LJ FH 3, RBV 2 - Season opener 8/31

Photos by Ed Piper

Sabine Knott #20 (L)

Sofia Cardenas #13 (L)

McKinley Beck (playing defense on right

in background)

Carly Wolf #4 (taking the charge

on the ground)

#00 Olivia Austin (center), junior goalie

Vega de Leon #18 (L)

Annie Peppers #22 (L)

Charlotte Gayner #8 (L)

Sylvie Bass #9 (far left) on defense

Luisa Walraven #7 (R)

Audrey Walton #16

Ethan Warford, the LJ coaches' young son,

with Nona ("Grandma") Warford,

mother of Tucker Warford (shown)

Lily Holt #11

Sasha Sabin #5

Kyra Barth #1

Sienna Gustafson #21

Aubery "Branny" Branstetter #19

Esra Yacizi #15

Reagan Aalbers #10

Nina Korevaar #17

Audrey DeMerchant #6

LJ g golf: Cantonis stands out

By Ed Piper

In the Viking girls' golf opener Wed., Aug. 25, newcomer Charlotte Cantonis shot a 35 for nine holes to lead La Jolla as they lost 181-242 (scores are counted by fewest number of strokes in golf) to Bishop's at Rancho Bernardo Inn.

Cantonis, a tall ninth-grader attending her first high school classes with classmates Aug. 30, placed first among three LJHS freshmen--Daria Tvrdisic (second with a 49) and Isabelle Troija (sixth with a 55) were the others for the Vikings.

Among La Jolla's six, Malia Thacker, a returning 10th-grader who played for the Vikings last spring, carded a 50 for third place among the red-and-black. Two seniors, Mica May and Christie Kim, both shot 54's to fill out the fourth and fifth team members.

May played for La Jolla her sophomore and junior years as well.

Tvrdisic, with the spelling-challenge last name, has a mother who is Serbian and dad who is from Montenegro, both in the former Yugoslavia.

Coach Christie Quinn has embarked on her first school year in which she will serve as both the girls' and the boys' teams' head coach. Aaron Quesnell, who is a classroom teacher on campus, was seen at the La Jolla-Scripps Ranch football game Aug. 27 in his new role as Athletic Director.

LJ FB: Thoughts on the 52-51 game

By Ed Piper

La Jolla was tied with visiting Scripps Ranch 14-14 with one minute left in the first quarter August 27.

To achieve that, Makai Smith took a Jackson Stratton aerial at midfield, then raced to the goal line for a total of 72 yards for vintage Makai.

Coach Tyler Roach's team had missed a PAT on its first touchdown, so going for two points to make up the deficit--and with an eye to what that could mean later in the game--Stratton dotted the "i" to super receiver Mason Powers. Tie ballgame, 14-all at 1:00.

From then until midway through second quarter, La Jolla's defense endured a tough time against giant-of-a-quarterback Jax Leatherwood, who was dealing and who would prove to be a worthy opponent to Stratton. Both put on quite a show. To sit back and watch must have been a treat.

The Falcons immediately scored after Makai's and Power's heroics. 21-14. The first half of the second quarter was a preview for the nightmare LJ's defense would experience in the third period.

An interception by Falcon linebacker Dylan Stoney cut short the first LJ possession of the quarter. Field goal, little Thomas Rohrer (5'7"), from 16 yards. 24-14, Scripps.

The Vikings' Ryan Weinberg covered 55 yards with a pass from Stratton's right arm. Kick good. 24-21, Scripps up. Not bad so far.

Third quarter (after 31-27 at the half): 38-27. Then 45-27. 52-27. How far are the Falcons going to take this lead? Lethal offense, shooting deadly darts at the Vikings.

We know the rest of the story. La Jolla scored 24 points to just fall short. 52-51 final.

LJ FB: Weinberg, Makai, Scully star

Viking running back Justin Scully pounds

for more yards on the ground late in LJ's

52-51 near-comeback Aug. 27.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Taking handoffs and receiving passes from La Jolla quarterback Jackson Stratton--who has been pretty tops in the first two games of Fall 2021--Ryan Weinberg, Justin Scully, and Makai Smith have been building toward productive offensive seasons as well so far.

Stratton, the 6'4" senior committed to the University of Washington, was 22 for 38 for 364 yards and four passing touchdowns in a smashing 42-3 Viking win over Bishop's in their season opener at Edwards Stadium. Jackson added a fifth TD on the ground. The game wasn't a test of La Jolla's strength, rather there were some payback issues to resolve in the local rivals' series from the last few years.

In week two, Stratton copped a 20 for 37 passing line for 470 yards and seven touchdowns in a 52-51 near-comeback loss to visiting Scripps Ranch. The QB added 27 yards on the ground in an active rushing role he had to or chose to play.

In the opener, Stratton connected for TD's with three different receivers, Austin Bale, Ryan Weinberg, and Mason Powers.

In the succeeding week, he spread his touchdowns among four different receivers, Powers, Makai Smith, Weinberg, and Spence Carswell.

Not too bad. But as we were saying, Weinberg is busy building his resume. He had 97 receiving yards on four catches against Bishop's. Against Scripps Ranch, he totaled 62 yards on a pair of receptions and one TD. We'll see more of him in coming weeks.

Scully, not the former Dodgers voice, got our attention in week one grinding out 51 hard-earned yards on eight carries and a touchdown. In the more recent game, he kept our attention with 62 yards on two passes plus a TD. Justin dealt Scripps Ranch's hard-working defense 21 grind-out yards on four carries. He's no slouch.

Then, Smitty caught five passes for 59 yards in week one, no contest that it became. The following week, we witnessed an energetic 131 receiving yards from Makai on five receptions, plus two touchdowns.

All three are good. We have lots more football coming. And, everybody staying healthy, we should see several more shows of the Tyler Roach-directed offense this fall. What a welcome break after the shutdown of COVID for so many.