LJ FB: Photos 10/9

Photos by Ed Piper

The Viking pep band stands out, especially

the drum corps, which was cooking.

Viking receiver Nico Bardaro (15,

behind) grabs a Brody Bukich pass

for 31-yard reception as time runs

out in the fourth quarter.

LJ Cheer: Football vs. Cathedral Catholic 10/9

Photos by Ed Piper

Senior Cody Williams (left) and a cheer

teammate do somersaults before the

football team comes out for the second half.

LJ FB 7, Cathedral Catholic 49 - 10/9

Freshman receiver Zakai Jackson (6) takes

a completion from QB Brody Bukich (not

pictured) as 245-pound Don Matijs Beals (44)

pursues him early in the third quarter.

Zakai went out with a left shoulder injury

after being tackled on the play.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Cathedral Catholic brought its traveling road show to Edwards Stadium Fri., Oct. 9, with a fan following that filled the visitors' stands and was loud and vocal throughout the game. Honor Falaave, the five-star wide receiver with the $2.4-million-dollar NIL deal as a senior in high school, was held out by his future school, USC.

But receiver Isaac Cook wasn't a bad substitute. Neither were defensive end Jordan Lilo, who weighs in at 245 pounds, Austin Trudell, 6'4", 290, or the younger offensive linemen who came in once the game was settled in the second half who ranged in size from 250 to 300 pounds.

The beautiful thing was that the hosts gamely fought the steamroller for the first quarter and a half, limiting Don quarterback Koa Smith-Mayall (whose mother said he is going to make a "gameday campus visit" to UA Birmingham) and his number-three-ranked minions to two touchdowns at that point.

Vikings Joseph Crudo, Zach "Snacks" Gergurich (at 245 pounds the rare LJHS'er with that much heft), Kali Deberry, Sean Bannon, and several others visibly extended themselves in one of the team's best efforts this season. Defensive Coordinator Stephen Dixon, being wished "good luck" before the game, said, "We'll need it." So nobody was discounting the challenge of Head Coach Tyler Roach's scheduling Cathedral this fall as a non-league encounter.

Don receiver Isaac Cook (4) runs outside

for a 20-yard touchdown in the second quarter

after Nehemiah Lauifi intercepted a pass

by LJ QB Brody Bukich. Cathedral

went up, 21-0, with 6:56 left in the half.

The springs got jarred loose from the Vikings' focused efforts to be smart and physical when Don Nehemiah Lauifi intercepted a Brody Bukich pass down the middle that got tipped and flew into the air with 7:07 left in the second quarter. Lauifi gobbled the pick up and ran it from midfield to the La Jolla 20. From there, Cook cruised into the end zone on a pass from Smith-Mayall for a 21-0 lead.

The score at halftime was a respectable 28-0--things could have been much worse--before a running clock was instituted early in the second half after Willie Flores' two-yard plunge for 35-0.

La Jolla, after being denied a touchdown when a completion to Nico Bardaro and a run by Deberry both fell short--the visiting crowd roaring at each stop--finally got on the board when safety Bryson Grant intercepted backup QB Gavin Rossi and ran the ball in, untouched. That made the score 42-7.

LJ FB: Looking ahead to Cathedral

By Ed Piper

La Jolla's football team is preparing diligently and wisely for the greatest regular-season challenge the Vikings have faced in the last 23 years (the time of this sportswriter around or directly covering the program)--their game at home Fri., Oct. 9 against Cathedral Catholic.

Even LJHS Athletic Director Aaron Quesnell alluded to the fact that La Jolla has to be realistic and know that facing the Dons will probably lead to a defeat--maybe even a big defeat. He said during last week's win over Scripps Ranch, "We have a good chance four of the next five weeks," in reference to the Vikings' 1-4 record at the time (2-4 after the game).

But no athlete or coach is going to go into a contest, having put in a week of good preparation and work, thinking like that. You go in to play your best, and give what the game gives you. The game could go any direction.

Steph Curry doesn't prepare for this year's Warrior season thinking, "You know, we're not going to be very good. Let's just try to play well." He is exerting body, and mind, and soul, and spirit to invest in conditioning, knowing Coach Steve Kerr's offense, learning teammates' tendencies, and all the like to the highest level in advance of the opener. He aims to win. He aims to excel at his game, and leave the reporting of the results to the paparazzi.

The next biggest challenge I can recall in my 23 years of La Jolla High football is facing Mission Bay several years ago, when Dillon Baxter played quarterback for the Buccaneers. This is long before Tyler Roach became the Vikings' head coach (this is his tenth year), and La Jolla was pretty weak.

Dillon Baxter ran over, through, and around the Viking defenders for six touchdowns. He ran and passed for his scores. His performance was incredible. The best I have seen in a high school football game in memory.

The Vikings need to stay within their abilities, be wise, make good decisions while blocking out all the noise. Cathedral is ranked way up there in the county. So what? It's about Vikings competing against themselves to perform the best they possibly can. There is integrity in that. There is glory in that. Each individual can come out victorious, and work with teammates to lift them up and help them to play the best version of themselves.

LJ b water polo vs. LJ g VB - annual "Deep Pink" Komen fundraiser - 10/6

Photos by Ed Piper

Emmet Gutierrez (left)

and Liam Glenister get

some cooling air from a

blower on a hot day.

Kieran Venieris (whose dad is from

Athens) takes a break before the

epic water polo-volleyball

battle inside.

Volleyball coach Kelly Drobeck (second from

left) goes over the ground rules with water

polo players Quinn Daniels (next to Drobeck),

Lev Kevorkian, and 6'8" Dexter Black.

Sierra Jones (right), a middle blocker-opposite

hitter, beats Lev Kevorkian, a 2-meter

defender, in rock-paper-scissors for

first serve. Both are senior captains

for their respective teams.

Volleyball players, many with pink sparkles

in their hair, look on while student coaches

(and beach volleyball players) Mercan

Findikoglu (far left, rear), Nate Dickinson,

and a teammate figure out what they're doing.

Nate "the Great" Dickinson delivers instructions

to the girls before a best-of-3 match.

Henry Glenister tries to return

a ball with a setting motion.

Barney Pearce does a two-handed

serve.

LJ FB: More photos 10/2

Photos by Ed Piper

Corner Jager Kideys (3) picks off a pass

by Scripps QB Nolan Cooper (not in view)

that led to another TD by La Jolla. Kideys

advanced the ball 12 yards, to the 27-yard line.

He is covered by the Falcons' Ian Campbell (2).

Nico Bardaro (with ball) runs

a jet sweep left to start

a quick five-play drive

after Kideys' interception

and a 14-0 lead.

Running back Kali Deberry leaps across

the goal line (lower right) as QB Brody

Bukich (top left) watches for the 14-0 lead.

Griffin Roach (right, almost 5), youngest of three sons

of LJ head coach Tyler Roach and his wife Leslie

(an alumna of Scripps Ranch), gets sacked

before he can make a pass to one of his brothers

on the sideline in the first half.

Roach makes a point to receiver Emerson

Rota, who later figures into the trickiest play

of the night, a flea-flicker.

LJ FB: Game story 10/2

Viking back Joseph Crudo runs for 12 yards

on 3rd-and-11 to pick up a first down.

Colton Searles (24) of Scripps pursues

him. La Jolla (2-4) scored

on the opening drive to lead

Scripps Ranch, 7-0.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla got into a tussle with a persistent Scripps Ranch (0-5 going in), desperate for a win. When Viking quarterback Brody Bukich flung a pass to his right side to converted QB Emerson Rota, the senior looked downfield to a streaking Zakai Jackson and deposited the pass in the freshman's hands for a 43-yard touchdown--the play of the game.

The hosts, performing at Homecoming, led 27-21 after the first play of the fourth quarter.

From there, it was a chess match, with the Falcons rotating three running backs mixed in with passes to receiver Garrett Schultz. A 40-yard strike to Rory Dunn put Scripps up temporarily, 29-27.

Viking running back Kali Deberry, who has pounded inside for a lot of tough yardage through the first five games, rambled again from the La Jolla 43, fumbled near the goal line, then had the recovery ruled a TD, 35-29.

But they needed some breathing room, on the precipice of a league win to redeem themselves from last week's blowout at St. Augustine. There were eight minutes left, a lot of time.

Falcon QB Nolan Cooper under new head coach John Taylor, long-time Defensive Coordinator under the retired Marlon Gardinera, couldn't deliver in a short, aborted drive.

So, with his eye on the clock, LJ head coach Tyler Roach directed a possession using Deberry, Joseph Crudo, and wildcat Nico Bardaro that resulted in Kali's nine-yard TD run leaving only 1:34 on the scoreboard. The Vikings, in their announced 105th year of football, led comfortably, 42-29.