Kellan Cobbs was adamant.

“Parker Vance is the best defensive back in the county,” the Granite Hills High School football coach said after the Eagles edged Carlsbad 22-16 Friday in the San Diego Section Division 1 semifinals.

Vance, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety, played a major role in the Eagles’ win, their second in two years in a semifinal playoff game at Carlsbad.

Vance was in the middle of two of the game’s biggest plays. Late in the second quarter, Carlsbad quarterback Eli MacNeal broke free on a scramble and appeared to be headed for a touchdown.

But the Granite Hills defense converged and knocked the ball free; it rolled into the end zone where Vance jumped on it.

The recovery gave the Eagles a touchback and set them up at the 20 with 1:18 to play in the half.

Quarterback Zach Benitez then hit Max Turner with a 78-yard catch-and-run, carrying to the Carlsbad 2. A play later, Benitez hit Tristan Diaz for a TD that turned what looked like a 16-7 deficit into a 15-9 lead.

Then with Carlsbad driving in the game’s final minute, and Alex Park open behind the defense, Vance cut in front, high-pointed the pass and came up with his county-leading eighth interception of the season to seal the win.

“I was just looking to make a play,” said Vance. “The receiver is kind of a big guy, so I couldn’t let him get behind me.

“I saw the ball coming my way. I had to get the ball at the highest point. We came here and got it done again against a good football team.”

Vance is also a top-flight baseball player. He hit .299 last season with five homers and 17 RBIs.

“The baseball guys have really helped us,” Cobbs said. “Baseball and football have a great relationship here. We share our athletes, and it works great.”

Benitez completed 11 of 15 passes for 182 yards.

Sophomore Gabe Spalding had a big game, rushing five times for 53 yards and a 39-yard TD. He also caught a pair of passes for 31 yards and a 25-yard TD.Sophomore Kai Brown, who came up from the JV team three games ago, rushed 35 times for 193 yards and a TD for Carlsbad.

McNeal was 17 of 21 passes for 181 yards. Jett Kenady had five catches for 67 yards and a TD.

Division 1

Semifinals

(1) San Marcos 28, (4) El Camino 14: Kreet Makihele completed 11 of 21 passes for 202 yards and two TDs for San Marcos (11-1). Jase Nix caught five passes for 104 yards and two scores. Makihele has thrown for 42 TDs and been intercepted just six times. But the story of the game for the Knights was the defense. In a 43-27 quarterfinal win against Mount Miguel, El Camino rushed for 334 yards. Against San Marcos, El Camino rushed for just 197 yards on 42 tries with 73 of those yards coming on its first possession. The Wildcats went seven straight possessions without scoring. The Wildcats threw for just 15 yards. Kingston Faatitii gained 115 yards on 18 carries for El Camino (6-6) and scored a TD. Jake Williams had nine tackles, a TFL and recovered a fumble for El Camino. Ty Sagaser intercepted a pass for San Marcos. The 11 wins are a school record for San Marcos, breaking the previous mark of 10 set multiple times.

Division 2

Semifinals

(4) Poway 63, (1) University City 27: Poway scored nine TDs — six on offense, two on special teams and one on defense — for a school-record 63 points as the Titans improved to 5-7. The former record was 61 against Mt. Carmel in 2018. Luke Jorgensen rushed 16 times for 158 yards with TD runs of 1, 3 , 17 and 57 yards. He also blocked a punt that was picked up by Hunter Thompson, who went 23 yards for a score. Colin McCann had a 99-yard kickoff return for a score and caught a 29-yard pass from Ty Hurst for a score. Eli Alsop had a 22-yard TD on an interception while Peter Wideman had a 1-yard TD run. Oliver Vera also had an interception. Bobby McKay, Jake Tsay and Marko Kirovski had sacks. University City (10-2) got a pair of TD throws from Quentyn DeMara to Dreyden Garner, a 14-yard TD from DeMara to Tay Lockett and a 2-yard TD run from Nakeem Jones.

(2) Mater Dei Catholic 17, (3) Helix 14: Kartell Purvis hit Larell Parker for a 6-yard TD with 2:22 remaining as Mater Dei Catholic (9-3) won its ninth straight game. Purvis finished 13 of 21 for 131 yards and a pair of TDs, the other a 1-yarder to Matt Carr. Angel Mendoza had a 29-yard FG in the third quarter. Gael Aguilar led the Crusaders rushing with 65 yards on 12 carries. Despite losing star running back Pablo Jackson after the team’s first possession and starting quarterback Jett Gottlieb later in the game, Helix (5-7) went ahead 14-10 when backup Jeremy Stevens hit Jeremy Robinson with a 64-yard TD with a minute left in the third quarter before Mater Dei Catholic rallied.

Division 3

Semifinals

(4) San Pasqual 30, (1) Central Union 23 (OT): Trailing 16-13 at the half, San Pasqual (7-5) scored with a minute to play to take the lead. Central Union answered immediately with a 60-yard TD to tie it and send the game to OT.  San Pasqual opened the extra period by scoring on a 25-yard pass from Robert Renteria to freshman Jared Brecht to take the lead. On fourth down, San Pasqual’s Kaleo Bartolome intercepted a Central pass to end the game. Bartolome also scored two TDs rushing and had six tackles. Renteria completed 16 of 26 passes for 149 yards. Marcos Rocha caught 10 passes for 103 yards and had a 95-yard kickoff return. Cooper Marquez had 10 carries for 40 yards and caught three passes. Kioni Taylor had 12 carries for 46 yards. Landen Lockwood had 13 tackles and Jonathan Leon had seven, while Adrian Leon and Jaiden Whitfield had interceptions. Central Union (8-4) was led by Nico Viesca, who gained 85 yards on 22 carries. Emilio Morales had 10 tackles and caught a 60-yard TD pass. Joshua Garcia chipped in 87 yards on two receptions including a TD.

(7) St. Augustine 20, (3) San Diego 14: Aaron Morgan returned an interception 30 yards for a TD on the opening possession of the second half to give the Saints a 17-14 lead. The interception was one of four second-half turnovers forced by St. Augustine. Pai Polamalu intercepted two passes. After finishing the regular season 0-10, the Saints (3-10) have won three straight. The Saints rallied from a 14-3 deficit. Charlie Berkley scored on a 16-yard run before halftime, cutting San Diego’s lead to 14-10.  San Diego finishes its season 8-4.

Divison 4

Semifinals

(2) El Capitan 35, (3) Grossmont 14: Brandt Barker completed 15 of 24 for 245 yards and a pair of TDs for El Capitan (9-3). Logan Dulyea had five receptions for 81 yards and three TDs while Ayden Banegas added 81 yards on six catches to finish with 109 total yards. The Vaqueros were able to slow down the Grossmont (5-7) offense, limiting the Foothillers to just two scores. Brewin Ford had 10 tackles and Aaron Altamirano nine, while Evan Ortega had five sacks and Marlon Ames had three. Grossmont’s Anthony Donovan passed for a pair of TDs to Noah Walker. Julian Garcia had an interception.

(5) Westview 19, (8) Montgomery 14: Westview (6-7) scored with under a minute to play on a Mason Walsh run to win the game. Walsh rushed for two TDs for the second straight game and completed 13 of 17 passes for 193 yards. Aidan Chen caught five passes for 117 yards and a 48-yard TD from Langdon Mullica. Lucas Ho-sing-Loy had an interception. Montgomery (9-4) got TD runs from Mikey Silva and Qasim Williams.

Division 5

Semfiinals

(12) Monte Vista 34, (1) Vista 14: Alex Villanueva scored five TDs while rushing for 240 yards on 29 carries as Monte Vista (8-5), the last team qualifying for the playoffs, advanced to Saturday’s championship. Villanueva added a 51-yard reception, but it was his defensive play that sparked the Monarchs. When Vista completed a screen pass just before halftime, Villanueva ran down the receiver just before the end zone more than 60 yards away, forcing a fumble that his teammates recovered for a touchback. Jacob Covarrubias scored on a pair of 15-yard runs for Vista (4-8).

(2) Bonita Vista 27, (3) Crawford 12: Richie Rojas drilled a free-kick 52-yard FG just before the half and Bonita Vista (7-5) went on to win. The Barons called for a fair catch on a punt with 20 seconds remaining in the half and booted the free kick for a 20-6 lead. Abel Meza and Kenneth Watson scored TDs for the Barons, who were led by Kenny Jordan’s 80 yards rushing with a short TD run. Jaydin Lewis had a pair of sacks. For Crawford (6-6), Trevon Blanks returned an interception 90 yards for a TD.

Division 5-AA

Championship game

(1) Calipatria 44, Coastal Academy 25: Dominic Hawk was a triple-threat force for Calipatria (9-2), starring on offense, defense and special teams. He rushed 24 times for 129 yards with TDs of 3, 6, 8 and 20 yards, giving him 30 TDs for the season. Caleb Spence returned an interception 41 yards for a TD. Oscar Lopez had an interception that led to a score. Zac Garland threw three TD passes for Coastal Academy (10-3), two to Cedric Smith of 9 and 52 yards, and one to Adam Cornejo of 20 yards. Smith had seven catches for 109 yards. The Division 5AA winner doesn’t advance to the Southern California Regionals.

8-man

Championship game

(1) St. Joseph Academy 60, (2) Calvin Christian 20: Mathew Adams rushed seven times for 147 yards with TDs of 8, 44 and 68 as St. Joseph Academy (10-1) won the championship. He also returned an interception 47 yards for a score. Asher Larkin had a 52-yard TD run and returned a kickoff 88 yards for a score. Adams and Larkin both went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season. James Dexler had TD runs for 5 and 36 yards. The defense had four sacks. Caleb Brower rushed for 152 yards on 13 carries for Calvin Christian (7-4). He also caught a 21-yard TD pass from Cole Souders. Souders threw for 225 yards and two scores. There is no Southern California Regional in 8-man football.

Don Norcross, Steve Brand and Rick Hoff contributed to this report

Originally Published: November 23, 2024 at 2:38 PM PST