Suffocating El Camino defense leads to 29-0 shutout of San Marcos
(Lead photo by Steven Silva)
SAN MARCOS, Calif -- “Our defense is nasty, man.”
Those were the first words out of El Camino head coach Michael Hobbs’ mouth following Thursday’s game at San Marcos.
Hobbs’ Wildcats led San Marcos 10-0 at halftime and added three second-half touchdowns to put the game out of reach, but it was their defense that set the tone from start to finish in the 29-0 victory over their Avocado League foes.
Below are three takeaways from Thursday’s game.
RUNNING BACK ROTATION PAYING OFF FOR EL CAMINO
El Camino has primarily used four main ball carriers this season including quarterback Carson Howard who leads the team with six rushing touchdowns.
Junior Devin Cerda-Johnson got the scoring started for El Camino when he plunged in from two yards out during the Wildcats’ second offensive possession of the game.
The Wildcats were limited to just a field goal during the remainder of the first half before senior Zuriel Eatmon broke loose for a 73-yard touchdown two plays after San Marcos fumbled a snap.
“I feel like it’s a good thing because we get to rotate in and we get our breaks when we need them,” Eatmon said.
Two possessions later, Eatmon picked right back up, this time finding the end zone from 37 yards out.
“It’s my last year and I want to go crazy this year,” Eatmon added.
He entered Thursday’s game averaging over nine yards per carry, a number that will rise after his second game of over 100 yards rushing this season.
Junior quarterback Carson Howard capped off the scoring, keeping the ball on a read-option from one-yard out that gave the Wildcats a four-possession lead midway through the final quarter.
“It’s nice to have a guy that can pound you for a little bit and a guy that can hit the home run,” Hobbs said of his running back group.
EL CAMINO DEFENSE UP FOR THE CHALLENGE
San Marcos entered Thursday’s game with one of San Diego’s most potent offenses so far this season. Freshman quarterback Kreet Makihele had thrown 25 touchdown passes and only six interceptions but was forced into two interceptions by El Camino.
The Wildcats caused problems for the Knights throughout, finishing with three interceptions, six sacks and a fumble recovery.
Most impressively, El Camino held San Marcos without a first down until their sixth and final drive of the first half. The first four series all ended with three-and-outs and the fifth series resulted in an interception after San Marcos attempted a wide receiver pass on the second play of the series.
“Our d-line is nasty, we played man-to-man coverage,” Hobbs said. “Everyone talked about how fast those guys were and we said we don’t care we’re just gonna play nasty football. Our defense is coming after you every single play and you better watch out.”
San Marcos’ best drive of the night came on their first series of the second half when they marched down to the El Camino 25-yard line looking to cut the lead to 10-7, but a high snap resulted in a fumble recovery by El Camino. Two plays later, Eatmon broke loose down the El Camino sidelines for the first of his two touchdown runs.
“I feel like us competing in practice makes us better and us wanting it makes us better,” Eatmon said of going against the stout El Camino defense every day.
WILDCATS CONTINUE TO RISE IN CIF POWER RANKINGS
El Camino scuffled out of the gate this season, losing to the toughest two teams on their schedule, Pinnacle (Arizona) and Carlsbad in weeks two and three but have rebounded quickly.
The win over San Marcos marked their fourth straight victory with the last three coming in Avocado League play.
“Really just putting our mind to it, going to practice, staying focused making sure we’re doing what we’re supposed to do and just going hard every play of the drive,” Eatmon said of the recent success.
El Camino sits at 3-1 in the Avocado League, tied for second with La Costa Canyon, who the Wildcats bat 23-20 two weeks back. The Wildcats still have an outside shot at the league title but would need top-ranked Carlsbad to drop their final two league games against Oceanside and La Costa Canyon.
Regardless of the league race, the Wildcats continue to improve their standings in the playoff race. The win over San Marcos is worth 47 points on the CIF Power Rankings scale, vaulting the Wildcats into 5th spot in the San Diego Section Division 1 rankings.
With two more games left in the regular season, El Camino suddenly appears to be in the hunt for one of the San Diego Section’s four Open Division playoff seeds.
