The Pipeline

Sunday, September 27, 2026

LJ FB: More photos 9/25

Photos by Ed Piper

A lot of good happened, too, on the LJ defensive side

like this botched Saints field goal attempt.

The holder, Luke Penich (12), saw Bryson

Grant (4) breaking through. So, instead of holding

for kicker Alfred Attallah (10), he got up and

tried to run--unsuccessfully.

Nigel Thompson (4) of St. Augustine

piles up a few more of his many yards

in the second half.

LJ FB: Photos 9/25

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ QB Brody Bukich (7) leaves the pocket

as he looks for an open target. He is followed

by the Saints' Nigel Thompson (4).

Saints QB Julian Chanfreau rushes with

a keeper early in the fourth quarter. The play

was called back on a flag.

Viking DC Stephen Dixon (center) gives

his defenders counsel during a timeout

late in the game.

Unfortunately for La Jolla, too much of this

happened, with the Saints' Ryan Haniger picking

up 18 yards on a reception from QB Julian

Chanfreau.

Beautiful skies shine out toward the coast,

looking west from Mesa College's stadium

five minutes before kickoff.

Saturday, September 26, 2026

There was an side aspect to the Vikings' Eastern League opener at Mesa College Fri., Sept. 25. St. Augustine, who holds its home games there because it doesn't have space on its tiny campus in North Park, draws a lot of alumni to these games in the way of gathering, tailgating, and enthusiasm for the present edition of the Saints.

I didn't grow up in the area, so the tradition of the Catholic boys' school is something I had to learn about. I remember pulling up in a parking space last year for the La Jolla-St. Augustine game, and wondering at all the purple-clad folks, men and women primarily, but also some teens, congregating well before the game, sitting in chaise chairs in the college parking lot, eating and drinking, young people throwing a football. A lot of warm friendship built up over a period of years, it seemed like.

Well, the point of this story is not the Saints alumnis' tailgating. It's about the style of play on the field.

After a St. Augustine touchdown to lead 7-0, on the first La Jolla possession after that, Paisios Polamalu hit Viking running back Joseph Crudo helmet-to-helmet on the edge of the field right in front of the La Jolla team area.

Crudo gained 15 yards, this time on a completion from quarterback Ty Tortorice, but helmet-to-helmet is illegal. New LJHS Athletic Trainer McKenna Peckinpaugh shook her head. I said something to her about the play as I wrote my play-by-play log in my notepad.

By then, La Jolla coaches were shouting about "dirty play". It wasn't the first instance.

Later, Viking tight end Nico Bardaro was decked on a pass reception, his legs knocked right out from under him, slamming his helmeted head to the grass. I walked up the sideline to ask someone the term for a dirty hit like that. "Targeting," someone said.

Polamalu, I know, as the son of a famous football player, draws more attention than your average player. His brother, Ephraim, is out there now, too. One assistant on the visitors' sideline shouted, "They're both taking cheap shots on every play." That's exaggeration, but cheap shots seemed to be in vogue this night.

Is that the way better players achieve their effectiveness, by pushing the limits of clean play? I remember as a basketball player decades ago getting the street treatment from players who would do anything to win and who did things we hadn't even learned in the whitebread suburbs.

Just a thought.

LJ FB: Difficulties

By Ed Piper

During Viking football coach Tyler Roach's 10 years at the helm dating back to 2017, none of his teams have started out a season with the struggles this team has.

La Jolla, 0-1 in the Eastern League after St. Augustine's 35-18 whipping Sept. 25, 1-4 overall, has reached an unexpected low in the 2026 season after its league opener.

The Vikes' triumph over a depleted La Jolla Country Day two weeks ago, 26-0--the Torreys' starting quarterback and his replacement both sustained major leg injuries in the first half--seemed to portend better weeks ahead after the bye of Sept. 18.

Instead of progressing, the La Jollans seemed to regress, even though they debuted a transfer, defender and potential playmaker Bryson Grant from Hilltop.

The formula that worked best during the first four games, with sophomore Ty Tortorice throwing and directing the offense, fell flat.

The Vikings seemed a little bit awed by Pai Polamalu, son of an NFL star, who ran on offense and played safety on defense. But more than that, they didn't appear ready for the game, missing assignments, not knowing who was going to go in on one of the platoons (special teams, offense, or defense).

Certainly, Roach himself was fit to be tied at the some of the more timid approaches of some of his players, and at a certain point on the sidelines, said, "Forget it, we'll get the younger players out there who want to play."

Everything came to a head in a perfect storm. Something that never was an issue before, transfers, might be playing a bit of a difference. The Vikings lost a running back, and gained some other players by transfer this season.

Definitely, the number of players who went out for the program in the late summer was down from previous years. It is a steep drop from the glory days of the 2019 Southern California Regional champions, when La Jolla went 10-5 behind drop-back passer Jackson Stratton.

The other Jackson, Jackson Diehl, became a two-way star at the central position, both passing and running as the quiet one who led the Vikings three years ago to immense success. Those are the two poles spanning La Jolla's football success during the Tyler Roach years.

Maybe the Viking faithful can pass the 35-18 debacle by the Saints off to a bad night. Certainly, teenage athletes ride a wave of confidence and performance, and part of the football players' solace has to be in Roach's knowledgeable experience in getting the best out of his athletes.

The immediate need is to get ready for the Vikings' next game Fri., Oct. 2. Cathedral Catholic a week later promises to be a rare occasion against a local superpower on Oct. 9. Other than that, La Jolla has more moderate challenges against its other four foes over the next five weeks.

LJ FB 18, St. Augustine 35 - Eastern League opener - 9/25

Nico Bardaro (15), Vikings edge rusher, tackles

Saints QB Julian Chanfreau for a loss of two yards.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

A pair of 1-3 teams met up in their Eastern League opener Friday night, Sept. 25, and St. Augustine--in the roomy confines of their rented home field, Mesa College--bushwhacked the Vikings, 35-18.

But it wasn't even that close: The Saints led 35-0 with less than a minute gone in the fourth quarter, before running back Kali Deberry, tight end Nico Bardaro, and back-up quarterback Brody Bukich went to work to score three touchdowns in the next eight and a half minutes of elapsed time.

Unfortunately for La Jolla head coach Tyler Roach and his struggling minions, the Paisios and Ephraim Polamalu show went even better than advertised.

Pai, the older son of NFL Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu, repeated his performance of a year ago against the Vikings on the same field. He demolished the red-and-black defense with scampers up the middle, around the side without being touched, and even on returns of kicks (the last until La Jolla learned better).

Aiding the senior this time was his sophomore brother, who goes by "Phri", pronounced "Free", from the middle part of his name Ephraim, a chunkier version in the family line who reinforced his sibling's efforts to stymie and harass the visitors.

La Jolla seemed to sleep-walk from the start after a bye week following an encouraging 26-0 defeat of La Jolla Country Day.

A blocked punt by the dependable Ryan Hassankhani, that was run into the end zone from the 22-yard line by senior Matthew Weinpel, smelled like trouble immediately.

In focusing on Pai Polamalu, that took the Vikings' defense from focusing on other aspects of the St. Augustine offense. So athlete Mateo Iuli ran the ball in from 32 yards out for TD number two. That followed Pai's superhuman run from southeast to northwest against a team of tacklers who couldn't bring him down over 21 yards.

After a tongue-lashing by Roach during halftime as the season now seems in crisis, La Jolla emerged from the locker room to give up a 54-yard pass play and touchdown involving receiver Ryan Haniger

within the first three seconds of play from scrimmage opening the third quarter. The Mesa College scoreboard, missing many lights just like it did in 2025, read 11:57.

The Saints, having lost three games already, isn't a great team. But La Jolla made them look that way with a dispiriting performance.