CHULA VISTA \u2014 Sweetwater and Eastlake at one time dominated high school football in the South Bay. But across the last decade, there\u2019s no debating the king of the south:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Mater Dei Catholic.<\/p>\n
The Crusaders won section titles in 2016, 2021 and 2022, capping those last two seasons with state championships.<\/p>\n
Which made Mater Dei Catholic\u2019s 0-6 start to this season stunning. The schedule was difficult, but still, it was the first time since 1991, when the school was Marian Catholic, that the Crusaders opened 0-6.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cool thing about the kids,\u201d said Mater Dei Catholic head coach Rashard Cook, \u201cis they\u2019re super resilient. They just kind of keep on going.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Crusaders won two straight and at 2-6, 2-0 in the Metro Mesa League, faced 8-0, 2-0 Eastlake in a showdown at home Friday night.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s another number that illustrates Mater Dei Catholic South Bay dominance: 24. The Crusaders went into the game having won 24 straight games against South Bay teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re kind of the underdog. It feels like we\u2019re the underdog,\u201d said Mater Dei defensive back\/wide receiver Diego Mendoza. \u201cThe whole city\u2019s counting us out. People at school are counting us out.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Crusaders had one bit factor in their favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Bay football runs through Mater Dei Catholic,\u201d said Cook. \u201cWe believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early in the third quarter, Mater Dei led Eastlake 21-7.<\/p>\n
Climbing the mountain<\/p>\n
For years, before the team\u2019s first summer practice, Eastlake football players have gathered at the base of San Miguel Mountain at 6 a.m., then trekked up the steep hill. It takes the players about 30 minutes to complete the climb. Coach Jose Mendoza admits the hike is taking him longer every year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, it took me 90 minutes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mendoza starts before the players. The players walk straight up the hill. Mendoza takes a zig-zag course.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I tried to walk straight up, they\u2019d have to Life Flight me out of there,\u201d joked Mendoza. \u201cWhen the linemen pass me, I know I\u2019m in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tight team<\/p>\n
The mountain climb represents a bonding experience for the Titans. And Mendoza, in his seventh year as Eastlake\u2019s coach, said this year\u2019s team is particularly close.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a brotherhood, a sense of strong community,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cThey play for each other. You can preach togetherness, but they do actually hang out together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another team-bonding experience for the Titans? On Thursday nights, the team gathers at a player\u2019s home and shares dinner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just brings us together,\u201d said outside linebacker Jovani Ceja. \u201cWe\u2019re not a team; we\u2019re a family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pilot, farmer<\/p>\n
It was Senior Night at Mater Dei. The Crusaders\u2019 14 seniors were introduced and escorted to midfield by family members. The players recorded moving messages of thanks to their family and coaches, plus talked about lifelong goals.<\/p>\n
Lineman, deep snapper Maddox Faiivae was one of the most creative seniors. He talked about playing football in college and professionally. Then his script read: \u201cHe also dreams of becoming a commercial pilot and one day retire and live on a farm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Limping and bummed<\/p>\n
Eastlake was averaging 29.4 points through five games, and the team\u2019s offensive identity was rugged senior running back David Bronco. Branco rushed for 973 yards, averaging 11.4 yards per carry and 194.6 yards per game. At 6 feet, 220 pounds, his style was punishing.<\/p>\n
But Bronco suffered a left leg injury in the fifth game and hasn\u2019t played since. He was on the sideline Friday, walking with a noticeable limp.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sucks,\u201d said Bronco. \u201cI\u2019m glad my team\u2019s still dominating, but I want to be out there, helping them out and finish my senior year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bronco is hoping to be back for the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Andy Reid influence<\/p>\n
Cook is a Morse High product. He played four years at USC, starting three years at safety. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. He was signed off waivers by the Philadelphia Eagles in September of 1999 and played four seasons with the Eagles.<\/p>\n
Andy Reid was the Eagles\u2019 coach, and Cook remembers the man now known as an offensive genius keeping a long list of rules. Some were standard: don\u2019t be late, keep your locker clean, respect teammates.<\/p>\n
One rule was a bit unusual. When the Eagles entered the cafeteria, they had to wear long-sleeved shirts.<\/p>\n
Said Cook, \u201cHe didn\u2019t want any armpit hairs in the food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cook said he adopted the same kitchen-table rule for his family, which features four sons and a daughter. Short-sleeved shirts, though, are permitted in the Cook household.<\/p>\n
By the numbers<\/p>\n
5 \u2014 Coming into the game, Mater Dei Catholic had won five straight in the series against Eastlake.<\/p>\n
10-10 \u2014 Despite Mater Dei\u2019s streak, the teams split the first 20 games.<\/p>\n
29.3 \u2014 Average margin of victory in the last 13 games in the rivalry.<\/p>\n
Food review<\/p>\n
We opted for the California Pizza Kitchen barbecue chicken pie. We\u2019re gonzo CPK fans, but Friday night, the pizza needed to be left in the oven longer. Crust was too gooey, resulting in barbecue sauce dripping all over the place. Fortunately, we grabbed plenty of napkins. Three belches on five-belch scale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHULA VISTA \u2014 Sweetwater and Eastlake at one time dominated high school football in the South Bay. But…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[2044,181,74,76,75,127],"class_list":["post-498875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-high-school-sports","tag-latest-headlines","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}