Are the Aztecs For Real? Feast Week Report

The prevailing logic coming into the 2025-26 season was that Montgomery, last year's Open Division champions, would take a significant step back after graduating their four leading scorers, the All-CIF quartet of JJ and Alek Sanchez, Devin Hamilton and Xair Mendez.

In fact, I had them No. 34 in my preseason top 50.

But after an opening night loss to Mission Bay, the Aztecs have registered two consecutive wins against Top 25 opponents, the latter of which, a 75-67 win over a Mira Mesa team that had upset two top-5 opponents last week, really opened some eyes.

Montgomery finds themselves in a familiar spot: the semifinals of the Bucs Thanksgiving Classic tonight against Mission Bay.

So, how are the Aztecs doing it with an almost completely recast team? It starts with their defense, with much of the credit going to head coach Ed Martin. In the upset of Mira Mesa, they deployed a feisty zone that extended to force Marauders star guard Diego Ortiz out of his optimal range, forcing other players to beat them.

In a 53-47 win over La Jolla Country Day, they held Torreys standout Wyatt Tilson to three points after halftime.

On the offensive end, Aztecs senior Darius "DK" Montgomery has started the season on a tear, putting up all-Section worthy numbers. Last year, after transferring to Montgomery after two successful seasons at Mar Vista, he played sparingly on the senior-heavy team.

But he has returned more focused, in better shape and being surgical getting to his spots and not forcing up bad shots. Add in that lone returning starter Xavier Guerrero is playing impressive interior defense, sophomore guard Kyden Eleazar Martin has taken a big step forward in Year 2 and Otay Ranch transfers Marcos Heredia and Dereck Beltran are making meaningful contributions on offense, the Aztecs have been able to land the plane in impressive fashion.

They will get a second shot at Mission Bay tonight at 8:30 p.m.

Other notes from Feast Week:

Sage Creek is another team to track after their performances at the Thanksgiving Classic. They gave tournament runners up Santa Fe Christian a big scare in the quarterfinals, with the Eagles needing a herculean effort from Dax Hall (37 points) to clinch a semifinals berth. Senior guards Jordan Barnhart and Vaughn Young are high level shooters, but fellow senior Teagan Olsen (defense, physicality), 6-5 junior Sam Jahries (emerging interior presence) and late-blooming senior Maxx Mitchell, a transfer a season ago from Carlsbad, are all playing well.

Santa Fe Christian and San Marcos will square off in the first semifinal of the Bucs Thanksgiving Classic tonight at 7 p.m. The Eagles have had the toughest path to the semis, having to use a strong second half to surge past Southern Section standout Rancho Christian before fighting off Sage Creek in a thriller. Senior guard Dax Hall is living up to the billing of being a player of the year candidate, but he's got help in elite shooters Chase Othick and Coen Sponsel, but unheralded contributions from seniors Jaden Hitipeuw, Carson Gile and Caden Doucette and junior Brett Vermillion.

San Marcos has rolled in their two games this week, steamrolling a shorthanded San Diego team 90-49, and then taking down Del Norte in a game in which they led by 30 points without junior guard Nico Mott, who served a one-game suspension after an ejection. The Knights, shaking off a stunning Week 1 upset at the hands of Mira Mesa, are getting huge numbers early from 6-5 senior Mike Brown and fellow senior Jalen Williams, who appears to be close to 100 percent from a foot injury that kept him out of action for most of the summer.

At the Madison Regional Rumble, Rancho Bernardo got a significant win over Maranatha Christian in a game that should add some clarity to the D2 race. The Broncos didn't play great offensively, but their trapping zone defense, along with some cold shooting by the Eagles, led to a 47-36 win. The Eagles are considered one of the chief contenders in D2, but could be without the services of 6-5 senior bruiser Shane Piester for the season, as he's currently opted out of playing hoops to focus on baseball. The Broncos have played St. Augustine and Madison in losses this week.

Travis Hasley has emerged as a senior prospect to monitor. The 6-4 lefty wing scored 22 points against Santa Margarita in the Thanksgiving Showcase on Monday, scoring it from all three levels and looking smooth-yet-assertive in the process. Defensively, his length and foot speed fit well into Marshawn Cherry's defensive schemes, where he is both a solid on-ball defender and great in the passing lanes. Blessed with a 6-8 wingspan and emerging athleticism, he looks like the type of prospects who could become a D2 or higher guy with time at the right juco.

Torrey Pines needed a competitive performance against Corona Centennial in the same Showcase to erase some of the bad taste left from last week's drubbing at the hands of Mira Mesa. They got that and then some, taking the Huskies, a perennial Southern Section power, to the wire in a narrow 60-58 loss. The Falcons offense centered around their two standout perfomers, 6-4 senior Tevaris Green, a big-bodied wing who gets to his spots in the midrange and has the strength to finish through contact; and 6-6 Tyler Humphries, a fluid jump shooter who moves well without the ball to get to spots in the second level, where his size and length allows him to elevate into shots. Moving forward, they'll need more from the supporting cast, especially junior transfer Jaylan Virgil, who was held scoreless in the loss.

Significant upsets:

Ramona pulled off one of the bigger shocks of the early season with a 52-42 win over Mission Hills, which had looked really good this week in a win over Scripps Ranch.

Carlsbad went up to Orange County and took down physically imposing Fairmont Prep 58-55, in a win that signals that the Lancers, much like Montgomery, should be competitive in the post-Jake Hall era. So far, the Lancers have had at least five players score in double figures this season, and that number could climb after the sit-out period, when they add sophomores Issac Chapman and Aiden Abelardo, who transferred from San Marcos in October.

Key Games this weekend:

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame vs Bonita Vista, 5 p.m. at Bonita Vista - What was supposed to be a matchup between cousins Tyran Stokes and Jerry Stokes has been reframed significantly since the nation's No. 1 prospect transferred to Rainier Beach in Washington. Still, the Knights boast some of the best prospects in SoCal, including SDSU-bound Zach White and top junior Novorro Bowman, Jr. Jerry Stokes has been one of the section's best guards to start the season.

Bucs Thanksgiving Classic Championship, 8:30 p.m. Saturday

Teams TBA

The 16-team bracket will come to a conclusion Saturday night and the champion will come from the quartet of San Marcos, Santa Fe Christian, Montgomery and Mission Bay.

Carlsbad vs Victory Christian, Madison Regional Rumble Showcase game, 7:30 p.m Saturday

An early Top 10 clash between two senior laden squads. The Lancers, coming off of two appearances in the Open Division championship game (champs in 2024), feature seniors Briggs Young, Trenton Mehl, Dylan Sims and Jayden Garner, who were role players on last year's squad, but now comprise the heart and soul of the current iteration. They face a Knights squad who took Santa Fe Christian to the wire last weekend at the SD Tip-Off Challenge, led by senior transfer DJ Humphries (Olympian) and senior mainstays Jayden Gray, Isaiah Owens and Chato Garcia.

Francis Parker vs Mira Costa, 3rd Annual Beach Bonanza at Mira Costa, 8 p.m. Saturday

The No. 1 Lancers hit the road to face the tourney hosts in the Attitude-of-Gratitude/ All In Elite-fronted showcase. Tavid Johnson, one of So-Cal's top rated junior prospects, is an apropos headliner for the event.