One of the most difficult things to do in sports is to defeat an equally-matched opponent three times in the same season.

Going into Saturday evening’s CIF Division II men’s water polo showdown, the seventh straight season that Coronado High School and The Bishop’s School have fought for the title, the Islanders had won the first two meetings between the intense rivals by scores of 11-8 and 9-8.

The third game would prove to be the charm for the Knights as they held off the Islanders 8-7 to claim the 2003 CIF crown. Bishop’s also won the 2002 title to give the La Jolla-based school back-to-back titles for the first time. "It was probably great for San Diego water polo," said Islander Head Coach Randy Burgess. "But not for the Coronado Islanders."

The contest was a hard-fought affair, with the Islanders taking a 3-1 lead at the 6:02 mark of the second period. Goals from John Arnold, Tommy Corcoran and Matt Digges gave Coronado the early advantage.

One of the turning points in the game, that had a constant ebb and flow feel to it, occurred with 27 seconds remaining in the half as Bishop’s earned and converted a 6-on-5 scoring opportunity to pull the game to 3-2 at intermission. The score was the first of three consecutive tallies by the Knights, although Coronado would tie the game at 4-4 with 3:39 remaining in the third period.

Trailing 5-4 to begin the fourth stanza, the Coronado faithful, comprised of a huge student and parent following, gave the Islanders a standing ovation. Simply stated, if you have a rooting interest in Coronado sports of any kind, you are likely to attend this annual rite of fall.

Arnold led all Islander scorers with three goals, with single goals by Co-captain Corcoran, Digges, Joey Jankiewicz and Chris Brown. Senior Co-Captain Scott Syverson completed his distinguished Coronado career with seven saves.

The prettiest goal of the evening was the effort by Brown, who made a steal on the Bishop’s end of the pool, drove the ball the length of the pool and scored with 51 seconds remaining in the contest.

The effort was there throughout the contest, but Coronado finished the game converting on only two of their eight power play opportunities. "We had our chances," commented Burgess. "That one aspect of our game we were off on was our power play. We were strong in that area all year and didn’t bring it that night."

"I was disappointed for the kids, but I thought they left everything in the pool," Burgess added. "It was a hard-fought game and a well-played game. Both teams were well prepared. John Arnold really played a tremendous game. I think he played his heart out and had a great game. On any given night, we could have been on the other side."

Burgess continued by praising his senior class, which collectively held 10 of the 19 roster spots on the team in 2003. "I’m proud of all of the players, especially the senior class. They trained at odd hours and at different facilities. They can hold their heads high. It was a very, very good season. If we give it a little time and reflect back on it, it might be a little less painful."

A great season it was, as Coronado’s 27-5 record will attest.

The Coronado Islander Varsity Football Team rebounded in strong fashion with a 40-14 victory over University City Friday afternoon, but followers of the team had some anxious moments as the Centurions took a 14-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Head Coach Bud Mayfield, who was trying to hold out injured starters Dan Simmons, Wesley Bowman and Ryan Cummins, had to call the trio into service in the second half. "University City threw on us early and we had a couple of sophomores filling in for injured players. We started slow like at Crawford and this was the first time this season that we came from behind to win. We finished strong and score a lot of points (27) in the fourth quarter."

Bowman responded to the challenge by scoring two touchdowns and rushing for 74 yards, which was a nice compliment to senior tailback J.T. Rogan’s 172 yards rushing. Rogan scored once on the ground and once on a pass from senior quarterback Cote Perkins also had a 20-yard TD toss to Gene Pontes. A seven-yard run by senior Trevor Serfass accounted for final Islander touchdown.

Rogan thus eclipses the Islander single season rushing record established in 2000 by Marvin Dingle. Rogan has rushed for 1519 yards in 10 games and has scored 30 touchdowns, thought by Mayfield to be the modern-era Islander scoring record.

But the game wasn’t competed only on the offensive side of the ball. Mayfield singled out the contribution of junior lineman Jed Considine as being noteworthy. "Jed had 10 tackles from the down tackle position, which is very hard to do. He had a fine game."

All of this action set up the all-important Coaches’ seeding meeting that was held Saturday morning. The Islanders emerged with the eighth seed and will host Point Loma Friday evening at 7:30 in a CIF Division III playoff tilt. The Islanders defeated the Pointers 26-7 in their first meeting this season at Niedermeyer Field.

The Islander and Point Loma coaching staffs have exchanged game tape from the last five games of the season, which Mayfield and his staff had already reviewed by Sunday. "They’re just like us," Mayfield said of Point Loma. "They’re methodical and they don’t make mistakes. Physically we match up well. It should be a good game, just like the first time we played them."

This year’s Islander squad became only the fourth football team in school history to post nine or more wins in a singe season. Mayfield pointed out that this year’s senior class has won 18 of the last 20 games in which they have competed.

Head Track and Field Coach George Green checks in with the Islander Cross Country report. "Six Islanders made the All-Division team (Top 10) at the Division IV Cross
Country championships held at Morley Field Saturday.

Jake Ruzevick placed second in the boys race with a time of 17:13 for the 3.1-mile course. Joining him on the all-division team were Brad Munns (fifth in 17:51) and Ryan
Haig (10th in 18:09). They were followed by Blake Gorey (32nd), Jack Harms
(38th), Alton Smith and Buddy Marshall. The team earned third place in the overall team competition, finishing behind La Jolla Country Day and Otay Ranch High Schools.

Katherine Wingert placed fourth in the girls 2.75 mile race with a time of 18:11 followed by Caitlin Alley (seventh in 18:19) and Beth Wittry (eighth in 18:28) for all-division
honors. They were followed by Ashley Walsh (16th in 19:45), Caitlin Bigham
(18th in 20:04), Marissa Nagler (27th in 20:28) and Karolin Ivarsson (39th
in 21:14) for second place in the team competition behind La Jolla Country
Day. The girls team as well as Ruzevick and Munns on the boys side advanced to the state meet in Fresno Saturday.

In CMS action Sallie Privett and Ben Enowitz qualified for the USATF nationals December 13th with 15th and 7^th place finishes respectively at last weekend's regional championships in Las Vegas.

The Girls Volleyball Team finished their season with a good showing in a playoff loss to Bishop’s, on the short side of a 25-22, 25-19, and 25-15 result.

The contest was well-played according to Head Coach Phil Trotter. "We were up in two of the games, but Bishop’s was simply a better team. A couple of times, especially in the first game, if we could have won the game it would have changed the outcome. Partly because of Bishop’s experience and partly because of their (strong) schedule, they were able to come back and beat us."

Several seniors competed in their final match against the Knights. Trotter mentioned Anne Marie Strohbeck, Teal Jensen, Ashley Settle, Amanda Jewett, Janelle Kuhlow, Sarah Fredlund and Katy Arnold as seniors who made strong contributions to the program.

"I’m proud of all of the kids and the way they developed over the year," Trotter added. "The girls worked real hard and we should have a real strong team next year. We had a good season."

The first team to win the race to the banquet finish line was the Girls Tennis Team, due primarily to the fact that Head Coach Robbin Adair also serves as JV Boys Basketball Coach, who are well into their practice schedule.

This year’s award winners are: Most Valuable Player – Elizabeth Hopkins, who won 75 percent of her matches this season; Team Captains - Hopkins, Blaire Herrron and Briana Acuna; with Allie Gordon, Gretchen Nielsen and Kelsey Dampier named Most Improved.

A reminder that The Girls Basketball Team is hosting their Thanksgiving Shootout Tournament this Friday and Saturday. On the first day of competition they play San Dieguito at 12:40 pm and Chula Vista at 5:40 pm. Saturday they face Our Lady of Peace at 12:40 and Brawley at 5:40 pm. Pool B is comprised of Serra, Valley Center, Southwest, Steele Canyon and Imperial High Schools. The proceeds from the event directly benefit the Girls Basketball program.

Finally, congratulations to Islander Girls Lacrosse players Jessica Kelz, Jade Hughes and Julia Schelkun, who assisted Head Coach Jessica Battle with instruction of the Coronado Middle School Girls Lacrosse program this year. Kelz and Hughes coached the ‘A’ team, while Schelkun worked with the ‘B’ team. Both squads had a great season and the high schoolers probably benefited as much from the experience as the middle schoolers did.