John McFadden’s  announced decision to step down as head coach at Eastlake leaves  nine active San Diego Section coaches with at least 100 victories.

McFadden became the Titans’ head coach in 2000 and posted a record of 120 wins, 42 losses, and 4 ties in 14 seasons.

McFadden’s  .735 winning percentage is third only  to the active John Carroll of Oceanside (234-74-6, .755) and the late Birt Slater of Kearny (134-41-9, .753).

Duane Maley of San Diego was 97-19-2, .826, from 1948-59, when County schools were in the  Southern Section.

Other 100-game winners still  listed as active heading into the 2014 season: Rob Gilster (183),  Willie Matson (166), Sean Doyle (145), John  Morrison (140),  Gary Blevins (129), Chris Hauser (115), Matt Oliver (115), Jerry Ralph (111), and Mike Hastings (111).

McFadden’s teams won eight Mesa or South Bay League championships, tied for another, and earned two San Diego Section championships.

His replacement has not been  announced but John Maffei of U-T San  Diego reported that Lee Price, a longtime assistant at Eastlake, is McFadden’s likely successor.

Price was 6-5 and won the Harbor League championship at Coronado in 1992.

A complete list of 100-game winners can be accessed by linking to “Football” and Coach 100 Club on the drop down menu.

With training camps still  weeks away, eight new head coaching appointments have been announced:

NAME	SCHOOL	REPLACED
Drew Westling	Chula Vista	Judd Rachow
Joe Kim	Clairemont	Ron Gladnick
Jon Goodman	Classical	Jon Burnes
John Roberts	El Camino	Pulu Poumele
Tyler Hales	La Jolla Country Day	Jeff Hutzler
Lance Christensen	Otay Ranch	Anthony Lacsina
Jason Patterson	Orange Glen	Kris Plash
Ron Gladnick	Torrey Pines	Scott Ashby

 

The result of the Eastern League’s vote to determine its champion after a three-way tie for first was considered by some so egregious that even the coach of a potential playoff opponent led the shouting.

San Diego High was the selection of the league’s principals after the Cavemen finished with a 5-1 record, same as St. Augustine’s and Patrick Henry’s.

That the Cavemen were in the playoffs for the first time since 1960, following a 2-7 season in 1968, should have been enough for a collective doffing of headwear to Allan (Scotty) Harris.

Harris, a retired major and former coach of the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot team, took over the Cavers’ program in 1968 and the team found its stride after a 2-3 start this season.

San Diego won the renamed City Conference playoffs  and went on to tie County Conference titlist Escondido, 21-21, for the AA title, but not before critics, including Kearny coach Birt Slater, were heard, loudly.

REPRESENTATIVES SWAYED?

One complaint was that San Diego’s closing run of victories over Crawford (57-6) and Hoover (56-7) gained too much currency with the league’s voting representatives.

Another was that the Eastern League schools, by choosing the Cavers, “were punishing St. Augustine” for unproven charges of misconduct.

St. Augustine virtually had to shoot its way into the City Prep League in 1957 and some schools still chafed at the Saints’ perceived advantages of recruiting and in eligibility.

The most vocal beef was that St. Augustine’s head-to-head victory over San Diego and the Saints’ superior team statistics were dismissed.

The issue even got the attention of the San Diego Section board of managers, made up of district superintendents or their appointees.

The CIF bosses had been fielding their own dose of criticism from coaches, fans, and media about  another subject, the short, two-week football playoff.

The bosses finally extended the postseason one week for the first time this season, allowing the two conference champions to play in a winner-take-all, AA title contest.

The ruling body of the San Diego Section also hung with the Eastern League, citing Article 24 of the CIF bylaws.

The article states…“leagues shall determine their own champions in any way they see fit, provided their methods are not contrary to the rules of the San Diego Section.”

THREE-WAY LOSSES

San Diego entered the playoffs with a 6-3 overall record and with a 21-14 victory over 6-3 Patrick Henry but with a 24-21 loss to St. Augustine, which was 8-1 and with a 7-0 loss to Henry.

The eight playoff teams, four in each conference, posted a combined record of 62-11.

Escondido (9-0) was the County’s top seed. Kearny (9-0) was the City’s top seed and would play a lower-seeded, at-large team, one that was to be added to the bracket after league winners were positioned.

SLATER CODE RED

Kearny suddenly was forced to the take on at-large St. Augustine in the first round.

Birt Slater fumed. He figured his first opponent would be San Diego, a team the Komets whipped, 21-7, early in the season.

“There is no question which team proved itself this season,” Slater told Bill Finley of the Evening Tribune. “It would (even) have made more sense to choose Patrick Henry than San Diego.  At least (Henry) was good enough to beat San Diego.”

Slater compared the San Diego selection to a student who “flunks the first half of the semester, then passes the second half.  You don’t give him an ‘A’.”

RURALS DISTRUSTFUL?

Slater veered direction.  “The reason we have two separate playoffs (since 1967) is because the County has always distrusted us.  This is why.”

The Kearny mentor, a former San Diego High assistant, was referring to a selection process the County felt always favored the city schools.

Slater, never one to duck controversy, railed that the “democratic” league vote was faulty because “there’s too much self-interest.”

The coach’s solution was a “dictatorship”.  He favored allowing CIF commissioner Don Clarkson to  select the teams. “He’d be fair and this type of thing wouldn’t happen.”

Kearny was flushed out by St. Augustine, 14-6, and San Diego had the last laugh.  The Cavers, behind the thrusts of Robert Jones, cousins Lee and Paul Davis, and Arnold Miller, rushed for 321 yards and ran St. Augustine into a 31-7 submission in the City final.

Four running backs!  Shades of the Duane Maley Cavers of the ‘fifties.

The Eastern League had gotten it right.

SEA OF WHITE

Greg Durrant was a fledgling teenager and his parents helped guide Greg’s passion for football, taking the youngster to all 11 Castle Park games.

According to Durrant, citing the Castle Park Trumpet newspaper, the Trojans were the first high school team in the country to be outfitted with white shoes, joining the pros’ Joe Willie Namath and Fred (The Hammer) Williamson as history makers of this color footwear.

When Castle Park came out on the field for the pregame warmup before their kickoff against Morse, the Trojans were in all white.

“Morse thought Castle Park was wearing only socks,” remembered Durrant.

The Trojans scored a 24-0, opening game victory in a battle of 1968 conference champions, then ran off nine more victories in a row.

COUGARS CLAW BACK

Escondido  fell behind, 27-14, in the second quarter but finally knocked out Castle Park, 35-33, in the County final at Aztec Bowl.

Escondido coach Chick Embrey called a quarterback sneak as the San Diego Section championship ended before 13,572 at San Diego Stadium.  This after the Cougars had tied San Diego with 2:09 remaining.

“Sure, I’d be in favor of sudden death,” said Embrey, fearing the worst after a series of mishaps leading up to the last play, “but it’s unfair to say we were playing for a tie.”

The 21-21 deadlock was only the third in Embrey’s 14 seasons and 136 games as Escondido coach. San Diego had a 17-7 advantage in first downs.

“A” GETS SQUARED AWAY

For the first time since 1966 the Southern League was able to formulate a true playoff bracket.

The eight-team circuit (three would be added for other sports) was divided into two divisions, with each division’s winner meeting in a championship game.

La Jolla Country Day, San Miguel School, Army-Navy, and San Diego Military were in the Coastal Division and Borrego Springs, Mountain Empire, Julian, and Ramona comprised the Mountain Division.

Ramona (6-3) topped Army-Navy (3-5), 32-0, for the title.

FOR ONE OR FOR TWO?

That was a new and often anxious decision awaiting coaches.

Eleven years after the colleges, nine years following the American Football League, and 25 years before the NFL, the nation’s high schools, including the 48 football-playing squads in the San Diego Section, opted for the rule allowing the two-point conversion try following touchdowns.

Football scientists over the years determined that the 2-point option probably is successful 50 to 55 per cent of the time, depending on time and situations in the game.

Accordingly, San Diego Section teams attempted 22 two-point attempts and converted 12 on the first weekend of games.  The success rate was 52.2 per cent.

PASSES MORE SUCCESSFUL

Teams were good on 7 of 10 passing attempts and 5 of 12 running attempts.  None of the successful two-pointers played a direct role in the outcome of the game.

The traditional, one-point kick still was en vogue.

Mission Bay’s Mike Marquez, who scored touchdowns on runs of  six and nine yards, booted two points after  to give the Buccaneers a 14-13 victory over Mar Vista.

MORE PLACEMENTS?

Kicking also was going to become more optimal, suggesting a long-delayed acknowledgement of the vintage and mostly unused field goal.

Goal posts were being widened from the existing 18 feet, 6 inches, to 23 feet, 4 inches, in compliance with National Collegiate Athletic Association guidelines.

Football cleats also would be reduced from 7/8-inch to ½-inch in an effort to decrease knee injuries. The goal posts and cleats would be implemented gradually but become mandatory by 1971.

‘SIXTIES FAVORITES

Kearny’s season came to an abrupt end but the Komets and Escondido, completed the first decade of the CIF San Diego Section as the preeminent teams from 1960-69:

TEAM	RECORD		COACH
Kearny	68-23-5	.719	Birt Slater
Escondido	67-29-3	.687	Bob (Chick) Embrey
Oceanside	64-26-5	.692	Herb Meyer
Helix	62-25-2	.701	Dick Gorrie, Warren Vinton, Al Hammerschmidt
Lincoln	61-27-4	.677	Shan Deniston, Earl Faison
University	56-29-5	.640	Robert (Bull) Trometter
Grossmont	55-25-1	.688	Ken Maynard, Sam Muscolino, Pat Carroll, Pat Roberts
St. Augustine	55-33-3	.636	Tom Carter, Ed Doherty, Joe DiTomaso
Point Loma	54-32-6	.607	Bennie Edens
Carlsbad	53-35-3	.592	Sveto (Swede) Krcmar

GROSSMONT ROLLS NINE

A state CIF decision near the end of the summer allowed the Grossmont League to count its preseason carnival as a scrimmage.

District schools now were allowed to schedule a ninth regular-season game. The ninth annual Grossmont League carnival, which spun off the original Metropolitan League carnival that began in 1956, attracted almost 12,000 persons to Aztec Bowl.

SOUR ON CARNIVAL

But the carnival “leaves most of the league’s coaches cold,” said the Evening Tribune’s Jack Williams.  “I’d play my JV if I could get away with it,” said one coach.

A complaint that dated to the City Schools’ carnival in the 1940s was that teams often had to play full games the next day in order to fill nonleague schedules.

Coaches worried about the quick turnaround and carnival injuries and deplored the interruption of season preparation.

CITY RESET?

A City Schools carnival comeback?

No, but it was under consideration because of the rising cost of athletic programs.

The City Schools carnival, a September fixture since the second carnival in 1940, was discontinued after the 1962 contest when schools asked for, and were granted, the option of scheduling a ninth game, according to Bill Center of The San Diego Union.

But a strong contributing factor to its demise was that the carnival also had become a hot potato for city honchos as rowdiness and violence in and around Balboa Stadium seemed to occur each year.  

The carnival had been under the lights since its origin at the end of the 1939 season until moving to the afternoon in 1959. Program costs were such that  numerous budget measures were on the table, including, but not confined to, the scary idea cutting of coaches’ game film and equipment.

STARS AND SONS

Castle Park standouts included future NFL first-round draft choice Steve Riley, a tackle out of USC, and future Metropolitan League coaches George Ohnessorgen and Andy Sanchez.

Another lineman was Coronado’s Ken Huff, who did not make the all-San Diego Section team but became a first-round selection after playing at North Carolina. Coronado’s quarterback was George Murphy, son of a former USC player and longtime NFL game official.  

Fallbrook quarterback Eddie Feigner was the offspring of the world-famous fast-pitch softball star of the same name.

 

Point Loma tight end Peter McNab was the son of San Diego Gulls hockey coach Max McNabb and a future, 15-season NHL player.

Mar Vista quarterback and all-purpose Gene Alim, who went on to dominate the 1980’s as head coach at Sweetwater, may have intercepted as many as 12 passes from his safety position.  Years later Alim was reported to have ended his career with a CIF record-tying total of 22.

Alim’s three field goals, from 15, 21, and 17 yards, were enough for Mar Vista to defeat Coronado, 9-7.

Kearny wide receiver Dwight (Shaky) McDonald went on to play at U.S. International in San Diego.

McDonald’s senior season was across town at San Diego State. Dwight  led the nation with 86 catches in 1974 and caught the eye of NFL scouts.

He signed as a rookie with the San Diego Chargers and played four years with the local pros.

David Plaut was the student representative from Patrick Henry High, reporting on Patriots games to the Union. Plaut followed a journalism path at Northwestern University and  enjoyed an award-winning career as a writer and director for NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.

HIATUS FOR PALOMAR

The unwieldy Palomar League, featuring Marian in South County, Ramona in the East County, and Army-Navy and San Marcos in North County, shut down, to return in a subsequent year.

While Ramona and Army-Navy stayed together in the Southern League, in separate divisions, Marian found residence in the Metropolitan League and San Marcos in the Avocado.

HENRY JOINED BY PARKER

The Patrick Henry Patriots played a complete varsity schedule in their second year and in the school’s first year with sophomore, junior, and senior classes.

The Francis Parker Lancers teed it up for the second time in the school’s 57-year history, playing a junior varsity schedule. The school, then located in Mission Hills, played an abbreviated schedule in 1924.

MIKE’S NO FAKE

Sweetwater’s Mike Faketty, a 6-foot, 2-inch, 220-pound tackle, recovered a fumble, sacked the quarterback twice, blocked a punt, was in on 11 tackles, and provided the essential block on a touchdown run.

“It was the finest game I’ve seen a linemen play in the four years I’ve been here,” said Red Devils coach David Lay.

Faketty’s fury was directed at Mount Miguel, a 30-0 loser to Sweetwater.

In the Red Devils star system, which awards outstanding performance, Faketty received five stars. “Nine or ten is the most we’ve had, in a whole year,” Lay told writer Jack Williams.

WELL TRAVELED

Marian’s new coach, Bill Craven, was at Buena Park High in 1968 after stops at Norwalk Excelsior, Artesia, San Juan Capistrano (now San Clemente), and Garden Grove Bolsa Grande.

Craven moved on again following the overmatched Crusaders’ 0-9 debut in the Metropolitan League.

QUICK KICKS

When you’re winning you can say almost anything, witness Grossmont coach Pat Roberts’ description of his  linemen for Union writer Bill Center:  “We’re so slow we’d drown in a car wash”…Hilltop’s A.J. (Art) Sisk resigned about a week before the season to take a job in the publishing business…Byron Meyers replaced Sisk, who was 29-24 in six seasons…coach Scotty Harris on San Diego High’s  defense, to Bill Finley:  “They don’t  care about their lives.  They just throw their bodies at the ball”… Helix coach Al Hammerschmidt estimated that quarterback Steve Coover threw almost 3,000 passes since the end of the 1968 season and before the start of September practice…La Jolla fans were cheering hurrah when Jim Harrah was on the field…the riffs in the Sweetwater offense were orchestrated by sophomore quarterback Steve Riif…Brad McRoberts went from being a quarterback at El Cajon Valley in 1968 to a tailback-linebacker at Santana this season…Mount Miguel coach Ben Cipranic listed nine assistant coaches on his staff, including Duane Freeman, a star on the 1960 team…after a 0-0 first quarter, Castle Park savaged Marian, 54-0, setting a school record for most points and amassing 524 yards in total yards…three Castle touchdowns were called back by penalties…Coronado’s 63-0 victory over Army-Navy represented the most points by the Islanders since a 73-6 win over La Jolla in 1929….

The names that figure to be shouted out in 2015 are Labrie-Smith and Johnson from Cathedral, Acolatse from Mission Hills, with maybe a raised voice by Mongiovi from West Hills.

All were underclass standouts among the women, who made the most noise on what was, at best, another average season by San Diego Section athletes, at least in comparison to most of the other nine CIF sections in California.

Junior Hanna Labrie-Smith was second in the state meet and set a Section record of :41.67 in the 300 hurdles and sophomore teammate Dani Johson ran :42.13 and blitzed  wind-aided times of  :13.81 and :13.99 in the 100 hurdles in the state meet. Johnson set a Section record with a non-wind :14.16 at the finals at Mt. Carmel.

Junior Suzie Acolatse turned in the fourth (:11.59) and seventh (:23.97) all-time fastest times in the 100 and 200. Junior Melissa Mongiovi logged :55.61 in the 400 but did not approach her personal best of :54.70 from 2013.

Madison’s Doton Ogundeji led the men and won the state shot put at 65 feet, 5 1/2 (fourth) but fouled at over 200 feet in the discus trials and did not qualify.  Ogundeji’s accepted 194-5 is sixth all-time.

The edited best marks list for 2014 was compiled by Steve Brand, for more than 40 years an expert and fan of the sport.

MEN

100 (Fully Automatic)— Brandon Lucas (Poway) 10.63 (Tie No. 16 all-time),  John Kendrick III (Morse) 10.69, Dosier (Monte Vista) 10.80, Dickens (Grossmont ) 10.82, Doan (St. Augustine) 10.84, Stinson (Helix) 10.85, Beck (Tri City Christian) 10.85, LeBlanc (University City) 10.88.

200— Lucas (Poway) 21.18 (No. 10 all-time), Doan (St. Augustine) 21.76, Carson (Olympian) 21.82, Dosier (Monte Vista) 21.95, Whiting (Lincoln) 21.97,  Mudd (Poway) 21.98,  Kendrick III (Morse) 21.99.

400—Ezeokoli (Mt. Carmel) 48.11,  Thomas (Scripps Ranch) 48.18,  Lucas (Poway) 48.39, Collins (Granite Hills) 48.85,  Capoocia (El Capitan) 48.91,  DeHaven (Granite Hills) 48.99,  Shaheed (Mt. Carmel) 49.09.

800—Mangoba (Vista) 1:52.33, Greer (Valley Center) 1:52.96,  Soto (El Cajon Valley) 1:53.43,  Kuzminsky (Torrey Pines) 1:53.44,  Morton (Mt. Carmel) 1:53.6, Famolaro (West Hills) 1:54.26, Durall (Del Norte) 1:55.63.

1600—Morton (Mt. Carmel) 4:11.11,  Braude (Torrey Pines) 4:13.03,   Armes (Coronado) 4:13.67 (4:12.09c), Tucker (Westview) 4:14.66, Merder (La Costa Canyon) 4:16.69.

3200— Fahy (La Costa Canyon) 8:53.95 (No. 4 all-time),  Braude (Torery Pines) 9:00.92, Siniscalchi (Westview) 9:19.84, Drisco (Carlsbad) 9:21.64.

110HH (Fully automatic)—Martin (Eastlake) 14.41, Nelson (Del Norte) 14.59, Alvarado (Rancho Buena Vista) 14.65, Johnson (Serra) 14.79, Thibodeaux (Monte Vista) 14.87 (14.73w).

300IH— Nelson (Del Norte) 38.40, Johnson (Serra) 38.63, Lyndsey (Poway) 39.02, Lachica (Mira Costa) 39.26, Reed (Escondido) 39.38, Martinez (Sweetwater) 39.40, Johnson (Serra) 39.62, Grumbling (Oceanside) 39.6.

4x100R— Poway, 41.45,  Steele Canyon, 42.31,  Oceanside, 42.45,  St. Augustine, 42.69, Granite Hills, 42.83 (42.1),  La Costa Canyon, 42.95,  Monte Vista, 42.99.

4x400R— Granite Hills,  3:18.71,  Mt. Carmel,  3:19.04, Del Norte 3:19.20,  Scripps Ranch 3:20.75,  Steele Canyon  3:20.95,  Poway 3:21.49,  Westview 3:24.10.

High Jump— Arroyo (Westview) 6-9, Carson (Bonita Vista) 6-8, Bush (Poway) 6-7, Patmon (Patrick Henry) 6-6, Probe (Serra) 6-6, Benson (Point Loma) 6-5, Hepworth (Del Norte) 6-5, Rettig (El Capitan) 6-4, Beebe (Mater Dei) 6-4, Dumas (El Capitan ) 6-4.

Pole Vault—Bush (Poway) 15-9, Sones (Vista) 15-6, Wagenveld (Calvin Christian) 14-9, Winters (Ranchlo Bernardo) 14-8, Zawadski (Patrick Henry) 14-6, Logan (Rancho Bernardo) 14-6, Rothweil (Rancho Bernardo) 14-2.

Long Jump—Miller (Oceanside) 23-8, LeBlanc (University City) 22-11 ½, Wiley (Steele Canyon) 22-7, Dodds (Oceanside) 22-5, Hennie (San Marcos) 22-4, Rettig (El Capitan) 22-4, Noble (Palo Verde) 22-3 ¾, Bush (Poway) 22-3 ½.

Triple jump— Dodds (Oceanside) 48-1, Benson (Point Loma) 47-3 ½w, Carter (Imperial) 45-9 ½, M. Holder (Oceanside) 45-4 (45-5w), Wiley (Steele Canyon) 44-11 ¾, Brooks (Patrick Henry) 44-11.

Shot Put—Ogundeji (Madison) 65-5 ½ (No. 4 all-time), Braddock (Eastlake) 56-10, Wyatt (Helix) 54-10, Hendrickson (San Pasqual) 53-7 ½, DeMarco (Torrey Pines) 52-5, Hampton (Helix) 52-1, Gonzalez (El Camino) 51-11 ½, Lyons (Serra) 51-4 ¼.

Discus—Ogundeji (Madison) 194-5 (No. 6 all-time), Braddock (Eastlake) 170-11, Hampton (Helix) 168-9, Savage (Morse) 167-10, Lenford (Oceanside) 166-4, Gonzalez (El Camino) 160-1.

WOMEN

100 (Fully automatic)—Acolatse (Mission Hills) 11.59 (No.4 all-time), Labrie-Smith (Cathedral) 11.98 (No. 17 all-time),  Patterson (Rancho Bernardo) 12.00, Freeman (Carlsbad) 12.03, Stallman (Ramona) 12.11, Johnson (Cathedral) 12.12.

200—Acolatse (MH) 23.97 (No. 7 all-time), Mongiovi (West Hills) 24.59, Patterson (Rancho Bernardo) 24.65, Burell (Chula Vista) 24.96, Stallman (Ramona) 25.32, Scott (Westview) 25.36, Labrie-Smith (Cathedral) 25.38 (24.79w).

400—Mongiovi (West Hills) 55.61, Scott (Westview) 56.36, Gould (La Costa Canyon) 56.49, McCarthy (Carlsbad) 56.54, Labrie-Smith (Cathedral) 56.7, Leonard (Poway) 57.41, Chadwick (La Costa Canyon) 57.50, Frank (Morse) 57.75.

800— Sammer (Rancho Bernardo) 2:12.18, Akins (Rancho Bernardo) 2:12.23, Pullum (Point Loma) 2:13.99, Roberson (La Jolla) 2:14.22, Kelly (University City) 2:14.42, Buckle (San Pasqual) 2:14.68, Bernd (Canyon Crest) 2:15.09.

1600—E. Abrahamson (La Costa Canyon) 4:50.02 (No. 10 all-time), Bernd (Canyon Crest) 4:53.05 (No. 14 all-time), Ortlieb (San Pasqual) 4:59.39, Kelly (University City) 5:00.64.

3200—E. Abrahamson (La Costa Canyon) 10:23.50 (No. 3 all-time), Ortlieb (San Pasqual) 10:46.46, LaSpada (La Jolla Country Day) 10:47.43, Johnson (Clairemont) 10:53.74, Garcia (Mt. Carmel) 10:57.51.

100H—(Fully automatic) Johnson (Cathedral) 14.16 (No. 2 all-time) (13.81w), Labrie-Smith (Cathedral) 14.36 (No. 8 all-time), Magdalena (Olympian) 14.54 (No. 13 all-time), Molter (Valhalla) 14.60 (No. 14 all-time), Jones (San Marcos) 14.87.

300H—Labrie-Smith (Cathedral) 41.67 (Section record), Johnson (Cathedral) 42.13, (No. 2 all-time), Bell (Steele Canyon) 43.84 (No. 15 all-time), Curry (University City) 44.80, Magdalena (Olympian) 44.90.

4x100R—Rancho Bernardo 47.82, Cathedral Catholic 47.83, Valhalla 48.37, Poway 49.26, La Costa Canyon 49.29, Morse 49.39, Torrey Pines 49.42, Serra 49.43, Del Norte 49.55.

4x400R—  Rancho Bernardo 3:54.78, Cathedral 3:55.33, Poway 3:55.97, Carlsbad 3:56.20, Valhalla 3:56.70, La Costa Canyon 3:57.13, Mt. Carmel 3:58.88.

High Jump— Curry (University City) 5-6, Callahan (Coronado) 5-5 ½, Rowlett (Carlsbad) 5-4, Snow (Carlsbad) 5-4, Yates (Rancho Buena Vista) 5-4, Mahon (Westview) 5-4.

Pole Vault—Thomason (Rancho Bernardo) 12-7 (No. 8 all-time), Chandler (Cathedral) 11-10, Jackson (Ramona) 11-7, Bartsch (Coronado) 11-7, Farr (Patrick Henry) 11-6, Wagenveld (Calvin) 11-3.

Long Jump— T. Dozier (Mount Miguel) 19-2 ½ (No. 11 all-time), Cromer (University City) 18-5, Kennedy (Serra) 18-4, Shuler (Julian) 18-2, Muhammad (La Jolla Country Day) 18-1, Hasselhuhn (Carlsbad) 18-1.

Triple Jump—Noiseaux (Eastlake) 38-9, Muhammad (La Jolla Country Day) 37-11 ½, Cole (Del Norte) 37-10, Kennedy (Serra) 37-9 ¾, Nash (Calvin Christian) 37-3.

Shot Put— Tausaga (Mount Miguel) 44-4 ¾ (No. 6 all-time), Osby (Escondido) 43-8 ½ (No. 10 all-time), Helgesen (El Camino) 40-4, Mohamed (Imperial) 40-2, Almquist (Santa Fe Christian) 39-9, Altice (Del Norte) 39-7, Jackson (Castle Park) 39-0.

Discus—Osby (Escondido) 135-6, Tausaga (Mount Miguel) 127-11, Nofodji (Hoover) 125-9, Altice (Del Norte) 125-8, Dozier (Steele Canyon) 124-11, Reilly (Valley Center) 123-11, Helgesen (El Camino) 122-9.

Not exactly the stuff of Agatha Christie, but mystery surrounded  “The Missing First Downs”.

La Jolla and Calexico engaged in a Southern California Lower Division playoff at La Jolla.

The game ended in a 6-6 tie, but The San Diego Union reported the next day that the Vikings “won”, 7-6, and advanced to a championship encounter.

As Union writer Mitch Angus noted, “An extra point tossed in for an edge in first downs made gave La Jolla High school a 7-6 victory over an invading Calexico High eleven in a bitter minor football playoff on the Jewel City gridiron.

“The Vikings scored 13 first downs to nine for the visitors to win the game on a CIF ruling,” wrote Angus.

Headlines the next few days tell a story.

Calexico did not protest but asked CIF commissioner Seth Van Patten for clarification of the rule pertaining to tied playoff games.

Van Patten went to his rule book.

According to a Mr. Lawson, the principal at Calexico, the commissioner said that because no official record of first downs was kept  the game either would be replayed in Calexico or go down as a tie.

(Van Patten had ordered replays before.  Search 1927: Foothillers Bring Championship to Grossmont).

The Union conducted a review and reported that in an unofficial count of five newspapermen and “other interested parties”, La Jolla was given the edge in four first down tabulations and one was even.

La Jolla principal Clarence Johnson was out of town and could not be reached for comment.

Days later the matter still was unsettled as thoughts turned to Christmas and basketball.

The game wouldn’t be replayed.

According to the Union, the head linesman assigned to the game was responsible and failed to keep a record of first downs.

The official in question was Joe Beerkle, the head coach at San Diego High.

Area coaches manned the other officiating positions. Grossmont’s Jack Mashin was referee, Morris Gross of San Diego State was back judge, and Sweetwater’s Cletis (Biff) Gardner was umpire.

The CIF Southern Section record book lists no lower division champion for 1938.

METROPOLITAN PLAYOFF OUT

There was talk of a postseason, Thanksgiving Day game for the Metropolitan League title after Point Loma and La Jolla tied for first with 5-1 records (La Jolla beat Point Loma, 22-7, and Coronado upset La Jolla, 6-0).

A decision not to play was made after principals from each school met with coaches.

Point Loma honcho Clarence Swenson stated, “We felt it might hinder the chances of the Metropolitan League entry in the CIF minor league playoff.”

Point Loma had won league titles in 1936 and 1937 but had declined invitations to participate in the postseason.

La Jolla later won a coin flip with the Pointers to determine the league’s playoff representative against Calexico.

FIVE TROJANS FROM SAN DIEGO

USC coach Howard Jones mined the recruiting fields in San Diego with great success during his tenure as the “Head Man” at USC from 1926-40.

Six players  from San Diego were on Jones’s 1938 squad that upset undefeated Notre Dame, 13-0, then defeated a Duke team that had not been scored on, 9-0, in the 1939 Rose Bowl.

From left:  blocking halfback Joe Shell (Hoover), end Sal Mena (San Diego), guard Ben Sohn (San Diego), fullback Roy Engle (Hoover), and quarterback Oliver Day (San Diego). Not pictured, back Ambrose Schindler.

WHAT DO YOU REALLY MEAN?

Coach-speak could be ponderous at best, or did sportswriters of the day just report quotes the way they wanted to hear them?

La Jolla boss Marvin Clark was quoted thusly when Clark spoke of the team’s prospects after 40 candidates turned out:

“Since we have no outstanding threat—no player capable of breaking away for touchdowns with enough frequency to be considered a menacing ball packer—we must work extra hard for our touchdowns, which means that we are not apt to be more than a good defensive (sic) team.

“The club is too small to be overly powerful, for our players will not average more than 150 pounds, and that means we will have to content ourselves with making trouble for the big fellows.

“We hope to have a good team but our prospects are not brilliant.”

La Jolla, 3-5 in 1937, improved to 8-1-1.

TOO MUCH HYPE

Coach Joe Beerkle moved from Point Loma to San Diego and one of his standout Pointers, halfback Paul (Red) Isom, followed Beerkle, accompanied by much hoopla.

The coach complimented Isom, sort of.

“They’re trying to put Red on the spot,” said Beerkle.  “He’s no flashy, triple threat man. He’s good, however.”

Isom played through  injuries and led the Cavemen with five touchdowns and 30 points.

Red guided the Cavers 70 yards to the winning touchdown in the final minutes  as San Diego defeated Phoenix Union, 19-14, on the sixth annual Homecoming weekend. The school honored graduates from the class of 1891.

The Cavers had met the Arizona squad 12 times since 1923 but the series would be suspended because of travel concerns and not renewed until 1946.

FAREWELL, MOORS!

Alhambra won the Coast League championship after the Cavers missed a point after touchdown in a 6-6 tie, but the Moors were ending an affiliation with the Coast that began in 1925.

Games on the road with San Diego and Hoover usually were two-day trips, sometimes three.

Ground breaking for Mark Keppel High meant a new school would open on the east side of the city, cutting into the enrollment of the largest school in Southern California.

Alhambra would join the Foothill League, made up of mostly neighboring San Gabriel Valley schools, and the Coast League would be reduced to three teams, San Diego, Long Beach Poly, and San Diego Hoover.

3 LEAGUES MEET

A meeting in Long Beach among the 16 Bay League, Coast, and Foothill schools resulted in a realignment proposal that was adopted at a meeting at South Pasadena High in early 1939.

Representatives, including San Diego High vice principal Edward Taylor,  agreed to guarantee five league games in 1939-40 for the six Foothill, seven Bay, and three Coast League squads in football, basketball and baseball.

San Diego would play Hoover, Poly, Whittier of the Foothill League, and Compton and Inglewood of the Bay.

The Bay League’s Long Beach Wilson and the Foothill League’s Alhambra and Glendale Hoover were scheduled to be San Diego Hoover opponents.

The intersectional games would count in the teams’ league standings and hopefully revitalize the struggling Coast League.

NO PLAYOFFS URGED

Rivalries, partisanship and potential charges of bias were noted by commissioner Seth Van Patten when opponents were to be selected.

Van Patten named an executive committee that was charged with drawing up schedules.  Members of the select group did not have any connection to the schools involved.

Another recommendation that was not passed at a subsequent meeting called for the elimination of all playoffs.  The postseason apparently was not profitable and therefore not popular, but they would continue.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Seventeen bomber planes, from Navy Patrol Squadron 4, flying in formation all night, set a record for air time from San Diego to Honolulu on Sept. 7.

The planes covered the 2,150 miles in 17 hours, 17 minutes.

The trip, described politely as a “routine transfer of patrol bombers,” was made at an average speed of 145 knots, according to officials.  Converted, 145 knots was equal to 167 miles per hour.

CLIMATE CHANGE?

The San Diego temperature of 94 degrees on Oct. 2 broke the record of 88, set in 1893. Six weeks later, on Nov. 12, the temperature dropped to 18 in Descanso, 25 in El Cajon, and 30 in Escondido.

Tomatoes suffered in El Cajon and water froze on Palomar Mountain.

WHO’S GOING TO PAY?

The San Diego State Aztecs attended the USC-Notre Dame game in Los Angeles and then spent the night in a downtown L.A. hotel.

The next morning, after a team breakfast, graduate manager Al Morrison prepared to pay.

Morrison discovered that his wallet had been emptied of its contents. A further check revealed that currency had been removed from the billfolds of head coach Leo Calland and athletic director Morris Gross.

One other hotel guest reported that he, too, had been robbed. The Aztecs made good on the breakfast tab after returning home.

MR. TOUCHDOWN

Bobby Cifers, a triple-threat halfback from Kingsport, Tennessee, set a national high school record with 233 points in 12 games. Cifers scored 34 touchdowns and 29 PAT to break the mark of 211 set by Chicago prep Bill DeCorrevont in 1937.

WHO ARE THESE GUYS?

They were  mostly former San Diego High players  and they represented the Golden Hill Gophers, who defeated the Hilltoppers’ junior varsity, 12-0.

COOVER OF HOOVER

Chuck Coover was a 140-pound, second-team all-Coast League end and one of many future coaches mentored by Hoover’s John Perry.

Coover coached many years in San Diego, taking on almost impossible tasks at football-barren St. Augustine (1947), Mar Vista (1952-53), and Mission Bay (1959-61), before moving to Morse.

The school South of Encanto in the city’s Skyline District opened in 1962 and Coover built the program from the ground up.  He retired after a 9-2 season in 1968.

ADVERTISING FOR PLAYERS

Joe Beerkle was desperate for backfield help and placed a faux help-wanted ad in the morning newspaper.

“Any halfback, quarterback, or fullback not regularly employed at present kindly report to the San Diego High practice field at 2:30 this afternoon for a tryout.”

Beerkle was elated when Dempsey Holder, a 180-pound halfback, transferred in from a school in the Phoenix area in Arizona.

Like some Hollywood marriages, the relationship was brief and ended unhappily for Beerkle.

Holder, who stepped in at right halfback against Long Beach Poly, was gone three weeks later, moving back to Arizona.

EVENING TO REMEMBER

The first night game at Coronado turned into a frenetic last quarter.

Coronado scored two touchdowns in the last five minutes to overcome St. Augustine, 13-6, after the Saints took a fourth-quarter lead on Les Duffy’s 100-yard punt return.

MOVIES

Film study still was in its development stage, but San Diego coach Joe Beerkle took up most of one practice day by showing the squad “slow motion pictures” of the California-UCLA game from the previous week.

Beerkle hoped the film would aid Cavers backs blocking for Red Isom.

HONORS

Guards Bill Seixas of San Diego (first team) and Dave Cobb of Point Loma (third team), and halfback Al Walden of La Jolla (fourth team), earned all-Southern California honors.

TRUE GRID

A fight almost started at midfield  over possession of the game ball after  San Diego defeated Hoover, 14-0, before 16,000 in City Stadium…the ball finally was delivered to San Diego coach Joe Beerkle…San Dieguito spoiled dedication of Escondido’s new field, edging the Cougars, 7-6,  in the season opener for both teams…Fallbrook, in its third season of football, welcomed a turf playing surface; so did San Dieguito…Ramona won its inaugural game, 7-0 over Fallbrook…Metropolitan League rivals Oceanside and Escondido played a Thanksgiving Day nonleague game with proceeds setting up a fund for injured players…Escondido made it two in a row over the Pirates, 20-0…Hoover and Tucson drew 5,000 spectators in the  Arizona city the day after Thanksgiving…the Badgers beat the visitors, 14-6…Point Loma’s ace blocking back and defensive star Jack Farrell turned 20 in the middle of the season and had to leave the team, having exceeded the CIF age limit…

Happy Father’s Day!

Oregon’s Mac Fleet defended his national collegiate 1,500-meter run championship with a time of 3:39.09 yesterday, helping the Ducks win their first men’s championship since 1984.

Nosing out Arizona’s Lawi Lalang, who was seeking a ninth NCAA individual championship, Fleet made a powerful stretch run in front of his parents, Dale and Jana Fleet, and  a crowd of more than 10,000 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Fleet is a name that has resonated many years in San Diego track and field circles.

Dale Fleet was the 1971 state champion for Clairemont High with a time of 8:53.8 in the two-mile run at Drake Stadium on the UCLA campus in Westwood.*

Dale’s time, converted to meters, is 8:50.84, fourth all-time in San Diego County.

Mac ran 4:05.33 to win the state 1,600 meters as a senior at University City in the 95-degree heat at Buchanan High in Clovis in 2009.

The younger Fleet’s 1,600 meters is No. 2 all-time among area runners and his 1:50.31 for 800 meters is fourth.

Mac also is sixth in the all-time California prep rankings with a 4:02.9 mile that converted to 4:01.29 for 1,600 meters.  His 3:39.09 1,500 meters in the NCAA event converts to a 3:56.55 mile.

Fleet also won the 1,500 in 3:50.25 in 2013 at Eugene  and ran a personal best 3:38.35 last season.

*That  meet still ranks among the best ever in California.  Competition, before a crowd of more than 12,000,  was so intense and marks so outstanding  that Lincoln’s Donald Tyler, for example, ran a  :47.3 440 and finished eighth in a field of nine.

Tyler’s :47.3, converted to :47.14, has been bettered by only three San Diego runners, led by the :46.85 of Morse’s Lydell Burston  in 1996.

Dale Fleet, a San Diego school teacher, still is involved in the sport, helping out with the cross-country program at University City.

The narrative originally was posted on June 9, 2014.

As far back as early season 1989, Morse coach John Shacklett was able to smile through a 2-2 start and a forfeit win, supported by a belief that the best was yet to come.

This was after the Tigers had defeated Orange Glen, 31-28, for the 1988 3-A championship and not about the potential of the team that would reach the 3-A finals again in 1989 before losing, 21-7, to Rancho Buena Vista.

Shacklett was thinking further ahead, to 1990, and to Teddy Lawrence’s senior season.

Built around the explosive running and passing of Lawrence and junior running back Gary Taylor, Morse returned 29 lettermen and 18 players who started at least one game in 1989.

Rancho Buena Vista, El Camino, Helix, Mira Mesa, Chula Vista, Orange Glen, Oceanside, and Kearny also would be formidable. Morse met five of those teams, but only George Ohnessorgen’s Chula Vista Spartans came within a touchdown, in the 3-A semifinal.

Did this group of gifted players gathered on the 28-year-old campus at 69^th Street and Skyline Drive represent the all-time, No. 1 San Diego County team?

—Better than the 1916 San Diego High mythical national championship squad?

—Better than the 1955 Cavers national champions?

—Better than the 1985 state No. 1 Vista juggernaut?

—Or some of the Oceanside, Vista, Rancho Buena Vista, and El Camino teams that reflected the population explosion and increased talent pools in the 1970s and ‘80s in the North County?

—Not to mention Birt Slater’s 1963 Kearny Komets; any of a number of Duane Maley’s other San Diego High clubs; the Helix teams coached by Jim Arnaiz and Gordon Wood, or the Sweetwaters of David Lay and Gene Alim?

The Tigers built a case for themselves, game by game, beginning in Hawaii Aug. 26.

MORSE 55, @ HONOLULU PUNAHOU 15.

Barack Obama’s alma mater, a storied program on the islands, was no match. Teddy Lawrence rushed for 206 yards in six carries and scored on runs of 85, 42, and 67 yards and passed for touchdowns of 65, 11, and 36 yards.

A couple weeks later Punahou defeated St. Louis, Hawaii’s No. 1 team.

MORSE 28, RANCHO BUENA VISTA 14, @Mesa College

A headline read, “Taylor Runs Morse to 28-14 Upset”. It was the last time Morse would be associated with the word upset.

The Tigers were  clearly superior.

Gary Taylor burst for 234 yards in the first half, scoring on runs of 75, 85, and eight yards as Morse avenged the 1989 championship loss.

“I was surprised how easily we were able to get outside on them,” said Shacklett, who, not pleased, added, “We self-destructed with penalties.”

MORSE 56, @SWEETWATER 28

Pundits suggested the Tigers would be flat after their big victory and Sweetwater, featuring Willie Branch, who ran for 226 yards in a 25-0 victory over Crawford, was waiting.

Branch returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and the Red Devils’ home crowd of 5,500 exploded.

Branch’s brother, Danny, rushed 71 yards for a touchdown on Sweetwater’s first offensive play and Willie Branch ran 96 yards with another kickoff.

But Morse found  its stride and ran away from the hosts.  Gary Clark had 262 yards in 19 carries and matched Willie Branch’s three touchdowns.

“I thought we were in for it (after Branch’s opening kickoff return),” said Shacklett, “but our offensive line wore ‘em down.”

MORSE 57, @VISTA 14

“I’m real pleased with our first four ball games,” Shacklett said.

Really?

Morse had just hit Dick Haines with the most lopsided defeat in Haines’ 21 seasons and 226 games as the Panthers’ head coach. The only more decisive loss for Vista was a 46-0 blowout by Tustin in 1946, a span of 433 games.

Gary Taylor rushed for 5 touchdowns and 177 yards and Conan Smith for 104 yards and 1 touchdown.

MORSE 44, LINCOLN 6, @MESA COLLEGE

After a 26-10 loss to Lincoln in 1989, Shacklett ordered the Tiger paws logo removed from the team’s helmets.

The paws reappeared briefly in the 1989 playoffs but permanence was going to be determined by what happened in the neighborhood fling with the Hornets.

Usually overshadowed by the offense, the Tigers’ defense decided the game with three first-half pass interceptions that led to touchdowns.

“The defense gets it all going,” said safety Tommy Bennett.

MORSE 57, @KEARNY, 6

At 5-0 and ranked seventh in the The San Diego Union poll, Kearny expected to be in the game.

Wide receiver Darnay Scott, who would go on to a solid NFL career, operated on the same offensive level as Morse’s big hitters.

Scott was regarded by some as the section’s top college prospect but went scoreless and caught  two passes for 15 yards.

“During (pregame) exercises they would point at us,” said Teddy Lawrence.  “We wanted to score on every possession after that.”

“I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t tell you I’m surprised at how easily we’re scoring,” Shacklett told writer Steve Brand.  “You look up and boom….”

MORSE 60, SERRA 8

Gary Taylor raced 67 yards for a touchdown on Morse’s first play.  He added three others and rushed for 274 yards in 17 carries.

MORSE 40, @POINT LOMA 13

A matchup of the state’s No. 3 and No. 10 teams doesn’t occur often during the regular season, but here was Point Loma adding temporary seating to augment the concrete bleachers at Ross Field.

The game was such that Wayne Lockwood, The San Diego Union columnist, covered his first high school game in years.

Morse was 7-0, averaging 50.3 points, while Point Loma was 6-0, holding a win over powerful El Camino and having surrendered only 27 points.

“I think we have as good a chance as they do to win,” Point Loma coach Bennie Edens told Steve Brand.  ”We’ll move the ball, they’ll move the ball.  There will be no 0-0 tie.”

Morse moved to a 26-0 lead at halftime.  Point Loma fought back, closing to 26-13 and battling on defense.

“They were hitting hard,” said Lawrence.  “Those Glover brothers (La’Roi and Darcell) are good.”

But just as soon as the Pointers caught the Tigers’ scent it was over.  Lawrence passed to Tommy Bennett for a touchdown and ran 29 yards for another.

“They shot down the option,” Shacklett said of the Point Loma defense, “so we tried to get Teddy into the open field.”

Lawrence scored on a 59-yard dash on a trap play and got off a couple punts on bad snaps that could have changed the game’s complexion.

MORSE 57, PATRICK HENRY 13

Another Taylor, Gary’s twin brother, Cary, caught a 35-yard touchdown pass.   Gary scored three touchdowns and running mate Conan Smith scored two.

MORSE 35, @MIRA MESA 14                                                        

Jose Villalana added his fifth point after Morse’s final touchdown, which made for a nice evening’s work for the kicker, but the point had greater significance.

The Tigers passed the 1954 Vallejo team that featured future NFL star Dick Bass as the state’s highest scoring team in the regular season, according to Cal-Hi Sports.

Morse now had 489 points, one more than Vallejo, although the Tigers needed 10 games and the Apaches did it in nine.

MORSE 49, GRANITE HILLS 6, @SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE

It was 42-0 at halftime in this first-round playoff, at which point Shacklett reined in the offense.  Morse’s sometimes skittish defense intercepted four passes as the Tigers went to 11-0 and the Eagles to 4-7.

MORSE 48, VISTA 14, @SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE

Vista manned up, successfully executing an on-side kickoff to start the game, then hitting on a 41-yard pass and scoring on the next play to take a 7-0 lead.

Revamping their attack after their early-season loss, the Panthers went to the air 24 times. They recovered another on-side kick to start the third quarter and closed to 28-13, but Tommy Bennett intercepted a pass and Gary Taylor ran 66 yards for a touchdown.

Vista’s decision to promote its passing game was reflected in its rushing game:  22 attempts, 0 yards.

MORSE 35, CHULA VISTA 28, @SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE

“I thought we had ‘em,”  Spartans coach George Ohnessorgen dejectedly remarked to Buster Olney of The San Diego Union.

The battle-tested Tigers had to fight back after trailing, 28-13, at halftime amid a slew of turnovers and three Spartans touchdowns in three minutes.

“I was scared at halftime, but I knew we could pull it out,” said Lawrence, who fumbled two times and had three interceptions in the first 24 minutes as fog and a roaring Chula Vista crowd engulfed the stadium at Southwestern College.

But it was Lawrence’s 44-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that finally beat the charged Spartans, who still were coming in the final minute.

A Morse defensive back fell down covering Neviett Richardson, who took a pass over the middle from Brandon Gregg and raced to  the Tigers’ five-yard line. But a Spartan was flagged for clipping  a Morse defender on the play, nullifying the gain.

Morse had survived a barnburner.

MORSE 28, ORANGE GLEN 7, @JACK MURPHY

Teddy Lawrence‘s 99-yard kickoff return turned a 7-7 tie into an eventual walkaway and another championship, Shacklett’s third.

Lawrence’s 71 yards in 12 carries allowed him to meet a 100-attempts  minimum  for section record consideration. His 101 carries for the season averaged 13.79 yards, breaking Markeith Ross’ 11-man record of 10.83 in 1989.

Gary Taylor’s 2,625 yards rushing broke the 1988 record of 2,568 by Rancho Buena Vista’s Scott Garcia.

Morse’s 649 points and 46.3 scoring average set a state record, topping the 639 of the Southern Section’s Diamond Bar in 1984.

POLLS

La Jolla Country Day, led by Rashaan Salaam’s 51 touchdowns and 314 points, was Cal-Hi Sports’ 8-man team of the year.

Morse finished second to Merced, which was  13-0 and the Sac-Joaquin Section champion.

The Merced Bears were located only 70 miles from headquarters of Cal-Hi Sports, which was located in Stockton in the middle of the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Morse was No.1 in Southern California and No. 4 in the country as selected by USA Today.

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER?

Several Tigers received Division I scholarships, but only one played in the NFL and he was undrafted. Safety Tommy Bennett signed a free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals out of UCLA and played six seasons.

Other Tigers who went D-1: Teddy Lawrence, UCLA; Cary and Gary Taylor, Arizona; Kevin Nolan (Purdue), John Moe (Navy), Donnie Rich (Fresno State), and Danny Williams (Fresno State).

Lawrence was a three-year starter at defensive back for the Bruins but was released in training camp by the NFL Baltimore Ravens.

FALCON TAKES FLIGHT

Torrey Pines, coached by Bob Davis and quarterbacked by his son, Chad, wanted to put the ball in the air.

Chad set San Diego Section records with 55 attempts and 35 completions for 365 yards, the sixth highest total since records began being kept in 1960. All of that offensive airpower was to no avail.  The Falcons dropped a 21-9 decision at Sacramento-area Elk Grove.

BEWARE, WOLVES

West Hills, which sustained a 65-8 loss to Grossmont in the Wolf Pack’s 1989 inaugural season, improved from 3-7 to 9-3, won the Grossmont AA title, and defeated the Foothillers, 16-14.

The Wolf Pack’s Nathan Vail toed three field goals, including a 30-yarder with 30 seconds remaining to bring West Hills from behind to victory.

MARINERS SUNK

Mar Vista, down to 12 active players, forfeited its last two games to bottom out at 1-9.  Fifteen players had been declared academically ineligible and three others were removed because of disciplinary reasons.

Athletic director Pat O’Neil blamed the season’s academic disintegration on the fact that not one of the varsity coaches worked or taught at the school.

“I think it’s very difficult to keep on the kids to find out how they’re doing if you aren’t on campus,” O’Neill told writer Buster Olney.

O’Neill pointed out that “it’s hard to communicate with the other teachers.  The teachers are gone by 3 (p.m.) and the coaches get here at 3:30.”

The problem was not new and would not go away.

STARS APLENTY

Morse’s collective power was matched by individual standouts throughout the section.

–Kearny receiver Darnay Scott became a No. 2 draft choice of Cincinnati and caught 408 passes in an eight-season career with the Bengals and Dallas.

–Hoover quarterback Tony Banks played nine seasons with St. Louis, Baltimore, and Houston after being the Rams’ second-round draft choice in 1996.

–La Jolla tackle John  Michels played four seasons in the NFL and was a No. 1 pick of the Green Bay Packers out of USC. Michels made the NFL all-rookie team but his career was cut short by knee injuries.

–Rashaan Salaam went on to the Colorado University and won the Heisman Trophy.  He was a first-round selection of the Chicago Bears.

–Junior defensive tackle La’Roi Glover, who had 17.5 quarterback sacks, was a fifth-round draft choice of the Oakland Raiders out of San Diego State,  played 13 seasons, and made 6 Pro Bowls.

–Point Loma wideout J.J. Stokes was the 10th player selected in the first round out of UCLA to the San Francisco 49ers.

–Chula Vista ‘s Donnie Edwards was a standout at UCLA, drafted in the fourth round by Kansas City, and played 13 seasons with the Chiefs and San Diego Chargers.

–Markeith Ross of Rancho Buena Vista set a career rushing record of 4,486 yards  and, like Rashaan Salaam, scored seven touchdowns in one game.

–Running back-linebacker Wayne Pittman of Mira Mesa  probably was the best two-way player in the Section, his mind each day on his dad, who was deployed in the Gulf war.

NORTH COUNTY POWER

Want to be a high school coach and qualify for the postseason?  Become a coach in the Avocado or Palomar leagues.

Twelve teams, six from each circuit, earned AAA or AA playoff berths. Vista, Torrey Pines, Fallbrook, Vista, Mt. Carmel, and Orange Glen were in the AAA bracket and San Marcos, Carlsbad, Ramona, Oceanside, El Camino, and Escondido were in the AA alignment.

Castle Park (5-5) did not attend the seeding meeting, which eased the way for 5-5 Fallbrook.

PLAYING AND FILMING

He would become the head coach at Grossmont years later, but for now Tom Karlo was the Foothillers’ quarterback and an occasional  sideline photo assistant at NFL games.

Karlo’s dad, Tom, Sr., was a sideline cameraman at NFL games for NFL Films..

THE PROPHET MEYER

After El Camino was shut out, 19-0, by Point Loma in the season opener, ending the Wildcats’ 12 game winning streak, Herb Meyer spoke:

“We’ve done this before and survived.  It wasn’t as much as what they did as what we didn’t do.   This isn’t the best Point Loma team I’ve seen, but they kicked our butts.  We’ll put it behind us and move on.”

The Wildcats lost three of their next four, then ran the table with 9 straight wins to a 10-4 record and the Section AA title, 26-7 over Kearny.

Point Loma was beaten by Rancho Buena Vista, 27-12, in the playoff quarterfinals and finished with a 9-2 record.

RUSHING RASHAAN

In a season in which he played six eight-man and five 11-man games, La Jolla Country Day’s Rashaan set an 11-man record when he ran for seven touchdowns as the Torreys crushed Marian, 68-0.

Salaam didn’t play favorites.  He scored seven more in a 65-37 repeat win over The Bishop’s in the eight-man championship.

For the season, Salaam had 51 touchdowns and eight, two-point conversions in 11 games for  322 points.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

A population of 2.2 million persons was predicted in San Diego County, up about 500,000 from 1980.  The figure, released by the U.S. Census Bureau, represented a 22 per cent increase over the previous 10 years.

SAFE HARBOR

St. Augustine, Coronado, Clairemont, Christian, and Marian joined forces as football-playing members of the  AA Harbor League, which was created in 1989 with this season as the target date for football.

The schools essentially were too large for 1A classification and too small for AAA.

The move was Coronado’s sixth  in 17 years.  The Islanders were longtime members of the Metropolitan League before joining the short-lived Coast League in 1973.  They bounced back to  the Metropolitan ’77,  moved to  the South Bay in ’81,  and, for the previous two seasons, was an independent.

TRUE GRID

Southwest’s Riley Washington scored 23 touchdowns in 11 games but was more known for his record-setting, :10.3 100 meters in spring track and the state championship…Serra celebrated the first night game at the Tierrasanta school campus, then took a 28-6 loss from St. Augustine…University’s quarterback was Michael Henning, son of Chargers coach Dan Henning…Rancho Bernardo picked a difficult opponent for its inaugural game…the first-year Broncos lost to Orange County’s Rancho Santa Margarita, 27-0…Randy Walker stepped in at quarterback for Lincoln and led the Hornets to 4 wins in their final 5 regular-season games and into the playoffs after an 0-5 start, the Hornets’ poorest in school history…Lincoln was eliminated by La Jolla, 14-13…Vista coach Dick Haines stuck with Eric Jencks through an 0-5 start and Jencks guided the Panthers to 6 wins in a row including a playoff victory before a 48-14 loss to Morse….