RIVERSIDE — Matthew Ramos envisioned this.

“It was after Week 8 or Week 9, and I had this crazy faith,” Hillcrest’s senior quarterback said. “I saw this vision that we were going to win a championship.”

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Hillcrest’s Reyez Ortiz (2) breaks away from Tahquitz’s David Tyars (35) for a 27-yard first quarter touchdown run at Norte Vista High School in Riverside on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. Hillcrest plays Tahquitz in the CIF Southern Section Division 10 football championship game. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

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Ramos rushed for 238 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in the first half as Hillcrest ran away with a 63-34 victory over Tahquitz in the CIF Southern Section Division 10 championship game Saturday night at Norte Vista High School.

“It wasn’t a dream. It was a real vision. I saw it,” Ramos said. “And we played our butts off. I’m just happy for this offense and this team.”

The championship is Hillcrest’s first in football, and is the first section football title for Alvord Unified School District.

“We knew we were going to have to score, but I didn’t expect (63 points),” Hillcrest coach Travis Carter said. “I’d be lying if I said I thought we’d score that many. That’s incredible.”

Hillcrest, which started the season with a 61-15 win over Corona at SoFi Stadium, was 1-3 after its first four games and finished tied for second place in the Sunbelt League. The Trojans now advance to play in a CIF State regional championship game next week. Their opponent will be announced Sunday afternoon.

Ramos added more than 115 yards through the air as Hillcrest (9-5 overall) totaled more than 550 yards on offense and scored on six of its seven first-half possessions.

“Just proud of these guys,” Carter said. “It wasn’t always easy but this is the accumulation of all their hard work.”

Senior running back Reyez Ortiz (29 carries for 212 yards) opened with a 27-yard touchdown run less than 4 minutes into the first quarter.

The teams went back-and-forth early as Tahquitz sophomore quarterback Michael Razeeq found senior receiver Jacob Arbuckle on a 14-yard touchdown pass to tie the game 3 minutes later.

Ramos, who ran for 130-or-more yards in all four playoff games, scrambled 45 yards to take the lead in less than 2 minutes, but Titans senior running back Terrell Strong went 27 yards to tie the game again to start the second quarter.

Tahquitz’ defense forced a punt from Hillcrest, and the Titans (10-4) briefly held a lead after Strong broke into the clear and ran 39 yards for a touchdown, but the point-after attempt was blocked.

Following a 48-yard kickoff return by sophomore Amari Chappell, Ramos connected with sophomore receiver Zyren Jones on a 9-yard pass to tie the game before junior Ethan Valdez kicked the extra point for a 21-20 lead. Hillcrest followed with an onside kick that senior Nicholas Shaw recovered, and Ramos scored on a 30-yard keeper two plays later.

Strong, who rushed for more than 1,800 yards this season, went down with a knee injury on Tahquitz’ next play from scrimmage and did not return to the game, using crutches and cheering his team from the sideline in the second half.

“It was the turf. It’s (expletive),” Strong said. “I was starting to get on a roll, too.”

Strong finished with nine carries for 135 yards and two touchdowns in his final game.

“We were going up and down the field and we were going to match points, but when he got hurt it limited us,” Tahquitz coach Stephon Pace said. “That’s football and (Hillcrest) was the best team tonight.”

Hillcrest took a 49-27 lead into halftime after a 50-yard touchdown run by Ramos, a 7-yard touchdown by Ortiz, and junior receiver Nicholas Bernal broke two tackles before galloping 35 yards for another score.

Arbuckle hauled in an 87-yard touchdown pass from Razeeq late in the first half and finished with five receptions for 192 yards, but Tahquitz was held to less than 38 points for the first time in the playoffs.

Ortiz added a 28-yard touchdown run to cap Hillcrest’s first drive of the second half, and Ramos found Shaw for a 26-yard score and his sixth total touchdown late in the third quarter before the Trojans ran out the clock in the fourth to secure the win.


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