LJ FB: Bring the heat

A reporter's car thermometer reads 104 degrees
in the Imperial Valley at 5:40 p.m., 10 miles
from the game site.
 

By Ed Piper

Everybody has a story about the heat in El Centro. Steve Cato, retired Brawley and Holtville athletic director and football coach, said before La Jolla's game at Central Fri., Aug. 17, "Any time you come over the hill (from San Diego) and you get settled in your seat, it (the heat) is stifling."

At the time of my call at midday on game day, Cato, willing to talk about Central and Imperial Valley football in general, said, "Today, it's pretty cool. It's 90, 95 (degrees). I'm in the shade at a car wash. It's like Vietnam."

I asked if he served in Vietnam. He said, "Yes, I did." I told him, "Thank you for your service."

Cato knows a thing or two about coaching and home field advantage. He was inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions, as well as the Imperial Valley College Hall of Fame. Even after retirement as a coach and teacher in public schools, he was asked back to serve as athletic director at a school that knew it could benefit from his steady hand and wisdom honed from years of experience in varied settings.

The former coach also warned about the possibly imposing presence of the Central High marching band: "The band is great. It's been going on since I was a student in 1963." The Spartan band put on quite a show before the game and at halftime, with tall flags, two majorettes twirling batons, and a large band. A group of students unfurled a giant American flag for the playing of the National Anthem. (I didn't notice anyone kneeling.)

There was also a student "spirit section" in the stands, which were full of students and parents, as well as community members, all dressed in Spartan blue. Blue foam giant fingers were being handed out for free to Central supporters near the entrance when I entered the gate.

La Jolla doesn't have a marching band yet, but for those who don't know the history, the band now has uniforms, which were purchased three years ago. The band does proceed out onto the field at home football games; it just doesn't do formations at football games, because as the recently-departed band teacher, Michael Fiedler, explained to me last football season, 40 or so freshmen would newly enter high school on the first day of classes in late August, and there was no way to get them trained in time for the football season.

(Already working plenty of hours, he would have to work on his own time through the summer to even attempt to make this happen.)

Unfortunately, Cindi Stratton, head of spirit at LJHS, informed me that Mr. Fiedler has left his position. A student told me this weekend that he has taken the position at Serra High across town. Holding a rare combination of teaching credentials in music and physical education, that gentleman built the band program to where it is today. When my granddaughter was a band student at Muirlands Middle School and LJHS from 2001-2008, there had been turnover almost every year.

But I digress. David Pena, the head coach for Central, said minutes before Friday's game, as he read 104 degrees on his smart watch, "The heat'll be a factor. A 20-degree difference--that's a lot." You could hear the pleasure in the home advantage he enjoys facing teams from San Diego at home. You can hardly blame him.

Bo Solis, father of Gabe and Diego, rode on the parents' bus to the game. "We rode in luxury," he said, smiling. "Reclinable seats..." It sounded heavenly to a person who just drove himself the 116 miles through the mountains, though with air conditioning.

Tyler Roach, La Jolla's head coach, had more than beads of sweat above his brow before the contest. He didn't tell any stories, but he specified three goals for his team: offensive line protection (there was improvement there), moving the ball (not so good), establishing the run game (not so much).

A Central dad leaving the stadium after the Spartan JV's beat La Jolla by a big score said, "Even for people who live here, the heat has to be a factor." He said that in his view, it affected the visiting team's performance.

At halftime, the man working the drive-through window at Church's Chicken a few blocks from the school said, "I don't think the people living here have the heat figured out." I wished him a "stay cool" as I pulled away with a large unsweetened iced tea with ice, two bottles of water, two cups of water, and four chicken tenders, the car air-conditioning at full blast, to head back to the war zone.