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).

Francis Parker’s Chris Williams set a San Diego Section record when he scored all 52 points in the Lancers’ 52-27 win over Pasadena Poly, according to   information provided to The San  Diego Union.

Williams did it all:  Six touchdown runs, 10, 23,25,27,27, and 45 yards.  A 62-yard pass interception for a touchdown.  Seven points after and a 28-yard field goal.

(According to Max Preps, Williams missed one point after and finished with 51 points.  Cal Preps.com went with the reported 52).

Fifty-one or 52, Williams still broke the record of 50 by three players, most recently Mac Bingham of Torrey Pines in 2018. Mountain Empire’s Chad Cox scored 50 in 1998 and Paul Delgado of St. Joseph 50 in 2008.

GREENE STILL KING

Williams ranks third all time in San Diego County.

Coronado’s Frank Greene scored 80 points in the Islanders’ 108-0 win over Sweetwater in 1929.    Greene scored 11 touchdowns and 14 points after and also still holds the California high school record.

San Diego’s John Hunter scored 57 points on seven touchdowns and 15 points after in a 130-7 win over Army-Navy in 1920.  Hunter played in an era when the team that scored also received the following kickoff.

DONS FACE ANOTHER BIG ONE

Cathedral’s  solid, 28-14 win over Mater Dei in the season opener last week verified the Don’s preseason No. 1 ranking in the San Diego Section and their clout among the state’s best clubs will receive a severe test this week.  Coach Sean Doyle’s squad takes on state No. 3 Corona Centennial at Cathedral.

The Dons won a wildly entertaining, 44-41 contest from the Huskies in 2019 but traveled north and took a 57-14 beating in 2021.

Doyle (222-96 in 26-plus seasons) does not flinch when it comes to scheduling powerful intersectional opponents.

His team also will face Chandler, Arizona, in the Honor Bowl at Cathedral in Week 3 and has a rematch at home versus Concord De La Salle in Week 5, plus a tough Western League lineup that includes state-ranked Lincoln and Madison,  and Helix and Steele Canyon from the Grossmont Hills loop.

San Diego Union-Tribune Sportswriters/Sportscasters poll.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*First-place votes. “Previous” is ranking in 2021 final top 10.
NR—Not ranked.
Max Preps’ and Cal-Hi Sports’ are state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS/PREVIOUS	MAX PREPS	CAL-PREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Cathedral (1-0)	27* / 293 / 1	6	59.1	10
2	Carlsbad (0-0)	3* / 267 / 2	30	36.9	19
3	Madison (1-0)	207 / 4	41	31.2	36
4	Lincoln (1-0)	204 / 5	35	33.2	24
5	Mater Dei (0-1)	199 / 3	9	55.7	23
6	Helix (1-0)	180 / 6	41	31.5	31
7	Mission Hills (1-0)	143 / 7	58	24.1	On the Bubble
8	Poway (1-0)	88 / 10	79	19.3	On the Bubble
9	Ramona (1-0)	25 / NR	112	13.2	NR
10	Torrey Pines	24 / 8	95	16.3	NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES 
Steele Canyon (1-0, 18 points), El Camino (1-0, 13), Brawley (1-0, 10), San Marcos (1-0, 3), Scripps Ranch (0-1, 3), Granite Hills (0-1, 2), El Centro Central (1-0, 2), Patrick Henry (0-0, 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.
• Max Preps

TRUE GRID

Foothills Christian, after moving up to Division V and going 3-6 in the 11-man game in 2021, has returned to the 8-man game and landed in the Ocean League…there now are three, eight-man leagues of 16 teams, Citrus, Ocean, and Surf…the first-year Surf includes Calvin Christian, Coastal Academy, The Rock, and Horizon Prep…Foothills Christian last week lost, 40-14, to the visiting Sultans of  Bagdad, Arizona, located at 3,400 feet elevation, 160 miles east of Lake Havasu City and 65 miles West of Prescott…visiting Carlsbad (2) and Mater Dei  (5) represent one of the feature games this week and each is on a roll…the Lancers, under Thadd MacNeal (76-45) are 26-3 since 2019…Mater Dei, guided by John Joyner (87-61 despite a 2-18 start in 2009-10) are 17-3 since ’20…Lincoln’s 56-0 victory at Sacramento Capital Christian, was mercifully called after three quarters…

John Maffei of The San Diego Union-Tribune and three other ranking services have offered their opinions on 2022 football in the San Diego Section.

Maffei canvassed coaches, noted the results of summer 7-on-7 passing competitions, and compared roster compositions, among other factors.  The U-T’s weekly poll will begin after this week’s opening round of games.

Cal-Hi Sports and Maffei agree that Cathedral is No. 1 in San Diego, although the Max Preps and Cal Preps.com computers are going with Mater Dei.

It won’t take long to see who is prescient.  Cathedral visits Mater Dei Saturday night in the season’s featured opener and ‘Dei plays Maffei’s No. 2 Carlsbad next week.

MAFFEI RANK	TEAM	2021 RECORD	MAX PREPS	CAL PREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Cathedral	12-2	2	57.8	12
2	Carlsbad	11-1	3	40.2	18
3	Mater Dei	13-0	1	58.12	15
4	Madison	9-3	6	34.4	41
5	Lincoln	8-4	4	34.4	31
6	Helix	9-4	5	34.4	35
7	Mission Hills	8-3	8	24.8	On the Bubble
8	Torrey Pines	6-4	9	22.0	On the Bubble
9	Scripps Ranch	13-1	8	28.3	Not Ranked
10	Poway	7-4	11	20.5	Not Ranked

Others considered, with 2021 records in parenthesis:

Patrick Henry (10-3), Granite Hills (5-7), Ramona (9-4), Steele Canyon (3-8), Brawley (9-3), Eastlake (8-4), La Costa Canyon (5-6), El Camino (7-6), Christian (6-5), University City (8-5), Oceanside (4-7). La Jolla Country Day (9-3).

COACHING CHANGES

Fifteen jobs opened and closed, with two coaches changing addresses.  Syd Reed, 5-5 at Mar Vista in 2021, takes over for Charles James at San Diego.  Ron Gladnick (43-30-1) at Clairemont (2013) and Torrey Pines (2016-21) replaces Joe Kremer at St. Augustine.

SCHOOL	IN	OUT
Christian	Patrick Bugg	Danny Mitchell
Escondido	Aron Gideon	Jud Boardman
Fallbrook	Ross Johnson	Troy Everhart
Helix	Damaja Jones	Robbie Owens
Mabel O’Farrell	Jake Passot	Tim Baxter
Mar Vista	David Moore	Syd Reed
Otay Ranch	Brad Burton	Lance Christensen
Patrick Henry	Colby Davies	J.T. O’Sullivan
San Diego	Syd Reed	Charles James
San Marcos	Tom Carroll	Derek Stank
St. Augustine	Ron Gladnick	Joe Kremer
Torrey Pines	Robby Collins	Ron Gladnick
Valhalla	Wayne Cherry	Charles Bussey

Late additions:  Ben Jameson for Rali Schwartz at Rock; Andrew Serrano for Mario Gonzalez at Salton City West Shores.

LEAGUE CHANGES

SCHOOL	NEW	OLD
Army-Navy	Sunset	Pacific
Tri-City	Sunset	Coastal
Mabel O’Farrell	Sunset	Pacific
Maranatha	Sunset	Pacific
Coronado	Central	City
Mission Bay	City	Central
Point Loma	City	Eastern
Patrick Henry	Eastern	City
Classical	Pacific	Coastal
La Jolla	Eastern	Western
Scripps Ranch	Western	Eastern
Hilltop	Metro Mesa	Metro South Bay
Olympian	Metro Mesa	Metro South Bay
Mar Vista	Metro South Bay	Metro Pacific
Chula Vista	Metro South Bay	Metro Pacific
San Ysidro	Metro South Bay	Metro Pacific
Sweetwater	Metro Pacific	Metro South Bay

 

Dewey J. (Mike) Morrow, a University of California at Berkeley graduate from Montana, returned from the war to San Diego High and coached the Hilltoppers to his eighth CIF Southern Section championship in Morrow’s 16 seasons and first since 1939.

Writer Norrie West of the Evening Tribune said of Morrow’s return:

“Not a soul will deny that Mike has baseball ‘know-how’, but fundamentally it’s the never-say-die spirit this lean master infuses into his team that seems to give them that extra something.”

West was fond of repeating one of Morrow’s favorite maxims.  “Every afternoon in Balboa Stadium you can hear Mike bawl in his foghorn voice: “’Run it out—maybe he’ll throw it away!’”

The Hilltoppers always got the message behind the words.

Morrow’s ace lefthanded pitcher Gene Richardson, who posted a 14-1 record, was the Southern Section player of the year.

Catcher Jerry Dahms, who also doubled as a shot putter on Bill Patten’s track team, led the Hillers with a .376 batting average.

3/6/46

The Martinez All-Stars defeated pitcher Gene Richardson and San Diego High, 3-2, in Balboa Stadium.  The win evened the series between the Hillers and former preps from the area at two wins apiece.

3/8/46

Bill Dugan homered and San Diego won a practice game at Point Loma, 10-4.

3/12/46

Ragged was the word for these preseason games.  Point Loma won, 15-11, at La Jolla as the teams combined for 16 errors.  Eight errors were recorded in St. Augustine’s 7-6 loss at Grossmont.

3/14/46

The Point Loma varsity topped the visiting San Diego junior varsity, 11-5, behind the four-hit pitching of Joe Medina.  It was the Hilltopper youngsters’ first game.

3/15/46

La Jolla’s Bud Relyea gave up an unearned run in the second inning and hurled a no-hitter in a 9-1 victory over guest St. Augustine.

3/20/46

San Diego defeated the Vick’s Nationals team, 10-8. Point Loma rapped St. Augustine, 12-3, and Sweetwater knocked off El Centro Central, 14-3.

3/22/46

Joe Medina scattered three hits and survived five errors, and Point Loma won a six-inning, nonleague game, 8-6, against Victory League opponent and host Sweetwater.

3/27/46

La Jolla stopped host Escondido on three hits, 7-5, behind the pitching of Bud Relyea, Cyril Guthridge, and Dan Butcher.

3/28/46

Pitchers John Brown, Jerry Dahms, and Pete Corona combined to limit visiting  Sweetwater to three hits in San Diego’s 8-3 victory.

–Hoover’s Ken Clary struck out 14 and set down visiting Point Loma and Pointers ace Joe Medina, 4-2.

–Grossmont at La Jolla was postponed because of wet grounds.

4/4/46

Hoover collected three hits and Grossmont botched its way to seven errors and dropped a 10-4 decision to the visiting Cardinals.

–San Diego and Hoover remained the Victory’s League’s only undefeated teams, each 2-0, when the Hilltoppers rocked La Jolla, 14-3.

The Hillers piled 14 hits and John Brown cuffed the Vikings on two hits.

–Joe Medina struck out 14 batters and Point Loma, with a four-run eighth inning, edged Sweetwater, 5-4.

4/5/46

Gene Richardson gave up four hits and pitched San Diego High to a 6-2 win at Fullerton. The Hillers’ John Verdusco doubled and singled twice.

–Hoover lost the first of a three-game series at Santa Barbara, 5-3.

4/6/46

Hoover collected 19 hits and restricted Santa Barbara to six as the Cardinals swept a double header, 8-2, and 15-8.

John Hedquist gave up three hits in the opener and contributed with a two-run home run. Ken Clary and Roy

Clary allowed only three hits and collected three hits in the nightcap, but did not receive sterling defense. The Cardinals threatened to compromise things with four errors.

4/11/46

Joe Correia’s three-run home run and solo shot by Joe Medina presented Point Loma a 4-0 lead in the first two innings at San Diego.

The Hillers erupted for eight runs in the third inning and rolled, 18-4.

–Hoover slugged 16 hits and drubbed La Jolla, 17-2, at Horace Mann playground.

–Tony Castro homered and pitched Sweetwater to a 7-2 victory over Grossmont’s Art Preston.

4/15/46

San Diego, Hoover, and Point Loma represented the area in the 13^th Pomona 20-30 Club tournament.

Coach Mike Morrow’s top-seed Hilltoppers, winners in six of the nine previous years in which San Diego High teams entered, were in the 32-team field for the first time since 1941.

—San Diego defeated Anaheim, 9-4, in the morning and Pasadena, 7-6, in the afternoon.  Hoover edged Santa Monica, 5-4, and returned with a 4-2 win over Point Loma in a contest that went two extra innings.

(Point Loma had won its first-round game, 10-8, over Azusa Citrus).

—Ken Clary and Jack McColl homered in Hoover’s opener.  Winning relief pitcher Harvey Jones drove in Roy Wayne with the winning run and the Cardinals clinched the second game with a successful squeeze play in the ninth inning.

4/16/46

Hoover got four-hit, shutout pitching from John Hedquist in a 5-0 quarterfinals victory over Covina and earned a trip to the Pomona 20-30 Club finals with a 7-4 triumph over Santa Barbara.

San Diego was eliminated in the morning quarterfinals by El Monte, 3-1. The Lions lost in the semifinals, 4-0, to Orange, which qualified to meet Hoover.

—La Jolla’s Bud Relyea struck out 18 and allowed only a scratch single in a 7-0 home victory over Escondido.

4/17/46

Ken Clary scattered six hits and weathered a three-run, ninth-inning by Orange as Hoover claimed the Pomona 20-30 Club championship, 5-3.

Roy Wayne’s 2-for-5 performance at the plate, led the Cardinals, who took a 2-0 lead in the third inning and scored single runs in the fifth, seventh, and eighth.

4/23/46

They would play for the Victory League championship later in the week, but Hoover and San Diego warmed up, the Cavers winning a nonleague contest in Balboa Stadium, 16-9.

Bobby King’s double with the bases loaded helped the Hillers to a 5-0 lead in the third inning.  Hoover scored six in the eighth inning after reliever Pete Corona walked six batters.  The Hillers recovered with five in the bottom of the eighth.

4/25/46

Anticipation resulted in the Hoover-San Diego Victory League title decider being switched to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot diamond.

–Joe Correia was 3 for 4 and hit a home run in Point Loma’s 11-6 victory against the Hoover junior varsity in a game slowed by 13 combined errors.

4/26/46

Gene Richardson did not allow a runner to reach third base and San Diego clinched a tie for the Victory League championship, 4-0, over Hoover at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

Ken Clary gave up six hits including a two-run double to Chuck San Fillippo in the second inning and John Brown’s run-scoring triple that followed Fred Flores’ single in the eighth.

—Ralph Silva’s triple scored pitcher Don Larsen with the winning run as Point Loma beat Grossmont, 6-5, in 10 innings.

—Visiting La Jolla’s Bud Relyea gave up only three hits, but Sweetwater’s Tony Castro allowed two and the Red Devils earned a 4-0 win.

4/29/46

Paul Kaneyuki’s triple followed Joe Henning’s single and Point Loma outlasted the San Diego junior varsity, 4-3, in 15 innings on the Pointers’ field.

4/30/46                                                                                                                  

Ken Clary pitched and hit Hoover to a 5-3 win over San Diego in Balboa Stadium.   Clary kept the Hilltoppers at a distance for the first five innings, then moved to right field and homered, finishing the day 3 for 4.

San Diego won the three-game series, 2 games to 1, after outscoring the Cardinals, 16-9, and 4-0, with only the shutout counting in Victory League standings.

–Grossmont’s Bobby Lamp tripled in 2 runs in the seventh inning and pitched the Foothillers to a 3-2 win over visiting Calexico.

5/1/46                                                                                                  

San Diego won the Victory League championship on the road, with Gene Richardson outpitching Grossmont’s Art Preston, 5-4.

Richardson’s triple climaxed a five-run fifth inning that overcame the Foothillers’ four-run lead.

Preston gave up only three hits but coach John Hancock’s team committed five errors.

5/2/46

—Hoover, Sweetwater, and Point Loma tied for second behind San Diego in the Victory League final standings, each with a 3-2 record.

—Sweetwater surprised Hoover, 9-7, at Horace Mann Playground, and Point Loma, behind Don Larsen’s two-hit pitching, won at La Jolla, 27-2…yes, 27-2.

VICTORY LEAGUE STANDINGS

TEAM	W-L	PCT.	GAMES BEHIND
San Diego	5-0	1.000	—
Point Loma	3-2	.600	2
Sweetwater	3-2	.600	2
Hoover	3-2	.600	2
Grossmont	1-4	.200	4
La Jolla	0-5	.000	5

5/4/46

John Verdusco hit a grand slam home run and Bobby King a solo shot leading San Diego to a 12-5 win over Long Beach Wilson in Balboa Stadium.

John Brown pitched the first seven innings and Gene Richardson the final two for the Hillers.

5/8/46

Brown Military was not a welcome guest at Julian, where the Cadets hammered the Eagles, 35-6, in a Southern Section Group 12 game mercifully called after seven innings.

Brown’s score almost doubled its hits, 18.  Julian committed five errors and two pitchers walked many, unnumbered amount of batters.

5/9/46

As part of a four-day road soiree  leading to a three-game series in Tucson, the Hillers opened Southern California playoff competition with a 24-3 win at El Centro Central.

5/10/46

An overflow crowd estimated at 3,000 persons saw Tucson High beat John Brown and the San Diego Hilltoppers, 3-0, in the Arizona city.

Brown gave up only four hits but walked seven as the Bears scored single runs in the first, second, and eighth innings.

5/11/46

Gene Richardson walked no one, struck out 13, and gave up four hits as San Diego evened its series in Tucson, 7-1, and then completed a double header sweep in the afternoon, 10-6.

The defeats reportedly were the first for the Bears in three years.

Charles Norman was the winning pitcher and catcher Jerry Dahms and first baseman John Brown each was 3 for 5.

5/16/46

San Diego’s second-round CIF playoff with Orange was moved to Lane Field so that a Reserve Officer Training Corps review could be conducted in Balboa Stadium.

5/17/46

Gene Richardson struck out 19 and Richardson and eight of his teammates contributed at least one hit in a 12-hit attack as San Diego blanked the Orange Panthers, 6-0, in a second-round playoff.

Richardson, John Brown, and John Verdusco each had two hits.

5/24/46

The Hillers moved on to the CIF finals with a 9-2 win over Pasadena at Lane Field.  The Bullpups entered the game with a 16-2 record and were led by future major league outfielder and San Diego Padres manager Dick Williams.

Gene Richardson struck out 16 and added two hits and scored two runs as San Diego overcame a 2-0 Pasadena lead with three runs in the fifth inning and followed with two each in the sixth, seventh, and eighth.

5/29/46

Inglewood, 20-8 coming in, was no match for San Diego’s 17-hit attack in an 18-0 rout of the Sentinels in the championship game at Lane Field.

The Hilltoppers scored 4 runs in the third inning and seven in the fourth.

An infield single by Teruto Kaneka in the seventh inning was the only base hit allowed by Gene Richardson, who struck out 19.

The Hillers rapped 15 singles and two doubles (John Verdusco, Charles Norman) and concluded their season with a 24-7 record.

Fred Pierce was 4 for 5 and Charlie Coffee 3 for 3 to lead the San Diego attack.

San Diego batsmen, when the game was out of hand, switched.  Righthanded hitters became lefthanded hitters and vice versa.