Week 1: Grossmont Foothillers 43, Mira Mesa Marauders 14

Finally, the moment football fans have waited to hear for what seems like forever, football is back.

High school football kicked off Friday night around San Diego county, including at Grossmont High School where the Foothillers hosted the Mira Mesa Marauders.

Both teams came out of the gates fast, each scoring touchdowns halfway through the first quarter.

Grossmont’s senior quarterback Jaime Odom broke the tie game in the second quarter when he threw a 51-yard touchdown bomb to running back Robert Tucker.

However, seconds before halftime, the Marauders answered with an Elijah Thomas 2-yard touchdown run. Thomas ran with authority all night, on the 2-yard run to the end zone he carried Foothillers with him.

Grossmont pushed on the gas pedal once both teams came back onto the field after halftime.

The Foothillers scored 29 unanswered points in the second half which was highlighted by a Tucker 15-yard dash to the end zone late in the third quarter.

They also played stingy defense on the Marauders starting quarterback, Teige Barrett, who was playing his first-ever downs in football after starring in baseball his whole life.

The Marauders were blanketed in the second half as a result, Grossmont won, 43-14. The Foothillers host Mater Dei next week while the Marauders are away at San Marcos.

PREVIEW

This Friday is no ordinary start to the weekend.

As summer is quickly coming to an end, that only means one thing for San Diegans on Friday nights.

High school football is back, and to many people across the city, it’s like Christmas morning.

One of the best games covered by the PPR Red Jacket Crew this week will be Mira Mesa at Grossmont.

After falling to Lincoln in the Division 2 championship game, Mira Mesa is looking to take that next step in 2019 under head coach Chris Thompson.

Thompson, who in his first year as head coach, led the Marauders to their first title game since 2010.

Known as a quarterback whisperer, Thompson is going to have to dig deep into that coaching bag as his starting quarterback Teige Barrett is a baseball star who has never played organized football. However, the talent around the quarterback helps any team, and Mira Mesa has lots of returning talent.

The Grossmont Foothillers are coming off a season where they were decimated by injuries finishing the season at 4-8, but still won a first-round playoff game against Madison.

The Foothillers boast a massive offensive line this season with four seniors who are all 230-plus pounds.

Head coach Tom Karlo is entering his eighth year at Grossmont and is happy to have third-year quarterback Jaime Odom back under center.

Odom will have top returning wide receiver Brody Schicker out wide to scare defenses. Schicker already has an offer from USD.

Be sure to catch all the highlights from this game, and the rest of the games Friday at 10:45 p.m. on KUSI.