Sweetwater Tops Bonita Vista, Ups Win Streak to 33

Sweetwater High School’s 32-game winning streak was kept alive Friday night in its Metro-Mesa League game against Bonita Vista at Sweetwater. But just barely.

The No. 1-ranked Red Devils stretched their winning streak over the past three seasons to 33 games by defeating the Barons, 6-0, on Terry Rodgers’ one-yard touchdown run with just under six minutes remaining.

“Our defense just played outstanding football,” said Jim Wilson, Bonita Vista’s coach. “We had a great defensive scheme and our kids were as excited as I’ve ever seen.”

Unfortunately for the Barons, Sweetwater’s defense, ranked No. 1 in the county, also was impressive.

“We moved the ball pretty well but they just didn’t allow us to be consistent,” Wilson said. “Our defense gave us some chances, but every time we got close they shut us down.”

Bonita Vista had a chance to take the lead in the third quarter but failed on a 26-yard field-goal attempt.

Then, in the fourth quarter, Rodgers, the county’s second-leading rusher, ran 30 yards to set up the game’s only touchdown. After a five-yard face-mask penalty and a three-yard run by fullback Martell Black, Rodgers picked his way through the line for a one-yard score that gave Sweetwater the win and gave him 22 touchdowns for the season.

Bonita Vista got the ball back, but quarterback Doug Piper, limited to a four-for-nine passing performance, threw three straight incompletions. Sweetwater got the ball back on a punt and ran out the clock.

The Red Devils are 2-0 in league play this season and 8-0 overall. Bonita Vista fell to 0-2, 5-3.

CITY CENTRAL LEAGUE

Hoover 10, San Diego 0--Michael Walker passed 27 yards for a touchdown to Chris Johnson in the first quarter to give the Cardinals (2-1, 5-2-1) all the points they needed to beat the Cavers (0-3, 2-6) at San Diego High. The teams combined for just 223 yards of offense.

CITY WESTERN LEAGUE

University City 21, Clairemont 7--Paul MacRenato rushed for two touchdowns to lead the Centurions (3-0, 5-2), who moved into sole possession of first place in the league with the win over the Chiefs (2-1, 4-4) at Madison High. MacRenato finished the game with 124 yards in 13 carriers and scored on runs of 30 and 12 yards. Derron Wagner added 94 yards rushing for University City. Leading 14-0 at halftime, the Centurions put the game out of reach when quarterback Brian Sexton passed 69 yards for a touchdown to Bruce Stone on the first play of the second half. Clairemont did not score until two minutes remained in the game on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Greg Gibbons to Brian Gibson.

Kearny 14, University 3--The Komets (1-2, 4-4) snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating the Dons (1-2, 3-5) at University High. James Courtney caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Scott Wellish in the first quarter and Darrell Hicks caught a 27-yard scoring pass from Wellish in the second quarter.

METRO-SOUTH BAY LEAGUE

Castle Park 14, Southwest 7--The Trojans (2-0, 3-5) took a 14-0 lead in the first half and held on to beat Southwest (1-1, 3-3-2) and clinch a tie for the South Bay League championship. Playing in the first night game ever held at Southwest, Castle Park went ahead, 7-0, on a 46-yard pass from Dominic Quintero to Steve Kane in the first quarter, and made it 14-0 on a four-yard run by Steve Gross in the second period.

Southwest pulled within 14-7 when Sergio Moreno scored from two yards out in the third quarter. The Raiders had two chances to pull even late in the game, but Cricket Carpenter of Castle Park had two interceptions, one on the Trojan 39 with 2:07 to play and one in the end zone with 53 seconds left.

CITY EASTERN LEAGUE

Patrick Henry 21, Serra 9--Quarterback Keith Courtney and wide receiver Ron Young teamed up for two touchdown passes as the Patriots (1-1-1, 3-4-1) won their first league game. Serra (1-2, 1-6) scored first, on a 34-yard field goal by Matt Ladendorff in the first quarter, but Patrick Henry had the next three touchdowns. Patrick Gregory scored on a 75-yard run in the second quarter, then Courtney and Young connected for scoring passes of 40 and 65 yards. The Conquistadors scored on a two-yard run by Troy Juergens in the fourth quarter.

AVOCADO LEAGUE

El Camino 36, Ramona 12--Joe Emerick scored on touchdown runs of 2, 5 and 12 yards to lead El Camino (3-0, 5-3) to the win at home. Emerick opened the scoring with his first touchdown, but Ramona (0-3, 1-7) came back to pull within one, 7-6, on a one-yard touchdown run by Don McInnes in the second quarter. El Camino took a 14-6 lead just before halftime on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Shane Hawkins to Jack Taele.

Taele rushed for 102 yards in 11 carries. Hawkins completed 6 of 9 passes for 119 yards. Hawkins threw a second touchdown pass, of five yards, to Rodney Cotton in the fourth quarter.

San Marcos 10, San Pasqual 8--Playing at home, San Marcos (4-1, 4-4) rallied in the closing seconds to unseat San Pasqual (3-1, 6-2) from the first place in the Avocado League. With the loss, the No. 8-rated Eagles drop behind El Camino and San Marcos in league play.

San Pasqual erased San Marcos’, 3-0, lead and appeared to have won the game when quarterback Greg Bratten scored on a four-yard run to give San Pasqual a 6-0 lead. A two-point conversion gave the Eagles and 8-2 lead with 45 seconds left. But San Marcos wasn’t finished. Starting on its own 38-yard line, San Marcos moved 14 yards on a pass from Jim Carroll to Chuy Lozano. After an incomplete pass, Carroll completed the game-winner, a 48-yard touchdown pass to Lozano. A successful extra point completed San Marcos’ upset win.

Oceanside 16, Escondido 6--Morey Paul scored on a six-yard pass from Junior Seau midway through the second quarter to get Oceanside going and the Pirates (2-3, 2-6) went on to defeat the Cougars (2-2, 3-4-1) at Escondido High. James Wollard scored on a 25-yard run in the fourth quarter to put Oceanside ahead, 14-0, and the Pirates added two more points on a safety moments later.

NONLEAGUE

Granite Hills 42, El Cajon 0--No. 3-rated Granite Hills (2-0, 8-0) scored 21 points in the second quarter to break open a scoreless game at Valley Stadium. Eagle quarterback Donnie Carroll opened the scoring with a nine-yard touchdown run and later completed touchdown passes of 14 yards to Todd Parker and 25 yards to Ron Pierce.

Running back Rick Stauffer rushed for touchdowns of 1 and 48 yards and Tom Vardell had a one-yard touchdown run. Despite not reaching the end zone, Robert Padillo was Granite Hills’ leading rusher with 78 yards in 7 carries. Carroll completed 4 of 8 passes for 36 yards. El Cajon is 0-1, 0-8.