill rushed 15 times for 92 yards.

Christian 42, Rancho Mirage 14: Kaleb Runkle completed 27 of 37 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns for Christian. Kai Rosier caught 10 passes for 222 yards and two TDs and intercepted a pass. Chase Togerson had 10 tackles.