Granite Hills hosts St. Augustine in preseason San Diego Section football scrimmage

The real star of the night was the St. Augustine defense.

St. Augustine traveled to Granite Hills on Friday night to get both teams ready for what lies ahead during the next 15 weeks of the high school football season.

No score or time was kept as the two teams traded off possessions of about seven plays each for an hour while also working on all special teams’ scenarios.

“We have a lot of seniors, a lot of experience from last year,” senior cornerback and wide receiver Tyson McWilliams said after the game. “We’re taking it week by week and expect to win (the) Open (Division).”

The Saints scored on their first possession, which was
capped by a Byron Cardwell two-yard touchdown run.

McWilliams and fellow senior Michael Ambagtsheer will be
featured heavily this season as they contribute on both sides of the ball.

“The talent is there; we just need to stick together when
things get hard,” Ambagtsheer said.

The Saints scored again two possessions later when
McWilliams caught a touchdown pass across the middle.

“We did alright. A lot of missed assignments, but it’s
nothing that film and effort can’t fix,” Ambagtsheer said after the game.

The real star of the night was the St. Augustine defense, which returns nine starters from last season’s Division 1 Championship team. The Saints defense held Granite Hills scoreless and intercepted two passes including a pick-six from Christian Scott.

“I thought the defense came out and they were flying around,”
McWilliams said. “We’ll watch film and be ready for Bonita next week.”

McWilliams and Ambagtsheer also happen to be two of the most
heavily recruited players in San Diego for the Class of 2020 but are content to
begin their senior seasons without knowing their collegiate destinations.

“I’ll be cutting down my list shortly, probably a week or two. I’m trying to setup some official visits during the season,” McWilliams said. “Academics is a priority for me, definitely.”

“I don’t think I’m ready to come out publicly with a list yet,”
Ambagtsheer told me. “I know I want to get back to Utah, everything else is
open.”

The Saints will open the regular season when they host Bonita Vista on August 23. Granite Hills will open the season by traveling to Poway on August 23.