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Week 7 preview

Trojan defense asked to contain Marian Catholic offense

By Phillip Brents

CHULA VISTA, Oct. 19, 2001 -- Defense is said to win championships and such could be on order by Castle Park when undefeated Marian Catholic attempts to go up 2-0 in South Bay League play tonight at Swift Stadium. Kick off is 7 p.m.

The Crusaders (6-0) proved their legitimacy as challengers for this year’s league title by defeating defending league champion East-lake, 41-21, last Friday as sophomore Patrick Gates scored five touchdowns to torch the Titans’ defense. Gates, who broke off scoring runs of 46, 10, 60 and 76 yards, rushed for 233 yards on 11 carries, scoring four times from the ground and once by air. Backfield teammates Marco Contreras gained 82 yards and Eugene Alaniz rushed for 81 yards and one touchdown. Mario Ledesma connected with Gates on a 55-yard scoring play. For the season, Gates has rushed for 887 yards and 11 touchdowns while Alaniz has rushed for 743 yards and 13 touchdowns and Contreras has rushed for 622 yards and seven touchdowns. Ledesma has passed for 623 yards and seven scores.

The Trojans (4-2) will be asked to contain this prolific offensive machine that is averaging 470 yards in total offense each week.

"We’ve got our hands full," said Castle Park head coach Paul Van Nostrand, whose team forced five turnovers in last week’s 34-3 league-opening conquest of Hilltop. "They (the Crusaders) have got a very, very good football team, good speed, decent size and are very well coached. You put those things together and that’s why they’re 6-0."

Anthony Jacques scored on runs of seven and 12 yards to lead the Trojan offense against the Lancers. Robert Bell and Santiago Dominguez also scored on short touchdown runs while Cristobal Sanchez caught a 13-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Chase McGuire.

Bell paces Castle Park with 737 rushing yards and has scored six touchdowns.

The Trojans, who have allowed a conference low 37 points in six games, snared four interceptions against Hilltop. Defensive leaders continue to be noseguard James Chudy, outside linebacker Diego Herroz, inside linebacker Maurice Williams and defensive back Freddy Dunkle.

The defending league champion Titans saw their league winning streak end in a 41-21 loss last Friday at Marian Catholic as the Crusaders blew open a relatively tight 20-13 game with 21 points in the third period. Mark Whaley leads Eastlake with 893 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns after scoring on a 10-yard run last week while Ryan Bartsch has totaled 545 yards and six touchdowns despite missing two games this season. Bartsch scored once from eight yards out to cap the team’s scoring against Marian. QB Neftali Lizarraga ran in from one-yard out to answer two uncontested game-opening scores by the Crusaders.

The Mariners snapped a two-game losing streak with their 29-17 victory against visiting Montgomery as Fedarin Johnson rushed for 216 yards and scored two touchdowns, including one on a 79-yard run. Mar Vista also received rushing touchdowns from Carlos Guzman and Walter Olden in capping a 21-point run to snatch the win.

The visiting Red Devils are coming off a 42-6 loss at home to Bonita Vista while the host Aztecs absorbed a 29-17 non-league setback at Mar Vista. Sweetwater has been outscored 199-58 in six games and has allowed an average of nearly 40 points in each loss. The Red Devils broke a season opening four-game losing streak with a 19-0 shutout at Hilltop the week before hosting the Barons but surrendered six unanswered touchdowns after taking a 6-0 lead on a 32-yard punt return for a score by Evin Groves.

Montgomery led a 17-10 halftime lead in its game last week against the Mariners but coughed up 19 unanswered second-half points to take the loss. Mar Vista went up 22-17 with a 12-0 edge in the third period and sealed the win with another touchdown in the final quarter. Quarterback Ian Pizarro has thrown for 890 yards and seven touchdowns and is averaging 178.0 yards passing per game. Jeff McNeal and Kenyatta? Williams both scored rushing touchdowns against Mar Vista. Williams’ score came on a 77-yard burst from scrimmage. The Aztecs, who are averaging just under 20 points on offense, have been outscored 317-117 this season.

The Barons’ passing game was bolstered by a four-touchdown performance by signal-caller Alex Palacio in the team’s 42-6 win last Friday at Sweetwater. Palacio, who also ran for a touchdown, threw two scoring passes to E. J. Stoike (6 catches, 120 yards) and also hit Al Ghebrasalassie and Detron Johnson (6 catches, 46 yards) for scores. Palacio ranks second in the San Diego Section among 11-man teams with 15 touchdowns while throwing for 1,092 yards. He’s averaging 182.0 yards per game.

Johnson (25 catches, 383 yards) leads the Bonita Vista receiving corps with six touchdowns while Stoike tops the team with 405 yards to go with five touchdown receptions. Ghebrasalassie (17 catches, 231 yards) also has caught five scoring passes this season. Ivan Salzedo, who rushed for 121 yards in last week’s victory against the Red Devils, leads the Barons with 895 rushing yards and has scored six touchdowns. In fashioning its five-game winning streak, Bonita Vista has outscored opponents 172-39.

The Raiders fell 52-12 at Chula Vista in last Friday’s league opener but totaled 249 yards in offense and opened scoring in the game on a 45-yard pass completion. However, Southwest gave up 436 total yards to the Spartans, including 342 rushing yards on 42 plays. The Raiders have been outscored 256-38 this season.

Kevin Davies rushed for 103 yards on 11 attempts and added 46 receiving yards to help pace the Spartans in their 52-12 Mesa League victory last week against visiting Southwest. Davies scored twice — once on a 46-yard pass from QB Rodrigo Ruiz (2-of-7 completions, 62 yards) to highlight a 31-point first-half point explosion by the Spartans and on a 40-yard run in the third period. Chula Vista also received touchdown runs from Kariff Lizarraga (7 rushes, 89 yards), Crawford Romero (8 rushes, 54 yards), Carl Payne (8 rushes, 54 yards) and Raul Rodriguez (3 rushes, 10 yards). Thomas Klein caught one scoring pass for 16 yards as Ruiz finished the night with TD passes on both his completions. Davies also had a 65-yard punt return.

After falling behind 6-0, the Spartans responded with four unanswered touchdowns and a 27-yard field goal by Ricky Alvarado, who finished 7-for-7 in point-after conversions on the night. Chula Vista closed out scoring in the game with three more scores to widen a 31-12 advantage. Defensively, John Bell registered a team-high 12 tackles while making one fumble recovery. Romero Crawford and Eduardo Jaimes both had interceptions while Mitch Noell had a quarterback sack for the Spartans.

Hilltop drooped a 34-3 decision last week to visiting Castle Park but begrudgingly so after trailing just 7-3 at halftime and 13-3 through three periods. A 21-point final period carried the Trojans to the lopsided end result.