LJ g VB: All-league honors

Vikings' Madeleine Gates powers a spike against

Clairemont in Scripps Ranch tourney Oct. 3.
Behind her in #3 libero jersey is Amanda Polcyn.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

Middle hitter-blocker Madeleine Gates finally got the recognition she deserved, garnering First Team All-Western League volleyball honors in selections by the league's coaches.

Fellow middle hitter-blocker Emma Willis and defensive specialist Amanda Polcyn were named to the All-League Second Team.

Gates, a junior opting to play only volleyball this year, dominated the net as a sophomore in 2013-14 with an outstanding kill percentage. But in the way newer, lesser-known players have to build up a resume, she didn't receive league honors. This year the honors arrived.

Willis, a senior and like Gates 6'2", worked hard and accepted a full-ride athletic scholarship to play at the University of Denver next year.

Polcyn also decided to concentrate on volleyball only this year, after she and Gates were key players for the Viking basketball team that went to the CIF title game in March 2014.

Gates, a dominant player on the basketball court her sophomore year as well, averaging 11.9 points and 11.7 rebounds a game, failed to receive any CIF honors in basketball last year. In one game, she pulled down 22 rebounds.

Polcyn recently explained her decision to forgo basketball this year and focus only on volleyball, "Last year I played on a club volleyball team that didn't travel, and it was hard to play (high school) basketball and do homework as well. I figured if it was that hard being on a non-travel team, it would be that much harder on a team that travels."

Gates and Polcyn play year-round on club volleyball teams, in addition to playing on the La Jolla High volleyball team. Their schedules are wearying.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB 53, Bishop's 52

Guard Tony Coan battles for ball

in opening minutes.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

The La Jolla High boys basketball team won in dramatic fashion Fri., Jan. 16, over the Vikings' crosstown archrival, Bishop's, in a non-league game played before loud student body cheering sections from each school.

After trailing by small margins most of the game, the Vikings' Reed Farley slammed a two-handed dunk home with 50.1 seconds remaining on the clock, putting La Jolla in the lead, 51-50. Soon after the dunk, he began writhing in pain on the court. Apparently, he sprained his ankle when he was pushed by teammate Ladd Castellano in a sort of "Attaboy" after the big play, and he landed on a teammate's foot. He had to be removed from the game.

The La Jolla student cheering section, all the while standing and situated right in front of the Vikings' basket, erupted at Farley's slam to a new decibel level.

With Reed holding his right leg and grimacing on the LJHS bench, his teammates battled the final 50 seconds and stopped a last-second effort by the Knights to secure the win. 

Dan Farley, his father, texted the following morning in response to a question, "We (are) treating (it) as sprained right ankle. Right now he (is) icing and watching Duke game."

Following Farley's go-ahead bucket, Bishop's guard Eric Yu scored with 36 seconds left for a 52-51 lead. With 18.6 seconds on the clock, Castellano followed up a miss by Morgan Albers to give La Jolla the lead back, 53-52. That was the final margin.

Said Castellano, still pumped up after the game, of Farley's dunk, "That was literally the play of the game."

Vikings cheerleaders help pump it up in

raucous moments of fourth quarter

at Bishop's. (Photo by Ed Piper)

After the final buzzer sounded, the hundreds of La Jolla High students in the stands streamed down to the floor, posing a challenge for officials to keep them off the court surface, though they were well-behaved. Students formed a human tunnel on the baseline and sideline that all the Viking players except Farley walked through on two feet.

Then, with help and hopping, the 6'4" guard, a bag of ice taped to his right ankle, made his way through most of the human arch. Finally, students swarmed around the now-smiling Reed and lifted him on their shoulders in celebration.

The home scoreboard operator quickly shut off the scoreboard to delete the Vikings' winning score.

LJHS Coach Paul Baranowski told his players after a final huddle, "Don't show them (home fans) up by celebrating too much."

Castellano and Farley shared team-high scoring honors with 13 points each in a two-prong attack. Alex Pitrofsky pulled down eight rebounds, as did Castellano and Farley. Pitrofsky added two blocks.

On his basket for the win, Castellano said, "I saw Morgan drive baseline. He's (my defender) guarding me baseline. So I went in and laid it up."

The two teams were tied for the last time at 48-all with 4:42 left in the game. The Vikings led at the end of three quarters, 44-43, after trailing most of the time following a 15-14 lead late in the first quarter. They never trailed by more than five points in the scrappy, close-fought game.

 

Vikes' Eddie Parker drives baseline on Knights'

Eric Yu. (Photo by Ed Piper)

Free throw shooting was an Achilles heel for the red and black, making only 10 of 20.

Albers was particularly effective early. "I would see Reed was getting doubled. I would slip off the screen (and score)," he said. Morgan contributed seven points, hit three of four free throws, and grabbed four rebounds.

Said the Vikings' 6'2" wing of the win over their rivals, "We haven't beaten Bishop's a lot. On JV's, they beat us when I was a freshman."

The two student cheering sections, seated at opposite ends on the same sideline, buffered by a "demilitarized zone" of  parents and other fans between them, swapped chants throughout the game. After a Bishop's player committed a violation, La Jolla students chanted in chorus, "You can't do that." Bishop's students threw it back at them after a Viking violation later in the game.

The inevitable "Daddy's money" came from the LJHS sector with 1:01 left in the game, as Knight forward Justin Woodley, fouled by Albers, struggled in missing both free throws with Bishop's in the lead, 50-49.

The toga-draped Bishop's students rode Farley hard with "Airball, airball" after he threw up a three that missed everything in the first quarter. The resounding chant from the crowd right next to the Vikings' first-half basket seemed to affect him as he missed one of two free throws for a 15-14 Vikings lead, again one of two free throws with LJHS behind, 17-16.

La Jolla High students finished the night with chants of "We own LJ" as they began to move down the sideline toward the exits.

The challenge Reed is facing now is that he is a known quantity and targeted by rival defenses, following a freshman year in which he was the new kid on the block. The Vikings' other main offensive threat is Castellano. These are the two on the team who can create their own shot. Baranowski has been making adjustments that try to open up options for Farley to score.

Most of the game, Farley brought the ball down court and set up the offense. Later, Castellano took some of those duties. Another configuration, used in the tournaments in December to good result, positions Farley on the right wing for high-flying pyrotechnics like his slam dunk.

Baranowski went with Pitrofsky as a big man for 21 minutes, Mark Rawdin logging 13. The 6'6" Pitrofsky scored off an inbounds play under the basket from Castellano early in the third quarter. A short time later, he took a feed from Farley to send the Vikings up 37-35, then followed that with a block under the Bishop's backboard at the other end.

Guard Zach Duffy, coming off the bench behind Tony Coan after starting several games, launched a three-pointer to tie at 33-all in the third stanza. Earlier, he recorded a block, continued his nice rebounding for a guard, and had an assist to Pitrofsky for a score.

5'6" sub Gaynor Blackmon showed a new aggressiveness in driving into the lane multiple times and was rewarded with free throw opportunities, though he wasn't able to capitalize.

Eddie Parker opened scoring in the ballgame when his defender became more concerned with what was going on in the rest of La Jolla's offense. The 6'2" guard slipped in on the baseline from the right wing and laid the ball up unmolested for an early and what turned out to be a rare 2-0 lead.

The Vikings play at Mission Bay Tues., Jan. 20, following the three-day weekend with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Monday. Mission Bay trounced UC by 40 points.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB 49, St. Augustine 82

Ladd Castellano was in a zone in the early going

against the talented Saints. (Photo by Ed Piper)

La Jolla fans would have liked it differently, but St. Augustine's boys basketball team, ranked number five by MaxPreps in San Diego, was as good as advertised. After a initial threat, when the Vikes overcame a 9-0 lead to go ahead 17-15, the Saints sent in swarm-after-swarm in their 10-player rotation and mercilessly routed the hosts, 82-49, Tues., Jan. 13.

The Saints, under long-time and respected Coach Mike Haupt, played four sophomores and a junior in one of their core line-ups, which is pretty scary considering their youth and the prospect that "they are just beginning to jell," as one observer put it.

La Jolla was coming off a heartening win over Lincoln on Lincoln's home court Fri., Jan. 9. You might have thought that that would be a confidence-builder that could take Coach Paul Baranowski's crew to the next rung. Instead, maybe the Vikings got up too much for the Hornets and either let down from that high or didn't have enough left in the tank to face the storming Saints. LJHS had also played a thriller to beat Scripps Ranch Tues., Jan. 6, so maybe it was too much to ask of them to keep a fine edge for St. Augustine.

Guard Ladd Castellano was a force determined through the first 12 minutes, and it made a difference for the first eight. LJHS went ahead by two with 32 seconds remaining in the first quarter on the senior's jumper from the right elbow to wipe out the 9-0 lead the Saints took in the initial minutes.

Earlier, the 6'2" guard nailed a beautiful three to bring the Vikings within three, 13-10. Then straight away he sank another one from the opposite side of three-point range, putting La Jolla close at 15-13.

Starting the second quarter, Ladd gave more of the same: a field goal, then another on a driving basket. He had said after the win over Scripps Ranch a week earlier, "Attacking the basket gets my outside shooting going. I work inside to outside." He was being effective, yet after the driving basket his team still trailed 24-21 and they were done for, as it turned out.

The Saints didn't tolerate any more playing around, and they certainly weren't going to allow even a moral victory by their opponents on this evening. Haupt kept the throttle on, and there was no let-up as St. Augustine outscored the Vikings 33-12 following La Jolla's brief lead late in the opening stanza.

Viking cheerleaders strike poses in their first

game appearance since football in November.

It was their first basketball game under new

advisor Mia Kelley. (Photo by Ed Piper)

Early in the third quarter, following a 16-point halftime lead, St. Augustine led by 22, 51-29, and things only deteriorated from there for the red and black.

Mark Rawdin had a block early in the second quarter. He followed a miss to score a bit later. He willingly tangled with the young and talented St. Augustine big men.

But Haupt had thoroughly studied game film, as his guards never left La Jolla's Reed Farley alone, one of Lincoln's mistakes. Reed couldn't really get started offensively, and he had plenty on his hands handling the ball and moving the offense against the Saints' enveloping defense. He blocked a shot in the third quarter right in front of the backboard.

A bright spot was the insertion of Grant Miller into the game in the fourth quarter, after a month-plus recovery from a concussion sustained in football.

Another was the appearance of the Viking cheer squad for the first time under newly-named advisor Mia Kelley. The cheerleaders performed a solid halftime routine before the crowd made up of good-sized contingents from both schools.

The Western League is shaping up as a pretty tough league, even with the Vikings looking stronger this year. St. Augustine has beaten Mission Bay, which has some notable talent, as well as Cathedral Catholic. The La Jollans are going to have to have their heads screwed on right when they face both those teams.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ g soccer 3, Bishop's 0

In a rivalry grudge match on the Lady Knights' artificial pitch, the La Jolla girls soccer team clubbed Bishop's with three goals in the second half to take the tussle, 3-0, Fri., Jan. 9.

There was an added intensity to the girls' play, one could sense, due to the crosstown rivalry. A relatively large weekday crowd filled the stands on the northern side of the field.

The two teams played to a nil-nil halftime score, with time of possession appearing to be roughly equal, though Bishop's might have tipped the balance.

LJHS coach Kristin Jones' squad is still preparing for league play, having just come back from a two-week layoff during winter vacation.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ g BB 21, Lincoln 29

Junior forward Paulina Cardenas grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and senior guard Sarah Tajran swiped five steals with six rebounds, but La Jolla dropped a 29-21 basketball decision despite holding even with host Lincoln at halftime Fri., Jan. 9.

Said senior captain Jenna Harmeyer of Cardenas' and Tajran's contributions, "They helped us keep possession of the ball, which allowed us to have a close game."

Forward Satori Roberson blocked five shots and added eight rebounds in a topsy-turvy tussle with the Hornets that saw scrums of girls scrambling for loose balls and unpredictable traveling calls and non-foul calls by the officials in the opener of a Friday night girls/boys varsity doubleheader.

La Jolla went down 9-4 at the end of the first quarter, but fought its way back to knot the score at 13-13 by halftime.

The Vikings then got out-scored 10-2 in a slugfest third quarter, which ended up being the difference in the game result.

Freshman Rebecca Saul, tenacious on defense as she sticks like glue to the player she is guarding, sank two free throws in capable fashion during the final period. She also had a field goal, five rebounds, and an assist.

Newcomer Melisa Conroy had eight boards. Harmeyer, the Vikings' main ballhandler, recorded a statistical line of five rebounds, two steals, one assist, and four points.

Kate Miller, returning for her second year on varsity as a sophomore, looks athletic and much more comfortable out on the court since her freshman year as she has gained more playing experience. Miller didn't score, but she did have three rebounds and played aggressive defense.

Harmeyer, Tajran, and Roberson serve as team captains for the Vikings.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB 58, Lincoln 49

Big man Alex Pitrofsky contests shot in

early going of long-awaited win over

Lincoln Jan. 9. (Photo by Ed Piper)

Sophomore guard Reed Farley hit a key three-pointer to put La Jolla up by five points over Lincoln with four minutes to play, and the Vikings sailed to a rare win on the Hornets'  home court, 58-49, Fri., Jan. 9.

Playing every minute, Farley finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

Farley punctuated his mini-dagger of a jumper to send LJHS up 46-41 with 4:26 left with a fist pump and a shout, emblematic of La Jolla's new confidence accompanied by increased skill over the last two years.

Senior Ladd Castellano had 13 points, while Alex Pitrofsky bucketed 12 points with six rebounds.

Facing Lincoln, the state champs in 2010, has always been the mountain to scale on the Vikings' Western League schedule each year. Last year at Lincoln, LJHS had an early lead, but then fell prey to its accustomed nervousness under severe duress and got tripped up in the late going.

There have been so many attempts at "moral victories", and piles of defeats to the customarily cocky Hornets that yet another close call but a loss would have been a heartbreaker for the red and black.

But this time, fellow guard Castellano combined his aggressiveness with the upstart Farley's by attacking the basket in the lane repeatedly. Dual big men Pitrofsky and Mark Rawdin, a rare commodity in La Jolla's basketball history, showed some stick-to-it-iveness underneath. And the Vikings, who led much of the game, were able to bring the victory home.

Coach Paul Baranowski said before the game, "We're going to take the game to them." His contingent went up 14-8 in the early going, before completing the first quarter with a 14-10 lead, enough to give new Lincoln coach Jeff Harper Harris fits on the sidelines as he screamed at his charges and repeatedly pointed at the scoreboard in the huddle.

Defender Ladd Castellano (right) remains watchful

in opening minutes as the Hornets work their offense.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

Farley, as calm collecting his gear at the conclusion as he appeared during the intense contest, said, "We start a new tradition," in reference to breaking the long skein of losses to the renowned basketball school.

Rawdin collected seven rebounds in playing 26 minutes. Guard Zach Duffy led the Vikings with three steals, and contributed four rebounds, two points, and an assist in a versatile statistical line.

La Jolla went into the locker room at halftime leading 26-23. This obviously didn't sit well with the Lincoln partisans, who are accustomed to the play of Norman Powell, part of the state championship team and now a senior on UCLA's squad, and the Robinson brothers, Tyrell and Tyree, other renowned members of that championship squad. Tyree, now a college sophomore, stars on defense for Oregon's football team.

The visitors fought and only gave up the lead to the Hornets at 37-36 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, never trailing after Rawdin made a post move near the lower right block that fell in for 38-37.

Pitrofsky sank one of two free throws to send La Jolla up 57-49, then again for the final margin of 58-49.

Rawdin's post work shows some moves that he didn't possess last year as a junior. He has obviously put in work to learn how to receive the ball down low, dribble to his left, then swing to his right into the lane to put the ball up. 

Farley displays almost a nonchalance in the comfort level he outwardly shows in big games like this. Coolly bringing the ball downcourt and setting up the offense, he helps calm his teammates' nerves. In the early going, however, the 16-year-old was uncharacteristically sloppy, most likely a result of being too amped up in facing the Lincolnites.

Admittedly, the Hornets (now 1-2 in league, 5-8 overall) are on a down cycle this season, having lost their coach of the championship years, Jason Bryant. But La Jolla is much improved over last year, and the formula of the Farley-Castellano guard tandem augmented by the contributions inside from the big men, Rawdin and Pitrofsky, is working well. The Vikings won two tough games this week in the opening act of Western League play, edging rival Scripps Ranch, 53-49, Tues., Jan. 6.

Impressively, La Jolla (2-0, 10-4) outscored Lincoln 22-14 in the final quadrant.

LJHS was helped in the final 16 seconds by an illegal substitution by Harper Harris, when a player did not check in at the scorer's table before entering the game. When the referees called a technical foul, Farley stepped to the free throw line and methodically dropped in two free throws.

The clock, which had been allowed to run down to :14.4, was reset to :16.0. Even so, Lincoln could not make headway on the 56-49 deficit, falling behind further on Pitrofsky's free throws.

The home crowd, formerly vocal, quieted in the closing seconds and filed out with a noticeable absence of sound. Baranowski's players refrained from celebrating outwardly on the court, taking it into the visitors team room.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ b soccer 0, Clairemont 0

Center midfielder Jose Bello (25, black shirt) heads the

ball away from the goal as Viking keeper Eric Vela

(yellow shirt) deals with early pressure from

Clairemont  in the 7th minute of play. of a nil-nil

draw. (Photo by Ed Piper) 

La Jolla High's boys varsity soccer team played to a nil-nil standoff at Clairemont Thurs., Jan. 8, in a well-played game with few shots on goal.

The match marked the debut of Ole Cassidy, a student from Norway, who started for Coach Marcos Gonzales' side and who played most of the game.

The Vikings had a chance to score at 7:14 p.m. of the game that started at 6 p.m., in approximately the 64th minute of regulation time. But the goal, coming off a corner kick and ricocheting around among multiple players before rolling into the net, was nullified on a handball call.

La Jolla opens Western League play next Thurs., Jan. 15.

Andrew Estrella (8) handles the ball early

in non-league match at Clairemont.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

James Penner, who had to wait in December to play until after his club team obligations were completed, was "injured and sick" and unable to play against the Chieftains, according to Gonzales.

The Vikings seem well-stocked with talent and enjoying the structure and stability that coaches Gonzales and Victor Zendejas, who came aboard after the start of the season, are providing.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper