What is it when Grossmont plays Helix?

The Highlanders exercised their annual domination over the Foothillers, 57-3, last week.

Grossmont had scored 157 points in its previous three games, wins of 51-14 over Steele Canyon, 54-26, over Valhalla, and 51-7 over El Capitan.

Those scores matched up well with Helix’ victories of 58-7 against El Capitan and 41-7 over Steele Canyon.

Grossmont hasn‘t beaten Helix since 1992, a span of 20 consecutive losses to its La Mesa neighbor.

What gives?

The Foothillers are not alone.

Helix is to its league opponents, Grossmont  in particular, what San Diego was to those on its schedule in the old City Prep League.

The Highlanders are 35-1 in circuit play since 2010 and 50-4 since 2006.  The Cavers were 52-3-1 versus City League and Eastern League competition from 1950-59.

SIX STILL UNDEFEATED

–Calvin Christian (9-0) can earn its second straight, eight-man, Ocean League title against Foothills Christian (6-2).

The Crusaders, located in Escondido with a student body of about 125, are 26-4 in the last three years under Coach Randy Kreglow, who was 16-23 in his first four seasons.

–El Centro Southwest, 31-13 since 2014 under John Mitosinka, is 9-0 for the first time and will seek its first Imperial Valley League title since 2010 against Calexico.

–Mission Hills (9-0), unquestionably the North County’s leader—111-35-2 since 2006 under Coach Chris Hauser, after Hauser guided the Grizzlies through 1-10 and 4-6 beginnings in 2004 and ’05—can earn a seventh league championship in Hauser’s 13 seasons.

Mission Hills, which survived a tense battle last week and nosed out Torrey Pines, 24-23 (the Falcons scored with 1:01 left but botched the snap on a two-point conversion attempt  and then almost recovered an onside kick), will meet tough San Marcos (8-1), a loser only to Torrey Pines, 38-21, for the Avocado League title and Highway 78 bragging rights.

–Coach Charles James’s San Diego 9-0 squad can claim its first outright league championship since 1960, after sharing the crown in 1964, ’69, and ’74, when the Cavers attempt to keep pace with the 1925, ’47, ’55, ’57, and ’58 teams, which also were 9-0  at this juncture.

–The Bishop’s (8-0), which topped Classical, 73-0, to claim its third 70-point explosion in the last two seasons (with 4 more of at least 60 since 2015) will try to improve on its 20-13, all-time series lead against La Jolla Country Day and knock down the Knights’ third Coastal League title in the last 4 seasons.

DREADED ADMINISTRATIVE GLITCH

La Costa Canyon used an ineligible player and it cost the Mavericks a 50-13 win over Mt. Carmel in the second game of the season.  The Mavericks are 7-2 competitively but 6-3 legislatively.

QUICK KICKS

La Jolla (5-4) visits University City (8-1) for the City League championship and Julian and Salton City West Shores, each 5-2, roll in the Citrus League title decider…Mission Hills dropped to 16^th and Helix stayed at 29^th in the weekly Cal-Hi Sports state top 50…Ramona moved from No. 50 to 48 and San Marcos is on the bubble..Mission Hills has 23 No. 1 votes and Helix picked up 3 for a total of  5  in the Union-Tribune  Week 10 poll:

Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

*Forfeit loss.

NR: Not Ranked.

Others receiving votes:  Lincoln (7-2, 22 points),  Valley Center (8-1, 12) El Centro Southwest (9-0, 8), Eastlake (7-2, 6) El Camino (5-4, 6),  San Diego (9-0, 1).

Voters (28 sportswriters, sportscasters, officials): John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindren, Union-Tribune correspondents; Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone, Rick Willis, KUSI Chl. 51; Adam Paul, East County Preps.com; Ramon Scott, East County Sports.com; Bodie DeSilva, San Diego Preps.com; Ted Mendenhall, Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090; Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions; Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Jerry Schniepp, John LaBeta, Carlton Hoggard, CIF San Diego; Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net; Montell Allen, MBASports-SDFNL Magazine; Bob Petinak,  1360AM; John Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator; Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9FM; Jim Arnaiz, Mike Dolan, John Carroll, CIF Football Tournament Directors.

Chula Vista’s basketball history was brief and uninspiring. Two seasons, 12 wins, 18 losses, seventh and fourth-place-tie finishes in the Metropolitan League.

No problem.  The Spartans emerged from the pack to win a Southern California championship this season.

It was a nice accomplishment for the fledgling South Bay power, but not without a few assists, beginning a year before.

CIF Commissioner Seth Van Patten asked for some membership feedback when Van Patten posted his CIF newsletter in March, 1949.

Van Patten wanted to add a playoff bracket for small schools.

Big schools had dominated the postseason.  A team generated from a student body of 2,000 often was matched against another with an enrollment of several hundred less.

Van Patten must have liked the responses, because a new bracket for the little guys was implemented this season.

SPARTANS LIKE FOREIGN HOME

Point Loma opened a beautiful, 1,800-seat gymnasium on campus. The facility included a balcony on one side, similar to the 1939 vintage layout at Hoover.

The Point Loma gym for years would serve as the site for Harlem Globetrotters games, NBA preseason games, home games for the Pointers…and for the Chula Vista Spartans.

Chula Vista, like most of the area’s teams, did not have a court.  The Spartans would not move into the Chula Vista Recreation Center until the mid-1950s and into their campus gym until a few years after that.

Major playoffs had been held at one site after the first round of games, lately at Redondo Beach Redondo Union.

With a new division, Van Patten looked for a suitable site for games beyond the opening round.  Made aware of the facility in San Diego, Van Patten contacted Darrell Smith, San Diego City Schools’ athletics coordinator.

An agreement was reached between the City Schools and CIF that put in place a bracket of six squads competing over two days at Point Loma.

The teams were Chula Vista, Claremont, Brawley, Beaumont, San Dieguito, and Garden Grove.

MEDIOCRE RECORD

What was fourth-place Chula Vista doing in the playoffs?

The Spartans, 9-9 overall,  posted a 4-3 league record and tied with Kearny in the Metro, behind triple co-champions La Jolla, Point Loma, and Sweetwater.

Given the Metropolitan circuit’s playoff history, it was not surprising that the three co-champions each declined an invitation to participate.

Metro football winners, dating to the league’s beginning in 1933, generally bypassed the postseason.  The latest example was the first-place, 7-1 La Jolla football team in 1948.

Metro basketball champs recently had been more agreeable to participating, so there were some raised eyebrows when the door was left open for Chula Vista, which was selected over Kearny.

ANOTHER ASSIST

The Spartans caught one more break.  They were seeded into the semifinals, meaning they did not have play twice on Friday, as did Claremont and Garden Grove.

Claremont defeated Beaumont, 47-37, and Garden Grove eliminated San Dieguito, 45-39, in the first round.

Chula Vista, defeated Brawley, 46-27, and Claremont knocked off Garden Grove, 38-33, in the last of four Friday games.

The Spartans, beginning a decade in which they were a class power in football, basketball, and baseball, winning or competing for several championships, topped Claremont, 39-26 in the finals.

MUSTANGS CORRALED

San Dieguito, a member of the Southern Prep League since the school opened in 1936, rolled with a 14-0 league record and was 24-4 overall but must have felt as if salt was being rubbed into  a wound.

The wound was a 45-39 loss to Garden Grove in the playoff opener.  The salt was the league realignment in San Diego that left the Mustangs in the Southern Prep, which the Encinitans felt they had outgrown.

Mustangs bosses and fans were upset they were not invited to the Metro, which was reconstructed after Kearny and La Jolla left to join the new City Prep League, which made its debut in the 1950-51 school year..

Led by 6-foot, 4-inch Graham Grande, the County’s  probable leading scorer with 423 points and 15.1 average, coach Jack Davidson’s club won league games by scores such as 83-22 (Mountain Empire) and 72-15 (Brown Military).

San Dieguito eventually would get its wish, joining the Metro in 1951 and then becoming part of the new Avocado League in 1954.

TOURNAMENT TRAIL

A record 24 teams, including 16 in the large, Unlimited Division and with St. Augustine an invitee for the first time, the third annual Kiwanis Tournament had a repeat winner as El Monte defeated Pasadena Muir, 44-29, in the finals.

Grossmont’s Phil Embleton tied Bill McColl’s record of 69 points in 4 games, a 17.3 average, but San Dieguito’s Graham Grande had 54 in 3 for 18.0.

San Diego defeated Hoover, 28-18, for fifth place in a disappointing performance by local teams and then surprised by winning the prestigious Western States Tournament at Compton.

The Cavers defeated Los Angeles Cathedral, 44-26, and Santa Monica St. Monica, 42-37, and reached the finals by dealing Ventura its second loss in 21 games, 45-38,  as Dean Davis scored 18 points and Roy Fields 17.

San Diego won the championship, 36-35, over L.A. Mt. Carmel and Davis was the tournament’s most-valuable player, joined by Fields on the all-tournament team. Hoover bowed in the consolation semifinals, 36-35, to Santa Barbara.

Chula Vista reached the consolation semifinals of the Chino Tournament before losing to Chino, 40-39.  The Spartans fell to San Bernardino, 37-23, in the opening game and beat Azusa Citrus, 38-29.

San Diego’s season ended with a 43-34 victory in the morning over Long Beach Jordan and an afternoon, 43-39 loss to Ventura in the Beverly Hills tournament.

INDOOR AND OUTDOOR CAVERS?

Host Pasadena Muir defeated San Diego, 42-26, in a Coast League opening weekend game. Not a shocking event, but the result as published had more questions than answers.

The San Diego Union account, probably telephoned in by San Diego coach Merrill Douglas or a student manager, described a  game that was played in an “open-sided gymnasium and it was rainy and frigid.”

A partially enclosed playing area, or was the game outdoors in inclement weather?  There was no follow story in local newspapers.

San Diego completed a 20-8 season with a 6-4 Coast League record and second place finish to Compton.  One of the victories was 32-31 at home against Muir in which the Cavers used a “wheel passing offense” while stalling the last three minutes.

Charlie Powell did not accompany the Cavers to the Western States event after missing practice during the Christmas Holidays and was not  part of the San Diego contingent that split a pair of weekend games in the Imperial Valley, beating Brawley, 39-30, and losing to Calexico, 32-26.

HYPERBOLE

“Escondido pulled off one of the most surprising upsets in the history of local prep basketball,” wrote Gardner Morse in The San Diego Union after the Cougars defeated La Jolla, 32-30.  Hardly. The Cougars were 3-4 in league play and La Jolla was 5-2, same as Coronado and Point Loma.

OOPS

Sweetwater’s Pat Tomlinson survived an embarrassing moment against Vista in the Kiwanis Tournament.  Tomlinson scored a wrong-goal basket for Vista, but the Red Devils  won, 29-27, in overtime.

ARRIVEDERCI, COAST LEAGUE

San Diego, Hoover, and Grossmont were saying good bye to the historically most prominent circuit in Southern California, joining the new City Prep League after an announcement in early February, 1950.

The Cavers had been Coast members since 1923, except for the 1942-45 period of World War II.  Hoover joined in 1937 and Grossmont in 1948.

SET SHOTS

Hoover defeated San Diego, 62-38, in a game between alumni of the schools, proceeds going to financial aid at San Diego State for Cardinals and Cavers varsity players…San Dieguito won by an average score of 61-29  in running the table against Southern Prep League competition…Bill Foy of Army-Navy set a SPL individual record with 28 points in the Warriors 58-40 win over Fallbrook…Jack Goddard had 27 in Vista’s 67-22 triumph over Mountain Empire…three-year veteran Bob (Bama) Shell of St. Augustine had the highest single game scoring total of the season with 31 in a 58-36 victory over Sweetwater at Municipal Gym…season totals weren’t available but Grossmont’s Phil Embleton led Coast League scorers with 150 points in 9 games for a 16.7 average…Coronado passed on the Kiwanis Tournament but was all over the map, schedule-wise, losing to the  “taller and older” U.S.S. Badoeng Strait, 50-36, defeating Naval Air, 53-50, and losing to a Tijuana high school on a court in the Baja California community…Bill Reaves, who would coach La Jolla to a 28-1 record in the 1963-64 season, was a starting guard for the Vikings…future international badminton star and NFL game official Jim Poole was a Point Loma standout….

Grossmont probably wouldn’t recognize the musket trophy if it defeats Helix this week.

The Foothillers (6-2) and Highlanders (7-1) meet for the 61^st time in what is known as the battle of the musket, although there has been only carnage lately.

Helix has won the last 19 meetings, by an average score of 39-10.

Since 2008, the average Helix victory is 51-13. The Foothillers’ last win was 14-11 in 1992.

‘Twas not always thus.

Grossmont was 19-20-2 against its younger rival from 1951-92.

It’s not that Grossmont isn’t one of the better teams in the San Diego Section.  Since alumnus Tom Karlo moved over from Mount Miguel in 2012, the Foothillers are 52-22.

A Helix student, probably named Campbell, donated a long-bore musket weapon favored by Scottish highlanders before the schools met for the first time in 1951.

STILL WINNING

Mission Hills, Ramona, San Diego, El Centro Southwest, and Calvin Christian each 8-0, and 7-0 The Bishop’s are undefeated heading into the regular season’s penultimate games.

This week is particularly significant for coach Damon Baldwin and Ramona.

Defeat Poway and the Bulldogs will be 9-0 for the first time since 1959 and the era of Allen Brown and Melvin White.  They were among the leaders of the Bob McCutcheon-coached 12-0 team that was 23-0 over two seasons.

SAY, AREN’T YOU…?

Sweetwater has won 4 of 5 since a 66-0 loss to Lincoln and is recovering from the 1-9 and 2-8 of the last two seasons.

The Red Devils’ coach has a familiar name, if you’re familiar with placekickers.

Bryan Wagner set a San Diego Section record with a 53-yard placement for Hilltop in 1979.  Wagner’s kick now is the eighth longest in section history, bettered by 6 different kickers.

Wagner was in the NFL for nine seasons, but never attempted a field goal.  He was a punter for five different teams, including the San Diego Chargers in 1994.

HEAT WAVE

The hot weather this week reminds of another blast- furnace stretch.  On Sept. 27, 1963, the temperature in San Diego was a record 111 degrees.

The high was 104 the next day and at least 100 when Helix and Hoover kicked off at Hoover at 8 p.m.

Hoover rallied late in the fourth quarter for a 14-13 victory before a crowd of more than 6,000.

QUICK KICKS

Mission Hills stayed at 14^th and Helix at 29^th in the weekly Cal-Hi Sports state rankings while Ramona got with the program at 50th…San Marcos has “bubble” status….

The Week 9 Union-Tribune poll:

Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

NR: Not Ranked.

Others receiving votes:  Pouint Loma (5-3, 14 points),  El Centro Southwest (8-0, 12) , Valley Center (7-1, 7),  El Camino (4-4, 6), Eastlake (6-2, 6), Otay Ranch (6-2, 3), San Diego (8-0, 2), Carlsbad (4-4, 2), Grossmont (6-2, 1).

Voters (28 sportswriters, sportscasters, officials): John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindren, Union-Tribune correspondents; Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone, Rick Willis, KUSI Chl. 51; Adam Paul, East County Preps.com; Ramon Scott, East County Sports.com; Bodie DeSilva, San Diego Preps.com; Ted Mendenhall, Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090; Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions; Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Jerry Schniepp, John LaBeta, Carlton Hoggard, CIF San Diego; Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net; Montell Allen, MBASports-SDFNL Magazine; Bob Petinak,  1360AM; John Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator; Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9FM; Jim Arnaiz, Mike Dolan, John Carroll, CIF Football Tournament Directors.

Four outstanding athletes who graced the San Diego sports scene were among those who passed in the past months.

HORACE TUCKER

He was late reporting for football practice at San Diego High in 1952, because Tucker and teammate Floyd Robinson were involved with the American Legion Post 364 baseball team that was runner-up to a Cincinnati squad in the national tournament.

Tucker’s .452 average led all batters in the event and he won the Louisville slugger award.

A year later Tucker was the Cavers’ leading scorer in football with 6 touchdowns and 4 extra points, his 40-point total setting the pace for 4 others Cavers who scored at least 5 touchdowns in the 7-3 season.

JERRY LIPSCOMB

Mount Miguel didn’t suffer the usual fate of first-year schools in 1957, posting  a 5-3 record and followed with another 5-3 mark in 1958..

Lipscomb was the Matadors’ starting halfback and became an immediate star for the new school.

Lipscomb scored 41 points in 1957 and 52 in 1958, earning all-Metropolitan League honors as a senior and an invitation to play for the San Diego team in the annual Breitbard College Prep game against the all-Los Angeles City squad.

CLAUDELL HOWARD

A three-sport letterman in the era of Ed Buchanan at Kearny, Claudell was one of the top broad jumpers in his class in Southern California.

Howard was the Class C champion in the 1957 finals at Ontario Chaffey with a leap of 21 feet, 6 ½ inches, finished second in Class B in 1958, and also played football and basketball.

BOB TOMLINSON

His 68-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage gave Sweetwater a temporary, 6-0 lead over the powerful San Diego Hilltoppers in 1945.

Tomlinson was the fourth leading scorer in the Victory League with 7 touchdowns in 6 games.  He trailed only behind only the San Diego’s Harry West, Cosimo Cutri, and Joe Adamo, who played nine games.

Tomlinson also was a standout at San Diego State and was the first coach when Hilltop in east Chula Vista broke ground in 1960.

San Diego continued to impress; coaches moved on leaders in all-time victories, and St. Augustine rebounded.

San Diego improved to 7-0 with a 34-7 over Kearny, which took a 6-0 record into the game, as big, fast Raiden Hunter rushed for 270 yards in 17 carries and scored two touchdowns.

An impressive Central League turnout of about 4,500 persons included a San Diego cheering section that filled the visiting stands.

A win over Patrick Henry this week would send the Cavers to 8-0, a feat accomplished by San Diego teams in 1916, ’25, ‘45, ’47, ’50, ’55, ’57, and ’58. Only the ’16 (12-0) and ’55 clubs (11-0-1) got to the finish line unbeaten.

San Diego has two games remaining after the Patriots, at Crawford and at Coronado.

UP THE LADDER

Monte Vista’s 24-17 win over Santana moved the Monarchs to 4-3 and gave coach Ron Hamamoto his 214^th victory, moving Hamamoto past Helix’ Jim Arnaiz into seventh place among San Diego County coaches.

Valley Center’s 37-21 victory against Rancho Buena Vista left the Jaguars with a 6-1 record and was the 213^th in Rob Gilster’s career, tying Gilster with Arnaiz for eighth.

Next up for Hamamoto and Gilster is Ed Burke, who won 215 games at San Dieguito and Torrey Pines.  Burke won another 40-plus at King City before coming to the San Diego area.

REVITALIZED

St. Augustine, beaten by Carlsbad, swamped by L.A. Loyola, and pushed around by Helix earlier in the season, knocked Madison from the ranks of the undefeated with a solid, 19-10 victory.

The effort of the Saints’ defense helped overcome the loss of star wideout J.R. Justice, who sustained what may be a season-ending leg injury the previous week.

By winning their second straight and moving to 4-3, the Saints are positioning themselves for the Catholic bragging rights battle with Cathedral in the season’s final regular-season game in three weeks.

QUICK KICKS

Lincoln (6-1) is off to its best start since the Tony Jackson-coached Hornets opened 8-0 in 2000…that Lincoln team finished 11-2, beaten twice by Mission Bay…a win over El Camino this week would give Mission Hills’ Chris Hauser his 150^th coaching victory, achieved by 14 others…the Grizzlies also advanced to 14^th in the weekly Cal-Hi Sports state rankings while Helix gained a notch to 29^th…La Costa dropped out of the top 50 and now has “bubble” status with Ramona, which is 7-0, off to its best start since 2013, and third in the Union-Tribune poll this week.

The Week 8 Union-Tribune poll:

Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

NR: Not Ranked.

Others receiving votes:  El Camino (4-3, 16 points),  El Centro Southwest (7-0, 9),  , Valley Center (6-1, 2), Eastlake (5-2, 1), San Diego (7-0, 1), Carlsbad (4-3, 1).

Voters (28 sportswriters, sportscasters, officials): John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindren, Union-Tribune correspondents; Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone, Rick Willis, KUSI Chl. 51; Adam Paul, East County Preps.com; Ramon Scott, East County Sports.com; Bodie DeSilva, San Diego Preps.com; Ted Mendenhall, Taylor Quellman, The Mighty 1090; Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions; Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Jerry Schniepp, John LaBeta, Carlton Hoggard, CIF San Diego; Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net; Montell Allen, MBASports-SDFNL Magazine; Bob Petinak,  1360AM; John Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator; Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9FM; Jim Arnaiz, Mike Dolan, John Carroll, CIF Football Tournament Directors.

The dateline said San Diego, not somewhere in the High Sierra or North Dakota.

Snow had forced postponement of two games.

In the dead of winter a couple high school basketball contests in San Diego County were called off because of the flaky white stuff.

Southern Prep League games sending Brown Military to Mountain Empire in Campo and Vista to Julian could not be played “because of bad traveling conditions,” according to The San Diego Union on Jan. 14, 1949.

“Five feet of snow in the higher elevations silenced rural telephone circuits so completely that the Police Department rushed a mobile radio transmitter to Julian to establish an emergency communications center,” the newspaper reported.

Down below the 4,000-foot elevation the coastline was hit with storm waves that caused damage to small craft and wreaked havoc on the beaches along U.S. 101.

San Diego rainfall totals were almost two inches above normal.

A view of the San Diego River from the Junipero Serra museum in Presidio Park showed water runoff to the ocean for the first time in three years.

BIG BROTHERS TAKE BACK SEAT

City schools Hoover and San Diego usually wielded the sharp end of the stick, but smaller schools, for the second year in a row, stepped up.

Coronado, from the mostly suburban Metropolitan League, and Vista from the rural Southern Prep represented the area in Southern California playoffs.

There was no minor division or small school postseason alignment, in which the Islanders and Panthers, with relatively paltry enrollment numbers, probably would have been included.

You make the postseason, be prepared to play anyone, size of school no matter. One bracket of 16 teams met on successive weeks, two days each, almost all games at Redondo Beach Redondo Union.

A Small Schools division for the postseason would not be in place until the 1949-50 season, according to CIF historian John Dahlem.

(Coronado likely would have enjoyed similar success in a group with more even student body numbers, as did the mid-1950s Islanders, who advanced to the finals two years in a row).

Thus, when Coronado thumped Inglewood, 46-28, in the first round, John De La Vega’s account for the Los Angeles Times began: “Little Coronado high school, unbeaten champions of the Metropolitan league in San Diego county, furnished the big surprise yesterday….”

The Islanders, coached by Keith Broaders, hammered the Bay League champions but were beaten, 39-29, by Ventura in the second round, closing out a 21-2 season.  Loyola earlier eliminated Vista (14-8), 48-24.

The exiting teams had faced the Southern Section’s premiere squads.

Loyola reached the round of 4 and defeated Coast League champion Compton, 34-33, and Ventura socked Alhambra, 58-41, for the championship.

UNNECESSARY LOSS?

Coronado’s record was listed as 21-1 in Bill Finley’s Evening Tribune High School Record Book 1945-69.

The obvious loss was to Ventura, but research showed that Broaders also scheduled a game in which he reportedly utilized only substitutes and the Islanders were upset by Brown Military, 29-27, in overtime.

Finley’s excellent publication reflected the difficulty finding complete, individual scoring statistics or total won-loss records from newspapers’ coverage in the those years until well into the late 1950s.

COAST NOT CLEAR

The three local teams, Grossmont, San Diego, and Hoover, won six of seven games at home on the opening weekend of Coast League play. The only setback was Grossmont’s 36-35 loss in overtime to Compton.

Three days later Grossmont beat San Diego, 41-40, on Herbie Fennel’s free throw with three seconds remaining before a full house at Grossmont.

The Cardinals and Foothillers soon dropped from sight, however, and San Diego assumed the lead, taking an 8-1 record into its final game against 6-2 Compton.

The Hilltoppers had edged the Tarbabes, 34-27, early in league play but Compton prevailed in the rematch, 31-29 and then defeated Muir, 50-48, to forge a tie for the title.

WHICH IS WHICH?

One San Diego report declared that Compton and San Diego would flip a coin to determine the champion, but another said the winner of the teams’ first-round meeting in the Beverly Hills Tournament would determine the league’s sole playoff representative.

The Hillers came up flat, losing, 55-33, and closed out a 15-7 season.  Grossmont signed off at 10-8, Hoover at 9-11, and St. Augustine at 11-6.

DECEMBER MEDIOCRITY

Eight of the 11 San Diego-area teams in the 23-team, two-division, second annual Kiwanis Tournament were defeated in the first round of the three-day event at San Diego, Hoover, and San Diego State.

Hoover played twice on the first day, defeating Long Beach Poly, 34-31, and then lost to Beverly Hills, 22-18.

San Diego, ousted by Long Beach Wilson, 36-33, came back to win the Unlimited Division consolation title, 43-27 over La Jolla.  Chula Vista defeated Oceanside, 23-20, for the Limited Division conso’ crown.

Sweetwater won the Limited Division championship, 40-24, over Brawley.  El Monte trimmed Beverly Hills, 60-40, for the Unlimited title.

San Diego’s Bob McClurg and Eddie Simpson made the all-tournament team.  Simpson scored 42 points in the 4 games.  Jim Loews of El Monte was leading scorer with 56.

MORE EXITS

While the Metropolitan and Southern Prep leagues got ready for league openers, the three Coast League locals went north to Compton College for the annual Western States Tournament.

San Diego topped Alhambra Mark Keppel, 45-37, and then went into the consolation bracket after a 43-37 loss to Los Angeles Mt. Carmel.  Hoover topped Long Beach Poly, 43-41, but lost to Compton, 48-36.

Grossmont fell to Mt. Carmel, 47-37, in the opening round.

The threesome was quickly sent  home from the losers’ bracket.  Long Beach St. Anthony nudged San Diego, 39-38; Long Beach Wilson nipped Hoover, 56-55, and Santa Barbara beat Grossmont, 50-44.

HIGH SCORERS

Alan Logan of Ramona had the highest reported one-game scoring total with 30 points in a 40-25 win over Brown Military.  Bob (Bama) Shell scored 28 in St. Augustine’s 47-39 victory over Chula Vista.

Shell scored 23 points and Lou Kuslo 17 as the Saints defeated Los Angeles Cathedral in a Southland Catholic League event.

Shell was denied an opportunity to score more when Long Beach St. Anthony backed out of its own hoop carnival so team members and students could trek to the Los Angeles Coliseum to watch their football team play Santa Barbara for the Southern Section title.

NOTHING, ZIP, NIL, NADA

The timeworn maxim that “they couldn’t hit a bull in the — with a barn door” resonated with those watching a Grossmont junior high tournament middleweight division game.

Coronado shut out Ramona’s Mt. Woodson Mountain Lions, 37-0.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

Sixteen-year-old Casey Moffet of Shelby, N.C., drove to the basket, missed a layup, and crashed through a wooden wall in a game against Waco, N.C.

Moffet penetrated the ½-inch plywood “barrier” and fell 10 feet to the frozen clay surface outside the gym.  He sustained head, shoulder, and arm injuries.

SET SHOTS

Ivan Robinson scored the winning basket for the San Diego High alumni against the Hilltoppers’ varsity and played the next night for the Alumni against the San Diego Junior College Knights…Vista defeated San Dieguito, 40-30, to gain a tie for the SPL title and then won a playoff, 34-31 over San Dieguito to earn the league’s playoff berth…future Hall of Fame coach Jerry Tarkanian was a starting guard for the Pasadena Bullpups…after opening with a victorious Coast League weekend, San Diego stumbled against Point Loma, 30-14, and St. Augustine, 42-33…the Saints won the sixth annual Coronado C  & D tournament, 21-9 over Hoover in the Cees and 18-17 over Coronado in the Dees…