The Madison Warhawk Football Team committed their first error in judgment Friday evening at approximately 7:20 pm. The visitors won the pre-game coin toss and opted to defer their choice of taking possession of the ball until the second half of play.

That proved to be a big mistake by Madison.

The Islander Football captain triumvirate of Geoff Thorne, Joey Naple and J.T. Rogan immediately signaled that they wanted the ball. After a total of 20 plays, 9 minutes and 45 seconds, and 82 yards had elapsed, the Islanders found the end zone courtesy of a four-yard plunge by Rogan.

The opening drive of the contest set the tone for the evening as the Islanders ran, passed and defended their way to a 28-9 victory over their Harbor League rival. The win ran Coronado’s record to 6-0 and dropped Madison to 3-3.

During the opening drive, Rogan rushed 13 times for 52 yards, on his way to another fine effort of 168 yards on the ground in 24 attempts. The 5-foot, 11-inch, and 180-pound senior tailback also caught three passes for 57 yards and played a solid game at linebacker in addition. His running totals are all the more impressive since Rogan touched the ball only four times in the second half, with no carries in the fourth quarter.

Rogan’s three tallies against Madison, which came on runs of 4, 44 and 30 yards, give him a total of 21 touchdowns for the season. He has compiled a total of 1048 yards rushing during the 2003 campaign, which leaves him one touchdown and 428 yards short of tying both single season school marks set by Marvin Dingle in 2000.

It was an evening where several Islanders had good performances. "Cote Perkins played well," said Head Coach Bud Mayfield of his senior signal caller, who completed 8-13 pass attempts for 156 yards. "We’re a lot more balanced offensively than people give us credit for and a lot of that is due to Cote. Sophomore David Loving filled in at tight end really well. He is also playing strong side linebacker. Junior Jon Maskevich came of age against Madison. They tried to pick on him a number of times and he had a key interception for us. He gave them nothing. He’s really coming along."

In the world of Coronado football, capable back-ups are critically important. Due to injuries to Gene Pontes and Bryce Blumenthal, Loving is the third tight end used by the Mayfield this year and he is also the second entry on the depth chart at quarterback.

Mayfield also praised the contributions made by seniors Wesley Bowman and Kyle Nealy. "Wesley is a great sixth man on offense," said Mayfield, mixing his sports metaphors to make a point. "That’s how we use him. He comes in to close the game out and he’s very dangerous. He helps us control the ball and we plan to use him more. He is also a starting defensive back and he can play wide receiver and tight end."

"I’m really happy to have him back," said Mayfield of Nealy, who popped his shoulder out of position in pre-season camp. "He will be a great contributor down the stretch. He can play wide receiver and defensive back. His first game was Friday night and his enthusiasm was contagious."

Time of possession is a football statistic that can often reflect a team’s domination of an opponent. In the 24 minutes that comprised the first half of play, the Islanders had possession of the ball for 17 minutes and 14 seconds, leaving Madison with the other 6 minutes and 46 seconds. And it wasn’t that close.

Defense is what wins championships and the Islanders showed they can play that side of the ball. "We have a great defense," Mayfield continued. "They pushed us a little in the third quarter, but we wouldn’t let them in (the end zone). When we did that, the game was over."

Next week Coronado plays a rare Saturday evening game as they travel to Grossmont High School to play Christian in a 7:30 pm contest.

Coronado photographer Bill Van den Akker is shooting the varsity football games for the Islander Football Booster Club. A selection of his work can be found at www.coronadophoto.com. Pricing and contact information is included on his website. Check out the site. Bill’s work is first rate.

Several times in this space Your Natterer has been critical of the San Diego Chargers, however I was glad to see the Chargers defeat the Cleveland Browns over the weekend. However, let there be no misunderstanding, the Chargers are a bad football team. Aside from tailback LaDanian Tomlinson and punter Darren Bennett, there isn’t an All-Pro caliber player in sight.

Constant mistakes, penalties, and a lack of effort by many players make this a hard team to watch. Quarterback Drew Brees works hard and seems to care, but too many missed passes in critical situations show me he isn’t the answer for the most important position on the field.

On a football-related note, I have declared this an Aztec-free column.

For parents of Coronado Middle School athletes, there will be an organizational meeting held Monday evening, October 27 at 6 pm at Granzer Hall at the school, for children interested in playing girls softball, girls soccer, boys soccer and boys basketball.

The fee to participate in CMS athletics is $80 per child per sport. This is an informational session and you will be able to register your child for his or her sport at the conclusion of the session.

Head Coach Phil Trotter led the Girls Volleyball Team to two wins this past week, including a 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 victory over Madison. The second match was a straight set defeat of Gompers Secondary School. The Islander defeat of Madison was important because the Warhawks are in second place behind Coronado in the Harbor League. The Islanders are currently sporting a perfect 6-0 conference record.

"Against Madison, we played much more consistently," said Trotter. "The whole team concentrated on cutting down on our errors. We’re working on not beating ourselves from now on."

Trotter spoke of the performance of junior Emily Howe as a highlight of last week’s games. "Emily played real well last weekend," Trotter said. "She is probably our best serer. We play her in the back row and she also plays opposite. She put the game out of reach for Madison every time she served."

This week the Islanders play Crawford in an early-week contest and then play at Clairemont Thursday. "There’s a month left in the season," Trotter added. "We’re looking forward to gearing up for a league championship and then to playing in the playoffs. We want to play our best volleyball at the end of the year."

The Girls Tennis Team was 1-2 last week as they lost a pair of Western League matches to Scripps Ranch and University City, sandwiched around a 15-3 victory over El Capitan Wednesday. Head Coach Robbin Adair sees continued improvement for his team. "We lost to Scripps Ranch 13-5, but we lost four really close sets and played well. We lost to University City 16-2, but every match was well contested. This is a week when I thought the whole team played really well. I keep telling the kids that the Western League is dynamite tough. El Capitan is winning the Grossmont North Conference and we beat them. We lost close to Granite Hills and they are winning their league."

"Briana Acuna played particularly well against El Capitan," Adair continued. "Justine Gordon played very well against them also. Kelsey Dampier and Gretchen Nielsen were on the JV squad a year ago and I thought they would play No.3 doubles this year, but now they are playing No. 2. They have been as consistent as my No. 1 doubles team and that’s a real help."

There are two weeks remaining in regular season play and no non-league matches remain on the schedule. On a scheduling note, the varsity matches now return to the Glorietta Courts as that location has been refurbished. The team plays USDHS Thursday at home and then travels to La Jolla H.S. next Tuesday.

La Jolla High School was the sole opponent of The Boys Water Polo Team last week and the Islanders emerged with a solid 12-7 victory. Head Coach Randy Burgess said in an interview that the Vikings were among the four best teams in San Diego County regardless of division, along with Carlsbad, Bishop’s and Coronado.

Burgess appreciated the victory, but noted that the Islanders can still improve. "We still have problems playing for four quarters, but we did the right thing when we had to. Chris Brown probably had his best day for us, with four goals, three assists, and two steals. He was followed by Tommy Corcoran with three goals and three steals. John Arnold, and Matt Digges added two goals each and Joey Jankiewicz had one goal."

This week the Islanders return to the road with matches Tuesday at USDHS, and today at Scripps Ranch. Saturday the team travels to play Long Beach Wilson, which Burgess ranks along with Harvard Westlake and Bellarmine Prep as the three best prep squads in the state this year.

Two unsung heroes working on behalf of the Islander Water Polo Program this year are Captain David Landon, commander of Naval Base Coronado and Master Chief Chuck Horner, who have helped make a local practice site for the team a reality.

"We’re practicing from 6-9 pm on the Navy base, under diesel generated lights," said Burgess. "By the time the tarp is on the pool, and the kids are home, its closer to 10 pm. Capt. Landon has been fantastic. Master Chief Horner is always there when we’ve needed him. When he came here, Landon said that he would make a commitment to have the Navy and the community work hand-in-hand and he has done that. We’d be practicing in the Bay without him. The practice site alternatives were almost non-existent."

The CHS Girls Golf Team broke even on the week, defeating La Jolla 253-279 and losing by a single stroke to Scripps Ranch 258-259. Head Coach Kari Weidner noted that Isabel Sanchez shot a career low 44 in the La Jolla match and earned medalist honors. Monica Ascolani also had a fine round, shooting a 46.

For the Islanders in their one-shot loss to Scripps Ranch, Alexi Sanchez and Ascolani both shot a 45. Weidner said that Ascolani is the overall stroke leader for the squad this season. This week Coronado plays an early-week match against Point Loma at home, followed by what should be a close contest with league-leading Our Lady of Peace at Balboa Park.

Head Track Coach George Green checks in with a cross country report. "Both The Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams easily bested Madison in their second dual meet of the season with scores of 17–40 for the Boys and 15–45 for the Girls.

A cross country race is mathematically locked by the team that places its first three runners across the finish in front of the first runner from the opposing team. The Islanders locked both races. Jake Ruzevick, Brad Munns and Ryan Haig led the way for the boys followed by Jack Harms (5^th), Blake Gorey (6^th), Alton Smith (10^th), Reid McLean (11^th), Judd Lyons (15^th) and Andrew Cox (20^th). Ruzevick’s time over the Morley Field 3.1 mile course was 16:57.

The girls were one runner away from a cross country "skunk" (top 7 finishers) with the Top 6 finishers. Katherine Wingert was first across the line over the 2.75-mile girls course in 18:46 followed by Beth Wittry, Ashley Walsh, Dayna Queisser, Karoline Ivarsson, Marissa Nagler and Katy Gomrick (12^th).

In Coronado Middle School action Sallie Privett (6^th grade) and Ben Enowitz (8^th grade) trekked up to Walnut, California to join 4,000 other elementary and middle school runners at the biggest cross country event in the country, the Mt. SAC Invite. Because they’re fast we put them in the key events of the day, the Sweepstakes races, for the best 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders combined.

Due to the 100+ degree temperatures the race officials used the short 1.2-mile course for all races. Enowitz was in contention for first until a stomach cramp slowed him in the last 300 meters, when he faded to 4^th place and a time of 7:53, only 10 seconds behind the winner. Privett placed 5^th in 9:01 only 13 seconds out of 2^nd place in a race otherwise dominated by 8th graders. She’ll be back next year … and the year after."