Saturday, October 31, 2015

Toreros defeat Stetson 47-16


DELAND, FL (10/31/2015) On the morning of Halloween, Anthony Lawrence and the University of San Diego Toreros (6-2, 4-1 PFL) had a scary-good outing on offense in their 47-16 victory over the Stetson University Hatters (2-6, 1-5 PFL).

Lawrence finished 20 for 28 with a career-high 453 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Toreros put up 644 yards of total offense.

For the second time this season, USD had two different receivers go over the 100-yard mark.

Brian Riley also set a career mark with 177 yards receiving. His six receptions includes a 33-yard score that put the Toreros up 14-6 early in the second quarter. Justin Priest contributed with 4 catches for 103 yards.

In his first action of the season, freshman running back Matthew Cecil rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.

Jereke Armstrong added to his PFL-leading touchdown total (9) with a 76-yard catch that powered USD to a 27-6 lead with 4:48 left in the half.

On defense, Taylor Bongiovanni led the way with 2.5 sacks and three tackles for loss.

Prep Football: #1 Helix rolls over Grossmont

Helix junior WR Evan Perkins (#6) is wide open for the touchdown catch.



EL CAJON, CA (10/30/2015) The top ranked Helix Highlanders (7-1) made short work of the Grossmont Foothillers (7-2) in front of a packed house at Jack Mashin Stadium. The 68-16 rout gave Helix its 19th straight win in the all-time series.

Monday, October 26, 2015

2015 Prep Football Rankings: Week 10


The Wheel of Parity proves that on any given gameday, no one is safe from defeat.

The Top 3 remains intact with Helix, Mission Hills, and St. Augustine adding to their win totals last Friday. Cathedral Catholic falls to No. 8 after their Holy Bowl loss to the Saints.

Westview is no longer undefeated after a heartbreaking loss to La Costa Canyon. With seven seconds left to play, Mavericks quarterback Tanner Clark dove into the end zone for the game-winning score. LCC climbs to No. 6 with the Wolverines behind them at No. 7.

Valhalla put up an outstanding effort by holding Helix to a 21-14 lead at halftime, but the top ranked Highlanders pulled away with 21 unanswered points for the win. The Highlanders remain No. 1, while the Norsemen drop to No. 10.

One week removed from defeating crosstown rival La Costa Canyon, the Carlsbad Lancers struck again with a convincing 21-6 triumph over Oceanside. The win marks their first in the series since 2005, and gives the Pirates their first three-game losing skid since that same season. Two straight marquee wins help the Lancers grab the No. 5 spot.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Chargers' fourth quarter rally falls short against the Raiders


QUALCOMM STADIUM (10/25/2015) Led by outstanding performances from Derek Carr (24/31 for 289 yards & 3 TDs) and Amari Cooper (5 catches for 133 yards & 1 TD), the Oakland Raiders (3-3) pulled off a convincing win over the San Diego Chargers (2-5) in front of a Raider-dominated crowd Sunday afternoon.

After trailing 37-6 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Chargers went on a 23-0 run, but the Raiders held on for a 37-29 victory.

On just the third snap of the game, Phillip Rivers' pass was tipped and picked off by linebacker Malcolm Smith.

The play set up Latavius Murray's one-yard touchdown run that gave Oakland an early 7-0 lead.

Video: Toreros cruise past Warner



TORERO STADIUM (10/24/2015) The University of San Diego Toreros (5-2) took a break from Pioneer Football League play to host the Warner Royals (2-6), a third-year NAIA program from Lake Wales, Florida.

Grossmont High alum Anthony Lawrence put together another outstanding performance for USD, completing 21 of 26 passes for 278 yards and four touchdowns (in the first half) to help the Toreros roll to a 45-14 victory.

The Toreros found the end zone on it's first five offensive drives and outgained Warner 525-285 in total offense.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Aztecs lead MWC after routing Utah State


QUALCOMM STADIUM (10/23/2015) If this was a preview of the Mountain West Conference title game, the San Diego State Aztecs (5-3, 4-0 MWC) appear to be in championship form after a dominating 48-14 win over the Utah State Aggies (4-3, 3-1 MWC) on Friday night.

Donnel Pumphrey rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries while helping the Aztecs score on six straight drives in the first half. Chase Price added to the ground attack with 97 yards and a touchdown.

With the win, SDSU becomes the only undefeated team in Mountain West play. They're also off to their first 4-0 conference start since 1993.

“I think this team has improved tremendously over the last four weeks, on both sides of the ball,” SDSU head coach Rocky Long said. “I think after the second half of the Penn State game, our offensive line got better. You can see the proof now.”

Friday, October 23, 2015

Prep Football Games to Watch: Week Nine


Headlined by the annual Holy Bowl, here are five key games to keep an eye on tonight.


#3 St. Augustine Saints (5-2) at #4 Cathedral Catholic Dons (4-3)

The Dons are riding a four-game winning streak since suffering a week 4 loss to Helix. To keep the momentum going they must stop the visiting Saints and their explosive ground attack powered by Elijah Preston (1,213 yards & 13 TDs). The Dons had two weeks to prepare for the Holy Bowl, while the Saints are fresh off a 46-26 tune-up at Morse.

Monday, October 19, 2015

2015 Prep Football Rankings: Week Nine

The Grossmont Foothillers were one of four ranked teams who was bit by the upset bug last Friday.

Week 8 upsets shake up the rankings

Carlsbad 27, #6 La Costa Canyon 17 (2OT)

The Lancers win the Rotary Cup for the second year straight after topping the crosstown-rival Mavericks in a double overtime thriller. The loss put an end to La Costa Canyon’s five-game winning streak.

Torrey Pines 28, #7 Oceanside 27

The Falcons trailed 14-0 in the first quarter, but rallied back to stun the Pirates and snap a five-game losing skid. With 28 seconds left to play, Ben Spitters found Scotty Gange for the 37-yard game-winning touchdown strike. Oceanside suffers back-to-back losses for the first time since 2006.

Steele Canyon 39, #8 Grossmont 36

Trailing 36-31 with 7 ticks remaining, Cougars quarterback Thomas Fishburne came through in the clutch. His 13-yard touchdown strike to Pierre Alexander spoiled the Griffins' homecoming festivities and undefeated streak.

Vista 38, #9 El Camino 0

In what might be the most shocking result of the week, the Panthers left Dick Haines Stadium with a huge statement win over the Wildcats. After a 1-4 start, Vista won its last two games by a combined score of 60-0.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Lawrence & Armstrong put up career-high numbers as Toreros shutout Drake

Redshirt Senior CB Yogi Hale (#4) helped the Toreros' defense pitch its first shutout since 2013.


TORERO STADIUM (10/17/2015) Anthony Lawrence threw for a career-high 326 yards and two touchdown passes as the University of San Diego Toreros (4-2, 3-1 PFL) celebrated its homecoming week with a 27-0 victory over the Drake Bulldogs (3-4, 2-2 PFL) Saturday afternoon, extending its PFL home winning streak to 21.

Both Lawrence touchdowns went to running back Jereke Armstrong, who also scored on a 24-yard run late in the fourth quarter that put the game away for good. The San Pasqual High product racked up a total of 112 all-purpose yards, including a career-high 78 receiving.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Toreros aim to keep PFL home streak & title hopes alive


San Diego Toreros (3-2, 2-1 PFL) vs. Drake Bulldogs (3-3, 2-1 PFL)
Torero Stadium at Walter J. Zable Field (San Diego, CA)
Saturday, October 17th, 2015 @ 2:00 p.m. PT

Winners of their last 20 games against Pioneer Football League opponents at home, the Toreros own the league's longest active streak in that category.

It previously belonged to Drake, who was victorious at home against 19 straight PFL foes before USD pulled off a 17-14 come-from-behind victory last season at Drake Stadium. Down 14-0, the Toreros rallied back with 17 unanswered points.

USD will try to avoid suffering the same faith this Saturday when they host the revenge-minded Bulldogs in a must-win contest for both teams.

Despite a tough 14-13 loss at Dayton last week, the defending PFL champions are still alive in the title race. With a 2-1 league record, they're tied for second place with Drake and Morehead State, while Dayton sits on top of the standings at 2-0.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Steelers spoil Gates' debut with last-second TD on Monday Night Football


QUALCOMM STADIUM (10/12/2015) Returning from a four-game suspension, Antonio Gates caught nine passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, but it was all for nothing as the San Diego Chargers (2-3) suffered a heart-breaking loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) 24-20.

On the final play of the game, Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell took a direct snap 1 yard to the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

It was a tough loss, Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said. But we have a short week, we have to move on.

The Chargers hit the road next Sunday to take on the undefeated Green Bay Packers.

2015 Prep Football Rankings: Week Eight


Unblemished on the field but 5-1 in the standings, the Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders enter the Top 10. The Crusaders' lone loss comes after being forced to forfeit their win over El Capitan due to the use of an ineligible player.

And Still Undefeated!


#2 Mission Hills (6-0)
#5 Westview (6-0)
#8 Grossmont (6-0)
Mission Bay (6-0)
Vincent Memorial (7-0)

Monday, October 5, 2015

2015 Prep Football Rankings: Week Seven


North County is the place to be for prep football this Friday night!

Games of the Week

#4 Oceanside Pirates (4-1) at #2 Mission Hills Grizzlies (5-0)

#8 La Costa Canyon Mavericks (4-1) at #5 El Camino Wildcats (5-0)

#10 Rancho Bernardo Broncos (4-1) at #7 Westview Wolverines (5-0)

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Toreros come back & hold off Marist 30-27


TORERO STADIUM (10/03/2015) Down 20-7 early in the second quarter, the University of San Diego Toreros (3-1, 2-0 PFL) rallied back with a 23-7 scoring run to defeat the Marist Red Foxes (1-4, 0-2 PFL) Saturday afternoon.

As always in this series, Marist put up an outstanding effort, but once again it wasn’t enough as USD extended its lead in the all-time series to 11-0.

“This is an ugly win,” USD head coach Dale Lindsey said during the post-game interview. “I thought Marist played quite well, and I think we played with spurts.”

“We got some things we have to tighten up, because we have Dayton next week and they're a really good team,” Lindsey added.