LJ FB: Point Loma redux

Vike DE Lucas Searlecripe (45) defends

on a pass attempt to the left by Pointer

QB Henry Heuser right in front

of the La Jolla bench. The pass fell

incomplete in the first six minutes

of the game.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

By the time Viking cornerback Taylor Jeffery almost picked off a pass by Point Loma quarterback Henry Heuser with four minutes left in the first quarter Fri., Sept. 26, La Jolla had scored on a 12-play drive, topped off by QB Huddy Smith's 13-yard pass to Nico Bardaro.

Both teams had had a shot with the ball, Coach Ryan Price's Pointers going three-and-out on their first possession--following La Jolla's same experience to start the game.

Had Jeffery, who takes his role as a captain and member of the defense quite seriously, held onto the ball for an interception, it would have severely interrupted what was to evolve for the host team--the first of eight scoring drives (one resulting in a field goal, all the others in touchdowns) that would last through the third quarter.

On the other hand, the Vikings, coming off a bye, seemed to have fumble-fingers and made mistake-after-mistake through the night. Could it be that they were trying to make themselves at home on the away field, and were nervous at playing against Romeo Carter, the Pointers' stellar senior safety/wide receiver?

What comes to mind is their opener at Torrey Pines a month ago. A similar result occurred. Did La Jolla players feel intimidated under the bright lights of the big program at Torrey Pines? Did the same kind of happen this most recent Friday night?

LJ QB Huddy Smith (1) attempts a pass

to Carson Diehl (not in view) on the Vikings'

second possession of the night. Coach Tyler

Roach's team eventually scored on a pass

reception by Nico Bardaro for a

temporary 7-0 lead.

Running back Aiden Farrell, only in his sophomore year, appeared unfazed. He carried the ball a jillion times.

In the third quarter, he walked by on the sidelines. He looked beat--sweaty, tired. Not beaten--just, that he had put in a lot of hard work, gaining the same hard yardage that Aidan "Carolina" McGill used to do the past two years before he graduated.

I'm looking for a silver lining. Something to write about that's positive. Imagine all the work the Vikings put in the last two weeks, during the bye week and then the week leading up to the Point Loma game. It couldn't have all gone for naught.

Things didn't jell. That's what happens sometimes in high school sports.