By Ed Piper, Jr.
The word on campus is that "30 or 40" students at La Jolla High, mostly underclassmen, went out for the Viking wrestling program in early workouts for the upcoming season.
If so, this would represent a complete rebuilding of the program from three years ago, when a largely senior varsity squad graduated and left the cupboard bare.
Head coach Kellen Delaney, who is ably aided by Ryan Lindenblatt, former head coach and newly etched name on the coaches' Wall of Honor at Edwards Field, has stressed relationship and collegiality among his fellow coaches and wrestlers.
It has worked. For a team that had to struggle to field enough qualified wrestlers to enter a dual meet against area opponents only a few years ago--following the "golden age" of recent LJHS wrestling that preceded it--the growth was already evident last year, with healthy participation at the prestigious Holtville Tournament in Holtville, east of El Centro, and a full dual meet schedule.
Now, with mentorship taking place among the student wrestlers and alumni even checking in with social media posts and visits from time to time, the passage of time is literally on the La Jolla program's side.
The coaches don't lack for expertise on the technical aspects of the sports, or wise words about navigating the travails of daily life as a teenager. But their real nitro in the tank is the brotherhood--and sisterhood, if any girls go out for what is open to be a coed team--among the student athletes.
One could see that, being around the team, and hear that in the words of Jack Hathaway and Jake Harvey, two of the leaders, as last season progressed.
The partial but incomplete new season's schedule posted on the school website shows initial action at the Carlsbad Invitational Dec. 3, with other tournaments following through the first two weeks of the month.
Then dual meet competition begins shortly after New Year's in January. Who those opponents will be has yet to be announced.
Also in there in the group coaching corps is Juan Sanchez, former Viking wrestler and former Viking head coach, as well as Walter Fairley, who of late has been acting as interim principal at Lincoln High in a pinch, but who always makes time for wrestling. Fairley is a California Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee.
In addition, Viking strength and conditioning coach Ryan Lennard comes in with big support. He is a roommate and close friend of Delaney.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
LJ winter sports: Scheduling, cont.
By Ed Piper, Jr.
Continuing the train of thought of my previous post, on new so-called "equity" alignments of leagues, Coach Kristin "Jonesy" Jones' girls soccer team will play a veritable plethora of home games this winter on La Jolla's new surface--after two full years of away games.
Jonesy pointed out last winter, as construction continued on the renovation of facilities in and around Edwards Field on campus, that she had begun scheduling games on the road the previous season--2014-15.
This was because early thinking on the sports facilities' makeover was for construction to begin long before March 2015, one of the spoken starting dates. That would have impacted the girls' soccer season, which runs from December through February. Can't do with no field.
The groundbreaking actually happened right after graduation ceremonies June 18, 2105, three months later even than the supposed March date. My understanding unofficially was that the new press box was added to the previous proposal, so approval was delayed and the resulting construction date was likewise postponed.
So, Jonesy plied the highways and byways of San Diego County to get to her team's matches not only throughout last year's schedule, but also the year before.
Two years in exile. (Sounds like an album title: "Exile on Pearl St." a la the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main St.")
Now, Jonesy, just completing her coaching at UCSD with the Triton men in the fall, has to be sitting "fat and happy" looking down the barrel of--not one, not two, not seven, but 13 home games on the new turf, from a count of her team's schedule currently posted on the school website.
These are unheard-of riches!
Last season, the Vikings suffered the lingering injury of forward Phoebe Riley, that greatly affected their offensive firepower.
Phoebe played by the end of last season, and is well, at last report. She graduated and went on to greener college pastures. So that's in the past for La Jolla.
With returners having another year of seasoning and growth, which is so phenomenal at the teenagers' young age from year-to-year, a traditionally strong program should be in that much better of a position. And without the wear-and-tear of having to sludge through increasingly congested San Diego traffic.
Continuing the train of thought of my previous post, on new so-called "equity" alignments of leagues, Coach Kristin "Jonesy" Jones' girls soccer team will play a veritable plethora of home games this winter on La Jolla's new surface--after two full years of away games.
Jonesy pointed out last winter, as construction continued on the renovation of facilities in and around Edwards Field on campus, that she had begun scheduling games on the road the previous season--2014-15.
This was because early thinking on the sports facilities' makeover was for construction to begin long before March 2015, one of the spoken starting dates. That would have impacted the girls' soccer season, which runs from December through February. Can't do with no field.
The groundbreaking actually happened right after graduation ceremonies June 18, 2105, three months later even than the supposed March date. My understanding unofficially was that the new press box was added to the previous proposal, so approval was delayed and the resulting construction date was likewise postponed.
So, Jonesy plied the highways and byways of San Diego County to get to her team's matches not only throughout last year's schedule, but also the year before.
Two years in exile. (Sounds like an album title: "Exile on Pearl St." a la the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main St.")
Now, Jonesy, just completing her coaching at UCSD with the Triton men in the fall, has to be sitting "fat and happy" looking down the barrel of--not one, not two, not seven, but 13 home games on the new turf, from a count of her team's schedule currently posted on the school website.
These are unheard-of riches!
Last season, the Vikings suffered the lingering injury of forward Phoebe Riley, that greatly affected their offensive firepower.
Phoebe played by the end of last season, and is well, at last report. She graduated and went on to greener college pastures. So that's in the past for La Jolla.
With returners having another year of seasoning and growth, which is so phenomenal at the teenagers' young age from year-to-year, a traditionally strong program should be in that much better of a position. And without the wear-and-tear of having to sludge through increasingly congested San Diego traffic.
LJ winter sports: Scheduling
Senior forward Garrett Brown
drives to the hoop in a
November preseason
tournament game against
Mission Bay Nov. 5.
(Photo Ed Piper, Jr.)
(Photo Ed Piper, Jr.)
By Ed Piper, Jr.
Looking at the winter schedules for some of the LJHS athletic teams, one thing becomes apparent: the Friday night doubleheaders of boys and girls basketball of the last couple of years are things of the past.
The two-game evenings, with the girls' teams squaring off at 6 p.m. and the boys following at about 7:30 p.m., became a big deal last year, especially with the Viking band under instructor Michael Fiedler playing riffs after every home basket.
Attendance was good, and it boosted what normally would have been a much smaller crowd for the girls games--usually toward the end of the game. The students and parents showing up early for the boys games were treated to a couple of cliffhangers, courtesy Coach Darice Carnaje's girls, who she always gets to play above their ability. (Look at her first tennis team at LJHS this fall after moving over from OLP: a CIF championship.)
Well, no more.
With the re-leaguing taking place in basketball for the first time, based on past performance instead of the historic method of school enrollment, Coach Paul Baranowski's boys will be facing new Eastern League opponents Madison, Hoover, Henry, Serra, and Scripps Ranch.
Meanwhile, on the distaff side, Carnaje will lead her troops against a different array of teams in January and February: Lincoln, Point Loma, Henry, Coronado, Morse, and Mira Mesa. In this reporter's 13 years covering La Jolla, LJHS has never faced Mira Mesa as a league opponent in basketball, unless memory is lapsing.
And to confuse you further, both boys' and girls' leagues--though only La Jolla and Patrick Henry are the teams common to both--are dubbed the Eastern League.
It's a whole new brew of opponents, and so on Friday evening, January 6, 2017--during the first week of league play--the boys will be hosting Hoover in the Big Gym, while the girls will be nowhere to be seen. Carnaje's squad has that night off, after opening league play at Lincoln three days prior, on January 3, with a non-league contest at San Pasqual the next night. The boys will have been facing host Carlsbad Wed. evening, Jan. 4.
The next week further illustrates the impending change: On Friday night, Jan. 13, the Viking girls play against Henry in a 4:30 match, while the boys take the night off. Baranowski's bunch plays the night before, Jan. 12, hosting Madison. Both are league games.
The good to be gained is parity, equity, the mantras of the new league configurations.
The drawback, as mentioned, will be a sparsity of fans for the girls, which in most sports traditionally draw fewer spectators than the boys. That was probably one of the reasons that the girl-boy doubleheaders were instituted in the first place.
Another loss, with the splitting of the schedules, is the division of school spirit and energy, which formerly, on Friday nights during January and February, could be plowed into the teams representing both genders.
One thing I noticed on the title of the wrestling team's new schedule on the school's new website (ljvikings.com) is "Coed Varsity Wrestling Schedule". I don't recall seeing "coed" in the title in previous seasons, though I may have missed it.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
LJ FB 0, Bishop's 49
By Ed Piper, Jr.
La Jolla's five-game win streak was snapped as Bishop's dominated in every phase of the game to shut out the Vikings on their own home field, 49-0, Fri., Nov. 18, in a CIF Division 3 quarterfinal football playoff.
After the Knights, who by right of higher seed were designated the home team--though the game was played on the Vikings' new home turf in Edwards Stadium--scored on Mozes Mooney's 6-yard run to complete an 80-yard drive and open the game with a 7-0 lead, La Jolla's Alex Dockery ran the ensuing kickoff back 54 yards to the Bishop's 38.
The Vikings' drive stalled, resulting in a turnover on downs as Coach Matt Morrison went for it on 4th-and-10 and Cole Dimich's pass to Patricio Castillejos fell incomplete. Bishop's never looked back, holding La Jolla (finishing 7-5) to 40 total yards in the first half while piling up 215 itself. The Knights built up a commanding 28-0 halftime lead.
Coach Matt Morrison's streaking Viking team had outscored opponents 219-8 during its 5-0 run over the last half of the season, including a 34-0 thrashing of host Del Norte in the first round of the playoffs last week.
But the magic was not to continue on this night, as Viking quarterback Cole Dimich struggled with four interceptions, and running options Daniel McColl and Dockery were bottled up by the stout Knights defense.
Coach Joel Allen's maroon-and-gold have now won all 11 of its 2016 games, and faces Valley
Center in the Division 3 title game Fri., Nov. 25.
It was a successful first season for new coach Morrison, who wasn't named the new La Jolla head coach until late winter and wasn't able to hold his initial spring workouts until the end of May and first week of June.
Having to learn new systems on both offense and defense, the Vikings struggled in early going, despite winning their season opener at Montgomery. But then, in week seven of the season on Oct. 14, La Jolla defeated Serra and began its five-game ride, playing stingy defense while being powered on offense by their two running backs plus Dimich, who was effective running while adequate in Morrison's air attack. Special teams added a spark with some key plays.
La Jolla's defense was able to hold on Bishop's second drive of the evening. Two penalties aided the Vikings' effort. They were also able deny the Knights' on their next possession, holding the score to 7-0 through the first quarter--despite Dimich's first interception, handing Bishop's a short field at the Viking 33.
But then the capable Knight offense led by junior quarterback Jeffrey Jackson broke through after another Dimich interception. Jackson leapt over a goal-line stand at the one to score at the end of an 11-play, 58-yard drive, but it was still only 14-0 with seven minutes left in the first half.
The Vikings were hurt in rapid succession by Yohann Ponsaty's fumble after a Dimich completion to him that Bishop's speedy Hasant Moses scooped up and ran in from the 25 at 5:51. Then in a bizarre play two minutes later, the snap went past punter Kenny Hayden into the end zone on 4th-and-13 from La Jolla's own 17. The lefty ran back and grabbed the ball, then with Knight defenders next to him tried to punt the ball but it squirted out onto the ground, where junior Garth Erdossy fell on it for the touchdown.
In the span of three and a half minutes, the Bishop's lead had ballooned from 14 points to 28.
To the credit of the Vikings' defense, it didn't allow the Knight offense to score again in the half, though Bishop's was knocking at the door. La Jolla held on 4th-and-10 at the Viking 22, as Jackson's pass fell short.
After the lead increased to 49 in the third quarter, officials went to a running clock for the fourth quarter.
La Jolla's five-game win streak was snapped as Bishop's dominated in every phase of the game to shut out the Vikings on their own home field, 49-0, Fri., Nov. 18, in a CIF Division 3 quarterfinal football playoff.
After the Knights, who by right of higher seed were designated the home team--though the game was played on the Vikings' new home turf in Edwards Stadium--scored on Mozes Mooney's 6-yard run to complete an 80-yard drive and open the game with a 7-0 lead, La Jolla's Alex Dockery ran the ensuing kickoff back 54 yards to the Bishop's 38.
The Vikings' drive stalled, resulting in a turnover on downs as Coach Matt Morrison went for it on 4th-and-10 and Cole Dimich's pass to Patricio Castillejos fell incomplete. Bishop's never looked back, holding La Jolla (finishing 7-5) to 40 total yards in the first half while piling up 215 itself. The Knights built up a commanding 28-0 halftime lead.
Coach Matt Morrison's streaking Viking team had outscored opponents 219-8 during its 5-0 run over the last half of the season, including a 34-0 thrashing of host Del Norte in the first round of the playoffs last week.
But the magic was not to continue on this night, as Viking quarterback Cole Dimich struggled with four interceptions, and running options Daniel McColl and Dockery were bottled up by the stout Knights defense.
Coach Joel Allen's maroon-and-gold have now won all 11 of its 2016 games, and faces Valley
Center in the Division 3 title game Fri., Nov. 25.
It was a successful first season for new coach Morrison, who wasn't named the new La Jolla head coach until late winter and wasn't able to hold his initial spring workouts until the end of May and first week of June.
Having to learn new systems on both offense and defense, the Vikings struggled in early going, despite winning their season opener at Montgomery. But then, in week seven of the season on Oct. 14, La Jolla defeated Serra and began its five-game ride, playing stingy defense while being powered on offense by their two running backs plus Dimich, who was effective running while adequate in Morrison's air attack. Special teams added a spark with some key plays.
La Jolla's defense was able to hold on Bishop's second drive of the evening. Two penalties aided the Vikings' effort. They were also able deny the Knights' on their next possession, holding the score to 7-0 through the first quarter--despite Dimich's first interception, handing Bishop's a short field at the Viking 33.
But then the capable Knight offense led by junior quarterback Jeffrey Jackson broke through after another Dimich interception. Jackson leapt over a goal-line stand at the one to score at the end of an 11-play, 58-yard drive, but it was still only 14-0 with seven minutes left in the first half.
The Vikings were hurt in rapid succession by Yohann Ponsaty's fumble after a Dimich completion to him that Bishop's speedy Hasant Moses scooped up and ran in from the 25 at 5:51. Then in a bizarre play two minutes later, the snap went past punter Kenny Hayden into the end zone on 4th-and-13 from La Jolla's own 17. The lefty ran back and grabbed the ball, then with Knight defenders next to him tried to punt the ball but it squirted out onto the ground, where junior Garth Erdossy fell on it for the touchdown.
In the span of three and a half minutes, the Bishop's lead had ballooned from 14 points to 28.
To the credit of the Vikings' defense, it didn't allow the Knight offense to score again in the half, though Bishop's was knocking at the door. La Jolla held on 4th-and-10 at the Viking 22, as Jackson's pass fell short.
After the lead increased to 49 in the third quarter, officials went to a running clock for the fourth quarter.
Friday, November 11, 2016
LJ FB 34, Del Norte 0
By Ed Piper, Jr.
Defensive lineman Joey Liss verbalized La Jolla's dominance and attitude going into the second half Fri., Nov. 11, when he said, "We're not going to take our foot off the pedal."
Liss, the comeback kid playing in his second straight game after treatment for a tumor in his leg, and his mates incrementally built leads over host Del Norte of 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, and 28-0 at halftime in their first-round Division 3 CIF playoff game.
La Jolla won the right to face Bishop's next Fri., Nov. 18, in the second round of the playoffs by shutting out Del Norte, 34-0.
It was the streaking Vikings' fifth straight win, including their final three games in the City League.
The Vikings' (7-4) defensive unit limited the Nighthawks' (4-7) offense to 23 total yards over the first 24 minutes.
Meanwhile, Nick Hammel, normally gaining attention for his work on defense, made three outstanding catches on offense in the opening quarter, totaling 107 yards. In addition, head coach Matt Morrison's offense employed liberal amounts of runs by crafty back Alex Dockery and bruising Daniel McColl.
Quarterback Cole Dimich led La Jolla to its first touchdown on its second possession, with "Dock" running over from seven yards out. Tai Nguyen's kick made the score 7-0.
When the Vikings got the ball back after the defense forced Del Norte's Scott McKirdy to make one of many punts on the night, Yohann Ponsaty plunged over from six yards for the second score. Nguyen's PAT put the visitors in the lead, 14-0.
Senior quarterback Jake Moore was struggling under the pressure applied by the La Jolla defensive unit. The Vikings were also able to limit Nighthawk receiving star D'Angelo Gunter, who head coach Patrick Coleman said has offers from BYU and Hawaii. Gunter showed speed but wasn't allowed a lot of room to operate by the swarming LJHS defense.
A lightning strike by La Jolla came in the last 2:22 of the half when, first, Dockery completed a quick drive from the LJHS 45 by running over from seven yards out. His TD came with 44 seconds left on the scoreboard.
Then, after La Jolla's punt return unit was flagged for penalties twice in a row, giving McKirdy a third punt attempt, the Vikings' Gabe Solis ran the ball all the way back from the LJHS 35 for a 65-yard touchdown. The clock read :04 as Nguyen completed first-half scoring with a PAT, 28-0.
Before the game, Morrison, taking a break from listening to Phil Collins' "In the Air" and Van Halen's "Right Now" on his ear buds to get ready for the game, said his team needed to continue to play "fast and physical"--"the way we've been playing."
His players heeded his wishes. They dominated Del Norte during the first half. Then, in the third quarter, Hammel, on a tear, made his fourth reception on an excellent catch at the left sideline, the visitors' side. It came on 3rd-and-2 and went for 17 yards from Dimich. That gave Hammel 124 yards receiving to that point, though La Jolla wasn't able to score on the drive.
The drive had started on a short field at the Nighthawk 42 after Johnathan O'Neal blocked McKirdy's punt. The special teams unit had been harrying the burly Del Norte punter all night before finally getting to him.
The Vikings were able to score again late in the third quarter on a six-yard connection between Dimich and "Dock" for Alex's third TD of the night. Cole put the ball in the right back corner of the end zone for Dockery to catch. The PAT failed. That made the score 34-0.
La Jolla amassed 250 total yards on offense, passing and receiving, in the first half, to Del Norte's paltry 23 yards.
Defensive lineman Joey Liss verbalized La Jolla's dominance and attitude going into the second half Fri., Nov. 11, when he said, "We're not going to take our foot off the pedal."
Liss, the comeback kid playing in his second straight game after treatment for a tumor in his leg, and his mates incrementally built leads over host Del Norte of 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, and 28-0 at halftime in their first-round Division 3 CIF playoff game.
La Jolla won the right to face Bishop's next Fri., Nov. 18, in the second round of the playoffs by shutting out Del Norte, 34-0.
It was the streaking Vikings' fifth straight win, including their final three games in the City League.
The Vikings' (7-4) defensive unit limited the Nighthawks' (4-7) offense to 23 total yards over the first 24 minutes.
Meanwhile, Nick Hammel, normally gaining attention for his work on defense, made three outstanding catches on offense in the opening quarter, totaling 107 yards. In addition, head coach Matt Morrison's offense employed liberal amounts of runs by crafty back Alex Dockery and bruising Daniel McColl.
Quarterback Cole Dimich led La Jolla to its first touchdown on its second possession, with "Dock" running over from seven yards out. Tai Nguyen's kick made the score 7-0.
When the Vikings got the ball back after the defense forced Del Norte's Scott McKirdy to make one of many punts on the night, Yohann Ponsaty plunged over from six yards for the second score. Nguyen's PAT put the visitors in the lead, 14-0.
Senior quarterback Jake Moore was struggling under the pressure applied by the La Jolla defensive unit. The Vikings were also able to limit Nighthawk receiving star D'Angelo Gunter, who head coach Patrick Coleman said has offers from BYU and Hawaii. Gunter showed speed but wasn't allowed a lot of room to operate by the swarming LJHS defense.
A lightning strike by La Jolla came in the last 2:22 of the half when, first, Dockery completed a quick drive from the LJHS 45 by running over from seven yards out. His TD came with 44 seconds left on the scoreboard.
Then, after La Jolla's punt return unit was flagged for penalties twice in a row, giving McKirdy a third punt attempt, the Vikings' Gabe Solis ran the ball all the way back from the LJHS 35 for a 65-yard touchdown. The clock read :04 as Nguyen completed first-half scoring with a PAT, 28-0.
Before the game, Morrison, taking a break from listening to Phil Collins' "In the Air" and Van Halen's "Right Now" on his ear buds to get ready for the game, said his team needed to continue to play "fast and physical"--"the way we've been playing."
His players heeded his wishes. They dominated Del Norte during the first half. Then, in the third quarter, Hammel, on a tear, made his fourth reception on an excellent catch at the left sideline, the visitors' side. It came on 3rd-and-2 and went for 17 yards from Dimich. That gave Hammel 124 yards receiving to that point, though La Jolla wasn't able to score on the drive.
The drive had started on a short field at the Nighthawk 42 after Johnathan O'Neal blocked McKirdy's punt. The special teams unit had been harrying the burly Del Norte punter all night before finally getting to him.
The Vikings were able to score again late in the third quarter on a six-yard connection between Dimich and "Dock" for Alex's third TD of the night. Cole put the ball in the right back corner of the end zone for Dockery to catch. The PAT failed. That made the score 34-0.
La Jolla amassed 250 total yards on offense, passing and receiving, in the first half, to Del Norte's paltry 23 yards.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
LJ FB: CIF possibility
By Ed Piper, Jr.
Following Patrick Henry's 34-0 shellacking of Serra Fri., Nov. 4, the Patriots and La Jolla hold identical 42.40 values in the CIF San Diego Section Power Rankings.
At this writing, La Jolla is placed eighth, Patrick Henry ninth among the 16 teams in Division 3. However, the Vikings dropped their face-to-face matchup with Henry when the two teams met in City League play, so this would seem to dictate the Pats get to host any first-round playoff game between them.
Stay tuned for the official CIF pairings, which will be finalized Saturday morning and published by the early afternoon on the CIF SDS website. Game times are 7 p.m. on Nov. 11.
By the way, Henry's win over the Q's grants the San Carlos campus the City League championship outright. La Jolla finishes 3-1 in league play, behind the Pats' spotless 4-0 record, including a decisive win over University City two weeks ago.
On a night on which the Lakers, without a single all-star, upset the top-ranked Golden State Warriors and stopped Steph Curry's streak of 157 straight games with a three-pointer, anything could happen. Maybe a first-round home game for the Vikings?
Following Patrick Henry's 34-0 shellacking of Serra Fri., Nov. 4, the Patriots and La Jolla hold identical 42.40 values in the CIF San Diego Section Power Rankings.
At this writing, La Jolla is placed eighth, Patrick Henry ninth among the 16 teams in Division 3. However, the Vikings dropped their face-to-face matchup with Henry when the two teams met in City League play, so this would seem to dictate the Pats get to host any first-round playoff game between them.
Stay tuned for the official CIF pairings, which will be finalized Saturday morning and published by the early afternoon on the CIF SDS website. Game times are 7 p.m. on Nov. 11.
By the way, Henry's win over the Q's grants the San Carlos campus the City League championship outright. La Jolla finishes 3-1 in league play, behind the Pats' spotless 4-0 record, including a decisive win over University City two weeks ago.
On a night on which the Lakers, without a single all-star, upset the top-ranked Golden State Warriors and stopped Steph Curry's streak of 157 straight games with a three-pointer, anything could happen. Maybe a first-round home game for the Vikings?
Friday, November 4, 2016
LJ FB 58, Hoover 0
By Ed Piper, Jr.
Just as could be expected, La Jolla's football team cut through host Hoover's defense like a knife through soft butter, piling up a 44-0 first quarter lead and 51-0 at halftime, in both teams' regular-season finale Fri., Nov. 4. The visitors took home a final 58-0 victory.
The Vikings played in expectation of the announcement of their first-round matchup in the CIF Division 3 playoffs, due to come in the late morning Saturday.
Coach Matt Morrison's first squad at La Jolla (now 6-4 overall), the first LJHS team to play in the new City League, also had an eye on the scoreboard as their 2-1 league record lent the possibility that they could end up the night tying for the league title with help from Serra.
Patrick Henry, at 3-0, went into its tilt with the Q's as the conference leader. The Patriots came from behind to defeat University City two weeks ago, capitalizing on three late turnovers by the Centurions. UC had a nonleague game Friday.
The Vikings (now 3-1 in league), spoiling the Cardinals' Senior Night, scored in the first quarter behind runs by David McColl and Alex Dockery, a long pass play to Patricio Castillejos from Cole Dimich, a run by Yohann Ponsaty, a pick-six by Nick Hammel, and another rushing touchdown from McColl. All are seniors. Tai Nguyen, another senior, delivered the point-after kicks to punctuate each TD.
After Dockery went over for another TD on a 19-yard run to the left to start the second quarter, making the score 51-0 with Nguyen's PAT, Hoover coach Jimmy Morgans asked referees for a running clock and Morrison agreed.
By then, backup quarterback Kenny Hayden was warming up to take over for Dimich. Dockery, getting treatment for a cramp in his right hip after his second TD plunge, was informed he was done for the night. "I am?" he asked incredulously.
Sideline statistician and former offensive coordinator Mike Wyskoski pointed out with one minute left on the clock in the opening quarter: "They're scoring four points a minute." That's an unprecedented clip.
The visitors added a touchdown in the third quarter on a pick-six interception by Evan Brown, to close out scoring with 58 points. Hoover did not present a credible threat to score all evening.
Cardinal quarterback Jack Fanning, a 6'2" left-hander, and mini-back Mark Marcelo, one of the seniors honored before the game, handled most of the offensive burden for the host team.
La Jolla was enjoying the ease and freedom of scoring against Hoover. They weren't celebrating to stick it in the Cards' noses. After all, Morgans' team lost an 1,800-yard rusher from last year when his grandfather passed away and he moved to Louisiana, plus other key personnel. The Cardinals kept their heads up and finally scored their only points of the season last week late in a loss against Patrick Henry. "They were big," said Morgans of the Patriots.
The Vikings enjoyed a spell in the schedule that favored them, and they certainly benefitted from the new league alignment by power rankings, which put them up against teams more comparable in ability this year.
Morrison's squad, playing its best football of the season, has scorched Serra, UC, and now Hoover in successive weeks to close out City League play.
Just as could be expected, La Jolla's football team cut through host Hoover's defense like a knife through soft butter, piling up a 44-0 first quarter lead and 51-0 at halftime, in both teams' regular-season finale Fri., Nov. 4. The visitors took home a final 58-0 victory.
The Vikings played in expectation of the announcement of their first-round matchup in the CIF Division 3 playoffs, due to come in the late morning Saturday.
Coach Matt Morrison's first squad at La Jolla (now 6-4 overall), the first LJHS team to play in the new City League, also had an eye on the scoreboard as their 2-1 league record lent the possibility that they could end up the night tying for the league title with help from Serra.
Patrick Henry, at 3-0, went into its tilt with the Q's as the conference leader. The Patriots came from behind to defeat University City two weeks ago, capitalizing on three late turnovers by the Centurions. UC had a nonleague game Friday.
The Vikings (now 3-1 in league), spoiling the Cardinals' Senior Night, scored in the first quarter behind runs by David McColl and Alex Dockery, a long pass play to Patricio Castillejos from Cole Dimich, a run by Yohann Ponsaty, a pick-six by Nick Hammel, and another rushing touchdown from McColl. All are seniors. Tai Nguyen, another senior, delivered the point-after kicks to punctuate each TD.
After Dockery went over for another TD on a 19-yard run to the left to start the second quarter, making the score 51-0 with Nguyen's PAT, Hoover coach Jimmy Morgans asked referees for a running clock and Morrison agreed.
By then, backup quarterback Kenny Hayden was warming up to take over for Dimich. Dockery, getting treatment for a cramp in his right hip after his second TD plunge, was informed he was done for the night. "I am?" he asked incredulously.
Sideline statistician and former offensive coordinator Mike Wyskoski pointed out with one minute left on the clock in the opening quarter: "They're scoring four points a minute." That's an unprecedented clip.
The visitors added a touchdown in the third quarter on a pick-six interception by Evan Brown, to close out scoring with 58 points. Hoover did not present a credible threat to score all evening.
Cardinal quarterback Jack Fanning, a 6'2" left-hander, and mini-back Mark Marcelo, one of the seniors honored before the game, handled most of the offensive burden for the host team.
La Jolla was enjoying the ease and freedom of scoring against Hoover. They weren't celebrating to stick it in the Cards' noses. After all, Morgans' team lost an 1,800-yard rusher from last year when his grandfather passed away and he moved to Louisiana, plus other key personnel. The Cardinals kept their heads up and finally scored their only points of the season last week late in a loss against Patrick Henry. "They were big," said Morgans of the Patriots.
The Vikings enjoyed a spell in the schedule that favored them, and they certainly benefitted from the new league alignment by power rankings, which put them up against teams more comparable in ability this year.
Morrison's squad, playing its best football of the season, has scorched Serra, UC, and now Hoover in successive weeks to close out City League play.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)