North County Game of the Week Preview: Mission Hills vs. Oceanside
Mission Hills trip to undefeated Oceanside will be a rematch of an October North County Game of the Week. These two teams were #1 and #2 in the San Diego Section Rankings back the, and now they are #1 and #4 in the San Diego Section Open Division Rankings.
This time the winner goes to the “Open Division Championship” to face the winner of the Helix at Cathedral game, while the loser turns in their gear on Monday.
Back on October 10th, the Pirates beat the Grizzlies 42-16 at Simcox Field. Since that meeting Mission Hills has won five straight and scored 245 points while outscoring their opponents by an average of 38 points a game.
This playoff Match -up should come as no surprise, these two teams have met up eight times in their history and four of those have come in the playoffs, and the Pirates hold a 3-1 advantage in those playoff games (2-1 for the Pirates in the CIF Championship game since 2007, with Mission Hills winning the “Open Division” in 2013).
“The thing with Oceanside this year, beside their quarterback maturity, is that their Offensive line and Defensive Line are legit,” says one coach who game planned against both teams. “They can protect long enough for for their skill guys to make plays,”
“Oceanside, looks as strong as ever”, says this PPR North County game of the Week correspondent.
The Pirates are the top seed in the “Open Division” and it is well deserved, while the Grizzlies had to win their last 5 games convincingly to secure the #4 Seed in the Open Division.
“We have said the only ones that have to believe we can win are us in our locker room. No underdog mentality, respect that they are #1 and remember we are #4.” Says Hauser.
“Team work makes the Dream work”. He added, “We have to have our best team effort of 2014 to beat Oceanside. Plain and simple”.
Oceanside’s defense shut out a solid Carlsbad team in their 1st playoff game 38-0, while giving up just three touchdowns in the last 4 weeks. They also have found a balanced offense, the rushing attack is lead by 1,000 yard rusher Josh Bernard, and Quarterback Matthew Romero has been efficient completing 60% of his passes to an assortment of Offensive Weapons.
Kick off for the UC San Diego North County Game of the week is set for 7:00 PM at Oceanside. With highlights of the game provided by North County Photojournalist Extrodanaire Tim Gaughen on the Prep Pigskin Report at 10:30 PM on Friday.
You can follow me @Rickwillis99 for live scoring updates. And catch my #WillisPrediction prior to kick-off.
