Mt. Miguel Matadors 22, El Capitan Vaqueros 7
Friday night at El Capitan was a lot like a Floyd Mayweather fight. Lots of fan fare, trash talk, fireworks, but when it got down to business many things were left to be desired. A drab first half finally picked up in the fourth quarter after the Matadors scored 3 TD’s to complete the 22-7 victory over the Vaqueros.
Weirder things have happened on Halloween, but a stalemate between the El Capitan Vaqueros and Mt. Miguel Matadors is not one. The respective defenses both came to play with their Pittsburgh Steel Curtain costumes. Neither side gave up anything in the first half, just getting past midfield was a trick worthy of a treat. It resulted in a 3-0 halftime lead for the Matadors as they managed the lone field goal.
In what was less than a thriller of a third quarter, a two-headed monster finally appeared in the Lakeside night. Lamarcus Butler found the end zone on a run to push the Matador lead to 9-0 after the PAT was missed. Then Anthony Gilmore the monsters right head, took over as he busted down the sideline for a 50-yard gain to set up the Matadors for another score. Benny Valadez connected with Richard Moore and the Mt. Miguel lead grew to 15-0 after missing the 2-point conversion.
It may have looked bleak for the Vaqueros, but the offense put together their best drive of the night when they needed to. The Vaquero offensive line began creating lanes for their running backs and protecting Phoenix Cates. The offensive unit marched all the way down the field and capped their run with a 10-yard scamper by Brennen Murphy to cut the lead to 15-7.
With a one score game and 3 minutes on the clock the pressure was put solidly on the Matador offense, or the El Cap defense depending on how you look at it. Either way, the game ended on a play from said pressure filled drive. Anthony Gilmore cut toward the left sideline saw daylight and never looked back. Gilmore’s 60-yard TD iced the game at 22-7 giving Mt. Miguel their first Grossmont League victory and fourth of the season.
Next Week: Steele Canyon @ Mt. Miguel, El Capitan @ Helix
PREVIEW:
It has been a rough season for the El Capitan Vaqueros. A team that has had only 3 losses in last 2 seasons is now fighting for win number 3 in Week 10. With so many seniors graduating last year the Vaqueros are feeling the growing pains. Their opponent the Mt. Miguel Matadors have notched 3 wins so far and didn’t need the help of a forfeit to do so. What they both have in common though, is being winless to this point in the Grossmont Hills League. They square off Friday to see who can pick up their first league victory.
A terrible 2nd quarter is what did the Matadors in last week as they gave up 21 points in what would eventually be a 35-0 Grossmont win. The Matadors come into the game losers of 3 straight, all league games, after definitive wins against cross-town Monte Vista and Serra. Antoine Hamilton Jr. is the Matadors pounding runner who finds pay-dirt in the red zone while Anthony Gilmore is the passing threat out of the backfield. The tandem have accounted for over half of the Matador offensive TD’s this season, so its safe to say they are Mt. Miguel’s go to guys.
El Capitan not only got on the board first last week against Steele Canyon, but they took the lead late into the 1st half. After a sloppy 2nd half which bore 3 defensive takeaways via interceptions on Phoenix Cates, the Vaqueros lost 20-3. The offense has struggled all season, but has really stalled since league play started. El Cap has only managed one Field Goal in their first three games vs league foes.
The match up to look for this week is the Mt. Miguel Matador defense against the Vaquero offense. The offensive line needs to allow Phoenix Cates time and protection as it did against Patrick Henry if the offense is going to get back on track. If not, a tough matador defense could force turnovers much like Steele Canyon did last week. Mike Jones is one of if not the best ball hawks in the county, he causes major problems on the blitz in the backfield. Jones blows up running backs wide receivers and has sacked opposing QB’s three times this season. If he gets his hands on an interception watch out, Jones is also an explosive kick returner and is capable of taking any pick all the way.
Watch all the highlights from this game and all the others around the county this Friday at 10:30 pm on the KUSI Prep Pigskin Report.
