Hoover principal Floyd Johnson was thinking of making a change when he met with football coach Bob Kirchhoff before the 1954-55 school year.

Johnson was dissatisfied.  A 1953 season that began with much promise was sullied by a 4-4-1 finish that included a 39-0 loss to rival San Diego High.

Johnson would retire after the 1955-56 school year. He had been at Hoover since it opened in 1930 and had guided the East San Diego school as it  became one of the most respected academically and athletically in Southern California.

The Cardinals had their share of victories against San Diego High in all sports but football.

After an 0-8 beginning in 1948, Kirchhoff had built a strong program, including a 28-13 win over the Cavers in 1949.  Five successive losses followed.

“Floyd Johnson hated San Diego with a passion,” said the late coach Walt Harvey, who remembered Johnson as a powerful community figure who would sit on the players’ bench during basketball games and walk the sidelines at football games.

Johnson, possibly thinking of retirement in a couple years and that this marked his school team’s best chance to beat the Hillers, posed a direct question to Kirchhoff:  “Are we going to beat San Diego this year?”

Kirchhoff, now aware of a tenuous position, was confident, answering in the affirmative that yes, this was going to be the Cardinals’ year.

Hoover was returning more than 30 players and a letterman at every position.

Johnson would give Kirchhoff one more chance.  “If we don’t win it, I’m going to make a change,” Kirchhoff years later said the principal promised.

Rumors had circulated that Kirchhoff’s line coach, Herbert (Hub) Foote, a 1941 Hoover graduate, would be the next coach of the Cardinals.  Foote thought he had a promise from Johnson.

But events that began a couple years before would work against Foote…and Kirchhoff.

Stan Williamson, the coach of San Diego’s Naval Air team, had completed a military deployment and was returning to his pre-Korean War position as head football coach at Santa Barbara State.

The Gauchos’ football and baseball  coach since 1950 was Roy Engle, who would be out of a job.

Engle was a Johnson favorite.

Engle scored the Cardinals’ first touchdown against San Diego and was the pivotal figure in their first victory over the city rivals when Engle led a fourth-quarter touchdown drive to a 7-6 victory over the Hilltoppers in 1935.

After graduating from USC, Engle returned to Hoover.  He was the 24-year-old head coach of the 1942 baseball team that was led by future major leaguer Ray Boone and won the CIF Southern Section championship.

Engle now returned to Hoover a second time in 1953, appointed by Johnson to teach science and biology.  Kirchhoff’s coaching assistants were Bill Matthie, Don Henson, and Hub Foote.

It was with this backdrop that Hoover and Kirchhoff  embarked on the 1954 campaign.

CARDINALS OFF FAST

Hoover passed its first test, a big one.  The Cardinals fell behind, 13-0, at Santa Monica, then rolled to a 34-20 victory over passing ace Lee Grosscup and dealing the two-time defending CIF champion Vikings their first loss since 1952.

Point Loma, middle of the road but tough, also took a 13-0 lead, but  John Adams, the 6-foot, 2-inch, 215-pound fullback who was the prized recruit in Southern California prep circles, and quarterback Gene Leek brought the Cardinals back to a 20-13 victory.

Adams, a member of Hoover’s City Prep League-champion 880-yard relay team could cover 100 yards in 10 seconds.

Adams bruised  La Jolla for three touchdowns and 160 yards rushing and ran his Southern California-leading scoring total to 101 points in a 27-0 victory.

(Adams’s La Jolla thrusts were preceded by  equally explosive efforts in routs of Kearny, 45-0, St. Augustine, 66-0, and Pasadena Muir, 39-14).

—Hoover now was 7-0 and its destiny, and ultimately Kirchhoff’s future as football coach, would be decided against the 6-1 San Diego Cavemen.

—A crowd of more than 15,000, largest in the series since 1949, turned out on a damp evening and braced for the most compelling battle in the history of the rivalry.

(Although contested in Balboa Stadium, next to the San Diego campus, the game was the feature of Hoover’s Homecoming Day).

—The Cardinals and Cavers sparred through the first half, Hoover stopping San Diego on its seven-yard line in the second quarter, while Hoover did not strike beyond San Diego’s 37 until the third quarter, when the game changed.

—On third down from the Cardinals’ 29 halfback Dan Bonetti raced to the 35, then lateraled to big Adams, who took off down the sideline.

—San Diego’s Leonard Kary made what Jim Trinkle of The San Diego Union described as a “desperate, diving tackle” on the 2-yard line, bringing down Adams after a 63-yard run.

—San Diego linebacker Tom Collins stopped Adams at the one-foot line on the next play. .

HOLDING AND NO PASS INTERFERENCE

—Trinkle wrote:  “The next two maneuvers—in the mind of Hoover coach Bob Kirchhoff—will live in infamy in Hockerville.”

—Denny Hill crossed the goal line at right tackle but Hoover was penalized for holding, pushing Hoover back to the 15.

Kirchhoff contended the penalty was called after Hill scored and should have been assessed on the subsequent kickoff, which meant that Kirchhoff was misreading the rule book or the newspaper report was inaccurate.

You can’t have a holding penalty on  a scoring play, count the touchdown, and then assess the penalty.

—The next play was a pass into the end zone from Leek to John Vanderlinde.  “If there was interference, it wasn’t detected by the officials,” wrote Trinkle.

—A photograph of the play was in the column next to Trinkle’s report on the front page of the Union‘s sports section.  The right arm of San Diego’s Art Powell is clearly inside the left arm of Vanderlinde’s.

—The official on the play was Jack Garner, a friend of Kirchhoff’s who worked with Kirchhoff and former Hoover star George Stephenson as part of the chain crew at Chargers games for more than 20 years.

—“He told me, ‘How could I make a call in that situation against San Diego  High?’” Kirchhoff said years later.

—Joe Banks pushed over from the one-yard line with 6:16 to play for the game’s only score, set up by Pete Gumina’s 25-yard completion to Powell.

—Hoover moved to the Cavers’ 12 late in the game, but tackle Don Hiler sacked Leek for a 16-yard loss and and the Cardinals were done.

—The favored Redbirds were beaten on the scoreboard and in the statistics.  San Diego led, 9-5, in first downs and in total yardage, 238-127. Adams had 103 yards in 16 carries.

Willie West led San Diego with 108 yards in 13 carries.  Leek was 0 for 7 passing and Gumina completed 5 of 9 for 87 yards.

—Hoover beat neophyte Lincoln, 14-7, in its final regular-season game the next week.

The Cardinals’ somnambulant performance was partly influenced by Kirchhoff’s  playing the game under wraps, with scouts from potential CIF Southern Section playoff opponents on hand.

—Leading, 12-0, at halftime, Hoover dropped a 20-18 decision to Compton in a first-round playoff  shrouded in fog at Hoover the next week.

—The fog was a sadly prophetic omen for Kirchhoff, who had coached his last game and would be replaced by Engle.

CONFIRMATION

News of Kirchhoff’s being out didn’t surface until May of the following spring.  Evening Tribune reporter Jerry Brucker contacted Johnson after rumors began to circulate.

Johnson and Kirchhoff had met the previous week, according to the principal, and Johnson told Brucker, “It wasn’t a complete surprise.  He told me at the start of the season he thought he might coach just one year.  He had a good team coming up and wanted to see them through, then would probably hang ’em up.”

Kirchhoff, at times volatile in practice and in game situations, allowed only that the timing  was not to his advantage. “I had a pretty good job offered me about three months ago.  Guess it’s too late now.”

Kirchhoff could have stayed at Hoover, he said.  “I wouldn’t do any coaching.  I’d be a classroom instructor.”

Johnson continued to be vague when asked by Brucker about a new coach.  “We’ll be looking around, I guess,” said Johnson. “We have no definite plans for the non-uniform spring training.  It might be someone on our physical education staff now or someone from the outside.”

Bob Kirchhoff coached again, as head coach at Brown Military Academy in 1957, and accepted the position of track coach after Clairemont High opened its doors in 1958, Clairemont stunned favored Point Loma and the Chieftains won the Western League dual meet championship in 1959.

The man appointed by Johnson to replace Kirchhoff was Roy Engle.

John Carroll got some good news the day before his Oceanside Pirates were to meet Carlsbad for what would be the title-deciding game in the Avocado League.

Coach John McFadden of Eastlake called Carroll and told the Oceanside mentor that Eastlake had used an ineligible player in the 23-19, season-opening victory over the Pirates.

Instead of an 8-1 record, the Pirates were 9-0 the next night after they defeated Carlsbad, 17-7, in the annual battle of North County titans at Swede Krcmar Field, named after the  Lancers’ first coach.

Carlsbad was ranked No. 1 in the County and had come into the game with an 8-0 record.

The forfeit “is a win on paper, but that’s all it is,” said Carroll, downplaying the Dreaded Administrative Glitch regarding Eastlake eligibility protocol. Carroll had his eye on  another target, a seventh trip to the big stadium in Mission Valley.

OCEANSIDE  ON MOVE

Oceanside clinched the league championship the next week with a 32-0 triumph over cross-town rival El Camino.

The Pirates’ momentum was snowballing.

Oceanside rolled through the playoffs, defeating Steele Canyon, 34-10, Castle Park, 52-14, and Helix, 27-10 for the Division II championship.

NORTH COUNTY CLOUT

Oceanside, Torrey Pines, Vista, Valley Center, and Santa Fe Christian were champions in Divisions I, II, III, and IV, a four-of-a-kind winner by teams located  North of the Ted Williams Parkway, also known as State Highway 56.

Torrey Pines, which shared its crown with Vista, generally was recognized as part of this group because of its league affiliation, but was located within the San Diego City Limits.

The combined record of the four squads was 46-4-4.

Oceanside was 13-0 with a fifth championship in John Carroll’s 16 years, all coming in the last nine seasons.

Vista (10-2-1) and Torrey Pines (10-2-1) played to a 14-14 tie for the D-I title, and Valley Center (11-0-2) outlasted Brawley 39-33 for the D-III championship.

SHIFTING SANDS

Three of eight playoff semifinals venues were changed days before the games.

Monte Vista (11-0), the top-seeded D-III squad, was to meet Valley Center (9-0-2) at Escondido High.  The Monarchs appealed for a more centrally located site and were granted a switch to Serra High.

Advantage, Monarchs?  Hardly. Valley Center, forced to travel an additional 25 miles from its location fairly close to Escondido, took it out on Monte Vista and surprised the Monarchs 24-22.

Helix (9-2) and Grossmont (8-3), blood enemies for more than 50 years, agreed that they didn’t want to play at Serra, Grossmont going even further by acquiescing to meet the Highlanders on Helix’s turf, which for years also was Grossmont’s.

COACHES AGREE

In this case, both coaches, David Napoleon of Grossmont and Donnie Van Hook of Helix, preferred to play on the Highlanders’ artificial layout after playing all of their home games on an ersatz surface.

Helix won 23-17 in overtime to advance to the D-II finals for the fifth season in a row.

The playing field was not affected by rainy weather which persisted throughout the game, although Helix missed a 20-yard field goal attempt as regulation play ended. The Highlanders stopped Grossmont on the first possession of the overtime, then scored for the victory.

RIDE SHORTENED FOR BLYTHE

Palo Verde Valley of Blythe (9-1), sitting in the furthest reach of the San Diego Section, got a break when its matchup with Horizon (6-4), was moved from La Jolla to El Centro Central.

The trip ticket for the Riverside County team was downsized from about 225 miles to slightly more than 100 and Horizon’s was lengthened from about 10 miles to 120.

Coach George Dagnino’s squad prevailed over the Panthers 40-27, thus guaranteeing at least one 200-miles-plus junket for the Yellowjackets, to Qualcomm Stadium, where they were beaten by Santa Fe Christian in the D-IV finals, 20-12.

BLYTHE, BRAWLEY BREAKTHROUGH

With Palo Verde Valley and Brawley, the Imperial Valley League, which joined the San Diego Section in 2000, was represented in the Qualcomm Stadium championships for the first time.

Palo Verde Valley, Brawley, Calexico, El Centro Southwest, and El Centro Central followed Holtville, Calipatria, Imperial, and Winterhaven San Pasqual, which took on the San Diego designation in 1980.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

St. Augustine and University of San Diego High…Uni or University to most locals…were playing for the last time.

Not exactly, but Uni was leaving its campus near the University of San Diego and moving to an opulent, new facility in Carmel Valley and beginning in 2005 would be known as Cathedral Catholic.

Marketing-oriented officials at both schools were calling it “The Final Showdown” and the 9,759 sold tickets guaranteed an overflow crowd at Southwestern College.

The Dons shot down their parochial school rivals 45-34. Junior running back Demetrius Sumler, who rushed for 224 yards in 30 carries and scored three touchdowns, summed up his feelings to Steve Brand of The San Diego Union:

“I expect Cathedral versus St. Augustine to be just as intense,” said Sumler.  “I try to just do my job, whatever it takes, and not think about who we’re playing.

“But this was St. Augustine, so it means a little more.”

DÉJÀ VU

Oceanside,  gradually moving up after losing its opener (before Eastlake forfeited to the Pirates) and its preseason No. 1 ranking, won the battle of State Highway 78 over top-ranked Vista,17-15, on Sergio Valdez’ 38-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining.

Valdez had toed the winning kick in the Pirates’ 27-24 win over their old North County rival in 2003.

“I would have preferred that we would have blown them out,” said Valdez.

LONGHORNS HAVE THEIR CORRAL

“We have realized our dream,” said Rancho Buena Vista athletic director Dave Whiddon as he surveyed a crowd of 5,000, which helped dedicate the Longhorns’ new, campus stadium.

RBV teams’ home games had been at neighboring Vista since the school opened in 1986.

The visiting Colton Yellowjackets spoiled the inaugural, 30-14.

TORRES REGROUP

Coach Jeff Hutzler’s La Jolla Country Day squad shook off a discouraging, opening-game loss to Canoga Park Faith Baptist to win 11 in a row and earn the San Diego Section 8-Man championship.

The Torreys and Faith were tied at the end of three quarters but a 24-point fourth quarter gave the Contenders, the top-ranked Southern Section squad, a 38-14 victory.

PARKER RALLIES

A Johnny Unitas-Joe Montana replay?

Francis Parker quarterback Matt Morrison connected on five passes in a row on a 68-yard drive that ended with Ian Yoder’s 21-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining, lifting the Lancers to a 10-7 win over Calexico Vincent Memorial.

HAUSER MOVES TO MISSION HILLS

Chris Hauser, 34-14 in five seasons and with a 2001 championship at Vista, moved to the new Mission Hills High in San Marcos. Without a senior class, the Grizzlies started 10 sophomores in their first game, a 21-0 loss to Madison, and began a 1-10 learning experience.

As a welcome (?) to Hauser, the field sprinklers went off during the game at Madison.  District officials finally figured out a way to shut off the water.

SUCCESS FOLLOWS OTAY’S FIRST COACH

Gene Alim, 98-23-3 in twelve seasons and with two championships at Sweetwater, returned to the sidelines for the first time since 1994 and led the first-year Otay Ranch Mustangs to a 8-2 record.

GIVE ME AN H…GIVE ME A T…

H-Town Christian opened in Paradise Hills, coached by Frank Henry, former Patrick Henry athlete with coaching experience at Utah, San Diego City College, Laguna Beach, and Horizon.

The Lions would be on the football scene for three seasons.  Henry, who also served as principal, was succeeded by Ray Toilolo in 2005 and the campus moved to the Encanto community, competing in the Pacific League.

BURKE CONCISE

Discussing Torrey Pines’ victory over Castle Park, coach Ed Burke (“Defense won it for us”) kept his counsel regarding  play of the Falcons’  special teams after Torrey trailed 4-0 at halftime—yes, 4-0—before overcoming Castle Park 24-4.

It was one of the more unusual coaching nights for Burke, who won 243 games in a legendary career at King City, Taft Union, Torrey Pines, and San Dieguito.

The Falcons’ kicking teams were in for some additional work and pointed observations the next week from the veteran mentor, who looked on peevishly when a low snap and botched punt resulted in a second quarter safety that put the Trojans in front 2-0.

Burke’s jaw dropped a few minutes later after a high snap botched another punt and stunningly resulted in two more points for Castle Park.

TIGERS’ MERRY-GO-ROUND

Morse released head coach Mike Moran in July, eight months after the Tigers finished the 2003 campaign with a 1-9 record. Moran’s replacement, Stewart Roper, was replaced after 13 days because of problems with his job application.

Robert Savage was named interim coach, then was joined by co-coach Tony Valencia, a school district veteran of almost 40 years who had been hired as Morse’s athletic director.

Savage was 1-1 as the sole head coach but was not a credentialed teacher.  Valencia’s addition would allow a head coach to be available to students during the academic day.

Morse topped Kearny 38-0 in the first game with co-head coaches and posted a 6-5 record overall and earned their first playoff berth since 1998.

FORFEITS OKAY WITH COACHES

Hilltop, 1-9 with three forfeits for using an ineligible player, was in the D-II playoffs.  El Cajon Valley, 4-6 and “clean”, was out.

Coaches doing the seeding correctly  followed existing criteria and were essentially unconcerned about forfeits, according to Bill McLaughlin, San Diego Section assistant commissioner.

“Letting a team that is one and nine with three forfeits into the playoffs is sending the wrong message,” said El Cajon Valley coach Joe Hubarth.

Hubarth said he didn’t address the Hilltop situation when he made his team’s presentation to the coaches’ committee because he didn’t think Hilltop was in the conversation.

“It was shocking,” said Hubarth.  “If they were 6-4 and dropped to 4-6, sure, but not 1-9.”

San Pasqual sent the Lancers home early, winning the first-round game, 31-7.

TRUE GRID

Quarterback  Jason Forcier, who resided in Carlsbad and was an Amtrak veteran, commuting to  Mater Dei in Santa Ana, transferred to St. Augustine…Forcier passed for 35 touchdowns and 2,641 yards in a 7-5 season…Oceanside defeated Marian Catholic, 34-12, in Week 2, ending the Crusaders’ 27-game winning streak,  third longest in San Diego Section history…Jack Neumeier, who coached John Elway at Granada Hills High and, after retirement, moved to Fallbrook and helped turn the Warriors into an offensive powerhouse in the 1980s, passed away at age 86 at his home in Camarillo…eight different Helix running backs rushed for a combined 403 yards as new coach Donnie Van Hook celebrated his first game with a 47-0 victory over Patrick Henry…not to be outdone, St. Augustine rushed for 419 yards in a 33-13 victory over El Capitan in its opener…Hoover rushed for 477 yards in a 59-0 win over Army-Navy…Bonita Vista’s well-traveled Barons  scored the final 14 points to win at  Linganore of Frederick, Maryland,  27-21…the Barons played La Jolla in Havana, Cuba, in  2003…Oscar Fernandez kicked a 19-yard field goal as time expired and Clairemont surprised Mission Bay, 13-10…with five seconds remaining Chris Schearing of Madison kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Warhawks a neighborhood bragging rights win over Clairemont, 23-20…Silver Strand rivals Coronado and Mar Vista battled for the Adrian Taufausau Trophy, named after the Coronado quarterback who died in 1996…the Islanders honored their fallen graduate with a 47-7 victory…Serra lost its first four games and was outscored 206-52, then won five in a row and made the playoffs, finishing 5-6…La Jolla Country Day’s first-ever night game at home resulted in a 62-20, eight-man victory over Tri-City Christian…the Torreys won  the eight-man title, defeating San Pasqual Academy, 53-12….

Pat Shea, a starting right guard on the San Diego Chargers’ 1963 American Football League championship team and a legendary Mission Bay High athlete,  passed away in Encinitas recently at age 73.

Shea won the 1958 CIF Southern Section heavyweight wrestling championship for the Buccaneers and was  the ’58 City Prep League track championships shot put winner with a best of 55 feet, 9 1/4 inches.  At that time Shea’s mark was the third best ever by a city schools athlete.

Shea played in the annual Breitbard Foundation College Prep All-Star game featuring players from San Diego County versus Los Angeles City and was a lineman at San Diego Junior College  before moving on to the University of Southern California.

Shea recalled his days with the Chargers and at Mission Bay in classmate Bill Swank’s acclaimed book about the beach-area school, “Gold Leather Helmets – Black Hightop Shoes”:

“When I think about coaches at Mission Bay, I think about coach (Chuck) Coover,” said Shea.  “I loved him.  He was quiet, but he also paid special attention to me.  He saw something in me.”

Shea remembered Don Donnelly as his favorite classroom teacher and the difficulty of matching wrestling holds with coach Walt Romanowski.

“Romanowski tied me up,” Shea told Swank.  “I outweighed him and I didn’t know how he did it.  Romanowski and Coover were guys you wanted to please.”

Shea was known as a rough and tumble figure in his younger days in Pacific Beach and the coastal communities.  He was the second Shea to attend the new Mission Bay High, which opened in 1953.

Pat followed Bob Shea, who  was a starter on early Buccaneers basketball teams in 1954-55 and ’55-56 and went on to a career as a life guard and administrator.

Pat Shea played at San Diego Junior College for two seasons and two years at the University of Southern California.  He made the Chargers as a rookie free agent in 1962 and concluded his career with the Chargers in 1965.

Chargers line coach Joe Madro was particularly fond of Shea.  The taskmaster Madro usually addressed Pat by Shea’s middle name, Beardsley, and appreciated Shea’s toughness and competitive spirit.

Shea said that he appreciated Chargers coach Sid Gillman but did not like general manager Gillman.  “I liked him,” Shea remembered, “until I had to negotiate a contract with him.”

 

It was a San Diego Section football season, at once heart-warming and heart-breaking.

—Two teams played a game in Havana, Cuba.

—The “Cedar” fire, which began in the Laguna Mountains and threatened  to burn to the ocean, destroyed hundreds of homes and killed 15 persons.

—Legendary coach Herb Meyer of El Camino retired after 45 seasons and 339 victories.

—Lincoln High closed.

—Crawford, 0-9 as recently as 2001, went 11-0 before bowing in the playoff semifinals.

—A monster program at Marian Catholic dominated.

SPANNING THE GLOBE

San Diego Section teams were all over the hemisphere in September.

Bonita Vista and La Jolla opened the season in Havana, in the first American football game played on the Communist island since 1958.

Horizon was at Maui Kahnumanu, Francis Parker at Ketchikan, Alaska, and La Jolla Country Day at Indian Springs, Nevada.

Probably the most unusual game ever involving a San Diego-area team took place in the Caribbean nation of Cuba.

Nicole Vargas provided superb coverage of the event for The San Diego Union, parts of which follow:

The game between the Barons and Vikings was the first organized American football contest since a semi-professional league game featuring teams of Cubans and Americans had played 45 years before.

Since 1963 American travel to Cuba was restricted by a U.S. embargo. Trips had been  allowed if they related to certain criteria, including athletic competition, educational exchange, and family visits.

The La Jolla-Bonita Vista excursion was approved by the U.S. Treasury Department and the respective school districts.

EASY CALL

After studying options for opening  the 2003 season out of the city and hearing of a educational exchange from a parent who had recently been in Cuba, Bonita Vista assistant coach Dan Hodges went to head coach Carl Parrick.

The Barons had intriguing choices, play a game in Washington, D.C., or Cuba.

It was no contest.

“The kids could go to Washington whenever they want, and many of them have,” Parrick told Vargas.  “But when can they go to Cuba?  This is a great education, an experience they’ll never forget.”

That was a pretty easy one,” said La Jolla coach Dave Ponsford.

Ponsford, who also teaches social sciences, said, “We could play a football game here, but this is a great chance for players to see history changing before their eyes, because we don‘t know how long Cuba will be like this.”

COACH ALMOST HOME GROWN

 Parrick had been the Cuba.  He lived there when he was in sixth and seventh grade.

“I didn’t want to leave,” Parrick said.  “But when you’re in seventh grade you don’t realize the importance of some things.”

Parrick’s father, a Navy lieutenant, was stationed in Havana and the family lived in a suburb of the city until they were forced to exit after Parrick’s father called home one evening in March, 1959, and told his wife to pack and get ready to leave, quickly.

Only two months earlier a Fidel Castro-led revolution had toppled Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.

The 13-year-old Parrick had no idea he’d ever return.

LONG DAY’S NIGHT

A total of 302 persons, including coaches, school officials, parents, and 102 players, made the trip at a cost of about $1,425 per person.

The journey began on a Saturday afternoon when buses from both schools were boarded for the ride to Tijuana Airport, where an Aero-Mexico charter was waiting for the 5 p.m., five-hour flight to Havana.

An almost  two-hour bus ride followed to Varadero, a resort town 88 miles east of Havana, where the group stayed the first few days.

It was after 2:30 a.m. when the players walked into the Las Arenas Blancas Hotel. The travelers were pleased that “El Cactus,” the hotel’s 24-hour snack bar, offered hamburgers, pizza, and hot dogs.

In between a city tour and practice a few days later the players were invited to a special lunch and were treated to pasta and pizza in Havana’s Chinatown at Los Tres Chinitos (The Three Little Chinese People).

Also included in the itinerary was a tour of Havana and its historical sites and a visit to a memorial for 265 sailors lost on the U.S.S Maine, a battleship which blew up in Havana Harbor in 1898 and set off the Spanish-American war.

A wreath-laying ceremony at the Maine was attended by players and assigned officials from the San Diego County Football Officials’ Association.  Players and refs were in their game uniforms.

Flags of Cuba and the United States hung in Havana’s 75,000-seat Pan-American Stadium, erected in 1993.  The national anthem of each country was played before kickoff.

A nine-man grounds crew, directed by Eastlake’s Jerry Fike  had repaired holes in the field left the day before by a hammer thrower from the Nigerian national  team, which was training for the All-Africa games.

THE GAME

The field measured only 90 yards (coaches agreed to shorten the gridiron because of the presence of metal boxes beyond the end line) but it still was football.

About 400 persons attended the “Havana Classic”.  Bonita Vista defeated La Jolla, 31-22, as sophomore Starr Fuimaono scored two touchdowns and gained 188 yards on 32 carries.

AFTER THE FIRE

The “Cedar” fire was the largest in California history, burning more than 280,000 acres, 2,800 buildings, and 2,232 houses.  At its peak the blaze scorched 5,000 acres an hour. Fifteen persons were killed.

The fire started north of Ramona when a panicked, overweight, novice hunter purposely shot up a flare to alert rescuers after he became separated from his partners.  The hunter was fearful of being stranded as sundown closed in.

The flare exploded into an inferno when Santa Ana winds kicked up during the night.

More than 80 students at Scripps Ranch High were among those whose houses were among the 340 destroyed by fire.   Scripps Ranch residents and almost all of Tierrasanta and other areas were evacuated.

Stories abounded of students, coaches, and parents battling to save horses and livestock in Ramona and other areas of the back country.

The baseball field at Granite Hills was turned into an impromptu corral for displaced animals.

“We had a llama on the mound, Holsteins (cows) in the outfield and horses tied to the railing by our dugout like a hitching post,” said Granite Hills coach Jim Davis.

County schools were closed for a week and 39 games were canceled because of the fire and poor air quality.   Junior varsity and freshmen contests would not be made up. San Diego Section commissioner Dennis Ackerman said that the Imperial Valley schools, which were not affected by the smoke from the fires, would be idle.

Classes at Julian High did not resume after one week, as did schools in other districts, and the Eagles were forced to cancel an additional week of games.

MEYER STEPS DOWN

The Oceanside Blade was a weekly newspaper, but the written word knows no circulation boundaries and seldom escapes all eyes.

Few people may have been aware of sports editor Irv Grossman’s column, but Herb Meyer was.

At age 23, Meyer was named head football coach at his alma-mater Oceanside in 1959.  Grossman was unimpressed, describing Meyer as a “neophyte biology teacher” in coaches’ gear.

Larry January was the Pirates’ starting fullback and remembered Meyer’s first game.

“No one, and I mean no one, came out of halftime with a rear end,” remembered January.  “The second half we played minus our buttocks.  Everyone was twenty-five pounds lighter.”

Despite a scathing indictment of the team’s play, the first of many by the fiery coach over the next four-plus decades, the Pirates dropped a 13-6 decision to a  so-so La Jolla  team.

January, in an interview with Mick McGrane of The San Diego Union, recalled his teenage disappointment.  “I thought it was going to be a repeat of the previous year, when we were two and six.”

MESSAGE RECEIVED

His players heard Meyer, loud and clear.

(No surprise that Meyer often over the years was known as “The Fumin’ Human”).

The 2 and the 6 were reversed by the end of the season.  The Pirates posted a 6-2 record and tied Mar Vista for first place with a 4-1 Avocado League record.

By 1962, Meyer had tied for another league title and qualified for the San Diego Section 1-A finals. The Pirates won the title outright in 1963.

When he stepped down, Meyer’s teams at Oceanside and El Camino had made 30 playoff appearances and were 7-4-1 in Section championship games.

Meyer’s final game was a 27-26 loss to Carlsbad.  Trailing by 14 points in the second half,  the Wildcats scored with 40 seconds  to play and went for a two-point conversion and the victory.

339 WINS, COUNT ‘EM

“We didn’t come back in the second half for a tie,” said Meyer.  “We were going for the win.” Spoken like the fierce competitor Meyer was.

Meyer’s  state-leading mark of 339 victories (against 148 losses with 15 ties) would be surpassed but the coach still ranked statewide and nationally years later.

And that writer who dissed the young coach?

Meyer invited Grossman to the football team’s season-ending dinner in 1959.  “He had to get up and eat crow,” recalled Meyer.  “I guess I knew a little bit about coaching after all.”

SHADES OF 1961

From 1994-2002, Crawford had one winning season and an overall record of 19-70-2. Losing was so repetitive there were four seasons of 2-8.

Football glory had been infrequent at Crawford after the 1961 team posted an 8-0-2 record and won the San Diego Section title under coach Walt Harvey.

Tracy McNair was named head coach in 2001 and the Colts responded with a 0-9 zinger.

“… when we lost to Coronado in the last game of the season and they hadn’t won a game either, it occurred to me we were the worst team in the Harbor League, maybe the worst team in the County,” said McNair.

Crawford was  slightly better at 2-7-1 in 2002 but raced through the Harbor League this season, outscoring five opponents 152-33, and knocking down Coronado 33-13 in the league championship game.

Crawford’s 11-0 run finally was halted by St. Augustine, which defeated the Colts 26-0 in the D-III semifinals.

SOUR TASTE

Poway ended the season with a 4-6 record, ushered out of the playoffs by Fallbrook, 49-6. The flat ending was punctuated by the revelation that several players opted to go on Thanksgiving vacations rather than competing in the playoffs.

WIN IN D-III, HANG WITH ANYONE

All 12 D-III teams in the playoffs posted winning, regular-season records, an accomplishment that eluded all of the other divisions.

Crawford’s loss to St. Augustine was more reflective of the strength of coach Jerry Ralph’s Saints, who almost scored the season’s biggest victory.

The Saints led Marian Catholic, 26-6, in the second quarter and outgained the Crusaders 398-301 before bowing 32-26 in the D-III championship.

MANY POINTS, MANY WINS

Marian Catholic running back Patrick Gates averaged a stunning, 20.4-yard rushing average during the regular season.

The Crusaders posted a 25-game winning streak, a far cry from the 1970-91 period in which they had five winning seasons.

Marian romped through the D-III playoffs, winning by scores of 32-17, 61-24, and 32-26, and averaged 55 points a game in a 13-0 season with 719 points scored.

WOULD HAVE BEEN HORNETS

According to school enrollment boundaries, Gates, quarterback Scotty Goodloe, and running back Earl Wilson would have enrolled at Lincoln, about 15 miles away. They came to Marian before Lincoln closed.

Being a private school, Marian could recruit students countywide and provide tuition for students otherwise unlikely to attend.

Principal Estelle Kassebaum said,   “People say, ‘You recruit.’  Of course we recruit.  We have a director of recruiting and so does every other Catholic school.

“Kids may come here because we have a great football team,” said Kassebaum,  “but if you don’t get the grades you don’t play.”

HORNETS ON HIATUS

Lincoln, which opened as a junior high in 1949, adding classes to eventually become a high school, with a first graduating class in 1955, was shutting down.

Construction of a new campus was to begin with students and athletes scattering to other schools in the city.

Former Lincoln students still sported green “L” lettermen’s jackets at their new schools or “Hornet for Life” T shirts under their game gear.

Lincoln principal Wendell Bass estimated there were at least 70 athletes among the 238 former Lincoln students spread throughout the city.

Only the original gymnasium and the original auditorium-cafeteria would remain when the new Lincoln opened on the old site in 2007.

The school’s address, originally 150 South 49^th Street, became 4777 Imperial Avenue.

RING THE BELL

Brawley defeated El Centro Central 59-0 in the  “Bell Game.”  The Wildcats took a 71-70-10 series lead in an Imperial Valley rivalry that started in 1921.

The 151-game series represents a U.S.-leading most games that two schools have played against each other.  The Wildcats and Spartans played each other twice every season.

Brawley, El Centro Central, and Calexico are the only schools in California that have played each other ever year since 1921.

A perpetual trophy with bell was cast in the early 1970’s to commemorate the Brawley-El Centro rivalry.

ROGAN AND FOSTER

A 74-year-old school record was broken at Coronado, when J.T. Rogan scored 31 touchdowns and 186 points in 11 games, breaking the mark of 164 points, set in 1929 in nine games by Frank Greene.

Rogan was rolling when Coronado visited Boulder City, Nevada.  The future University of San Diego running back rushed for 352 yards in 23 carries, had 50 yards in pass receptions, scored five touchdowns, and clinched a 49-42 victory with a 47-yard dash in the fourth quarter.

At the same time about 300 miles away Mission Bay’s Arian Foster, a transfer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, scored 4 touchdowns and gained 321 yards in 23 carries in a 27-19 victory over Clairemont.

Foster finished with 182 points in 11 games. The section scoring leader was Brawley’s Zay Shepard, who had 192 points in 10 games.

TORREY PINES EQUAL TO DE LA SALLE?

Who says comparative scores mean nothing?

De La Salle of Concord, the number one high school team in the U.S., scored its third straight victory over a San Diego representative, defeating La Costa Canyon, 28-7, before a capacity Mavericks stadium crowd of 5,000.

Torrey Pines, the San Diego D-I champion at 12-1, shut out La Costa Canyon, 23-0, and may have been a good test for the Spartans.  With no state playoffs, the game would not be played.

HUTZLER’S HUSTLERS

Jeff Hutzler was part of seven 1-A championship teams as an assistant or head coach in Nevada and claimed a second consecutive 8-Man title with La Jolla Country Day.

Leading the Torres to a 51-27 victory over Julian was Alex Lewis, who gained 95 yards in 5 carries, caught two passes for 50 yards, and scored two touchdowns.  Lewis made 10 tackles on defense and returned an intercepted pass 47 yards for a score.

RUBBER HITS ROAD

Oceanside returned to the Avocado League after three seasons in the Valley, in which all of the Pirates’ league opponents were located at least 20 miles away, via State 78 to east of Interstate 15.

The Pirates had been a founding member of the Avocado League with the same address since 1954 except for three seasons.  They were part of an Avocado League West incarnation from 1976-78.

BROWN RECLUSE BITES

Nick Kok, a 6-foot, 195-pound running back who averaged 144 yards a game rushing and had scored 10 touchdowns, missed Oceanside’s Avocado League title-deciding game against Fallbrook because of a chance encounter with a deadly arachnid.

Kok was bitten by a brown recluse as he slept.  Kok’s symptons became apparent during the week most schools were closed by the fires.  Coaches  were not allowed to hold practices or meet with players during that time.

“It’s strange,” said Oceanside coach John Carroll.  “Eleven guys on the other side can’t stop him, but a one-inch spider can.”

MY BROTHER, MY BROTHER!

“I wanted to play with my brothers on the same team since I was a little kid,” said Castle Park senior Danny Sanchez, 6 feet, 4 inches, 355 pounds.

The boys simply were too big to play Pop Warner football.

It’s also hard to imagine Danny as ever being little.  Or his “little” bro’s, 6-2, 320-pound junior Tommy, and 6-2, 295-pound sophomore Rocco.

The three of them anchored Castle Park’s offensive line and “they’re a line coach’s dream,” said Trojans coach Paul Van Nostrand.

QUICK KICKS

Westview High in Torrey Highlands northwest of Rancho Penasquitos, fielded its first varsity team…the Wolverines are the 82^nd San Diego Section school participating in football…Westview was 3-6 against a junior varsity schedule in 2002…The Bishop’s School had 14 available players when it dropped from 11-man to 8-man…Christian’s new coach was former NFL quarterback Jay Schroeder, who played for four teams…Midway Baptist operated out of the Southern Section’s eight-man Big Sky League… Jake Fadden of Hilltop became the first South Bay quarterback to pass for 400 yards, finishing with 401 in a 57-37 loss to Chula Vista… Crawford topped University 49-21 in the playoffs for its first win over the Dons in 18 years…Escondido was 2-1 in the playoffs and worth watching…the Cougars’ average score in the postseason was 41-34…they scored five touchdowns in a 12-minute span in the second half to overcome West Hills, 54-39…third generation footballer Ryan Durden, son of Allan, nephew of Mike, and grandson of Earnel, turned out for football at Helix… Point Loma led Marian Catholic 17-14 in the fourth quarter but bowed 32-17, marking 12 seasons and eight appearances without advancing beyond the playoff quarterfinals…Mission Bay’s Arian Foster would go undrafted out of Tennessee, sign as a rookie free agent , and become a star with the NFL Houston Texans… El Cajon Valley and Grossmont played for the Peace Pipe and the Braves may have sued for peace…Grossmont won the fifth straight in the series, 48-8…St. Augustine quarterback Jake Santos set a Section record with 8 touchdown passes in a 62-10 win over Scripps Ranch…University City’s 5-5 record represented the Centurions first nonlosing season since 1992….

Helix and La Costa Canyon are among 17 U.S. high schools to have two players selected in the 2013 National Football League draft.  Chandler, Arizona, led all high schools with three.

Boise State defensive back Jamar Taylor, in Round 2 by Miami, and Stanford tight end Levine Toilolo, in Round 4 by Atlanta, represented Helix.  Oklahoma wide receiver Kenny Stills, in Round 5 by New Orleans, and San Jose State tackle David Quessenberry, in Round 6 by Houston, represented La Costa Canyon.

A total of 236 different high schools contributed to the 254 players selected in the seven rounds of the draft, according to the NFL communications department.

Thirty-nine states as well as Australia, Canada, England, Estonia, and Ghana had players chosen.

California and Florida each had 27 players named, followed by Texas (25), Georgia (20), South Carolina (13), Ohio and Louisiana, 11 each.

South Carolina had the most players per capita, with 1 player selected for every 355,798 residents.  Louisiana, Delaware, Georgia, and Kansas followed the Gamecocks.

THREE AZTECS

Tight end Gavin Escobar of Rancho Santa Margarita was the first San Diego State player taken, in the second round by Dallas.  Defensive back Leon McFadden of Bellflower St. John Bosco went in the third  round to Cleveland, and  wide receiver Brice Butler of Norcross, Georgia, was named in Round 7 by Oakland.

A town divided.

The City Prep League, founded in 1950, and which followed a smaller, 1930-32  alignment of the same name, was history.

Hoover, St. Augustine, San Diego, Lincoln and Crawford, schools located east of U.S. 395, became part of the new Eastern League.

Point Loma, Mission Bay, La Jolla, Kearny, and Clairemont, schools west of 395, represented the new Western League.

Clairemont, the city’s 10^th high school, opened and took three lettermen from Kearny and eight from Mission Bay, schools affected by the nascent Chieftains’ enrollment boundaries.

U.S. 395, a Southern portion of which became State 163 in 1972, was a perfect geographical separator, although two schools were very close to the dividing line.

EAST IS BEAST

San Diego High, on Park Boulevard, probably was 100 yards east of 395 as the highway entered Balboa Park.  Kearny’s front doors faced Linda Vista Road, in actuality 395.

Geography also favored the various enrollment figures.

The Eastern League embraced the large schools.  They would participate in the AAA division in Southern Section playoffs.  The Western League would be part of the Southern Section’s AA playoffs in all sports except football.

Southern Section playoffs would be closed to schools in the new San Diego Section, which would begin in 1960.

CARNIVALS & CARNIVALS

Three carnivals in two leagues.

That was the menu for the opening of the season.  The sixth annual Metropolitan League frolic was a two-venue affair.

Six Northern schools, paired by Escondido-El Capitan,  El Cajon Valley-Grossmont, and Helix-Mount Miguel, met at Aztec  Bowl.

El Cajon Valley’s Merrill Eacker intercepted a pass and ran 89 yards to a touchdown against Grossmont as the gun sounded the end of the teams’ 15-minute quarter.

Eacker’s touchdown was the only score of the night and gave the Braves a newfound feeling of success.  They had lost 14 in a row in the regular season.

The Metro’s Southern schools teed up at Chula Vista.  The Mar Vista and Hilltop B teams were scoreless as were the Chula Vista and Sweetwater reserves.  Mar Vista shut out the Hilltop varsity 14-0 and Chula Vista’s varsity topped Sweetwater, 7-0.

The Metro’s dual-site event drew about  16,000, with 10,000 at Aztec Bowl and more than 6,000  at Chula Vista.

CITY JAMBOREE GOES DAYTIME

The East-West split worked well in the 21^st annual City Schools’ carnival matchups.  Teams from each league would be matched in five quarters of play.

The city carnival was played in the afternoon for the first time since 1943, when athletics was deemphasized in the early years of World War II.

The decision to schedule the carnival during the day was made by the City Schools’ Athletic Council as an experiment, according to Charles Byrne, the City Schools spokesman.

“There is no secret that the carnival has been changed from (from night time) because of the trouble experienced (with) rowdy gangs in past years,” said Byrne.

Daytime attendance would play a factor in whether the game returns to its previous format.  “This is an important financial project for the schools involved,” Byrne pointed out.

SMALL CROWD

The estimated turnout of 12,000 was the lowest since 1943, when only 8,000 turned out, but San Diego provided the usual fireworks.  Emile Wright streaked  56 and 51 yards and H.D. Murphy ran 55 yards in an eight-minute,  three-touchdown spree.

The Cavers’ 21-0 rout of Mission Bay gave the East a 34-12 victory.

East teams rushed for 349 yards in the five, 12-minute quarters, which started with Clairemont’s outpointing Crawford, 6-0, followed by Crawford’s outscoring La Jolla, 7-6, Lincoln and Point Loma deadlocking, 0-0, and Hoover’s outscoring Kearny, 6-0.

St. Augustine did not participate.  The Saints opened their season the night before at Hoover with a 31-7 victory over Brawley.

DEEMPHASIS?

Hoover coach Roy Engle spoke at the weekly Union-Tribune Quarterback Club luncheon about a disturbing trend.

“In two or three years it’s possible most if not all of our football games will be played in the afternoon,” said Engle.  “The crowds will be lighter and the whole program will be deemphasized.  That’s just my personal opinion but I know it’s shared by all of the other high school coaches in the area.”

Engle also decried the lack of junior high athletic programs that make it difficult for San Diego high schools to compete against schools from Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

EXPANSION, CONTRACTION & COACHES

The Metropolitan League greeted two new schools. El Capitan in Lakeside and Hilltop in Chula Vista joined Helix, Grossmont, Mount Miguel, El Cajon Valley, Sweetwater, Chula Vista, and Escondido.

Fallbrook, effectively unable to meet Avocado League athletic standards, moved to the smaller De Anza League in nearby Riverside County.  The Avocado, lighter in numbers, offered a more symmetrical lineup of Vista, San Dieguito, Coronado, Mar Vista, Carlsbad, and Oceanside.

The far-flung Southern Prep League numbered Ramona, Mountain Empire in Campo, Rancho del Campo, Army-Navy in Carlsbad, and San Miguel School in National City.

New coaching appointments included Birt Slater (Kearny), Chuck Coover (Mission Bay), Don Henson (Clairemont), Jim Erkenbeck (El Capitan), Bob Tomlinson (Hilltop), and Dick Washington (University).

University, in its third year, was fielding a virtual junior varsity squad.

MOUNTAIN POWERHOUSE

Ramona won its second consecutive Southern California small schools title in its fifth consecutive appearance in the playoffs and third championship game in a row.

The Bulldogs defeated first-year Rialto Eisenhower, 14-7, before about  3,500 fans at the nearby San Bernardino Orange Show Bowl.

Ramona’s 23^rd victory in a row came after coach Bob McCutcheon’s squad broke from a scoreless deadlock as Melvin White ran 14 yards and Allen Brown 4 yards for third-quarter touchdowns.

San Diegans considered Ramona a “mountain community”, although foothill would be more accurate, with its elevation of 1,430 feet in a valley below Mt. Woodson and Iron Mountain.

Expansion had not yet  come.  Population was maybe 4,000 but at least  half that many showed up when the Bulldogs eliminated Needles 20-6 in the semifinals the previous week.

NEED A LIFT?

Talk about being a good sport and nice guy…

After Tom Carter’s St. Augustine Saints had beaten Shan Deniston’s Lincoln Hornets, 21-6, in the final game for both teams, Deniston gave Carter a ride home.

No report on whether Carter’s vehicle was in the shop for repairs or that the single-minded Carter had forgotten to fill his tank and run out of gas.

HONORS

Halfback H.D. Murphy was the lone San Diegan on the Helms Athletic Foundation’s all-Southern California first team.  Tackle Oliver McKinney and guard Tom Meshack of San Diego High were on the second team and quarterback Steve Thurlow of Escondido and end Tony Gilham made the third team.

Guard Charles Jones and back Melvin White of Ramona made the all-Southern California .lower division third team.

With only two representatives, Hall of Champions executive director F.W. (Bill) Whitney and Evening Tribune writer Paul Cour, on the loaded Los Angeles-area, 21-man selecting panel, it was becoming more difficult for San Diego players to gain recognition.

EMBREY WATCHES AS RECORD BROKEN

The middle of three brothers (preceded by Toby, followed by Nick), Steve Thurlow was an outstanding, three-sport athlete at Escondido and went on to star at Stanford and for the New York Giants of the NFL.

After a 7-1 season in 1958, the Cougars came up short on defense  and finished 5-4, but Thurlow left coach Bob (Chick) Embrey with a reminder of his brilliant senior year in a final-game, 39-7 rout of Hilltop.

Thurlow rushed and passed for 286 combined yards and set a school season record with 1,506 combined yards.  Embrey held the record 15 years, having combined for 1,430 in 1944.

LEGEND-TO-BE AT OCEANSIDE

Twenty-three-year-old Herb Meyer was named head football coach at Oceanside.

Unbeknownst to Meyer, and anyone else around the mediocre Pirates program,  but the 1953 Oceanside graduate and backfield mate of C.R. Roberts was etching the first chapter of what would be Meyer’s legendary career.

The Pirates, after an opening, 13-6 loss to La Jolla, won six of their last seven games to tie for the Avocado League championship.

Forty-five seasons later Meyer would call it quits with 339 victories, ranking him in the top 20 all-time among U.S. prep coaches.  He would spend 17 seasons at Oceanside, then, in 1976, open the new El Camino High in Oceanside and stay there for 28 seasons.

MISPLACED CONFIDENCE?

Clairemont  coach Don Henson waxed optimistic about his first-year team, which inherited 11 lettermen and was anointed Western League favorite:  “We’re in a position to finish on top.  We’re not going for second place.”

Although he had questions about the quarterback position, Henson said, “I think we can fill everything else in adequately.”

The Chieftains finished 1-6-1 and didn’t win a league game.

Point Loma’s Bennie Edens said, “We’ll give a good account of ourselves in this league and I think we could give a good account of ourselves in the other league, the Eastern .”

The Pointers were 4-4 overall, and 1-2 in nonleague games against the East, including a 46-0 loss to San Diego, and were 3-1 for second in the West.

CAVERS RATED TOO HIGH?

San Diego coach Duane Maley complained that the Grid Index, a publication out of Santa Ana, tabbed the Cavers’ second in Southern California preseason rankings. Too high, said the Cavemen’s mentor.

The Top 10:  1, Riverside Poly; 2, San Diego; 3, Long Beach Poly; 4, Montebello;  5,  Monrovia; 6, Santa Monica;  7, Redlands; 8, Pasadena Muir; 9, Inglewood Morningside; 10, Downey Pius X.

FACIAL ISSUE?

Granite Hills High, scheduled  to open in the fall of 1960, originally was to be called El Granito High,  but the dictionary offered several definitions of “granito”, one of them being pimple.  El Granito was dropped.

El Capitan was to be called the Knights, but to avoid a conflict with the San Diego Junior College Knights, El Capitan became known as the Vaqueros.

MR. TOUCHDOWN

H.D. Murphy’s four touchdowns in a 53-13 win over Hoover tied a “modern” San Diego High record by Tom Powell, who scored 4 TD’s in a 72-0 rout of Hoover in 1944.

Bert Ritchey scored 4 touchdowns in his sophomore debut  in 1924 in a 33-0 win over Sweetwater.

The all-time record, “modern” or pre-historic, is 5.  Byron (Pesky) Sprott scored that many in 1916 in an 84-6 victory over Orange High.

SIGN OF THE TIME

Escondido’s Grape Day, started as part of a celebration of California’s 1850 Admission Day in 1905 but discontinued in 1949, was experiencing a revival as the city honored the area’s favorite fruit.

QUICK KICKS

Some San Diego-area schools adopted the wing-T offense made popular by the powerful Iowa Hawkeyes, who won two of the three previous Rose Bowls…Lincoln’s Deniston said he was opting for the single wing…”We’re small…a tenth grader who weighs 76 pounds has asked for a suit,” said Kearny’s Birt Slater…about 200 volunteers from Lemon Grove and Spring Valley raised $10,000 and furnished the labor to give Mount Miguel lights for its football stadium…Helix sophomore George Engle  made his first start in the Highlanders’ third game, completing 10 of 11 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, plunging one-yard for another TD, and directing a 19-0 victory over El Capitan…Hoover ran 56 plays and had more first downs, 12-10, but bowed at Redlands 22-0…Clairemont coach Don Henson, after the Chieftains edged  Crawford, 7-6: “Crawford is going to scare the pants off somebody”…the Colts surprised Grossmont, 20-19, the next week but finished 2-6…San Diego’s 21-game regular-season winning streak was snapped when Long Beach Wilson topped the Cavers 14-12 in the season opener…El  Capitan and Sweetwater defensed themselves into an 0-0 tie on the same night that El Cajon Valley and Helix waged a scoreless deadlock…through 5 weeks Metropolitan League teams had endured four tie games…”This is a tight old league this year,” said Sweetwater’s Tom Parker…San Diego’s first five opponents were undefeated when they played the Cavers…an 11 p.m. telephonic vote among six Avocado League principals elevated Mar Vista into the Southern Section playoffs…”The sole consideration in the  vote was that Mar Vista had beaten Oceanside in our mutual game,” said Mariners principal Myron Smull…Oceanside and Mar Vista had tied for the title with 4-1 league records but the Mariners had a 21-7 victory over the Pirates…Gary Potter’s 14^th consecutive point after touchdown boosted Vista past Coronado 14-13 and knocked Coronado out of an Avocado co-championship…San Diego won a coin flip and chose Balboa Stadium as the site of its first-round playoff versus Chula Vista…