Hillcrest Wins First CIF-SS Title Behind Six TDs From Ramos and Ortiz

Matthew Ramos accounted for six touchdowns and Reyez Ortiz added three more as Hillcrest erupted for 63 points to secure the program’s first CIF-SS championship in a high-scoring win over Tahquitz

The Hillcrest Trojans football team celebrates its first CIF-SS title after defeating the Tahquitz Titans in the Division 10 football championship game. / Pep Rally post game show

Quarterback Matthew Ramos and Reyez Ortiz combined for six rushing touchdowns to secure the Hillcrest Trojans their first CIF-SS title in program history Saturday, defeating the Tahquitz Titans 63-34 in the Division 10 football championship game at Norte Vista High School.

Ramos added three passing touchdowns for Hillcrest (9-5). It was the first championship appearance for the Trojans.

"Just us playing together," Ramos said when asked what stood out the most in their victory during the Pep Rally post game show. "Ever since that Rancho Christian game (Oct. 23 loss), we built this crazy connection and practices got fun. We built a family. That's it, and we executed everything."

Ramos has thrown for over 1,497 yards and 24 touchdowns. Ortiz has run for over 1521 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Tahquitz battles for the lead early but an injury slows them down

Trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, Tahquitz wasted no time to even the score when quarterback Michael Razeeq threw a 40-yard pass to Jacob Arbuckle who then ran it for a 50-yard touchdown.

Tahquitz opened the second quarter behind 14-7, but its star running back Terrell Strong quickly made up for it with back-to-back rushing touchdowns to give the Titans a 20-14 lead.

Making its first finals appearance, Tahquitz took a hit to its offense when Strong exited the game with an injury in the first half.

Tahquitz scored its final points when Razeeq connected for two touchdown passes, first an 80-yard reception by Arbuckle in the second quarter and a 20-yard reception by Elijah Hudson in the third quarter.

Hillcrest puts up 35 points alone in the second quarter, defense makes big plays

Hillcrest put up its biggest offensive efforts in the second quarter, scoring 35 points while its defense made big plays.

Despite trailing 20-14, Ramos found Zyren Jones on a 13-yard touchdown pass to put Hillcrest ahead by one point. The Trojans were penalized and forced an onside kick from their own 25-yard line.

Fortunately, Hillcrest recovered the ball at Tahquitz's own 30-yard line. On the next drive, Ramos rushed for his second touchdown to give the Trojans a 28-20 lead.

"We weren't trying to onside (kick) there," Hillcrest head coach Travis Carter said on the Pep Rally post game show. "We were just trying to let it bounce around so our cover guys could get down there. Ethan Valdez did a great job all night.

Hillcrest dominated from there. Ramos rushed for his third touchdown, Ray Causey caught an interception pass and Ortiz rushed for his second touchdown. Devine Eddy added a sack for the Trojans.

Ramos threw his second touchdown pass of the night when he found Nicholas Shaw to give Hillcrest a 49-27 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Ortiz rushed a 29-yard touchdown, while Ramos threw his final touchdown pass to Nicholas Bernal to give Hillcrest a 63-34 victory.

"Being able to execute tonight," Ortiz, a running back, said about the offense during the Pep Rally post game show.

Hillcrest's 63 points was the most scored since Week 1 when the Trojans defeated Corona 61-15 at SoFi Stadium.

"It feels great," Carter said on raising the championship trophy. "It doesn't get much better than this. SoFi is one thing, but at the end of the day, you get to hold up a plaque, seal the championship and all the hard work these kids and the staff did."

Who will Hillcrest face in the Southern Regionals?

For the first time in program history, the Hillcrest football team will represent Riverside in the CIF Southern Regionals.

The Trojans will face Beckman (11-3), which represents Irvine, in the Division 4-A set for 6 p.m. Saturday at Tustin High School.

The winner will advance to the championship final where they will face the winner between El Cerrito (11-2) and Menlo-Atherton (7-6).

"... We definitely don't take it for granted, how hard it is to get here," Carter said. "You got be good, you got to have some luck and things got to go the right way. But this means everything. I got to still process it all."

Edith Noriega | @noriega_edith | noriega0101@gmail.com