UPDATE: Championship Game time is 7:05 at Southwestern College, in Chula Vista, on December 4, 2015
Oceanside CA— One thing is certain about the CIF, San Diego Section, Division I Championship game next week, a team from Oceanside will win the title.
The Oceanside Pirates (8-4) held off Point Loma (8-4) 28-24 while across town, the El Camino Wildcats (7-5) beat Steele Canyon (8-5), 28-18, in their semi-final game to set up the all city championship match-up.
Niko Magio opened the scoring for the Pirates, in the Oceanside semi-final, with a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. A 25-yard Beardsley to Martinez touchdown pass gave the Pirates a 21-7 lead at the half.
Point Loma scored 17 in the 3rd quarter starting with a Brenden Torrence, 16 -yard run, 14-21.
Oceanside answered with a Robby Beardsley to Taj Apodaca for an 18-yard touchdown strike, 14-28.
Brenden Torrence scored from 1-yard out, PAT good, 21-28 and added a field goal with under a minute to play in the third quarter, 24-28. From there, the Pirate defense held off the Pointers and made their reservation for a trip to the championship game for first year head Coach David Rodriguez, at Southwestern College. It’s the second straight year Oceanside will play for the title.
In only his second year as head coach of the El Camino Wildcats, John Roberts has his team going where no team El Camino team has been since 1999, the championship game.
The Wildcats, who opened their season with a win over Point Loma, 28-21, went with experience, under center with senior quarterback Beau Gallegos at the helm instead of the sophomore, who led the team in their victory over Torrey Pines last week, Jayden Casey.
The Wildcats kept the mistakes that had been hurting them all season long to a minimum against Steele Canyon and when they did turn the ball over, the El Camino defense stepped up to keep the miscues from becoming Steele Canyon points.
El Camino opened the scoring on their second possession of the game starting at their own sixteen and marching the distance finishing with a Gallegos to Jackson TD.
The Cougars couldn’t find a way to stop the Wildcat rushing attack with Aris Jackson and Chris Brown combining for more than 300 yards on the ground. Sophomore running back, Chris Brown sprinted for touchdowns of 27 and 37 yards. Junior defensive standout Spencer Katoanga added to the scoring with a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter.
Oceanside and El Camino played for the city championship three weeks ago in the season finale at Oceanside High School. The defending CIF San Diego section champs, the Oceanside Pirates handled the Wildcats 29-7 but the rematch promises to be different.
El Camino began the season with a 5-0 run but a loss to La Costa Canyon began a slide that had the Wildcats losing four straight before the match-up with the Pirates. John Roberts has his team playing with their early season confidence and focus. They will need it all against an Oceanside team that’s been there before, a lot, including an unprecedented 7 consecutive championships.
In the other North County semi-final game, the Mission Hills Grizzlies suffered their first loss of the season, 48-14 to St Augustine in the Open Division.