LJ Cheer: @ LJ-Saints FB game 10/29

By Ed Piper

LJ FB 21, Saints 22 - Photos 10/29

By Ed Piper

Corner Landon Watson (5) made one of the stops

on Saints' mini-back Isaiah Pressley, 5'7",

as he made practically every carry for

St. Augustine down the stretch

in the 4th quarter.

As the 2nd half progressed, the fog descended

more and more on the field at Mesa College.

LJ g tennis: Rosen, Kulidjian advance in CIF - 11/1

Photos by Ed Piper

Junior Aura Rosen easily dispatched two

opponents in the first two rounds

of CIF Mon., Nov. 1

at Balboa Tennis Club.

Teammate Karine Kulidjian, a sophomore, likewise

dominated two opponents to advance to the third

round Wed., Nov. 3.

LJHS Coach Darice Carnaje, between Rosen's 1 p.m.

match and Kulidjian's 2:30 p.m. pairing, did some

hands-on coaching with the two girls to tighten up

certain elements of their attack.

LJ FB 20, Cathedral Catholic 52 - Game recap

Receiver Makai Smith (left) gains yardage

on a play in the first half. Smith was

subsequently taken away in an

ambulance for attention to a

concussion he suffered during the game.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla put on a brave face Fri., Oct. 22, in its game at Cathedral Catholic. Cathedral, the number-one ranked team in the county, pulled out all the stops for Homecoming, with a huge crowd filling the Dons' side of the stadium, a smoke-and-light machine the student section could dance to, and a solemn dedication of a space on the upper campus to a deceased faculty member.

The brave face lasted pretty much through the first quarter, as Coach Tyler Roach's "new" Vikings scored first with Makai Smith doing his usual magician tricks, getting a hand on Kevin Steel's pass to somehow knock it into the air and away from his defender, then grab it and rush into the end zone to complete an improbable--for Makai, not really, though--41-yard pass play. Spence Carswell's kick was good, 7-0, La Jolla.

That sounded good for a short while.

The Cathedral punt coverage, with some out-sized individuals facing La Jolla's "puny" line, in comparison, busted in on a Carswell punt attempt and blocked it out of the end of the end zone for a safety. 7-2, La Jolla. That still sounded pretty good.

Even when the Dons, with 6'6" Charlie Mirer at quarterback, scored their first TD, no one on the La Jolla side was panicking. (Mirer is the son of former Notre Dame and Seattle Seahawks QB Rick Mirer, who measured only 6'3", 210 pounds.)

The Vikings finally scored another touchdown on Mason Powers' fleet grab of Steel's pass for an 82-yard completion. But by then, in the second quarter, Cathedral had piled on with massive defenders and began to pile up the score, leading 22-13, headed toward a 43-13 halftime score and the game, in all likelihood.

The gas was taken out of La Jolla's brave face and brave outlook, with starting QB Jackson Stratton not scheduled to make his return until a week later. It would have been interesting with him in there. Roach asked for, and got, a running clock in the second half, and that was all she wrote, 52-20, as Viking running back Justin Scully added a rushing TD to complete the scoring in the (short) fourth quarter.

Makai Smith had to be taken away at halftime in an ambulance, after he had his bell rung and medical personnel wanted to make sure he was observed and taken care of. We were told that that will end Makai's season and high school career.

LJ FB: Stats vs. Madison 10/15

OFFICIAL STATS

Madison 35, La Jolla 14

Fri., Oct. 15, 2021

TEAM TOTALS   LJ     Madison

Total plays             61        65

Total yards           186      381

    Passing yards    19       219

    Rushing yards   19       219

First downs           11        19

    Third down efficiency   LJ 3-11 27%   3-10 30%

Turnovers   LJ 1   Madison 0

    Fumbles lost   0

    Interceptions thrown   LJ 1   Madison 0

Penalties   LJ 9   Madison 8

    Yards   LJ 59   Madison 55

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter                                                                                                  LJ   Madison

Madison   TD 35-yard pass (kick good)                                                     0          7

LJ    TD Ryan Weinberg 10-yard pass from Makai Smith (kick good)      7          7

2nd Quarter

Madison   TD 27-yard pass (kick good)                                                     7         14

3rd Quarter

LJ   TD Makai Smith 68-yard pass from Kevin Steel (kick good)           14         14

Madison   TD 3-yard run (kick good)                                                       14         21

4th Quarter

Madison   TD   26-yard run (kick good)                                                   14         28

Madison   TD   5-yard run (kick good)                                                     14         35

LJHS passing

Kevin Steel   18-35, 157 yards; 1 TD; 1 interception; long = 68 yards

Makai Smith   1-1, 10 yards; 1 TD; long = 10 yards

LJHS rushing

Justin Scully   6 carries, 22 yards; long = 10 yards

Colin Levinson   8 carries, 9 yards; long = 6 yards

Makai Smith   2 carries, -1 yard

Madison rushing

41 carries, 219 yards; 3 TD's; long = 26 yards

LJHS receiving

Makai Smith   6 catches, 75 yards; 1 TD; long = 68 yards

Ryan Weinberg   5 catches, 41 yards; 1 TD; long = 11 yards

Matt Princen   4 catches, 37 yards; long = 11 yards

Mason Powers   2 catches, 8 yards; long = 11 yards

Justin Scully   2 catches, 6 yards; long = 3 yards

Madison receiving

13 catches, 162 yards; 2 TD's; long = 35 yards

Tackles

LJHS   2 TFL's; 2 sacks

Vikings b beach VB 2, Westview 3

By Ed Piper

The Vikings fell 3-2 in the Open Division quarterfinals to Westview's representative Thurs., Oct. 21 at The Pit in Mission Beach (across the street from the roller coaster) to end their 2021 fall season after COVID created disarray with the 2020-2021 schedule.

Jay Northrup, a former Viking star, did much of the coaching alongside an able staff who furthered some players' development and introduced some others to beach volleyball for the first time.

Northrup pointed out Russell Fish during his pairs match Thursday, and said, "Russell is a lacrosse player. This is his first time playing beach volleyball. He is totally coachable."

LJ FB: Stats @ Cathedral Catholic 10/22

OFFICIAL STATS

Cathedral Catholic 52, La Jolla 20

Fri., Oct. 22, 2021

Week #10

TEAM TOTALS

Total plays   LJ - 51   CC - 50

Total yards   LJ - 245   CC - 444

    Passing yards   LJ - 241   CC - 156

    Rushing yards   LJ - 4   CC - 288

First downs   LJ - 7   CC - 19

    Third down efficiency   LJ - 3-13 (23%)   CC - 2-4 (50%)

Turnovers   LJ - 1   CC - 1

    Fumbles lost   LJ - 0   CC - 1

    Interceptions thrown   LJ - 1   CC - 0

Penalties   LJ - 7   CC - 6

    Yards   LJ - 40   CC - 53

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter                                                                                                            LJ - CC

LJ - TD Makai Smith 41 yard pass from Kevin Steel (kick by Spence Carswell)        7-0

CC - Safety - punt blocked, ball traveling out of the end zone                                    7-2

CC - TD 2 yard run (kick #16)                                                                                 7-9

CC - TD 1 yard run (kick #16)                                                                                7-16

2nd Quarter

CC - TD 16 yard run (two-point conversion)                                                           7-24

LJ - TD Mason Powers 82 yard pass from Kevin Steel (kick no good)                   13-24

CC - TD 9 yard pass (kick #16)                                                                            13-31

CC - TD interception return (kick #16)                                                                  13-38

CC - TD 38 yard pass (kick #16)                                                                          13-45

3rd Quarter

Nada

4th Quarter

CC - TD 7 yard pass (kick #16)                                                                            13-52

LJ - TD Justin Scully 2 yard run (kick)                                                                    20-52

Passing

Kevin Steel   16-27 241 yards, 2 TD's, 1 interception; long = 82 yards

Charlie Mirer (CCHS)   11-16, 156 yards, 3 TD's, 0 interceptions; long = 38 yards

LJHS Receiving

Mason Powers   6 receptions, 136 yards, 1 TD; long = 82 yards

Makai Smith   4 receptions, 54 yards, 1 TD; long = 41 yards

Ryan Weinberg   1 reception, 38 yards; long = 38 yards

Colin Levinson   2 receptions, 9 yards; long = 6 yards

Matt Princen   2 receptions, 9 yards; long = 6 yards

Spence Carswell   1 reception, -5 yards

LJHS Rushing

Justin Scully   4 carries, 14 yards; 1 TD; long = 6 yards

Spence Carswell   1 carry, 2 yards; long = 2 yards

Colin Levinson   8 carries, 0 yards; long = 4 yards

Kevin Steel   1 carry, -8 yards