There is a reason the Granite Hills High School has been one of, if not the most, dominant football program in San Diego County for the past three seasons.

Not only do they have the firepower and play to match with other powerhouse programs in San Diego, but they also constantly take care of business against opponents they should handle. And on Friday night, they handled business yet again, drumming the Madison Warhawks, 45-0.

“We’re a young team but we’re getting better on both sides of the football every week. We just need to take these 10 opportunities against 10 different opponents to get better and be ready for the playoffs, because that is all that matters.” said Granite Hills coach Kellan Cobbs.

The Granite Hills offense did whatever it wanted all night, so much so that the game would be played under a running clock in the second half.

In the first half, the Eagles’ run game, which as a team has averaged 219 yards per game this season, continued to impose its will, going for over 100 yards and three scores.

All three rushing first half touchdowns would come courtesy of senior running back Max Turner, who came into the game with 10 rushing scores and over 170 yards rushing per game, continued to flash excellent power and lateral quickness. Those traits were shown on his longest run of the night, a 30-yard touchdown run, that gave the Eagles a 31-0 lead at the half.

“Max did a great job. He ran hard early and made people miss.” said Cobbs, “The defense set us up, he finished some drives and got a few touchdowns early. What I was most impressed with was that out of the half, we were going to give him one more series, but he said no and let his sophomore teammate come in. It just shows his maturity and growth.”Along with a dominant offensive first half, the Eagles’ defense, led by senior safety Trevor Smith, continued to flash here in the early season. Smith came away with two interceptions on the night, including a 40-yard pick-six in the first quarter.

“Trevor is a great kid, and he has made some great plays for us over the last couple years. We had him play corner last year, but we talked to him about moving back to safety and he was all for it,” said Cobbs.

“As a coach, it’s nice to be able to play in some cover two stuff and know those guys can play sideline to sideline, tackle, and make plays on the football.”

With league play just around the corner, the Eagles defense seems to be peaking at just the right time. As in its last eight quarters of play, the Eagles have not allowed a single point, shutting out Eastlake and now Madison in back-to-back games.

“I think this group is peaking at the right time.” said Cobbs,  “We’re still rotating some guys up front and staying fresh. For us, it’s nice, we’re still trying to figure out the right formula for everybody, and it seems like we’re starting to get dialed in.”

NONLEAGUE

Granite Hills 45, Madison 0

Granite Hills 14 17  7 7 — 45Madison         0   0  0 0 —   0

GH : M. Turner 2 run ( T. Whillock Kick )GH: 40 INT return T. Smith ( T. Whillock Kick )GH: 39 yard FG T. WhillockGH: M. Turner 14 run (T. Whillock Kick )GH: M. Turner 30 run (T. Whillock Kick )GH: G. Spalding 9 run (T. Whillock Kick )GH: E. Vera 9 pass from L. Fry (T. Whillock Kick )