By Ed Piper
Denton Young--not Denton True "Cy" Young, the namesake of the award that goes to the top MLB pitcher in each league every year--was talking about the 2017 La Jolla-Central Union game.
"It was misty, rainy. Our guys were getting sick, because they weren't used to the conditions (coming from the desert)," said the 10-year Associate Head Coach of the visiting Spartans. "It was the third game of the season."
The next year, Central went undefeated through the regular season, defeating Santa Fe Christian in the CIF Division 3 semifinals before losing to Morse in the finals.
Talking about the long travel from the Imperial Valley, Young, affable, willing to talk, recognizing this reporter from previous chats, said the team buses left Central Union High Fri., Nov. 6 at about 1:30 p.m. They stopped at a restaurant off Buckman Springs exit on the Interstate 8, just before Sunrise Highway, to get a bite to eat.
What amazed this reporter was that he and other staff could remember minute details of the previous games between the two schools. Four of the coaches, including Head Coach David Pena, are in their 10th years with the team. "The thing is they get along great, not just on the field but off it," said principal Craig Lyon, who grew up in the Imperial Valley.
Fletcher Mavity, the Spartans' statistician and self-described "team historian", is in his 14th year. He said Central got LED lights this summer to replace their old stadium lights from the 1950's or so--kind of like La Jolla's--and that they can be turned to various settings with a flick of a switch, for different colors and so forth--just like Petco Park or Dodger Stadium.
Mavity remembered the 2023 game against La Jolla, played in San Diego, which was a Division 3 quarterfinals. The Vikings won 28-23 during quarterback Jackson Diehl's senior season at La Jolla, when he was named the divisional Player of the Year.
A disputed play that Lyon, the principal, still carries on his phone, is a reception that Viking #10--gotta look it up--had his knee down when he received the pass. The boys at Central are still talking about that one. (Lyon showed me the photo on his phone.)
Lyon joked, "We don't have to worry about our population growing too much," with the extreme heat that occurs each year in the Imperial Valley. He also served as athletic director at Southwest High (El Centro), and he plans to stay in the area when he retires a year from now after 12 years as principal.
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Mavity said Vincent Memorial, a small private school in the El Centro area, has a girl flag football quarterback from Mexico who is very talented.
I looked her up. Azul ("blue") Trujillo, a junior, has 6,298 passing yards and is not done this fall. The Scots defeated Mission Bay Nov. 3 in a CIF playoff game 32-6. Trujillo piled up 310 passing yards, four passing TD's, and 28 completions.
She plays in the Mexico Junior National Team program, and is ranked in yardage first in the San Diego Section, 11th in California, and 13th in the U.S.
Vincent Memorial defeated Escondido Charter, 38-12, for the D2 title Sat., Nov. 7.
Trujillo has seven more TD's keeping the ball, leading her team in rushing yardage with 678 yards.
One of her receivers, Jessica Manriquez, averaged 13.9 yards per reception, on 2,644 yards receiving. Unbelievable. I've never seen football numbers that high in high school.
