The memory of 10-28, 30-41, and 35-43 was erased with one 42-14.

After three straight losses to Helix, including one in the San Diego Section Division II finals and another in the semifinals, Oceanside put up the right numbers and stunned the Highlanders, No. 2 in California and No. 25 in the U.S.

“We were committed to play the best game of our lives,” a soaking-wet (thanks to a power drink splash from his team) and emotional Pirates coach John Carroll told Bill Dickens of The San Diego Union.  “And we backed it up.”

Carroll didn’t stop there.  “It was fantastic, the greatest win I’ve ever been associated with.”

SEVEN TITLES SINCE 1960

After opening the season with losses to Helix (43-35) and Rancho Buena Vista (36-35), the Pirates rolled to 11 consecutive victories and their fourth championship under Carroll and the Pirates’ seventh since the San Diego Section was formed in 1960.

“It was all about ball control and our offensive line,” said Tyler Lavea, who wedged for 86 yards in 26 carries and scored from  2, 4, 4, and 1 yard.

Oceanside converted on six of nine third downs and once on fourth down in the first half.

Quarterback Rick Coppack completed 9 of 17 passes for 258 yards. Coppack threw for two touchdowns in the last 90 seconds of the first half.

Coppack’s  45-yard connection to Matuia Poumele with six seconds left  gave Oceanside a 28-0 lead at the break.

BUSH GREAT, BUT…

Favored Helix, averaging  451 yards and 43 points a game, reached the finals after playoff blowouts of 62-31 (Patrick Henry) and 71-32 (Monte Vista)  and seemed unstoppable.

Reggie Bush was brilliant in his final four games, rushing for 764 yards and 11 touchdowns in 53 carries for a 14.4-yard average.

Bush gained 144 yards in 13 carries against Oceanside and returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown before leaving with cramps in the fourth quarter.  Bush also ran 60 yards on a fake punt, but Helix missed a field-goal attempt.

“We just didn’t do a good job of defending on third down,” said Helix defensive coordinator Donnie Van Hook.   “But no matter how you cut the ice, they were the better team tonight.”

LONG  AGO

When last seen, the Los Angeles High Romans came up short 14-0 in a 1918 game in the City Stadium against San Diego.  The Romans had posted earlier victories of 11-0 in 1898 and 6-0 in 1899 over the Hilltoppers.

L.A. High, Southern California’s oldest, having opened in 1873, nine years before Russ School, the prior name of San Diego High, then went on a very long hiatus from competition with schools in this area.

After 84 years the Romans showed up as the last opponent on Torrey Pines’ schedule.

Torrey prevailed, 63-20.

NO. 200 FOR BURKE

How did Los Angeles High find itself on the schedule of Ed Burke’s Torrey Pines Falcons?

“All  our teams in the league had byes,” said Burke.  “Ours was in the 10th week of the season.  At that point in the season it can very difficult to find an available opponent.”

A former freshman player for Burke was on the coaching staff at Venice High in L.A. The former player’s father was able to connect Burke with athletic personnel at L.A. High, which also needed a game.

Burke well remembers. “November fifteenth, two-thousand-two. It was my two-hundredth victory as a head  coach.”

Burke won 215 games from 1985-2006 at Torrey Pines and San Dieguito.  His career total of 243 included stints at Taft Union near Bakersfield and at King City, inland from California’s Central Coast.

PATRIOTS GAMES

The Christian Patriots made a case for every loser who ever staggered into the playoffs.

The Patriots were in the figurative midst of a mandatory boxing eight count and having the sawdust wiped off their gloves when they were given a chance at redemption.

Matt Oliver’s team was 1-4 in Harbor League play, including the indignity of a forfeit loss to Crawford.

The Patriots were down to seven able-bodied varsity players as another 10 rode out suspensions when they forfeited the Week 9 contest and followed with a 28-12 loss at Coronado in the final regular-season game.

It was bad enough that one of their players, all-league receiver and safety Brian Schroeder, spurned football to concentrate on baseball in his senior season and Kevin Giles, their leading rusher and tackler, sustained a fractured elbow against University City, a week after a 44-7 blowout loss to Madison.

SENIOR PHOTO FIASCO

According to Oliver’s account to Bill Dickens of The San Diego Union, 10 seniors were suspended before the Crawford game because they made inappropriate gestures during the school’s senior group photo.

Riding a three-game losing streak, Christian rallied with a 48-12 win over Army-Navy in the first round of the Division IV postseason.

The Patriots defeated Santa Fe Christian 21-19 in the semifinals and, behind quarterback Joel Allen’s all-around contribution, edged Horizon 23-20 for the championship.

Allen, future head coach at The Bishop’s and Point Loma,  threw for three touchdowns, completing 18×26 passes for 310 yards;  ran for one, made a spectacular interception, and recovered a fumble.

“If I had to kick an extra point, I would have done that, too,” said Allen, whose team finished with an 8-5 record.

CARLSBAD TURNS TABLES

At 2-2-1, with three defensive starters out and a fullback-linebacker playing quarterback, Carlsbad was at a proverbial fork in the road. Neither direction looked promising.

Coach Bob McAllister’s Lancers also were making their way back to school after a 45-7 loss at Vista.

“It was a situation where you almost start questioning…” said McAllister.  You say, ‘Hey, are we good enough to go out and win league?’”

The Lancers’ coach knew his injured players would come back, but he still made a critical change, giving the ball to sophomore quarterback Sean Canfield, who had mopped up for starter J.C. Cooper in the Vista rout.

Carlsbad stormed through a 5-0 Avocado League campaign, topped off with 21-0 and 49-0 shutouts of La  Costa Canyon and Mt. Carmel.

Canfield was summoned to the varsity after the season’s third game and finished the regular season with 1,894 yards and 15 touchdown passes and directed a playoff run that concluded with a 14-13 stunner over Vista that gave the Lancers the D-I championship.

McAllister had been beaten in the finals in 1999 and 2000 and lost in the 2001 semifinals, 29-28, when Vista scored 10 points in the final 19 seconds.

“I didn’t want to be called Bob Levy, after Marv,” McAllister said.

Marv Levy, the Buffalo Bills coach, was a loser in four Super Bowls.

BITTER LOSS

Ed Burke, the legendary Torrey Pines coach whose team won 6 of its last 7 regular-season games to forge a three-way tie for the Palomar League championship, suffered few defeats as tough as this one.

The Falcons were eliminated by Vista in the D-I quarterfinals, 36-28, in three overtimes.  “I’m sure both coaching staffs were thinking, ‘Somebody needs to get a turnover; somebody needs to make a play,'” said Vista’s Chris Hauser.

It was 14-14 at the end of four quarters.  Overtime rules are such that each team was allowed 4 downs to score from the other’s 25-yard line.    The opponents swapped touchdowns in the first two overtimes, precipitating a third, which called for a two-point conversion attempt after a touchdown.

Vista’s Shawn Ketcher made a diving catch in the endzone on a tipped pass from quarterback Mike Altieri for a two-point conversion and an eight-point lead.  Panthers defensive back Jon McGuinn then intercepted Reilly Murphy’s pass at the one-yard line on fourth down to close out Torrey.

A DE LA SALLE DOSE

La Costa Canyon, No. 8 in San Diego County, visited Concord De La Salle, No. 1 in the country.

La Costa opened the season 3-0 by defeating Lompoc Cabrillo, 57-7, Santa Monica, 32-24, and San Pasqual, 38-34.

Even with quarterback Kevin O’Connell, a future No. 3 round  NFL draft choice by New England, the Mavericks met the same fate as De La Salle’s previous 128 opponents.

Final score: Spartans 56, Mavericks 27.

O’Connell and his teammates were hammered by three touchdowns during a span of 4:48 in a 28-point second quarter.

Included was a 93-yard kickoff return by Maurice Drew, who became Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars.   Drew rushed for 88 yards in 11 carries and scored three TD’s.

Rancho Buena Vista, the other San Diego Section school to play De La Salle, was victim No. 40 in 1995 at De La Salle, 35-14, and No. 53 at home, 36-19, in 1996.

EIGHT-MAN ELITES

Julian’s Christopher Padlock kicked a 45-yard field goal attempt with six seconds to play and the Eagles defeated La Jolla Country Day, 20-18, after Brian Rucker’s one-yard run with 55 seconds left put the Eagles ahead.

Of the 50 or so schools in California that play in the eight-man alignment, the game matched the Nos. 1 and 2 teams.

The victory was Julian’s 17^th straight in a streak that would reach 23 before ‘Day would defeat the Eagles, 21-14, in the San Diego Section championship, making up for a 30-13 loss in the 2001 title game.

GIVE IT UP FOR SOUTHWEST!

Strains from Queen’s “We Will Rock You!”  may have been heard along Hollister Street, the main drag in the near-Imperial Beach community of Nestor.  San Diego Southwest finally hoisted a victory flag.

The Raiders, trailing, 14-13, rode the arm of Robert Riggs, who passed for two second- half touchdowns to Lamar Thomas, and Southwest added a safety to defeat Montgomery 20-14 and end a streak of 40 games without a win.

The Raiders tied El Cajon Valley, 20-20, in the season opener, stopping a run of 37 straight losses.

BACKHANDED COMPLIMENT

Patrick Henry snapped a three-game losing streak with a 38-27 win over Morse as Jazzarle Beeks rushed for 209 yards in 29 carries.

“This is one of the best jobs the line has done for me all year,” said Beeks.  “We’ve been doing this in practice every week and they finally stepped up and did what they were supposed to do.”

More from the candid Beeks, after Henry’s 62-31 playoff loss to Helix:  “I’m disappointed in the outcome but it was a good way to end it for me.  I wanted to show everyone that Reggie Bush isn’t the only running back in town.”

Beeks was the only runner in the San Diego Section to rush for at least 100 yards in every game this season.  He had 201 yards in 16 carries and scored four touchdowns in the loss to Helix.

WHO’S YOUR GRANDDADDY?

A third-generation name surfaced on the Grossmont League’s opening weekend. Freshman Ryan Sevier accounted for 186 yards and two touchdowns in West Hills’ 38-20 loss at Ramona.

Sevier is the grandson of the late Wayne Sevier, who quarterbacked Sweetwater to the Southern Section playoff semifinals in 1958.

A backfield mate of Wayne Sevier’s was Gil Warren, who played with Wayne at San Diego State and launched a legendary coaching career in the Metropolitan League.

Wayne Sevier was Sweetwater’s head coach at age 24 in 1965 and had a long career in the NFL as a special teams coach for squads coached by Don Coryell, Joe Gibbs, and Chuck Knox.

THE ORIGINAL SUBURBAN RIVALS

Grossmont  and Sweetwater met in Week 1, on the 82^nd anniversary of their first game in 1920.

The Foothillers and Red Devils were blood rivals, playing sometimes twice a year, first in the County League, then the Southern Prep and Metropolitan circuits.  They played each other every season from 1920-51.

Grossmont moved to the City Prep League in 1952, played the ‘Devils in a nonleague contest in ’53, then moved back into the Metro in 1954.   The rivalry resumed until 1960.

Grossmont and Sweetwater went their separate ways in 1961 as the Foothillers, in the new San Diego Section alignment, became part of the Grossmont League, and Sweetwater remained in the Metro.  The teams met only in the playoffs in 1970, ’78, and ’93.

Grossmont’s 20-14 victory this season gave the ‘Hillers a 24-22 edge in the series.

NO. 1 OVER NO. 2

Marian proved the wisdom of requesting a seat at a larger table, having lobbied the CIF for a move from D-IV to III.  The Crusaders won IV titles in 1998 and 1999 and are 25-1 two seasons into D-III.

Marian, replacing Sweetwater (1980s) and Castle Park (1990s) as the South Bay’s most successful team, completed a 13-0 season (after 12-1 in ’01) with a 49-21 victory over St. Augustine.

St. Augustine running backs netted 17 yards in 17 attempts and the Saints fell short of their 34.4 scoring average.

Jonathan Alvarado, Patrick Gates, and Marco Contreras each scored twice for the Crusaders.   The seventh touchdown came from Eugene Alaniz, who played despite torn knee ligaments sustained  in the final regular-season game.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS AND RAIN

Nowhere was the precipitation more prevalent on the final round of regular-season games in Week 10  than at Madison, where Coronado players held a giant mud slide in the middle of the field following the 10-6 victory over the Warhawks, 8-0 entering the game against the 7-1 Islanders.

“Stop!” shouted Coronado coach Bud Mayfield.  “You don’t disrespect an opponent like that.”

The players probably could be excused for their enthusiasm.  The game was played in a steady downpour and heavy fog that was just to the Islanders’ choosing.

Clinching a tie for the Harbor League championship and one win away from reversing a 1-9 season in 2001, Mayfield’s underdog squad made a determined drive in the second quarter.

The 22-play, 80-yard maneuver, which ended with Kyle Hammel’s 27-yard field goal,  kept the Warhawks in check until junior J.T. Rogan’s 42-yard touchdown run provided a 10-0 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Rogan, who had 122 yards in 31 carries, made the signature contribution to the first-half field goal, carrying the ball on 16 of the 22 plays and burrowing for first downs on three fourth downs.

The Islanders clinched the title with a 28-12 victory over Christian the following week, then were eliminated in the first round of the III playoffs, 12-7, by La Jolla.

MIRE MESA CLINIC
University never knew what hit.

Leading rusher Rico Tucker was thrown for a three-yard loss on the opening play. The Dons’ misfortune was only beginning.

Two plays later, after forcing a three and out, Mira Mesa struck for a 64-yard touchdown play on its first play from scrimmage. Quarterback Jason Schmidt  lateraled  to wideout Adam Cooper, who found Terrell Blake wide open.

Four plays after, the Marauders’ Luke Dailey recovered a fumble and ran 31 yards for a touchdown.

Awhile later University’s punter took a knee in the end zone following a low snap.  Two more points for Mira Mesa.

After the free kick, the Marauders’ Reggie Ross went 21 yards on the first play and 33 on the next for another score.

The Marauders led 23-0 after one quarter and 37-0 at the half.  The 57-12 victory gave Mira Mesa a tie for the Western League title with St. Augustine.

DICK HAINES PASSES

Legendary Vista High coach Dick Haines passed away at age 76 on Feb. 27, 2002. Haines had been residing in a North County rest home since 1997, suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, according to Tom Shanahan of The San Diego Union.

Haines, who 320 games in his career and had a 194-85-1 record in 25 seasons at Vista, retired after the 1994 season, about the time he was diagnosed.  For awhile Haines and his wife, Martha, had lived near his son Rik, who coached in Redmond, Washington.

TRUE GRID

One-day combined attendance for the championships was 21,237…the San Diego Chargers paid the $8,500 rental fee to allow the CIF to use Qualcomm Stadium…Dwayne Ary didn’t score a touchdown, but Mount Miguel profited from his 322 yards in 30 carries in a 37-20 win over El Cajon Valley…San Pasqual’s Nick Popoff did the heavy lifting with 223 yards in 37 carries and scored two touchdowns, but the Eagles defeated St. Augustine 27-24 on Ryan Bowler’s 29-yard field goal as time expired…”nothing fancy about this backyard rivalry, where the forward pass is like a gadget play,” said writer Mick McGrane of the upcoming Rancho Bernardo-Poway game…’Bernardo won, 20-7…Granite Hills defeated Steele Canyon, 6-4, the losers’ scores coming when the Eagles first tackled quarterback Jake Launder and then running back Mike Anderson in the end zone…when scoring was different, there were five games between 1898 and 1921 in which one of the teams scored 4 points…complaints were heard in D-IV when Calexico Vincent Memorial was given the top seed in the playoffs and then Horizon knocked out the Imperial Valley entry, 28-,6 in the semifinals…Charles Dimry III, The Bishop’s coach, is the son of Charles Dimry Jr., who played on Duane Maley’s last team at San Diego High in 1959 and was a standout in sprinter for the Cavers’ track team…the younger Dimry, out of El Camino and Nevada-Las Vegas,  was a cornerback and played 12 seasons in the NFL…Marian’s offensive weaponry was such that the Crusaders overcame an 0-26 hole against Eastlake to win 27-26.

Helix’ 41-30 victory over Oceanside in a matchup of Cal-Hi Sports’ Nos. 1 and 2 Division II teams ranks among the all-time San Diego Section playoff games, not only for brilliance but for the bizarre.

“It was a game for the ages,” wrote Tom Shanahan of The San Diego Union.

Coach Gordon Wood’s Highlanders defended their 2000 championship and Helix won for the third time in four seasons after a back-and-forth offensive struggle that started slowly and built to a frantic finish.

Oceanside quietly staked a 9-0 lead and held the virtually-50-points-a-game Scots scoreless in the first quarter.

Wood, anxious to jumpstart his offense in the second quarter, dialed up the “fumblerooski”,  a  goofy, age-old play dating to sandlots and stuffed pigskins.

Highlanders center Brandon Halama faked a snap to quarterback Alex Smith, who drew in the Pirates’ defense when he rolled left on an apparent option play.

Halama hid the ball.  Left guard Zach Burgi reached over and picked up the ball, as he would a fumble, and rumbled 59 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown.

BAD NON-CALL BY OFFICIALS?

Alex Smith had informed game officials what Helix was going to do, but many observers, including outraged Oceanside coach  John Carroll, felt the play should have been whistled dead because Halama appeared to trap the ball and that Halama’s knees were touching the ground.

“I think it should have been (downed), too,” Burgi told Jim Lindgren of The San Diego Union. “But you can’t replay it and I don’t want to give it back.”

PIRATES DON’T BACK DOWN

Helix used the momentum burst to build a 28-9 lead in the third quarter, but Oceanside hit back and closed to 28-23.  Helix went back in command, 35-23.

Oceanside’s backup quarterback, Randy Noa, who replaced the injured Rick Coppack, passed 19 yards to Jose Perez with 39 seconds left in the game and Oceanside trailed, 35-30.

The Pirates recovered the ensuing  onside kick.  Coppack limped back on the field to complete a 25-yard pass to Daniel Segi.  First down on Helix’s 25-yard line with 24 seconds left.

Coppack’s next pass was incomplete.  The Pirates then called a screen pass to running back Mautia Poumele.  Helix’ Larry Pierce cut in front of Poumele and made a leaping, one-handed interception and lugged the ball  70 yards for the game-clinching touchdown with 13 seconds left to play.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH

The regulars at Mike Romano’s popular eatery took up almost all of happy hour discussing the issue of the day. Even the ladies making pies at “Mom’s” on Main Street had taken notice.

Could Julian’s Evan Fisher break the 8-man touchdown record and could the Eagles earn their first undefeated season?

Fisher had 49 touchdowns and the state record for 8-man touchdowns was 51, set in 1990 by Country Day’s Rashaan Salaam.  Julian was 11-0. (An undefeated season had been elusive. The Eagles were 9-1 in 1971, 7-1-1 in ’77, 6-1 in ’85, and 9-1 in ’92).

Each possibility was in play as Julian lined up against La Jolla County Day in the San Diego Section D-V championship at Julian.

SITS OUT WITH SORE SHOULDER

Fisher sustained a shoulder injury the week before in a 28-0, semifinals victory over Midway Baptist and was cleared to play late in the week but sat out the first half of the championship game.

Julian was behind 7-6 and trailing for the first time all season when Fisher entered the game on the first play of the second half.  He tied Salaam’s record with a 14-yard touchdown run at the end of the third quarter.

FIisher scored another touchdown, No. 51,  but it wasn’t until 1:11 remained in the game that Fisher scored again, giving him 52 for the season and punctuating the Eagles’ 30-13 victory and 12-0 season.

“It was amazing,” said Fisher.  “The whole season came down to a perfect ending.”

THE GAME GOES ON

The nation mourned but football was played at Vista High.

The Panthers destroyed Pasadena Blair 70-0 on Sept. 13, two days after the World Trade Center terrorist act.

“I certainly haven’t been sitting around saying to myself, ‘Gee, I sure hope we get to play,’” Vista coach Chris Hauser told Mick McGrane of The Union. 

“We understand the gravity of the situation,” Hauser said.  “Unfortunately, in high school, you don’t get to make up your games.”

While the NFL and some college teams canceled games, San Diego’s high schools were going to play.

Vista played Blair on Thursday night.  The next night schools in the Grossmont, Metropolitan, and City conferences fulfilled their scheduled obligations.

SHACKLETT  SPEAKS OUT

“There are some coaches who think it would be disrespectful to those who died in New York and at the Pentagon to play games on Friday night,” said Morse coach John Shacklett.

“I know our players don’t seem as focused,” Shacklett added, “but the other side of the argument is to try to get back to normal as soon as possible.”

NEIGHBORHOOD TREMORS

Seismic activity was reported in La Mesa and Spring Valley when Helix and Monte Vista converged.

In a season of strong teams with powerful offenses, Helix rose above all, striking with earthquake-rattling havoc, but Monte Vista showed at least once that it could hang with the State’s top-ranked Division II team.

WHO’S NO. 1 NOW?

The Highlanders, 7-0, averaging 53 points a game, and riding a 20-game winning streak, were heavy favorites over Ed Carbery’s  6-1 and 29-point-averaging Monarchs.

When Jim Arnaiz took his 212 victories and retired after the 1999 season he left a stocked pantry for successor Gordon Wood, who discovered that future NFL No. 1 draft choices Reggie Bush and Alex Smith came with the bread and flour.

Bush rushed for 316 yards in 25 carries and scored two touchdowns and Smith passed for one touchdown, but the Monarchs had answers.

Running back Gary Franklin gained 277 yards in 30 carries and scored five touchdowns and Monte Vista, racing to a lead of 17-0, beat back each Helix threat and held off the Scots, 38-27.

“Every week we send out postcards to our team with a message,” Carbery explained to writer Jason Bott.  “This week it was  ‘I shocked the world’, (as) when  Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston.  These kids believed all week we could do it, and I’ll be darned if they didn’t.”

The Monarchs defeated the Highlanders with a Helix-like ground attack.  “We were able to drive the ball all night against these guys,” said Franklin, who out-Bushed Bush with touchdown runs of 5, 20, 74, 12, and 1 yards.

“I told these kids that if we could hold them to half of what they normally score we’ll win the game,” said Carbery.  “They believed all week that we could beat this team.”

OOPS, WHERE’S REGGIE?

Helix quarterback Alex Smith called a play in which Helix receiver Charles Smith ran a deep pass pattern toward the goal posts and running back Reggie Bush circled out of the backfield.

Charles Smith was covered, but there was no Monte Vista defender in sight when Bush took Smith’s pass on Helix’ first play from scrimmage and scored on a 55-yard play.

The Monarchs never recovered as Helix romped to a 61-28, revenge victory in the D-II semifinals. Smith completed 10 of 12 passes for 273 yards and 6 touchdowns.  Bush rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns, caught two passes for touchdowns, and threw for another.

“Make no mistake, the beast came out tonight,” said Helix coach Gordon Wood to Jason Bott.  “This is the first time this entire season we put all phases of our game together. I just hope we can come back in a few days with the same type of effort.”

WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?

Helix survived an unlikely surge from a somewhat unexpected source in the fourth quarter of its quarterfinals playoff with Ramona.

The Valley League runners-up Bulldogs, a dangerous and respected 9-1 but from a league not considered among the elite, closed with a 22-point fourth quarter that had the host Highlanders perspiring before they escaped with a 33-32 victory.

Leading 26-10 with 9:57 left after Reggie Bush’s 19-yard touchdown dash, the Scots were knocked backward when Ramona scored 16 points in 30 seconds and tied the game at 26 with 3:31 remaining.

Bush, who rushed for 320 yards in 17 carries, ran 37 yards to give Helix a 33-26 advantage. There was 2:51 left.  Ramona did not wave the white flag.  Tim Plough passed 34 yards to Pat Skahan and a touchdown.

One minute, 13 seconds remained.  Ramona coach Bill Clark thought long and hard on the sideline and decided to go for the two-point conversion and victory.  Plough’s pass to tight end Nick Conklin didn’t connect.  The receiver slipped in the end zone.

“I thought about kicking (the extra point for a tie) but my coaches on the sideline were saying we should go for it,” Clark told Mick McGrane of The San Diego Union.

“I thought, ‘What the heck?’” said Clark.  “We had to give it a shot, because we could not stop Bush.”

JULIAN’S FIELD OF DREAMS

Things were looking up everywhere at Julian, what with an 8-man championship, and something new.

It had gotten so bad at Julian that teams refused to play on the Eagles’  barren, rutted and rock-strewn field.  Julian was forced to move home games to Ramona High, 22 miles down the hill on California Highway 78.

What should have taken 6 months needed 4 years, but Julian finally had a emerald field of freshly sodded grass and an all-weather track.

There were several delays.

The field had to be graded more than once and there were multiple attempts to grow grass.  The construction company charged with the project went bankrupt.

Julian dedicated its new field with a 69-0 blowout of Sylmar First Lutheran.

HEAVYWEIGHT OFFENSE

Anaheim Esperanza, coached by former San  Diego State lineman Gary Meek, defeated Fallbrook 20-10 as the Aztecs’ Shaun Wildenstein broke down the host Warriors with 308 yards rushing in 43 attempts, and scored three touchdowns.

Meek’s offense seized an obvious advantage.  The Aztecs’ offensive line averaged 257 pounds.  Fallbrook’s defensive forwards averaged 191.

DE LA SALLE?

Calipatria (6-2) had enough of Santa Fe Christian after being pummeled 56-6 by the Eagles in the regular season, so the Hornets declined an invitation to play ‘Fe in the first round of the playoffs, effectively ruling themselves out of the preseason.

“If we can’t get Army-Navy (another possible opponent) we want (Concord) De La Salle,” said Santa Fe coach Brian Sipe, tongue in cheek.

Santa Fe Christian was the state’s top-ranked small schools squad, but De La Salle was No. 1 in the country, riding a streak of 122 consecutive wins.

The Eagles  finally were aligned against Calexico Vincent  Memorial (8-1) and their 48-8 victory was followed by a 42-36 victory over Christian for the D-IV championship.

BRIAN’S RETURN

Brian Sipe,  who first became known as an 11-year-old playing for the Little League World Series champion La Mesa All-Stars in 1961, was a 13^th-round draft choice and 330^th player selected in the 1972  NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.

The Grossmont High graduate barely got on the field in his first two seasons, but went on to a 10-year quarterbacking career that included an NFL most-valuable-player season in 1980.

Sipe retired in 1985 after two seasons in the U.S. Football League and walked away from football, only to return this season and lead the little school near his home in San Diego’s North County to a 12-0 record.

Sipe went on to post a 75-21-1 record with the Eagles until joining the San Diego State coaching staff in 2009.

“I’m getting to watch boys live out there dreams,” Sipe told Tom Shanahan of  The Union. “High school football is the greatest camaraderie and most sincere time you’ll have as a team.”

YOU’RE TALKING PLAYOFFS?

Nine teams with nonwinning records, two less than in 2000, were invited to the postseason.  Counting 8-man football, 48 of the San Diego Section’s 80 football-playing schools would be in the running for five championships.

Sixty per cent of the teams that started the season still were playing, the third highest rate of participation among the state’s 10 sections.

Steve Brand of The San Diego Union did some research.  Between 1960, the first year of the San Diego Section, and 1979 there were 19 teams with one loss and 40 with two losses which were finished, no playoffs, after the last regular-season game.

A trend had started, popular with coaches and fans of marginal teams, unpopular with the media and almost everyone else.

PUGH REMOVES FEDORA

Dennis Pugh, who served as head football and baseball coach and athletic director at Mission Bay, announced that he was stepping down from his football position, then watched the Buccaneers ambush unbeaten and 12-0 Marian Catholic 37-7 to win the D-III title.

“Wearing three hats is very difficult,” said Pugh. “That and the (San Diego Unified School District) is going through a lot of turmoil and isn’t really certain where it’s going athletically.”

Pugh was Mission Bay’s football coach on three occasions.  His teams posted an overall record of 13-15 from 1981-83, 18-24 from 1986-89, and 42-8 from 1998-01.  Pugh eventually moved on to become baseball coach at Cal State-San Marcos.

HIGH SCORERS

Marian’s loss to Mission Bay also knocked the Crusaders off another perch.  They were the County’s top scoring team, averaging almost 50 points a game in their first 12.  The Crusaders finished the season with 605 points for a 46.5 average.  Helix scored 618 for a 47.5 average.

QUICK KICKS

Thirty-three graduates of the San Diego Section were listed on NFL opening day rosters, including Point Loma’s Eric Allen, an Oakland cornerback starting his 14^th season…After a 3-0 start, matching the total wins for all of 2000, Mar Vista coach Gary Pugh resigned…the Mariners had beaten The Bishop’s, 6-0,  for the first time in 4 years, ended a 34-year winless streak in a 7-0 victory over Sweetwater, and defeated neighboring rival Southwest 28-13 to win the annual “Bell Game”…Valhalla won its first five games for the first time since 1982…El Camino assistant coach Trace Deneke, a Lt. Colonel in the Marine Corps reserves, was called to active duty in the wake of 9/11…Joe PaoPao, an 11-year Canadian League  quarterback veteran who played for Herb Meyer at Oceanside, replaced Deneke…true to his word, Morse coach John Shacklett, even in a down year, didn’t duck the tough ones…the Tigers opened the season with Carlsbad, El Camino, and Vista, lost all three and were outscored 155-33…Ramona didn’t score a touchdown but defeated Poway, 17-12…the Bulldogs’ Tim Valencia tied a San Diego Section record with 5 field goals, longest being 39 yards, and  a Poway snap from center went out of the end zone for safety…Ramona’s 9-2 season was its best since the 1959 team was 12-0…Bonita Vista beat La Costa Canyon 17-7 for its first playoff victory in 21 years and after 13 consecutive playoff defeats…Gabe Sayers, nephew of Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers, wore his uncle’s jersey number 40 and was a running back at Hoover….

 

San Diego Section basketball gets its most severe test.

Tonight’s Southern California regional semifinals could provide the most definitive view of how local teams stack up against some of the strongest Los Angeles-area teams.

The most intriguing matchups take place about 10 miles from each other in L.A.’s  Westside beach communities.

Division II No. 3 seed Hoover (31-5) visits  2 seed Redondo Beach Redondo Union  and 4 seed Mission Hills is at 1 seed Santa Monica.

Redondo is ranked 27^th in the state by CalPreps and Hoover 31^st.  Santa Monica is 19^th and Mission Hills 21^st.

The game of the year in San Diego is at Rancho Bernardo High, where 1 seed St. Augustine, eighth in CalPreps, and 5 seed Cathedral Catholic,  22^nd, meet for the fifth time in the season.

D-IV 2 seed Army-Navy,  24^th-ranked,  has a home game at Oceanside High against 6 seed Bishop Montgomery, fifth in CalPreps.

Mission Hills and Hoover are the road, making for very difficult  challenges.

We’ll strain what’s left of my credibility once more by attempting to select  winners and scores.

PREDICTIONS
St. Augustine 60, Cathedral Catholic 55.

Redondo Union  64, Hoover 62.

Santa Monica 65, Mission Hills 56.

Torrance Bishop Montgomery 68, Army-Navy 59.

L.A. View Park 60, Horizon 49.

Ted Wilson passed away in Maui, Hawaii, last month.

To hundreds of San Diegans who knew him, Teddy was your basic,  friendly, next-door neighbor who would laugh at your jokes, no matter how corny, and be Johnny-on-the-Spot in times of need.

Wilson, 70,  was an outstanding athlete who came from a family of athletes.

Teddy was a two-year lettermen as a fullback and linebacker in football at Hoover  in 1958 and 1959, played two seasons at San Diego City College, and was a linebacker at New Mexico University for two years.

He also had a four-year tour in the Marine Corps and played baseball and football for the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot Devildogs and while stationed on the island of  Okinawa.

Teddy’s younger brother, Gary, was a standout running back on Hoover’s 1963 Eastern League champions.  Gary rushed for than 270 yards in only one half of a game for San Diego State against Mexico Poly in 1966.

The brothers’ father, Ted, Sr., guided thousand of athletes as a recreation director at playgrounds throughout San Diego, El Cajon, and Coronado for more than 40 years.

The senior Wilson played football at San Diego State and starred in the same backfield with future all-America Irvine (Cotton) Warburton at San Diego High.

Teddy’s wife, Ann, had a simple request on behalf of his family:

“Please take someone you love to dinner in Ted’s memory.”

Attendance for afternoon games involving city teams was noted weekly in newspaper stories, for the first time in years.  Prep writers had gotten out of the habit.

An edict that forced city schools to play home games in the afternoon resulted in some actual figures, as in counting the house, one by one.

A total of 326 were on hand for Hoover’s game with San Diego.  There were 192 spectators at Lincoln and Las Vegas Chaparral, plus another 117 players, coaches, game officials, security people, and ticket takers.

Highly regarded Patrick Henry and host University drew only 1,200 at Madison High, probably 3,500 less than if the game had been at night.

POSTGAME PROBLEMS

Violence at night games in 1973 prompted city bosses to announce before the season that their schools would not play any home games after dark.

One school official stretched credibility to an absurd level when he noted there also was a “desire to aid in the energy crisis by reducing night lighting.”

The U.S. energy crisis started in 1973 when  Mideast oil-producers were mad at the U.S. and others for aiding Israel in a dustup with Israel’s sworn enemies in the region. The result was long lines and waits at  gas pumps and a shortage of fuel throughout the country.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lifted the ban on exports in March, 1974, six months before the football season.

City bosses essentially ran from the problem of night-games rowdyism and violence, rather than taking steps to better secure venues.

VISTA AND FOG ROLL IN

When a night playoff game that involved a city school was played there were 18,162 on hand but few people saw the game, Vista’s 32-0 victory over Patrick Henry for the San Diego Section championship.

Fog descended on San Diego Stadium and the crowd saw mostly ghost-like figures or sometimes only heard the action.

LARGEST CROWD EVER?

Reporters were saying the estimated 22,000 persons who attended the University-St. Augustine charity game represented the largest turnout ever for a high school game in San Diego.

Discounting larger, estimated crowds at the annual city football carnivals in the 1940s and early 1950s, the Saints-Uni game still did not bring the highest number.

The record is the estimated 27,000 at the 1947 San Diego-Hoover contest in sold out Balboa Stadium.  The game featured one of Hoover’s  all-time best teams, led by end Bill McColl, tackle Volney Peters, and halfback Bob Miller, and San Diego’s Southern California playoff finals squad.

St. Augustine, University, the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, and Rosary High benefited from the 41,000 tickets sold for the Saints and Uni.  Bob Hope entertained and it was announced, later amended, that the schools realized about $15,000 apiece.

In actuality, each school realized a profit of about $6,000.

Through a mix-up, Bob Hope’s $25,000 fee was donated to Hope’s favorite charity and not to the schools.

CAVERS’ THROWBACK

San Diego floundered after the era of coach Duane Maley, the Cavers posting a 56-61-2 record since the first year of the San Diego Section in 1960.

They would be eliminated from the postseason this season by legislative fiat, despite a 6-3 record and a three-way tie for first in the Western League.

But running back Michael Hayes evoked memories.

A typical performance came in the season opener at Mesa College against Hoover.  The USC-bound running back scored on a 46-yard punt return and 55-yard pass play as the Cavers topped the Cardinals 27-0  in the teams’ 42^nd meeting.

Hayes  also  had a 55-yard punt return nullified by penalty, ran 39 yards for another penalty-killing touchdown, and ran sideline to sideline on a 47-yard punt return.

Hayes’  returned  a kickoff  96 yards for a touchdown, caught a 39-yard scoring pass, ran 31 yards for a touchdown and kicked an extra point, all in  the second quarter of a 25-7 victory over Crawford.

Hayes, who was the County’s leading rusher in 1973,  had 342 all-purpose yards in another game.

“He’ll do a little of everything for us,” said San Diego coach Shan Deniston.  “He’d drive the bus if we asked him.”

CAVERS DISSED

Despite tying for the league title, Clairemont, Kearny, and San Diego each posting a 4-1 league record, the Cavers were shown the door after originally being let in.

San Diego had beaten Kearny but lost to Clairemont, and Kearny had a win over Clairemont.

The Chieftains, under first-year coach Art Anderson, who had built strong track teams at the school and had played in the NFL, were 8-1 in the regular season and Kearny 7-2.  .

But San Dieguito, 5-4 in the regular season and third in the Coast League and with a poorer overall record than the Cavers, days later was in and San Diego was tossed.

According to Henry Wesch of The San Diego Union, the CIF board of managers overruled an original decision by the CIF coordinating council the day after the regular season.

FAINT PRAISE

Patrick Henry’s Russ Leslie saw his top-ranked team (7-0) almost upset by unheralded, 4-3 Crawford, 22-14.

“I  could tell our team was flat on the bus coming over here and in the pregame warm-ups,” said Leslie, who finally got around to congratulating coach Bill Hall’s Colts.  “But that’s not to take anything away from Crawford.  They played a fine game; they’re a fine team.”

Nor was Leslie  a happy camper after the Patriots had defeated Grossmont,  24-20:  “Our passing was ‘way off and their runners made our defense look like a sieve.  We played good enough to win.  That’s all.”

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

As Henry Wesch of The Union wrote, a conflict was inevitable between Larry Schimpf and his son, Kerry. The elder Schimpf’s Monte Vista squad was playing Granite Hills, for which Kerry was a starting defensive back and wide receiver.

“There are some funny things being said around the house,” said Larry.  “The one who’s really in the middle is my wife.  She doesn’t know who to root for.”

Score one for Larry.  Monte Vista defeated Granite Hills, 21-0, but Kerry caught  4 passes and shadowed Monte Vista receiver Mitch Bonilla.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON, LIKE FORMER AIDE

Crawford was quarterbacked by Dave Engle, whose father, Roy, was the longtime Hoover coach and for whom Russ Leslie served as an assistant before Leslie started the Patrick Henry program in 1968.

The younger Engle and his brother Roger cavorted during games on  the same Hoover sideline when Roy and Russ were guiding the Cardinals.

KOMETS QB CHOOSES LETTERS

Kearny quarterback Don Norcross called the plays and wrote up the game accounts.  Norcross declared he hadn’t made up his mind on college but wanted  “a writing career with a newspaper.”

The Komets’ quarterback, whose two-year varsity record as starter was 20-3-2,  became a writer for  UT-San Diego.

BIGGEST IN HISTORY?

An 8-7 victory  by 1-6 Carlsbad over 7-0 Oceanside was described as the biggest upset in North County history by some observers.

Oceanside coach Herb Meyer was not given to hyperbole:  “We had people counting our chickens and looking toward Vista.  If it happens to adults, I’m sure it happens to young people.”

Vista struck for 16 points in the fourth quarter and drove 66 yards for a touchdown in the final three-and-a-half minutes to defeat Oceanside, 22-14, before 8,000 persons at Vista.

Antony PaoPao, who gained 120 yards in 26

carries, had put the Pirates in front 14-6 on the final play of the third quarter.

Panthers quarterback Rob Preston figured in all 22 points, scoring two touchdowns, passing for another and running for two, two-point conversions.

Paopao edged San Diego’s Michael Hayes for the regular-season rushing title with 1,306 yards and an 8.3-yard average to Hayes’ 1,200 yards and 5.8 average.

PaoPao said he did not have personal goals, but he took some things personally:

”I  have a personal grudge against San Dieguito and a personal grudge against Carlsbad, because they beat us last year.  And I’ve got a personal grudge against Vista, because I’ve got some cousins who play there.”

In what was a personal battle, PaoPao’s 246 yards in 35 carries—another 100 were called back by penalties– resulted in three touchdowns in a 27-18 win over San Marcos and the Knights’ County scoring leader, Allan Clark.

Clark, a future NFL running back, kept San Marcos in the hunt with three touchdowns.

TEACHERS, OFFICIALS:  PAY US

The 106 members of the San Diego County Football Officials’ Association voted to boycott the season’s first week of games after talks stalled with the San Diego Section board of managers.

Within 24 hours a compromise was reached.

The managers agreed to  a $1 increase for all officials for all games worked.  The board also promised continued discussion related to “mutual concerns”.

A week earlier a crisis was averted when City Schools teachers reached agreement on several issues  with the superintendent and board of education.  The teachers were scheduled for a strike vote.

Football coaches were caught in an administrative crossfire, their contracts, simply put, stating that if they didn’t teach during the day they couldn’t coach after school.

COACHES ALSO UNHAPPY

“I was in a position to walk out with the other teachers if they vote to strike,” said Crawford’s Bill Hall.  “Then I got word from my principal that if I didn’t teach during the day I wouldn’t be able to coach either.”

“Most coaches would continue to coach no matter what the vote is, because you can’t build up to a season and then walk out,” said Kearny’s Birt Slater.  “Let’s face it, they’re trying to put pressure directly on us.   I’m really tired of all the threats and pressure tactics.”

CLAIREMONT TRAGEDY 

Oceanside’s Herb Meyer took exception to a nationally televised program that was critical of high school football and the number of injuries inherent to the game.

“If they really want some revealing statistics why don’t they check into the number of injuries associated with kids riding motorcycles,” Meyer said to writer Steve Brand.  “I’d rather see my kids on the field than dodging cars on a motorcycle.”

Five days later standout Clairemont defensive end-wide receiver Mike Ketteringham was riding on  the back of a friend’s motorcycle when it collided with an automobile.

Ketteringham died 24 hours later.  Clairemont went through with a game against Madison, winning, 8-4.  “They wanted to go ahead and play the game for him,” said Chiefs’  coach Art Anderson.

NOT ONE, NOT TWO, BUT THREE!

Kirk Feldman intercepted three passes in the second half as Patrick Henry broke from a 13-13 deadlock at halftime and  cruised to a 34-13 victory over St. Augustine in an Eastern League showdown..

The modest son of longtime NFL coach Rudy Feldman explained that the Patriots were able to cover County leading receiver Tim Smith, who had 33 catches going into the game.

“We played a zone except for Smith and I just happened to be there,” Feldman told writer Steve Brand.

THREE MORE SCHOOLS

Torrey Pines, Valhalla, and Mt. Carmel opened their doors for the first time, bringing the total to 55 of football-playing schools in the San Diego Section.

Mt. Carmel, coached by Bill Levy, and Valhalla, with Russ Boehmke as head coach, played essentially junior varsity schedules.  The Sun Devils defeated the Julian varsity 13-7 and Valhalla lost to the La Jolla varsity 20-15.

In what would be considered a varsity matchup, the Norsemen defeated Mt. Carmel 14-12 in the schools’ first game.

Torrey Pines, coached by former San Diego State linebacker Cliff  Kinney, immediately got into the mix in the Coast League and posted a 3-6 record.

Mt. Carmel  would go into the Coast League in 1975 and Valhalla was ticketed for the Grossmont League.

Torrey Pines students attended classes at San Dieguito while the Falcons’ campus in Del Mar was under construction.

A young Torrey Pines footballer was John Kentera, later to be known as “Coach” on San Diego radio and television.  Kentera was involved in the Falcons’ first-ever touchdown, kicking the point after.

San Dieguito students lorded it over Falcons students after the Mustangs defeated Torrey, 41-20, in the schools’ first meeting.

Torrey Pines came from 21 points behind to shock unbeaten Mission Bay, 26-21.

TAKE IT ON THE ROAD

St. Augustine quarterback Mike Kennedy and wide receiver Tim Smith were a such success in San Diego that they took their show to Nebraska and played for coach Tom Osborne’s Cornhuskers.

Kennedy was the San Diego Section leader with 1,835 yards and 21 touchdowns and Smith was the leader with 53 catches and 10 receiving touchdowns.

Smith was a third-round draft choice of the Houston Oilers in 1980 and played seven seasons in the NFL.  He caught 83 passes in 1983.

HEADY COMPANY

Jan Chapman took over a Bonita Vista program that languished with a 16-36-1 combined record after the school opened in 1967.

Following a 1-6-2 start in 1973, Chapman, former University of San  Diego quarterback who spent decades as chief press box statistician at Chargers games, elevated the Barons into the upper strata of the Metropolitan League, i.e., to turf annually reserved for Castle Park and Sweetwater.

The Barons rolled all the way to 7-0 before losing 21-6 to Castle Park, which advanced to 8-0 and clinched the league title.  Bonita recovered to defeat the 6-2 Sweetwater Red Devils, 28-7, then finished with a 24-0 loss to Crawford in the first round of the playoffs.

ONE OF HIS FAVORITE YEARS

Longtime prep observer and expert Greg (Stats) Durrant offered several reasons in 2012 why the season of 1974 was special: “Only one playoff division, no 0-10 teams in the playoffs, and large crowds at games.  Also, no first-round byes!”

QUICK KICKS

Walter Barnett, who played on Grossmont’s 1927 championship team, retired at the end of the school year…Barnett taught 12 years at Grossmont and then was principal for the last 17…at halftime of the Army-Navy game,  Julian coach Bill Nolan told his 18 players, “Lie down and go to sleep; you’re doing a great job”…the Eagles won, 21-13, and won a rematch later for the 1-A championship, 18-0…El Cajon Valley, behind quarterback and future No. 1 NFL draft choice (Pittsburgh Steelers out of Arizona State)  Mark Malone, and running back LeRoy McGee (Michigan State) posted an 8-1-1 record, best in school history, and won its first Grossmont League championship since 1965…Malone ran 79 and 91 yards for touchdowns and McGee scored from 91 yards as the Braves beat neighbor Granite Hills, 31-17…Will Crawford of La Jolla kicked field goals of 38, 33, and 28 yards and La Jolla defeated Riverside Rubidoux, 9-6…Kearny’s playoff score with Sweetwater did not disappoint the Komets…they advanced as result of the CIF’s tiebreaker rule with 12 first downs to 10, achieved by a 62-yard drive in the final 7:41 of the fourth quarter…Kearny had won 15 in a row and had an unbeaten streak of 16 games when it couldn’t score in the second half of a 14-6 loss to Morse… said Morse coach John Shacklett:  “We simply played good football against a good team”…”We fumbled on their seven and 12-yard lines,” said Komets coach Birt  Slater, summing up the Linda Vista view of the game… St. Augustine’s Mike Kennedy passed for 385 yards and 6 touchdowns and Tim Smith caught 9 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns in the Saints’ 48-20 victory over Lincoln…Oceanside was minus the injured Anthony PaoPao and dropped a 37-7 decision to Patrick Henry in the playoff quarterfinals…Clairemont,  under first-year coach Art Anderson, the Chiefs’ former track mentor, improved from 1-8 in 1973 to 8-1 and battled Kearny before losing 14-12 in the Eastern League title game…Ramona was facing zip, zero, nada…for the season…for wins and points scored…the Bulldogs lost their ninth game but did get into the end zone in a 63-6 loss at home to San Dieguito….

San Diego High was in the playoffs and San Dieguito was out.

Oops, San Dieguito was  in and San Diego was out.

The seeds of a legislative tempest had germinated in the spring when the San Diego Section Coordinating Council requested that the County Football Coaches’ Association prepare an analysis of the 1973 playoffs.

Point Loma’s Bennie Edens, Kearny’s Birt Slater, and Oceanside’s Herb Meyer, the Association’s current President, created a white paper.

The document concluded that the postseason was a financial and artistic success, but the coaches noted a pesky loophole.

There had been no provision in the 1973 playoff structure for the handling of a three-way tie for first place in leagues that were allotted only two playoff berths.

The coaches suggested that tri-champions in a league with two playoff berths be given priority over second- and third-place teams from leagues with three playoff berths, with rotational  alternatives in succeeding seasons.

SOUNDS SIMPLE, BUT…

The issue never got out of committee, as they say in politics.  “Although the recommendation was considered, it was never passed,” said El Capitan principal Bill Davis, representing the Grossmont League on the San Diego Section coordinating council.

Crawford principal Dick Jackson disagreed:  “…there was a general  feeling among the council members considering the recommendation that it was a good one and should be passed.”

Jackson believed the recommendation by the coaches was adopted in principle, but no written record of the endorsement went  to the CIF board of managers.

Apparently the CIF playoff seeding committee did not get the memo.  The seeds and pairings reflected the coaches’ recommendation.  Thus,  San Diego (6-3), which tied for the Western League championship, was in, and San Dieguito (5-4), third in the Avocado League, was out.

“We always get a raw deal,” screamed San Dieguito coach Grant Gaunce to Steve Brand of The San Diego Union.

Not to worry, coach.

Gaunce was assuaged a couple days later when the CIF Board of Managers reversed the decision by the playoff committee, which set off other reactions.

About 75 San Diego High students attended a San Diego Board of Education meeting later in the week to complain about their team’s treatment.  A student who spoke on behalf of the group said it had gathered 850 signatures in the first 20 minutes after hearing of the decision.

A parent of one of the players said it was “cruel” to raise the kids hopes on Saturday, then arbitrarily pull the rug out from underneath them.

Board members indicated they were sympathetic to San Diego High’s situation but that a decision was not within their authority.

San Diego coach Shan Deniston was stunned.  “I must go to the wrong church,” he said.

San Dieguito was ushered out by Vista in the first round, 24-0.