LJ FB 17, UC 0 - Final

Viking QB Diego Solis confers with Offensive
Coordinator Collin Eardley at the end of the
first half. Solis also had an interception and
a strip for a fumble on defense.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper

Unbeknownst to this reporter--who headed for home at 8:20 p.m., sweatshirt sopping wet--La Jolla's and University City's football teams waited out the lightning delay(s) and resumed play in the second half of the Vikings' Homecoming game Friday night, Oct. 12.

The result remained the same as it stood at halftime, 17-0, in favor of La Jolla, and Coach Tyler Roach's team took home its first Eastern League win (they are now 1-1 in league, 3-5 overall).

"It was a big win for us," said Roach Saturday morning, Oct. 13.

Senior quarterback Carsten Fehlan, who had been sidelined for the last three games with an ankle injury, played for one drive in the second half, in addition to being inserted at the end of the first half before play was halted before the second half due to lightning strikes.

The win was an upset for the Vikings, because rival UC came in with a 4-3 record, much better than La Jolla's 2-5. Coach Ryan Price's UC squad, however, had dropped its last two games.

Before the game, Price had said that his goals for the Centurions were "to execute, and to rebound from the last two losses."

From the start of Friday's game, the Vikings had their opponents on their heels, scoring touchdowns on their first two drives. La Jolla won the pregame coin toss, with UC calling "tails", the referee's coin coming up heads, and the Vikings chose to receive the opening kick.

Halftime was dry, with the different classes' Homecoming "floats" (actually, golf carts decorated with a theme) parading without any weather interference. It was after the floats passed, and the large crowd was waiting for the Homecoming King candidates to be presented, when the rain began to pour and the lightning increased.

One King nominee appeared on the field, while four Homecoming Queen candidates waited on the track in front of the home stands. Then, after the La Jolla football team came back out on the field to warm up for the second half, eventual winner for King, Gabe Solis, a wide receiver on the team, ran over to the sideline, was announced as King, and posed with Reagan Jetter, the winner as Queen, in the rain.

Moments later, the team was sent off the field by officials for safety reasons under the lightning-electric skies.

That was soon after 8:00 p.m. Roach said the two teams resumed play in the second half at about 9:15 p.m. That required waiting 30 minutes after the last lightning strike, by CIF rules (also an NCAA rule, as the SDSU game was similarly halted, but not finished), before teams could be on the field to warm up. Roach said the game ended some time between 10:00 and 10:15 p.m.