LJ sports archives: Erickson a three-sport start '67-'70

Eric Erickson Class of 1980

baseball card for 1982.

(Photo of online image)

By Ed Piper

Jared Stutts, an All-CIF defensive tackle from Lincoln in 1979, said Eric Erickson could play.

"He was a good quarterback," said, Stutts, now an assistant coach for the Hornet football team, before the Viking-Lincoln game Fri., Oct. 10. "I kept in touch with him when I played at Mesa College (1980-1981), but then I lost track of him."

Regarding the outcome of the game between Lincoln and La Jolla his senior year, Stutts said, "We beat them. It wasn't a butt-whipping."

Did Erickson have a good offensive line to protect him? "Not really." As a lineman trying to get to the La Jolla quarterback, Stutts noted that the Hornet football team that year was the only one in the history of the school that has gone undefeated.

They will feted at Homecoming at Lincoln this coming Friday night, Oct. 16.

One reason Jared wasn't able to keep contact with Erickson was because the latter also played baseball well. In fact, he was a pretty good basketball player, averaging 16 points a game during his senior season.

Erickson, a member of the La Jolla High Baseball Hall of Fame, went on to play professionally.

LJ Cheer: @ LJ-Lincoln FB 10/10

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ FB 3, Lincoln 54 - 10/10

Taylor Jeffery (3) of La Jolla makes a good return

up the left sideline of the opening kick by Lincoln

Fri., Oct. 10.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

In the eighth week of the 2025 season, La Jolla ran into a juggernaut, highly-ranked Lincoln High, in a non-league encounter at home Fri., Oct. 10.

The occasion was the first return to campus of former Viking head coach Jason Carter, who guides the Hornets as Associate Head Coach and who coached La Jolla for four seasons from 2012-2015.

In the first quarter, the Vikings (now 4-3) were able to present enough looks on offense to make the Hornets think a little, and slow them down before they got into a rhythm.

First, tight end/defensive end Nico Bardaro lined up at quarterback, and as Defensive Coordinator Randy Cowell commented before the game, there were some "packages" that head coach Tyler Roach had prepared for him. It was the first time this season Bardaro has started a game at the central position.

Another look, and one that, by now, Roach has used many times this season, featured freshman quarterback Ty Tortorice (replacing banged-up starting QB Huddy Smith) in a traditional formation in shotgun.

Thirdly, another setup that has become familiar--and even more productive--for La Jolla this season positioned sophomore Aiden Farrell carrying the ball at running back.

Carson Diehl (13) takes a pass reception from

Ty Tortorice 11 yards on second-and-20

to the Lincoln 21-yard line. Two plays later,

Julian Zavala kicked a 34-yard field goal

for a brief 3-0 lead at the end

of the first quarter.

Fleet receiver Carson Diehl once again lined up in the wildcat, taking snaps directly  from center. But Roach went to that only after trying the other alternatives.

At first, Bardaro's running, mixed with handoffs to Farrell, kept the game low-scoring. La Jolla eked out a 3-0 lead--the only  time the hosts would lead the whole evening--on a 34-yard field goal by Julian Zavala with a minute left in the first quarter.

But then shaky hands, and eroding confidence, seemed to hit the Vikings. That compounded the problems of Lincoln's onslaught, which included human but rather large people like guard Kiemon Green, weighing 320 pounds, and freshman Major Tala, 330 pounds.

Senior running back Junior Curtis began to get some room to stretch his legs, and first scored for the Hornets on a seven-yard plunge beginning the second quarter for a 6-3 Lincoln lead. That began the first of 54 unanswered points.

Curtis scored again two elapsed minutes later for a 12-3 advantage.

Then disaster struck the Vikings, when lineman Jamari Sherell picked up a loose ball coughed up by the La Jolla offense and ran it back 45 yards for the TD and an 18-3 lead. That came with 3:42 left in the half.

LJ b water polo: Photos 10/9

Photos by Ed Piper

Vikes' Ryder Jaseniuk (upper left) looks

for a passing lane on offense against

the Dons' Jett Taylor (4) and Kenly Braylen

Axline (16), the score tied 6-6 near

the end of the third quarter.

Tor Martin (11) lofts a soft shot toward the goal

that goes in for a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Defending are Colin McPhail (3) and

Jett Taylor (4).

Vikings listen to Coach Tom Atwell (foreground,

back to camera) at halftime: Henry Glenister

(far left); goalie George Gayner (standing,

hand on chin, back center), Lev Kevorkian

(far right). Also, Dexter Black (seated, center, 4).

Don Eamon Bruhn (7) threatens with a shot

from the 4-5 side against Ryder Jaseniuk (hand

up on defense), with George Gayner in goal.

Teammate Kenly Braylen Axline (16) tries

to swim into the post in front of the cage.

LJ goalie coach Cameron Ravanbach wears

PF Flyers, popular shoes we wore in the 60's.

LJ b water polo 9, Cathedral Catholic 10 - 10/9

LJ center Tor Martin (11) pursues a loose ball

in front of Kenly Braylen Axline (16) of Cathedral

Catholic in the second quarter.

By Ed Piper

La Jolla dropped a 10-9 decision to Cathedral Catholic in the two teams' first Western League encounter of the season Thurs., Oct. 9, at Coggan Aquatic Complex.

Viking center Tor Martin acknowledged before the match that it would be a physical tussle in which "I'm mostly going to try to hold side, as much as I can," and it was.

Coach Tom Atwell's hosts held sway through the first half, until the Dons tied the score 6-6 late in the third quarter. The Vikings scored immediately on a Dexter Black shot 14 seconds into the first period, then built leads of 2-0, 4-2 in the second quarter, and 5-3 partway into the third.

La Jolla led 6-4 with 3:55 left in the period before Coach Tommy Corcoran's Dons began to fight their way back. They scored two quick goals, before Black, the All-CIF junior, sprang out of the water and fired a quick shot for the go-ahead with 1:45 left in the quarter.

On the afternoon, the 6'6" Dexter scored five of the Vikings' nine goals, including one in which he was falling backward into the water from the 4-5 side, and still zapped a goal.

Cathedral finally took its first lead at 8-7 with five minutes left in the contest. After La Jolla's Nate Thomson hit the equalizer and flexed his muscles with 1:38 left, the score now 9-9, Dons junior Kenly Braylen Axline scored with 1:19 left to put the visitors ahead and in charge.

For Axline, the opposing center, it was his fourth score of the game.

Dexter Black (4) of La Jolla, an All-CIFer, ball

in his left (preferred) hand, takes a pounding from

the Dons' Jett Taylor late in the third quarter.

LJ FH: Photos 10/8

Photos by Ed Piper

Sofia Saiegh (10, with ball) swings around

as Canyon Hills' Audrey Pappenfus (11, far right)

defends. Coming up on far left is Eva Allen (14)

of the Rattlers.

Vikings Ella Milton (far left, 18) and Allison

Hawthorne (middle, 12) defend Morgan Trivelpiece

(far right) in the second quarter.

LJ forward Ella Cathalinat (2, red) comes up

against the Rattlers' goalie (47) in the third

quarter.

Allison Wittkow (right) and Sophia Krause (16)

of Canyon Hills cross sticks at midfield.

LJ's Olivia Morrison-Reyes (left) battles

Rattlers Sami Lee (24) and Abby Trivelpiece
(hidden behind Lee).

With Viking goalie Adalee Branstetter (77)

in view in goal, teammate Talia Snider (4)

leans over to block Eva Allen's (14, right) shot.

Talia Snider (far left) vies with Sami Lee (in the

middle, partially hidden, with mask on)

of the Rattlers on a corner hit. LJ's Lilly

Ferrari (far right) comes over to help.

LJ coach Amanda Warford gives instructions

to "Milty", Ella Milton (lower left), and others

at halftime.

LJ FH 1, Canyon Hills 3 - 10/8

LJ soph midfielder Sofia Saiegh (right) lays

down her stick to block the hit of

Rattler Morgan Trivelpiece (8, left)

in the opening minutes of Canyon Hills'

3-1 win over La Jolla Wed., Oct. 8.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Canyon Hills head coach Kat Kievens said before the game that the Rattlers were going to run the ball up the middle, with their "strong players" Eva Allen, Rylie Storm, Reese Roldan, and Sami Lee.

And that's exactly what they did. It paid off with a solid 3-1 win at La Jolla, avenging an earlier 2-1 loss "in the last 10 seconds", as Kievens noted in a pregame interview, Wed., Oct. 8.

Allen, a nearly-6-foot sophomore, opened up scoring with a goal at 4:26 of the first quarter to put Canyon Hills in the lead.

The visitors followed that up in the second quarter with a goal by Jaycee Perez, with only 39 seconds left in the half. The Rattlers led, 2-0.

Finally, they added a score by Storm early in the fourth period, with only two minutes gone.

For the host Vikings, forward/midfielder Ella Cathalinat scored on a fast break, out ahead of much of the rest of both teams, with four minutes left in the game.

Coach Amanda Warford's squad was unable to duplicate that feat in the closing minutes.

Looking ahead, the Vikings have a shot at Cathedral Catholic, then the Open Division playoffs loom early in November.

LJ FB: Christian HS game report

The Viking defense pursues Christian QB Kaleb

Runkle in the first quarter Fri., Oct. 3.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

In the fourth quarter Fri., Oct. 3, Kai Rosier of Christian High scored a touchdown on an 85-yard pass play from quarterback Kaleb Runkle. With the two-point conversion, the Patriots--in front of La Jolla's Homecoming crowd--only trailed 27-24.

It was nervous time at Gene Edwards Stadium. The outcome of the game, after Viking leads of 18 points (20-2) and 17 points (27-10) back in the third quarter, was in serious doubt.

But then La Jolla coach Tyler Roach's offense engineered drives that produced two touchdowns by junior Nico Bardaro: a 23-yard pass from freshman QB Ty Tortorice, increasing the lead to 34-24, and a short run by Bardaro for the final outcome, 31-24.

The Vikings (now 1-1 in the Eastern League, 4-2 overall) had responded to the challenge, and had delivered in crunch time in the final quarter.

Tortorice was pressed into emergency service for the second time this season, with senior quarterback Huddy Smith suffering a concussion in the second half last week in a loss at Point Loma. The earlier injury had been a hit Smith took in the leg in La Jolla's opener way back on Aug. 22 at Torrey Pines. That game had also ended in a loss for the the Vikings.

LJ FB: Linebacker Taylor Jeffery on leadership

Taylor Jeffery (3), a senior

captain for the Vikings.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Senior Taylor Jeffery is one of the Vikings' four captains and plays linebacker in DC Randy Cowell's defensive unit. These comments were made Fri., Oct. 3, before La Jolla's Homecoming game against Christian High.

Q: You take your leadership role pretty seriously.

A: I do.

Q: What does it entail? How do you see it?

A: Just leading by example, being there for the team. When things are going down, you got to be the one to step up and to not let the boat fall apart. So, that's what's big for me.

Q: Things are going the other way. People are doing things... You're going, nah, we need to step it up. It's kind of hard sometimes to go against the current and be the leader, because you stand out and are saying something different from the others. How do you deal with a situation like that?

A: Adversity. Something is going to come your way. You look at it. If no one else is going to stand up and deal with it, you might as well. So, I think if I stand up and deal with it, I'm going to be the one that's going to lead the rest of the team, and they're going to follow me.

A mindset can be followed, so if I go with it, they'll go with it.

Q: What's your goal for the season? What do you want guys to take away, to be talking about 10 years from now?

A: That we just gave it our all on the field, everyone had a great time and can look back and say that that was one hell of a season and loved it.

LJ Cheer: @ LJ-Christian FB 10/3

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ FB 41, Christian 24 - Homecoming 10/3

Photos by Ed Piper

Viking wide receiver Carson Diehl (13)

got to display some of his considerable talents

in a slow first half that ended, 13-2.

The halftime fireworks show

was pretty impressive.

LJ b water polo: Photos 10/2

Photos by Ed Piper

Big Luke Weid (8, left) scores to make it

8-1 with a minute gone in the second

quarter.

Luke Weid (top), a junior, concentrates

at poolside before the second period.

LJ goalie Simon Glenister (1) completes

a pass to initiate the offense

beginning the second quarter.

LJ b water polo 13, Point Loma 1 - halftime 10/2

Viking Jude Laifa (7, left) bounces a penalty shot

headed past goalie Ryder Owre (1, right) of PLHS

with 13 seconds left in the first half

in front of Point Loma parents

at Bud Kearns Pool at Morley Field.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

With the Vikings cruising to a big lead early against Point Loma at the Bud Kearns Pool at Morley Field (built in the 30's, according to a staffer) Thursday, Oct. 2, team members like goalie Simon Glenister, Ryan Murray, and Jude Laifa were able to play some significant minutes in a contest that reached 13-1 by halftime.

Glenister showed himself to be a sparkling addition in the cage, making numerous saves and communicating vocally to his teammates in front of him on the defensive end. The brother of high-scoring Henry Glenister, Simon started in goal and played throughout the first half. He stands behind starters George Gayner and Addie Calhoon on the depth chart.

Laifa, a sophomore, scored a goal with 3:37 left in the second quarter. He then stood front-and-center on a penalty shot with a scant 13 seconds left in the half, and scored on a shot that skipped into the goal for a score that matched the number of seconds on the game clock at the start of the play.

It took until a minute and a half left in the first period, with La Jolla leading 5-0 and things becoming academic, when Pointer Henri Lucas was finally able to break Glenister's shutout.

Ryan Murray (12), alongside Nate Thomson (10)

and Ryder Jaseniuk (9), listens to Coach Tom Atwell

during a timeout with 1:23 left in the first half.

LJ FH: Game story 10/1

By Ed Piper

Viking coach Amanda Warford was already taking care of her girls' mental state and look ahead when she addressed them before the fourth quarter Wed., Oct. 1, trailing Bishop's, 3-1.

"We'll play them again two or three more times, maybe more," she told the assembled players on the sidelines between periods. "Don't let it (the deficit) get in your heads."

The 3:30 p.m. start on the Bishop's campus--the first Western League encounter between the two top teams--had gone the hosts' way, with Knight Myla McCandless scoring her second goal in two quarters late in the third.

The two squads have already faced each other in the Del Norte Jamboree two months ago. They're fairly familiar with one another.

Warford is very attuned to the mental condition of her players. Empires rise and fall on outlook and attitude, and she was taking the long view. Much more of the league schedule is yet to play out, with the two La Jolla teams having to face off again in the regular season, as well as the postseason, most likely.

LJ FH 1, Bishop's 4 - 1st league match-up

Photos by Ed Piper

Junior Reese Lejuwaan (20) of La Jolla

trails Kalina Porikh (6) of the Knights

along the southern sideline.

LJ's Savannah Putnam (17) battles

Lola Conway (1) on a Viking corner

shot play late in the third quarter.

Savannah Putnam (right, 17) extends

for a ball on defense against

Kamaili  Lasua (24) of Bishop's.