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Granite Hills beats Carlsbad in San Diego Section playoff thriller: 4 takeaways

Granite Hills running backs Max Turner and Pablo Jackson combined to score five of their teams' six touchdowns on Thursday night

Bodie De Silva, SBLive Sports

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Playing in their first Open Division playoff game in school history, Granite Hills traveled north and took down previously unbeaten Carlsbad 46-45 in overtime Thursday night to reach next Saturday's San Diego Section Open Division championship game.

Granite Hills scored on the opening drive of the game, needing a little over three minutes to get on the board. They would add three more first half touchdowns, the final coming with five seconds remaining in the second quarter to take a 28-21 lead into halftime.

Carlsbad responded by scoring 17 of the next 20 points, scoring on a fourth and goal touchdown pass to take a 38-31 lead with four minutes to play. Granite Hills worked their way into Lancer territory and scored on fourth and goal from the one-yard line with 17 seconds remaining. The Eagles initially lined up to go for two but called timeout and kicked the game-tying extra point.

Carlsbad had possession first in overtime and scored on their third play, a 10-yard strike from Julian Sayin to Griffin Rosenbloom. Granite Hills quickly moved the ball inside the 10-yard line but couldn't find the end zone on their first three tries.

With their season on the brink, Granite Hills delivered on back-to-back plays. First with a touchdown pass on fourth and goal and then on the subsequent 2-point conversion that would send them home as walk-off winners.

Below are four takeaways from Thursday's overtime thriller.

TURNER AND JACKSON LEAD THE WAY

From the opening drive of Thursday's game, Granite Hills made it clear that establishing their rushing attack was a priority. The Eagles found the end zone via the rush four times during their five first half possessions and had to go 80 yards on three of those drives.

Leading the way were junior running backs Max Turner and Pablo Jackson. The duo combined for just under 1,500 yards during the regular season while scoring 23 total touchdowns.

"I can’t talk enough about the backs, they played huge tonight," Granite Hills head coach Kellan Cobbs said. 

They each scored twice in the first half, with Turner finding the end zone from five yards out late in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 28-21 halftime lead. He found the end zone once more in the second half, taking a direct snap on fourth and goal from the one-yard line and bursting in with less than 20 seconds in regulation.

"Max and Pablo could easily go other places and get more yards but they’re here to play and perform in this environment and they seized the moment," Cobbs added.

After the Eagles scored their overtime touchdown, Jackson became the hero by taking a jet sweep around the right side, diving into the end zone for the game-clinching 2-point conversion.

"In that moment I felt like we had to do it right there if we were gonna win it," Cobbs said of the 2-point conversion attempt. "We’ve prepped that play for about six months now and (Pablo Jackson) made a hell of a run there and got in."

ZACHARY BENITEZ STEPS UP ON BIG STAGE

After alternating two senior quarterbacks in 2022 during their run that included San Diego Section and CIF State titles, Granite Hills turned to a freshman this season.

That quarterback, Zachary Benitez, has thrown at least one touchdown in all 11 games this season. He'll enter next week's CIF Open Division championship game having tossed 20 touchdown passes against just two interceptions.

"He prepares with the best of them," Kellan Cobbs said. "I think he’s gonna be the best quarterback in San Diego for years to come."

On Thursday night with the season on the line, Benitez delivered a seven-yard touchdown strike to Josh Zander on 4th and goal in overtime. He finished the night 24 of 33 passing for 229 yards and the touchdown pass in overtime.

Benitez connected with leading receiver and Arizona State baseball commit Brenden Lewis 14 times for 153 yards.

"To come out on a stage like this in front of 4,000 people and play like he played, there’s no ounce of freshman in him left," Cobbs added. 

20 IN A ROW FOR GRANITE HILLS

Thursday's win marked the 20th straight for Granite Hills. The streak is good for third best in California currently, trailing Fresno Christian (34) and San Diego-Lincoln (22).

“Incredible group of kids," Cobbs said. "They do a great job with preparation, and they work really hard all year."

The Eagles have now played four overtime games during their winning streak, twice beating Helix and emerging with a 31-24 win over San Ramon Valley in last season's CIF D2-A state championship game.

In now the 10th year of the Open Division in San Diego, Granite Hills is just the fourth team team to win a playoff game on the road and the first since Carlsbad beat Cathedral Catholic in 2019.

Advancing to the San Diego Section Open Division playoffs for the first time, the Eagles are now into the championship game. They'll await the winner of Friday's Lincoln-Helix semifinal game.

JULIAN SAYIN CLOSES OUT CARLSBAD CAREER

During the 2021 spring season, Carlsbad and Granite Hills closed out the abbreviated schedule against each other, a game that the Lancers would win 63-14. In that contest, while serving as the backup quarterback for his older brother Aidan, Julian Sayin tossed his first career touchdown pass.

On Thursday, Sayin's high school football career came to an abrupt end after a 10-0 regular season that ended with a fifth straight Avocado League title. Sayin tossed three touchdown passes in the loss while also throwing his first interception of 2023.

The Alabama commit, who will graduate early and enroll in Tuscaloosa in January, finished his senior season with 23 touchdown passes and one interception. In 38 career games, he tossed 86 touchdown passes, rushed for nine touchdowns and threw 10 interceptions.

Sayin connected with fellow seniors Griffin Rosenbloom, Will Cianfrini and Luke Ferrelli on his three touchdown passes while senior running back Mason Walsh rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns in his final game with the Lancers.

(All photos by Steven Silva)

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-- Bodie De Silva | bodie@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveca

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Bodie De Silva, SBLive Sports
BODIE DE SILVA, SBLIVE SPORTS

Bodie De Silva has been a reporter for SBLive Sports since 2019. He covers recruiting, California's San Diego Section and national high school baseball.

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