Patrick Henry Comes Up Short; Point Loma Earns Playoff Berth, 13-7

Patrick Henry’s Eric Dizon came up 6 inches short of a first down on a pass from Luke Lowrey with 1:25 to play Thursday night, giving visiting Point Loma both the ball and a 13-7 victory.

The teams were jockeying for position in both the City Eastern League standings and San Diego Section playoffs. Point Loma, the best 4-6 team in the county (2 of the losses were forfeits), finished 4-1 in league play, clinching second place and an automatic playoff berth. Patrick Henry, 7-3 and 3-2, now must wait until Saturday and hope for an at-large invitation.

Patrick Henry was hurt by 1 lost fumble and 2 interceptions. Trailing, 13-7, with 3:07 left in the third quarter, Patrick Henry drove from its 40 to the Point Loma 9 before Gerrick Hilliard, diving over the line of scrimmage on third and 1, fumbled at the 2.

Then, after Patrick Henry converted a first down on a fake punt, Point Loma’s Marcel Brown intercepted a Lowrey pass at the Point Loma 44 with 4:30 to play.

Point Loma’s Ron Lawson, who carried 22 times for 114 yards, scored on a 9-yard first-quarter run and a 30-yard third-quarter run. Patrick Henry’s Khalil Short, who gained 66 yards on 12 carries, scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter.

In other City Eastern League games:

Mira Mesa 17, Morse 14--Pat Abare kicked a 25-yard field goal with 25 seconds left to give host Mira Mesa (8-2, 3-2) the upset over No. 2 Morse (8-2, 4-1). With the score tied, 14-14, and 31 seconds left, Mira Mesa’s Phillip Soloman intercepted a pass at the Morse 30 and returned it to the 10. Morse fumbled 5 times, losing 3 of them, and threw 2 interceptions. Mira Mesa held standout Morse running back Jessie Campbell to 19 yards in 10 carries. Mira Mesa’s Don Elder gained 72 yards on 10 carries. Mira Mesa took a 14-0 lead on an 8-yard Jimmy Murray run and a 16-yard pass from Murray to Marc Ziegler. Morse tied the game on a 1-yard Ututofo Fiame run and a 29-yard pass from Jimmy Rose to Chris Johnson.

Serra 30, Madison 21--Rod Alexander caught 3 touchdown passes and 2 two-point conversions for host Serra. Alexander caught 7 passes for 143 yards and quarterback Tom Cotner completed 14 of 32 pass attempts for 320 yards for Serra (3-7, 1-4). Madison quarterback Brad Eaddy completed 12 of 27 pass attempts for 250 yards and threw scoring passes of 50 yards to Terry Jenkins and 20 yards to Richard Cole. Madison (0-10, 0-5) suffered its third winless season in the last 28 years.

Avocado League

Ramona 19, San Marcos 14--Tom Smith capped a 67-yard drive late in the fourth quarter with a 4-yard touchdown run that gave Ramona the win at San Marcos. Smith’s run came with 1:40 left in the game and capped a 12-point fourth quarter. The win keeps the playoff hopes for Ramona (6-4, 3-4) alive. San Marcos, the 1987 2-A co-champ, finishes 2-8, 2-5.

City Central League

Lincoln 21, Christian 13--It didn’t come easy but, Lincoln finishes 5-0 for the fifth time and captures its sixth championship since the City Central League began in 1981. During that span, the Hornets are 37-3 in league.

Lincoln opened a 14-7 halftime lead with Doug Boyd’s 13-yard scoring run and a 59-yard scoring pass from Bobby Smith to Charlie Brown. Christian (6-4, 3-2) scored on David Jeremiah’s 50-yard scoring pass to Hunter Buckner.

Jeremiah scored on a 1-yard sneak to open the second half after a 58-yard pass from Jeremiah to Shawn Anderson on a fake punt. Christian failed on the two-point conversion pass and Lincoln led 14-13.

Orlanzo Edwards’ fourth quarter 3-yard touchdown run capped the victory for Lincoln.

Hoover 27, San Diego 14--Xavier Jackson completed first quarter scoring passes of 12 yards to Tyrone Upton and 45 yards to Bracey Simmons as Hoover opened with 21 first quarter points. Also in the first quarter, Leroy Callahan scored on a 42-yard run. Josh Stepner scored both touchdowns for San Diego (2-7-1, 1-4) on runs of 5 and 8 yards. Hoover is 3-7, 1-4.

Crawford 38, St. Augustine 0--Crawford receiver Vernon Shaver caught 3 passes for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns on plays of 50 and 30 yards and returned an interception 50 yards for another touchdown. Crawford’s Chris Johnson completed 4 passes in 6 attempts for 162 and 3 touchdowns. Running back Eric Turner carried 7 times for 77 yards and scored on a 54-yard run and a 39-yard pass play.

City Western League

Mission Bay 27, Clairemont 6--Quarterback Pat Betancourt threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jason Sudry and Schearon Stewart ran for 98 yards on 28 carries and returned an interception 12 yards to score as Mission Bay (4-6, 1-4) scored all of its points in the first half. The lead was enough as Clairemont (2-8, 1-4) managed only one touchdown on Ray McDavid’s 8-yard run in the final period.

Kearny 13, La Jolla 0--Kearny’s Tom Rawlins ran for one touchdown and threw a 26-yard pass to Danny Johnson for another as Kearny finished 4-6, 3-2. La Jolla is 7-3, 2-3.

3A Grossmont League

Helix 27, Mt. Miguel 7--Spike Mitchell rushed for 199 yards on 27 carries and scored on a 1-yard run at Mt. Miguel. Quarterback Steve Lindley completed just 5 of 17 pass attempts for 111 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown pass to Jason Baldwin to open the game. Helix is 7-2-1 and 3-0-1 and Mt. Miguel is 7-3, 2-2.

2A Grossmont League

Grossmont 48, Valhalla 14--Grossmont’s win creates a 3-way tie in the Grossmont 2-A League with Valhalla and Santana, all three at 2-1. Because of the tie, all three will advance to the San Diego CIF playoffs. Grossmont’s Trevor Hanks threw 3 first half touchdown passes as Grossmont built a 34-6 lead. Linebacker Jack Bewley had 2 interceptions, including 1 he returned 68 yards for a touchdown, and a fumble recovery that set up another score. Jason Peltier had 2 touchdowns for Valhalla, which made the playoffs for the first time in the 15-year history of the school.

Metro Conference

Southwest 9, Sweetwater 7--With 46 seconds remaining in the game, Victor Ruesga kicked a 30-yard field goal to propel Southwest into the playoffs for the first time since 1984. Sweetwater quarterback Art Saenz scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter for the host Red Devils in National City. Southwest’s Hubert Phillips, who has averaged more than 100 yards rushing a game, was held to 94 yards on 8 carries, but scored the Raiders lone touchdown from the 1 in the fourth period. Southwest is 8-2 and 6-1 and Sweetwater 5-5 and 5-2.

Hilltop 6, Montgomery 0--Chad Boyd kicked 26-yard field goals in the second and fourth quarters to lead the Lancers at Montgomery. Hilltop finished the season 3-7 and 2-5. Montgomery was 1-9 and 1-6.

Mar Vista 15, Castle Park 12--Mar Vista (3-7, 1-6) came back from a 12-point deficit to defeat host Castle Park (2-8, 2-5). Kiko Garcia, who finished with 112 yards on 13 carries, scored Mar Vista’s first touchdown on a 49-yard run with 5:53 left in the first half. Francisco Mondragon scored the game winner on a 1-yard touchdown run with 10:33 left in the third quarter.

Chula Vista 27, Bonita Vista 17--John Krupp caught a 10-yard touchdown pass and scored on a 2-yard run for Chula Vista (7-3, 7-0).

Nonleague

Granite Hills 42, El Cajon Valley 7--Brian Giles rushed for 192 yards on 21 carries and scored 4 touchdowns to lead Granite Hills (7-2-1). Giles now has 28 touchdowns for the season.