Third-ranked Granite Hills (5-0) continued its strong season defensively, not letting No. 7 Madison (2-4)
make a single play inside the red zone on the way to a 31-0 home victory on Friday night.
“Great defensive performance,” said Eagles coach Kellan Cobbs. “It started with a special teams play, getting the ball on the first kickoff of the game, setting the tone. We put some touchdowns together in the first half and our defense continues to play lights out.”
Three different Eagles scored on each of Granite Hills’ first three possessions.
Eagles freshman quarterback Zachary Benitez opened the scoring when he found junior wide receiver Brenden Lewis for a 13-yard touchdown. Lewis, who would go on to record four receptions for 34 yards and the score, caught the ball before the end zone and had to avoid a couple of Warhawks defenders.
On the next possession, Benitez aired it out from 44 yards and found sophomore wide receiver Tristan Diaz breaking loose.
Benitez completed 10-of-20 es for 122 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble.
“He made some good throws early, hit a big one on a shot play that we had,” Cobbs said of Benitez. “He’s got all the talent to be a good quarterback. Only being a freshman, he’s only going to get better. I thought he handled some situations well and didn’t fold in the second half.”
As much as Benitez was succeeding through the air, his two running backs were also finding success.
Junior running backs Pablo Jackson and Max Turner each recorded at least 60 rushing yards while the former also added a touchdown from two yards out that was benefitted a Madison encroachment flag on fourth down to give the Eagles a 21-0 lead with 3:21 left in the firs quarter.
Turner broke through for runs for 24 and 18 yards, respectively.
“They did a good job of running hard,” Cobbs said of Jackson and Turner. “They complement each other really well. They both do a lot of good things in and out of the backfield, between the tackles, outside the tackles.
“They’re interchangeable. Both of them are good, good, good running backs and both can do a
lot for us.”
Lewis opened the second half with his second touchdown of the night, this one coming on a 95-yard kickoff return.
Madison, which has now lost four straight heading into league play, was unable to get going in the running game, only totaling 18 yards between their top two running backs in Brown and senior James Tivao.
Warhawks junior quarterback Ryley Parenteau, who exited the game due to a leg injury midway through the third quarter, completed 18-of-28 es for 132 yards and an interception. He was also sacked a couple of times and lost a fumble.
The Eagles and Warhawks both begin league action next week. Granite Hills begins Grossmont Hills play with a road matchup at Santana, while Madison hosts No. 1 Lincoln to begin its Western League schedule.
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No. 3 Granite Hills 31, No. 7 Madison 0
Madison – 0 0 0 0 – 0
Granite Hills – 21 3 7 0 – 31
G – Lewis 13 from Benitez (Petrich kick)
G – Diaz 44 from Benitez (Petrich kick)
G – Jackson 2 run (Petrich kick)
G – FG Petrich 33 kick GOOD
G – Lewis 95 kick return (Petrich kick)
