Army-Navy, Grossmont, Olympian, and Otay Ranch continue to win, each improving to a 6-0 won-loss record. Calexico, Patrick Henry, Hoover, and West Hills all were beaten after winning their first five games.
Army-Navy scored a 1-0, forfeit win over Calvin Christian. Grossmont defeated Granite Hills, 48-6. Olympian beat El Capitan, 41-6, and Otay Ranch topped Bonita Vista, 40-10.
Week 7 will mark showdowns in the second week of league play.
Otay Ranch visits Olympian in the Metro Mesa League. Grossmont visitsSteele Canyon in the Grossmont Hills and Army-Navy is host to Maranatha Christian, which returned to 11-man football this season, in the Pacific League.
NO CHANGE IN TOP 10
As in Week 5, Oceanside is No. 1 in the North County Times Top 10 through Week 6, followed in the same order by La Costa Canyon, Helix, Cathedral Catholic, Mission Hills, Poway, Olympian, St. Augustine, Otay Ranch, and Grossmont.
COUNTRY DAY ENDS LOSSES
La Jolla Country Day’s 27-6 win over Francis Parker was its first over the Patriots since 1993. The Torres snapped a 0-9-1 streak to Parker, which holds a 20-8 edge since the series began in 1971.
SPARTANS’ MISERY
Chula Vista’s 49-21 loss to Eastlake embodied frustration.
The Spartans took the third quarter kickoff trailing, 34-21, and held the ball for 18 consecutive plays before settling for a field goal attempt, which was blocked and returned 88 yards by Kiefer Graham for a Titans touchdown.
TRUE GRID
Helix’ 5-foot, 9-inch, 260-pound defensive tackle Amu Milo was everywhere in the Scots’ win over Valhalla, even passing on the halftime team meeting to be crowned Homecoming King…Orange Glen celebrated the school’s 50th anniversary with a 24-20 victory over San Marcos…Rancho Buena Vista is 3-3 after 17 consecutive losses since 2010 and the 36-0 rout of Vista marked the Broncos’ first win over the Panthers since 2006…Oceanside’s cheerleaders were worn out after the 54-3 victory over Carlsbad, having dropped to the track at Simcox Field and doing pushups until matching the number of points posted by the Pirates….
2012, Week 5: Area’s Best Fall Short Against Southern Section
It has been said for years that San Diego produces many of the best of the best players, but falls short when matching up with teams from North of the County line. That holds true in 2012.
Not counting Imperial County members, San Diego Section squads were 29-25-2 in pre-league intersectional games this season, but many of those involved lower division or 8-man squads.
Well-regarded local clubs were 0-5 in high profile contests against ranked, Southern Section tough guys from Orange and Riverside Counties.
The breakdown, including up-to-date won-loss records of the Southern Section teams in parenthesis:
Steele Canyon 49, Canyon Country Canyon 49 (3-1-1).
Oceanside is the No. 1 team in the latest North County Times poll. La Costa Canyon is second, Cathedral third, and Mission Hills fifth. Valhalla is unranked.
Demographics, population areas, interest, and facilities aren’t that much different. Most Orange and Riverside County schools are within at least an hour from most of the San Diego schools.
Despite the losses, those San Diego coaches willing to schedule the tough nonleague games at the expense of wins and win streaks deserve some props.
WHAT GIVES?
Why the domination?
“It’s the intensity of the programs up here,” says Dave Ogas. “Nothing is overlooked.”
Ogas played for Don Coryell at San Diego State and was with the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills in the NFL. Ogas was head coach for more than 20 years at Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana and coached in San Diego at Mount Miguel and Mission Bay.
Intensity may be the answer if you’re to believe the report out of Orange County recently that the coach and team president were offering bounties …to their Tustin Pop Warner League team.
Give those San Diego Section coaches credit who are willing to schedule the tough nonleague games year in and year out.
Hoover, Otay Ranch, Olympian, Calexico, Grossmont, Army-Navy, Patrick Henry, and West Hills represent the San Diego Section’s Elite 8 this week as teams reached the halfway pole in the season and get ready to open league play.
The eight teams are the only 5-0 squads of the 95 playing football in the San Diego Section.
Grossmont (11) and Hoover (8), the oldest schools, have more 5-0 starts than the others combined.
Calexico’s 5-0 is its first in the San Diego Section. The Bulldogs and other Imperial Valley schools joined the San Diego Section in 2000 and prior records have not been researched.
ONE UNHAPPY POWEGIAN
No one is claiming a record, except on the frustration meter.
Poway’s Ryan Sharpe returned three second-quarter punts for touchdowns against Valley Center…and all three were nullified by penalties.
The Division II Titans still overpowered the Jaguars, 38-6. It was the second straight smackdown for D-IV Valley Center, which stepped up to face D-I Mission Hills in Week 4 and lost 38-14.
2012, Week 4: Vista’s 758th Game Like Only One Other!
This could become a habit. Vista won another 2-0 game.
The Panthers defeated Torrey Pines, with a safety the only score in the game last week.
It was the second safety-only game in the 758 Vista has played since the school opened in 1937. Not a trend, but the Panthers are working on it.
Vista last won 2-0 when it defeated Palm Springs in 1958.
Vista has won its last two games and scored or been credited with three points…total!
After a 1-0 forfeit victory with the automatic score over Temecula Rancho Christian, the Panthers returned and rang up a couple more points to edge the Torrey Pines Falcons, who never, in their 39-season history, had been in a 2-0 contest.
There have been 11 other 2-0 games in the history of teams in San Diego County or the San Diego Section, covering pfobably more than 35,000 games, dating to the first recorded contest, San Diego High versus “The San Diego Football Club in 1891.
The list:
1915 — Sweetwater 2, Escondido Athletic Association 0.
1919 — San Diego 2, 32nd Infantry 0.
1926 — San Diego 2, Glendale 0.
1940 — St. Augustine 2, Hoover Sophomores 0.
1958 — Vista 2, Palm Springs 0.
1963 — Point Loma 2, La Jolla 0.
1974 — Poway 2, La Jolla 0.
1978 — La Jolla 2, Lincoln 0.
1990 — Coronado 2, San Diego 0.
1997 — Calipatria 2, Wellton Antelope, Arizona, 0.
1997 — Granite Hills 2, Mt. Carmel 0.
2012 — Vista 2, Torrey Pines 0.
PASSES AND POINTS
Contrary to Vista-Torrey Pines, offense was alive and well when Valhalla took on El Toro.
Conner Manning of El Toro threw for 613 yards and seven touchdowns as the Chargers, a 5-0, South Coast League power in the Southern Section, defeated the Norsemen 77-46. The 123 points by both teams are the most ever involving a San Diego Section 11-man team.
Rancho Bernardo and West Hills held the record with 119 points in a 71-48 R.B. playoff victory in 1999.
The San Diego County record for most points by both teams is 137, set in 1920, when San Diego High unloaded on Army-Navy, 130-7.
St. Joseph defeated Lutheran 94-76 in 2008 to set a record for most points by both teams (170) in an 8-man game.
OCEANSIDE STAYS NO. 1
Despite an uneven performance in the second half, Oceanside’s 23-13 victory over Poway solidified the Pirates’ lead with 22 points in the North County Times‘ Week 4 football poll.
The Pirates jumped to a 23-0 halftime lead, but the Titans finished with a strong second half.
The same teams occupy the first five positions as last week, although there was movement. La Costa Canyon remained second, but Helix went from fourth to third and Mission Hills from fifth to fourth.
Cathedral dropped from third to fifth place, although the Dons held a 14-10 lead on the road in the second half against Vista Murrieta, a Southern Section powerhouse which overcame Cathedral 21-10.
Three 4-0 newcomers were Chula Vista (8) and Grossmont and Otay Ranch, tied for ninth.
Oceanside plays host to Mission Hills in the County’s feature game this week at the Pirates’ new on-campus stadium.
#
Team
1st
W-L
Points
Prev#
1
Oceanside
22
3-1
261
1
2
La Costa Canyon
2
3-1
226
2
3
Helix
1
3-1
204
4
4
Mission Hills
2
3-1
189
5
5
Cathedral Catholic
0
2-2
149
3
6
Eastlake
0
3-1
127
9
7
Poway
0
2-2
85
6
8
Chula Vista
0
4-0
46
NR
9
Grossmont
0
4-0
34
NR
9
Otay Ranch
0
4-0
34
NR
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
1st = 1st place votes; Prev# = Last week #
Others receiving votes (points): Valley Center (31), Olympian (26), St. Augustine (23), San Pasqual (14), West Hills (7), Torrey Pines (4), Hoover (2).
1986: Junior Seau, Wide Receiver?
There were no sonic booms and reveille still sounded at the usual time on the nearby Camp Pendleton military reservation after Roy Scaffidi announced he was moving senior quarterback Junior Seau to wide receiver.
That Seau also played a fine game at linebacker also did not register with a service rating the top players in the San Diego Section.
Under The San Diego Union headline “San Diego Preps Have ‘Skill’ Galore”, writer Steve Brand pointed out the quality and depth at such positions as quarterback, wide receiver, and running back.
Seau was not mentioned in any of those position assessments, nor did he receive a call at linebacker, where 15 players were cited.
What happened?
Seau happened.
Oceanside improved its record from 3-7 to 10-3 and reached the 2-A playoff finals under first-year coach Scaffidi. Seau caught almost 60 passes, scored 11 touchdowns, and was all over the field on defense.
TWO-SPORT PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The rangy, 6-foot, 5-inch, 215-pounder also was the CIF San Diego Section defensive player of the year, was CIF basketball player of the year with 500 points and a 22.7 scoring average, and one of the leading shot putters in the County with a 56-foot throw during the spring track-and-field season.
Seau was icon in Oceanside and throughout sports world.
A star had been born, one that shone brightly for the next three decades:
–All-America at University of Southern California.
–No. 1 draft choice and fifth player in 1990 NFL draft by his hometown San Diego Chargers.
–NFL All-Pro 10 seasons; 13 Pro Bowls, 268 games in 19 seasons.
A certain, future Hall of Famer, Junior would not see the Chargers retire his jersey number 55. He took his own life at age 43 in 2012.
FALLBROOK GETS IN WAY
A favored matchup would have had Lincoln and Vista squaring off in an 2-A 3-A final.
Fallbrook happened.
Losers to Vista 48-21 in the regular season, the Section’s most Northern entry smashed the Panthers, 28-14, to win the championship, knocking Vista from a No. 15 national ranking in USA Today, and ending the Panthers’ 25-game winning streak.
After starting 2-2-1, coach Tom Pack’s pass-minded Warriors rolled.
The Madison Warhawks, their first-round playoff opponent, were among those who did not know what hit them, which was a predominantly run-and-shoot passing attack.
“Really, we’re going to defend them just like we’ve defended everyone else,” said Madison coach Steve Miner, who was miffed that the Eastern League co-champion Warhawks had to travel to the home of the Palomar League’s third-place team.
“I just think we match up well,” Miner told Steve Brand. “I think we have more speed than Fallbrook. We have good quickness and we have five shutouts in 10 games. Why change?
Final score, Fallbrook, 55-6.
A MAGIC RUN
The seventh-seeded Warriors beat Sweetwater for first time in three playoff tries with 24 second-half points in a 31-23 quarterfinals victory.
The Sweetwater victory was followed by a 34-27, semifinals win on a muddy field over Mount Miguel, Warriors quarterback Scott Barrick gutting it out despite battling affects of the flu.
Vista almost was a piece of cake.
Fallbrook led 28-7 when the Panthers’ Tommy Booker broke a 69-yard touchdown run in the final minute.
Barrick passed for 348 yards and two touchdowns in championship thumping of Vista.
Barrick smashed Jim Plum’s passing records with 32 touchdowns and 3,496 yards and his wide receiver, Bill Dunckel, was a scoring machine, with 91 catches, 1,328 yards, and 18 receiving touchdowns.
Including points after touchdowns and field goals, Dunckel scored a stunning 166 points.
Barrick scorched Vista with 27 completions in 33 passing attempts for 345 yards and two touchdowns.
Barrick’s total passing yards set a state record that lasted for one season.
NEUMEIER’S NUANCES
Jack Neumeyer once coached John Elway in high school at Granada Hills in Los Angeles, then retired and built a home in Fallbrook.
Fallbrook coach Tom Pack was able to get Neumeyer to join his staff, after completion of the retirement house, in 1981.
Neumeier helped devise a version of a run-and-shoot offense.
Fallbrook called it the “run and gun”, lining up with five receivers on every play, 3 wideouts on one side, another wideout on the opposite side, and one in the backfield.
After a record of 8-15-2 in Pack’s first three seasons, the Warriors beginning in 1981 made the playoffs the next six seasons and were 47-18-3 during that period.
Fallbrook did have a running game. It was named Ty Barksdale. In one game Barksdale’s 21 attempts represented all the running plays Fallbrook called.
Dunckel usually was on receiving end.
ANCIENT NORTH COUNTY RIVALS
Vista High opened in 1937. Fallbrook began classes in 1893 but did not field a football team until 1936.
The neighboring communities are only 14 miles apart. Their teams have been rolling in the dirt almost every year, with Vista holding a 32-13-2 advantage going into the title game.
This series record included the years 1942 and ’43 when Fallbrook did not field a team and 1960, when the Warriors opted not to join the new, CIF San Diego Section in football and remained in the Southern Section.
Fallbrook actually played the Panthers before Vista High opened. That was in 1936. Vista Junior High topped the Warriors 33-0.
CORONADO’S SEARCH FOR A BETTER LIFE, CONT.
As members of the Metropolitan League (1963-72), Coast League (1973-75), and Metropolitan League (1976-84) the Coronado Islanders could always change unwelcome conversation about football and point to their representative teams in water polo, swimming, tennis, and other sports.
Outscored 242-6 in nine games, the Islanders forfeited their final game of the 1984 season to Chula Vista and announced they’d had enough. Their league record over the 22 seasons beginning in 1963 was 34-107-4, a percentage of .330, i.e., at least two losses in every three games.
The Islanders demanded to be let out of the AA Metro. The school principal said he would campaign for a new 1-A league or petition the 1-A Mountain-Desert circuit for membership.
CHECK YOUR MILEAGE
It was a matter of survival and the Islanders survived, becoming the largest school in the farflung Mountain-Desert, with trips as short as 31 miles (Santa Fe Christian in Encinitas) and as long as 128 (Holtville) and 145 (Calipatria).
Who’s complaining about long bus rides?
The Islanders won the league with a 6-4 overall record in ’85 and ran off with a 10-1 record this season, routing Imperial, 30-0, for the 1-A championship and ranking ninth in that division by Cal-Hi Sports.
Lincoln wide receiver Patrick Rowe was one of three Hornets to score at least 100 points. Kevin Key had 138, Rowe 118, and Marcus Hopkins 109. Rowe went on to become a second-round draft choice of the Cleveland Browns out of San Diego State.
BACK TO THE FUTURE?
Had Coronado found a home or was it just renting? Talk already had begun about an upgrade back to 2-A.
“It’s not like all of a sudden Coronado football started getting big numbers out for football,” said coach Dave Tupek. “I still feel we’re a relatively small football team. We are considered a big 1-A school. I don’t consider us that big.”
A meeting was held at Mountain Empire the day after the season. Speculation centered on the Islanders’ joining Marian (1-8 in the Metropolitan’s 2-A South Bay League) and forming a small-schools 2-A league. Others mentioned were Ramona, St. Augustine, El Cajon Valley, and Christian.
Such decisions could not be made on the league level, but there were no tears from Imperial and the Islanders’ other rivals in the Mountain-Desert when the Section board of managers put Coronado back in the Metropolitan’s 2-A alignment.
But for how long? Coronado was becoming a football gypsy.
PLAYER TO RESCUE
Lincoln was on its third coach in three seasons. Ray Hooper was suddenly dismissed prior to the 1985 season. Orlando (Skip) Coons, an assistant under John Shacklett at Morse, stepped into the void and won the 2-A championship.
Coons had not obtained a fulltime teaching credential, so he had to step aside at Lincoln and become an assistant to…welcome back, Player!
Ensconced in football coaching retirement since 1982, Vic Player returned to the Hornets’ sideline.
Player’s timing was great, as it was in 1960, when he was a two-way player and all-Eastern League at St. Augustine.
Lincoln was closing out a 14-12 victory over the Saints with seconds to play. Hornets coach Shan Deniston dialed a risky play, a wide pitchout to halfback Adam Cato. Player, flying from his position as a roving defensive back, scooped up what became a backward pass on one bounce and raced 60 yards for a touchdown and 18-14 victory.
Lincoln defenders hounded Oceanside quarterback Rocky Aukuso in Hornets’ 41-7, 2-A championship game victory.
BETTER THAN ALLEN’S TEAM?
Player inherited perhaps the best team in Lincoln’s studded history, better than the 1977 squad that featured future Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Allen and was 12-0-1 with a championship.
Player’s first game back was a 71-0 victory over San Francisco Wilson. Lincoln averaged almost 44 points a game and scored a record 554 points in a 12-1 season that culminated with a 41-7 rout of Oceanside for its seventh 2-A title and fifth in the last 10 seasons.
An unlikely and stunning, 21-20 upset by Hoover in the middle of the season was the only blotch on the Hornets’ record.
‘SMOKE’ BLOWER?
“Maybe now I can get some respect from the people out there who thought I was blowing smoke (about the ’86 club being better than the ’77 team),” said Player. “I knew these kids were that good from the first contact drills.”
Lincoln had the fourth, sixth, and seventh highest scorers in the Section.
Fullback Kevin Key (138), wide receiver Patrick Rowe (110), and running back Marcus Hopkins (108) combined to score 59 touchdowns. Heady quarterback Keith Mitchell went on to play four seasons of major league baseball.
Player coached seven more seasons. He was 73-22-2 in his first nine and 58-37 in the second stint. Player’s overall coaching record of 131-59-2 (.688) stands out among the elite.
Granite Hills Robert Padillo, gaining yards in 46-0 rout of Mira Mesa, scored 14 touchdowns and kicked 35 points after for 119 total.
KOMETS ROIL WESTERN STANDINGS
Kearny forfeited on-field victories over Mission Bay and University City, the result causing a three-way tie for the championship between U. City, La Jolla, and University. The three benefactors advanced to the playoffs.
1953 RUSHING RECORD GOES DOWN
Vista’s Tommy Booker bettered a record that was set before the CIF San Diego Section was formed. Booker’s 2,124 yards rushing in 13 games (and 26 touchdowns and 156 points) bettered the 1,903 amassed by Oceanside’s C.R. Roberts in nine games in 1953. But Roberts’ game average of 211.4 yards topped Booker’s 163.3.
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Gasoline at some San Diego pumps fell below 80 cents a gallon for the first time since the Iranian revolution in 1979. Jet Discount at Ingraham and Grand in Pacific Beach led the way with regular at 64.9 cents.
Chief Bill Kolender promised to address complaints and news accounts that revealed the dismissal of traffic tickets issued to prominent members of the community, city employees, and friends and relatives of high-ranking police officials.
QUICK KICKS
Chula Vista’s 15-14 victory over Sweetwater was its first over the Red Devils since 1976…Vista’s Tommy Booker returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown and ran 93 yards for a touchdown on the Panthers’ first play from scrimmage in a 27-21, semifinals playoff win over Granite Hills… Booker and David Strojny combined for 342 rushing yards against Granite… Booker returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdowns to key a 44-21 win over Madison… Coronado played 10 games for the first time since 1983 and played outside San Diego County for the first time since 1974, when it flew to north of the Napa wine country to play Upper Lake, the only team to beat the Islanders…ominous sign for the Vista program: a new high school, Rancho Buena Vista, which would cut into the Panthers’ prime enrollment area, was scheduled to open in 1987…Francis Parker led visiting Borrego Springs, 28-15, in the fourth quarter, then held on for a 28-27 victory in the 8-Man championship game… Pierre Jones was Sweetwater’s Mr. October, averaging 7.9 yards a carry, and scored 8 touchdowns and passed for two…Jones was second to Fallbrook’s Bill Dunckel with 158 points for the season….
2012, Week 3: Cancellations & Forfeits
At least five games have been canceled against San Diego Section teams this season and are being considered forfeited, not because of the usual Dreaded Administrative Glitch reasons of player academic ineligibility or residential transfer no-no’s.
Temecula Rancho Christian suspended its season and fired the head coach after a 43-6 loss to Whittier La Serna in Rancho’s first-ever game.
Rancho Christian also was scheduled to play Orange Glen, Vista, Mater Dei, and Eastlake, which each would pick up a victory unless a substitute opponent could be found (Orange Glen scheduled a replacement game at Oxnard Hueneme and won 41-13). Mission Hills’ game with West Adams Prep of Los Angeles also was canceled.
The President of Rancho Christian indicated that the superior quality of the team’s opponents were part of the problem. “The schedule should never have been played,” Scott Treadway told Terry Monahan of the North County Times.
West County Prep, 6-6 in 2011 and a playoff team in the L.A. City section, lost its first two games this season, 56-0 to San Clemente and 53-0 to San Pedro. “They’re not canceling the season, just the game,” Mission Hills athletic director Ken Putnam told the Times‘ John Maffei.
According to Putnam, Mission Hills thought the game still was on as late as the Thursday afternoon before last week’s Friday night game. Sometime after 7 p.m. Thursday, West Adams Prep bailed.
FORFEITS=VICTORIES?
“There’s no other way to look at this,” San Diego Section assistant commissioner John LaBeta said to Monahan, citing the situation with two North County schools.
“Games were scheduled and contracts were signed,” said LaBeta. “I’m sure Vista and Mission Hills will pursue some kind of financial restitution based on the contract.”
A larger issue also was in play. “This now becomes a budget problem that superintendents and principals, who scream about revenue flow all the time, will have to address because it’s very difficult to recover from losing twenty per cent of your gate revenue,” said LaBeta.
The 20 per cent figure is based on teams generally playing five home games.
OCEANSIDE ON TOP AFTER WEEK 3
Cathedral Catholic shut down Helix, 16-9, last week and toppled the Highlanders from their perch atop the North County Times‘ prep football poll.
Oceanside routed Mira Mesa, 48-0, and now is No. 1, followed by La Costa Canyon, Cathedral, and Helix. St. Augustine and Valley Center, each 3-0, are the only remaining undefeated teams in the Top 10.
Oceanside received 16 first-place votes. LaCosta Canyon, despite a 21-10 loss to San Clemente, was accorded 4 first-place votes. Cathedral and St. Augustine (2 each), and Valley Center and Torrey Pines also received first-place support.
2012, Week 2: Helix Dominates
Coach Troy Starr’s Helix Highlanders received all 27 first-place votes for a maximum 270 points in the North County Times sportswriters-sportscasters poll after defeating Vista 43-7 last week.
Helix had 13 first-place votes in the preseason poll and 20 after games of Week 1.
The Highlanders take on a third, ranked opponent from the San Diego Section when hit plays host to Cathedral this week.
Coach Troy Starr’s Helix Highlanders received all 27 first-place votes for a maximum 270 points in the North County Times sportswriters-sportscasters poll after defeating Vista 43-7 last week.
Helix had 13 first-place votes in the preseason poll and 20 after games of Week 1.
The Highlanders take on a third, ranked opponent from the San Diego Section when it plays host to Cathedral this week.
LaCosta Canyon moved up to second from fifth after a 10-9 victory over Poway and is home this week to San Clemente, which defeated the Mavericks 58-6 in 2011.
First-place votes in parenthesis
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
+Record +Points +Last Week
Helix (27) 1-0 270 1
La Costa Canyon 2-0 226 5
Oceanside 1-1 178 2
Mission Hills 1-1 146 6
Poway 1-1 136 4
Cathedral Catholic 1-1 124 3
Valley Center 2-0 103 7
St. Augustine 2-0 81 10.
Eastlake 1-1 67 8.
San Pasqual 2-0 36 NR.
WHAT DID HE REALLY THINK?
“It was a mess offensively,” said quarterback Josh Harris, describing Helix’ victory over Vista.
How will Harris feel after the “mess” is cleaned up?
The Scots’ signal caller lost two fumbles but also completed 15 of 22 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns. “We did some good things, but we have a lot of things to improve,” said Harris.
DOWN GOES OCEANSIDE
Two offensive linemen were out and quarterback Tofi Paopao was not 100 per cent. Temecula Chaparral, a strong Southern Section squad Oceanside defeated in 2010 and ’11, slapped the Pirates with a 40-30 defeat, the final score closer than the difference between the teams.
Chaparral is 3-0 with a big game coming up against the Las Flores Tesoro Titans. The Pumas also defeated San Bernardino Cajon 42-0 and Moreno Valley Valley View 48-0.
A better read on Oceanside may be forthcoming after Chaparral plays the 4-0 Titans, No. 6 in the Los Angeles Time Top 25 (Tesoro topped Chaparall 17-14 the following week).
HOOVER HONORS MR. B
The refurbished Hoover High Stadium was renamed in honor of Bob Breitbard, a 1937 Hoover graduate who founded the Breitbard Athletic Foundation out of an office at his father’s California Laundry business in 1946.
Breitbard played baseball and football at Hoover, was co-coach of the football team in 1944, and held the position of cheerleaders’ coordinator. He honored San Diego athletes and promoted sports in San Diego for more than 70 years.
The Cardinals dedicated Bob Breitbard Stadium, with new, permanent lights before a 27-14 home-game victory over Brawley in their first home game in two years. Breitbard’s daughter and son-in-law took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
For more than 60 years the Hoover gridiron was in a South-to-North configuration, end zones facing the gymnasium and Monroe Street. The wooden bleachers on the home, East side burned down in 1949. Steel-framed seating with lights were completed before the 1950 season and stood for years.
Several years ago the gridiron was reconfigured and now faces East and West.
SHADES OF ’58 SWEETWATER…ALMOST
Crawford used 13 minutes, 39 seconds of playing time, driving 75 yards in 26 plays, and converted three third downs and three fourth downs on its opening possession against San Pasqual Academy.
The Colts stalled at the Dragons’ 13-yard line and came up empty.
It would be difficult to find a longer possession or more total plays, but Sweetwater won an epic, 1958 playoff game at Anaheim with a touchdown drive of 24 plays and 83 yards, taking ball possession with two minutes remaining in the third quarter and scoring with two minutes left in the game.
The touchdown made the final score 7-7, but the Red Devils advanced to the Southern California semifinals with a 14-9 advantage in first downs. The late Wayne Sevier, Sweetwater’s quarterback, once recalled that the Red Devils won six third-down measurements and converted a fourth and 24.
The fourth-and-forever, drive-saving first down came on a flea-flicker pass Sevier passed laterally to Mike Fogelsong, who threw back across the field to Sevier, who lumbered down the sideline. “We made it by six inches,” Sevier said.
Also in the backfield for that Sweetwater team was Gil Warren, still coaching, and winning, at Olympian.
