San Diego Open-Div. Preview: #2-Carlsbad vs. #3-Granite Hills 

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Previewing the Open-Division semifinal in San Diego's Section Playoffs featuring #2-Carlsbad and #3-Granite Hills. Carlsbad (10-0), led by one of the top QBs in the country, is looking to get back to the Open-Division championship after losing to the eventual D-1AA state champions last season, Lincoln. Granite Hills (10-0) is looking to continue their postseason success after securing the D-2A state championship last season. The two teams meet Thursday at Carlsbad HS @ 7pm. </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#2-Carlsbad&nbsp;</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Offense&nbsp;</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carlsbad's offense is led by the top QB prospect in the state, Alabama-commit [player_tooltip player_id='115456' first='Julian' last='Sayin']. The elite QB talent has thrown for over 2,000 yards, 21 TDs, and 0 INTs while completing 75% of his passes this season. Sayin's leading target is San Marcos-transfer, <strong>Joshua</strong> <strong>Ball</strong>, who's recorded 47 catches and 3 TDs this season. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='424976' first='Griffin' last='Rosenbloom'] (Penn-commit), <strong>Jalen</strong> <strong>St. Paul</strong> (USD offer), and <strong>Will</strong> <strong>Cianfrini</strong> (SDSU-commit) provide different skillsets as receivers- each have 20+ catches and 4+ TDs this season. Senior RB <strong>Mason</strong> <strong>Walsh</strong> continued to establish himself as one of the top RBs in San Diego after posting his second consecutive 1,000+ yard season. He's a powerful downhill runner that drives through defenders and picks up chunks of yards at a time. 2025 LT <strong>Andrew</strong> <strong>Langer</strong> is a leader on the OL unit with a strong combination of size (6'4”/260), mobility, and physicality.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/CharlesPower/status/1716488463682326718","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CharlesPower/status/1716488463682326718 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Defense </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior LBs <strong>Thomas</strong> <strong>McCormick</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='398452' first='Luke' last='Ferrelli'] (Stanford-commit) are active tacklers in the box, each with 11+ TFLs on the season. McCormick just picked up an offer from USD in October. Senior DE <strong>Jude</strong> <strong>McLellan</strong> has been a DL stock-riser this season with 70+ tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 21 TFLs. Seniors <strong>Damon</strong> <strong>Ivey</strong> (S) and <strong>Curtis</strong> <strong>Kemp</strong> (CB) lead the secondary with 3 INTs a piece. Ivey's a returning starter that's extremely active as a tackler and makes plays in deep-middle coverage. Kemp's a lockdown perimeter CB that can press the LOS, produce turnovers with athleticism and ball skills, and tackles aggressively after the catch. Seniors <strong>Ben</strong> <strong>Harris</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='700237' first='Colton' last='Thomas'], and <strong>Anthony</strong> <strong>Rosales</strong> are impactful players for this stout defense.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/thommccormick5/status/1710356449510232074","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/thommccormick5/status/1710356449510232074 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#3-Granite Hills&nbsp;</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Offense</em></strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freshman QB [player_tooltip player_id='691923' first='Zachary' last='Benitez'] took over a reigning state-championship team and quickly put his name at the top of San Diego's 2027 QB rankings with over 1,600 passing yards, 19 TDs and only 2 INTs, while completing 67% of his passes. Benitez is a big freshman at 6'2”/200 with a strong, accurate arm and great feel of the pocket. He's athletic outside the OTs, can find receivers on the run, and gets the ball out on time from the pocket. Talented juniors [player_tooltip player_id='612834' first='Maxwell' last='Turner'] and <strong>Isaiah</strong> <strong>Jackson</strong> lead the backfield with complementing skillsets. Turner, who totaled 900 yards and 12 TDs on 121 carries in the regular season, is a powerful downhill runner with great speed and physicality. Jackson's more of the dynamic playmaker out of the backfield with his combination of speed, twitch, and elusiveness. WRs <strong>Brenden Lewis</strong> (Jr.) and <strong>Joshua Zander</strong> (Sr.) lead Granite Hill's pass-catchers each with 35+ catches and 5+ TDs on the season. <strong>Rowdy Seda</strong> (Sr.) ,<strong> Jeremiah Maze </strong>(So.), and <strong>Alejandro</strong> <strong>Tejada </strong>(Sr.) are players to watch on the OL unit. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ZacharyBenitez3/status/1720908232607306052","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ZacharyBenitez3/status/1720908232607306052 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Defense</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior EDGE prospect, [player_tooltip player_id='398391' first='Damarrion' last='White'], headlines a stout defensive unit for Granite Hills with 9 D-I offers currently. White's an extremely disruptive defender at the LOS that shows a promising combination of bend, explosion, and natural athleticism. He's totaled 8 TFLs and 3.5 sacks this season. Senior Helix-transfer, [player_tooltip player_id='273595' first='Travis' last='Ford'], is a big, athletic presence on the edge opposite of White. Senior OL/DL <strong>Moshi Tileia</strong> has 49 tackles and 12 TFLs from his DT spot. Senior ILB<strong> Tyler Bertalan</strong> is a leader for the LB unit that plays active and downhill in the running game. Bertalan just picked up a D-II offer from Adams St. in late October. Senior S<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1128306' first='Jordan' last='Glaze']</strong> leads the defense in tackles with 68 in the regular season after a breakout junior season. Glaze is an extremely physical defender in the secondary with LB-quality tackling and aggressiveness to the football. Fellow senior S <strong>Nokoi Maddox</strong> is a lengthy, physical defender that just picked up his 11th D-I offer from San Jose St. in October.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/DamarrionWhite6/status/1722345553437307351","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/DamarrionWhite6/status/1722345553437307351 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Analysis</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB [player_tooltip player_id='115456' first='Julian' last='Sayin'] obviously has the tools to dominate and take Carlsbad deep into the playoffs, but we've also seen Carlsbad's offense slowed by an effective pass rush and talent in the secondary last season in the Open-Division final. Granite Hills is one of a few teams in the county with the defensive talent to keep pace with the weapons on Carlsbad's offense- if freshman QB [player_tooltip player_id='691923' first='Zachary' last='Benitez'] can continue to be as effective as he has been all season and the RBs are able to find room on the ground this could be similar to the 44-43 2OT thriller Granite Hills pulled out against Helix a few weeks ago. Ultimately, I think Carlsbad grinds out the win but would not be surprised at all to see Granite Hills pull off the upset and advance. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->