San Diego Open-Div. Preview: #2-Carlsbad vs. #3-Granite Hills
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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…
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Continue ReadingPreviewing 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.
#2-Carlsbad
Offense
Carlsbad’s offense is led by the top QB prospect in the state, Alabama-commit Julian Sayin Julian Sayin 6'1" | 195 lbs | QB Carlsbad | 2024 State CA . 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, Joshua Ball, who’s recorded 47 catches and 3 TDs this season. Seniors Griffin Rosenbloom Griffin Rosenbloom 6'5" | 200 lbs | WR Carlsbad | 2024 State CA (Penn-commit), Jalen St. Paul (USD offer), and Will Cianfrini (SDSU-commit) provide different skillsets as receivers- each have 20+ catches and 4+ TDs this season. Senior RB Mason Walsh 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 Andrew Langer is a leader on the OL unit with a strong combination of size (6’4”/260), mobility, and physicality.
Defense
Senior LBs Thomas McCormick and Luke Ferrelli Luke Ferrelli 6'3" | 220 lbs | LB Carlsbad | 2024 State CA (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 Jude McLellan has been a DL stock-riser this season with 70+ tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 21 TFLs. Seniors Damon Ivey (S) and Curtis Kemp (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 Ben Harris, Colton Thomas Colton Thomas 6'1" | 235 lbs | DL Carlsbad | 2025 CA , and Anthony Rosales are impactful players for this stout defense.
#3-Granite Hills
Offense
Freshman QB Zachary Benitez Zachary Benitez 6'2" | 205 lbs | QB Granite Hills | 2027 State CA 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 Maxwell Turner Maxwell Turner 5'8" | 185 lbs | RB Granite Hills | 2025 State CA and Isaiah Jackson 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 Brenden Lewis (Jr.) and Joshua Zander (Sr.) lead Granite Hill’s pass-catchers each with 35+ catches and 5+ TDs on the season. Rowdy Seda (Sr.) , Jeremiah Maze (So.), and Alejandro Tejada (Sr.) are players to watch on the OL unit.
Defense
Senior EDGE prospect, Damarrion White Damarrion White 6'4" | 215 lbs | LB Granite Hills | 2024 State CA , 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, Travis Ford Travis Ford 6'2" | 235 lbs | LB Granite Hills | 2024 State CA , is a big, athletic presence on the edge opposite of White. Senior OL/DL Moshi Tileia has 49 tackles and 12 TFLs from his DT spot. Senior ILB Tyler Bertalan 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 Jordan Glaze Jordan Glaze 5'10" | 185 lbs | DB Granite Hills | 2024 State CA 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 Nokoi Maddox is a lengthy, physical defender that just picked up his 11th D-I offer from San Jose St. in October.
Analysis
QB Julian Sayin Julian Sayin 6'1" | 195 lbs | QB Carlsbad | 2024 State CA 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 Zachary Benitez Zachary Benitez 6'2" | 205 lbs | QB Granite Hills | 2027 State CA 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.