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Saturday, August 31, 2019
LJ FB 34, Mission Bay 13 - Blast Off
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The western skies above the players
were beautiful shades of purple
at 7:35 p.m., half an hour
after kickoff.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
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"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Charles Dickens
The pluses:
--La Jolla High, after narrowly falling to Bishop's 18-9 in week one of the football season, put the crunch on visiting Mission Bay Fri., Aug. 30, with a 34-13 triumph before a large whiteout Blast Off crowd.
--Sophomore quarterback Jackson Stratton continued to exhibit his strong arm, accumulating 189 yards on 15 of 23 passes, with two touchdowns.
--Bruiser Max Smith, a leader of the stout Viking defense, again pounded his way on the offensive side to 76 yards gained on the ground in 10 carries, including one TD.
--Receiver Cooper McNally, a consistent target of Stratton's, led the La Jolla receiving corps with 62 yards. On the game's opening drive, he took an 18-yard pass from Jackson to hit paydirt, one of four receptions.
--And the Vikings saw a rejuvenated Diego Solis share time at the quarterback position with Stratton, plowing determinedly on three straight plays to LJHS's last score halfway through the fourth quarter.
On the other hand, Coach Tyler Roach's charges looked at times like the Keystone Cops, falling prone to mistakes even more than in their showing against the Knights the week before--though the Buccaneers are nowhere in the same class as Bishop's (which utterly destroyed University City 58-12 Friday night).
--The hosts repeatedly fumbled the ball, one of Roach's main emphases to correct in practice during the week.
Mission Bay's Michael Moreno scampered 52 yards for a touchdown after collecting a La Jolla fumble early in the second quarter.
--Interceptions, another bugaboo, also encouraged the Bucs' Evan Augon, whom Coach A.J. Vines called his key player, to extend himself even more in multiple roles as quarterback, running back, receiver, and defender, as he took advantage of the free form of the undisciplined contest to keep Mission Bay in the game 20-13 in the first half.
La Jolla started to pull away in the second half on Smith's pick six of Aguon for a 27-13 lead at the 1:57 mark of the third quarter. Max's electric runback, directly in front of the huge whiteout student body, covered 35 yards.
Makai Smith, playing his first game for the Vikings, took a short pass from Stratton for a TD ending the second period.
Roach basically told his troops to go home and go to bed after the late 9:30 finish. Caught smiling on the sidelines with a 21-point lead late in the game, the third-year coach said, "Yeah, but I'm not happy about things."
Friday, August 30, 2019
LJ FH: Combs Warford on win
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| The Vikings' Royce Jepperson (right) works hard to advance the ball in the first half against visiting Rancho Bernardo. (Photos by Ed Piper) |
"I think we're going to have a really good season," said Amanda Combs Warford, head coach of the La Jolla High field hockey team, before the Vikings' season opener at home against Rancho Bernardo Thurs., Aug. 29, on the stadium field.
That was Warford's way of saying things could be even better than last year, when La Jolla went into the CIF playoffs after a strong regular season, but fell short of the previous year's appearance in the title game.
Another comment Warford made was, with her new goalkeeper Claire Telford right there changing gear on the sidelines, "Claire will be one of the top five goalkeepers in the county." The seasoned coach doesn't make idle claims, so this was noteworthy. Telford, a junior, humble and gracious, was a little surprised at Warford's comment, but she thanked her and went back out to the field.
Meanwhile, La Jolla did the things it needed to do to win against a visiting Rancho Bernardo team that played the Vikings even, 0-0, through two halves. This was not a replay of the previous week's scrimmage against San Dieguito Academy, when forward Haley Mossmer scored two early goals and three players in all scored a pair of goals each. La Jolla led 5-0 at halftime in that one.
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| Newly-named captains Caeley Hickson Long (left) and Serene Liu, both seniors, before the opener. |
No, the Broncos, in fact, had the upper hand in the opening moments of the contest. La Jolla looked a little tentative. Later in the first half, the Vikings regained their balance and kept the ball in the attacking zone for much of the time, repeatedly being awarded corner shots and putting the pressure on RB's defense.
Finally, Mossmer scored the only goal of the game five minutes into overtime. "Not our best game," said Warford. "First-game nerves, for sure."
The Vikings had 17 short corners and 29 shots on goal, "but (we) couldn't put it in the net," said the coach, grateful for the win.
LJ FB: Mission Bay next
By Ed Piper
Today, August 30, is Blast Off, and La Jolla High's football team (0-1) faces a possibly emotionally-driven Mission Bay counterpart (1-0), which is coming off a win over San Ysidro in the season's first week.
While Coach Tyler Roach's Vikings were leading rival Bishop's 7-6, in a turn of events that surprised many of its observers, halfway into the third quarter, eventually succumbing 18-9, the Buccaneers also had a suprise of their own.
Many are now aware of the tragic story of Mission Bay's preseason. Their coach did not appear on July 29, the day for the distribution of equipment, and on the following day, July 30, the first day of official Fall workouts, he also failed to show. His body was found after that time, when an assistant coach realized something must not be quite right.
Roach, aware that his team was scheduled to play the Bucs in the season's second contest, informed his players of the turn of events that Wednesday, July 31.
Who would have been able to predict how the members of the Mission Bay football team would respond under such circumstances? Well, they answered that by beating their first opponent.
In published reports, it was said that a member of the team exhorted his teammates during the San Ysidro game to "play for our coach". In any case, it worked, and the Bucs came back to deliver in crunch time and come away with a victory.
In the local metropolitan paper, again this week the report was that "no cause" had been determined for the cause of death. But the word this reporter received, though not involving any inside sources privy to special information, was that Mission Bay's coach had committed suicide.
When I was a young teacher, something similar occurred. A fellow teacher didn't return from Spring break, the administration looked into it, and the instructor's body was discovered in his home.
These are always tragic events, and their impact on the young people they involve is important and sensitive.
As we approach tonight's Blast Off game between the Vikings and Buccaneers, we would want to take a similar view of support, compassion, and the wish that both teams can just compete, playing their hearts out in a healthy way in a hard-fought game.
We wish all the players for Mission Bay and their families and classmates the best, that they will be gentle on themselves in this difficult season and that they would receive wise, caring coaching from the entire staff of the football program there.
Regarding the football that will be played tonight, I would venture to say that Mission Bay will not present some of the challenges that Bishop's presented to La Jolla in week one. Though Ty Buchner, the Knights' highly-regarded quarterback committed to Notre Dame, was a bit "rusty", even though he accumulated almost 300 yards on both the ground and through the air, Coach Joel Allen's team is well-coached and has some excellent athletes.
The Bucs, hopefully, will present the Vikings even more opportunity for a victory. The program continues to rebuild after their long-time coach was forced out over a year ago.
Here's hoping for a good game for both sides, with Roach's squad achieving its first win of the season behind Max Smith, Jack Wiese, Dirk Germon, and company.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
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