LJ FB: Host Santa Fe in CIF 1st round

Receiver Hank Hansen, a sophomore,

in costume before the La Jolla

baseball team's Halloween costume

workout Sat., Oct. 29.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Hank Hansen, number 14 on the Viking varsity football team, knew what was up before the baseball team's Halloween-costume workout Oct. 29.

"They're talking about us having a home game against Santa Fe Christian," said the sophomore, who is gifted at catching the ball and who has had a significant impact on La Jolla's football fortunes this fall.

What he had heard was confirmed the next day, Sun., Oct. 30, when CIF released the playoff brackets for Division 2. Coach Tyler Roach's squad will play host to the Eagles from Solana Beach in the first round of the playoffs Fri., Nov. 4, at 7 p.m.

The private Christian institution, which starts a sophomore at quarterback, Andrew Hidy, who has passed for 613 yards, basically features a running attack with senior Jeremy Love, not big at 170 pounds, carrying the most frequently to the tune of 592 yards on 50 rushes.

Another five players, including Kevin Olah, Dane Lee, Charles Sawyer, Greyson Mundis, and P.J. Rogers, fit into the running mix, ranging from 276 yards rushing (for Olah) down to 193 yards each (Mundis and Rogers), in long-time Coach Jon Wallace's offense.

La Jolla (5-5 overall, 1-2 in the Eastern League), seeded eighth in the upper bracket of Division 2, faces a ninth seed that is 8-2 on the season, 2-1 in the Coastal Conference.

The Eagles defeated Christian, 20-14, at Christian on Sept. 9, in the fourth week of the season. They got murdered by the Vikings' crosstown rival, Bishop's, 40-7, at Edwards Stadium to end the regular season last week.

La Jolla suffered a defeat at the hands of Christian at home Oct. 21, 20-14, a close game. The Vikings lost to Bishop's to start the season way back on Aug. 18, 28-7.

LJ baseball: Halloween workout 10/29

Photos by Ed Piper

Head coach Gary Frank as the Scarecrow

from "The Wizard of Oz"

with his dad Howard

Charlie Brown

San Diego Padre

Q: The costume must have a

long history in your family.

A: I just bought it an hour ago.

Pig

Howard: "If you make it to second base,

you get to take a candy."

Captain America (in blue)

O.J. Simpson

Hawaii tourist

New turf field installed at the Muirlands complex

July 27-end of August 2022, according

to the elder Frank.

LJ Cheer: Photos 10/28 vs. Mira Mesa football

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ FB 17, Mira Mesa 24 - 10/28

Viking QB Jackson Diehl (rear left) drops back to pass

on La Jolla's first possession in the opening quarter.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla's 24-17 loss at Mira Mesa Friday night, Oct. 28--and I do mean "night"--the game, with an injury interlude, lasted to the bloody end with the Vikings' flailing, frustrated attempts to tie or win the game until 10:16 p.m.--was an exercise in fortitude and endurance not only for the players but for fans as well.

The drawn-out, grueling contest, which was scoreless at the end of one quarter and stood at only 7-3 in the Marauders' favor at halftime, tested both teams' skills and ability to hang in there and try to secure the triumph, which will probably result in the victors' top-four seeding for next Friday's playoffs. (CIF brackets have not yet been posted at the time of this writing Sat. morning.)

Jackson Diehl, the Vikings' junior quarterback, who has had his moments this year and has piled up over 1,600 yards passing, was agile in hitting his receivers as Coach Tyler Roach employed early passes in the flat to ignite the offense.

Diehl targeted prime receptor Ryan Weinberg on early-and-often aerials. Justin Scully, he of playing both ways, on defense as well as on offense, bruised his way to plenty more yards that will be spoken of after he graduates next June in an almost reverent tone. But neither team could finish. Mira Mesa deposited the only touchdown of the first half with Chris Brown's goal-line-to-goal-line 100-yard kickoff return with 6:02 left in the second quarter.

La Jolla was limited to Evan Martin's deadly accurate field goal for a short-lived 3-0 lead the play before Brown's taking the ball to the house.

And the dangers of football reared their head again in the downing of Viking Robert Buckley. Paramedics taped him with duct tape onto their emergency board, strapping him in to take him to the hospital after individuals signaled "thumbs up" on his condition. With the score 24-17 with 9:55 left in the fourth quarter at 9:25 p.m.--after three and a half hours of football so far--Buckley was blindsided on a hit as Mira Mesa's Aiden Watts returned a punt for an apparent TD, which was called back due to the personal foul against the La Jolla defensive back.

The paramedics' action apparently was a precaution for the young athlete's condition. Family members came down from the stands to console him. Play resumed almost a half hour later, at 9:51 p.m. That foreboded for a late, late night on this 11th week of high school football.

La Jolla, as a result of the tough-luck loss, may face a trip to the Imperial Valley for a first-round Division 2 playoff game.

LJ FB: Playing for top-four seed

Viking running back Justin Scully (5), pictured here

with teammate Wallace Perry (23) in their

photo with family members on Senior Night

Oct. 20 together, will undoubtedly do everything

in his power to help achieve La Jolla's victory

against Mira Mesa. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

With La Jolla's football team (1-1 in the Eastern League, 5-4 overall) ranked 11th on MaxPreps in Division II, Tyler Roach's squad has a chance to take a top-four seed in the postseason playoffs with a win at Mira Mesa Friday night, Oct. 28.

The Vikings are looking for a high seeding in CIF, which begins the following Fri., Nov. 4. Christian, which beat La Jolla Oct. 20, 20-14, to secure the right to the Eastern League title, is ranked sixth.

San Diego High, which La Jolla punished prior to that, sits at 15th ranking.

Meanwhile, tomorrow night's opponent, the Marauders, are above the Vikings, looking up at a second-place ranking only behind Granite Hills at number one.

The Vikings' strength of schedule is modest, rated at 4.5. Christian's strength of schedule is much higher, at 11.9. Mira Mesa is a step below that at 10.2. The strength rating is factored in when MaxPreps uses its algorithm to determine division rankings.

All sports: Elastic cord?

A man balanced and bounced on this elastic rope

or cord attached between two trees near some

apartments in Pacific Beach Sat., Oct. 22.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

On Sat., Oct. 22, I viewed a man tethered to an elastic rope--for lack of a better term--that was tied in the air between two trees. I had never seen this before. He was balancing on the cord, bouncing up and down to gain momentum, then doing flips and other moves.

As he did so, it was obvious that he was attached with a safety catch to the extended cord, because he would flip and miss the cord, yet not fall to the ground. The leash, or tether, caught him and allowed him to pull his way up again to the main cord.

A couple of other people at the children's soccer game I was attending also noticed the balancer and went over to take a photo with their phones.

I have previously seen individuals on low-lying cords attached to trees or other stationary objects as they tried to balance and walk down the cord or rope. This higher, elastic cord was new to me.

When the guy tried a stunt and slipped,

his leash attached to the contraption

saved him from falling to the ground.

The man would then pull

himself up again to the main

line or rope, and resume

trying flips and jumps.

LJ g tennis 13, SDA 5 - CIF D2 Quarterfinals

Senior Aura Rosen, number-one singles player

for the Vikings, during her match.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

La Jolla's girls tennis squad, coached by Darice Carnaje, reached the CIF Division 2 semifinals to be played Thurs., Oct. 27, on the Vikings' home courts by virtue of a 13-5 triumph over San Dieguito Academy Wed., Oct 27.