- 1924: Hilltoppers’ Star Saved in Swimming Pool
San Diego High avoided a tragic event when star sophomore fullback Bert Ritchey almost drowned before the Hilltoppers’ “bowl game” at Phoenix Union.
After a 12-hour ride on a special San Diego & Arizona railroad car and arriving Friday morning, the Cavemen worked out at Phoenix’s Riverside Park late Friday afternoon. That evening many in the squad ...
- 2014-15: Torrey Pines Leads 6 San Diego Teams
Can coach John Olive’s tough-minded, resourceful Torrey Pines Falcons pull off another victory in Tuesday’s Southern California playoff Division I semifinals?
The No. 6-seed Falcons, trailing, 43-40, after three quarters, walked down host No. 3 Long Beach Poly, 54-49, in the quarterfinals Saturday night. The Falcons now visit 2 seed Chino Hills, averaging a turbo-charged 85.4 points and holding a 78-54 victory over ...
- 2014-15: Horizon Girls Get Stink Eye From CIF
Winning a league and section title no longer matters, according to the convoluted “power” ratings and Open divisions established by the state CIF and endorsed by the San Diego Section.
The Horizon girls’ basketball team was essentially told to drop dead by the CIF after the Panthers had won their league title and the San Diego Section ...
- 2014-15: Playoffs Now Get Serious
Ugly blowouts apparently in the rear view mirror, the San Diego Section basketball playoffs reach the semifinals round this week in the Open and Divisions I-V.
The so-called CIF power ratings, with their comprehensive reviews of statistics, scores, strength of schedule, etc., raised questions when Vista was accorded an Open Division berth, resulting in Francis Parker and Morse being ...
- 1956: “Smiley” is San Diego High Legend
San Diego coach Duane Maley said it best: “He can run sideways faster than most backs can forward.”
Maley spoke of a favored player, 5-foot, 4-inch, 145-pound halfback Cleveland (Smiley) Jones, who literally carried the 1956 Cavemen.
Jones was the City Prep League player of the year despite missing almost all of two games and parts of ...
- 1979: Eighteen Hours Later Komets Emerge as Winners
Kearny High and Point Loma kicked off at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, 1979, and the Komets clinched a 9-6 victory on Oct. 27, 1979, about 18 hours later.
Five seconds remained on the clock when the Komets’ Jim Goosens attempted the first field goal of his life and booted a 25-yard placement that sent everyone ...
- 1956: Then and Now for Hoover’s Engle
A stunning, 20-12 victory over archrival San Diego High brought back a flood of memories to Hoover coach Roy Engle.
—That hazy afternoon in Balboa Stadium in 1935 when Engle drove the Cardinals to a fourth-quarter, 7-6 victory over San Diego.
—Engle, the senior ball carrier, gaining the final 25 yards in three carries in the 80-yard ...
- 2015: Ron Dargo, Ace of Crawford Staff
Ron Dargo, 69, who pitched Crawford High to the 1962 San Diego Section baseball championship, passed away recently at his home in Spring Valley.
Dargo, a lefthander, and John Allison, who pitched from the right side, led a late-season Colts playoff push after they finished second to San Diego in the Eastern League race.
The Colts, who ...
- 1953: Avocados And New Schools
Lincoln and Mission Bay took their first, tentative steps. St. Augustine continued to push for league affiliation. North County schools wanted to be closer to home. Army-Navy and Brown Military didn’t want to be left out.
Such was the landscape, which promised to change.
Joe Rindone, principal of Chula Vista High and president of the CIF Southern Section executive ...
- 2014-15: Poll Virtually Unchanged
The sluggish UT-San Diego poll showed no change in the first six positions from last week with minor juggling after that, most notable being St. Augustine’s rising from 10th to seventh.
Meanwhile, there continues to be an absence of San Diego Section teams in the Cal-Hi Sports state top 20.
Torrey Pines, Foothills Christian, La Costa Canyon, and ...
- 2015: Billy Casper’s Mark as Chula Vista Student
Billy Casper, who passed away recently at age 83, was not only a Hall of Fame golfer as a professional but also made his mark as a student at Chula Vista High.
Casper was runner-up as a sophomore, champion as a junior, and runner-up as a senior in the CIF Southern Section golf championships from 1948-50.
Casper ...
- 1972: Can’t Make This Up…Football Locked Out by Pro Basketball
Several Eastern League schools found themselves unable to access a favored playing site, by the San Diego Conquistadors.
Yes, those Q’s, the American Basketball Association professional team located here.
The preps, in keeping with years of tradition, thought Aztec Bowl was reserved for them for games Oct. 13, 20, and 27.
Trouble was those were the same nights ...
- 2014-15: Torrey Pines Keeps Winning
The world is Torrey Pines’ oyster, for now.
Coach John Olive’s Falcons completed an 8-0 January and have a 10-game winning streak as they visit Rancho Bernardo tonight.
The 21-2 Falcons have six remaining regular-season games against teams with a combined record of 61-65.
None of those opponents, Rancho Bernardo, twice (11-9), Mt. Carmel (12-10), Poway (13-9), Westview (8-14), ...
- 2014-15 Week 6: Give Morse Some Respect
Where have I gone wrong?
I voted for Morse as No. 5 in the UT-San Diego basketball poll this week.
I assigned No. 10 to Army-Navy.
The poll of 11 voters released today shows Army-Navy No. 5 and Morse No. 9. No change from last week for either team.
Morse defeated Riverside John North, 96-88, in double overtime and ...
- 1998: Helix Mounts Late Run to Championship
Helix’ San Diego Section Division II title represented what may have been the finest coaching performance in Jim Arnaiz’s 27-season career.
The Highlanders had won only 4 of their first 9 games but three ties had made them 4-2-3 when they began a five-week run to the championship.
–They improved to 5-2-3 and clinched second place in ...
- 2014-15: No Poll Today But Lots of Action
We’re going to hold off on publishing the weekly Union-Tribune basketball poll, because games Monday night would dramatically alter the Top 10, the deadline of which for voters is 10 a.m. on Monday.
The poll’s timeliness often is in question at this time of year, because clubs are involved in the annual series of one-night stands and specially promoted events on ...
- 2014-15: Poll Remains Same, 1-10
The order of the Union-Tribune Top 10 was unchanged after the fourth vote of the season, but there will be changes next week.
No. 1 Foothills Christian was beaten, 48-42, by The Bishop’s at Cuyamaca College last night in what is evolving into a tough Coastal Division race.
Foothills’ 6-foot, 11-inch T.J. Leaf did not play as ...
- 2015: John Kovac, Started Mesa College Football Program
John Kovac, the first head football coach at Mesa College and coach of Coronado’s 1955-56 Southern California basketball championship team, passed away at age 89.
Services for Kovac, who moved from San Diego to Palm Springs in October, will be Jan. 20 at St. Brigit’s Parish, Pacific Beach, on Jan. 20 at 11 a.m.
Kovac opened the Mesa program in 1964 ...
- 2015: Carberry Makes 40, 100-Game Winners
An error in compilation of our list of coaches with at least 100 career victories omitted a 40th member of that club.
Monte Vista’s Ed Carberry posted a 100-59-3 record in 14 seasons, with a .626 winning percentage.
Carberry became the Monarchs’ coach in 1989 and was 72-51-2 through 1999. Page Culver coached the Spring Valley team in 2000. Carberry returned ...
- 2015: Rory Trup, Section 880 Champ in 1970
Rory Trup, the San Diego Section 880-yard run champion in 1970 at Mission Bay, passed away.
Trup, 62, of Encinitas ran 1:55.3 to win the Section title at Balboa Stadium and was timed in 1:55.1 in the State trials at Edwards Stadium on the University of California campus in Berkeley.
Trup finished third in the 1971 San Diego ...
