Happy trails, Victory League.

A bi-product of World War II, gasoline rationing, security scares, and travel restriction, the league served its purpose for four calendar years (search 1943: V is Key) as school bosses and students strived for normality.

San Diego and Hoover, which joined teams in the Metropolitan League in1942 and again when the Victory was formed, returned this season to the Coast League, in which the Hilltoppers first rolled in 1923 and which Hoover had joined in 1937.

The Compton Tarbabes, little brothers to the Compton College Tartars, united with San Diego, Pasadena, and Pasadena Muir in a revived Coast League, while smaller city schools and suburbans were back in the Metropolitan League, back in business following four years in drydock. The remaining few  took seats in the Southern Prep League.

Art Barnard of La Jolla won the 120-yard high hurdles and Ernie Smith of San Diego the broad jump in the Southern Section finals.  Each was a  runner-up in his event in the state meet.

2/28/47

San Diego opened the season with a 77-27 dual meet victory at Grossmont.

3/6/47

Jack Littler, not as well known as his golf champion brother Gene, won the 100-yard dash in :10.8 and the broad jump at 19 feet, 11 inches, as La Jolla won a dual meet, 73-27, over visiting Vista.

3/7/47

Graydon Calder high jumped 6-1 and Bobby Smith pole vaulted 12 feet as San Diego beat the host Long Beach Wilson Bruins, 63-41.  Ernie (Bud) Genet tied with Bob Van Doren for first at 45-9 in the shot put and won the broad jump at 20-3.

–Grossmont beat Sweetwater, 72-32, and La Jolla, with Art Barnard winning the 100 in :10.3 and 220 in :23, swamped Escondido, 90-14, and Kearny beat Coronado, 77 1/3-26 2/3 in opening Metropolitan League dual meets.

3/13/47

Jack Lucas set a La Jolla record of 2:06 in the 880 and Art Barnard tied his school record with a :10.3 100 as the Vikings defeated Sweetwater, 70-34.  Grossmont beat Point Loma, 77-27, and Escondido defeated Coronado, 66 1/3-37 2/3.

3/14/47

Bryan Benson went 48-6 ½ and Volney Peters 48-6 ¼ in the shot put as Hoover won a Coast League dual at home, 69-35, versus Long Beach Wilson.

3/20/47

Art Barnard set a La Jolla school record with a :22.6 220 and Jess Estrada tied Jack Lucas’ recent school record of 2:06 in the 880 in the Vikings’ 57 1/2-46 ½ win over Point Loma on the Vikings’ track.

3/21/47

Sophomore Gene Sieben doubled in host Sweetwater’s 84-20 win against Coronado, winning the 120-yard high hurdles in :15.7 and 180 lows in 21.4.

3/22/47

Team champion Redondo Beach Redondo Union scored 30 points to San Diego’s 29 1/5 in the Southern Counties Invitational at Huntington Beach.

Hoover and Grossmont were fourth and sixth with 14 and 8 ½ points each.  La Jolla was second with 18 points in the small schools’ division, won by Fullerton with 19. Point Loma was 13^th with 5 points and Coronado did not score.

Hoover’s Bob Lange and San Diego’s Bobby Smith tied for first in the pole vault at 12 feet, 3 inches.

3/25/47

Brown Military scored 47 ½ points to San Dieguito’s 43, and host Ramona’s 12 1/2 in a Southern Prep League triangular meet.  Miller of Brown won the 100 in :10.8, 220 in :23.3, and broad jump at 20 feet, 5 inches.

3/27/47

Jess Estrada set a La Jolla record of 2:04.2 in the 880 and Art Barnard won the 100 in :10.1 and 220 in :22.7, but San Diego claimed the nonleague dual meet, 70-34, in Balboa Stadium.

4/10/47

Hoover and San Diego were favored to fight it out for the Coast League dual-meet championship, but Compton beat both in their triangular showdown on the San Diego State oval.  The Tarbabes scored 51 ½ points to San Diego’s 43 and Hoover’s 36 ½.

Bill Fell was a double winner in the 100 (:10.1) and 220 (:22.6), Jerome Walters won the 880 (2:00.4), and Chuck Kohl took the mile (4:33.7) for the visitors.

Joe Azevedo put the shot 51 feet, ½ inch, Bobby Smith pole vaulted 12-3, and the Hilltoppers won the 880-yard relay in 1:31.1.

Ernie Smith of San Diego and Jack Razzeto of Hoover tied for first in the high jump at 5-11 ½. Karl Preibisius won the 120-yard highs in :15.8 for the Cardinals.

–Grossmont defeated La Jolla, 60-44, in the Metropolitan League’s big one.  Top mark was Foothiller Joe Page’s 6-2 ½ high jump.  Art Barnard doubled in the sprints in :10.1 and :22.6 for the visiting Vikings.

–Gene Sieben won the 180-yard lows in :20.7 and Bill Ellis logged a :52.6 440 as Sweetwater beat Kearny, 54-50. Point Loma topped Escondido, 81 ½-22 ½.

4/15/47

Hoover stepped out of the Coast League and dominated Metro power Grossmont, 72-32. Jack Razzetto and Grossmont’s Joe Page tied for first in the high jump at 6-1 1/4.

Hoover’s Karl Preibisius won the high hurdles in :15.7 and teammate Don Donnelly took the 180 lows in :21.2.  The Cardinals’ Bill Kirby won the 440 in :51.5.  Bryan Benson led a 1-2 Hoover finish with Volney Peters in the shot put at 49-2 ½.

4/16/47

Hoover won the 880 relay in 1:31.8, capping a 69 1/6-34 5/6 victory in a rain-makeup meet with La Jolla at Hoover.  Chuck Whitmarsh won the 100in :10.2 and 220 in :22.6 for the Cardinals.

4/18/47

A San Diego quartet of Cleo Williams, Charles Davis, John Holloway, and Harold Miller ran a season-best 1:30.1 in the 880 relay and brought San Diego to victory and a 52-52 deadlock with Hoover before an estimated 2,200 persons in Balboa Stadium in the first-ever night meet between the rivals.

Bill Kirby set a Hoover record of :50.9 in the 440. Chuck Phillips ran 2:03.1 in the 880, and Jack Razzeto high jumped 6-1.  Joe Azevedo put the shot 50-8, Bobby Smith vaulted 12-4 ¾, and Harold Miller won the 100 in :10.2 and 220 in :22.7 for San Diego.

–Ray Oyos turned in the season’s best broad jump, 22-3 ¼ in Grossmont’s 85-19 win at Coronado.  Joe Page high jumped 6-1 3/8 for the Foothillers.

–Gene Sieben rook the 100 in :10.8 and 180-yard lows in :20.5 as Sweetwater forged a 52-52 tie with Kearny.

4/25/47

Joe Page bettered his school record with a 6-foot, 3-inch high jump as Grossmont wrapped the Metropolitan League championship, 90-14, over Escondido. Bob Mahan won the 120 low hurdles in :13.9 and 120 highs in :15.5, and added a 19-7 ½ broad jump as Point Loma won at Kearny, 76-28.

–Joe Azevedo reached 51-6 ½ in the shot put and Ernie Smith went 22-1 ½ in the broad jump and San Diego routed Pasadena and Pasadena Muir in Balboa Stadium, 91 ½ to 30 ½ to 9, respectively.

4/30/47

Dick Straub won the 100 in :10.2 and 220 in :22.8 and Hoover also scored a multiple win, winning a three-way meet at Pasadena.

The Cardinals outscored the host Pasadena Bullpups, 78 1/10-38 9/10, and the Muir Mustangs, who scored 14 points.

Bill Kirby ran the 440 in :51.4 for another Hoover victory.

5/2/47

Art Barnard of La Jolla won the 120-yard high hurdles in :15 and 180-yard low hurdles in :19.8, fastest ever run by a San Diego County athlete, but Grossmont ran away with the team championship in Class A, B, and C in the Metropolitan League meet at San Diego State.

Coach Jack Mashin’s Grossmont squad scored 62 ½ points each in A and B, and 50 points in Class C.

–Bob Mahon of Point Loma, second to Barnard in both hurdles races, won the broad jump at 21 feet, 11 ¼ inches.  Grossmont’s  Joe Page high jumped 6-1.

5/5/4

Compton edged Hoover, 58 ½-58, for the team championship in the Coast League championships at Compton College.

Hoover would have 10 entries for the CIF Southern Section Divisional meet as Bill Kirby and Don Donnelly qualified in two events each.

Kirby won the 440-yard dash in :51.2 and third in the 100 to the :10.1 of Compton’s Bill Fell, who also won the 220 in :22.5. Donnelly was third in the high jump and third in the 180-yard low hurdles.  Kirby also participated in the 880 relay, won by Hoover in 1:32.

San Diego qualified four, shot putters Joe Acevedo and John Davis, jumper Ernie Smith, who won the high jump at 6-3 and the broad jump at 21-9, and pole vaulter Bobby Smith, first at 12 feet.

Compton won Class B with 67 ½ points to San Diego’s 41, Hoover’s 23 ½, Pasadena’s 23, and Pasadena Muir’s 8.  San Diego scored 59 ½ points in Class C, Hoover 51, Compton, 12, Pasadena, 4 ½, and Muir, zero.

5/10/47

Hoover outscored Grossmont, 36 1/2-36, followed by San Diego, 22 ½, Point Loma, 22, La Jolla, 18 ½, Sweetwater and Brawley, 13, El Centro Central, 5, Kearny, Brown Military, 4, Kearny, 2 ½, and Coronado, 1, in the CIF Divisional meet at san Diego State.

Art Barnard of La Jolla was a double winner, :14.8, fastest ever in the 120-yard high hurdles by a County athlete, and :20.1 in the 180-yard low hurdles.   Joe Page of Grossmont high jumped 6-2.  San Diego’s Joe Acevedo won at 51 feet, 1/8 inch in the shot put and teammate Ernie Smith at 21-9 1/2 in the broad jump.

5/17/47

Art Barnard won the 120-yard high hurdles in :14.6 and Ernie Smith of San Diego took the broad jump at 22-6 ½ in the CIF finals at breezy Oxnard High. Barnard was fourth in the 180 low hurdles and Smith tied with Grossmont’s Joe Page for fifth in the high jump.

–Failing to qualify for the finals,  Bobby Smith entered the high school portion of the West Coast Relays in Fresno. San Diego High reported that Smith cleared 13 feet, 2 inches, eight inches better than his previous best, and one inch below Bill Miller’s 1929 school record of 13-3.

Smith was the son of Ralph and nephew of Harry Smith, Hilltoppers vaulters of the 1920s, and later was head coach at Lincoln and San Diego City College.

5/24/47

Art Barnard was second to the winning :14.5 of Los Angeles Washington’s Hugh McElhenny in the 120-yard high hurdles in the 31^st state meet at the Mineral Bowl in Visalia.

McElhenny also won the broad jump at 22-10 ½, with San Diego’s Ernie Smith second at 22-6 ¼.

Bill Kirby of Hoover was unplaced in the 440-yard dash and Joe Acevedo of San Diego did not place in the shot put.

 

Army-Navy broke a school record last week that had been on the books since 1940, when the Warriors were based at the previous Red Apple Inn in Carlsbad.

Four shutouts at the start of the season.

Eighty-two years ago, the cadets of coach T.S. Walker opened with three shutouts by blanking St. Augustine, 6-0, the Hoover sophomores, 19-0, and Fallbrook, 19-0.

Coach Nehemiah Brunson’s team shut out Nuevo Nuview Bridge, a charter school in the Riverside area, 36-0, last week after whipping Temecula Prep, 29-0, Clairemont, 24-0, and Calipatria, 57-0.

The last time Army-Navy was 4-0 was in the 10-1 season in 2012.

The cadets’ defense will get a test this week when the Warriors meet Classical, which is 3-1, coming off a 74-0 win over Orange Glen and averaging more than 50 points a game.

Meanwhile, Madison is No. 1 in the San Diego-Union-Tribune poll for the second straight week with 17 of 30 first-place votes:

Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes.
Last entries in columns indicate previous rank.
NR—Not ranked. Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS	MAX PREPS.COM	CAL-PREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Madison (4-0)	17*/275/1	25/28	38.1/36.9	30/30
2	Lincoln (3-1)	5*/249/5	27/35	41.2/33.5	27/35
3	Cathedral (2-2)	6*/246/4	18/21	44.1/42.5	16/16
4	Carlsbad (2-1)	2*/206/2	31/23	35.6/41.2	21/22
5	Helix (3-1)	189/3	33/26	34.5/35.6	29/26
6	Poway (4-0)	169/6	41/58	31.7/26.4	On the Bubble
7	Mater Dei (0-4)	53/8	73/38	22.3/32.3	NR/36
8	Mira Mesa (2-1)	51-10	91/93	18.1/18.7	NR/NR
9	Granite Hills (3-1)	41/NR	95/82	18.2	NR/NR
10	La Costa Canyon (2-2)	34/NR	93	14.9	NR/NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Mission Hills (2-2, 32 points), Ramona (2-2, 28), Rancho Buena Vista (4-0, 25),  San Marcos (3-1, 20), Mission Bay (4-0, 3), El Camino (2-2, 2), La Jolla (3-1, 2), El Centro Central (2-1, 1), Fallbrook (3-1, 1), Morse (3-1, 1), Torrey Pines (1-3, 1).

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, KUSI-Channel 51 TV.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Ramon Scott, Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego).
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends.
• Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• MaxPreps.com

TRUE GRID

Lincoln’s 228-pound Roderick Robinson tied a San Diego Section record of eight touchdowns, shared by four others, in the Hornets’ 56-20 win over Mater Dei last week…the all-time record for one game was set  by Frank Greene, who scored 11 touchdowns in a 108-0 victory over Sweetwater in 1929…Greene also added 14 points after and still holds the state record of 80 points in one game…San Diego teams are 10-16 in intersectional games…Madison, Lincoln, Cathedral, Carlsbad, and Helix are a combined 4-3…Morse’s Tracy McNair became the 45th coach to win 100 career games with a 42-7 win over Escondido…McNair (100-105) is in his 14th season at  Morse and also coached seven seasons at Crawford….Mount Miguel’s Troy Starr is stuck at 99 wins after two consecutive losses; El Capitan’s Ron Burner is at 98 and also has lost two in a row….

 

How far has Cathedral fallen and how high has Helix risen?

The Dons are coming off two huge losses and Helix is undefeated.

They’ll meet this week at Helix and the Highlanders might smell blood in the water after Cathedral’s successive losses of 42-7 to Corona Centennial and 63-7 to Chandler, Arizona, in the 12th annual Honor Bowl.

Helix won an Honor Bowl game, 24-21, against Arizona’s Mesa Mountain View and is 3-0, moving up to No. 3 in the San Diego Section, 26 in Cal-High Sports and 30 in Max Preps.

Cathedral is No. 4 in San Diego, 16 in Cal-Hi Sports, and 21 in Max Preps.

Cautionary note to Helix:  Cathedral won last year’s game between the teams, 52-0.

San Diego Union-Tribune Sportswriters/Sportscasters Week 3 poll.

Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes. “Previous” indicates last week.  NR—Not ranked. Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS/PREVIOUS	MAX PREPS.COM	CAL-PREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Madison (3-0)	16*/269/3	28	36.9	30
2	Carlsbad (1-1)	6*/356/1	23	41.2	22
3	Helix (3-0)	2*/236/4	30	35.6	26
4	Cathedral (1-2)	6*/222/2	21	42.5	16
5	Lincoln (2-1)	199/5	35	33.5	35
6	Poway (3-0)	128/8	58	26.4	On the Bubble
7	Mission Hills (2-1)	111/6	77	22.3	NR
8	Mater Dei (0-3)	104/7	38	32.3	36
9	Ramona (2-1)	43/9	82	20.6	NR
10	Mira Mesa (2-1)	19/NR	93	18.1	NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Torrey Pines (1-2, 18 points), Del Norte (3-0 12), El Camino (2-1, 10), Rancho Buena Vista (3-0, 8), Granite Hills (2-1, 4), San Marcos (2-1, 4), El Centro Central (2-1, 3), Kearny (3-0, 2), University City (2-1, 2).

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, KUSI-Channel 51 TV.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Ramon Scott, Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego).
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends.
• Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• MaxPreps.com

TRUE GRID

Inglewood made a rare visit to these shores last week, setting down Carlsbad, 35-18…it was the Sentinels’ first visit here since they took a 28-0 loss to Monte Vista in 2010…Inglewood holds a 7-5 advantage over San Diego schools, dating to a 1933 victory in the Southern Section finals…the Sentinels upset heavily favored San Diego, 7-6, after losing to the Hilltoppers, 21-0 in the season opener….

The thermometer is expected to reach three digits in San Diego Friday, recalling a similar day and high school football 59 years ago.

On Thursday, Sept. 26, 1963, an all-time high of 111 degrees scorched the area. The next day the  high was 104.

I was in the Hoover stadium when the Cardinals and Helix, two of the best San Diego Section teams, kicked off at 8 p.m. on Sept. 27, 1963.

And it still was hot, 102 degrees.

“Cards Rally to Nose Out Helix, 14-13″ was the headline over my game story.

Hoover quarterback Rick Shaw drove his team 77 yards in five plays to the winning touchdown with 3:02 remaining in a duel with Helix signal caller Joe Lavage.

The message today is the same as then:  Stay hydrated, all.

Despite a 42-7 loss to state No. 3 Corona Centennial, in which it manufactured only 138 yards offense, Cathedral still is held in high esteem by  the computer services.

Max Preps ranks Cathedral  fifth and gives the Dons a 60.7 strength-of-schedule rating, highest among any team in California.  Anaheim Servite (60.4) and Norco (60.1) are closest.

Cathedral remained the No. 10 team in the Cal-Hi Sports poll and their 60.6 Cal Preps.com score was higher than the previous week’s.  Computer rankings generally are based on who you play and who your opponents play.

San Diego Union-Tribune Sportswriters/Sportscasters Week 2 poll.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes. “Previous” indicates last week.  NR—Not ranked. Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS/PREVIOUS	MAX PREPS.COM	CAL-PREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Carlsbad (1-0)	27* / 285 / 2	16	45.3	16
2	Cathedral (1-1)	11* / 255 / 1	5	60.6	10
3	Madison (2-0)	229 / 3	36	33.9	34
4	Helix (2-0)	202 / 6	38	31.8	30
5	Lincoln (1-1)	160 / 4	47	29.9	44
6	Mission Hills (2-0)	156 / 7	44	30.2	On the Bubble
7	Mater Dei (0-2)	149 / 5	17	45.0	23
8	Poway (2-0)	89 / 8	78	21.1	On the Bubble
9	Ramona (2-0)	69 / 9	75	22.4	NR
10	El Camino (2-0)	28 / NR	137	10.6	NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Torrey Pines (0-2, 8 points), El Centro Central (2-0, 6), Granite Hills (1-1, 2), St. Augustine (1-1, 2), Del Norte, 1), Mira Mesa (1).

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edmonds, John Carroll, KUSI-Channel 51 TV.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Ramon Scott, Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Troy Hirsch, Nic Pollino (Fox 5 San Diego).
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Mike Dolan, Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends.
• Will Torrez, Valley Sports Network.
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• MaxPreps.com

TRUE GRID
Cathedral goes back into the cauldron this week after the 42-7 loss to Corona Centennial…the Dons play Chandler, the No. 5-ranked team in Arizona, coached by former San Diego State footballer Rick Garretson, whose brother (Ron) and father (Darell) were referees in the NBA…Ron retired after 32 seasons  in 2019 and Darell, who worked 27 years, is in the NBA Hall of Fame…Rick was a wide receiver for the  Aztecs from 1975-78 and is 23-0 as the Wolves’ head coach through 2021, beginning with a 13-0 state championship season in 2019…a win this week at Montgomery and Troy Starr will become the 45^th San Diego County coach to win 100 games…Starr,  99-38-1 (.721),  is in his fifth season at Mount Miguel after eight at Helix…the Matadors have yet to be scored on with 42-0 and 22-0 wins over Sweetwater and Chula Vista…El Cajon Valley tied a school record in its 56-0 win over Hoover…the Braves defeated Orange Glen, 56-26, and Castle Park, 56-32, in back-to-back playoff games in 2005, during an 11-3 season led by  passing star Abraham Muheize…Army-Navy is 2-0 and hasn’t given up a point…the last time was in 1968, when the John Maffucci-coached Warriors opened with shutouts of 18-0 over La Jolla Country Day and 9-0 over San Miguel School…A-N head coach and athletic director Nehemiah Brunson may cut his son some slack this week when it comes to cleaning his dorm room or mowing the lawn and taking out the trash at home…Nehemiah, Jr., scored two touchdowns, one on a 91-yard run, in a 24-0 win over Clairemont….

Visiting Calexico was in a 7-7 tie in the fourth quarter in the season’s first game when the lights went out at the Blythe Palo Verde Valley stadium.

The final score was reported to Max Preps as a tie, a result increasingly uncommon as teams nowadays usually find a conclusion in overtime.  A few hours later Cal-Preps.com weighed in with a different result.

Which was correct?

Coaches and other officials apparently huddled in the darkness of the Yellowjackets’ facility and agreed to resume the game the following day, more than 100 miles away at Calexico.

Calexico won in overtime, 14-7, in a game reminiscent of a contest between Kearny and Point Loma more than 40 years earlier.  (Search: 1979: Eighteen Hours Later Komets Emerge as Winners).