La Jolla, winner of 30 in a row, including 28 consecutive this season, was on the cusp of getting to a place no other team had gone.

A 29-0 season was unprecedented.

The only San Diego County team to come that close was the 1959-60 Hoover squad that won its first 26 (most reports say the Cardinals won 27 in a row; search 1959-60 “Cardinals Come Up Short…”).

No major school varsity had traversed a full season without a loss, dating to the days of dirt courts and chain baskets.

And it wouldn’t happen this year.

The Vikings returned three starters from the 1962-63 club that won all 17 nonleague games but then ran aground on the rocky shoals of the Western League.

Not always composed, the seaside club staggered to a 5-5 loop record, finishing at 22-5 and out of the playoffs.

Rick Eveleth, Charlie Buchanan, and Bill Canning, three solid starters, plus John Walters and future pro tour golfer John Schroeder, were on hand for another run this season.

The Vikings won the Kiwanis Tournament Limited Division and Mustang Optimist event in December, and then swept the Western League with a 10-0 run and set a single-game scoring record in a 94-66 triumph over Mission Bay.

Averaging more than 65 points a game, La Jolla swarmed opponents and rebounded, although Eveleth, at 6 feet, 3 inches, was its tallest player.

CLASS AA PLAYOFFS 

The Vikings proved the correct antidote to Monte Vista’s runners and gunners, winning the first-round game, 60-49, days after the Monarchs (20-7) had set a County record in a 120-77 victory over Granite Hills.

The Vikings had rallied from a 49-31 deficit in the third quarter to nose out the Spring Valley team, 62-58, in the fourth game of the season and repeated with a 68-50 victory  (“I think their press hurt them; their tongues were hanging out in the second half,” noted  La Jolla coach Bill Reeves) in the Kiwanis finale.

La Jolla’s first test since a mid-season, 44-41 escape from Kearny (15-13) came against dangerous Lincoln (17-8) in the semifinals.  The Hornets strived mightily, but the Vikings stayed in front throughout and won, 78-70.

HIGHLANDERS IN WAY

With 6-foot, 7inch Al Skalecky, 6-3 Jim Sunderman, and 6-2 Ron Slocum patrolling inside, Helix (27-3) had lost to only one team in San Diego and removed that blotch in a succeeding meeting with Chula Vista.

Trailing 18-17, after the first quarter, Helix staggered La Jolla with a 15-2 run, led, 33-24 at the half, 50-39, after three and closed out a 76-56 victory that marked the first time a school outside the city limits had won the title.

Skalecky had 24 points and 13 rebounds, Sunderman 14 and 17.  The 5-foot 10-inch Buchanan, who would be named CIF player of the year, led the Vikings with 8 rebounds.

Helix with a 46-22 edge on the backboards, had little trouble with the Vikings’ press, and shot 50.8 per cent from the field to 38.6 per cent.

The Highlanders had raced through the Grossmont League with a 12-0 record including a pair of wins against 10-2 Monte Vista, 77-72, and 65-59, the latter for the league clincher.

FUTURE AZTECS

Skalecky would team with La Jolla’s Rick Eveleth, Castle Park’s Ralph (Rip) Barrett, and Crawford’s Dave Miller on San Diego State’s 1966-67 team that played in the national collegiate College Division championship tournament in Evansville, Ind.

ALMOST STRANGER THAN FICTION

–Mar Vista scored the only points by either team in the fourth quarter to edge Sweetwater, 36-34.  Mike Clark’s two free throws with 50 seconds remaining was the difference.

–Down 26 points with 14 minutes to play, Helix caught St. Augustine and then stole a pass and scored to defeat the Saints, 55-54, for the Kiwanis Tournament Unlimted Division title.

–Lincoln shot 57 per cent in a 77-66 win at Crawford and then shot 32 per cent in a 49-43 loss at home to the Colts, who claimed the Eastern League championship.

–Six Castle Park and Mar Vista players, three on each side, fouled out in the last five minutes.

–Rick Eveleth, 6-feet-3 inches, of La Jolla scored 26 points and held Mission Bay’s 6-8  Mike Kinkki to 4 points.

–Clairemont held on for a 74-70 victory over Granite Hills, despite giving up 35 points in the fourth quarter, after leading, 57-35.

–Hoover’s 2-4 start was its poorest since the 11-12, 1952-53  team.

SURPRISING COLTS

With a starting lineup comprised mostly of graduates of a junior varsity team that was 8-8 in ’62-63, Crawford coach Jim Sams found out quickly what potential opponents had on their minds.

“You get an idea of what the other clubs think of you when they try to schedule a game,” said Sams after the Colts won their first six.  “They’ll call and ask how many letterman you have and you say, ‘None’, and they want you on their schedule.”

Crawford’s 25-5 record was better than the 24-6-1 of the championship 1962-63 squad.  6-4 sophomore Von Jacobsen joined 6-7 senior Dennis Grey, 6-3 junior Bob Boone 5-11 senior Ronnie Layton, and 6-3 senior Dave Miller, who saw action the previous year, in the starting lineup.

CANTANKEROUS

Taciturn Paul Pruett, who didn’t like the setup while at San Dieguito, sounded off about Kiwanis Tournament venues.

“The people running this thing know how big a home court advantage is but nothing is ever done about it,” said the Hilltop mentor.

“They shove the County teams into any old gym and let the city teams play their first two or three games at home.”

Pruett said he would continue to enter the Kiwanis because there aren’t any other pre-Christmas events of significance, “but if they start another one somewhere, we’ll be in it.”

Hilltop didn’t have to go to Hoover or San Diego for its second-round game with Grossmont, but the Lancers were bounced, 58-44, at Sweetwater.

INTRANSIGENT

Castle Park was awarded a forfeit victory over Morse in the San Dieguito Mustang Optimist, post-Christmas tournament.

Tigers coach Tom Williams refused to leave the court after referee Jimmy Spurling assessed a second technical foul against Williams, who was unhappy with the way the game was being called.

Morse outnumbered Castle Park in personal fouls, 15-7, when the game ended with the Trojans ahead, 40-23, in the third quarter.

IRATE

“This was the worst performance by a team of mine in fourteen years of coaching; the kids have got no pride in defense and don’t care if the other guy scores,” said  Bill Standly of San Diego (13-15) following a 69-46 loss to La Jolla.

BALANCE

La Jolla oozed  it.  Charlie Buchanan, the CIF player of the year, scored 436 points, Bill Canning 390, Rick Eveleth 374, and John Walters 318. Skalecky led Helix with 440, followed by Jim Sunderman, 421, and Ron Slocum, 319.

Guards Lynn Lowder (217) and Bob Grundstrom didn’t score as much (“I’ll bet some of the opposing coaches don’t know their names,” said Helix coach Bob Speidel), but they were essential in breaking down La Jolla’s defense.

Grundstrom’s looper with one second left pushed the Highlanders past 15-13 Kearny, 57-55, in the opening round of the playoffs.

POLITICS ELIMINATED

The CIF board of managers announced that leagues could break ties for playoff spots with an elimination game.  Previously administrators in respective leagues voted for postseason representatives.

SCORING LEADERS

Name	Team	Games	Points	Average
Barrett	Castle Park	30	537	17.9
Landis	Monte Vista	26	529	20.3
Leininger	Morse	25	518	20.7
Fitzmorris	Madison	28	480	17.1
Rippe	Lincoln	24	442	18.4
Skalecky	Helix	30	440	14.7
Gray	Monte Vista	27	439	16.3
Buchanan	La Jolla	29	435	15.0
Syverson	Mar Vista	30	430	14.5
Henderson	Clairemont	23	421	18.3
Sunderman	Helix	30	421	14.0
Grey	Crawford	30	394	13.1
Canning	La Jolla	29	390	13.4
Vera	Mission Bay	24	384	16.0
Renwick	Grossmont	22	374	17.0
Queen	El Cajon Valley	23	370	16.1
Wilkins	Granite Hills	30	362	12.1
Eveleth	La Jolla	29	374	12.9
Paddock	St. Augustine	28	359	12.8
Jacobsen	Crawford	30	359	12.0
White	Chula Vista	26	353	13.6
Spence	St. Augustine	16	350	21.9
Howe	Grossmont	25	345	13.8
Kinkki	Mission Bay	24	328	13.7
Chandler	Mar Vista	30	328	10.9
Hallien	Kearny	26	327	12.6
Hanchett	Monte Vista	27	322	11.9
Dunne	St. Augustine	28	321	11.5
Reina	Kearny	24	320	13.3
Slocum	Helix	30	319	10.6
Calvin	San Diego	28	318	11.4
Walters	La Jolla	29	318	11.0
Shaulls	Madison	29	317	10.9
Lott	Point Loma	26	314	12.1
Boone	Crawford	30	312	10.4

 BIG LEAGUERS

Clairemont’s Kenny Henderson (18.3) and Madison’s Al Fitzmorris (17.1) were elite scorers in the Western League but made their marks in major league baseball.

Henderson played 16 seasons for seven teams and peaked with the San Francisco Giants in 1970, batting .294 with 104 runs, 17 home runs, and 87 runs batted in.

Fitzmorris pitched 10 seasons, mostly with Kansas City, and posted a 77-59 record.  He was 44-29 from 1974-76 with the Royals.

Helix’ Ron Slocum played parts of three seasons with the expansion San Diego Padres, 1969-71, and Bob Spence of St. Augustine in the same time frame was with the Chicago White Sox.

INJURY SLOWS SAINTSMAN

St. Augustine was 9-0 and had just defeated Hoover, 78-63, as Bob Spence scored 22 points, Mike Paddock 20, Jimmy Antl 10, and Dennis Dunne 13, including 11 consecutive free throws.

It was a pyrrhic victory.  Spence’s eye became inflamed from a foreign substance on a towel that Spence used to wipe sweat during a time out.

Spence missed 5 games because of that injury plus seven others. The Saints flattened out to 2-8 in the Eastern League and 16-12 overall.

Spence still led the County with a 21.9 scoring average with 350 points in 16 games.

LIVING LARGE

George (Bud) Milke had seen or played on all manner of basketball courts from his days at San Diego State to when he first took over the Mar Vista program in 1953-54.

“We used to play home games at Muni Gym, State College, and Point Loma, and practiced on asphalt,” said Milke, marveling at the beautiful facility he inherited when Milke began the Castle Park program this season.

With Rip Barrett, the only player with varsity experience, leading the County with 537 points, the Trojans surprised by tying Chula Vista for the Metropolitan League championship and posted a 23-7 record, stunning for a first-year school.

Castle Park made a quick exit from the playoffs, beaten by Lincoln, 78-55, which featured 6-5 Steve (Cord) Rippe, whose 23 points helped offset the 30 by Barrett.

BASKETS GALORE

San Diego teams were busy after Christmas, playing in the San Dieguito Mustang, Chino, Banning, Fillmore, Covina, San Bernardo Kiwanis, and Newport Optimist events.

Crawford was whacked by Downey Pius X, 76-54, in the third place game at Covina.  Pius X got to the finals of the Southern Section playoffs but bowed to Long Beach Poly, 60-58.

Yucaipa defeated St. Augustine, minus Bob Spence, 56-50, for the consolation championship at Banning after the Saints lost to Palmdale, 74-65, in the quarterfinals (the Saints were called for 30 personal fouls to their opponents’ 16). La Jolla beat Castle Park, 61-53, for the Mustang championship.

San Diego outscored Antelope Valley, 44-39, in the second half but could not overcome a 21-point halftime deficit and was beaten, 76-60, in the San Bernardino consolation finals.  Helix, after a 71-53 loss to Ventura and 64-47 win over Buena Park, bowed in the consolation finals to Burbank Burroughs, 71-69, at Fillmore.

CLASS A

Carlsbad (16-6) stretched its Palomar League streak to 30 wins in a row and beat Marian, 50-32 in the playoffs before losing to University (13-8) in the championship game at La Jolla, 48-44.

JUMP SHOTS

Morse’s Kenny Leininger set the single-game scoring pace with 49 points in a 73-71, overtime victory against El Capitan…Leininger, who scored 24 of the Tigers’ 25 fourth-quarter points, tied St. Augustine’s Tom Shaules (1956-57) for the third-highest-ever total, behind the 60 and 53 Shaules scored in 1957-58…Steve (Cord) Rippe scored 23 as Lincoln tied a school record in an 81-57 win over Granite Hills…the Hornets had 81 against La Jolla in 1958-59…a week after playing four games at Bing Crosby Hall in Del Mar in the Mustang event, Kearny went back to that venue and beat San Dieguito, 57-42, as erstwhile football stars Steve Reina (25) and Jim (Yazoo) Smith (11) paced the Komets…Reina was MVP of the Mustang but Madison’s Al Fitzmorris set the scoring record with 118 points…Al Skalecky’s 24 points led Helix to a 60-46 win over Granite Hills and his 23 rebounds were double that of any other player on the floor…after tying the school record with 32 points in a 84-66 win over Grossmont, Monte Vista’s Paul Landis broke the record with 40 in an 84-58 win over Granite Hills…led by Landis’s 27 points, 11 Monte Vista players scored in their record, 120-77 win over, you guessed it, Granite Hills…the Monarchs led at the quarters, 35-15, 61-38, and 89-57…Dennis Dunne’s basket with 5 seconds to play elevated St. Augustine past Morse, 68-66…a 74-50 victory was La Jolla’s first in 11 tries versus Clairemont…Lincoln’s 58-47 win against San Diego in the Eastern League opener was the Hornets’ sixth against 18 losses to the Cavers dating to 1953-54…Fallbrook had the highest point total of any Avocado League squad when it beat Ramona, 91-37….

 

There still are a couple weeks before league trials for most San Diego Section athletes, but distance runners are setting themselves up for the big meets in May.

McKenna Brown of La Costa Canyon was beaten by Mariah Castillo of Saugus in a hot 1600-meter race in the Mt. San Antonio meet at El Camino College in Torrance last week, but Brown, while displaced as the state leader, still lowered her best time to 4:45.46.

Brown moved into a San Diego Section all-time third-place tie with Santana’s Tina Allen, who covered the same distance in 1982 in the same time as Brown, who trails only Alli Billmeyer of Torrey Pines, 4:41.71 in 2011, and Darcy Arreola of Grossmont, 4:42.77 in 1986.

La Costa’s Jessica Riedman advanced to 11th all-time with a 4:51.47 effort at Mt. Sac and teammate Kristin Fahy climbed to 17th with a 4:54.54. Fahy’s 10:22.53 earlier in the month at Arcadia moved her to No. 3 all-time.

GIRLS BEST MARKS TO 4/25

Event	Name	Mark	Rank	State Leader	Mark
100 Meters	Hickey, Coronado	:11.87	10	Augustine, L.B. Poly	:11.56
200 Meters	Salongo, Mira Mesa	:24.89	NR	Augustine	:23.73
400 Meters	Aragon, Cathedral	:57.15	NR	Robinson-Jones, Oakland Bishop O’Dowd	:53.37
800 Meters	Manson, Eastlake	2:11.80	5	Brewer, San Ramon California	2:08.99
	Morales, Scripps Ranch	2:13.02	11
	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:13.80	12
1600 Meters	Brown, La Costa Canyon	4:45.46	2	Castillo, Saugus	4:43.69
	Riedman	4:51.47	9
	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	4:54.54	15
3200 Meters	Fahy	10:22.53	9	Denner, El Dorado Hills Oak Ridge	10:08.01
	Brown, La Costa Canyon	10:38.23	19
100 Hurdles	Redon, San Diego	:14.91	NR	Hicks, Upland	:13.54
300 Hurdles	Scott, Vista	:43.44	9	Robinson-Hubbard, Calabasas	:42.31
	Thomas, Torrey Pines	:44.34	14
	Occiano, Cathedral	:44.46	15T
4×100 Relay	Eastlake	:48.17	21	Upland	:45.71
4×400 Relay	Mission Hills	3:55.84	16	Dana Hills	3:47.68
High Jump	Hickey	5-10	2	Glenn, L.B. Wilson	5-11
Long Jump	Hickey	19-5 ¼w	3T	Shearer, San Jose Silver Creek	20-1
	Brown, Westview	18-8	20T
Triple Jump	Scott, Gompers	39-0	13	Fisher, San Jose Silver Creek	42-9
Shot put	Tuilefano, El Camino	44-5	5	Budwig, Fowler	46-9
DISCUS	Tuilefano	151-2	6	Groteger, Wheatland	168-11
Pole Vault	Cervantes, Poway	12-6	7T	Wong, Monterey Santa Catalina	13-1
	Adamiec, Poway	12-0	16T

 

San Diego Section boys’ 2018 best track and field performances through last week’s Mt. San Antonio meet, which was not held on the once-bucolic junior college campus in Walnut, instead moving about 40 miles West to El Camino College in Torrance.

San Diego marks and their rankings in parenthesis are compared below to the best in California, as supplied by Athletic.net.  Listed all-time San Diego marks are for meters, which the U.S. went to in the early 1980’s.

Some of the “all-time” metric performances were bettered by performances measured in yards and feet, such as races from 220 yards to 2 miles, which  are longer than those from 200 meters to 3,200 meters.  The 100-meter distance in decidedly longer than 100 yards, by almost 10 yards.

Girls marks will be published later this week.

Event	Name	Mark/Place	S.D. All-Time	State Leader	Mark
100 Meters	Christon, Madison	:10.58 (3)	11	Hampton, Yucaipa	:10.47
	Ellis, Mt. Carmel	:10.60w	NR
200 Meters	Christon	:21.42 (5)	19	Hampton, Yucaipa	:21.21
	Ellis	:21.44 (6)	22
400 Meters	Lippert, La Costa Canyon	:47.44 (3)	11*	Larrier, Elk Grove Monterey Trail	:47.12
800 Meters	Hurlburt, Coronado	1:54.1 (12)	NR	Charvet, Brentwood Heritage	1:52.60
1600 Meters	Rosenthal, San Diego High Tech	4:13.64 (5)	NR	Court, Manhattan Beach Mira Costa	4:10.94
3200 Meters	Martinez de Pinillos, Cathedral	9:04.41 (7)	19	Anderson, Larkspur Redwood	8:52.74
110 Hurdles	Tyler Saikhon, El Centro Southwest	:14.57 (11)	NR	Jackman, Concord Clayton Valley	:13.98
300 Hurdles	Farmer, Rancho Bernardo	:38.30 (7T)	NR	Jackman	:37.47
4×100 Relay	Madison	:42.59 (25T)	NR	Moreno Valley Rancho Verde	:41.49
4×400	Eastlake	3:25.0 (NR)	NR	Murrieta Mesa	3:16.22
High Jump	Coleman, Granite Hills	6-6 (12T)	NR	Lee, Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills	7-3
	Castin, Rancho Bernardo			Grimsman, Folsom Vista del Lago
Pole Vault	Ward, San Dieguito	16-1 (3)	2T	Guttormsen, Davis	18-2 3/4
	Rice, Rancho Bernardo	15-9 (5T)	16T
	Sheldon, Mission Hills	15-6 (11)	NR
Long Jump	Jackson, Eastlake	24-5 ½ (1T)	12T	Clemens, Berkeley St. Mary’s	24-5 1/2
	Christon, Madison	23-9 ½ (5)	NR
Triple Jump	Jackson	49-10 ¼ (2)	2	Stevenson, Temecula Great Oak	50-5
	Mitchell, Point Loma	47-0 (8T)	NR
SHOT PUT	Poma, Cathedral	54-2 (25)	NR	Aviles, Ventura	63-5 1/2
DISCUS	Leber, Granite Hills	169-2 (23)	NR	Aviles	194-1

Oscar Foster never won an individual scoring championship at San Diego High, but Foster finished his legendary prep career with the San Diego Section record for most points.

Consistent, often brilliant, Foster’s record was testimony to the popular, team player that he was.

Foster passed away recently in Los Angeles at age 69, a victim for at least his last 40 years of internal demons that robbed the friendly, gentle man of his great promise.

A lithe, 6-foot, 7-inch forward, Foster scored 1,766 points in three seasons and 91 games during an era in which the Cavers posted a 77-17 record and won two San Diego Section championships.

“The Big O was an unbelievable player, intimidating and competitive,” remembered Brent Strom, now the pitching coach for the Houston Astros and Foster’s teammate at San Diego High.

Foster averaged 14.7 and scored 457 points in 1964-65, his sophomore season, as San Diego, 24-8 overall after being a tied-for-second-place entry in the Eastern League, got hot in the playoffs and defeated Chula Vista, 62-40, in the championship game.

The Cavers were 24-7 in 1965-66, won the third-place game in the playoffs, and Foster averaged 21.4 points and scored 667.

The 29-2 championship team of 1966-67 was beaten only by Long Beach Poly, 67-62, and St. Augustine, 55-53, in the regular season.

Foster averaged 20.6 and scored 642 points and led coach Bill Standly’s squad a 54-53 victory over Mount Miguel in the championship game.

San Diego Section girls turned in season highs in five events and the boys in two at last week’s Arcadia Invitational.

The section can boast the best mark or tie for the best mark in the state in one boys and four girls events.

Torrey Pines’ McKenna Brown, who took the state lead in the1600-meter race at 4:47.61 at the Stanford Invitational the week before, won the mile at Arcadia by almost five seconds in 4:49.63.

Ellie Talius of Eastlake won the pole vault at 13 feet, 1 inch, to take the state lead, although another vaulter earlier cleared 13-3 indoors.

Alysha Hickey of Coronado moved into a tie for first with a 5-foot, 9-inch high jump at Arcadia and contiues to lead with a 19-foot, 5 1/4 long jump.

Brown ranks fifth all-time in the 1600 and Hickey is tied for fifth in the high jump.  Eastlake’s Jalyn Jackson, who hopped, skipped, and leaped 49-10 1/4, is eighth all-time in the tfiple jump.

Section competitors ranked in the state top 10:

BOYS

Event	Name	Mark	Place	Leader	Mark
100 Meters	Christon, Madison	:10.58	3	Hampton, Yucaipa	:10.47
	Ellis, Mt. Carmel	:10.69	9
200 Meters	Christon	:21.42	4	Hampton, Yucaipa	:21.26
	Ellis	:21.44	6
400 Meters	Lippert, La Costa Canyon	:47.44	3	Larrier, Elk Grove Monterey Trail	:47.12
300 Hurdles	Farmer, Rancho Bernardo	:38.64	7T	Jackman, Concord Clayton Valley	:37.37
Pole Vault	Ward, San Dieguito	16-1	2T	Guttormsen, Davis	17-11
	Rice, Rancho Bernardo	15-9	4T
	Sheldon, Mission Hills	15-6	7
Long Jump	Jackson, Eastlake	24-5 ½	1T	Clemens, Berkeley St. Mary’s	24-5 1/2
Triple Jump	Jackson	49-10 1/4	2	Stevenson, Temecula Great Oak	50-5

GIRLS

100 Meters	Hickey, Coronado	:11.87	8	Augustine, L.B. Poly	:11.56
800 Meters	Manson, Eastlake	2:11.80	5	Brewer, San Ramon California	2:08.99
	Morales, Scripps Ranch	2:13.02	6
	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:13.80	9
1600 Meters	Brown, La Costa Canyon	4:47.61	1	Friedman, Santa Cruz	4:47.89
300 Hurdles	Scott, Vista	:43.44	8	Hubbard, Calabasas	:42.37
High Jump	Hickey	5-9	1T	Glenn, L.B. Wilson	5-9
Long Jump	Hickey	19-5 ¼w	1	Downes, Tracy Kimball	*19-5
Shot put	Tuilefano, El Camino	44-5	5	Budwig, Fowler	46-9
Pole Vault	Talius, Eastlake	13-1	1	Wong, Monterey Santa Catalina	13-3+

*Second.

w—wind-aided.

+–Indoors.

Evening Tribune writer Roger Conlee said the Grossmont-Helix game was more a circus carnival (of errors), with everything but a pie-throwing contest.

Conlee covered the Metropolitan League Southern Division contest that attracted about 1,200 persons to Grossmont’s “ancient, creaky arena.”

Taking them one at a time:

–The game started at 8:45 p.m. after a longer-than-usual junior varsity preliminary. The gymnasium was overflowing by 7:15 p.m.

–The lead changed 12 times in the first half.

–Officials made conflicting foul calls three times in the first half.  Unable to agree, the zebras each time ordered a jump ball.

–Play temporarily was halted when a puddle of water appeared on the floor.

–The gymnasium public address announcer pleaded with the crowd to be quiet during the shooting of free throws.

The announcement came during the shooting of a free throw.

–Twenty-one fouls were called on plays that involved driving to the basket.  None of the fouls were for charging on the player with the ball.

–Seven timeouts were called in the fourth quarter.  The eight-minute session of playing time began at 9:47 p.m. and did not end until 10:31 p.m.

–Spectators, restless after sitting for almost two hours-plus, engaged in three separate fights in the stands, all broken up quickly.

–Fourteen free throws were attempted in the frenzied, final three minutes.

–Officials attempted to quiet the crowd with no success when the game entered its final 1:55.

“That the scoreboard clock didn’t work and time had to be called out from the scorer’s table seemed to fit in perfectly, Conlee concluded.

Oh, the game. Helix took a 28-27 lead in the third quarter and hung on to win, 51-49.  Ed Vitale had 16 points for the Highlanders and Neil McClellan 15 for the Foothillers.

CARDINALS FLY AGAIN

Nick Barkett was the fifth of five guards on Hoover’s 26-2 squad of 1959-60, but he moved to forward this season and led the Cardinals to another Eastern League championship and to the inaugural CIF San Diego Section AA title.

“He lived at Muni Gym with (John) Bocko all summer,” said Coach Charlie Hampton, acknowledging Barkett’s commitment and reference to just-graduated Cardinals star John Bocko.

Barkett joined a lineup that included only one starter from 1959-60, guard Dave Morehead.  Dave Sickels, a 6-6 center had seen limited action.

The Cardinals’ record for the last two seasons was 50-5.  The only defeats for this year’s 24-3 squad was 65-60 in an early-season encounter at Hilltop, 63-59 in a stunning upset by Kearny, and 36-30 in a ragged contest at Lincoln.

Barkett was joined in the starting lineup by 6-1 Morehead, 6-foot junior guard Rick Potter, the 6-6 Sickels, and 6-2 Rich Keely, a junior varsity graduate who came within two points of the school record when he had 34 points in a December game against Glendale Hoover.

Barkett had 24 points in a 66-53 win over Point Loma in the regular season and 20 in the AA championship, a virtual repeat of the first game, Hoover winning, 66-54.

LINCOLN FOILED

Hoover enjoyed its usual late-game dominance of Lincoln, overcoming a 37-35 halftime deficit to win the Kiwanis Tournament, 55-51, the fifth Cardinals victory by four points or less in the last four years over their South 49^th Street rival.

Lincoln felt good when it took a 30-22 halftime lead in the teams’ first league meeting, but the Cardinals outscored the Hornets, 21-7, in the fourth quarter for a 59-48 win.

“This may be the best basketball ‘team’ I’ve had,” said Coach Charlie Hampton.  “They may not be the best players, but as a team they can’t be beat.”

CLAIREMONT BLOWS

Leading Point Loma, 35-34, with 11 seconds left in the game and in possession of the ball, Clairemont liked its chances.

But the Chiefs’ Joe Michael launched a shot that Point Loma’s Joe Soares rebounded, and got the ball to Dave Elliott, who was fouled.

Elliott made two free throws for a 36-35 victory and the Western League championship before a capacity crowd of 1,800 at Point Loma.

“I don’t know why (Michael) took the shot,” said Clairemont coach Dick Eiler.  “The poor kid is crying his eyes out about it.  It was just one of those things.”

T’D OFF

Leading Hilltop, 44-43, Escondido was assessed a technical foul when a substitute did not report  properly.  Robbie Hewitt then sank a free throw to tie the game and Tom Lee scored seconds later for a 46-44 Hilltop victory.

After much discussion, the T was upheld.

Escondido coach Don Hegerle argued with officials that the official scorer was not an adult and did not wear a jersey or shirt that indicated his position at the table.

“There was some question about it all right,” said Lancers coach Paul Pruett, “but we got our share of bad breaks, too. We’ll take the victory.”

NAME	TEAM	GAMES	POINTS	AVERAGE
John Fairchild	San Dieguito	26	428	16.5
Charlie Schneider	Hilltop	26	416	16.0
Brian Ross	El Capitan	21	393	18.7
Bob Hoss	El Cajon Valley	22	374	17.0
Dennis Henry	Kearny	25	367	14.7
Nick Barkett	Hoover	27	356	13.2
Robbie Hewitt	Hilltop	26	339	13.0
Steve Ojetti	Lincoln	24	327	13.7
Ed Vitale	Helix	23	319	13.9
Larry Meek	Escondido	22	318	14.4
Don Sada	Point Loma	25	317	12.7
Paul Hagen	Helix	26	312	12.0
Joe Soares	Point Loma	25	300	12.0

HIGHS AND LOW

Army-Navy’s Bill Froehling had the season’s highest individual point total, 47, on 23 baskets and one free throw. as the Warriors also scored the most points in a 91-47 win over San Diego Military.

Froehling’s total tied Fallbrook’s Paul Lockridge for the fourth highest in San Diego County History.

Lockridge’s 47 came in a 90-31 win over Brown Military in 1950-51.  St. Augustine’s Tom Shaules, with 60- and 53-point outbursts in 1957-58 and 49 in 1956-57, has the top three.

El Capitan outscored El Cajon Valley, 77-75, the teams’ combined 152  leading the County.

San Diego Military served up the lowest, outscored by University, 59-14.

SMOKING

Al Catlin was a starter for three straight seasons at Lincoln and one of the school’s all-time top players, an accolade later to be duplicated at San Diego City College and San Diego State.

Catlin, in a stunning turn of events, was forced to learn how to shoot from his opposite hand this season because he was wearing a cast on his right arm.

The 6-foot, 2-inch forward unknowingly played his entire junior season with a broken bone in his right wrist, an injury sustained in the 1959 football season.

Catlin had experienced continual discomfort, finally forcing a visit to a physician who discovered the injury. The Hornets’ senior remained the area’s best rebounder and was a more-than-adequate shot maker on a contending squad.

Like many of his generation Catlin took up smoking, a habit he says he never indulged on the school campus.  Someone, Catlin believes a member of the Lincoln faculty, saw Catlin smoking at the Campus Drive-In Theater on El Cajon Boulevard.

The faculty snitch reported what he saw to Lincoln coach Warren Barritt, who summarily cut Catlin from the squad.

“Steve Ojetti and I both used to smoke a cigarette before a home game,” Catlin remembered years later.  “It wasn’t a crime, but I got called into Barritt’s office and he told me I was off the team for disciplinary reasons.”

Despite the loss of Catlin, Lincoln rallied behind Ojetti’s 27 points and walloped Crawford, 75-60, to secure the Eastern League’s second playoff spot in the final regular-season game.

PLAYOFFS

Two divisions and 16 teams comprised the one-week posteason.

CLASS A

John Fairchild and San Dieguito couldn’t get a seat at the Class AA table (search 1960-61: “Where’s Aretha? Mustangs Want Respect”), so they rolled to the Class A title, capping a 25-1 season with victories of 73-57 over El Cajon Valley (8-14), 66-53 over Kearny (13-11), which had eliminated University (13-11), 43-38,  and 54-46 over Sweetwater (11-12).

Ramona, 21-1 in the regular season behind the scoring thrusts of Allen Brown and Mike Walters, was up against schools much larger, even though the Bulldogs were in the small schools class.

Ramona was beaten in the first round, 50-47, by Sweetwater, which got to the finals after a 48-46 win over Vista (12-8).

Vista had advanced with a 46-45 win over St. Augustine (4-17), fueled by the temper of the Saints’ Hugh (Hudge) McConnell, who threw a ball into the stands at Vista after a foul call with three seconds remaining in the game.

The Panthers’ Fred Boyer converted the resulting personal and technical foul free throws, giving Vista the come-from-behind victory.

CLASS AA

Lincoln (17-8) topped Grossmont (12-9), 46-45, in the first round but was eliminated in the semifinals as Point Loma (15-10) won a wild, 66-60 struggle at Lincoln. Pointer Joe Soares’ 24 points offset a 34-point performance by Steve Ojetti. Point Loma earlier eliminated Escondido (13-10), 61-44.

Hoover avenged an early-season loss with a 56-49 win over Hilltop in the semifinals after dismissing Chula Vista (10-11), 63-34. Hilltop (20-6) had polished off Clairemont (12-11), 71-48.

JUMP SHOTS

San Diego’s 10-14 record was the Cavemen’s poorest since the 1933-34 team was 6-9 and the ’34-35 squad was 6-8…Hoover coach Charlie Hampton said Glendale Hoover had the tallest high school lineup he ever saw: 6-foot, 4-inch and 6-3 guards, 6-2 and 6-5 forwards, and 6-5 center…Kearny presented a front line of 6-7 Doug Ogilvie, 6-5 Lon Swank, and 6-3 Elliott Reaves…Hilltop and Escondido each reached the semifinals of the Chino Tournament, losing to Anaheim Western, 56-51, and Chino, 58-46, respectively…San Dieguito topped Ramona, 58-47, for the Kiwanis Tournament Limited Division title…the Hoover-Lincoln Unlimited final was played in San Diego State’s Men’s Gym… Ventura whipped Helix, 80-47, for consolation honors at Fillmore…Fritz Ziegenfuss set  a Crawford record with 28 points in a season-opening, 73-57 win over El Cajon Valley…La Jolla’s Chet Guthrie set a school record with 35 points in one game…until the playoffs, Hilltop was 2-0 against Hoover…the Lancers also beat the Cardinals, 53-52, in Pepsi Summer League competition at Muni Gym….