LJ FB: More photos 11/1

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ Head coach Tyler Roach (left, holding laminated

play chart) goes over pregame reminders

with the starting offense at 5 p.m.,

two hours before opening kickoff.

Quentyn DeMara (2), UC's QB, throws

passes in pregame warmups 50 minutes

before opening kickoff.

Soon-to-retire Jane Medrano (R), Academic

Advisor for the Viking football program, chats

with kicking coach Kevin Hurt prior

to game action.

Under the watchful eye of Head Coach Paul

Lawrence (far left), running back Nakeem

Jones (5) takes a handoff from quarterback

Quentyn "Q" DeMara 25 minutes before

game time.

The head referee talks to LJ senior Ryan Kestler (3)

regarding the pregame coin toss. The Vikings'

other captains next to Kestler are seniors

Hank Hansen (4), Aidan McGill (3),

and Jett Thomas (75). LJ chose to

receive the opening kick.

UC running back Nakeem

Jones (5) stands for a photo

before the LJ-UC game.

LJ FB: Host Madison in CIF D2 first round Fri., Nov. 8

By Ed Piper

The Viking football team (2-2 in the Eastern League, 6-4 overall) will play host to the Madison Warhawks in the first round of the CIF Divsion 2 playoffs Fri., Nov. 8.

Coach Tyler Roach's squad previously defeated Madison during the torrid first three games of the season when the team was playing at its optimum level--a convincing 23-3 shutdown on Sept. 6.

The Vikings go in as the number-six seed in D2. Madison is the 11th seed.

LJ g VB @ OLP 10/24

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ freshman Kaya Gazivoda (15)

nudges a soft shot toward the net

early in the first game.

Soph Pearl Plaskonos (left) delivers a hit

on OLP's Senior Night.

Soph Nanette Fu (left) taps a shot

toward OLP's front line at the net.

Senior Riley Lincoln (14) jump serves.

Senior Katie Murray (4, far left)

bumps a pass. Also in view is

Kaya Gazivoda (15).

Riley Lincoln (14) sets.

I-805 traffic (upper left to middle right) southbound

 at rush hour from OLP's campus overlooking

Mission Valley.

The same scene 50 minutes later (6:40 p.m.).

This was two weeks before the time change

off Daylight Saving.

LJ FB: Photos 11/1

Photos by Ed Piper

Viking QB Hudson Smith (far left) fires a pass

against UC in the first quarter.

UC runs a rushing play (center) as Ryan

Kestler (3) of La Jolla defends.

Cent QB Quentyn DeMara rolls out as Viking

linebacker Jack Long (45, center back) pursues.

In view is UC receiver Matthew Bresko (4).

Centurion receiver Dreyden Garner (left)

takes a pass on the right side as a Viking

defender confronts him.

LJ's Brody St. John (23, right) chases Quentyn

DeMara in the second quarter.

Dreyden Garner of University City hauls in

a 27-yard pass from QB Quentyn DeMara

with 2:01 left in the third quarter

for a 41-21 lead.

LJ FB: Medrano's last home game

Jane Medrano, Academic Advisor

for the La Jolla football program,

stands alongside Aaron

Quesnell, Athletic Director,

on Senior Night Nov. 1.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Jane Medrano, the Academic Advisor for La Jolla's football team, told a reporter on the sideline Fri., Nov. 1, that this game would be her last regular-season home game.

"I'm going to retire," the short, dedicated mentor and friend of many of the Viking football players confided as the team battled University City on Senior Night at Edwards Stadium.

Medrano, who attends all of La Jolla's home games, has worked with student-athletes to keep their grades up and to keep them eligible ever since Coach Tyler Roach came to LJHS eight years ago.

She is often seen encouraging a member of the team, offering a word of advice, or providing some other support on the sideline. Her son has attended home games with her many times over the years. He is a rabid football fan.

Medrano's plans are to complete the 2024-2025 school year, then teach summer school in a grand exit next summer from her vocation as an English teacher on campus.

She grew up on the wealthy Palos Verdes Peninsula in Greater L.A. She said only later that she realized that upbringing prepared her for the type of student who would attend La Jolla High, also in an affluent area.

LJ Cheer at LJ-UC FB - 11/1

Photos by Ed Piper

LJ FB 27, UC 48 - End of regular season

Viking defenders swarm UC back Jahlon

Adams (left) for a TFL (tackle for loss):

Jett Thomas (far left, behind), Asher Sternberg

(40), and a teammate (helmet next to ball on left).

Also in view is Jack Long (45). (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla (2-2 in the Eastern League) stumbled to the close of its Eastern League schedule with a 48-27 loss on Senior Night at the hands of University City (3-1) Fri., Nov. 1, that at times was painful to watch.

The Vikings (6-4 overall), who started the season with three powerful victories over respected foes, led the Centurions 21-7 midway through the second quarter.

University City then proceeded to score 41 unanswered points, until La Jolla scored a face-saving touchdown as time ran out at the end of the game.

The evening started with the pregame introductions of the 17 Viking seniors and their families, including All-CIF lineman Jett Thomas, a commit to San Diego State.

But the realities of La Jolla's recent up-and-down output quickly surfaced, with a fumble on the opening drive giving way to UC receiver Tay Lockett's 45-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Quentyn DeMara for an early 7-0 lead.

DeMara, a junior coming into the contest with 28 passing TD's and eight more on the ground, only added to his portfolio as he threw and dished to an assortment of receivers and backs, including Lockett (two scores), running back Nakeem Jones (3 TD's in a row), and Dreyden Garner (a pair of receptions).

The hosts sparkled early: Aidan McGill rushed for a 7-7 tie. Nico Bardaro took a Hudson Smith aerial for 31 yards and a TD.

Finally, Smith, showing confidence, ran in on a keeper from five yards out for the 21-7 advantage.

Things didn't last.

LJ FH 1, Canyon Hills 0

Vikes' Sydney Hersman (6, left) defends

on Sami Lee of the Rattlers.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Not to be redundant, but La Jolla's standing in the Western League stood starkly in contrast to that of Canyon Hills, the Vikings' opponent Wed., Oct. 30.

There they are: The standings in the conference show Coach Amanda Combs Warford's team in second place, at 6-4, behind Bishop's.

Below them is Scripps Ranch, under .500 with four wins and five losses.

Way below them comes up the Rattlers, they of the other decades-long dominance, now humbled at 4-6 for fifth place.

Mind you, things can all change with the postseason, which start next week (Nov. 5). But again, the point is made, La Jolla is in the upper echelon, their two former mortal enemies--the Falcons and Rattlers, back then the Conquistadors--bringing up the rear.

It's hard to explain to a newbie who hasn't lived the reality of the way things were under the two dominant coaches in the area.

Combs doesn't have a big head, and she's not talking trash as her Vikings continue to play well after a successful trip to the Bay Area Oct. 18-20. She lets her girls play.

Sydney Hersman, a freshman, is a product of the new feeder program at Muirlands Middle School. She's already a starter on the varsity as a ninth-grader, with hopefully many years of productivity ahead of her.

LJ FH: Ranked #2 in the state

The Vikes' Talia Snider (4) inbounds the ball

in the second quarter in a 1-0 win

at Canyon Hills Wed., Oct. 30.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla's field hockey team, coached by Amanda Combs Warford, is ranked number two in California. It's right there in the rankings, if you look it up on MaxPreps.

This is the golden age of field hockey at La Jolla High. This team, for Fall 2024, is the best team on campus. No other team on campus, in any season, has held a ranking this high in recent memory.

I had a conversation with Warford before the Vikings' game at Canyon Hills Wed., Oct. 30. I said something about the squad being ranked 11th in the state.

Warford, on the sidelines preparing her players for the match coming up in half an hour, quickly corrected me. She pulled out her cellphone and looked up the ranking. "It's on MaxPreps. They have us as second in the state," she said.

Wow. As Carly Simon sang, "These are the good old days." These are the days that people in the future will refer back to when they talk about the best field hockey teams in the history of the school.

La Jolla is achieving that level now. LJHS's varsity, in the fall season or any other sports season, is the top team on campus by ranking. The only other team that would even be in the conversation would be Coach Kelly Drobeck's first two Open Division champions in beach volleyball in the San Diego Section in Spring seasons of 2022 and 2023.

That's something to crow about.

As she went over pregame preparations with her players, Amanda told them, "You are the better team." That's saying something. Consider the location and circumstances: In the old days, that would have been blasphemy on Canyon Hills' home field. It was Canyon Hills, and Scripps Ranch, as well, who held the dominant positions in CIF San Diego for years. For decades.

Paula Conway, former LJHS Athletic Director, naming Amanda Warford as the Viking field hockey coach eight years ago was the best move she could have made.

The dream has come to fruition.

And looking ahead, the future looks even brighter. "We only have four seniors," said Warford. "On our JV A and JV B teams, we have freshmen who are vying for positions (in the program)."

The feeder programs at Muirlands Middle School are already beginning to bear fruit, in quality players who have developed their stick skills and who don't have to rely only on their athleticism to stay in the game. Now they are bringing top hockey skills with them to be offensive, as well as defensive, standouts.