LJ FB: More photos 10/25

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ QB Huddy Smith, sandwiched

by two Point Loma defenders,

takes a hit in the first half.

Evan Figueiredo (56) gets tackled on a muffed

punt attempt in the first half.

LJ FB: Photos 10/25

Photos by Ed Piper

Halftime show

Ryan Kestler (3) takes off on a good

kickoff return along the right sideline.

LJ line coach Jordan Lawson (seated, wearing

headphones) and defensive members

review video late in the second quarter.

Pointer QB Ryder Watson (15), a sophomore,

proves elusive for the Viking defense--here,

at the end of the second period.

LJ band members wait on the

track for the start of

the Vikings' Homecoming

game vs. Point Loma.

PPR crew from KUSI Channel 9 goes through

some practice for an opening spot in the

Vikings' office off the sidelines.

LJ FH @ Canyon Hills - 10/30

Photos by Ed Piper

La Jolla's defense sets up a wall against Canyon

Hills: (left to right) Sydney Hersman (far left),

goalie Kinsley Stephens (00, rear), Aiko Busby (3),

Lilly Ferrari (19), and Talia Snider (far right).

LJ's Savannah Putnam (left) goes for the ball

versus Sami Lee of Canyon Hills.

Aiko Busby (3), a senior, stretches for the ball

against the Rattlers' Rylie Storm.

Reese Martin (L) of La Jolla defends on hit by Canyon

Hill midway through the second quarter.

Ella Cathalinat (far left) battles sticks with

Canyon Hills' Sami Lee at midfield.

La Jolla's Allison Hawthorne (12, far right)

trails Lee.

Freshman Sydney Hersman

Canyon Hills' Senior Game

LJ baseball: Halloween scrimmage 10/26

Photos by Howard Frank

Renner Smith

Zoran Shepanski (L)

Luke Fazio (R)

Aiden Hogan

Jake Hunter

Pitching coach

Koa Scott

Coaches (L-R) Gary Frank (minion),

Johnny Agbulos (Charlie Brown),

Koa Scott

Zach Gergurich

Carter Strauss

Head coach Gary Frank pitches.

Andrew Cardenas (L), Jake Hunter

LJ FB: Q&A with PLHS Coach Ryan Price

By Ed Piper

Head Coach Ryan Price of Point Loma was the Defensive Coordinator for La Jolla High last year. He is in his first year at PLHS. Previously, he was head coach and defensive coordinator at University City High. He took over for the Pointers after Joel Allen resigned to spend more time with family. Allen was the head coach at Bishop's, La Jolla's cross-town rival, for close to a decade.

Price answered these questions prior to his first-year squad's defeat of the Vikings 34-20 at their Homecoming Fri., Oct. 25. His squad was primed and ready to meet La Jolla. (Read my game story in a separate entry.)

Coach Ryan Price, tell me about your team.

We've got a core group of seniors that are returning that have a lot of experience. A young team of sophomores and juniors that have grown a lot this season.

And how has it been developing? Are you happy with a lot of the things you're seeing?

Even in losses, we've grown a lot from those, and a young team, a lot of character-building and lessons learned. It's been good.

Has it been good being back (as a head coach)? Are you enjoying it?

Yeah, I'm loving it. It's a great community. It's been a great place for me to go, Point Loma, and amazing.

What's a memory you have of La Jolla last year?

Making it to the D2 championship game, playing at Southwestern College, beating RB (Rancho Bernardo) in the semifinals. That was a really cool moment.

Thanks. Good luck tonight.

Thank you, sir.

LJ Cheer @ LJ-Point Loma FB - Homecoming 10/25

Photos by Ed Piper

The cheer squad does some stunting on the track

in front of a good-sized pink-bedecked

Homecoming crowd in the first half.

LJ FB 20, Point Loma 34

Viking QB Hudson Smith (1)

scrambles as he looks for

a receiving target

in the first half.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla outscored a highly-motivated Point Loma team in the second half, 20-13, but the Vikings could not overcome a stiff Pointer attack that built a 21-0 halftime lead Fri., Oct. 25.

La Jolla lost the dual, 34-20, in a crushing late-season encounter at Homecoming.

Pointer head coach Ryan Price, La Jolla's Defensive Coordinator last season in its Eastern League-winning campaign, had his first-year squad determined and hitting on all cylinders as the offense shocked the pink-attired Homecoming crowd with a strike from quarterback Ryder Watson to receiver Romeo Carter covering 66 yards for an early 7-0 lead.

Price's primed team struck again opening the second quarter with a rushing TD, a short run by Canon Ogden, and the La Jolla side was reeling with false starts and frustration resulting in a series of unsportsmanlike flags.

The third score by Point Loma in the opening half came on an easy pass from Watson to senior Dylan Upjohn, open on the left side of the end zone as coverage broke down. The Pointers led, 21-0.

In the third quarter, La Jolla scored on a 25-yard passing play from QB Hudson Smith to Hank Hansen. But the visitors answered right back with a Watson QB keeper to build a 27-7 lead. 

Another exchange of touchdowns by each team, including a 10-yard run by Viking Aidan "Carolina" McGill, finished out the period with the Pointers leading, 33-14, and disappointing a big crowd present for the Homecoming fireworks show during the halftime festivities.

The final score was an eight-yard pass for La Jolla. "The Boot", symbolizing the rivalry between the two schools since 1970--with football between the two teams dating back much earlier than that--went home with Price and his team after residing on the LJHS campus.

Oddly, no students walked out on the field at intermission when some Homecoming Court names were announced. An alumna from a graduating class many decades ago was announced and she waved to the crowd from a decorated golf cart on the Edwards Stadium track. Fireworks set off on the tennis courts followed for a spectacular conclusion to the festivities.

LJ FB: McGill a solid rock

By Ed Piper

Just a thought, sitting in front of my keyboard: What will La Jolla do next year without Aidan McGill?

"Carolina", as his teammates call him--"'Lina" more commonly, as they shorten it--has already been, and is, the steady rock that, first, QB Jackson Diehl last year, and Hudson Smith this year, have relied upon to keep the offense moving, even when it's bogged down in the morass of lack of momentum or sheer defensive opposition.

Think back to Scripps Ranch three weeks ago. The Falcons, in their Homecoming, got the opening kick and never stopped rolling as running back Ryan Stadtherr and their quarterback kept things moving.

On the other side, La Jolla coach Tyler Roach's attack just could not get things going consistently. It was start, stop, outlet pass.

Meanwhile, Smith would hand off to McGill, the "human bowling ball", for a few more yards, when passes didn't connect, when jet sweeps got unswept.

"'Lina" has provided that engine grease that keeps the parts moving so many times last year, when he was named Second Team All-Eastern League, and into this year.

D.J. Walcott, the coach at Francis Parker, mentioned Aidan before the game Oct. 18. He's the rock that keeps rolling, and the Lancers feared him. They couldn't stop him. As he got up-and-running, the rest of the offense around him caught momentum and took off, lending itself to young Aiden Farrell running well, Kai Fukuda catching passes well, and the entire machine stormed through poor Parker at its own Homecoming.

I'd compare it to baseball. When no one is hitting, you still have the one thing that you can go to. 

McGill is that one thing that keeps on moving.

LJ b water polo 6, Cathedral 9

Vikes' Nate Thomson (3)

helps goalie George

Gayner (behind) block a

shot late in the third quarter.

By Ed Piper

La Jolla equalized the score at 5-all after being down 5-2 late through the third quarter, before dropping a 9-6 decision at Cathedral Catholic Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 23.

The match was the second Western League loss to the Dons, who manhandled the Vikings in their first matchup two weeks ago. But Coach Tom Atwell's La Jollans were much more competitive and in the game this time around.

Tor Martin (R) makes a pass in the LJ offense

guarded by Jett Taylor (L).

In the short-lived comeback, senior Liam Flanagan scored with 2:26 left in the third period to make the count 5-3. Sophomore Dexter Black followed with two left-handed strikes at 1:42 and 58.9 to knot the score.

La Jolla looked focused and determined.

But then, just before the end of the third stanza, Cathedral's Eamon Bruhn sneaked a goal through, putting the Dons back in the lead, 6-5.

They never gave up the lead again.

Liam Flanagan (6) looks at the goal

from the point before passing.

LJ's Dexter Black (white cap) sets up on the 4-5 side

against Max Bruhn (17) of Cathedral. Black

scored back-to-back goals to bring the Vikings

back to a 5-5 tie late in the third quarter.

LJ g golf @ City Conference Championships

Photos by Ed Piper

Girls finish their round on the 18th hole

in the City Conference Championships

at Balboa Golf Course Mon., Oct. 21.

Soph Arie Williams shot an 87

in the 13-Hole Tournament.

Senior Ivana Feinberg

LJ FB: 'Kess' keeps his mojo going

Safety Ryan Kestler (3),

one of the Vikings'

captains, helps lead

warm-up stretching

Oct. 25.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Safety Ryan Kestler, an All-Eastern Leaguer on defense last year as a junior, copped an interception in the middle of the second period against Francis Parker, continuing his outstanding play as a senior captain and leader on the Vikings in a 6-2 campaign with two games of the regular season left.

La Jolla, coming in as the bad boys from the coast, spoiled Parker's Homecoming. Coach Tyler Roach's squad was already leading 24-0 when "Kess", eyeing his opportunities, picked off left-handed quarterback Daniel Gilmor's pass on second-and-seven on the Parker 34-yard line.

Gilmor had heart, and with his offense was facing a big, big monster on the other side of the line. But to their credit, the Lancers didn't give up. They took their drubbing as an offense against their school and the event, their annual Homecoming.

With the play starting on the Lancer 34, Kestler grabbed his pick and it was downed on the 30-yard line.

Four plays later, enormous Jett Thomas lined up in the Wildcat, and ran the ball twice, the second time good enough for a pile-driver touchdown from the two-yard line. Vikings 30, Lancers 0.

LJ FB: Freshman Farrell a feature performer vs. Parker

Freshman back Aiden Farrell

checks out his number-25

gear in the locker room

before the Vikings' game

against Point Loma

Oct. 25.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Besides Viking running back Aidan McGill's normal no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners game, La Jolla's 44-15 win at Francis Parker Oct. 18 put a spotlight on another Aidan/Aiden--this one, Aiden Farrell--as the freshman starred in all aspects of Coach Tyler Roach's offense, including running, receiving, and returning kicks.

He had a sparkling game, building on his performance the previous week at Mira Mesa.

The present-and-future chef isn't physically imposing, but his wily speed yields him openings that don't have to stay open for long, as we are beginning to see. His sideline routes against Parker offered additional mileage as his statistics stacked up against the Lancers.

One of his highlights was an interception of lefty Daniel Gilmor's pass midway through the second quarter, the Vikings leading 17-0. It came on Francis Parker's second play of their third possession of the game.

The black-and-red offense took over, and five plays later scored on Kai Fukuda's second reception of the quick drive from quarterback Hudson Smith for an authoritative 24-0 lead.

Just for fun, Aiden had a good return for several yards of a Parker kickoff in the fourth quarter, with a running clock, as things had already gotten way out of hand under La Jolla's physical superiority.

He took the kick after Parker scored with 9:19 left in the game, and ran the ball back along the left sideline. The ball was spotted on the La Jolla 45-yard line. A punt ended that short drive.

Earlier, in third quarter before the running clock was instituted, the Vikings already leading 37-8, Farrell bagged a Smith pass and ran it 22 yards for a TD. La Jolla 44, Parker 8.

Late in the second quarter, a kick went off a teammate on La Jolla as the receiving team. Aiden quickly picked it up and ran a few yards. That saved the moment, but four plays later the Lancers' Zane Tamatoa Reed, a senior, picked off a pass, turning it over to the hosts. Even with the hoopla of Homecoming, Parker couldn't score on the drive that ensued.

Aiden had the Vikings' first reception on Huddy's first pass attempt to open the game, running from their own 24 to the Parker 20-yard line for 56 yards.

The freshman also had a catch when the Vikings got down to the 12-yard line, taking it on the left and carrying it for seven yards.

On the next play, he rushed for four yards to the Parker one, setting up McGill's six-yard TD plunge after a flag moved the ball back to the six.

LJ FB: Eastern League standings

STANDINGS

Eastern League Football

(as of Oct. 21, 2024)

                                League        Overall

Scripps Ranch            3-0               8-0

La Jolla                       2-1               6-2

University City           1-1               7-1

Mission Bay                0-2               2-6

Mira Mesa                   0-2               0-8

*La Jolla meets University City in a head-to-head match-up Nov. 1 at home. UC's other league game comes Oct. 25 at winless Mission Bay.

These games will be important for seeding in the CIF playoffs that begin Nov. 8.

La Jolla, University City, and Scripps Ranch play in Division 2. Mission Bay competes in the Division 3 playoffs.

LJ Cheer: Q&A with captains Devenney Hurtado, Emery Hom, and Emma Matheny

Devenney Hurtado

By Ed Piper

Devenney Hurtado, Emery Hom, and Emma Matheny are captains of the La Jolla High varsity cheer squad. This information was collected before the Vikings' football game at Francis Parker School Fri., Oct. 18.

Devenney Hurtado

Year: Junior

Years on varsity: 3

Favorite subject: "Psychology. It's what I want to major in."

Career goal: "I want to be a child psychologist."

Emery Hom

Emery Hom

Year: Junior

Years on varsity: 3

Favorite subject: History

Quote: "I like doing crafts. They're interesting and I like being creative."

Emma Matheny

Emma Matheny

Year: Junior

Years on varsity: 3

Favorite subject: AP Psychology

Quote: "I like the class because Ms. Dill is really fun."

LJ FB: More photos 10/18

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ receiver Kai Fukuda (left) takes a pass

for six yards and a first down before being

brought down by Parker safety Avondre Kelley

beginning the explosive second quarter.

Two plays later, Aidan McGill ran the ball

over for a 17-0 Viking lead.

Parker soph Lauren O'Brien (R) quarterbacks

the Lancer flag football team to a 28-6

victory over Kearny in the doubleheader

prelim. O'Brien measures out to about

6'2". Her counterpart on the Lancer defense,

freshman Bella Riddle, stands about 6'3".

Soph Nico Bardaro

Tight end/defensive end

Freshman Aiden Farrell (25)

takes off after a reception around the

right side in the first quarter.

Junior QB Hudson Smith

Senior lineman Jett Thomas

All-CIF First Team last year