LJ FB: Co-championship not enough

LJHS lineman Cyrus Varnum with his
aunt, LJ softball coach Andrea Denham,
and his uncle. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla High, with its 39-21 win at University City October 25 in the second-to-last game of the regular season, secured at least a shared championship with Christian High in the Eastern League.

But Viking players weren't buying. Throughout the week leading up to their final league game against Christian Fri., Nov. 1, they repeatedly said they wanted to defeat the Patriots and take home sole possession of the title.

"We're glad to have (the co-championship)," said Diego Solis, the junior receiver. "But we want the whole thing." That came on Monday morning, before school.

Then, Tuesday afternoon, after school let out at 3:16 p.m., Solis and other team members walked past the LJHS tennis patio, where the Viking girls tennis team were playing their first-round CIF match. "No, we want the whole thing," said more than one player as they were congratulated on their assured part of the crown. They weren't settling for less.

The same scene was repeated Wednesday after school in the same location. By then, the Viking girls had won their first-round match, and were well on their way to another win in the quarterfinals. (They eventually made it to the title match Friday, where they lost to Torrey Pines 75-75 on a tiebreaker.)

Cyrus Varnum, the big senior lineman, shook his head as he walked by. "No, we want it all," he called out as he headed to the eastern gate of campus off Rushville Street. The football team had its usual evening practice scheduled that night.

No one from the team spoke about the co-championship, except in Solis' lone text Monday morning. The theme the entire week for the Viking footballers was "Beat Christian". Partial measures would not suffice.

The thinking, the mantra, paid off in a 20-19 win for the sole league championship, the school's first since 1995.