LJ b BB 68, Valley Center 35

McClain Thiel (23) fights for the ball

in vanquishing of Valley Center

Dec. 23, 68-35. (Photos by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

After a night of being the underdog to third-ranked Torrey Pines and upsetting the Falcons at Grossmont High, La Jolla changed venues Fri., Dec. 23, to O'Farrell Charter School in Southeast San Diego and was the big dog against Valley Center.

In their final game of the annual Grossmont Invitational, the Vikings made quick work of the Jaguars, unleashing a 28-6 attack in the first quarter. Coach Paul Baranowski was able to sub in quickly his three available reserves--McClain Thiel, Garrett Brown, and Jacob Ohara--and let them play most of the rest of the way in a 68-35 blowout.

Valley Center seemed only too willing to let the favored-team script play out for the ninth-ranked Vikings. After one timeout and a mild-mannered chat from Coach Jon Jones, the team called out a weak "Jaguars" yell, indicative of the minimal counterattack they were able to mount.

Thiel showed movement, scrapped for loose balls, and passed during his extended play. Brown, who earlier in the month was seeing more action, still kept his head up and contributed some hustle.

Ohara, aided by being given some freedom in the free-wheeling game, said afterward that playing a 5-7 team like the Jaguars helped his confidence. "I'm obviously more comfortable against weaker
teams," he said.

Reed Farley met his quota of two or more

dunks a game, this two-hander in the

fourth quarter.



"Coach has had me working on my midrange shot, even though tonight I didn't get many midrange shots."

In a deep baritone, the 6-foot junior spoke about how he developed his knack for driving to the basket against taller opponents. "I think on previous teams I was one of the taller kids, so I was able to drive." He continued doing so last summer, even though he faced some taller defenders in the varsity spring and summer leagues and tournaments.

On personal preferences, he says he is a Mr. Frosti's man favoring Oreo shakes.

Baranowski, with his team's 10th win in 11 games in the opening month of the season in the books, spoke about the vital contribution forward Charlie Gal is making. Reed Farley's role was expected, but Gal has quickly evolved into a leading scorer with Farley, and La Jolla's leading rebounder.

"Charlie played a phenomenal game against Torrey Pines," said the 36-year coach of the 69-66 upset the night before. "We changed the way we played the big fella (6-9 Jake Gilliam). It got (Gal) in a little bit of foul trouble, so he had to adjust to that."

"Reed does what he does," said Baranowski in a realistic appraisal of his team's strengths. "It's a team game, but Charlie (is playing a key role up front). He's expanding his game. He has only scratched the surface (of his ability)."

Advised that the UT poll ranked the Vikings ninth before the win over Torrey Pines, the veteran coach said, "That shows I don't read the papers. We're still finding our way. Have any of the voters seen us play?"

LJ b BB: Falcons crested

Torrey Pines coach John Olive,

a giant of a man, kept it clean but

expressed some frustration to his

bench during La Jolla's 69-66 upset

win Dec. 22.

(Photo by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Torrey Pines basketball coach John Olive, minutes after La Jolla had upset his third-ranked Falcons 69-66 on a late three-pointer, recognized the Vikings for their win.

Asked what he saw, he replied, "I saw a La Jolla team that was well-coached, knew their personnel, was very focused. I was very impressed."

He kept his gaze pretty much straight ahead at the ensuing tournament game that was in already in progress as a reporter asked him questions crouching to his side, the head coach seated temporarily in a folding chair on the edge of the court near his team's meeting room. He was still sizzling from the loss, during which he screamed at his bench after a Reed Farley three.

He kept his emotions in check with the reporter.

Reminded of his team's comeback in the third quarter from a 10-point halftime deficit, Olive, a veteran, respected coach who hosts the prestigious Under Armour Holiday Classic at his school after Christmas, replied, "We made some halftime adjustments that worked. We made some shots."

His star, 6-9 Jake Gilliam, was equally understated and complimentary of the opponent: "(Charlie Gal's) a good player. It's a well-coached team. Charlie gets better and better every time we play him."

Equally restraining his feelings like his coach after the upset loss, the big center replied when asked his emotions, "We have a great coach. We have a lot of heart. I think we'll find that heart (as we go from here)."

Advised of their comments, Gal and La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski were appreciative.

LJ BB: Potboiler

6-5 Charlie Gal works against 6-9 Jake



Gilliam, Jack and the beanstalk against

the giant. He did well enough

for the Vikings to win.

(Photo by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Daniel McColl was deadpan.

"Which shot?" he asked.

He had just won the game against 6-9 Jake Gilliam and Torrey Pines, the number-three-ranked team in the county, and without the trace of a smile he was asking "which shot?".

He was told that "This was the biggest shot of your basketball career, not your sports career," since the 6-2 senior was honored on the All-City League First Team in football at linebacker only a short time ago. That award was actually a recognition of the 205-pounder's impact on both sides of the ball, as a bruising running back on offense in addition to his stops on defense.

Yet he continued to walk calmly along the baseline from La Jolla's team room toward the exit in Grossmont High's gym, acting on the outside as if nothing had happened.

The Vikings, a stellar ninth ranking in CIF coming in, had been looking forward to this matchup with the titan Falcons, always a formidable program. Reed Farley, earlier in the week, revealed as much.

La Jolla played Coach John Olive's talented and tall team last year in the same tourney, and though the Vikes played well, they still lost, as the script has often dictated.

After Coach Paul Baranowski's squad of nine battled Helix in the earlier Hilltop Invitational, yet lost, Farley said, "I don't believe in moral victories." He was referring to La Jolla's history of sometimes challenging better teams, yet often--usually?--falling short.

It makes for exciting games, filled with hope. But viewing those kinds of losses as some kind of victory can also reinforce the thinking that the home team really isn't that good.

McColl, anyway, is a veteran of the athletic wars, so he wasn't going to go running across the gym to celebrate his game-winning three-pointer with 10 seconds left.

As he got to the multiple doors leading in and out of the Foothiller gym, his father, John, chatted calmly with him. John wasn't quiet like his younger son, but he didn't shout and yell in adulation. Better to take the victory, though worth enjoying, in stride.

Other parents congratulated Daniel on his big shot.

He finally said, "It was my first four three attempts of the season." Not grammatical, but factual. That's ironic. He has always had a deft touch at the free throw line, which measures off at 15 feet from the basket.

So, to lob threes from behind the arc only takes a couple of feet more.

Finally, he acknowledged "the shot". "I'd been picking and popping (the whole game). I got the pass from Reed. That was the game plan." He was non-plussed. The reporter, seeing this was about all he was going to get from the night's hero, moved on.

"That was the play we drew up," said Baranowski, who had to be pretty pleased with his team after the upset. "He (McColl) was four-for-four from the three-point line. He had made three three's in a row.

"Reed was the focus of the defense (much of the game). He did a marvelous job of drawing the defense, then delivering the ball to Daniel."

Meanwhile, La Jolla parents were standing near the entry doors as the next game in the tournament started. A tourney atmosphere is like an ongoing festival. Families and friends of players on other teams come and go. Action on the floor continues, sometimes as the main event if teams of interest are playing, sometimes as the backdrop as people catch up on conversations and comment on athletes and games.

Farley, ever engaging and willing to talk, had a smile on his face. Earlier in the week, during an interview for another medium, had talked about his decision to stay and play at La Jolla High, his neighborhood public school, because his two older sisters had attended and starred in volleyball there.

Middle child Clare, who is midway through her senior year at MIT, stood and talked with mom Kara. She was the Vikings' captain, as her younger brother now is on the basketball team, for the volleyball team. Ryan, the eldest, who was not present, working in New York City, also served as Vike volleyball captain.

Reed talked about the significance of the win. It was a non-league, non-playoff game, and there isn't really a championship playoff in the format the Grossmont Invitational follows--that way, each team knows its schedule in advance, no scrambling to make arrangements for the next night as teams win and lose.

But still, to finally defeat the tall Torrey Piners meant something. Last year, La Jolla played well but lost. This finally broke the script.

Reed, in the earlier interview, talked about his desire ever since the ninth grade to help the Viking basketball team get better. Though gifted with individual skills, he has a bigger vision and desire: that his team wins. There is hollow glory in jumping high for dunks and scoring points when your team doesn't advance in the CIF playoffs.

"We came close last year (making it to the finals in CIF)," he reflected. "Hopefully, this year we can do it. I'm optimistic. We're getting better and better."

Two signs the Vikings are getting better: Charlie Gal made some rare outside jump shots, in addition to his gutsy inside work. And his counterpart in the front court, Daniel McColl, hit all four of his (rare) three-point shots.

LJ b BB 69, Torrey Pines 66

'The shot heard round the world':

Daniel McColl hits a three with

10 seconds left to upset

Torrey Pines.

(Photo by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

In by far the biggest moment of their season to this point, the La Jolla Vikings gave their fans an early Christmas present with an upset of third-ranked Torrey Pines, 69-66, on a three-pointer by Daniel McColl with 10 seconds left Thurs., Dec. 22.

La Jolla, which led the taller Falcons by 10 points at halftime, trailed for the first time in the game when Torrey Pines pulled ahead 60-59 with just under four minutes left. The Vikings (now 9-1) came into the contest ranked ninth in CIF.

With the score knotted at 66, McColl, on a play drawn up by Coach Paul Baranowski, found himself open just beyond the arc at the top of the key. He cleanly hit the long-range shot, his fourth in four attempts from the three-point line on the night, and the Falcons were unable to score in closing seconds.

"I'd been picking and popping (the whole game)," said a reserved McColl of his successful shooting. "I got the pass from Reed (Farley). That was the game plan."

The Vikings, who had been looking forward to this matchup in the Grossmont Invitational, battled the talented Falcons from the opening tip, leading after an early 7-7 tie in the first quarter until junior Finn Sullivan's three with 3:52 left in the game. That gave Torrey Pines Coach John Olive's team the lead for the first time.

The two teams were knotted with 1:08 left, 66-all, leading to McColl's dramatic shot in the final seconds. La Jolla forced a five-second violation when the Falcons couldn't inbound the ball with 39.1 seconds on the clock.

Said Olive, "I saw a La Jolla team that was well-coached, knew their personnel, was very focused. I was very impressed."

Farley, the team captain whose hot outside shooting helped the Vikings construct the first-half lead, explained the final play, "Every time I came off a screen, the defender came with me. Lo and behold, I came off the screen and both my defender and Daniel's defender came to me." That left McColl open at the top of the key for his final shot.

LJ b BB 62, West Hills 50

Nick Hammel shows nice form

on a jump shot in the first

half. (Photo by Ed Piper, Jr.) 

By Ed Piper, Jr.

"I'm thinking we're good in the second quarter," said swingman Nick Hammel of La Jolla's 17-2 spurt during the period that made the difference in a 62-50 nonleague win at home over West Hills Thurs., Dec. 15.

Hammel looked more fluid than in previous games. He acknowledged he went through a transition from football.

"I felt like I wasn't being aggressive enough in previous games," said the 6-2 senior. "I just tried to go to the hoop more."

Hammel was just named First Team All-City League in football, so he was rewarded for a stellar season on the gridiron.

But he paid a price, as has Daniel McColl, his teammate and fellow starter in both sports, in the length of time it takes to overcome missing preseason tournaments and conditioning.

Actually, Hammel got off to an inauspicious start against the blue-and-black Wolfpack, throwing up an airball on La Jolla's first time down the court after leaper Reed Farley once again won the opening tip.

But then Nick hit the Vikings' first basket, though they trailed in early going, 4-2. He sank another shot, La Jolla trailing 13-9. A jumper then put his team in the lead for the first time on the night, 14-13. After a 16-15 advantage ending the first quarter, the red and black never trailed again.

In the 17-2 spurt in the second stanza, Hammel drove to the basket, and though he missed the shot, a reporter jotted in his notebook, "Looks aggressive." The senior then committed a foul on the rebound in his frustration at missing, but he was on his way.

Forward Charlie Gal scored on a putback, a 15-foot jumper from the right side, and a layup. Guard Jacob Ohara, making strides, hit a layup on a pass from Farley in transition.

Reed, the 6-4 senior point guard, missed a pair of free throws, a rare occurrence for him, shooting 84 percent from the line. But earlier in the streak, he canned two free throws after he took a rebound and drove the length of the floor to try a dunk and was fouled.

The Vikings closed out scoring in the first half with Daniel McColl's two charity tosses, going into the locker room leading by 10, 33-23.

West Hills was unable to pare the lead to less than eight in the third quarter, at 41-33, nor in the fourth quarter to less than nine, at 49-40.

It was La Jolla's second of only two home games in December in three nights, receiving appreciation from LJHS students on a cold night.

LJ b BB 71, Horizon 36

Horizon's Thomas Marcus (2),

here defended by Jacob Ohara,

put on a show in the first

quarter but then cooled off.

(Photos by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Lefty guard Thomas Marcus hit five increasingly long threes in the first quarter for Horizon, but the Panthers--missing two other football players due to an all-star game going on concurrently elsewhere in the county--had no other offense, and Marcus immediately cooled off, leaving La Jolla to beat Horizon five-on-one and take home a resounding 71-36 win on the second day of the annual Grossmont Invitational Basketball Tournament Sat., Dec. 17.

Marcus, the 6-1 quarterback for the Panthers' CIF Division 5 championship football team, probably didn't get selected for the all-star contest as well because he's a junior. But he showed he's athletic, swatting a few shots at the other end of the court against the Vikings, Reed Farley-style.

Coach Paul Baranowski's bunch from La Jolla stuck with an eight-man plan, with ninth-man Francisco Ramos watching from the bench while he recuperates from hand surgery over the next three weeks. In addition to solid play by the usual suspects, Quinn Rawdin, Daniel McColl, Farley, and others, Baranowski brought reserve McClain Thiel off the bench early and junior guard Jacob Ohara saw lots of playing time as he builds his confidence and hones his backcourt skills.

Due to Marcus' almost surreal display of remote-control target practice from beyond the arc, the Panthers hung tough and trailed the Vikings only 23-17 at the end of the opening period. In the quarter, the high-flying Farley began early with a slam for the second basket, McColl scored inside, and Charlie Gal scored twice.

Rawdin hit a lefty three for a 13-6 lead before Gal turned the ball over and Horizon then scored the only basket in the quarter by someone other than the smooth Marcus. McColl drove for a bucket for a 17-8 lead.

Farley had an unusual field goal, grasping his own attempt that was lightly blocked and tapped back into his hands. He then went up again for the jump shot and hit a 12-footer, while a somewhat surly Horizon coach Tyrone Hopkins called for ups-and-downs to no avail. That made the affair 19-11.

Hopkins said before that game that his team was "a little thin", missing seniors D.J. Wilson and Jaylen Nelson at the all-star fest. "We're using some JV's," he added.

Vikings Charlie Gal (right) and

Quinn Rawdin (left) apply

pressure under the basket

in early going.

The weakness showed, as Horizon remained winless in the young season, having no one who could remotely stop the big Gal at the low post. Baranowski took him and Nick Hammel out for extended periods of time as the Vikings rapidly increased their lead in the second quarter to 39-17.

Then, after the Panthers pulled within 16 at 52-36 as late as a minute into the fourth quarter, La Jolla (8-1) unleashed its multi-pronged attack and pulled away by a whopping 35 points in the next seven minutes to close out the contest--their second win in the Grossmont tournament.

Horizon only managed two points in the final quarter, though the leaping Marcus added some flying blocks to his ledger. Horizon's fans, whiny in the first quarter, fell silent most of the rest of the game.

The Vikings next face Torrey Pines Thurs., Dec. 22, in the invitational. The Falcons feature 6-9 Jake Gilliam.

"They're good. We'll have to be disciplined," said McColl after the game. "We'll have to box out." Much of the bruising defense against the tall Gilliam will have to come from the 6-2 McColl and Gal, who measures 6-5.

Individually, McColl said he's getting the rust off after transitioning from football. "I'm feeling better. I'm making more and more layups. I felt rusty. It's coming back slowly."

LJ g water polo: Summary judgment

La Jolla coach Amy Jennings talks to her charges

during a timeout in the first half.

(Photo by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Like when Will Ferrell, in the Christmas movie "Elf", asks to work in the mailroom at his dad's business, he finds it not much to his liking:

"There's no brightness, and a lot of the people look like they want to hurt me."

This must have been Westview's thought as the visiting Wolverine water polo team underwent a painful surgical procedure by La Jolla in their nonleague match at Coggan Pool Thurs., Dec. 15.

The clouds were gathering for that night's storm, hence the lack of brightness. And from the opening drop, the Vikings' Karli Canale and Ciara Franke looked grim, like they were going to finish somebody off.

Which they did.

On the first play, a Westview swimmer tangled with the focused, unsmiling focused Canale, as they went for the ball dropped at midpool. And after the play, time had to be called as the Wolverine player had to be attended to.

It set a clear signal, and I'm sure she didn't mess with the La Jolla standout the rest of the match.

The Viking executioners built up a 4-0 lead in the first quarter, 7-0 at halftime. The game was decided by then.

In the huddle after the first period, coach Amy Jennings, herself looking quite intent on a decisive result, told her players, "Let's get a few more, then I'm going to start substituting."

La Jolla, which carried a number one ranking last year before falling in the Open Division playoffs, looks as good or better than last year. Canale, who plays on the perimeter, and Franke, who is positioned at the two-meter spot in front of the goal, both are back as seniors and determined.

Some of Jennings' team's scores are annihilations, as they've already won two tournaments to open the season in December: 19-5 over Millikan, 17-2 over El Modena, 12-0 over Rancho Buena Vista, 19-3 over University of L.A. You get the idea.

Jennings, a graduate of San Pasqual and who is still active herself in Masters level play, meanwhile continues to coach Miramar College's team in the fall. She has taken on double duty this school year, adding the La Jolla coaching position this winter.

LJ b BB 62, Mission Hills 49

The Vikings' Reed Farley slams

with a minute left in tournament
win over Mission Hills.

(Photo by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

La Jolla's basketball team ran its season record to 7-1 on the strength of a solid 62-49 win over Mission Hills on the opening day of the Grossmont Invitational at O'Farrell Charter School in southeast San Diego.

The clouds began clearing Friday afternoon, Dec. 16, after a 12-hour siege of rain, rare enough in these parts for the past five years, just in time for Coach Paul Baranowski's octet--reserve guard Francisco Ramos was sidelined reportedly due to a medical procedure--to break out to a 15-6 lead in the first quarter.

What the Vikings would do without 6-5 Charlie Gal gobbling up minutes in the front court and attacking the basket on the baseline is almost unthinkable. The big junior, sharing high-scoring duties with teammate Reed Farley, opened the game by scoring the first two baskets.

Gal, who has mostly confined himself to operating from the boxes underneath the basket on offense for the first eight games, hit a 12-foot jumper to beat the first quarter buzzer, handing La Jolla a 19-10 lead against a Grizzly squad that just could not shoot the ball.

The Vikings expanded the advantage to 29-16 late in the half, as Baranowski employed McClain Thiel for significant minutes, as well as inserting Garrett Brown, who had hit a nice jumper from the right baseline earlier.

Even when Mission Hills worked furiously to come back in the second half, Coach Curtis Hofmeister's present edition could not buy a basket inside or from the perimeter. The North County squad will be markedly better in January, when 6-10 transfer Warren Washington, who sat on the bench in civilian clothes Friday, becomes eligible.

In fact, Mission Hills is kind of the sign of the future, with four transfers from other schools, all of whom could end up being starters during the league schedule. After the turn of the year, CIF will discuss abandoning the present 30-day sit-out period for student athletes who transfer due to "athletic reasons". This will make high school sports like the wild West in the near future.

Asked the previous night about his players' fast starts some nights, slow starts other nights, Baranowski commented, "They're still trying to learn to play together." He added, "They're teenage boys." He said it with feeling, though, as he cares about his players.

La Jolla's lead, up to 13 points in the second quarter, was whittled down to a mere seven in the third quarter at 34-27.

But then Farley, who had already hit a couple of threes in the game, stepped up to the free throw line in the set offense to make a jumper with the shot clock running out to close the third quarter, 46-32. Earlier in the period, Mission Hills had used a press to good effect.

However, La Jolla's Quinn Rawdin twice drove to the basket for layups to beat the pressure. Gal repeatedly fought on the offensive boards, being fouled and making one of two free throws.

And senior Nick Hammel, showing new freshness the past two games after a sluggish start transitioning from football, scored on a drive. The 6-2 guard's field goal made it 40-27.

The Grizzlies, hardly able to hit a single basket from outside in the fourth quarter, did cause La Jolla headaches in the last two minutes by forcing a trio of five-second violations inbounding the ball.

Said Farley of those freeze-ups, "Some (of the calls) seemed a little quick. We need to be more intelligent.

"Sometimes we play like five (individual) guys trying to shoot the ball. We need to play together."

LJ b BB: Postmortem

By Ed Piper, Jr.


"It was a good team effort," said forward Charlie Gal, after La Jolla's 62-52 nonleague win over University City Tues., Dec. 13. "We have some things to work on."


The Vikings, playing before their home crowd for this first time this season, broke out to a 20-point lead in the second quarter, outscoring the shocked Centurions 28-5 beginning near the end of the first period.


But things got a lot more real in the second half, as La Jolla came back down to earth and UC steadily chipped away at the lead to come within eight points midway through the fourth quarter.


"They definitely gave us a run for the money," said Gal, packing up his things behind the team bench next to the scorer's table after the final result was in.


The burly 6-5 junior, enjoying his first season as a starter on Coach Paul Baranowski's team after subbing as a sophomore, played a major role in La Jolla's spurt to leap ahead in the first half, and in the Vikings' successful fight to stave off a furious Centurion attack at the end.


Gal, reciting a script of modesty, said, "My teammates have been doing a really great job of setting me up for baskets. Reed (Farley) attracts a lot of attention, which takes the pressure off me. Quinn (Rawdin) also hits some key baskets."


He leads the team statistically in scoring and rebounding.


Gal, who came from being a virtual unknown after his freshman year to being a surprise selection to the varsity last year due to hard work in the offseason, said, individually, "I'm trying to work on my mid-post game." Asked what that means, he said it means halfway down the key, between low and high posts.


He's working on his effectiveness 15 feet from the basket.


We haven't seen the outside shooting he displayed in spring and summer games. Right now he seems positioned and confident primarily at the low post on both sides of the paint.

LJ b BB 62, UC 52



Vikings Reed Farley (left), Quinn Rawdin (back right),

and Nick Hammel (on floor, hidden) battle UC's

Alex Bruce for the ball in the first quarter.
(Photo by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Tuesday, December 13, was La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski's 57th birthday. The day before was University City coach Terry Stonebraker's 62nd birthday.

One of them was going to go home unhappy, with their birthday spoiled.

Baranowski's team (5-1), with superior talent and a torrid second quarter, iced his birthday cake, 62-52, as La Jolla's students got one of only two glimpses of their squad at home during the month until league play starts after the turn of the year.

From the end of the first quarter, when they trailed UC by three points, through the second quarter, the Vikings outscored the visiting Centurions 28-5.

In taking what turned out to be an insurmountable halftime lead of 35-15, La Jolla bore the fruits of three straight three-pointers by Reed Farley, plus a spectacular two-hand slam by the senior guard to end the second quarter. That drew appreciative oohs and ahs from the home student section, who came out in modest numbers for a weekday night nonleague game despite a crush of assignments and projects due in the last week before winter break.

The undermanned Centurions (4-2) nearly gave their veteran coach a day-after party in the second half, cutting the lead to 10 by the end of the third quarter, and coming within eight points with five minutes to play in the game.

UC's balanced attack among seniors Kyle Strobbe and Sammy Larkin and junior Justin Anderson paid dividends in climbing back within reach. Anderson hit a three to start the final period, then a short time later he pounded in another three.

After the 6-2 guard hit yet another basket, the diminutive Larkin scored on an acrobatic layup with his left hand and the Centurions trailed by only 10, 49-39. Anderson then delivered another dagger, the lead cut to eight with 5:13 to play.

But the Vikings' Charlie Gal hit four buckets down the stretch and reserve guard Jacob Ohara scored on a layup and hit two free throws on a one-and-one to seal the game.

It was a night on which Baranowski reminisced on 36 years of coaching varsity basketball. "I started with a head varsity coaching job in Bisbee, Arizona, in 1983," said the La Jolla coach, in his fifth year as head coach here. "I went to Catalina High School in Tucson, then back to Bisbee again."

He then coached at St. Gregory in Tucson for 17 years, winning the Arizona state 1A small schools title in 2008-09.

Regarding how his predecessor at La Jolla, Kamal Assaf, got him to coach again, Baranowski said, "We came out here on a whim. We wanted to live here. I wasn't coaching. Kamal talked to me. The next thing I knew, we were watching film together. I knew was going to be snookered into something."

His son Jake was on the team, and later served as freshman coach under him.

During the Vikings' spurt in the second quarter to take a commanding lead, Ohara started the period with a fine three-point jumper from the right elbow. The slender junior guard then knifed threw UC's zone defense to score on a drive for a 16-11 advantage.

Quinn Rawdin hit a three on his patented set shot from the left top perimeter, forcing Stonebraker to call a timeout. Meanwhile, Farley, who has been cold shooting from outside, mixed in his pyrotechnics to the delight of the home crowd.

On one play with under six minutes left in the first half, Reed was dribbling at the point. He faked his defender so badly that the UC player fell on his behind, eliciting loud cheers from the La Jolla students, who were more than game with enjoying their team's star's moves.

LJ FB: All-league

Alex Dockery was selected City League

Offensive Player of the Year. Here he wrecked

UC on Senior Night. (Photos by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

La Jolla's first football team under Coach Matt Morrison was well-represented on post-season all-City League teams.

Morrison comments on each of his stars who were recognized.

OFFENSE
First Team

Alex Dockery - RB (also chosen as Offensive Player of the Year)
"A deserving and unanimous choice as the conference Offensive Player of the Year. A true triple threat, scoring multiple touchdowns as a rusher, receiver, and returner. Brought explosiveness to our offense that we were lacking the first half of the year."

Cole Dimich - QB
"Hands down the most improved player on our team.  Showed a ton of physical and mental toughness early on when we started slowly, never shied away from a hit or flinched in the face of criticism.  Just kept working every day and let his play the second half of the year speak for itself."

Dane Hansen - OL
"The picture of consistency and an unsung hero of our team.  Played every single spot along the offensive line and played each of them at a very high level."  

 Second Team

Alex Scrivener - OL
"Another kid who really improved as the season went along.  Had a tough injury at the end of the year, but will be an anchor of our team next season."

Joey Liss - OL
"Battled through different injuries throughout the season, but came every day hungry to improve.  Played with a fanatical effort on every snap."

Daniel McColl, here running the

ball all over Serra at Homecoming,

was selected First Team All-league

at a linebacker position.

DEFENSE 
First Team

Daniel McColl - LB
"The quarterback of our defense, who set our front and got us in the proper coverage. Tremendous instincts and awareness. Our team's leading tackler by over 40 tackles.  Extremely consistent in his effort and production."

Ross Martin - DL

"A game-wrecker. Tilted the game in our favor every week with his ability to pressure the opposing quarterback. A much improved run defender as well from early in the year.  Played with a fanatical effort. One of the most inspirational players on our team. Fourth in the county in sacks with 14."

Nick Hammel - DB
"Extremely steady, and always found a way to get to where he was supposed to be at the proper time.  Led our team in interceptions."

Second Team

Andrew Mitchell - DL
"The other bookend on our defensive line.  Statistics don't show the impact that he made.  Did a great job playing run and pass."

Yohann Ponsaty - LB

"A playmaker for us. Wasn't officially a starter, but was still fifth on our team in tackles. Always found a way to be around the ball."

Aldahi Enciso - DB
"Another unsung player who was extremely steady and reliable throughout the season."

Gabe Solis - DB
"Got thrown into the deep end at the most important defensive position (free safety) and did an excellent job.  Can play vs. the run and the pass, and made huge contributions as a returner as well.  He will be an impact player on both sides of the ball in the coming years."

LJ b BB: Stats

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Through the first four games of the 2016-17 basketball season, all in the Hilltop Invitational, La Jolla has two cogs that stand out statistically in their team-oriented offense and defense.

Junior Charlie Gal, who is playing a lot of minutes under the basket doing a lot of the pick-and-shovel work against opposing teams' big men, leads the Vikings in both scoring and rebounding. The second-year varsity player is averaging 17.3 points and 12.5 rebounds. That's a lot of rebounds.

Out at the point but also spending time on the right wing--not a political statement--senior Reed Farley has 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.5 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game, the last leading Coach Paul Baranowski's team. The high-leaping Farley looks for every opportunity he can to get a block, especially on opposing players' layups.

Forward Daniel McColl, Gal's partner in crime as a fellow bruise brother under the boards, is putting up 6.5 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. McColl is a senior.

Lefty guard Quinn Rawdin, a regular starter in his junior year, has 6.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.8 steals a game from his backcourt position.

The offense is shooting 44 percent. Farley pointed to this when he said after a Hilltop tourney game last week, "We haven't been shooting the ball well." That percentage is not going to float a lot of (Viking) boats against better teams.

Prep wrestling: Siscon brothers

Dale Siscon (right), half of the wrestling Siscon

brothers, in referees' corner at the Marauder

Invitational at Mira Mesa High Dec. 10.

(Photo by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Exemplifying the bond of friendship that exists in the high school wrestling world, Dale and John Siscon are two pint-sized former stars who officiate at San Diego meets.

"How can you tell us apart? I'm more handsome," said Dale, the older of the two by three years. He said his younger brother was the first state champion from San Diego, and he himself was an All-America wrestler. Both competed for Mount Miguel, classes of 1971 and 1974.

Dale, at present, has a mustache. John doesn't.

When John was a ninth-grader, he said he weighed 80 pounds and measured under five feet tall. He bulked up to a massive--I've being facetious--96 pounds by his senior year.

But what a powerpack on the mat each of them must have been. Now, the two referee many high school meets in the San Diego Section. Dale is an inductee in the California Wrestling Hall of Fame, as is Walter Fairley, former vice principal at La Jolla High and most recently interim principal at Lincoln High School.

The testimonies from former wrestlers whom Dale coached are a fitting tribute to his years as a coach. When he moved to Hawaii in the mid-1990's (he later returned to California), the occasion triggered words of appreciation that appeared online.

You can feel the warmth and friendliness. A row of chairs are set along one wall for the referees to take a break on when they're not officiating. To a member of the press he was talking to, who started to get up to make room for other officials, Dale said, "No, make yourself comfortable. You don't have to go."

LJ wrestling: Weight loss rules

By Ed Piper, Jr.

A parent of a Mira Mesa wrestler told me Sat., Dec. 10, at the Marauder Invitational that his son had to get a doctor's note certifying his body weight is seven percent to be eligible to compete for the school team.

High school wrestling, whether CIF or nation-wide, went under strict rules several years ago regulating how much weight a grappler could lose to prepare for a season or for an individual match. "Kids are (were) dying from being hydrated," said the dad, who was working as a volunteer at the varsity meet to keep spectators away from the orange mesh barrier rimming the six mats on the floor.

The past two seasons, wrestling meets have been a rich and invaluable source of new information for me as a sportswriter who has covered wrestling meets before, but who didn't grow up wrestling or know in-depth information about the sport.

People at the meets--whether parents, coaches, or officials--are amiable, "people" persons who enjoy talking and interacting with others. I told my wife, who has never attended a wrestling match, that it's not for her. It's usually warm in the gym, and the locale not infrequently carries the rich aroma of many perspiring bodies. That's a potent 1-2 combination.

People educated me last year on some of the weight regulations now in place in the high school sport. Back in my high school days, I shared with the parent in question, I remember Camarillo High wrestlers confining themselves in the P.E. Activity Room, as it was called on campus, the heat up, and wearing a plastic suit beginning a slow grind to jog around the room and try to shed some pounds for the next day's meet.

Wrestlers sometimes said they used the finger-down-the-throat method to meet their weight limit.

Now, you can't do either. You're examined before the season and given a baseline weight. Your body fat level is measured. You can't deviate more than a percent from the baseline weight. You can pig out and eat a ton to go up in weight, or just "wrestle up" without bulking up when the program needs you to fill a higher weight class.

But there are no dramatic sweat-downs or marathon jogs for a wrestler to drop many pounds in preparation for a competition.

I remember a friend who was a wrestler at La Jolla High five years ago, a league champ in his weight class, part of a stellar group that won the team league championship. I knew that he wasn't compelled to go on to college to pursue studies. He was pretty much done with classrooms, at least for now. He relishes action, and wanted to be out in the field doing something.

I thought for sure, at his level of ability, that he would want to go on to wrestle, and that means college. He has expertise in martial arts, and he is just a fit physical being.

He said no, he didn't want to go on to wrestle. Why? He didn't want to have to continue to limit his food intake to keep his weight down for competition.

I thought that was amazing. I had a certain amount of ability in a sport (not wrestling), and I looked forward to trying to develop further in it at the college level. (Community college was the highest level I played; I didn't make the four-year-university varsity I tried out for.) My thinking was that anybody with the ability would most likely want to try their hand at college sports.

Regarding high school wrestling's safeguards against extreme weight loss, I commend the sport. Other sports--football and baseball--are having to deal with safety and health issues, the one brain trauma, the other head injuries from batted balls. We could add girls youth soccer, in which studies have been done related to young girls' neck injuries due to heading the ball. The simple solution there seems to be banning headers in girls youth soccer.

LJ b BB: McClain acclaim

Thiel, whose first name is Anton,

tries to control the ball during

La Jolla's win over RBV.

(Photo by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Reed Farley, look out.

When EPSN (Ed Piper Sports Network) kicks off, there will be competing interviews for the position of top sportscasting anchor on my (facetious) media channel.

The world will now get to know McClain Thiel, the real, the man behind the myth and the legend.

After playing most of La Jolla's final game in the Hilltop Invitational Basketball Tournament Thurs., Dec. 8--though, admittedly, the results were modest, but I can explain that--the senior submitted to a quick end-of-court interview after Coach Paul Baranowski's team chalk talk.

The results there were electric.

While father Paul fiddled with his camera in the corner of the Hilltop gym, the 6'2" self-proclaimed "man without a position" carried on one of the most technically precise interviews I have ever heard.

I asked Thiel for comments intending to hear how he felt about his own play. Instead, though he speaks in basketballese, insisted on focusing on his team's overall performance:

"It was a good game. We had some good practice. (The game was a blowout over Rancho Buena Vista, 62-42. As Paul Thiel told me late in the game, it wasn't even as close as the score.) As a team, we played much better than we have been (playing)."

Finally, after his concise response to my first question, I redirected my question to his individual play. "I've been working on my midrange jumper," McClain said. "We have a lot of long-range shooters, and scorers inside, so I think that will contribute. I feel good."

By my unofficial count, he had four jumpers during the game, and didn't make any. But his form was good, and he was able to knock some of the rust off after sitting most of the tournament.

It's hard to come in and get in the flow when you've been sitting on your behind most of the time.

He said much more, which I'm not relating right now due to time and space.

I had no idea Thiel was this incisive. I had never had a conversation with him before, though I had watched him play in spring and summer league this year and last year. I am finding more and more in these interviews--here and for stories in the La Jolla Village News--that you really don't know a person until you talk to him. It's often very surprising.

What Thiel has been caught in, by his own and his father's account, is a difficult transition from having mastered skills inside as a center when he was in youth league--he was always the tallest boy on his team. Then he leveled off in height compared to the other boys, and entered high school, not as a tall player, but more average.

At 6'2", he could play forward or guard, wing as Baranowski calls his players--guess where?--who are positioned out on the wing in the offense.

A post position is possible, but this means playing on the edge of the paint (we called the key back in the day) often against taller players. Daniel McColl does it at 6'2". Charlie Gal does it, but he measures a bit taller at 6'5".

So, Thiel summarizes the positive point of being in transition, "I think I'm versatile. I don't really have a position."