EL CAJON — A good defense can be the best offense.

A momentum-changing interception and four key stops on fourth down pushed Granite Hills to a 52-30 San Diego Section Division 1 semifinal win over Mount Miguel on Friday night.

The win sets up a championship game with No. 1-seeded Lincoln on Saturday night at Southwestern College.

Granite Hills, seeded No. 2, improves to 9-3. Mount Miguel, the No. 3 seed, finishes 8-4.

Locked in what was shaping up as a back-and-forth shootout, Braydon Wells stepped in front of an errant Mount Miguel pass and returned it 15 yards for a score to give Granite Hills a lead it never surrendered.

“I was playing on the line, but dropped back into coverage,” Wells said. “I saw the ball come my way and said I might as well catch it.

“Once I got it, there was  no one in front of me. We got up by two scores and felt the momentum change.”

Granite Hills led 31-14 after making big defensive stops.

The Eagles took the opening kick and drove 66 yards on 11 plays with Gage Spalding scoring from a yard out.

Mount Miguel answered with an 81-yard drive, scoring on a 3-yard run by Jeremiah Holliday.

Granite Hills came right back with a six-play, 56-yard drive, with Tristan Diaz scoring from 2 yards out.

Wells changed the momentum of the game when he stepped in front of a Jeremiah Loper pass and returned it for a Granite Hills score.

Mount Miguel had an answer with Loper hitting Brayden Wells with a 9-yard scoring pass.

Granite Hills again went to the run, going  66 yards with Seth Rodriguez bursting into the end zone from 33 yards out.

Mount Miguel tried to answer big defensive stops by Willie Spain on third down and Jesse Wilhite on fourth down stopped the Matadors.

Those stops led to a 32-yard field goal by Jacob Nunez to close the half.

Jamir Alervez made a key fourth-down stop on Mount Miguel’s first drive of the second half and Jayden Proctor threw the Mount Miguel ball carrier for a 2-yard loss on fourth down on the Matadors’ next series.

Granite Hills scored twice after that, once on a 12-yard run by quarterback Zac Benitez and again on a 15-yard pass from Benitez to Isaiah Rodriguez.

Late in the game, Parker Johnson, Jayden Proctor and Wyatt MacLeod made big defensive stops for the Eagles.

“That’s how our defense plays,” said Granite Hills junior free safety Jesse Wilhite. “We really play  well together. And once we got ahead a little bit, we were really able to get after them.”

Mount Miguel was held to 150 rushing yards on 37 attempts with 10 carries for zero or negative  yards.

The Matadors threw for 158 yards.

“Our pick-six really changed things,” said Granite Hills coach Kellan Cobbs. “We shut them down on fourth down. That was huge. The defense really played physical.”

Granite Hills rushed 34 times for 231 yards with Anthony Matter leading the way with six carries for 77 yards.

Spalding had 13 carries for 51 yards and a pair of scores. Seth Rodriguez carried nine times for 75 yards and a TD.

Benitez threw for 138 yards and a TD and ran for a score.

Granite Hills 52, Mount Miguel 30

Mount Miguel 7      7    0  16  – 30

Granite Hills 7    24   14   7 – 52

GH – Spalding 1 run (Nunez kick)

MM – Holliday 3 run (Ettleman kick)

GH – Diaz  2 run (Nunez kick)

GH – Wells 15 interception return (Nunez kick)

MM – Logan 11 pass from Loper (Ettleman kick)

GH – Rodriguez 18 run  (Nunez kick)

GH – FG Nunez 32

GH -Benitez 12 run (Nunez kick)

GH – Rodriguez 15 pass from Benitez (Nunez kick)

MM  – Williams 16 pass from Loper (Williams pass from Loper)

GH – Spalding 2 run (Nunez kick)

MM – Williams 22 pass from Jackson (Hunter pass from Jackson)