Originally posted Dec. 18, 2017.

Unlikely season, unlikely conclusion.

—A rare playoff run by San Diego teams in the Southern California playoffs.

—San Diego High marched through four rounds to win its only CIF Southern Section championship, along the way setting a school single-game scoring record…maybe.

—Hoover’s  Class B team blitzed opponents in an attempted sequel to championships in 1931-32, 1933-34, and 1934-35,  but there was no championship hardware and no satisfaction.

FAST START

San Diego entered the season with four lettermen starters, Ernie Mallory, Melvin Hendry, Vance Randolph, and Lowell Lee, and picked up a fifth, Bill Patterson, who transferred in from Frankford, Indiana.

Alhambra and Long Beach Poly were favored to fight it out for Coast League laurels.  The Hilltoppers were 6-8 overall the previous year, 3-7 in league play, and 0-4 against the Moors and Jackrabbits.

San Diego showed early  that it was vastly improved, sweeping Class A (a more preferred nomenclature than “varsity”) competition on the Hilltoppers’ home floor in the 13th annual San Diego County Interscholastic Tournament that opened the season in December.

With Mallory leading, Coach Mike Morrow’s squad whipped through Grossmont, 48-13, Point Loma, 36-14, and Ramona, 54-15.

Alhambra was the visitor in the league opener and went home a stunned, 31-28 loser after trailing, 15-9, at halftime.  Mallory led the winners with 13 points.

The San Diego-Alhambra contest was played on a Friday afternoon at 3:30 instead of at the usual 7:30 p.m. because the Moors didn’t want to be headed home at night with the threat of fog on the Coast Highway .

Travel and its various inconveniences always were a nemesis for the far-flung Coast League squads.

 

COAST IS CLEAR

The visiting Hilltoppers led Long Beach Poly, 18-17, at the end of three quarters in their next game but couldn’t hold on and dropped a 21-19 decision.  It was the Jackrabbits’ 17^th victory in the 19 games between the teams since they first met in the 1920-21 season but also San Diego’s last loss in the 15-1 season.

A 40-18 victory at Santa Ana was followed by a 29-23 win at Alhambra, setting up another big game with Poly at San Diego.  The Hillers prevailed, 29-25, as Vance Randolph, who would be lost to the team at midterm graduation, scored 11 points.

Randolph and acting captain Eddie Preisler were scheduled to participate in cap-and-gown ceremonies but opted to stay with the team and make their final appearances at Santa Ana.  A 37-29 victory over the Saints clinched the Hilltoppers’ first outright league championship.  They had tied for first with Poly in 1932-33.

With time before the beginning of the playoffs, the Hillers took on the touring Knapps Grocery Stores squad from Oakland.  The 51-25 rout was part of a doubleheader in which Coach Ed Ruffa’s B team, playing an independent schedule, defeated the Markel-Johnson Poultry House, 31-28.

BEERKLE LOOKING FOR EDGE IN PLAYOFF?

Point Loma, 7-0 and Metropolitan League champion after a 24-16 victory over 6-1 Escondido, was the Hillers’ first playoff opponent.

The Pointers did not have a gymnasium (one newspaper reported the Pointers defeated their alumni, 38-28, “on an outdoor court made soggy by the rains”) and even used the Hillers’ gym in preparation for the game.

Pointers coach Joe Beerkle also bemoaned the fact that he had players who were “on call” to the tuna industry.

Beerkle said that if a fishing boat came in, starters Gil Gonsalves and Joaquin Qualin would have to forego the playoff encounter and help off-load a vessel.

There apparently were no arrivals at the Embarcadero, but the Pointers still were outmanned and lost, 32-18.  San Diego the next night took on barnstorming Phoenix Union and beat the Coyotes, 45-35.

WHAT’S THE SCORE?

Morrow’s club met visiting Huntington Beach in the quarterfinals and scored a 73-45 victory.  Or was it 82-45?

The San Diego Union noted the upcoming game early in the week but then ignored the usual day-of-game advance and did not report on the Saturday night contest.

The rival Evening Tribune printed a very short Monday afternoon story that San Diego had won, 73-45. That score also was corroborated by Don King’s Caver Conquest, with attribution to The Russ, San Diego High’s newspaper.

Ernie Mallory’s 18 points represented the only individual total in the Tribune.

The account seemed all well and good until the Los Angeles Times’ result showed a Huntington Beach dateline and a different score.

The Times’ story presented an editorial slant toward the losing team and essentially was a wrap on the Oilers’ Orange League championship season, but the text was accompanied by a comprehensive box score, which showed that San Diego exploded for 53 points in the second half and won, 82-45.

Mallory was credited with 18 points, followed by 15 each from Bill Patterson and Melvin Hendry, 2 by Lowell Lee, and 9 by the fifth starter Roy Cleator.  Substitutes included Billy Cesena (2), Herman Gatewood (6), Mike Shea (4),  and Bob Barth (2).

A player named “Peder” also was credited with 9 points. There was no record of such human, but there was a Homer “Peabody” on the squad.

CIF Southern Section playoff results for the season also honored the 82-45 score.

The Times’ box score still begged the question.  Why no definitive story and complete box score in the San Diego publications?

We’ll have to go with the locals’ 73-45 count until hearing otherwise and with their subsequent 34-32 win over Santa Barbara and 47-35 championship game victory over Bonita.  Semifinals and finals were played at La Verne College.

RARE OUTBURST

What makes the San Diego-Huntington Beach score enticing is that San Diego’s point total, 73 or 82, was 40 to 50 points above normal for the era. Basketball was a slow-moving, low-scoring, and slowly evolving game offensively, although San Diego somehow scored 76 points in the 1916-17 season against Escondido, which scored 23.

If 82 was correct in San Diego’s progression of high-point totals, the 80 against Grossmont in 1952-53 would be invalid.  The issue became moot in 1957-58, when San Diego outscored La Jolla, 86-40.

RIVALRY ON HIATUS

The lede (first paragraph) on an article in The San Diego Union on Jan. 15, 1936:

“Though coaches and principals of both schools are anxious for the series to continue, it now appears that students of San Diego and Hoover Highs will be without their annual Hilltop-Cardinal cage titanic, yearly the high spot of the basketball programs of the rival city schools.”

Hoover had become a member of the Bay League and played league games on Friday.  San Diego played Coast League games on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Coaches Mike Morrow of San Diego and Bruce Maxwell of Hoover looked for loopholes in their schedules.

The series could be played on Wednesday or Thursday, but this would have put Morrow’s players at the disadvantage of two league and one bragging rights game in one week.

The Cardinals and Hillers, who first played in 1933-34, would resume their rivalry in 1936-37 and played at least once a season until 1976-77.

SWARM OF BEES

Hoover’s powerful Class B team, won the County tournament by defeating Grossmont, 37-4, San Diego, 30-26, and Sweetwater, 37-7, and, led  by future San Diego State legend Milton (Milky) Phelps, left their new Bay League rivals reeling.

The Cardinals won league games by scores of 61-24, 49-7, 43-25, 59-27, and 51-14.  Santa Monica came closest but still was a well-beaten 35-19.  The Cardinals rolled in the playoffs, running Carpinteria off the court, 60-12, and swarming San Luis Obispo, 66-30.

The B playoff semifinals and final rounds were at El Monte High.

Hoover’s opponent in the finals was well regarded South Pasadena, a 32-31 winner over El Monte and the team the Cardinals defeated at San Diego State, 36-22, in the 1934-35 championship.

The venue essentially represented a home game for the Tigers. The distance of about 14 ½ miles from South Pas to El Monte was in contrast to the 120 miles that Hoover had traveled to get to the final four site.

OH, OH!

The dispatch from El Monte following the semifinals was curious:  “Some doubt remains as to where the final game will be played, although Coach Bruce Maxwell has been advised to report to the El Monte gym here tomorrow afternoon with his Hoover team for the finale.”

Maxwell and his team arrived on time and the team was on the court and waited more than an hour, but South Pasadena didn’t show, announcing that it would play only on its home court, apparently because the Tigers were the visiting team at Hoover in the 1934-35 title game.

No forfeit.

The CIF bulletin of April, 1936, announced that the executive committee unanimously voted that no champion be declared since “a disagreement had developed over the place of playing the final game in Class B basketball.”

The committee also passed a resolution ending existing playoff arrangements in Classes B, C, and D and allowing league champions to host at least one interleague championship game.

HILLTOP BEES ALSO STUNG

Competing as an independent team and holding wins over Long Beach Poly and Santa Ana, Coach Ed Ruffa’s San Diego High B team was rebuffed in its attempt to gain a playoff berth.

CIF boss Seth Van Patten suggested that the Hillers’ B squad take on Hoover’s super team in a best, two-of-three series, with the winners being admitted to the postseason.  Since Hoover already had won its league and was in the playoffs, the idea died a quiet death.

FAVORED FLOOR

The San Diego High gymnasium, when not used for practice by the Hilltoppers’ teams, was in play virtually every day of the week.

Point Loma and Sweetwater moved their Metropolitan League opener up one day in order to play on the San Diego court.  The teams didn’t want to use Sweetwater’s outdoor court.

San Diego’s playoff with Point Loma was rescheduled for the afternoon.  Hoover earlier had requested and was granted use of the San Diego gym for that night.

Metropolitan League teams came from long distances to play games at San Diego High.  Army-Navy, Coronado, and Escondido were the only other schools to have gyms.  Oceanside’s building was almost complete.

SET SHOTS

Ernie Mallory, one  of the  top players of the first half-century in the County, and Vance Randolph of San Diego were on the all-Southern California first team…a second-team guard was Pasadena Muir Technical’s  Jackie Robinson…Point Loma coach Joe Beerkle, short of players, moved varsity standout Joaquin Qualin to Class B and Qualin scored 12 points in a 40-12 win over Army-Navy…Ramona won the Southern Prep League championship by defeating runner-up Julian, 43-8…Hoover fielded five teams, Varsity, Class B and C, junior varsity and junior varsity B…Hoover’s Class C squad nosed out Memorial Junior High,15-13…after players had dressed and departed for home it was discovered that Memorial had scored an additional two points…the teams agreed to play another game the next week…Dickie Tazlear scored 16 as Hoover prevailed, 30-24….

 

Originally posted Dec. 30, 2016.

By the grace of a 17-14 advantage in first downs, San Diego High survived a 20-20 standoff with Anaheim in the CIF playoff semifinals before 10,271 persons at Long Beach Veterans’ Memorial Stadium.

A heart-thumping conclusion represented the final shot in a frenetic battle of undefeated teams that brought an end to a week of intrigue and one-upmanship.

Anaheim had defeated Glendale 27-13 at the Pasadena Rose Bowl, and San Diego ushered out Bellflower in Balboa Stadium, 26-6, in the quarterfinals round, setting up what many figured would be a “semifinal for the championship”.

Drama began in the days leading to the showdown:

MONDAY, DEC. 5

San Diego assistant coach Birt Slater met with Anaheim athletic director Dick Glover and CIF commissioner Ken Fagans in Los Angeles.

Anaheim won a coin flip in Fagans’ office to determine the home team, according to the Anaheim Bulletin, but the Colonists did not have a home field and were playing in the low-capacity La Palma Avenue Park.

A grandstand to be built at the La Palma facility wouldn’t be ready until the 1956 season, but there were several stadium possibilities in the region.

Glover wanted the game to be in the new, 7,500-seat Orange Coast College facility in Costa Mesa.

Slater, speaking for head coach Duane Maley and the San Diego administration, argued for the 13,000-seat Long Beach Veterans’ Stadium.

Slater said Orange Coast would not be large enough for an expected huge crowd that would follow the Hillers from San Diego.

Glover, citing observers’ reports, asserted that San Diego attendance was only about 2,000 out of the 3,500 that watched the Bellflower game.

Glover also claimed that Colonists followers outnumbered San Diego’s in Balboa Stadium in 1953, when Anaheim won, 21-7.

TUESDAY, DEC. 6

Anaheim, perhaps with some prodding from Fagans and with a promise of a huge visiting crowd from San Diego, finally agreed to move the game to the larger, financially less demanding Veterans’ Stadium.

“A football field is still 100 yards long no matter where it’s located,” Anaheim coach Clare Van Hoorebeke cryptically replied to a question concerning his opinion about the contest’s being moved from the “originally-planned” Orange Coast venue.

San Diego, according go the Anaheim media, seemed to be making mountains out of mole hills.

The Cavers also wanted to wear their powder blue jerseys, which were introduced this year and were a popular departure from San Diego’s traditional Columbia blue.

Anaheim had the choice of color and opted for its home blue tops.  “San Diego will play in their ‘Sunday School’ whites,” according to the Bulletin.

“The ‘Border Bandits'”, declared the newspaper, “acted like true scoundrels when they tried to force the game to be moved to San Diego and then insisted on their choice of jersey color.”

San Diego had another reason for wanting the game moved from the Costa Mesa campus.  Anaheim was familiar with the layout and had won two games there this season.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7

Dick Glover responded to Orange County fans who felt the Colonists had let them down by agreeing to play at Long Beach Vets.

If not Orange Coast, why not the equally familiar Santa Ana Bowl, capacity 9,000?

Glover cited a few reasons:

• “Long Beach charges 10 per cent of the gross, Santa Ana 10 per cent of the first thousand (dollars) and 15 per cent after that.
• “Veterans Stadium is in the back yard of Cypress and Los Alamitos (communities from which Anaheim would draw support) and we have a (financial) obligation to our own school.”
• The clay soil of Orange Coast’s parking lot also would cause problems in the event of rain.
• Orange Coast College was 18.1 miles from Anaheim High. Long Beach Veterans Stadium was 14.8 miles. (Santa Ana Bowl was 8.2 miles).

THURSDAY, DEC. 8

How good was Mickey Flynn, the 160-pound junior who, with “pony “backfield mates Joe Avitia (155), Don Penfield (145), and George Dena (145), had led the Colonists on a 27-game winning streak in the Sunset League?

• Anaheim scored a touchdown on its first or second play in nine of 11 games.
• Flynn was averaging 68 yards on his 19 touchdowns and had scored on his first carry in eight games.
• Gary Land, who sustained a broken ankle in a practice two weeks before, had been ably replaced at right guard in the Cavers’ line by junior Gary Becker. Ron Collins, who had sustained an elbow injury earlier, was ready to go at center.

FRIDAY, DEC. 9

John De La Vega of the Los Angeles Times described the game as a “hair-raiser.”

Jim Trinkle of The San Diego Union also captured the moment in his game account:

 

 

San Diego Section football is done for the year and the Section did well in the opinions of various voting and ratings entities: Six of Cal-Hi Sports’ top 70, nine in the top 38 of Max Preps.com, and six with computer ratings of 46 points or more by Cal Preps.com

Cal-Hi Sports’ expanded ratings took in what the newsletter considered the top 75 teams in the state: 13—Cathedral (11-3).  14—Carlsbad (10-2).  17—Mission Hills (9-3).  18—La Costa Canyon (10-2). 22—Granite Hills (10-3). 23—Lincoln (10-3). 59—Mount Miguel (8-4).  60—San Marcos (7-5).  70—Point Loma. (11-1).  Publisher Mark Tennis has the final word, with input from various human contacts in the state.

Max Preps relies on computer conclusions:  11—Cathedral. 13—Mission Hills.  15—Carlsbad.  16—La Costa Canyon.  17—Granite Hills. 24—Lincoln. 31—San Marcos.  36—Point Loma.  38—Mount Miguel. 50–Oceanside.  60–Rancho Bernardo. 68–Poway.

Cal Preps.com points also were based what the computer spat out:  59.7—Cathedral. 52.6—Mission Hills.  51.2—Carlsbad. 48.7—La Costa Canyon.  48.7—Granite Hills.  46—Lincoln.  38.7—San Marcos.  34.6—Point Loma. 34.2—Mount Miguel.

SAN DIEGO SECTION IN THE STATE PLAYOFFS 

The state CIF, after years of discussion, went to an invitational model in 2006 and then to state playoffs involving teams that qualified from California’s 10 individual sections.

The San Diego Section was 1-3  in the state finals in 2025 after posting a 4-2 record in the Southern California regional playoffs.

DIVISION I-AA

Folsom (14-1, Sac-Joaquin) 42, Cathedral (11-3) 28, @Mission Viejo Saddleback College.

The Dons were denied a fourth state championship, losing to the Sac-Joaquin power for the second time in three championship games.  The Dons beat the Bulldogs, 33-21, in 2021 and lost, 21-14, in overtime in 2018.

After falling behind, 21-0, Cathedral never got closer than two touchdowns.  Out of it at 42-14 in the fourth quarter, the Dons scored twice.  “I’m just extremely proud of the boys,” said coach Sean Doyle.  “They fought until the very end. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Doyle ended his 30^th season with the Dons with 251 victories, second all time in San Diego County.

V-AA

Oakland Bishop O’Dowd (11-4, North Coast) 37, Christian (8-8) 0, @Buena Park High.

A Patriots highlight was offered by freshman running back Julian Morones, who rushed for 87 yards in 13 carries. Under game-long pressure by the Dragons’ defense, Christian quarterback Kaleb Runkle was sacked five times and completed 10 of 28 passes for 98 yards, and rushed for 51 yards in 13 attempts or escapes.

VI-AA

Valley Center (9-6) 36, San Jose Lincoln (11-4, Central Coast) 35, @Fullerton High.

The Jaguars won with a classic final drive, going 78 yards in five plays in the final 1:42 and springing Joeisha Ryan Tirado for the last 14 yards to tie the game at 35 with 32 seconds remaining, and then living through the drama of two false start penalties as kicker Jesse Morales was lined up for the PAT.

Morales finally booted the game winner, putting an exclamation point on his game of six catches for 134 yards, including a fingertip snag of 54 yards for a touchdown after being blanked in the first half.

Tirado, named the game’s most-valuable player, rushed for 193 yards and scored three touchdowns in 24 carries, caught two passes for 25 yards, and recovered a fumble from his position as a defensive lineman.  Jaguars quarterback Braylon Mitchell passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns.

VI-A

Winters (14-1, Northern) 28, Morse (10-5) 7, @Buena Park High.

“We won one game last season, so we’ve come a long way,” said Tigers coach Tracy McNair.  “It shows we’re headed in the right direction.”

STATE PLAYOFFS HISTORY

>Overtime.

YEAR	DIVISION	TEAM	SCORE	OPPONENT	SECTION	SCORE
2024	I-AA	Lincoln (12-2)	28	Pittsburg (12-3)	North Coast	26
	V-AA	El Capitan (11-4)	7	Carmel (15-0)	Central Coast	48
	VI-A	Monte Vista (9-6)	21	Summerville (14-1)	Sac-Joaquin	38
2023	VI-A	Sweetwater (8-7)	13	Colusa (14-0)	Northern	33
2022	I-AA	Lincoln (13-1)	33	Concord De La Salle (10-4)	North Coast	28
	II-AA	Mater Dei (11-4)	26	Oakland McClymonds (12-2)	Oakland Athletic League	18
	II-A	Granite Hills (13-2)	31	Danville San Ramon Valley (12-3)	North Coast	24>
	VI-AA	Classical (11-3)	7	San Jose Santa Teresa (9-6)	Central Coast	0
2021	I-AA	Cathedral (11-2)	33	Folsom (11-4)	Sac-Joaquin	21
	I-AA	Mater Dei (13-0)	34	Modesto Central Catholic (13-2)	Sac-Joaquin	25
	II-A	Scripps Ranch (13-1)	31	Santa Clara Wilcox (11-3)	Central Coast	28
2019	III-AA	El Camino (9-7)	14	Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman (14-1)	North Coast	31
	IV-A	La Jolla (10-5)	21	Escalon (14-1)	Sac-Joaquin	52
2018	I-AA	Cathedral (12-2)	14	Folsom (14-1)	Sac-Joaquin	21>
	III-AA	Lincoln (11-5)	7	Atherton Menlo (13-2)	Central Coast	21
	V-A	San Diego (12-2)	21	Colfax (13-1)	Northern	10
	VI-A	Orange Glen (10-4)	13	San Francisco Lincoln (13-0)	San Francisco	24
2017	I-AA	Helix (13-2)	42	Folsom (16-0)	Sac-Joaquin	49
	III-AA	Steele Canyon (12-4)	44	Half Moon Bay (14-1)	Central Coast	42
	IV-A	El Centro Southwest (14-1)	45	Milpitas (14-1)	Central Coast	41
	VI-A	Calexico Vincent Memorial (12-3)	20	San Francisco Galileo (11-2)	San Francisco	38
2016	I-AA	Cathedral (15-0)	38	Stockton St. Mary’s (14-2)	Sac-Joaquin	35>
	II-AA	Madison (13-2)	21	San Jose Valley Christian (13-2)	Central Coast	17
	III-A	The Bishop’s (14-1)	0	Oakdale (14-2)	Sac-Joaquin	47
	V-A	La Jolla Country Day (12-4)	17	Oakland McClymonds (13-1)	Oakland Athletic League	20
2015	III-A	Rancho Bernardo (13-2)	35	San Francisco Sacred Heart (11-4)	Central Coast	14
	IV-AA	Bonita Vista (12-3)	21	Hanford (14-1)	Central	33
2014	I	Oceanside (14-1)	7	Folsom (16-0)	Sac-Joaquin	68
	III	El Capitan (14-1)	28	Moraga Campolindo (16-0)	North Coast	35
2013	None
2012	III	Madison (14-1)	38	Kentfield Marin Catholic (14-2)	North Coast	35
	IV	Santa Fe Christian (11-4)	7	Modesto Central Catholic (13-2)	Sac-Joaquin	66
2011	II	Helix (13-1)	35	Loomis Del Oro (13-2)	Sac-Joaquin	24
2010	III	Madison (12-2)	14	Escalon (14-1)	Sac-Joaquin	30
	IV	The Bishop’s (14-0)	40	Stockton Brookside Christian (12-1)	Sac-Joaquin	14
2009	I	Oceanside (14-0)	24	San Jose Bellarmine (11-2-1)	Central Coast	19
	Small	Francis Parker (11-3)	40	Modesto Christian (15-0)	Sac-Joaquin	44
2008	II	Cathedral (14-0)	37	Stockton St. Mary’s (12-3)	Sac-Joaquin	34
2007	II	Oceanside (12-0-1)	28	Novato (13-1)	North Coast	14
2006	None

The postseason begins this week and the Open Division is so stacked that season-long  No. 1 Lincoln is out and placed in Division I.

Mission Hills, Open Division-seeded No. 1 and the leader in John Maffei’s last regular-season poll,  meets visiting No. 4 Cathedral and  No. 2 La Costa Canyon is host to No. 3 Carlsbad.  Lincoln, defending state Division 1-AA champion, has a bye.

“Maffei Madness” will resume with a final poll after the San Diego Section playoffs.

HAPPY TRAILS, COACH

Chris Hauser was placed on administrative leave after four games and eventually retired as head coach at Mission Hills, leaving a career record of 210-89-2, and a winning percentage of .699.  DJ Zapata serves as interim coach and has a 5-1 record heading into  the playoff against Cathedral.

Hauser has the 11th most wins of any coach in San Diego County history.  His teams at Vista and Mission Hills won or tied for 12 league championships and reached the San Diego Section championship game seven times, winning two.

MAFFEI MADNESS

John Maffei’s The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 11 poll:
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. *First-place votes. Previous rankings in (italics).
NR–Not ranked. MaxPreps, Cal Preps, and Cal-Hi Sports are state rankings.

RANK	TEAM/RECORD	POINTS	MAX PREPS	CAL PREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1.	Mission Hills (9-1) 18*	277 (1)	8 (14)	58.7 (58.4)	12 (14
2.	Cathedral (8-2) 9*	263 (2)	13 (14)	47.5 (47)	15 (19)
3.	La Costa Canyon (9-1) 3*	246(3)	10 (10)	57.1 (51.5)	13 (12)
4.	Lincoln (8-2)	213 (4)	20 (11)	50.8 (50)	20 (17)
5.	Carlsbad (9-1)	177 (5)	12 (12)	53.7 (53.6)	19 (24)
6.	Granite Hills (7-3)	146 (6)	24 (29)	44.9 (44.8)	39 (40)
7.	Point Loma (10-0)	127 (7)	38 (51)	48.5 (48)	46 (43)
8.	San Marcos (6-4)	81(8)	27 (31)	42.6 (42.2)	On Bubble (On Bubble)
9.	Oceanside (6-4)	44 (10))	40 (42)	35.2 (34.1)	NR (NR)
10.	Mount Miguel (7-3)	43 (9)	37 (50)	36.4 (36)	NR (NR)

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Santa Fe Christian (10-0, 13 points), Holtville (9-1, 4), Mission Bay (10-0, 4), Rancho Bernardo (8-2, 4)

VOTING PANEL

Twenty-nine sportswriters, sportscasters, and administrators from the San Diego Section, plus Max Preps:

• John Maffei (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Donald Ray Norcross, Kevin Farmer, Rick Hoff, Steve Brand (Union-Tribune correspondents)
• Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section)
• Brandon Stone, Allison Edwards, John Carroll, Chase Izidoro (KUSI-TV)
• Rick Smith (partletonsports.com)
• Braden Suprenant (93.7 FM “The Fan”)
• Mike Dolan (Coaching Legends)
• Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference)
• Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson, Bruce Ward (CIF Advisory Committee)
• Raymond Brown (sdsports.net)
• Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association)
• Bodie DeSilva, John Kentera, Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (freelance contributors).

 

Baseball and track and field continued to feel the effects of the World War II with shorter seasons and limited participation.

Teachers and students were answering the call from Uncle Sam and leaving for the military.  Allied forces continued to fight fierce battles in Europe and the Pacific.

No official count of the number of baseball games were played, but practice games and nonleague encounters sometimes went unreported or weren’t published by the shrinking staffs of The San Diego Union, Evening Tribune, and The Daily Journal.

San Diego, Hoover, and Sweetwater tied for first in Victory League baseball, each with a 3-1 league record.  Track and field managed to complete a full season with a combined championship day for the Southern Section and Los Angeles City Section.

The sections competed separately before a crowd of about 15,000 in the L.A. Coliseum.

The war took a historic turn in Europe, with D-Day and the Normandy invasion, thirteen days after the final track meet.

(Bold type for Track, Light for Baseball)

 4/2/44

San Diego defeated Hoover, 57 2/3-46 1/3, in a dual meet that did not count in Victory League competition. 

Ralph Phillips of the Hillers won the 100-yard dash in :10.1 and 220 in :23.1.  Sophomore Norman Stocks won the 440 in :52.2 and anchored a 1:35 victory in the 880-yard relay.

Vocational dropped a 5-1 decision at Golden Hill Playground to the San Diego junior varsity, whose Luis Urquidi had five hits in five times at bat.

4/4/44

Jack Harshman collected four of San Diego’s 10 hits but the Hillers were beaten by the Coast Guard base team, 11-4, at Golden Hill.

4/5/44

The Point Loma varsity combined two hits, two errors and a walk for three runs, and defeated the San Diego High JV, 4-2.

4/11/44

Hoover dropped a 7-1 decision to the visiting Camp Kearny Marines.

—Byron Ward homered and his triple scored Don Sparling in the 10^th inning as Sweetwater outlasted Camp Miramar, 6-5, on the Red Devils’ diamond.

4/13/44

Lee Singleton’s single scored Tom Maheras and George Caswell in the first inning and that was enough as host Hoover beat Point Loma, 4-0, in a Victory League opening game.

The Cardinals rolled behind the four-hit pitching of Dick Barnes, who struck out 11 and didn’t allow a base runner after the fourth inning.

4/14/44

San Diego scored 6 runs each in the first and second innings and pounded out 14 hits in an 18-0 execution of Vocational on the Balboa Stadium diamond.

—The Fort Rosecrans team bunched two-base hits in the sixth inning at Hoover and defeated the Cardinals, 1-0.

Grossmont’s James Wood won the 70-yard high hurdles, next to last event of the meet, in :10 and the Foothillers dominated the field events to edge San Diego, which won all races on the track, 54-50.

—Hoover was a 52 ½-50 ½ winner over La Jolla and led the Victory League with a 5-0 record, followed by Grossmont and San Diego, each 4-1.  Top mark was the 21-foot, 6 ½-inch broad jump by the Cardinals’ Jack Norberg.

4/18/44

Victor Salazar scored from second base on a fly-ball out by Carl Goodwalt and San Diego defeated Fort Rosecrans, 5-4, in Balboa Stadium.

Bud Andrews and Bob Marr each won two events and La Jolla topped Sweetwater, 66 ½-37 ½.  Grossmont beat Point Loma, 62-42.

4/21/44

Hoover (6-0) swept the broad jump and shot put and took four other first places plus a tie for first to clinch a tie for the Victory League dual meet championship, 55 ½-48 ½, over San Diego (4-2) on the Cardinals’ oval.

Thirty-two combined base hits and 10 combined errors later San Diego stood 2-0 in the Victory League after a 16-11 victory at Point Loma.

The Hilltoppers struck 21 base hits and put the game away with a five-run seventh inning.

4/25/44

Three Sweetwater pitchers, Castro, Johnson, and Don Sparling held Point Loma to three hits and Sweetwater made the most of eight hits to score an 8-0 victory on the Pointers’ diamond.

4/26/44

Charlie Harris gave up four runs but survived a seventh-inning uprising as Point Loma defeated the San Diego Electric Railway team, 9-4.

(The Electric Railway operated in San Diego from 1892 until 1949, when trolley cars gave way to buses and the continually expanding use of automobiles).

—Hoover capitalized on singles by Tom Maheras and Don Brorson, a walk to Lee Singleton, and a wild pitch in the sixth inning propelling the Cardinals to a 2-0 victory over a team identified as Kearny Ship’s Company and not affiliated with Kearny High.

4/28/44

Outhit, 10-7, San Diego took advantage of 11 Sweetwater errors to score a 13-7 victory on the Red Devils’ diamond.

—John Brody struck out 15 and St. Augustine scored six runs in the fifth inning en route to a 10-7 win at Point Loma.

—Idle Hoover backed into its second straight Victory League dual meet championship when coach Dave Rebd’s Cardinals rested and La Jolla went to the foothills and defeated Grossmont (5-2), 60 ½-43 ½.

The Cardinals (6-0) had one meet remaining, versus Coronado the following week.

—San Diego won 10 of 11 events, routing Kearny, 92-11.  Ted Simpson won the 880 in 2:09, Norman Stocks the 440 in :52.6, and Pasqual Buono the pole vault, clearing 11 feet, 4 inches.

—Bob Seiben won the 440, broad jump and 220 low hurdles but didn’t get much help as Point Loma topped Sweetwater, 67-37.

4/30/44

The city’s Civil War was five days away and coaches Bob Breitbard (Hoover) and John Brose (San Diego) were setting their lineups for the three-game series that would not count in Victory League standings.

San Diego, Hoover, and Sweetwater were tied for first in the abbreviated campaign.

5/2/44

Hoover closed a 7-0 dual meet season with a 92-11 victory over Coronado that was its 14th in a row since 1943.  Jack Norberg was a triple winner, :09.8 70-yard high hurdles, :13.5 120 lows, and 21-4 ½ broad ump.

Runners-up in the standings were San Diego, Grossmont, and La Jolla, each 5-2, while Grossmont (7-0) swept Classes B and C.

—Hoover’s Dick Barnes and Marty Gaughan combined to pitch the first perfect game in Victory League history, 7-0 over Vocational on Golden Hill Playground.

Barnes pitched the first three innings and Gaughan the last six, striking out 8 and walking one.  Lee Singleton and Frank Smith each had two hits and drove in three runs.

5/4/44

Al Smith allowed six hits but Point Loma committed eight errors and dropped a 6-4 decision to the Camp Kearny Liberators on the Pointers’ diamond.

5/5/44

Carl Hurlbach kept Hoover in check on five hits and benefitted from a San Diego attack that scored nine runs in the final three innings for a 13-5 victory in the first of the best-of-three City series at Hoover.

A five-run ninth against Cardinals pitchers Bill Ruzich and Marty Gaughan highlighted by Louie Dukes’ two-run double clinched the win.

5/6/44

VICTORY LEAGUE FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

San Diego won the team championship with 36 points, followed by La Jolla, which had 28, and Hoover 18½.  Grossmont had 18 1/6, Sweetwater, 13 1/3, Coronado 11, Point Loma, 3, and Kearny, 1.

Jack Norberg of Hoover was the individual star with 13 points, winning the 120-yard low hurdles in :13.3 and broad jump at 20 feet, 10 inches, and placing second to the :09.3 by Don Nelson of Grossmont in the 70-yard high hurdles.

San Diego’s two first places were the :53.1 440 by Norman Stocks and the 5-11 3/8 high jump that tied Ivan Robinson with La Jolla’s Don Ide.

Ray Turnipseed of Coronado was a double sprint winner, running the 100 in :10.2 and 220 in :22.7.

La Jolla’s Bob Marr, Phil Prather, Bob Faniel, and Bud Andrews raced to a season-best 1:32 in the 880-yard relay.

5/19/44

Lefthander Bill Ruzich stopped San Diego on three hits and Hoover, scoring three runs each in the eighth and ninth innings, evened the City series at one win apiece, 6-1, in Balboa Stadium.

—Don Sparling singled, doubled and tripled and Bob Rinkleib drove in four runs, and Sweetwater hammered visiting Point Loma, 15-2.

Jack Norberg of Hoover ran :15.8 in the 120-yard high hurdles and :25.2 in the 220 lows at Sweetwater to qualify for those events in the May 27 CIF Southern Section championships in Los Angeles.

Norberg and other Victory League athletes did not run the highs or the longer-distance race during the  season, instead competing in the 70-yard highs and 120 lows.

Don Nelson of Grossmont and Bob Marr of La Jolla also qualified for the CIF meet.

5/24/44

The venue for a rare, wartime night game was Lane Field and San Diego clinched the City series with its second win in three games over Hoover, 18-11.

Jack Harshman had four hits, including a home-run with the bases loaded in an eight-run sixth inning, to lead the Hilltoppers, who trailed, 8-1, after the Cardinals scored six in the fourth inning.

Harshman also had a double and two singles and the Hillers were ahead, 18-7, after seven innings.

Dick Barnes hit a bases-empty home run in the ninth for Hoover.

5/26/44

—Don Nelson was a surprise winner and the only local gold medalist in Class A when the Grossmont hurdler won at 220 yards in :24.9 in front of a crowd of approximately 15,000 persons in the Los Angeles Coliseum, where the Southern and L.A. City Sections combined their championships for a total of 66 events in Classes A, B, and C.

CLASS A MEDALISTS

—Ray Turnipseed of Coronado, third in the 100-yard dash to the winning :09.7 and tied for second to the winning :21.4 in the 220.

—Jack Norberg, Hoover, third to the winning :15.8 in the 120-yard high hurdles.

—Ivan Robinson, San Diego, third at 5-11 in the high jump to the winning 6-1 ¾. Don Ide, La Jolla, tied for fifth at 5-8.

—Don Nelson, Grossmont, first in the 220-yard low hurdles in :24.9.

—Gilbert Martin, Grossmont, fourth in the shot put at 47 feet, 7 3/8 inches to the winning 52-6 1/2.

—La Jolla, fifth in the 880-yard relay to the winning 1:31.2.

Inglewood outscored Beverly Hills, 23-22, for the team championship. La Jolla was fourth with 9 ½.

 

Looking Back: 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 69^th 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?

—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

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

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

“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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

–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

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….