2016-17: And Then There Were 8 as Regionals Reach Semifinals
The Southern California regional of the state playoffs reached the semifinal round after San Diego Section teams qualified eight of the 17 teams it sent to the weekend quarterfinals.
All local boys and girls teams except Helix will be on the road Tuesday night. The Highlanders (29-5), seeded No. 2 in Boys’ Division IV, play host to 3 seed Carson (23-6) of the Los Angeles City Section.
Beginning with Open Division 6 seed St. Augustine (28-4), a scrappy, 88-81 winner over nationally regarded and Southern California third-ranked Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, all section teams except Helix will be in against favored clubs.
The Saints will try for the third time at No. 2 Santa Ana Mater Dei (32-2), having lost to the Monarchs, 86-62, in the Diablo Inferno at Mission Viejo on Dec. 3 and 74-62 at the Nike Extravaganza Feb. 4 at Mater Dei.
If there is a potential Cinderella, the D-IV Orange Glen Patriots are the top candidate at this juncture.
The 14 seed from east Escondido visits No. 2 Villa Park. The Patriots are the South’s lowest ranked squad still alive in boys or girls.
The lowest overall seed in the state still playing is Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman, a No. 15 in the Northern California D-II regional. Eastlake, a 12 seed in D-V and not in the box below, visits No. 1 Riverside Notre Dame.
Helix, should it defeat Carson, would take on the winner of No. 1 Burbank (25-9) and No. 5 Reedley Immanuel (22-8) on Saturday, March 18, at 6 p.m. If Burbank wins, the Bulldogs would host. If Immanuel wins, Helix would host.
GIRLS SEMIFINALS LOADED
The Bishop’s (30-3), seeded fifth in the Open, will make the South regional’s longest trip, 368 miles, to face No. 1-ranked Clovis East (31-2).
Mission Hills (31-2), seeded third in the Open, revisits 2 seed Long Beach Poly, which sent the Grizzlies home with a 58-41 loss in the first round of the 2015 regional.
The four Girls’ opponents are ranked 2, 1, 2, and 1. One of those top-ranked squads is No. 2 Camarillo, which represents a 175-mile trip for No. 6 Serra.
BOYS
Division
Team
Opponent
Open
6 St. Augustine (28-4)
@2 Santa Ana Mater Dei (32-2)
III
14 Orange Glen (23-9)
@2 Villa Park, 25-6
IV
2 Helix (29-5)
3 Carson (23-6)
GIRLS
Division
Team
Opponent
Open
3 Mission Hills (30-2)
@ 2 Long Beach Poly (25-3)
5 The Bishop’s (30-3)
@1 Clovis West (31-2)
III
6 Serra (22-10)
@2 Camarillo (30-3)
IV
4 Rancho Bernardo (23-6)
@1 Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos (25-3)
2016-17 Regionals: 17 Remain in Play into Quarterfinals
With Open Division play beginning with quarterfinals tonight, seventeen of 31 San Diego Section teams still are in the Southern California regionals of the state playoffs.
Boys teams won seven of Wednesday’s 13, opening-round games, were 6-1 in road games, and 3-3 at home.
Four lower seeds, Vista, Orange Glen, Olympian, and Mission Hills won and three higher seeds, Foothills Christian, Mater Dei, and La Costa Canyon lost.
Girls teams won 6 of 14, opening-round games Wednesday, were 6-1 at home, and 0-7 on the road. Favored Poway was beaten by Huntington Beach, 52-43, in the only upset.
Biggest surprises so far were No 11 seed Vista’s remarkable, double-overtime, 97-94 win at No. 6 Rancho Santa Margarita and, just a few miles South, No. 13 Orange Glen’s 66-65, overtime victory at No. 4 Capistrano Valley.
Going into tonight’s four Open Division contests, San Diego Section clubs are 13-14 overall, 9-4 at home, and 6-8 on the road.
San Diego teams will be visitors in 11 of the 16 quarterfinals games.
BOYS FRIDAY, MARCH 10
Open
6 St. Augustine (27-4)
@3 Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (27-4)
8 Torrey Pines (28-4)
@1 Torrance Bishop Montgomery (27-2)
BOYS SATURDAY, MARCH 11
Div.
Team
Opponent
I
11 Vista (29-3)
@3 Woodland Hills Taft (26-10)
II
12 Mission Hills (22-8)
13 Pasadena (25-6)
III
8 Santa Fe Christian (21-10)
@1 Ontario Colony (28-5)
13 Orange Glen (22-9)
@6 Selma (30-4)
IV
2 Helix (28-5)
7 West Torrance (23-8)
V
4 Brawley (27-7)
13 Olympian (29-3)
GIRLS FRIDAY, MARCH 10
Open
3 Mission Hills (29-2)
6 Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda (26-2)
5 The Bishop’s (29-3)
@4 Studio City Harvard-Westlake (25-4)
GIRLS SATURDAY, MARCH 11
Div.
Team
Opponent
I
8 La Jolla Country Day (18-11)
@1 L.A. Windward (26-4)
III
6 Serra (21-10)
@3 L.A. Marlboro (22-8)
7 Mater Dei (22-11)
@2 Camarillo (29-4)
IV
4 Rancho Bernardo (26-6)
5 Cerritos Valley Christian (22-9)
6 Scripps Ranch (27-5)
@3 Sun Valley Village Christian (29-3)
V
7 Escondido Adventist (23-3)
@2 Irvine Crean (19-11)
2016-17 Regionals: Saints, Torrey Get Rugged First Tests
Thirty-one teams from the San Diego Section begin play Wednesday and Friday nights in the Southern California regional playoffs.
Regional winners will qualify for the state championships against Northern California winners.
The CIF state committee which created the seedings and brackets based on the power ratings model didn’t think highly of the San Diego Section’s 15 boys’ teams chances or those of the 16 girls’ squads.
Helix, seeded 2 in Boys’ D-IV, is the highest ranked boys club. Brawley, a 4 seed in D-V, is the only other male team with a seeding higher than 6.
Helix (28-5) gets a Wednesday night home game against No. 15 Granada Hills (14-16), better known as the alma mater of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.
Brawley, Foothills Christian, Mater Dei, and Santa Fe Christian are the only others with home games.
St. Augustine and Torrey Pines, San Diego Section Open Division finalists, were placed in the eight-team regional Open, which begins play Friday night.
Helix, on an 18-game winning streak and having played a decidedly easier, mostly local schedule, was given a lower division slot and a presumed stronger prospect of advancing to the to the state final.
St. Augustine and Torrey Pines played stronger intersectional schedules and were “rewarded” with first-round road games against loaded, nationally ranked Southern Section teams Chatsworth Sierra Canyon and Torrance Bishop Montgomery, respectively.
GIRLS FARE BETTER
Nine teams earned seeds that will give them home games, beginning Wednesday night.
Mission Hills (29-2) is No. 3 in the Open Division and plays host on Friday to a dangerous 6 seed, 28-2 Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda.
Rancho Bernardo (4), The Bishop’s (5), Serra (6), Scripps Ranch (6), Mater Dei (7), and Escondido Adventist (7) all will act as hosts.
The biggest underdog of all 31 teams appears to be the Guajome Park Frogs, who have a 19-9 record but are seeded 16th in boys’ D-V and will travel to No. 1 seed Riverside Notre Dame.
FINAL UNION-TRIBUNE TOP 10
1–St. Augustine, 2–Torrey Pines, 3–Foothills Christian, 4–Helix, 5–Vista, 6—Mater Dei, 7—Mission Hills, 8—Santa Fe Christian, 9—La Jolla Country Day, 10—Canyon Crest.
BOYS PAIRINGS
DIV.
SEED
TEAM
W/L
VS.
SEED
W/L
OPEN
6
St. Augustine
27-4
@Chatsworth Sierra Canyon
3
27-2
8
Torrey Pines
28-4
@Torrance Bishop Montgomery
1
27-2
1
7
Foothills Christian
24-6
Oak Park
10
22-8
11
Vista
28-3
@Rancho Santa Margarita
6
21-8
II
8
Mater Dei
23-5
Studio City Harvard-Westlake
9
21-11
12
Mission Hills
21-8
@Moreno Valley Rancho Verde
5
26-3
III
7
La Jolla Country Day
19-10
L.A. Washington
10
22-6
8
Santa Fe Christian
20-10
Vista Murrieta
9
24-5
14
Orange Glen
21-6
@Capistrano Valley
3
25-6
IV
2
Helix
27-5
Granada Hills
15
14-16
13
Sage Creek
14-17
@Twentynine Palms
4
27-3
14
Lincoln
21-12
@L.A. Carson
3
21-6
V
12
Olympian
28-3
@Bermuda Dunes Desert Christian
5
22-5
16
Guajome Park
19-9
@Riverside Notre Dame
1
29-3
4
Brawley
21-7
L.A. Watts New Design
13
19-2
GIRLS PAIRINGS
DIV.
SEED
TEAM
W/L
VS.
SEED
W/L
OPEN
3
Mission Hills
29-2
Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda
6
28-2
5
The Bishop’s
28-3
@Studio City Harvard-Westlake
4
25-4
I
8
La Jolla Country Day
18-11
L.A. Palisades
9
25-9
13
Eastlake
23-7
@Brea-Olinda
4
23-7
II
13
La Costa Canyon
25-5
@L.B. Millikan
4
19-8
14
Westview
19-10
@Mission Hills Chaminade
3
16-11
7
Poway
24-6
Huntington Beach
10
23-9
III
13
San Marcos
19-11
@Lawndale Leuzinger
4
23-10
6
Serra
20-10
L.A. Westchester
11
18-16
7
Mater Dei
21-11
San Juan Capistrano JSerra
10
16-14
IV
16
Lincoln
27-4
@Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos
1
22-3
4
Rancho Bernardo
25-6
L.A. Torres
13
20-6
6
Scripps Ranch
26-5
Pasadena
11
22-10
V
12
Maranatha
19-8
@Palos Verdes Rolling Hills
5
28-3
7
Escondido Adventist
22-3
Riverside Carnegie
10
16-4
15
Pacific Ridge
10-14
Irvine Crean
2
18-11
2016-17, Week 10: Happy Trails, Saints Landmark
Dougherty Gymnasium went out in a blaze…of technicals!
The final two games at St. Augustine were in keeping with the history of the 64-year-old building, a bandbox of often ear-splitting noise, tightly-packed crowds, and barnburner finishes.
Foothills Christian coach Brad Leaf will be serving a suspension when the Knights open play in the Southern California regionals of the state playoffs next week.
Despite the 72-69 loss to the Saints in semifinals of the San Diego Section playoffs, Foothills will join St. Augustine, Torrey Pines, and five other local Open Division teams in the extended postseason.
Blame Leaf’s one-time benching on the decibel level created by the overflowing mass of humanity in the old gym or the spirit of Fr. Dougherty.
Fr. Joseph Dougherty was an Augustinian Provincial who led the fund-raising drive that resulted in the Dec. 3, 1951, dedication of the squat, brick edifice that seats maybe 700 persons and occupies a campus niche on Palm Avenue between 32nd and Bancroft streets.
COACH BANISHED
Leaf received two technicals and an automatic ejection with 1.5 seconds remaining in the game.
As a team, Foothills was hit with three technicals because a Knights player, or Leaf, called time out after Foothills rebounded a missed shot with 1.9 seconds remaining and the score tied at 69.
Foothills, however, was out of time outs, prompting the first whistle.
Leaf got into trouble when he began shouting that he had not called time out, resulting in technical No. 1.
When Leaf stalked the referee across the court, another in the crew raised his right hand to signal the second technical and ejection.
“It was a chaotic situation,” Leaf later said to writer John Maffei of the Union-Tribune. “The gym was packed, everyone was standing. It was tough to hear or see anything….”
SAINTS ON RECEIVING END
The Saints’ Taeshon Cherry was shown the door three nights before after the player complained about a foul in the second quarter of the Saints’ 68-45, quarterfinals win over La Costa Canyon.
CIF commissioner Jerry Schniepp overturned Cherry’s ejection after the crew of officials admitted a mistake and that Cherry had not received two technicals, since the first whistle had resulted in a common foul.
Saints coach Mike Haupt didn’t start Cherry against Foothills but the 6-foot, 8-inch junior got into the game minutes later and scored 17 points.
OTTO MAN
The Saints’ game hero was Otto Taylor, a 6-1 senior who scored 23 points and hit three free throws in six attempts (two for each technical) with 1.5 remaining to give St. Augustine the victory.
SET SHOTS
Dougherty Gym will be used for other school purposes next season, when the Saints move into their new 1,500-seat arena on campus…the Open finals Saturday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on the University of San Diego campus will match the No. 1 (St. Augustine) and No. 2 (Torrey Pines) teams in the Union-Tribune weekly poll…the Girls Open final will bring together No. 1 Mission Hills and No. 2 The Bishop’s…St. Augustine is eighth in the Cal-Hi Sports state top 20 and Torrey Pines 16th…Mission Hills is fourth and The Bishop’s is on the bubble in the Girls’ top 20….
1941-42: Season Survives After Pearl Harbor
San Diego High players weren’t thinking of tomorrow.
They were more interested in savoring a 27-24 victory at Coronado as the team boarded the ferry for the short ride back to the docking slip near Pacific Highway and Market Street.
The Cavers may even have been discussing the merits of crosstown rival Hoover’s 52-36 victory over Santa Ana the night before.
The time, about 10 p.m., Dec. 6, 1941.
Fourteen hours later, as reports began to reach the Pacific Coast of a Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands, the game would be quickly forgotten.
Students and players from around San Diego County began to react to the chaotic events 2,500 miles away.
On Dec. 8, as written by Don King in Caver Conquest, King’s athletic history of San Diego High, “…many in the record 3,316 students brought radios to hear latest reports…most gathered in the gym and auditorium to hear President Roosevelt address Congress and declare war.”
King also noted:
–Twenty-four San Diego High students joined the military within 10 days of the attack.
–Dances and banquets were canceled.
–The school newspaper, the Russ, suggested that the campus, strategically located near crucial military facilities, was important in contingency planning in event of an enemy attack on San Diego.
–Principal John Aseltine urged students to remain calm amid (possibly) exaggerated war reports and to continue their routines as much as possible.
–Students volunteered to serve as messengers, took postings at civilian defense facilities, provided child care for defense workers, cared for the elderly during blackouts, and worked tirelessly in the defense effort.
The situation probably was much the same at the area’s other educational institutions.
The County included 18 high schools:
Ermer Robinson (right), in 1948 game against George Mikan and Minneapolis Lakers, played 14 years with the Harlem Globetrotters.
–San Diego, Hoover, Point Loma, La Jolla, and St. Augustine, in the city;
–Coronado, Sweetwater, Grossmont, Fallbrook, Oceanside, San Dieguito, Vista, Escondido, Ramona, Julian, and Mountain Empire, located in the outskirts and beyond;
–Two, private military schools, San Diego Army-Navy in Carlsbad and Brown Military in Pacific Beach.
All had basketball teams.
Universal travel and game restrictions had not yet been applied. Many schedules had been set, guarantees sometimes agreed to, and, in an attempt to continue as before, interscholastic sports went forward.
Most varsities played at least 12-15 games, plus there was another dozen or so by junior varsity, B, C, and D squads. A basketball fan would have a choice of more than 700 games on a three-month menu.
THE GAMES WENT ON
On Dec. 8, in the mountains 60 miles from the city, Julian and Mountain Empire played the first reported contest after the attack. The host Eagles defeated their rural neighbor from Campo, 53-17. Julian also won in Class B, 33-21.
On Dec. 9, there was a tense introduction to war on the home front. San Diego led, 32-8, in the third quarter of a Class B game at Grossmont when a blackout halted play. The game did not resume and the varsity contest was canceled.
Beverly Hills called off a weekend trip to meet Hoover Dec. 12 and San Diego Dec. 13.
A Dec. 12 game in which San Diego defeated visiting Santa Ana, 53-30, was moved from the evening to afternoon to lessen artificial visibility and the possible event of an air attack.
Hoover’s John Swezey lays up basket with old-school netting that gradually was replaced with more attractive and sturdier twine.
CARDINALS, CAVERS THRIVE
On Dec. 17 junior varsity and Class B teams from San Diego and Hoover entered the ten-team San Diego County Invitational. San Diego and Hoover varsities left early the next day for the Chino Tournament.
El Centro Central bailed from the San Diego event, ruled out of travel by the community’s board of education. Holtville was scheduled to bring its varsity and Class B teams, but the school nixed the Bees.
The Cavers’ JV and Bees won their tournaments, the JV 30-29 over Escondido and the Bees 30-24 over Hoover. The Jayvees’ Keith Rincker scored 59 points in three games.
CHINO
It would be an all-San Diego final in a format of morning and afternoon play.
The Cavers advanced with victories of 26-16 over Chino and 27-20 over Long Beach Poly, and Hoover moved on by defeating Colton, 33-23, and San Bernardino, 39-16.
The Cardinals broke from an 18-18 tie behind Arnie Saul’s and Leo Tuck’s late, fourth-quarter baskets to top San Diego , 24-18.
3 LEAGUES OPEN PLAY
San Diego and Hoover were members of the awkward, CIF-designed Big 17 Conference, although they played league games only against Pasadena and Long Beach Poly.
The Metropolitan League of Grossmont, champion Sweetwater, Point Loma, La Jolla, Oceanside, and Escondido played a single round-robin schedule.
Southern League teams Army-Navy, Brown Military, San Dieguito, Vista, Julian, Mountain Empire, and champion Ramona also played one round.
The season ended in mid-February.
CARDINALS START FAST
Hoover opened the Big 17 by sweeping Long Beach Poly on the road, 44-35 in varsity and 35-30 in B.
At 8-0 Hoover was favored over 7-1 San Diego, but Ermer Robinson scored 13 points and the Cavers prevailed, 35-24.
Hoover was stung again, a week after winning in Long Beach. Poly swept the Cardinals at Hoover, 37-27, in varsity and 33-27 in Class B.
Competition among the four went back and forth.
Poly topped San Diego, 28-26, and 36-22. Hoover lost to Pasadena, 34-30, but defeated the Bullpups, 42-39, in overtime, on a basket by Ray Boone and free throw by Arnie Saul.
San Diego opened an almost unheard of 25-7, first-quarter lead on Pasadena and then coach Merrill Douglas subbed for regulars as the Cavers prevailed, 43-35.
Douglas would lose four starters to midterm graduation.
BIG 17 TOURNAMENT
San Diego had a virtual new team, as Ermer Robinson, Gerald Patrick, Denzil Walden, and Jim Warner graduated in January.
Hoover also had been hurt by early graduation, the most notable loss being Willie Steele.
Steele enrolled at San Diego State after the war, became an NCAA champion with a best broad jump of 26 feet, 6 inches, and won the 1948 Olympic gold medal.
Although described as “independents” in basketball along with Long Beach Poly and Pasadena, the Cardinals and Cavers competed in the inaugural Beverly Hills tournament and again met in the finals.
Fifteen teams took part at Beverly Hills, which had three standard courts. Hoover whipped Burbank, 41-22, Pasadena, 36-19, Compton, 33-27, and San Diego, 22-19.
Hoover finished with a 16-5 record. San Diego was 15-4.
Two teams beaten at least once by the locals met in the Southern Section playoff finals. Poly topped Compton, 31-21. No San Diego teams participated in the playoffs.
An opportunity to play for a CIF title didn’t matter in the mood of the day.
Harlem Globetrotter Ermer Robinson (third from left, second row) signed by Globetrotters boss Abe Sapperstein (left, front row),awaited international flight in 1947.
ROBINSON’S LEGACY
After his wartime service in the Army, the 6-foot, 2-inch Robinson signed with the Harlem Globetrotters in 1946. He had been discovered by owner Abe Saperstein, who saw Robinson and the player’s unique, “running set shot”, in a game at Fort Lewis, Washington.
Robinson, who traveled with the Globetrotters for 14 years, was the older brother of Ivan Robinson, who scored 38 points in a game for the 1943-44 Cavers. Ermer’s nephew, Arnie Robinson, a graduate of Morse High, Mesa College, and San Diego State, won the Olympic gold medal in the long jump in 1980.
Ermer Robinson’s 30-foot basket at the buzzer defeated the champion Minneapolis Lakers, 61-59, in a 1948 game that turned “serious” in the second half before more than 17,000 persons at Chicago Stadium.
After he passed in 1983, Robinson was eulogized by his high school coach.
“He was kind of a straight man with the Globetrotters,” said Merrill Douglas. “He didn‘t involve himself in the comedy routines. He was an exceptional ball handler and a great shooter. He ran the offense and left the comedy to the others, like Meadowlark Lemon.”
SET SHOTS
The San Diego junior varsity competed in the city Industrial League and played several games in the Admiral Sefton Gym at Naval Training Center…other loop clubs included Keith’s Drive-in, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Tijuana PRM, Sons of America, and Western Metal…the Hoover JV was in the Commercial League…Ray Boone, starting guard for Hoover, became better known as a 13-season major league third baseman, followed in the majors by son Bob, and grandsons Bret and Aaron…the game between San Diego and the State College Frosh was canceled because the Army had taken over the Aztecs’ gym, leaving the Frosh no place to practice…former Escondido football coach Harry Wexler coached a civilian team that took part in a recreation league for soldiers stationed in the Escondido area…Ron Maley, younger brother of future San Diego coach Duane Maley, was the only remaining Cavers starter after four teammates graduated at midterm…Metropolitan League champ Sweetwater carried on after three regulars graduated in January…the San Diego Invitational was a precursor to the popular, postwar Kiwanis Tournament…Jim Warner, one of San Diego’s midterm graduates, turned to baseball and played 10 seasons with 15 teams in the minor leagues, including parts of the 1946 through ’49 seasons with the Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League….
2016-17 Week 9: Saints Figure to be Wary in First Round
St Augustine finished No. 1 in the Union-Tribune regular-season poll, is the San Diego Section’s No. 1 seed in the Open Division playoffs, and is 11th in the state, according to Cal-Hi Sports as the Saints await No. 8 seed La Costa Canyon in a first-round game Saturday night in perhaps the last game ever at Dougherty Gym.
The tiny arena, erected in 1952, will remain standing and will serve other purposes on the Nutmeg Street campus, but the Saints will be playing in a new, 1,500-seat edifice in 2017-18.
The Saints (24-4) of coach Mike Haupt figure to dismiss the 19-8 Mavericks of coach Dave Cassaw, but one look at results in the Southern Section first round last week shows that anything can happen in the postseason.
St. Augustine moved up one spot in the Cal-Hi ratings because seventh-ranked Mission Hills Alemany was upset by bubble team Long Beach Poly, 66-48.
The 18-point loss was enough to catch one’s attention, but Poly’s victory was achieved despite setbacks from the moment the Jackrabbits got on the bus.
A normal, 45-mile, hour-and-a-half ride to the San Fernando campus of Alemany turned into a 4 1/2-hour journey through torrential rain, wind, road closures, and a unscheduled stop when the charter broke down.
For Long Beach it was all’s well that ends well.
Second-seeded Torrey Pines (26-3) plays host to No. 7, 20-8 La Jolla Country Day at the other end of the San Diego Section Open bracket.
Looming in the quarterfinals for St. Augustine or La Costa Canyon is either 5 Mater Dei Catholic (22-4) or 4 Foothills Christian (23-5).
The winner at Torrey Pines will get No. 3 Vista (23-3) or No. 6 Mission Hills (20-7).
GRIZZLIES STILL HOLD CLAW
The Girls’ Open tournament favors Mission Hills, 26-2 and Cal-Hi’s state No. 4. The top-seed Grizzlies take on 8 seed Serra (20-8) Friday night.
The Bishop’s is seeded second in the Open Division, but was knocked out of the Cal-High Top 20 when upset last week, 44-42, by charging La Jolla Country Day, 16-10, winner of six of its last seven, and seeded No. 3.
Poll participants include John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions), Terry Monahan, Union-Tribune correspondent), Bill Dickens, Adam Paul, EastCountySports.com; Rick Willis, KUSI-TV; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com; Chris Davis, freelance; Aaron Burgin, fulltimehoops.com.
