High School Football Playoffs : Chula Vista Knows What to Expect

The Chula Vista High football team understands the task at hand, because the Spartans already have run through what now amounts to a full dress rehearsal for tonight’s San Diego Section 3-A football semifinal game with Morse.

Chula Vista played Morse tough for a half on Sept. 16, trailing, 18-10, at halftime before losing, 25-10, in a performance Spartan Coach George Ohnesorgen termed “terrible.” Chula Vista lost again the next week to fall to 0-3.

Since then, Chula Vista has won eight consecutive games and now faces a rematch with Morse at Southwestern College at 7:30 p.m.

On that night 11 weeks ago, Chula Vista started five sophomores and got a good look at what everyone knew was a powerful Morse team.

“Experience has finally kicked in now, and we’re gaining more confidence each game,” Ohnesorgen said.

That was evident in last Saturday’s section quarterfinal game against Helix. Just 27 seconds from extinction, Chula Vista was resuscitated by a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Chapman to receiver Tony Eames. Chula Vista won, 17-12.

“Against Helix, we had only 59 seconds to come back, but the kids believed they could come back. We were just trying to get close enough to kick the ball (for a potential winning field goal).”

Instead, they got the winning touchdown. And Morse again.

“We’re trying to find a way to match up with the athletes that Morse has,” Ohnesorgen said. “Morse has got to have some of the best talent in the county.

“But they’re no different than anybody else . . . when it comes to a rematch, you always like to face a team again that kicked your butt.”

What Ohnesorgen plans is simple: Try to control the ball, keep things close until the fourth quarter and eliminate mental mistakes.

“If their athletes are better than ours, they’re going to win the ballgame,” he said.

Four key athletes for Chula Vista are Chapman, Eames and running backs John Krupp and Trennell Hicks.

“They’ve basically got four pretty good athletes,” Morse Coach John Shacklett said of the aforementioned Chula Vista players. “They’re very quick. Ideally, we need to put them into our type of game--matchup, straight-ahead football.”

Saturday’s 3-A game:

Point Loma (6-6) vs. Orange Glen (11-0) at Torrey Pines, 7:30--Point Loma, at .500 only because of two forfeit losses, will be the 12th team this season attempting to beat Orange Glen. “I really feel we’re the best team they’ve played,” said Bennie Edens, Point Loma’s coach. “We may not be good enough to beat them, but they’re going to have to play good ball to beat us.”

Quickness and poise are the two elements Edens hopes will turn things the Pointers’ way. “I think we’re quicker than any team they’ve faced,” Edens said. “And our kids won’t be rattled easily.”

Point Loma will have to be quick to stop Orange Glen’s potent passing attack. In the regular season, quarterback Cree Morris completed 143 of 233 passes for a county-leading 2,512 yards and 23 touchdowns. Jake Nyberg had 72 catches for 1,211 yards and 13 touchdowns.

But the Orange Glen offense isn’t all that worries Edens. “I think their defense is underrated,” he said. “They’re good offensively, and they’re tough defensively.”

Friday’s 2-A game:

Oceanside (9-3) vs. Rancho Buena Vista (11-0) at Torrey Pines, 7:30--The tables have turned since these teams first met on Oct. 14 at Oceanside. The Pirates were then undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state medium schools poll, but Rancho Buena Vista won, 35-22, and claimed the top spot.

Since then, the losses have mounted for Oceanside. The Pirates lost two of their last four regular-season games, quarterback Jerry Garrett to academic problems and defensive coordinator John Carroll because of philosophical differences with Coach Roy Scaffidi. Meanwhile, Rancho Buena Vista has breezed along, averaging more than 400 yards rushing a game.

“I think we’re going to have to find a way to slow down their offense,” Scaffidi said. “I don’t think they can be stopped. If we can slow them down, we might have the ball more than most teams have it against them, and that would give us more opportunities.”

Running back Scott Garcia, the state’s leading rusher at 195 yards per game, paces the Rancho Buena Vista ground game. Fullback O.J. Hall averages about 130 yards.

Chad Crites will play quarterback in place of Garrett for Oceanside, despite a sprained knee that limited his mobility and playing time in last week’s 17-0 quarterfinal victory over Valhalla. If Oceanside advances to the 2-A championship game next week, Garrett may be eligible.

Saturday’s 2-A game:

San Pasqual (8-4) vs. El Camino (9-2-1) at Vista High School, 7:30--In this all-Avocado League semifinal, both coaches realize--more than usual--the importance of not turning the ball over. San Pasqual defeated El Camino, 30-20, in league play when El Camino lost five fumbles. And in each of San Pasqual’s four losses, the Eagles lost five fumbles.

But San Pasqual is peaking at the right time. The Eagles defeated Carlsbad, 23-0, in the opening round of the playoffs and Lincoln, 40-29, in last week’s quarterfinals. Fullback Tony Medina ran for 248 yards on 25 carries and scored 4 touchdowns against Lincoln.

“Our offense has been strong all year,” said Mike Dolan, San Pasqual’s coach. “But we have to make sure we keep the ball and don’t put it on the ground. There’s a correlation between fumbles and losses for us--I don’t think we’ve lost this year when we’ve kept it to one or two fumbles.”

El Camino will be without tailback/defensive back Sylvester Jones, out for the season with a knee injury.

“It’s normally tough to beat a team twice in one year,” Dolan said. “But when you get to the playoffs, every game’s the last game you play. And this team has had a lot of firsts this year. We hadn’t beaten El Camino in 8 years, and I can’t remember the last time we beat Oceanside and El Camino in the same season.”