The worst thing the San Marcos High School football team did Friday night in its Avocado League West showdown with Carlsbad was score too early.

The No.9-ranked Knights scored a go-ahead touchdown with 6:42 to play in the game on a 15-yard pass from Kreet Makihele to Cutter Vorhees. It was Vorhees’ third TD of the game, including a 19-yard scoring catch and a 61-yard fumble return.

That left No. 2 Carlsbad (8-0, 2-0) time to use its entire playbook.

The Lancers then went 80 yards on nine plays, using 5:31 to score the winning touchdown on a 2-yard run by Darian Webb in a 31-28 victory.

Webb had runs of 16, 11 and 10 yards on the drive before his score.  Quarterback Eli MacNeal had completions of 21 and 11 yards.

“We practice those last-minute drives a lot,” MacNeal said. “San Marcos really brought the pressure. It was a battle, but we managed get it done.”

Both of MacNeal’s completions on the winning drive went to Ethan Meyerhoff, who finished the game with six catches for 129 yards, including grabs of 32 and 45 yards.

“That last drive took a lot of energy,” Meyerhoff said. “San Marcos brought a lot of pressure, forced Eli out of the pocket. But we work on things like that, what to do when the quarterback is on the run. Basically, the receivers look for an open spot. That’s usually at the sidelines if Eli’s forced out of the pocket.

“This was a battle, a very big win.”

San Marcos (5-3, 0-2) still had time to win or tie the game. But the Knights, who were out of timeouts, couldn’t connect on a deep pass that could have been called a pass interference, saw Makihele sacked by Ashwan Cranford in a time-consuming play, and gained nine yards on a pass over the middle.

With time running out, Makihele hit Zamar Reese for a big gainer near midfield, but the Knights were called for holding. A desperation, last-play catch-and-lateral was sniffed out by the Carlsbad defense.

“Great game. Great effort, but it’s a loss and it hurts,” said San Marcos coach Tim Carroll.

Top 10

No. 1 Lincoln 56, University City 0: Lincoln QBs Jordan Roa and Kainan Manna were hot in the Western League game. Roa completed 7 of 11 passes for 162 yards and a TD and rushed for 39 yards. Manna completed 4 of 6 for 139 yards and three TDs. King David Christopher-Dunn had five catches for 100 yards and a TD. Courtney Miller-Thompson had two TD catches as did Dareyan Bridges. Junior Curtis rushed five times for 107 yards and a TD. Rashad Robinson and Caleb Williams had rushing scores. Lincoln improved to 7-1, 1-0; University City is 5-3, 0-1.

No. 3 La Costa Canyon 36, El Camino 14: Quinn Roth completed 8 of 10 passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns for La Costa Canyon (7-1) in a nonleague game. Jackson Maggiore had three catches for 152 yards and a TD, while Lennox Marcucci had two catches for 100 yards and a score. Coby Herman had 102 yards of total offense with a rushing and receiving score. Luke Ivey rushed five times for 98 yards. Noah Salazar threw for 176 yards and both El Camino (1-7) TDs. Omega Cruise had six catches for 100 yards and Anthony Sega had two receptions for 70 yards.

No. 4 Mission  Hills 36, Torrey Pines 0: Patrick Fleming rushed for two touchdowns for Mission Hills (7-1, 2-1) in the Avocado West League game. Troy Huhn threw TD passes to Perrin Blankenship and Josh Gonzalez. Rohdes Relatores had a 75-yard run. Torrey Pines is 4-4, 0-2.

No. 5 Cathedral Catholic 41, Scripps Ranch 0: In the Western League opener, Cathedral Catholic QB Josh Faraimo completed 8 of 11 passes for 203 yards and four touchdowns in the first half as the Dons improved to 6-2, 1-0. Isaac Cook had three receptions for 141 yards and TDs of 70 and 32 yards. Honor Fa’alave-Johnson caught a 50-yard TD and rushed five times for 95 yards and a score. The Dons’ defense held Scripps Ranch (4-4, 1-0) to 74 yards.

No. 6 Granite Hills 40, Helix 14: Behind quarterback Zac Benitez’s four touchdown passes, Granite Hills (5-3, 2-0) moved into first place in the Grossmont Hills League while Helix (3-6, 1-2) continued to struggle. Zhedan Smith pulled in two TD receptions of 26 and 13 yards while DJ Wilkins and Noah Walker added scores. The Eagles’ Parker Johnson had a 71-yard kickoff return for a score. The defense set up two more as Kal Young had a fumble recovery and Jesse Wilhite picked off a pass.

Oceanside 24, No. 7 Rancho Bernardo 21: Anthony Barquinero threw for 202 yards as Oceanside (4-4, 2-0) pulled off the Avocado East League upset. Neke Letuli rushed 19 times for 116 yards and a TD. SJ Poumele had four catches for 106 yards and had 27 rushing yards. Noel Hernandez added a TD catch. Gaige Weddle threw for 309 yards and a TD for Rancho Bernardo (7-1, 2-1). He also had a pair of rushing TDs. Brody Cella had five receptions for 168 yards and a TD, an 85-yarder. He also had a 74-yard kickoff return and Gavin Valencia had 14 tackles.

No. 8 Point Loma 55, Madison 26: Romeo Carter of Point Loma (8-0, 3-0) tied a San Diego Section record with six touchdown catches in the Eastern League win over Madison (2-6, 1-2). Carter, who had seven catches for 214 yards, tied the record held by Joe Mange of Holtville set in 1999. Wade Mettler had four catches for 122 yards and a TD, while Ryan Cleator had a 26-yard TD catch. Pointers QBs Ryder Watson and Henry Heuser threw for 478 yards and eight TDs. Watson was 14 of 20 for 343 yards and five TDs, while Heuser was 5 of 9 for 135 yards and three scores.

No. 10 Mount Miguel 28, Steele Canyon 21: Mount Miguel handed Steele Canyon its first setback of the season in the Grossmont Hills League game. The Matadors (6-3, 2-1) and Cougars (7-1, 1-1) were tied at halftime, but Mount Miguel took a 28-14 lead and held on. Steele Canyon’s Gavin Caha tossed for 169 yards and two TDs, with Nico Jara grabbing two passes for 60 yards.

Avocado East League

Poway 35, Del Norte 23: Luke Jorgensen rushed 16 times for 176 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including an 87-yarder, for Poway (4-4, 2-0). Noah Schuback threw for 115 yards with TD passes of 55 yards to Will Hawkins and 18 yards to James Clifford. Schuback also had a 13-yard TD run. Kaden Wiliams threw TD passes to Kruz Barnett and Tiley Farrokhi for Del Norte (3-5, 0-1). Grant Goldmann had an 8-yard TD run.

Central League

Morse 34, Clairemont 23: Ethan Esmailian completed 20 of 24 passes for 307 yards and three touchdowns for Morse (5-3, 1-1). Superior Garror rushed 10 times for 70 yards and two TDs and had six receptions for 144 yards and two more scores. TrayShawn McNair had four catches for 68 yards and a TD. De’vell Green had seven receptions. Clairemont is 1-8, 0-2.

Canyon Hills 20, Coronado 10: The Rattlers improved to 5-3, 2-0 with the 10-point win. Mason Wilson had 12 tackles and Stanley Guyman had five sacks for Coronado (4-3, 1-1). Melo Avetyan scored on a 31-yard pass.

City League

Patrick Henry 41, Crawford 6: Madin Gardini threw for 256 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a score as Patrick Henry improved to 4-5, 2-1. Calvin Glenn rushed 18 times for 160 yards and three scores and caught two paasses for 64 yards and a score. Cole Farrace caught two passes for 80 yards. Ethan Baker had five catches for 65 yards. Crawford is now 2-6, 1-2.

Hoover 34, Mira Mesa 21

Coastal League

Santa Fe Christian 42, La Jolla Country Day 7: Dax Labrum completed 14 of 19 passes for 166 yards and a TD to Jairus Bolden. SFC (9-0, 3-0) used 10 rushers, who piled up 233 yards and three TDs, two by Brady Berg and one by Brodie Stuart. Braden Scott threw a 65-yard TD pass to Cruz Campbell, who had three catches for 89 yards. Scott also had six PATs. LJCD falls to 3-5, 1-2.

Desert League

Palo Verde Valley 34, Calipatria 20: Ayden Walker had a pair of interceptions and Wesley Dill had a scoop-and-score defensive touchdown to lead Palo Verde Valley (5-4, 2-0) over Calipatria (4-3, 0-1).

Vincent Memorial 20, Southwest-El Centro 0: Vincent Memorial (1-6, 1-1) won its first game of the season, blanking Southwest-El Centro (1-7, 0-1). Vincent had lost its last three games by a total of 24 points.

Eastern League

La Jolla 36, San Diego 33: Emerson Rota threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Bardaro with under a minute left to lead La Jolla (5-3, 1-1) to the win. Bardaro also had a TD run and Aiden Farrell ran for two scores. Jayden Harris threw three TD passes for San Diego (5-2, 1-1), two to Jonah Holloway and one to Dominick Espalin. Kevin Shields had a 45-yard TD run for the Cavers.

St. Augustine 20, Christian 7: Pai Polamalu had a pair of 4-yard touchdown runs for St. Augustine (3-5, 2-1). Spencer Austin added an 8-yard TD run. Kai Rosier had an 80-yard kickoff return for Christian (2-6, 0-3).

Grossmont Valley League

Grossmont 48, West Hills 27: Grossmont (7-1, 3-0) jumped on top early and rolled to its fifth straight victory. Tyler Holmes completed 19 of 25 passes for 292 yards. Randy Ballard, Kenny Krauss, Logan Struck and Max Bewley all had TD receptions while Corbin Dow had 57 yards rushing and a score. Gage Weichelt had seven tackles and a punt return for six points, Colton Burke returned an interception for a TD while forcing a fumble and Jay Smith had 11 tackles. West Hills (2-6, 2-1) was led by QB Evan Dill, who threw for 92 yards and a touchdown and ran for 64 yards and a score. Julian DeBeneditto and Jacob Romeo added rushing TDs.

Valhalla 38, El Cajon Valley 0: Liam Hypes rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns and Jackson Newman added three scores as Valhalla (2-6, 1-2) blanked El Cajon Valley (2-6, 0-3). It’s Valhalla’s first shutout victory since 2018.

Santana 14, Monte Vista 7: Santana (5-3, 2-1) used two big defensive plays to down Monte Vista (4-4, 1-2). Maddox Esoo scooped up a blocked punt and raced 80 yards for a touchdown, and Caleb Carnes scored on a 1-yard run after Chris Ledezma blocked a punt and Dawson DelaCruz recovered on the Monte Vista 5. Gio Lopez rushed for 75 yards with a long of 59 yards. Derrick Taylor intercepted a pass for Monte Vista (4-4, 1-2).

Imperial Valley League

Holtville 36, Brawley 7: Enrique Armas and Alonso Cuevas were too much for Brawley (2-6, 1-1) as Holtville (7-1, 2-0) won its sixth straight. Armas gained 211 yards on 38 carries, scoring three times, while Cuevas was 9 of 14 passing for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Holtville’s Santiago Ceazo, Marcos Garcia and Maximilano Ruiz all had interceptions.

Central Union 35, Calexico 20: Central (7-2, 1-2) bounced back from a pair of losses with the victory over Calexico (3-4, 0-3). Luis Jimenez completed 9 of 11 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Joshua Garcia four times for 135 yards and two scores. Angel Vasquez added two receptions for 65 yards and a score.

Metro Mesa League

Eastlake 35, Otay Ranch 10: Eastlake held Otay Ranch to 76 yards passing and 82 yards rushing to improve to 4-4, 2-0. David Branco rushed for three TDs while Santiago Aleta and Jeremiah White caught scoring passes. Luke Childers had 12 tackles and David Smith had 11 tackles to lead Otay Ranch (3-6, 1-2) on defense.

Sweetwater 14, Chula Vista 7: Sweetwater (4-5, 1-1) rallied for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to down Chula Vista (1-7, 0-2). Gabe Ruiz rushed for 114 yards and a TD for Chula Vista.

Metro Pacific League

San Ysidro 55, Castle Park 7 

Mar Vista 40, Southwest-San Diego 39: Mar Vista (4-4, 1-0) scored with two minutes to play and then held off Southwest-San Diego (3-5, 0-1). Southwest’s Samuel Gonzales finished with 369 all-purpose yards.

Metro South Bay League

Hilltop 28, Bonita Vista 10: Two interceptions for touchdowns and a strong running game helped Hilltop (5-3, 1-0) top Bonita Vista (3-5, 0-1). Julian Moran and Seven Tarkington’s pick-six plays led the defense. Leo Mendoza rushed for 88 yards and a TD while Lajuan Johnson ran for 151 yards.

Olympian 29, Montgomery 21: It took three overtimes, but Olympian (7-1, 1-0) beat Montgomery (5-3, 0-1). The game was tied at 14 after regulation. Carlos Lopez had a fumble recovery and an interception for Olympian.

Pacific League

Coastal Academy 42, Orange Glen 0: Elek Vitzian caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Zac Garland and had an interception for Coastal Academy (7-1, 1-0). Noah White rushed 11 times for 119 yards and two TDs. Cody Terpstra also had two rushing TDs while Daynbe Jarrah scored once. Orange Glen is 1-6, 0-1.

Palomra League

San Pasqual 48, Valley Center 7: Robert Renteria completed 11 of 15 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns for San Pasqual (5-3, 1-1). Dylan Bachoua had two catches for 63 yards and a rushing TD, while Landon Lockwood, playing both ways, had 13 tackles and a rushing TD. Valley Center falls tio 3-6, 2-1.

Mt. Carmel 58, Escondido 21: Trevor Taumoepeau threw touchdown passes to Connor Gibbons, Jackson Hanlon, Mason Madlock and Vohnn Brown for Mt. Carmel (4-5, 1-2). Bowynn Cannon had a pair of TD runs for Escondido (2-6, 0-2), while Julis Schnaars had an 8-yard TD run.

Sunset League

Victory Christian Academy 52, Tri-City Christian 0: Chato Garcia threw a pair of touchdown passes to Ben Garcia for Victory Christian (3-5, 3-2). Gabriel Aguirre carried five times for 122 yards and three TDs. Andres Sanchez and Alejandro Rodriguez also had rushing TDs. Tri-City Christian is 0-8, 0-5.

Maranatha Christian 41, Mountain Empire 0: Shane Piester was 11 of 16 for 235 yards and three touchdowns for Maranatha (7-1, 4-0). Aaron Tasin had five receptions for 101 yards and a score and had a 23-yard TD run. Nathan Niguadula had six tackles and four tackles for losses. Mountain Empire is 6-2, 3-1.

O’Farrell Charter 38, Foothills Christian 23: Dakobi Coleman completed 11 of 16 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown and rushed 13 times for 94 yards and a score as O’Farrell (4-4, 3-1) set a school record for wins in a season. Foothills falls to 0-9, 0-4.

Valley League

Westview 35, Vista 7: Matthew Guimond threw touchdown passes of 91 yards to Evan Levine, 90 yards to Miles Miranda and 55 yards to Kyler Brown as Westview (4-4, 1-0) rolled. Broc Schweikhard scored on a 23-yard run for Vista (0-8, 0-1).

Rancho Buena Vista 29, Fallbrook 21: Kaipo Gutierrez had a pair of rushing touchdowns and caught a TD pass for RBV (5-3, 1-0). Eric Morales had 16 carries for 95 yards. Van Piercy threw for a pair of TDs.Harrison Jones threw for 121 yards and two TDs for Fallbrook (2-6, 0-1), with both scoring passes going to Teague Lucy. Riley Cable returned an interception 70 yards for a score.

Nonleague

Kearny 41, Rock Academy 7: Jaylen Hill rushed 13 times for 156 yards and a touchdown for Kearny (4-4). Jayvon Peterson had TDs rushing and receiving. Rock falls to 4-4.

8-man
Ocean League

Horizon Prep 62, Calvin Christian 24

Nonleague

Francis Parker 48, West Shores 22: Spencer Perry had a pair of rushing touchdowns and returned an interception for a score for Parker (4-2). Jaylen Murray had two rushing TDs, two sacks and recovered two fumbles. Chris Nguyen scored twice and Demetrius Walcott had 16 tackles and a sack. West Shores is 2-6.

St. Joseph Academy 48, Borrego Springs 20

Bishop’s vs. Escondido Charter, late Saturday

Steve Brand contributed to this report.