By Ed Piper
A little birdie told me yesterday (April 25) that the La Jolla football team will host Torrey Pines in week two of the 2024 season.
This is quite a step up from seven years ago--and especially 11 years ago, when the Vikings' program was in desperate need of boys to go out for the program, as the school's fortunes in that area dwindled.
The little birdie is Mike Livingston, a science teacher on campus at Torrey Pines High, who is also the head JV coach for the Falcons. Livingston let me know in a surprise visit. Livingston, a likeable and popular teacher with an outgoing personality, sits in the booth above the field during varsity games, and is well-versed in the in's-and-out's of the North County school's program.
I said, "You know you'll be facing the new quarterback (Huddy Smith), who can really sling it." He seemed aware, and I'm sure Torrey Pines' football staff as a whole will be totally caught up on Hudson's, as well as other members' of the Viking offense proclivities, habits, and patterns by Aug. 30, the scheduled date of the contest at Edwards Stadium on the LJHS campus.
For the past seven years, Coach Tyler Roach has pushed his Viking athletes to (1) play both ways, when that is appropriate; and (2) be prepared to play tougher opponents.
La Jolla has a continuing rivalry with Scripps Ranch, whom it has met in the playoffs, as well as in league play. LJHS also has a rivalry with Mira Mesa, another tough, grinding opponent.
In the old days, since the bloom of Viking football 1991-1995, when the team won league titles each season (long before my time covering the team), La Jolla maybe shied away from some of the tougher teams. There was heart, but not enough energy to face these good teams and play them on an equal basis.
Torrey Pines will be a good test. On the Falcons' campus, not only football but also basketball, volleyball, and other sports, both male and female, receive the support and funding from the administration and staff. It is not uncommon to find yet another staff hire, teaching in a classroom, who is a coach in a particular sport that Torrey Pines has sought for leadership and acumen.
These are my private opinions. They have nothing to do with public policy or statements. But over the last couple, even several, years, one can perceive a pattern that points to a campus-wide emphasis at Torrey Pines on promoting athletics. One of the impetuses is the rivalry with North County power La Costa Canyon, which has a similar ethos and emphasis.
Both schools recruit, or draw, athletes who are looking to compete for teams that play at a high level in Open Division or Division 1. There aren't too many pushover teams.
Meanwhile, La Jolla has a proud tradition of athletics alongside academics. LJHS graduates are no slouches in the preparation they receive toward college and future careers.
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