SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOLS : Weekend Football Preview : For Chula Vista, Granite Hills, a ‘New Season’

The regular season is over. The big victories, the big runs and the big games are meaningless.

The San Diego Section playoffs begin today, and the 10 previous games played by each team have lost their significance. The season now is on a game-by-game basis.

Chula Vista High School (3-1, 9-1) is coming off a 15-14 upset victory over Sweetwater. But that doesn’t matter anymore. Chula Vista has to beat Granite Hills (2-2, 7-3) in the first round of the 3-A section playoffs at Chula Vista tonight at 7:30 to keep its season alive.

“This is a whole different season,” Chula Vista Coach George Ohnsorgen said. “No matter what has happened in the past, you can’t continue unless you win.”

Granite Hills Coach Paul Wargo said Chula Vista, this week, is the only team that exists.

“If you don’t win this one, you certainly don’t have to worry about the next,” Wargo said. “I don’t think my players are aware who they will play next if they win this game.”

The winner of tonight’s game will meet Mira Mesa next week.

“Beating a team like Sweetwater was the best thing that could happen to us right now,” Ohnsorgen said. “We’re going on full tanks right now. The kids have a positive attitude that we can get the job done.”

The key to the Sweetwater victory was that Chula Vista stuck to its game plan and kept playing hard throughout the game, Ohnsorgen said.

Chula Vista’s 10-6 loss to Montgomery was also “the best thing that could have happened to us for the playoffs,” Ohnsorgen said.

“I learned that I don’t like to lose,” Chula Vista running back Sione Fehoko said.

Granite Hills can look back at its two Grossmont League losses and find the key to its problems--turnovers. In its 14-7 loss to Helix, Granite Hills suffered five turnovers in the first half. In its 16-14 loss to Mount Miguel, the Eagles had four first-half turnovers.

Injuries have also been a problem for Wargo, but his team is up from the average of 32 players to 39. Linebacker Scott Weber will make the biggest difference. He missed three games earlier in the season because of bronchial infection, which caused him to drop from 205 pounds to 181.

Offensively, Granite Hills will be paced by running backs Tom Vardell and Robert Padillo. Vardell is fourth in the county rushing, averaging 141 yards a game. Against Sweetwater, which has the county’s best defense, Vardell rushed for 203 yards and Padillo rushed for 148.

The keys for Chula Vista will be Fehoko, the county’s third-leading rusher, averaging 142 yards a game, and quarterback Brian Murphy, sixth in the county in passing (160 yards a game).

Other Playoff Games

TODAY

In other first-round 3-A games:

Morse (6-3-1) at San Dieguito (8-2-0)--The clock figures to be running a lot in this game as both teams like to move the ball on the ground, Morse with its wishbone and San Dieguito mixing its short but stocky pair of Mark Horowitz (814 yards) and Greg August (700). Morse went 4-1-1 after losing, 51-0, to Lincoln in Week 5, and then beating Mira Mesa, 23-6, last week to clinch a playoff spot. San Dieguito, which did not win a Palomar League game a year ago, nearly won the league title this year, losing to Vista, 27-20, Friday to finish second. The winner faces third-seeded Mount Miguel in the quarterfinals.

Madison (7-3-0) at Fallbrook (7-2-1)--Steve Miner, who coached Clairemont to the 2-A championship in 1981, is back in the playoffs in his second year at Madison. The Warhawks made it on the strength of their defense, fifth in the county, which allowed eight points a game. Cornerback Gerald Harris returned four interceptions for touchdowns for Madison. Fallbrook, guided by the county’s leading quarterback, Scott Barrick, and leading receiver, Bill Dunckel, won its final five games. The key to the game may be Madison’s ability to stop Fallbrook’s complicated passing attack. Madison faced mostly running teams in the City Eastern League. The winner will meet second-seeded Sweetwater next week.

Montgomery (7-3-0) at Helix (7-2-1)--Montgomery surprised some with a 10-6 victory over Chula Vista two weeks ago, enabling the Aztecs to qualify for the playoffs. Montgomery also holds a victory this season over 3-A Grossmont League champion Mount Miguel. Helix lost to Mount Miguel, 14-7, and finished second in the 3-A Grossmont. But the Highlanders have more playoff experience, having reached the 3-A final a year ago. Helix was third in the county in defense, allowing six points a game. Next up for the winner of this one is top-seeded Vista.

In 2-A first-round games:

Christian (5-5-0) at Castle Park (4-6-0)--Christian, led by the county’s fourth-ranked quarterback, John Okken, won its final three games to qualify for the playoffs. Included was a 13-7 upset of Hoover, coming just one week after Hoover had knocked off Lincoln. Castle Park, although under .500, won the games it needed to get into the playoffs, including a 10-6 victory over Southwest for the Metro-South Bay championship. All six of the Trojans’ losses were to 3-A teams. The winner here meets fourth-seeded Grossmont in the quarterfinals.

Crawford (6-4-0) at San Marcos (6-3-1)--The game is a rematch of last year’s 2-A semifinal, won by Crawford, 7-6. Crawford moved into the playoffs on the strength of a 12-7 victory over Hoover last week. Two of San Marcos’ losses were to 3-A teams, and the Knights tied 3-A playoff team Fallbrook, 20-20. San Marcos likes to keep it on the ground with its 6-foot 5-inch, 240-pound fullback Jim Jennings. The winner meets third-seeded La Jolla next week.

University City (7-2-0) vs. Hoover (7-3-0) at San Diego High--University City started the season with two shutout victories, then slumped while an injury sidelined its top running back, Paul MacRenato. MacRenato returned and University City won its final three games. MacRenato was one of only seven running backs to average more than 100 yards a game. Hoover was flying high after a 21-20 victory over Lincoln three weeks ago, but the Cardinals have since stumbled, losing their final two games to Christian and Crawford. Mistakes have been a big problem. The winner here will face second-seeded Oceanside in the next round.

El Camino (4-6-0) vs USDHS (9-1-0) at USD--El Camino, a perennial playoff team, won four of its last five games after an 0-5 start. The Wildcats suffered four losses to 3-A schools. USDHS might have had an undefeated season if it weren’t for an injury to running back James Wilson that kept him out of the La Jolla game (a 14-7 loss). Wilson is healthy now, though he is not the team’s only weapon. Martin Correia, the Dons’ other running back, scored 13 touchdowns. The winner plays top-seeded Lincoln in the quarterfinals.

BIG GAME FACTS

Who: Granite Hills vs. No. 4 Chula Vista.

Where: Chula Vista High School.

When: 7:30 p.m.

Records: Granite Hills 7-3; Chula Vista 9-1.

Last meeting: Granite Hills 10, Chula Vista 7 (1985, first round of Section playoffs).

Players to watch: Granite Hills: Tom Vardell (6-2, 205), RB; Robert Padillo (6-0, 187), RB; and Donnie Carroll (5-11, 175), QB. Chula Vista: Sione Fehoko (5-11, 175) RB; Brian Murphy (6-0, 160), QB; and J. J. Mercado (5-9, 170), LB.