Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Game of the Week: Mira Mesa at Escondido

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lOlSrS5zDo&feature=player_embedded

Cougars rush their way to quarterfinal win

In a matchup that featured two of the section’s best rushers, Mira Mesa’s Damien Williams had a terrific quarter. The rest of the game belonged to Ricky Seale and third-seed Escondido, who knocked off the sixth-seed Marauders 47-21 in the Division I quarterfinals on Friday night.

“This is pretty big. There’s a lot of talk about us not being worthy of a top-four seed and we just came out and did what we need to do,” said Escondido linebacker Eric Robertson. “We just have to keep rolling and make it back to the stadium.”

Escondido (8-2-1) came out strong and led 14-0 after the first quarter courtesy of a pair of Seale rushing touchdowns. The second score came at the end of an eight-minute drive.

“They stopped us a couple of times, but for the most part the offensive line did what they do every week,” Seale said.

Williams woke Mira Mesa (7-5) up less than a minute into the second quarter with a 75-yard touchdown run. Late in the second quarter, Escondido drove for scores twice only to see those scores answered with big plays from Williams – a 95-yard kickoff return and a 57-yard touchdown catch in the final seconds of the half.

“We knew he was going to break some and we were just trying to hold him down,” Seale said. “He’s a hard back to bring down, but we did our job tonight.”

After halftime, the Cougars defense shut out Williams and the Mira Mesa offense. Robertson said Escondido’s defense is playing to get their orange helmets back, which head coach Paul Gomes took away after their loss to Mission Hills on Nov. 6.

“Coach didn’t think that the orange helmet standouts were stepping it up enough and playing hard, so he took them away and told us that we had to work hard to get them back. Hopefully we did that,” Robertson said.

While Escondido’s defense stifled Mira Mesa, the Cougars offense found the endzone on their first two drives of the second half to take control of the game. Escondido running back Tim Zier ran for a 30-yard touchdown in the closing minutes to punctuate the Cougars’ 26-point win.

“We scored enough to win, we just didn’t get them off the field enough,” said Mira Mesa head coach Gary Blevins. “We’re young on defense and we would have needed to do a much better job getting them off the field to give the offense more cracks at them.”

Seale finished the game with 274 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries. In a losing effort, Williams had 344 total yards and the three second-quarter touchdowns, finishing the season as Mira Mesa’s all-time leading rusher.

“He’s deadly when he gets out in the open field,” Blevins said of Williams, who has received numerous scholarship offers. “That’s a Division I kid.”

Escondido will travel to play second-seed Eastlake (9-0-2) in the Division I semifinals next Friday at 7 p.m. A win over the Titans would see the Cougars return to the section fnals for the second time in as many years.

“We’ll see what happens,” Seale said. “I just hope for a good game and hope to get back to ‘The Q.’”

Escondido running back Ricky Seale carries the ball against Mira Mesa

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lOlSrS5zDo&feature=player_embedded

Cougars rush their way to quarterfinal win

In a matchup that featured two of the section’s best rushers, Mira Mesa’s Damien Williams had a terrific quarter. The rest of the game belonged to Ricky Seale and third-seed Escondido, who knocked off the sixth-seed Marauders 47-21 in the Division I quarterfinals on Friday night.

“This is pretty big. There’s a lot of talk about us not being worthy of a top-four seed and we just came out and did what we need to do,” said Escondido linebacker Eric Robertson. “We just have to keep rolling and make it back to the stadium.”

Escondido (8-2-1) came out strong and led 14-0 after the first quarter courtesy of a pair of Seale rushing touchdowns. The second score came at the end of an eight-minute drive.

“They stopped us a couple of times, but for the most part the offensive line did what they do every week,” Seale said.

Williams woke Mira Mesa (7-5) up less than a minute into the second quarter with a 75-yard touchdown run. Late in the second quarter, Escondido drove for scores twice only to see those scores answered with big plays from Williams – a 95-yard kickoff return and a 57-yard touchdown catch in the final seconds of the half.

“We knew he was going to break some and we were just trying to hold him down,” Seale said. “He’s a hard back to bring down, but we did our job tonight.”

After halftime, the Cougars defense shut out Williams and the Mira Mesa offense. Robertson said Escondido’s defense is playing to get their orange helmets back, which head coach Paul Gomes took away after their loss to Mission Hills on Nov. 6.

“Coach didn’t think that the orange helmet standouts were stepping it up enough and playing hard, so he took them away and told us that we had to work hard to get them back. Hopefully we did that,” Robertson said.

While Escondido’s defense stifled Mira Mesa, the Cougars offense found the endzone on their first two drives of the second half to take control of the game. Escondido running back Tim Zier ran for a 30-yard touchdown in the closing minutes to punctuate the Cougars’ 26-point win.

“We scored enough to win, we just didn’t get them off the field enough,” said Mira Mesa head coach Gary Blevins. “We’re young on defense and we would have needed to do a much better job getting them off the field to give the offense more cracks at them.”

Seale finished the game with 274 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries. In a losing effort, Williams had 344 total yards and the three second-quarter touchdowns, finishing the season as Mira Mesa’s all-time leading rusher.

“He’s deadly when he gets out in the open field,” Blevins said of Williams, who has received numerous scholarship offers. “That’s a Division I kid.”

Escondido will travel to play second-seed Eastlake (9-0-2) in the Division I semifinals next Friday at 7 p.m. A win over the Titans would see the Cougars return to the section fnals for the second time in as many years.

“We’ll see what happens,” Seale said. “I just hope for a good game and hope to get back to ‘The Q.’”

Escondido running back Ricky Seale carries the ball against Mira Mesa

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Division I: Vista vs Mira Mesa

Next Article

Mira Mesa upends Helix in last minute

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader