LJ FB: Top performances of 2019

By Ed Piper

Looking back at the CIF championship year, key plays and performances that helped the Vikings (10-5 overall, Eastern League champs with a 4-0 league record) win six games in a row, eight of nine including the Southern California Championship over Marina High leading up to the state championship game:

--Diego Solis' touchdown reception and scamper along the right sideline as time ran out to bring La Jolla within 14-13 against Brawley in the CIF San Diego Section Division 3 semifinals Nov. 22.

As has been related many times before, the Vikings had no timeouts left so Solis, the 5'10", 165-pound junior playmaker, could have chosen to step out of bounds to kill the clock. Instead, he said he saw daylight and sprinted ahead to cross the goal line.

A technical question: Did he have to cross the line before time ran out? No. The play was continuous as long as it started with time remaining on the clock (which it did), and its duration counted--even with 0:00 on the scoreboard--as long as the play continued.

--The sophomore Stratton finding Luke Brunette open in the end zone for the two-point conversion to win the game 15-14, of course, is essential if the Diego Solis play is going to have the importance it did.

--Jackson Stratton's seven straight pass completions to finish the semifinal win, including the strikes to Solis and Brunette mentioned above. Recall that the young QB had struggled with inconsistency earlier in the game, and was facing a strong defense in a high-stakes game (the CIF semifinals).

--Senior receiver Cooper McNally's four catches for 62 yards and a TD as La Jolla clobbered an emotional Mission Bay squad 34-13 in week 2. This was long before the Vikings had established themselves at all. They came in young, inexperienced, with a dismal 3-7 record in 2018. Though the season-opening effort the week before against Bishop's in limiting the Knights to 18 points was good, it was still an 18-9 loss.

Besides McNally's grabs, Stratton distributed his passes among various receivers for a total of 189 yards, on 15 of 23, and two TD's. The other touchdown aerial went to Makai Smith.

--Linebacker Dirk Germon, playing alongside the more heralded Max Smith and Jack Wiese, recorded monster games on defense against Santa Fe Christian in week two (a 28-14 upset at home) and Del Norte the next week (a 15-7 loss). The junior showed glimpses of the stellar play to come this year in his sophomore season. He was named All-Eastern League First Team in 2019, along with his two compatriots.

In the Santa Fe game, public address announcer Bob Allen seemed to be continually calling Germon's name for tackles in the second half.

--Jack Wiese went ballistic in a league-opening 14-7 win at Mira Mesa Oct. 4, recording 12 tackles, including two TFL's (tackles for a loss, behind the line of scrimmage), and a safety scoring two points (the only score of the game outside of the fourth quarter).

L.T. Shimp added five solo tackles among his seven total tackles for the night. Germon made seven stops, as did Max Smith. Grady Mitchell recorded eight tackles.

--A drained, blanked-faced Finn Rice, named to the Homecoming Court at halftime of the game Oct. 11 weeks before, couldn't even respond when asked to describe his game-winning TD reception in the end zone against Christian High Nov. 1. He had just been mobbed by teammates after his two-handed, crouching grab in the northern end zone on a pass from Stratton with 12 seconds left. Rice's reception actually tied the Patriots 19-19, and Devin Bale's PAT pushed the Vikings to a 20-19 win.

As a result, La Jolla won the Eastern League title outright (instead of a tie in the event of a loss to Christian), and avenged an ugly 49-0 loss to Christian the year before in a game played at Granite Hills High in which brothers Diego Solis and Gabe Solis (since graduated to play at the University of Chicago this year) suffered triple collarbone fractures in successive quarters and had to be carted to the parking lot to be taken by their parents to the Emergency Room. Surgery ensued. Diego was obviously very emotional about the win, and had a key 24-yard reception to the Christian 17-yard line to set up Rice's heroics.