The article originally was posted Oct. 9, 2014.

The dreaded coin toss was back.

The flip of a silver dollar had elevated La Jolla into the Southern California playoffs after a first-place tie with San Diego in 1951.

Now, with a week remaining in the regular season and La Jolla and San Diego again headed for a tie for the City Prep League title, school honchos faced a storm of criticism.

“Flip For Playoff Berth Under Fire”, screamed a headline at the top of the first sports page in the Evening Tribune on Nov. 18, 1952, as teams prepared for the final week of play.

Only one team from the City Prep League would be invited to the 10-team Upper Division, Central Group playoffs.

The idea of a legislative tie-breaker, again, was roundly booed.  A simple solution would have been to choose the winner of the teams’ regular-season game.

OH, OH!

Trouble loomed after San Diego defeated La Jolla, 23-6, but lost to Point Loma, 14-12, while La Jolla defeated Point Loma, 26-6.

Point Loma became a non-factor, upset by Helix, 26-7, and out of contention.

San Diego and La Jolla each finished with a 5-1 record, after the Vikings had beaten Kearny, 28-0, and San Diego whipped Hoover, 26-6.

The postgame drama took place in La Jolla coach Walt Harvey’s office in the Vikings’ gymnasium.

To the particular disgust of San Diego coach Duane Maley, La Jolla won the coin flip again.  The Cavemen had a two-season league record of 10-2 and were 14-3 overall but with nothing to show.

CITY BOSSES GAG

The seven City Prep League principals voted in June to invoke the coin flip option, going against themselves, as it turned out.

Writer Gene Earl of The San  Diego Union revealed that in a spring meeting the reps unanimously voted, 7-0, in favor of tossing the toss.

“The official vote, however, was ignored in the group’s next meeting,” Earl wrote. “Faced with such an issue once, 99 out of 100 leagues would have worked to eliminate such future decisions, but the ball was fumbled.”

SOUR VICTORY

San Diego was a sad winner after its usual victory over Hoover.

The coin toss news created  a bitter climax for the Cavers, who were in their best form of the season.

Ardell Finley gained 179 yards in 9 carries and broke a 96-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter as the Hillers hammered the Cardinals with 361 yards rushing.

Finley’s dash came two plays after Cecil Espy recovered a fumble by Hoover quarterback Gene Leek as Leek attempted to score from the “six-inch” line and tie the game at 6-6.

Horace Tucker’s 63-yard sprint and a 71-yard interception return by Ermon Johnson closed out the scoring.

Jerry Brucker of the Evening Tribune noted that “maybe San Diegans have outgrown their interest in scholastic sports.”

Brucker estimated an attendance of 7,500 for the game, which would have been the lowest in the history of the rivalry that began in 1933.

There had been only 8,000 on hand in the World War II season of 1943.

VIKINGS PROVE WORTHY

La Jolla did not disappoint.

The Vikings nudged visiting El Monte and its 220-pound-average offensive line, 7-6, in its first playoff, largely behind Art Luppino’s 76 yards in 13 carries.

Al Chapman scored the Vikings’ only touchdown after Luppino had carried on three successive plays and had the wind knocked out of him on the third.

The Vikings then battled South Pasadena on the road before bowing, 13-6, in the semifinals.

The Vikings would not be competitive for a playoff berth for another decade.

TALENT STEERED AWAY

The opening of Mission Bay in 1953 re-zoned  enrollment boundaries and cut off La Jolla’s rich talent stream from Pacific Beach and Mission Beach.

Walt Harvey left La Jolla the following school year and moved across town to begin shaping the program at Lincoln, which would be in its fifth year and with classes from grades 7-11.

FALLBROOK FUMBLES

Southern Prep League champion Fallbrook was dethroned after self-reporting a CIF Southern Section violation.

The Warriors forfeited two league games and three nonleague contests after coach Carlin Coffman revealed that fullback Eddie Mojado had been playing Sunday baseball for the nearby Pala Indian Reservation team.

CIF rules state that athletes cannot participate in more than one organized sport at the same time.  Even if the second sport is not part of an interscholastic program.

(There was precedent, as in 1933, when San Diego forfeited every game in  a 19-3 baseball season after it was discovered that Cavers Chet and Swede Smith had played under assumed names in a meaningless game the previous summer in Imperial Valley).

LEAGUE TO CADETS: GET LOST

Fallbrook victories over Mountain Empire and Army-Navy were vacated, leaving the Warriors with a 2-2 record and second place behind Army-Navy.

But league representatives  dissed Army-Navy’s Cadets and notified the Southern Section that Fallbrook would be the league’s playoff representative.

Fallbrook then made a U turn.

CIF SS commissioner Bill Russell was “quite surprised” when Evening Tribune sportswriter Mel Zikes called Russell to inform him that he had received word from Fallbrook principal John Brinegar that the Coffman-coached eleven was bailing from the playoffs.

Russell thought it odd that the school official would go to the media before alerting Russell’s office and before the commissioner could pass the news along to Chula Vista and Laguna Beach.

Fallbrook was scheduled for a first-round bye in the Southern Group (small schools) tournament and would have met the winner of Chula Vista-Laguna Beach.

FUNNY PECULIAR

Principal Brinegar gave Zikes a lengthy explanation, citing injuries, scholastic deficiencies, and that some players had dropped out of school.

Fallbrook also was left with only “four players in the backfield this morning and only two of them were starters.”

If one thought bossman Brinegar  went out of his way to explain why the Warriors were bolting the postseason or that the school had an anti-playoff philosophy, consider that after the regular season a year later, the Warriors declined a playoff berth again.

Coach Garrett Arbelbide said that decision was made by the school before the season began.

SCOTS  TO HIGH GROUND

Not a new Mercury, but Helix liked its Merk.

With Ernie Merk at the wheel, Helix emerged as the most improved team in the City Prep League.

The Highlanders, 1-7 in their inaugural 1951 season, improved to 4-4-1, tripled their scoring total, and knocked favored Point Loma out of the City Prep League race.

HONORS

Merk scored 74 points, second to the 187 of Oceanside’s C.R. Roberts, and was the CPL player of the year.  The USC-bound senior was joined on the all-Southern California second team by Arizona-bound Art Luppino and Oregon State-bound Dick Corrick of La Jolla.

Helix tackle Carlos Fackrell earned first team all-CIF honors, Grossmont end Karl Grassl second team, and San Diego center Eddie Boyle third team.  Honorable mention went to San Diego end Tom Cofield, La Jolla tackle Chuck Smith, Hoover center Jack Argent, and San Diego back Ardell Finley.

Player of Year was Santa Monica quarterback Ronnie Knox.

Another first-team selection was end Ron Wheatcroft of South Pasadena, who starred at California and was prominent in San Diego business circles for many years.

C.R. Roberts was the lower division player of the year, joined by Chula Vista tackle Don Cameron.

KRUPENS STAR OF CARNIVAL

A total of 368 candidates turned out for the first day of practice at  seven city high schools, but that figure shrunk in comparison to the estimated 1,300 band members, cheerleaders, and flag corps that entertained before the 14^th annual carnival.

This season’s event was dedicated to Edward Taylor, the San Diego High vice principal who conceived the extravaganza in 1939.

A last minute emergency resulted in Frank Rustich’s replacing Biff Gardner as game referee. Gardner rushed to his wife‘s side after she was in an auto accident near San Clemente.

A crowd estimated at 24,000 saw the three West teams of Point Loma, Grossmont, and San Diego defeat the East’s Hoover, Kearny, and La Jolla, 14-7.

Point Loma outscored Hoover, 14-0, in the second period as Hal Krupens scored on runs of 72 and 2 yards and Manuel Ventura added two, point-after placements.

Kirby Woods’ six-yard pass to Robert Meals provided the East with its touchdown.

For the first time, city teams had a played a complete game before the carnival, thanks to the way the calendar fell.

OLD WHATSHISNAME

Listed in the Evening Tribune as one of 11 returning lettermen for Oceanside was single-wing quarterback “Herb Meyers”.

Herb Meyer, same guy, minus the “s”, became Oceanside’s head coach seven years later, embarking on a Hall of Fame career which ended 44 years and 338 victories later.

OLD WHATSHISNAME, CON’T

–St. Augustine’s Hank Zumstein scored on a 77-yard run in the Saints’ 19-7 loss to  Coronado.  Nothing to get overly excited about,  but the feat was reported in The San Diego Union the next day as being accomplished by Hank “Sunstin”.

There are several possible reasons as to why Zumstein’s named was botched:

–The game was at Coronado and probably was called in by a student from the host school not familiar with the visiting team’s names.

–Newspaper sports departments are filled with activity and noise on Friday nights during the school year.  The reporter taking the call may have been hard of hearing, causing the  misspelled name.

–Third and most often the reason, the man answering  one of the sports desk telephones probably spent his lunch hour across the street from the newspaper’s office at the “Press Room”, a notorious watering hole of the era.

Chances are the staffer was not of a clear mind when he returned.

NETTLESOME ISSUE

Mrs. Mary Nettles, a decade later, knew the frustration of the Zumstein family and other proud parents, whose offspring names were routinely butchered in newspaper accounts.

Mrs. Nettles’ son Graig alternately was identified as Craig, Greg, Gregg, and even Gary during his days as a San Diego High basketball and baseball star.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

A newcomer to the La Jolla High squad asked coach Walt Harvey for jersey number 57.  Harvey wondered why.  Players usually request more popular numerals, such as 7, 11, 13, etc.

The coach checked his roster sheet.  The newcomer’s name was John Hinds.

“You know, Heinz 57 Varieties”, Hinds explained.  Harvey groaned.

NUMBERS GAME

San Diego coach Duane Maley’s six running backs were aligned, not just by their ability to dodge tacklers and go the distance.

Ermon Johnson wore jersey number 18, Garnett Adams 19, Floyd Robinson 20, Horace Tucker 21, Ardell Finley 22, and Carl Osborne 23.

BASEBALL FIRST

Seven San Diego Cavers were late reporting for football.

The group was with the Fighting Bob Post 364 of San Diego that was in Denver for the American Legion national baseball tournament, where they were runners-up to a team from Cincinnati.

Floyd Robinson, who played nine seasons in the major leagues,  and Horace Tucker were among the late-arriving baseballers.

Tucker won the American Legion Louisville Slugger award with a tournament average of .452.

SPORTSWRITER OFF MARK

Mel Zikes of the Evening Tribune predicted Oceanside would beat Chula Vista by 3 touchdowns and outscore Laguna Beach by 20 points. Chula Vista won by 21 and Laguna Beach by 20.

PERSPIRING, NOT INSPIRING

Mar Vista might have gotten a charge from new coach Chuck Coover and for being able to practice on its own field after the inaugural campaign on a rocky Brown Field Airport layout, but that emotion probably was dampened by the inconvenience of post-practice.

The Mariners, destined to finish 0-9, gathered their sweaty bodies and bused to nearby Nestor and Southwest Junior High, where showers were availalble.

TRUE GRID

Joe DiTomaso was a starting lineman for coach John Finan at St. Augustine and later coached the Saints  to a 12-0 record and the San Diego Section championship in 1970…Vista, 4-5-1 in ’51, took a step up from the Southern Prep to the Metropolitan and was 5-4…plans to open the new Helix Stadium during the season did not materialize, as the facility was not enclosed…the Highlanders played home games at Aztec Bowl…Grossmont’s Ed Reed and Bob Baker were diagnosed with polio but recovered…after a 19-0 loss to Inglewood, San Diego had stunningly not scored a point in 63 minutes of play, including the carnival in which the Cavemen were tied by La Jolla, 0-0…they broke the drought 2:40 into the first quarter when Ardell Finley ran 65 yards for a score in a 13-6 win over L.A Roosevelt…Art Luppino had 96 yards rushing to Ardell Finley’s 80 but Finley scored three touchdowns in the Hillers’ 23-6 victory over La Jolla…the Metropolitan League was 10-3-2 in intersectionals… Karl Grassl caught 7 passes for 4 touchdowns in Grossmont’s 34-25 loss at Phoenix St. Mary’s in the Foothillers’ final game….

 

 

Rest not only can cure what ails you but can help in the rankings.

Oceanside and Mission Hills, idle last week as they ramped up for this week’s battle of the Highway 78 corridor, each was elevated in Cal-Hi Sports’ weekly State Top 25.

Oceanside moved from eighth to seventh and was positioned at fifth in the South Division I ratings.

Mission Hills went from 13^th to 11^th.  Cathedral and Helix more or less enjoyed “On the Bubble” status.

El Capitan ranks first in DIII South and Christian is first in DIV South.

Cal-Hi’s First 20:

	Team	Record	Section	Last
1.	Bellflower St. John Bosco	4-1	Southern	1
2.	Concord De La Salle	6-0	North Coast	2
3.	Santa Ana Mater Dei	5-0	Southern	3
4.	Folsom	6-0	Sac-Joaquin	4
5.	Mission Hills Alemany	5-0	Southern	5
6.	Corona Centennial	3-2	Southern	7
7.	Oceanside	5-0	San Diego	8
8.	Anaheim Servite	3-2	Southern	10
9.	San Juan Capistrano JSerra	5-0	Southern	11
10.	Long Beach Poly	5-1	Southern	12
11.	Mission Hills	4-1	San Diego	13
12.	Orange Lutheran	4-1	Southern	14
13.	Sacramento Grant	5-0	Sac-Joaquin	15
14.	West Hills Chaminade	5-1	Southern	6
15.	Fresno Edison	5-0	Central	18
16.	Bakersfield	4-1	Central	20
17.	Santa Margarita	4-1	Southern	17
18.	Westlake	3-2	Southern	16
19.	Pleasanton Foothill	5-0	North Coast	21
20.	Encino Crespi	5-0	Southern	23

Although this week’s matchup is nonleague, the game has season-long implications.

The Avocado West Pirates are hoping for high seeds in San Diego Section and Southern California postseason events.

A loss will severely damage Oceanside’s chances and a loss will essentially end any postseason hope beyond the San Diego Section for Mission Hills.

Clear the Decks.

With a nod to the beginning of league play next week, seven of the top 10 teams in the weekly UT-San Diego poll this week took the night off.

Through Week 6, ten teams still are undefeated, compared with seven a year ago.

The 2014 unbeatens:

Team	Record	Best*	Year
Borrego Springs	6-0	5-0	2006
El Capitan	6-0	11-0	2006
Calexico Vincent Memorial	5-0	9-0	2002
Christian	5-0	9-0	2008
Oceanside	5-0	14-0	2009
Orange Glen	6-0	12-0	1988
San Marcos	5-0	9-0	1966
Steele Canyon	5-0	3-0	2010
Sweetwater	5-0	13-0	1983
The Bishop’s	5-0	14-0	2010

*Wins in a row from start of season.

Borrego Springs’ forfeit victory over Warner this week assured the Rams of their 11^th winning season in the 48 since they teed it up for the first time in 1967.

A 6-0 record represents very rarefied air. Borrego’s overall record is 125-249-8, a .338 “winning” percentage.

QUICK KICKS

Cathedral got past tough Eastlake, 17-14, on Tim Semenza’s 37-yard field goal as the game ended…Mission Bay scored than half of its 62 points with a 34-point first quarter against San Diego…Madison was ahead of Mira Mesa, 42-0, after 17 seconds had elapsed in the second quarter…El Camino’s fourth straight victory, 38-6 over San Pasqual, is the Wildcats’ most in a row since a Herb Meyer club won five straight in 2001…Orange Glen clinched its first winning season since 1988 with its 41-20 victory over El Cajon Valley…

Coach Ron Burner has El Capitan on a fast track, but will its wheels hold up?

The Vaqueros have started 5-0 twice, in 1967 under  Joe Till, and in 1973, with Joe Rockhold.

They can become 5-0 this week, but a 5-0 visitor, Granite Hills, stands in the way, as do Steele Canyon (5-0), Helix (4-1), Grossmont and Mount Miguel (each 3-2)  and Valhalla (2-2), upcoming opponents with a combined record of 22-7.

El Capitan has  gotten an endorsement from Cal-Hi Sports, which elevated the Burners to No. 1 in Southern California Division III, a lofty position helped in part last week by Cathedral’s 42-28 win over then-undefeated Newbury Park.

Christian (5-0) is No. 1 in Southern California D-IV, but hasn’t cracked the San Diego Top 10. The Vaqueros are fifth in the local voting,

Burner, who for many years operated a sheet-metal business in nearby Santee, has guided the Lakeside entry to a 61-43-2 record since 2005.

Oceanside and Mission Hills, which will meet Oct. 10 at Oceanside, each has a bye this week.

Oceanside  moved  to No. 8 in Cal-Hi Sports‘ Top 25 and Mission Hills is 13th. Comebacking Cathedral (4-1) now has “On the Bubble” status, an upgrade from the abyss of its 55-10, opening-game loss to Folsom.

Helix and St. Augustine (2-3) also are on the bubble.

The UT-San Diego poll after games of Week 5:

#	Team (1st place votes)	W-L	Points*	Previous
1	Oceanside (19)	5-0	190	1
2	Mission Hills	4-1	159	2
3	Cathedral	4-1	154	3
4	Helix	4-1	137	4
5	El Capitan	4-0	128	5
6	San Marcos	5-0	61	8
7	La Costa Canyon	4-1	60	9
7	Eastlake	3-2	60	10
9	Steele Canyon	5-0	35	NR
10	Ramona	4-1	33	6

*Awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
NR: not ranked.
Others receiving votes:  Granite Hills, 14; Sweetwater, 12;  Christian, 9; St. Augustine, 4; Point Loma, 3; Carlsbad, 1.

Nineteen sportswriters, sportscasters, and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County vote in the weekly poll:
John Maffei, Kirk Kenney, UT-San Diego;
Terry Monahan, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff (UT-San Diego correspondents);
Bill Dickens (eastcountysports.com);
Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions);
John Kentera, Ted Mendenhall, Bob Petinak, (The Mighty 1090);
Jerry Schniepp (CIF San Diego Section);
Rick Willis, Brandon Stone, (KUSI-TV);
Bruce Ward (San Diego City Schools);
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com);
Steve (Biff) Dolan, Rick (Red) Hill (Mountain Country 107.9 FM);
Bodie DeSilva (Sandiegopreps.com);
Drew Smith (sdcoastalsports.com).

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Mission Hills at Oceanside this week brings together the top  teams in the UT-San Diego poll and coaches with a combined 358 victories in their careers.

Oceanside’s John Carroll (239), generally acclaimed major domo of San Diego Section mentors, holds a 7-2-1 record against Chris Hauser (119), but the Mission Hills coach is 2-1-1 against Carroll since 2011, including decisive, 30-6 and 36-14 victories in 2013, the latter earning the Grizzlies their first San Diego Section championship.

Each team harbors hopes of winning berths in the state playoffs.  They won’t be considered for the oft-confusing slate of the Open Division but the winner should merit strong consideration for Division I, as long as it continues to post blowout victories.

Mission Hills earned a D-I opportunity in 2013 but bowed to eventual champion Bakersfield, 35-28. The 4-1 Grizzlies have lost only to Utah’s Provo Timpview, which is 6-0 and had a full game under its belt when San Marcos school opened the season against the Thunderbirds.

Oceanside (5-0) did its due diligence with a schedule more difficult than the Grizzlies’, defeating St. Augustine and intersectional opponents Mission Viejo and Temecula Chaparral, but those three teams have a combined record of only 7-10.

With strong media backing from John Maffei of UT-San Diego, it’s easy to give an edge to Oceanside.  We’ll do that, but the edge is very thin.

Both teams should be ready, each chilling with byes last week.  Meanwhile, focus is shifting to Cathedral as it continues to rehabilitate.

The third-ranked Dons ventured 165 miles north to top undefeated Newbury Park, 42-28, two weeks ago and knocked off Eastlake, 17-14, for its fifth straight win last week.

Results of  voting after Week 6:

#	Team (1st place votes)	W-L	Points*	Previous
1	Oceanside (19)	5-0	190	1
2	Mission Hills	4-1	160	2
3	Cathedral	5-1	150	3
4	Helix	4-1	139	4
5	El Capitan	5-0	113	5
6	San Marcos	5-0	72	6
7	La Costa Canyon	4-1	61	7T
8	Steele Canyon	5-0	54	9
9	Ramona	4-1	43	10
10	Eastlake	3-3	27	7T

*Awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

Others receiving votes:   Sweetwater, 16;  Christian, 11; El Camino, 3; Granite Hills, 2; St. Augustine,  Point Loma, The Bishop’s,  Carlsbad, 1 each.

Nineteen sportswriters, sportscasters, and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County vote in the weekly poll: John Maffei, Kirk Kenney, UT-San Diego; Terry Monahan, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff (UT-San Diego correspondents); Bill Dickens (eastcountysports.com); Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions); John Kentera, Ted Mendenhall, Bob Petinak, (The Mighty 1090); Jerry Schniepp (CIF San Diego Section); Rick Willis, Brandon Stone, (KUSI-TV); Bruce Ward (San Diego City Schools); Rick Smith (partletonsports.com); Steve (Biff) Dolan, Rick (Red) Hill (Mountain Country 107.9 FM); Bodie DeSilva (Sandiegopreps.com); Drew Smith (sdcoastalsports.com).

As the first woman coach in San Diego County history and believed to be the second in California, Knengi Martin’s advice was simple.

“Whatever stereotypes might be out there, break through them and follow your passion,” she said.

The jovial Martin, who replaced Doug Packwood at San Diego High, spoke with Don Norcross of UT-San Diego:

“My real hope is it allows other people to pursue theiur dreams,” said Knengi,” pronounced with a silent K.

Martin, 30,  has played women’s semifinal football for a decade and was serving as San Diego’s junior varsity coach.

Although the result of her first game was a 44-0 loss to University City, Martin said, “They played their hardest.  They gave it their best shot.  I’d go to war with these guys any day.”

According to Mark Tennis of Cal-Hi Sports, one other lady has been a head coach in the state.

Pauline Foster coached Corning High, located in Tehama County, about 170 miles Northeast of San Francisco, for two games in 1942.

Pauline Rugh coached Salinas, Pennsylvania, in 1943.  Natalie Randolph was 16-26 in four seasons at McKinley High in Washington, D.C., from 2010-13, and Amy Arnold has headed the 8-Man program at Arete Prep in Gilbert, Arizona, since 2008.

Britney Garner was appointed head coach at Pickett County in Byrdsville, Tennessee, in the middle of this season, although published reports question whether she actually coaches or serves in an administrative capacity.

MILESTONES

Oceanside’s 42-10 victory over Rancho Buena Vista was the 239th in John Carroll’s 26-season career.  He’ll tie Bennie Edens of Point Loma for second all time with his next win, which doesn’t figure to come easily.

The Pirates meet Mission Hills next and the Grizzlies’ Chris Hauser will be seeking his 120th victory, a total Christian’s Matt Oliver attained this week in a 49-10 victory over Mission Bay.

Oliver is the 30th in  County history to reach 120, tying the retired John McFadden of Eastlake.

Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto is at 198 victories.  He could become the eighth to reach 200.

QUICK KICKS

Steele Canyon is 5-0 for the first time in the school’s 12-year history, after a 3-8 in 2013…David Savage rushed for 159 yards in Imperial’s 21-14 victory over Chula Vista…Savage had one carry for minus 3 yards combined in the season’s first four games….