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.

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

Quarterback	Ezell Singleton	San Diego	1958
Running Backs	C. R. Roberts	Oceanside	1953
	Tyler Gaffney	Cathedral Catholic	2008
	Darrin Wagner	Lincoln	1987
Receivers	Patrick Rowe	Lincoln	1986
	Art Powell	San Diego	1954
Line	Jack Harrington	Rancho Buena Vista	1988
	Lincoln Kennedy	Morse	1988
	Steve Riley	Castle Park	1968
	Robbie Coffin	Mira Mesa	1983
	Steve Vieria	Carlsbad	1999
Athletes	Deron Johnson	San Diego	1955
	Charlie Powell	San Diego	1950
	Reggie Bush	Helix	2002
	Bill Fudge	El Capitan	1970

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

Line	Ed Imo	Kearny	1973
	La’Roi Glover	Point Loma	1991
	Tamasi Amituani	Vista	1988
	Arthur Smith	Lincoln	1963
Linebackers	Junior Seau	Oceanside	1986
	Pisa Tinoisamoa	Vista	1998
	Greg Slough	Point Loma	1964
	Travis Hitt	Grossmont	1971
Secondary	Marcus Allen	Lincoln	1977
	Willie Buchanon	Oceanside	1968
	Monte Jackson	St. Augustine	1970
	Eric Allen	Point Loma	1982
Athletes	Dave Grayson	Lincoln	1956
	Dokie Williams	El Camino	1977
	Darnay Scott	Kearny	1990
Kicker	Noel Prefontaine	El Camino	1991

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

Quarterback	Sal Aunese	Vista	1985
Running backs	Dillon Baxter	Mission Bay	2010
	Michael Hayes	San	1974
	Markeith Ross	Rancho Buena Vista	1989
Receivers	Glenn Kozlowski	Carlsbad	1980
	Harold (Brick) Muller	San Diego	1916
Line	Erik Magnuson	La Costa Canyon	2011
	Pete Adams	University	1968
	Pulu Poumele	Oceanside	1989
	Volney Peters	Hoover	1947
	Hobbs Adams	San Diego	1922
Athletes	Cleveland Jones	San Diego	1956
	Teddy Lawrence	Morse	1990
	Allan Clark	San Marcos	1973
	Cotton Warburton	San Diego	1930

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

Line	David Gates	Morse	1994
	Jimmy Gunn	Lincoln	1965
	Dan Saleaumua	Sweetwater	1981
	Ty Morrison	Morse	1988
Linebackers	Ted Johnson	Carlsbad	1991
	Frank Stephens	San Diego	1974
	Donnie Edwards	Chula Vista	1990
	Zeke Moreno	Castle Park	1996
Secondary	Leon Hall	Vista	2002
	Bryant Westbrook	El Camino	1992
	Chuck Cecil	Helix	1982
	Willie West	San Diego	1955
Athletes	Nate Shaw	Lincoln	1962
	Jose Perez	Oceanside	2002
	Lenny McGill	Orange Glen	1988
Kicker	Scott Webb	Helix	1982

THIRD TEAM OFFENSE

Quarterback	Pete Gumina	San Diego	1955
Running backs	Roger Price	Vista	1985
	Ricky Williams	Henry	1994
	Rashaan Salaam	La Jolla Country Day	1991
Receivers	Bill McColl	Hoover	1947
	Kenny Stills	La Costa Canyon	2009
Line	John Michaels	La Jolla	1990
	Tom Dabasinskas	San Pasqual	1985
	Tom Dahms	San Diego	1944
	Calvert Fackrell	San Diego	1957
	Sale Isaia	Oceanside	1989
Athletes	J.J. Stokes	Point Loma	1989
	Bill Dunckel	Fallbrook 1986	1986
	Touissant Tyler	El Camino	1976
	Wally Henry	Lincoln	1973

THIRD TEAM DEFENSE

Line	Russell Tialavea	Oceanside	1985
	Darrell Russell	St. Augustine	1993
	Okland Salavea	Oceanside	1985
	Dan Daris	Oceanside	1975
Linebackers	Barry McKeever	San Pasqual	1983
	Jeff Staggs	Point Loma	1961
	David Lewis	Lincoln	1972
	Brandon Chillar	Carlsbad	1999
Secondary	John Lynch	Torrey Pines	1988
	Jim Smith	Kearny	1963
	Stefan McClure	Vista	2010
	Ronnie Cortell	Sweetwater	1984
Athletes	Frank Green	Coronado	1929
	Pesky Sprott	San Diego	1916
	Jerome Price	University City	1989
Kicker	Nate Tandberg	Rancho Bernardo	1995

—–
Team chosen by:
Steve Brand, retired U-T staff writer;
Nick Canepa, U-T columnist;
Bill Center, U-T staff writer;
Jess Kearney, U-T deputy sports editor;
John Maffei, U-T staff writer;
Terry Monahan, U-T staff writer; and
Rick Smith, San Diego sports historian.