Photos by Ed Piper
La Jolla's field hockey team dropped a 2-1 decision to Bishop's in a cross-city rivalry and league competition on a sudden-death overtime goal by talented freshman Lola Conway, daughter of former LJHS Athletic Director and coach Paula Conway, Wed., Oct. 16, on the Vikings' field.
Before the game, La Jolla was ranked number two in the CIF San Diego Section with a 9-2 record, Bishop's one step above in the first slot with 16 wins, one loss. Both were in rankings by MaxPreps.
Viking coach Amanda Combs' squad carries an extremely high strength of schedule rating of 12.3, the Knights down at 7.9. The strength ranking plays into MaxPreps' logarithm to figure out school rankings.
A team that plays easy teams, obviously, is not going to get a high ranking, whether its won-lost record is good or poor. On the other hand, there's the tricky question of how much strength of schedule plays into a school's ranking, since the specifics of MaxPreps' algorithm are not generally known.
Surprisingly, perennial San Diego powers Canyon Hills (formerly Serra) and Scripps Ranch trail the Vikings and Knights, standing fourth and fifth in the section.
In between them, Cathedral Catholic is ranked third with a 15-3 record but only 8.2 strength of schedule.
Combs' unit also stands second in California, behind Bishop's.
Nationally, MaxPreps puts La Jolla at 11th, with Bishop's 10th.
Cathedral is way back at 38th, Canyon Hills 67th, Scripps Ranch 90th.
Photos by Ed Piper
By Ed Piper
Heidi Weise, a senior, is student trainer for the La Jolla High football team. She plays goalie for the Viking girls soccer team. Her brother Drake is a junior cornerback on the Viking football team. These remarks came before the football team's game at Scripps Ranch Fri., Oct. 4.
You're student trainer. Your brother is on the team. How is that?
It's so fun. I get to go to his games and watch him play. It's fun. We have a good relationship.
And then sports is life for you, right?
Yeah. We actually both play soccer in the winter, so that's pretty fun.
Jordan Lawson is the new offensive and defensive line coach for the La Jolla High football team. He shows a lot of energy on the sideline during games as he has gotten more comfortable in Vikingland. These comments were made before the Vikings' game at Scripps Ranch High Fri., Oct. 4.
Jordan Lawson.
What's up?
First, where did you play in college? We were trying to look it up. You're under the radar.
I played JUCO (junior college) ball, and then I walked on at (indecipherable).
How have the two weeks of work (with the bye week Sept. 27) been?
Much needed. We got some injured guys healed up. Some R&R for everybody, coaches and players alike.
Good. How would you rate your linemen so far (five games into the season, two games into league)?
We always got to get better. I like our speed and our containment. I think we can turn the notch up a little with the physicality. The few times we've done that consistently, it's showed. So hopefully we can bring that, see a bunch of three-and-a-halves, cause a few turnovers.
You're pretty animated on the sidelines.
Is that so? (grinning)
I'm using a euphemism. You're pretty active, vocal.
That's not how I've ever been (quiet). That's not how I was when I played, and it's not how I am when I'm coaching. It's that type of sport.
Alex and Olivia Awbrey are sophomore varsity cheerleaders for La Jolla High. These comments were made prior to the Vikings' football game at Mira Mesa High Fri., Oct. 11.
The twins both also compete for the La Jolla High dive team in the spring.
How is it having your twin on the La Jolla High cheer squad?
(Both jumping into the conversation) It's kind of interesting because we're both flyers (the ones at the top of the cheer stunt when they all build a pyramid), and we had to, like, compete for a flying spot.
He (their coach, Christian Velazquez) always tries to flip us. It's really annoying. It's really funny.
He thinks we're interchangeable, so...
Are there times when you just think, Treat me like one of a kind?
I don't think he remembers our names either, so he doesn't try.
He'll go like your name, your name, we're in a row together--he does what he can to avoid it.
What's the best thing about cheerleading?
Stunting. Stunting.
PASSING
Hudson Smith 17-28 237 yards 3 TD's
Mira Mesa 13-22 140 yards 2 TD's 1 interception
RUSHING
Aidan McGill 24 carries, 226 yards 4 TD's
Aiden Farrell 7 carries, 37 yards 1 TD
Hudson Smith 2 carries, 5 yards
Mira Mesa 37 carries, 205 yards 4 TD's 1 fumble
RECEIVING
Nico Bardaro 4 receptions, 69 yards
Kai Fukuda 4 receptions, 49 yards 1 TD
Lukas Grismer 1 reception, 5 yards
Aiden Farrell 1 reception, 3 yards
Mira Mesa 13 receptions, 140 yards 2 TD's
DEFENSIVE
Carson Diehl 1 interception
Mira Mesa - Jovan Gorum 1 interception
By Ed Piper
David Frerker, an LJHS alum and former Viking football player, is living the life of a big-time sports photographer.
He's living the fame and glory of millions of eyes on his latest sports gems, but with them comes the reality of the grind on his body and mind as he treks hundreds of miles to shoot a Lakers game in Palm Desert, where it is 100-plus degrees this week, and the hard concrete of the Petco Park stands that bloodies his knees while he shoots kneeling for hours.
"I was assigned a spot in the stands right next to where the fans sit," Frerker, a beefy former lineman for La Jolla, said Friday night, Oct. 11, during the La Jolla-Mira Mesa football game in Mira Mesa. He was relating his adventures shooting games three and four of the National League Division Series between the Padres and Dodgers for USA Today.
No comfy photographer's wells those evenings. On Monday night, Oct. 7, he bloodied his knees up, with his electronics--including his all-vital laptop to process his photos--lying right next to him, but also accessible to nearby fans. "I had to keep an eye on my stuff," he said.
No knee pads that night. He didn't know that's where he would be assigned. He showed us a listing of where each of the many photographers covering the game for USA Today were positioned around the stadium, jam-packed with another record Petco Park crowd.
"I went out and bought knee pads" for the following night's game, but "my knees were already bloodied from the first game", so little comfort there.
The other big highlight recently was shooting the Suns-Lakers exhibition game. The long drive was a near-killer. He talked a friend into going with him, that way he could process his images as his friend drove on the way back--a new Toyota RAV with all the electronics. "I can turn the whole car into a hotspot" for doing his photos, he noted with a big smile.
Frerker raced back to San Diego to cover the La Jolla-Scripps Ranch football game Oct. 4.
He often holds sideline councils with wannabe photographers, who eat up his stories of walking the tightrope on the high wire.
He showed one image of Kevin Durant bringing the ball up court during the Laker game. "This one has been picked up a lot," he said.
A moment David wanted to capture was the Lakers' LeBron James on the court with his son, Bronny, during the exhibition--the first time in history that an NBA father has played with his NBA son. But during that time, Frerker was away from the court, loading his images to get them in on time for USA Today's deadline. He missed it.
Photos by Ed Piper
It was a shootout at the OK Corral, as La Jolla met a winless Mira Mesa (0-2 in the Eastern League, 0-7 overall) and began trading touchdowns in a wild first half in front of a moderate Marauder home crowd and an incredible 200-student band, which performed magnificently at halftime.
Coach Tyler Roach's Vikings scored first, to take a 7-0 lead against a defense as leaky as San Diego in the winter floods we experienced earlier in the year, on a run by workhorse and game MVP, running back Aidan McGill.
But then Mira Mesa came back to score less than two minutes later--La Jolla having its own problems stopping anybody, with several key figures injured and sitting on the sidelines.
Carson Diehl, the All-CIF choice as a sophomore, came to play, scoring three plays later on the first of his two patented leaping, stretching receptions, La Jolla leading now 14-7.
Coach Aurelio Morales' blue-and-gold answered in only four plays. The score, like inflation, was mounting fast, 14-14.
Eventually, seeing the shootout quality of the game, an observer saw "the wheels come off the wagon" after the visitors upped the ante to 21-14 on receiver Kai Fukuda's 29-yard play.
And we were still in the first quarter!
This was going to be a night like no other. "It depends on who has the ball at the end of the game," an anonymous commenter contributed. That's sure what it looked like, on a temperate October night, the day very warm in Mira Mesa, the night moderating some of the evening chill that followed.
Who would have cared? Within half a minute of elapsed time at the end of the first period, leading into the second, Diehl, who led the county in interceptions last year with nine, picked off one of Ramona-transfer Parker Rhea's aerials--Morales said his eligibility was granted the day before the Marauders' opening game--and a Viking punt was blocked.
You're getting the message: scoring by the two squads' offenses was nearly unlimited. Neither defense could put a dent into it.
Finally, fast-forward to late in the third quarter--after that fabulous halftime show populated by such a big, well-practiced Sapphire Band (that's what they call it)--with a 35-35 tie. Vike freshman Aiden Farrell, he of the culinary beret back in preseason photos, ran the ball in for a TD and a 42-35 advantage with 3:07 left (he being featured on this night for his breakout performance).
La Jolla gained separation a quarter later, 2:19 on the clock, on "Carolina" McGill's 49-yard run for 49-35 to clinch the game.
The run was evocative of Aidan's powerful skills: he dragged several would-be tacklers with him, he broke away, then along the right edge of the field he toe-tapped next to the sideline to stay in bounds, covering half the grid. Incredible.
That play alone, with all the Vikings' misalignments and continued search to recapture the magic they played with in the first three games of the season, put an exclamation on the evening.
Diehl went out after an injury in the second half (he had already missed the last two games before the bye Sept. 27). Hank Hansen, quarterback-fill-in deluxe in week five against Mission Bay and normally an H-back, sprained his ankle just before the start of the game in warm-ups and sat out.
We could list the walking wounded who also didn't play: running back/linebacker Alex "Figgie" Figueiredo, outside linebacker Leed Smoole, cornerback Galo Sanchez, and back-up center Evan Martinson. This sport beats people up.
The Vikings are 2-1 in the Eastern League with two games to play. Mira Mesa, having a tough, tough year, is 0-2 in league and 0-7 overall. Unthinkable for the Mira Mesans.
Photos by Ed Piper
