SD Prep Sports:

2006 Grossmont Conference

Prep Football Week 2 Report

Braves are somehwere in between, but still catchy

Huddled in the visitors’ end zone prior to kick off in the season opener for the El Cajon Valley Braves, head coach Jason Texler had one message to deliver in his inspirational pre-game pep talk to a team that been virtually rebuilt in its entirety since reaching the finals of last year’s San Diego Section Division II championship game.

“We want to show every team we play, starting with Sweetwater, that we're here to play football,” Texler told his squad.

The new-look Braves went out and did just that, defeating the host Red Devils, 41-0, in a non-league game Sept. 1.

“The bell rang at 7 p.m. and we answered it,” Texler told his team in the post-game huddle.

“One play at a time; one game at a time,” came the collective reply from the victorious team's players.

The season opening victory was a huge emotional lift for a team that lost virtually everyone to graduation that helped guide it to last year’s CIF finals at Qualcomm Stadium, including a host of players keyed by Abraham Muheize, now at Grossmont College.

Muheize set a state record last year with more than 5,000 offensive yards.

The Braves, a team that had seen more misfortune on the scoreboard over the last decade than fortune, was clearly the underdog that every fan loves to root for — only that the 2005 ECV team was no underdog. The Braves were a good team, period.

The massively retooled ECV team stands somewhere between great and decent, as its 1-1 record shows through the opening two weeks of the season. The Braves lost, 42-14, to the visiting Montgomery Aztecs on Sept. 8 in an early season battle of unbeatens to fall to the .500 level.

“If the effort is there, that plays a huge part,” said Texler, whose team finished 11-3 last season with a finals loss to Oceanside. “We like being the underdog. Until someone knocks of West Hills, Grossmont and El Capitan, we’re about where we’re supposed to be. We’re trying to prove we fit in.”

Keying revamped El Cajon Valley’s offensive surge is senior quarterback Kianie Brooks, who passed for three touchdowns while rushing for two more in the win against Sweetwater and added one passing and rushing touchdown in the loss to the Aztecs.

In the Sweetwater game, Brooks passed to three different receivers for touchdowns in the Braves’ five-wide offensive scheme: Jon Sablan (13 yards), Kevin Kelly (six yards) and LeRoy McGee (46 yards). Brooks scampered into the end zone on runs of one-yard and three yards in the third quarter.

Brooks passed to 27 yards to James Joyner and scampered into the end zone on a 25-yard run to pull the Braves to within 21-14 on the scoreboard in their home opener before Montgomery closed out the game with 21 unanswered second-half points.

The Braves defense stood tall on the evening with five interceptions and two fumble recoveries against Sweetwater.

Brad Meyers returned an intercepted pass 65 yards midway through the second quarter.

Brooks finished the memorable season opening win with 230 yards in total offense in taking over for departed CIF Player of the Year Muheize (whose number has been retired by the Braves). Brooks passed for 175 yards, completing 16 of 28 passes, while rushing nine times for 55 yards. He had 241 total yards in the loss to the Aztecs.

As a receiver last year, Brooks caught 29 passes for 264 yards.

Texler said Brooks is the key component to the fortunes of this year’s team. “He’s been a terrific surprise for us,” Texler said of the athletic Brooks. “If he can stay healthy, we should be in for a good year. We’ll need a lot of second effort. We’re young everywhere.”

In the season opener at Sweetwater, the Braves led 28-0 at halftime after the teams had played to a scoreless opening quarter.

The Red Devils positioned the Braves for two short scoring drives on bad snaps. The first bad snap went over the head of the punter to place the ball at the six-yard line (whereupon Brooks promptly hit Kelly for a score). The second bad snap was low and put the ball near the SuHi goal line when the punter’s knee touched the turf while trying to field the ball. Brooks promptly scored on a three-yard run.

McGee led ECV with four catches for 74 yards while Kelly had four receptions for 49 yards and Sablan had four catches for 25 yards. Jon Bermudes had one kick-off return for 28 yards. Besides Meyers, Ricky Gilbert, Neiko Alexis, Cameron Laudermilk and McGee also picked off passes.

The final point-spread against the Braves might have been different if Sweetwater had not been penalized on two long runs into El Cajon Valley territory before the East County visitors eventually got on a roll and put the game out of reach.

“We went back to basics and our defensive and offensive lines just played hard,” Texler said.

The Braves and Aztecs were tied early before a bigger and more physical Montgomery team (2-0) rang up two unanswered touchdowns to go up 21-7 at halftime.

In two games, Brooks has completed 53 percent of his passes for 393 yards and four touchdowns. McGee leads the ECV receiving corps with eigth catches for 130 yards while Kelley has caught seven passes for 84 yards.

El Cajon Valley will attempt to get back in the win column — and get a better idea of just where it fits into this year’s playoff race — when it hosts the Kearny Komets on Friday, Sept. 15.

Kearny is coming off a 39-26 loss Sept. 8 at Mar Vista.

San Diego Section: The Undefeated
(Through Sept. 9)

Division I
Poway (2-0-0)
Torrey Pines (2-0-0)
Escondido (2-0-0)
Otay Ranch (1-0-0)
Calexico (2-0-0)
Granite Hills (1-0-0)

Division II
Oceanside (2-0-0)
Hoover (2-0-0)
West Hills (2-0-0)
Scripps Ranch (1-0-0)
Mt. Carmel (1-0-0)

Division III
Point Loma (2-0-0)
El Capitan (2-0-0)
Valhalla (2-0-0)
St. Augustine (1-0-0)
Brawley (1-0-0)
Monte Vista (1-0-0)
Mt. Miguel (1-0-0)
Mar Vista (1-0-0)

Division IV
Mission Bay (2-0-0)
Palo Verde (2-0-0)
Crawford (1-0-0)
Santa Fe Christian (1-0-0)

Division V
Christian (2-0-0)
Francis Parker (2-0-0)
H-Town (2-0-0)
Imperial (2-0-0)
Bishop¹s (1-0-0)
La Jolla Country Day (1-0-0)
Holtville (1-0-0)

Eight-Man
Warner Springs (1-0-0)
Borrego Springs (1-0-0)
Escondido Charter (1-0-0)