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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Al Walden, 145-pound La Jolla scatback, was leading scorer in County with 11 touchdowns, 12 PAT and 78 points.,
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.
While a San Diego High defender (striped helmet) appears out of the field of play and engaging a game official, Blanchard of Phoenix Union, trailed by teammates, scored touchdown for 13-7 lead. San Diego came back to win, 19-18.
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.
Escondido was only 3-6 under first-year coach Charlie McEuen but Frank Thames (left) and Howard (Bob) White made the all-Metropolitan League second team. White coached Escondido to a 6-3 record in 1952.
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
Coover was on San Diego prep scene as player and coach.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.
San Diego’s Hank Newman caught pass from Red Isom and scored on 15-yard play for first touchdown against Hoover.
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…
2014: Mac’s fleet 1,500 propels Ducks to title
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.*
Fleet is among the state’s and San Diego’s all-time runners.
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.
1990: Was Morse The Number One Number One?
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 69th 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?
Tigers’ Teddy Lawrence in familiar stride, running away from opponent.
—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
Lawrence ground out yardage against the RBV Longhorns.
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
Conan Smith, scoring one. of his two touchdowns against Sweetwater, was just one of Tigers’ offensive weapons.
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
Gary Taylor ran for almost a mile-and-a-half in 14 games.
“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
Shacklett and assistant coach Junior Poutoa, a former three-year starter at Morse, were wall to wall with Tigers.
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
Point Loma’s David Gresham is unhappy with direction of his directional punt.
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
The Brothers Taylor: Cary (left) and Gary went on to play at the University of Arizona..
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.
Wayne Pittman scored on runs of 1 and 71 yards, but Mira Mesa could not hang with Tigers after 14-14 tie at halftime.
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.
San Marcos’ Lance Gallegos sees oncoming Ramona posse but doesn’t see Bulldogs defender Brandon Droulliard. Knights won, 21-7.
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.
Bennett (28) roamed NFL secondaries with Arizona Cardinals.
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.
Kearny’s offense revolved around NFL-bound Darnay Scott.
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.
Ross gained almost 4,500 yards.
–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
The 6-2, 210-pound Salaam left defenders in his wake.
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….
Todd Tobias (51) thought he was posing for an individual photograph but instead was photo bombed by his Grossmont teammates.
2014: Ogundeji, Cathedral Girls Stand Out
A couple hard-knocking hurdlers from Cathedral and a shot putter from Madison furnished the star power for the San Diego Section in the boys’ 96th and girls’ 41st State high school track and field championships over the weekend in Clovis.
Doton Ogundeji of Madison, overcoming a fouled-filled, nonqualifying 163-foot effort in Friday’s discus trials, won the shot put on Saturday with a toss of 65 feet, 5 1/2 inches, matching his career best.
Ogundeji’s victory, coming in one of the meet’s final events, kept alive a streak dating to 2002 in which the San Diego Section has produced an individual winner.
Hannah Labrie-Smith finished second in the 300 hurdles with a San Diego Section record :41.67.
Labrie-Smith’s sophomore teammate, Dani Johnson, was seventh in the 100 hurdles but her time of 13,99, which followed a :13.81 in Friday’s trials, would have broken her section record of :14.16 but each race was contested in wind over the allowable 2.0 meters.
San Diego Section athletes scored 58 points total, including Johnson’s seventh, a seventh by Tal Braude in the boys’ 3200, and Emma Abrahamson’s eighth in the girls’ 3200.
OUTSCORED BY POLY GIRLS
What kind of season was it?
The 58 points were less than the 64 scored by the Long Beach Poly girls.
San Diego athletes earned eight medals. By comparison, Central Section athletes, perhaps more adapted to the 100-degree temperatures in Clovis and the surrounding San Joaquin Valley, were awarded 23 medals.
The Central Section has 131 schools, San Diego Section 123.
Labrie-Smith and Johnson will lead the class of 2015.
400–Melissa Mongiovi (West Hills), :55.31 (:54.70 as a sophomore).
1600–Erik Armes (Coronado), 4:13.67.
Long Jump–Jordan Miller (Oceanside), 23-8w.
State Meet Medal Winners
Event
Name
School
Mark
Place
Class
200B
Brandon Lucas
Poway
21.38
5
12
3200B
Steven Fahy
Carlsbad
8:56.97
3
12
4x100B
Poway
:41.73
6
Pole VaultB
Charlie Bush
Poway
15-6
6
12
Shot PutB
Doton Ogundeji
Madison
65-5 1/2
1
12
400G
Melissa Mongiovi
West Hills
:55.31
6
11
300HG
Hannah Labrie-Smith
Cathedral
:41.67
2
11
Pole VaultG
Augusta Thomason
Poway
12-4
3
12
100G
Suzie Acolatse
Mission Hills
:11.67
3
11
Medals for first 6 places. Points for first 8. Scoring on 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
San Diegans in State Top 10
Event
Mark
Name
School
Class
SP Boys
1
65-5 ½ (1)
Doton Ogundeji
Madison
12
100 H Girls
5
:41.67(2)
Hanna Labrie-Smith
Cathedral
11
3200 Boys
3
8:53.95 (3)
Steven Fahy
La Costa Canyon
12
200 Boys
6
:21.18 (5)
Brandon Lucas
Poway
12
PV Girls
4
12-7 (4)
Augusta Thomason
Rancho Bernardo
12
3200 Girls
10
10:23.50 10)
Emma Abrahamson
La Costa Canyon
12
4×100 Boys
5
:41.45 (8T)
Poway
100 Boys
9T
:10.63 (8T)
Brian Lucas
Poway
12
PV Boys
9T
15-9 (9T)
Charlie Bush
Poway
12
Discus Boys
1
194-5 (1)
Doton Ogundeji
Madison
12
100 Girls
4
:11.59 (3)
Suzie Acolatse
Mission Hills
11
200 Girls
9T
:23.97(6)
Acolatse
11
1600 Girls
10
4:50.02 (10)
Abrahamson
La Costa Canyon
12
HJ Boys
5T
6-9 (4T)
Tyler Arroyo
Westview
12
() Last week’s rank.
San Diego vs. California
Event
Name
School
Mark
Name
School
BOYS 100
Brandon Lucas
Poway
:10.63-:10.29
Curtis Godin
Santa Ana Mater Dei
200
Lucas
:21.18-:20.85
Michael Norman
Vista Murrieta
400
Tobe Ezeokoli
Mt. Carmel
:48.11-:46.92
Kemonie Briggs
L.B. Wilson
800
Adrian Mangoba
Vista
1:52.33-1:51.04
David Manahan
Studio City Harvard-Westlake
1600
Derek Morton
Mt. Carmel
4:11.11-4:06
Garrett Corcoran
Villa Park
3200
Steven Fahy
LaCosta Canyon
8:53.95-8:46.80
Blake Haney
Bakersfield Stockdale
110 Hurdles
Shane Martin
Eastlake
:14.34c-:13.47
Misana Viltz
Lakewood Millikan
300 Hurdles
Tyler Nelson
Del Norte
:38.40-:36.86
Marquis Morris
Concord De La Salle
High Jump
Tyler Arroyo
Westview
6-9-7-0 1/4
Eric Moore
Rialto Carter
PoleVault
Charlie Bush
Poway
15-9-17-1
Jake David
Ventura
Long Jump
Jordan Miller
Oceanside
23-8w-25-10w
Nate Moore
Castro Valley
Shot Put
Doton Ogundeji
Madison
65-5 ½-65-4
Matt Katnik
Bellflower St. John Bosco
Discus
Ogundeji
194-5-192
Malik McMorris
Santa Ana Mater Dei
Triple Jump
Kevin Dodds
Oceanside
48-1w-50-4 1/2
Moore
4×100
Poway
:41.45-:40.93
Roseville Woodcreek
4×400
Granite Hills
3:18.71-3:11.86
L.B Poly
GIRLS 100
Suzie Acolatse
Mission Hills
:11.59-:11.22
Ariana Washington
L.B. Poly
200
Acolatse
:23.97-:22.96
Washington
400
Melissa Mongiovi
West Hills
:55.31-:52.52
Kaelin Roberts
L.B. Poly
800
Katie Sammer
Rancho Bernardo
2:12.18-2:06.85
Mikaela Smith
Clovis North
1600
Emma Abrahamson
La Costa Canyon
4:50.02-4:42.14
Anna Maxwell
San Lorenzo Valley
3200
Abrahamson
10:23.50-9:54.89
Bethan Knights
Irvine Northwood
100H
Dani Johnson
Cathedral
:13.88w-:13.54w
Mecca McGlaston
Dublin
300H
Hannah Labrie-Smith
Cathedral
:41.67-:40.90
Reonna Collier
San Jose Piedmont Hills
High Jump
Breanna Curry
University City
5-6-6-0
Claire Kieffer- Wright
South Pasadena
Pole Vault
Augusta Thomason
Rancho Bernardo
12-7-13-9
Kaitlyn Merritt
Rancho Santa Margarita
Long Jump
Talisha Dozier
Mount Miguel
19-2 ½-20-8 1/4
Courtney Corrin
Studio City Harvard-Westlake
Shot Put
Laulauga Tausauga
Mount Miguel
44-4 ½-53-2 1/2
Stamatha Scarvellis
Santa Barbara Dos Pueblos
Discus
Kiely Osby
Escondido
135-6-172-7
Scarvellis
Triple Jump
Joanna Noiseaux
Eastlake
38-9-41-3
Ashley Anderson
Carson
4X100
Rancho Bernardo
:47.82-:45.19
L.B. Poly
4×400
Rancho Bernardo
3:54.35-3:38.25
L.B. Poly
w—Wind-aided.
2014: Ogundeji leads Section State Qualifiers
The San Diego Section has 16 state top 10 performances, compared with 18 two weeks ago and 11 last week as the 96th meet championships loom this weekend at Clovis’ Buchanan High.
There are many scoring opportunities for the local group after a strong finish to the San Diego Section season Saturday at Mt. Carmel, but the field at Buchanan is as loaded as ever. Some potential point-scorers:
–Madison’s Doton Ogundeji has to be favored in the shot put and discus, with state-leading efforts of 65 feet, 5 1/2 inches, and 194-5.
Ogundeji was the only San Diego Section athlete to qualify for Saturday’s finals in two events last year.
But the pressure will be on. Matt Katnik of Bellflower St. John Bosco trails Ogundeji by an inch in the shot put and Malik McMorris of Santa Ana Mater Dei is close in the discus at 192.
–Brandon Lucas of Poway is in three events, 100 (:10.63), 200 (:21.18), and 4×100 relay (:41.45). He would have qualified in the 400 but dropped that event in the San Diego Section finals.
Lucas’ best individual event is the 200, with a fifth-best time of :21.18. Should he qualify in all three, the Saturday night 200 final would be Lucas’ sixth race in two days.
Rumors abounded at the San Diego finals that Poway would make a state meet personnel change, Ryan Morgan replacing one of the foursome that included Will James, Tyjon Lindsey, Lance Mudd, and Lucas in the league and section meets.
–Suzie Acolatse of Mission Hills has come out of the weeds and inserted herself into the conversation with an :11.59 100 and :23.97 200, both times representing significant improvements in the last month.
–Melissa Mongiovi of West Hills ran :54.70 as sophomore last year and finished fifth in the 400. Her best this season is :55.61 and Mongiovi seems to have too much left at the end of her races, but she is a technically sound and fast enough to hang with the favorites.
–Adrian Mangoba of Vista (who?) was laboring in 1:57.74 obscurity 30 days before the section final, but took the lead Saturday early in the second lap and no one could run him down.
Mangoba held on to win in 1:52.33, beating back the challenge of Bannon Greer of Valley Center, who ran 1:52.96.
–Hannah Labrie-Smith, Cathedral’s section record-holding 300 hurdler, was among the state leaders since April with a :42.24, but she fell to No. 8 when Southern Section hurdlers blew out some low :42s and mid :41s.
–Stephen Fahy of La Costa Canyon hopes to make a run at Bakersfield Stockdale’s Blake Haney in the 3200.
Fahy’s 8:53.5 is third best going in and Haney, undefeated in 23 races this year, has not run close to his state-leading 8:46.80 since early April. But Haney tripled in the Central Section finals, running 1:52.86 in the 800, 4:13.07 in the 1600, and 9:18.1 in the 3200.
