Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Friday, September 22, 2017
LJ FB 28, Mater Dei 30
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| (Photos by Ed Piper) |
By Ed Piper
La Jolla High nearly pulled off an upset of Mater Dei, a perennial South Bay football power, on Mater Dei's Homecoming before narrowly falling to the Crusaders, 30-28, Fri., Sept. 22.
The visiting Vikings, coming into the week five contest with a 1-3 record, led briefly, 14-13, in the second quarter before trailing by a touchdown at halftime, 20-14.
After getting over early-game jitters, La Jolla's offense settled in to score two touchdowns in the second quarter behind Greg Nelson II's legs and Trevor Scully's arm.
After Mater Dei scored two unanswered touchdowns in the first quarter behind super-size quarterback Cameron Smith, at 6'4", 215 pounds bigger than almost every player on the visiting team, Scully generalled an 88-yard drive encompassing 18 plays that lasted eight minutes.
Nelson, the sophomore running back, showed good stuff while carrying six times before Scully went over from one yard out with 5:36 left in the second quarter. Greg had runs of eight and six yards against a big defensive line that dwarfed his 5'7" frame.
The Vikings got the ball back less than two minutes later after a horrible Mater Dei punt of eight yards. This time, given a short field at the Crusader 30, La Jolla's big strike was Scully's completion in the middle to Gabe Solis and Solis' fine run for a 29-yard scoring play. The visitors briefly led, 14-13, after Nick Goehler's point-after kick with less than four minutes left in the half.
Mater Dei, anxious to impress a big Homecoming crowd, followed in hurry-up mode to retake the lead, 20-14. Smith, showing good agility for a big man, had two keepers. Junior Simeon Speight had a catch, then a 10-yard run for the TD with 1:38 remaining to set the stage for the Homecoming court to be introduced at halftime.
LJ b BB: League change
By Ed Piper
Being out of the loop--obviously--I was astounded last week to find that La Jolla High's boys basketball team, after one year outside the Western League, has been moved back into the league, with its accompanying lineup of opponents like Cathedral Catholic and St. Augustine.
I was checking to see if the team's 2017-18 schedule was posted yet, having found on a previous occasion that, no, it hadn't been posted. And, lo and behold, there were the Dons and Saints, in addition to Lincoln, Mission Bay, Patrick Henry, and Kearny, on the incomplete-but-filling-out slate of games for the season beginning in December.
The Eastern League didn't seem so bad last year, taking off the unrealistic--as I saw it--pressure of having to vie with the Dons, who at the time featured a 7-foot center and several other highly-skilled players, way above La Jolla's proud, disciplined, but neighborhood team.
The Saints were another matter. They were led by Taeshon Cherry, a 6'7" star who is a major college commit.
Now, I'm not against tough competition. And I'm not against big challenges. But, as I saw it from my 13 years of covering Viking basketball, my favorite sport, the move to the Eastern League a year ago due to realignment (based on performance rather than school enrollment) allowed for a more even, fairer chance to excel.
An aside, which I talked about with someone as recently as yesterday (Sept. 21), is that the private schools could easily be grouped in their own league to beat up on each other. In other states, this is the case. The thinking is that a private school, unlike a public school, can entice students with free tuition which, otherwise, enrollees would have to pay. This, with the other perks a private school can offer, can be quite an inducement for young potential transfers.
Country Day gains athletes this way, and so does Bishop's. Daniel Anderson, a 300-pound lineman with an impossible 30-inch vertical leap, played for the Knights, and in the package received free tutoring during school time from professional teachers to help him on his studies.
Some states, with more schools in their interscholastic associations, separate the private religious schools from other institutions, and have them compete among themselves on a level playing field.
Back to my original flow of thought: I just think being moved back into the Western League for boys basketball entails unnecessary headaches and bodes for mediocrity overall sprinkled with moral victories against the behemoths. I haven't attended CIF council meetings or talked to section officials. This is where I would have been in the loop on realignment.
My understanding was that regrouping of schools in leagues would take place every two years, but apparently not.
Being out of the loop--obviously--I was astounded last week to find that La Jolla High's boys basketball team, after one year outside the Western League, has been moved back into the league, with its accompanying lineup of opponents like Cathedral Catholic and St. Augustine.
I was checking to see if the team's 2017-18 schedule was posted yet, having found on a previous occasion that, no, it hadn't been posted. And, lo and behold, there were the Dons and Saints, in addition to Lincoln, Mission Bay, Patrick Henry, and Kearny, on the incomplete-but-filling-out slate of games for the season beginning in December.
The Eastern League didn't seem so bad last year, taking off the unrealistic--as I saw it--pressure of having to vie with the Dons, who at the time featured a 7-foot center and several other highly-skilled players, way above La Jolla's proud, disciplined, but neighborhood team.
The Saints were another matter. They were led by Taeshon Cherry, a 6'7" star who is a major college commit.
Now, I'm not against tough competition. And I'm not against big challenges. But, as I saw it from my 13 years of covering Viking basketball, my favorite sport, the move to the Eastern League a year ago due to realignment (based on performance rather than school enrollment) allowed for a more even, fairer chance to excel.
An aside, which I talked about with someone as recently as yesterday (Sept. 21), is that the private schools could easily be grouped in their own league to beat up on each other. In other states, this is the case. The thinking is that a private school, unlike a public school, can entice students with free tuition which, otherwise, enrollees would have to pay. This, with the other perks a private school can offer, can be quite an inducement for young potential transfers.
Country Day gains athletes this way, and so does Bishop's. Daniel Anderson, a 300-pound lineman with an impossible 30-inch vertical leap, played for the Knights, and in the package received free tutoring during school time from professional teachers to help him on his studies.
Some states, with more schools in their interscholastic associations, separate the private religious schools from other institutions, and have them compete among themselves on a level playing field.
Back to my original flow of thought: I just think being moved back into the Western League for boys basketball entails unnecessary headaches and bodes for mediocrity overall sprinkled with moral victories against the behemoths. I haven't attended CIF council meetings or talked to section officials. This is where I would have been in the loop on realignment.
My understanding was that regrouping of schools in leagues would take place every two years, but apparently not.
Thursday, September 21, 2017
LJ FH: Youth league plans
By Ed Piper
"We're going to start working with girls, probably as young as second grade," said Amanda Warford, new field hockey coach at La Jolla High this fall. "We'll have play for girls through middle school. We'll split them into different teams."
These words have to be music to Athletic Director Paula Conway's ears. Conway, for several years the Vikings' field hockey coach, has invested plenty of sweat equity into the program to help it grow.
But it took someone like Warford, who with her husband Tucker Warford, has the time to implement a youth program in the sport.
That's the only way to build the program and begin to move it from "the old college try"--excellent athletes who are athletic, can run, and want to compete--but who haven't been introduced to stick skills until entering high school in the ninth grade, to a higher level.
Serra and Scripps Ranch: those are the elite programs in the area, and their girls begin field hockey young. In fact, they have so many athletes participating in the sport who enter high school with game experience since the sixth grade, that Scripps, for one, has to cut players during tryouts.
All of those things are the enviable elements that La Jolla High field hockey supporters would like to see characterize the Viking program, as well.
It's not about making winning the golden calf. It's about raising the girls to a higher playing level, one at which they can build on skills they've already honed in earlier years as they move into the CIF program at the high school level.
Part of greater experience and being tried under game conditions is sport I.Q.: instinctively knowing what to do in close games, a knowledge of the intricacies of the sport's rules, and the like.
An analogy would be the difference between the player new to softball on the La Jolla team last year who had to be reminded to tag up after a pop fly was caught, versus knowing that and applying it in crunch situations.
There is something be said for interscholastic sports that don't require a student to play on a travel team to make the school team and enjoy herself while competing with friends. On the other hand, there can also be a rich experience in truly perfecting the skills of a sport, yielding the satisfaction of reaching a high level in the sport and meeting elevated personal and team goals.
The latter could be possible through such a youth program as Amanda Warford talked about Thurs., Sept. 21, before her team's home game against Del Norte on the Muirlands Middle School field.
"We're going to start working with girls, probably as young as second grade," said Amanda Warford, new field hockey coach at La Jolla High this fall. "We'll have play for girls through middle school. We'll split them into different teams."
These words have to be music to Athletic Director Paula Conway's ears. Conway, for several years the Vikings' field hockey coach, has invested plenty of sweat equity into the program to help it grow.
But it took someone like Warford, who with her husband Tucker Warford, has the time to implement a youth program in the sport.
That's the only way to build the program and begin to move it from "the old college try"--excellent athletes who are athletic, can run, and want to compete--but who haven't been introduced to stick skills until entering high school in the ninth grade, to a higher level.
Serra and Scripps Ranch: those are the elite programs in the area, and their girls begin field hockey young. In fact, they have so many athletes participating in the sport who enter high school with game experience since the sixth grade, that Scripps, for one, has to cut players during tryouts.
All of those things are the enviable elements that La Jolla High field hockey supporters would like to see characterize the Viking program, as well.
It's not about making winning the golden calf. It's about raising the girls to a higher playing level, one at which they can build on skills they've already honed in earlier years as they move into the CIF program at the high school level.
Part of greater experience and being tried under game conditions is sport I.Q.: instinctively knowing what to do in close games, a knowledge of the intricacies of the sport's rules, and the like.
An analogy would be the difference between the player new to softball on the La Jolla team last year who had to be reminded to tag up after a pop fly was caught, versus knowing that and applying it in crunch situations.
There is something be said for interscholastic sports that don't require a student to play on a travel team to make the school team and enjoy herself while competing with friends. On the other hand, there can also be a rich experience in truly perfecting the skills of a sport, yielding the satisfaction of reaching a high level in the sport and meeting elevated personal and team goals.
The latter could be possible through such a youth program as Amanda Warford talked about Thurs., Sept. 21, before her team's home game against Del Norte on the Muirlands Middle School field.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
LJ FB: Game stats
Santa Fe Christian 58, La Jolla 14
La Jolla stats
OFFENSE
Passing
Trevor Scully 11 for 19 - 195 yards, 2 TD's, 2 interceptions; long = 83 yards (to Gabe Solis)
Rushing
Greg Nelson II 3 carries, 11 yards; 1 fumble; long = 7 yards
Noah Marquez 7 carries, 10 yards; long = 4 yards
Zach Garcia 1 carry, 0 yards
Gabe Solis 1 carry, -6 yards
Trevor Scully 6 carries, -12 yards; long = 4 yards
Receiving
Gabe Solis 6 receptions, 117 yards, 1 TD; long = 83 yards
Michael Wells 1 reception, 56 yards, 1 TD; long = 56 yards
Tucker Jacobs 1 reception, 15 yards; long = 15 yards
Sola Hope 2 receptions, 7 yards; long = 5 yards
Noah Marquez 1 reception, 0 yards
DEFENSE
Tackles-Assists
Max Smith 3-1
Buster Hoy 3-3
Sola Hope 2-1
Tucker Jacobs 2-1; 1 TFL
Tino Mendez 2-1
Finn Rice 2-1
Greg Nelson II 1-2; 1 TFL
Israel Sandoval 1-2
Nick Goehler 1-0
Kristof Roesing 1-0
Gabe Solis 0-2
Michael Wells 0-2
Dre McGrath 0-3
Kenny Hayden 0-2
Jack Mitchell 0-2
Abdul Sinjab 0-1
Lucas Smith 0-1
D'yhar Sturgis 0-1
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Returns
Gabe Solis 6 - 20-yd. avg.; long = 53
Sola Hope 2 - 9-yd. avg.; long = 15
Punt Returns
Gabe Solis 1 - 11 yards; long = 11
Kicking
Nick Goehler - 2 PAT's; 2 points
Kickoffs
Carsten Fehlan 5 - 255 yards; long = 60; 1 touchback
Punts
Kenny Hayden 3 - 28-yd. avg.; long = 29
La Jolla stats
OFFENSE
Passing
Trevor Scully 11 for 19 - 195 yards, 2 TD's, 2 interceptions; long = 83 yards (to Gabe Solis)
Rushing
Greg Nelson II 3 carries, 11 yards; 1 fumble; long = 7 yards
Noah Marquez 7 carries, 10 yards; long = 4 yards
Zach Garcia 1 carry, 0 yards
Gabe Solis 1 carry, -6 yards
Trevor Scully 6 carries, -12 yards; long = 4 yards
Receiving
Gabe Solis 6 receptions, 117 yards, 1 TD; long = 83 yards
Michael Wells 1 reception, 56 yards, 1 TD; long = 56 yards
Tucker Jacobs 1 reception, 15 yards; long = 15 yards
Sola Hope 2 receptions, 7 yards; long = 5 yards
Noah Marquez 1 reception, 0 yards
DEFENSE
Tackles-Assists
Max Smith 3-1
Buster Hoy 3-3
Sola Hope 2-1
Tucker Jacobs 2-1; 1 TFL
Tino Mendez 2-1
Finn Rice 2-1
Greg Nelson II 1-2; 1 TFL
Israel Sandoval 1-2
Nick Goehler 1-0
Kristof Roesing 1-0
Gabe Solis 0-2
Michael Wells 0-2
Dre McGrath 0-3
Kenny Hayden 0-2
Jack Mitchell 0-2
Abdul Sinjab 0-1
Lucas Smith 0-1
D'yhar Sturgis 0-1
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Returns
Gabe Solis 6 - 20-yd. avg.; long = 53
Sola Hope 2 - 9-yd. avg.; long = 15
Punt Returns
Gabe Solis 1 - 11 yards; long = 11
Kicking
Nick Goehler - 2 PAT's; 2 points
Kickoffs
Carsten Fehlan 5 - 255 yards; long = 60; 1 touchback
Punts
Kenny Hayden 3 - 28-yd. avg.; long = 29
Friday, September 15, 2017
LJ FB 14, Santa Fe Christian 58
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| Viking quarterback Trevor Scully takes a hike behind his offensive line in first quarter against Santa Fe Christian. (Photo by Ed Piper) |
By Ed Piper
Gabe Solis, galloping full speed, tipped a 40-yard Trevor Scully with his right arm extended, then clutched the ball with the same hand and pulled it in while racing to the promised land for an 83-yard touchdown.
It was a spectacular play by the Vikings' receiver, a nugget mined in the landslide visiting Santa Fe Christian piled on La Jolla as the Eagles built up a 44-7 halftime lead over the hosts. The final was 58-14.
Quarterback Michael Linguadoca led the Santa Fe Christian offense to 224 first-half yards to La Jolla's 95. Two turnovers cost the Vikings dearly, as a fumble was quickly scooped up and run 18 yards into the end zone by defender Austinn Rossetti in the first quarter. Then cornerback Garrett Lipscomb reached over Solis to steal a pass and ran it back for a 13-yard pick six.
At the time of Solis' TD, the Vikings (now 1-3) trailed 21-7. Big Demitri Washington scored three touchdowns for the visitors in the opening period, two on receptions after one on a 44-yard run on Santa Fe Christian's first play from scrimmage.
Then running back Jack Miles took over, barreling for another trio of TD's as the matter became academic by halftime with the 37-point lead.
The Vikings showed a little spark to end the half, with Scully carrying on a quarterback keeper for four yards, hitting Solis for 10 yards, then adding another completion of 13 yards to Solis. But the half expired with La Jolla at midfield.
Santa Fe Christian (now 1-2) came in hungry. The Eagles lost in double overtime to Olympian in the season opener, then dropped a 35-17 decision to sixth-ranked Torrey Pines in week two before having a bye last week.
LJ CIF champs - honored at halftime 9/15
Photos by Ed Piper
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