LJ FB 52, Country Day 42: Scoring summary

 Running back Yohann Ponsaty, with celebratory

finger upraised, crosses the goal line with 30-yard

TD to put the Vikings up 29-14 in the second

quarter. (Photo by Ed Piper)

SCORING
La Jolla 52, Country Day 42

1st Quarter
LJ - Joseph Duran 2-yd run (conversion failed), 6-0 (7:18)
LJ - Casey Brown 5-yard run (conversion failed), 12-0 (0:55.4)
CD - Braxton Burmeister 5-yard run (kick by Julian Davis), 12-7 (0:25.3)

2nd Quarter
LJ - Jonathan Levenson 9-yard pass from Brown (kick by Fudge), 19-7 (9:48)
LJ - FG Fudge, 22-7 (8:34)
CD - TD (kick by Davis), 22-14 (5:02)
LJ - Yohann Ponsaty 30-yard run (kick by Fudge), 29-14 (4:11)
CD - TD (kick by Davis), 29-21 (2:25)
LJ - Fudge 39-yard pass from Brown (kick by Fudge), 36-21 (1:39)

3rd Quarter
CD - Casey Mariucci 42-yard pass from Burmeister (kick failed), 36-27 (10:14)
CD - TD (kick by Davis), 36-34 (9:34)
CD - Burmeister run (conversion good), 36-42 (3:22)

4th Quarter
LJ - Reilly Rowan pass from Brown (kick failed), 42-42 (11:19)
LJ - Rowan 4-yard pass from Brown (kick by Fudge), 49-42 (7:59)
LJ - FG Fudge 31 yards, 52-42 (3:37)

LJ Cheer: Maria Alvarez

Maria Alvarez, Junior, new to the LJHS Cheer Squad

Nickname: goes by Mari
Favorite food: Sushi rolls
Dessert: Aloquines (ice milk)
Song: "All About U", Tupac
Good friend on the cheer squad: Dani McGrath. "She's silly, funny, and very open to others. We didn't know each other till I needed a ride to cheer. From there, we became great friends."
Quote: "Our squad is full of great people that enjoy coming out to perform and support our football team, and practice our own sport, cheer."
On team unity: "We get along pretty well, since we have to be so close to each other for quite a while. We're pretty much becoming a family."
Best part about the cheer squad: "My favorite thing about our squad is that we're always determined to try and be more. That's as best as I could describe it, but I think it's amazing."


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper


 

LJ Cheer: Sally Chen

Sally Chen points out that several members of the Viking cheer squad are brand new to cheerleading. "They're still willing to try anything crazy," the effusive junior says.

She and her fellow cheer members broke out the new season by cheering at the La Jolla High football team's season opener at Country Day Friday, Aug. 28.

"We've put in a lot of hard work these past weeks, and felt ready for our first game last night," she says. She has an enormous smile that projects spirit and enthusiasm.

"As a veteran, I can see our team growing together as a family," Chen says.

Regarding new Cheer Advisor Cindee Russell, she says, "She did not hesitate on getting started this year. She always pushes us because she knows we can do anything as long as we put our sweat into it."

She adds, "She (Russell) never gives upon us, and because of this I know she is going to be sticking around for a long time."


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ Cheer: Natalie Valle

Natalie Valle, new to the La Jolla High cheer squad, says her friends encouraged her to go out for the team. The squad, under new Cheer Advisor Cindee Russell, raised the spirit level on the La Jolla side by leading cheers at the Vikings' season-opening football game at Country Day Friday night, Aug. 28.

To be specific, Sally Chen and Diana Dominguez were the individuals who convinced Natalie to try out for cheer this year.

Valle gushes enthusiasm. "I never thought cheer would be this much fun." Every team member wore bright red coloring on their eyelids for the game, which resulted in a 52-42 come-from-behind win by Coach Jason Carter's football team.

Of Russell, her new advisor, Valley says, "She wants us to go above and beyond from what people think we can do." The Viking girls and boy (co-captain Sean Nelson) did stunting at the game, erecting towers of girls after touchdowns behind the end zone.

"She has us working our butts off every practice," says Valle of Russell. Nat relishes the hard work because she sees the positive results in the squad's performance.

Valle stands 5'1" and her "favorite artist of the moment" is The Weeknd. Her favorite song by him is "Can't Feel My Face".


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ FB 14 Imperial 12 - scrimmage

Viking quarterback Casey Brown (7) shows deft

footing and quickness in eluding Imperial's

Lambert Soto (88). (Photo by Ed Piper)

La Jolla showed some sparks in its season-opening football scrimmage against Imperial, moving from being knotted at 7-7 at halftime to a 14-12 final advantage.

"We played pretty good," said quarterback Casey Brown in his first (though not official) varsity start. "Got some kinks to work out, but that will come with time and practice."

Brown looked mobile on foot and smooth in his passing motion from the QB position. La Jolla was hampered by multiple penalties in the first quarter as the Vikes had early jitters.
"Yeah, that first quarter killed us with penalties," commented Brown.

After months of practice in spring and summer passing leagues, he said he was focusing on making his passing reads and his decision-making. He gave himself a 7 on the former (on a 10 scale), a 9 on the latter.

Ross Martin lowers the boom on Imperials QB

Aaron Bonillas (10) just before the end of the

first quarter.

 



Brown had to sit behind Collin Rugg last year, so his senior year is his opportunity to shine.

Ross Martin, a junior defender, was around the ball a lot. He had a nice sack on Tigers QB Aaron Bonillas near the end of the first quarter.

The Vikings got on the board with 5:14 left in the second quarter when Brown, on a keeper, carried the ball 22 yards up the middle on a 2nd-and-2 from Imperial's 22-yard line. Junior Cole Dimich made the point-after kick.

Earlier, Imperial led off scoring with a touchdown only three minutes into the game.

Imperial fans were elated to flee the heat of the Imperial Valley (107 degrees projected for tomorrow). One couple, overheard on the Tigers' sideline: "Isn't the weather nice?" "Yeah" (with emphasis). The game was at Country Day due to LJHS's stadium construction.

The Vikings open the season for real on the same field Friday night. Aug. 28, against Country Day, Game time is 7 p.m.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

 

LJ FB: 'My number'

Trenton Fudge, star receiver who's back for his senior season, has swapped his old number 19 uniform for number 2.

"It's my number," he said at the Black and Red Scrimmage August 15. "It's my baseball number, too."

The La Jolla High football squad took team photos this week and now a roster is finalized with uniform numbers, just in time for the season's opening scrimmage against Imperial Sat., Aug. 22, at 5 p.m., on Country Day's field.

Imperial is the high school which Royce Freeman attended. Freeman is the record-setting running back who starred for Oregon last year as a freshman. Imperial defeated La Jolla 34-20 in the CIF playoffs in 2012.

Fortunately, the Vikings won't have to face Freeman. They will try out their stuff on an opposing contingent for the first time this season. It won't count, but it will help give Head Coach Jason Carter a picture of where things are right now.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ FB: Carter's playing days

Jason Carter, LJHS head football coach, in his

playing days at Texas A&M.

 

 

Jason Carter was a "dual threat" in his playing days in high school and college. He played quarterback, as well as wide receiver. That's the name of his football camp that he offers to young athletes during the summer.

 

His mentoring of Collin Rugg, the Vikings' record-setting quarterback in 2013 and 2014, was based on Carter's offensive prowess and knowledge, which comes out of his own playing experience.

 

Rugg sat at the foot of Carter, so to speak, from the moment La Jolla High renovated its failing football program by the hiring of the offensive coordinator from La Jolla Country Day in spring 2013. That posture, of experienced player and coach discipling a young player, was repeated many times over the next 21 months.

 

Rugg was a young man who had stood on the sidelines most of his sophomore year, 2012, keeping a clipboard and not enjoying the maturation that comes from actually being in the heat of the battle. He had no "trial by fire", really, until he was Carter's starter in the first game in August 2013.

 

Nobody knew how the program would do, with a complete overhaul of the coaching staff, a new weight room configuration in which the old walls were knocked out, and an almost cultish dedication in which athletes were required to make a time commitment to football that had not been seen at La Jolla High.

 

Some prospects and players under the previous regime dropped out due to that time commitment. There were bowling nights, pizza nights, and eventually a walk down Prospect Ave. to promote a new Bishop's-La Jolla rivalry, which had not been seen at least during this reporter's 11 years covering the program.

 

Carter, before official workouts began, recently said, "We're vertically challenged." He means the current edition of the Vikings are not big on height. But Carter, who is not a tall man himself, knows how to compete and to bring that competitive ability out of others of similar stature--he made it to the Carolina Panthers with his particular package of skills and physique.

 

This season's starting quarterback, Casey Brown, is not a big man. Neither is the Vikings' star returning receiver, Trenton Fudge, who scored a touchdown in the Black and Red Scrimmage Sat., Aug. 15.

 

 

Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ Cheer: New start

La Jolla's cheer squad was in attendance and leading cheers at the football team's Red and Black Scrimmage, which is a first in this reporter's experience.

The girls looked pumped, wearing shorts and tank tops as they await new cheer uniforms. Cindee Russell guided the squad, which does include one boy, Sean Nelson, a veteran of multiple seasons on the squad. Nelson also serves as a co-captain.

Russell is the fourth cheer advisor in 18 months at La Jolla, so the girls are certainly resilient.

"We just got back from cheer camp," said Russell. She planned an outing with squad members after the scrimmage. Then the squad took part in the barbecue in front of the baseball snack bar. There were a couple of hundred people, including freshman, JV, and varsity football players and their families, in attendance.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ FB: Red Black Scrimmage

Receiver Trenton Fudge (2) takes a 7-yard curl

30 more yards to the house under the watchful eye

of head coach Jason Carter (red jacket).

(Photo by Ed Piper)

 

 

Julia Hayden, a junior in high school from New York, arrived Thursday to visit her aunt and uncle, Marina and Steve Hayden, for vacation. "People here say how hot it is," said Julia, who was using her new Canon t5i camera to take photos of her cousin and other Vikings. "I just laugh, because it's nothing like the humidity in New York."

 

La Jolla High's three football teams held their Red and Black Scrimmage at Muirlands Middle School Sat., Aug. 15, in the midst of the five-day heat wave. Julia took a temperature reading of the air on her smartphone before the varsity scrimmage--it said 93 degrees. The plastic surface, though, was much hotter, on people's rears and knees if they dared to put either in contact with the pad. Julia said she could feel the heat through her tennis shoes.

 

Alex Dockery and Joseph Duran provided some offensive fireworks, along with quarterback Casey Brown, who had a couple of scampers to the end zone.

 

"I was happy with the effort," said Offensive Coordinator Ray Smith. He was in his usual animated, active mode during the scrimmage, yelling out instructions and encouragement.

 

Tight end Reilly Rowan, a newcomer to the varsity, had a nice gain on a reception. He's one of the larger Vikings at 6'3", 195 pounds.

 

JoJo Russell, a defensive lineman who weighs in at 280 pounds, looked like a giant among the two platoons. The scout offense opened the varsity scrimmage against the starting offense. Then Brown and company came in on offense, before the scout offense returned toward the end of the 35-minute exercise.

 

Cheerleaders pumped up some energy--a first for this reporter to see cheerleaders at a scrimmage. Marina Hayden, head of the football boosters, said it is part of a conscious effort to connect team with cheer with band to increase school enthusiasm. It seems to be working.

 

The Vikings play a scrimmage against Imperial High next Sat., Aug. 22, on La Jolla Country Day's field. Then the season opener comes the following week, Fri., Aug. 28, against Country Day on LJCD's own field. That will be a 7 p.m. contest.

 

 

Copyright 2015 Ed Piper





LJ FB: G Mill Griller

Grant Miller with the "G Mill Griller" sandwich he created

and had named after him.

Grant Miller, who had an outstanding senior year last year for La Jolla High's football team, helped create a Subway sandwich and then enjoyed having it named after him, according to his mother.

Jamie Miller says that Subway, near Vons in La Jolla, "offered a new tradition by teaming up with La Jolla's player of the year to create a sandwich, name a sandwich..." Also, the player was honored with a plaque inside the store.

Supporting the Viking football program, the store then held a fundraiser by giving a percentage of every sandwich sold to the team.

Grant Miller, who is also known for being the only LJHS football player to include his middle initial (R) in the name he is recognized by, goes off to college at Notre Dame next Thursday, according to his mother. Meanwhile, the G Mill Griller will go on sale this week.

You'll have to go in to find out what ingredients make up the novel bite to eat.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

Chargers training camp

Melvin Gordon, the Chargers' first round pick, got the most shout-outs from fans along the fence surrounding the team's training fields when I attended the second public workout Friday afternoon, July 31, at Chargers Park in Murphy Canyon.

Kids and adults alike pressed toward the cyclone fencing that snakes its way around the two fields. Sharpies brandished, souvenir memorabilia waved in the air--one young man brought a basketball to have signed by the football players--it reminded me of getting Dodger autographs at Dodger Stadium when I was growing up.

Philip Rivers, the Chargers' quarterback, was easily recognizable in shorts with slender and tanned legs below his number 17 jersey. He led the offense through slow-motion patterns near the end of the workout, after a drill on the near field in which a ball carrier had to evade or split two defenders who approached from the opposite end.

Jason Verrett, a defensive back, also got a lot of attention from autograph seekers at 4:45 p.m., after players spread out along the fence to sign autographs after a team talk at midfield.

There wasn't discouragement or disillusionment visible over the Chargers' possible departure for Los Angeles following 2015. These were the excited, the faithful, the true believers. They could name various individual players, with or without the roster that was handed out at the front gate and ran out. Murphy Canyon Road was lined on both sides with cars parked bumper-to-bumper for quite a distance toward Aero Drive on the south and Clairemont Mesa Blvd. to the north.

Faces of children, teens, and adults were etched with attentiveness and emotion for their over-sized gridiron heroes. Some of the linemen, at 6'6" and 6'9" and listed at 350 pounds, dwarfed this reporter, who measures 6'5" and 260 pounds. One circle at the end of practice to stretch out muscles and avoid injuries was made up of backs and the "littler people". The other circle of players limbering up at various angles in various positions was populated with players who were noticeably bigger--bulky behemoth linemen.

Behind the fence, fans called to friends as they clambered to spots along the fence when practice let out. Others shared information, some of it incorrect--like the Fan Fest being Wed., when it's actually scheduled for Sat., Aug. 8, at Qualcomm Stadium. Gordon, the 15th pick in the draft out of Wisconsin, worked his way down the fence signing autographs before calling it a day after several minutes. Other players, lesser known, interacted with fans and calmly complied with requests to take selfies. It was all in a day's work for the gentle giants.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper