By Ed Piper
There he was at the top of San Diego Section stat leaders after week one of the season, a 41-19 thumping of Pearl St. rival Bishop's--La Jolla quarterback Jackson Diehl sat fourth on the leaderboard among all quarterbacks with 289 passing yards.
Maybe even more impressive was the returning senior's ground game, 174 yards, which put him fifth among the leaders. Following his younger brother Carson's 61-yard scoring catch (from him) on the second series, big brother Jackson wound his way through the baffled Knight defense from four yards out to complete the first quarter, 14-0.
Then, in the second half, Diehl took the wraps off and decided to get explosive. On a third-and-two from his own 43-yard line, the lightning runner took off on a 53-yard keeper and pay dirt for a 34-7 lead with 8:23 left in the stanza.
Flip over to the fourth quarter with about the same amount of time remaining in the period. Jackson sprinted 55 yards on third-and-one. That touchdown, the sixth he accounted for on the night by his arm or his legs, put the game safely away for the Vikings and eighth-year coach Tyler Roach, at 41-19.
It was a senior opening night to remember. La Jolla students, three days away from entering classes for the Fall quarter, ran giant new flags on the track, enjoyed the spirit of new cheerleaders, and generally whupped it up as the players, then coaches celebrated with photos in the center of the Edwards Stadium field holding up the "Pearl St." sign--emblematic of winning the annual contest between the close intra-La Jolla rivals.
The only exhibition of TD power this reporter has witnessed rivaling this in La Jolla High football history was a six-touchdown effort by Mission Bay's Dillon Baxter in 2009.
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