To the uninitiated, including your Natterer, lacrosse is a confusing game. Being on the receiving end of a stick in the back, judged as misdemeanor battery in most jurisdictions, simply allows you to retain possession of the ball in the sport of lacrosse.

Then there are the face-offs, which were ably handled by Coronado’s Kelcey Fisher in Saturday’s game against the Wantagh (NY) Warriors. Face-offs are essentially two-man rugby scrums that initiate play at the beginning of each quarter and after goals are scored. The face-offs alone may be worth the price of admission to a lacrosse game.

Wantagh, Long Island, which is to New York as Coronado is to San Diego, invaded Southern California en masse during their Spring Break, arriving with 35 players and twice that many parents. The Warriors physically resembled college-aged football middle linebackers with sticks. The Coronado players? Well they looked like high-school athletes, which isn’t a bad thing. They were just considerably smaller, though often quicker, versions of their opponents.

Coronado Head Coach Alex Cade knew the quality of his opponent. "They are probably among the Top 25 teams in the country," said Cade in his third year at the helm of the CHS Boys Lacrosse program. They’re an excellent team and they have four guys who are going on to play Division I lacrosse. Perennially they are a great team, and this one is no different."

The Warriors and Islanders hurled themselves at each other at 11 am Saturday and the result was a spirited and well-played game. The contest was played in front of a knowledgeable and vocal crowd, many of whom followed the Coronado tradition of arriving fashionably late. The Wantagh fans arrived early and in fine vocal form.

Wantagh opened the scoring just over three minutes into the first quarter, a goal that was answered a minute later by Coronado’s Will Purvis on a nice left-handed shot from the left of the goal. The Warriors countered one minute later and took a 2-1 lead at the end of the first frame.

At the 11:05 mark of the second quarter, Wantagh scored again, providing the Warriors with what would prove to be their largest lead of the game at 3-1. Sophomore attack Pat Murphy scored at the 7:22 mark and sophomore Geoff Worley scored on a leaping, diving shot, with 2:39 remaining in the half. The scored was tied at three-all at halftime.

Fisher and Purvis sandwiched goals around a Wantagh score and Coronado took a 5-4 lead into the fourth quarter. At 9:58, Worley scored a goal on an assist from Erik Karlsson to give the Islanders a 6-4 lead. Wantagh scored with 6:53 remaining in the game to get them to within one goal, but the contest was far from over. The Warriors mounted a furious offensive attack, but ultimately fell short. Coronado held on for the well-earned 6-5 victory.

All the while the Coronado offense was playing well, senior goalie Kevin Chenoweth was playing a phenomenal game, ably supported by his close defensemen Chris Arthur, Kyle McArthur and Ryan Cummins. Chenoweth was just short of phenomenal, turning aside several point blank shots on goal, while being credited with a total of 20 saves in the game. Two of the saves came on Warrior 2-on-1 scoring opportunities in the last two minutes of the game, which Chenoweth easily turned aside.

"Kevin was clearly the difference in the game," said Cade. "He’s been working really, really hard in practice and he’s been focused for the last couple of weeks. When he’s focused, he’s one of the best goalies out there. He pretty much took over the game, which is what good players do in big games. It’s good to see when your players step up in a game that big."

Although he was the key to the victory, Chenoweth didn’t do it alone according to Cade. "Geoff Worley has been a key player for us this year and he did some great things with the ball. Will Purvis stepped up and had a big game. He put his head down and went to the goal a couple of times. Kelcey Fisher always comes up big for us on various levels. His contribution can’t be measured just by stats."

After the game, the two teams congregated at North Beach for a barbecue. "They are a class program and their coaches are nothing but class acts," Cade said. "They are definitely a pleasure to play and be around."

Despite the win and a gaudy 4-1 overall record, Cade knows his team has a lot of lacrosse left to play. "We heave a lot to work on as a team. The kids feel like we haven’t played our best lacrosse, and we’re playing pretty well right now."

This week the team travels Tuesday to play Scripps Ranch at 7 pm; hosts Patrick Henry Friday at 7 pm; and Saturday hosts Foothill from San Francisco at 3 pm.

Head Track Coach George Green provides us with an update on the Coronado High School and Coronado Middle School Track Teams. High jump Coach Kerry Elders was spread pretty thin at the Sun Devil Invitational Saturday, and it’s his own fault. Elders isn’t satisfied to just have one of the best female high jumpers in the county in Jamie Klages, he has to have one of the best male high jumpers as well in Adam Munns. Having two jumpers in the same competition is normally not a problem, but both the seeded high jumps for the men and women started at the same time, at opposite ends of Mt. Carmel High School’s new track facility.

Earlier in the day, Elders had watched another Islander jumper, sophomore Sarah Player, clear 5 feet to take second place in the ‘B’ flight. Because there were twice as many entrants in the girls high jump, Sarah camped out behind the end zone where the girls were jumping, with a 2-way radio to keep Elders and me updated on the event’s progress, while we watched the boys competition from the stands.

The boys high jump is usually competitive than the girls competition, usually to a height of around 6-feet, 2-inches. After this height, Munns and La Jolla’s Nathon Gwozdz usually take over and go head-to-head. The girls usually spend a lot of time eliminating one another at the lower heights before Klages and Mt. Carmel’s Lindsey Whetstine are all who remain at around 5’4."

These four jumpers are the class of the CIF San Diego Section this year, with the third spot for both boys and girls open for anyone at this point in the season. For the boys, it just might be Coronado’s Reid McLean, another one of Elder’s high fliers, whose personal best jump of 6’3" would have placed him third at the two big San Diego invitationals this year, the Bronco and the Mt. Carmel. McLean, who was last year’s section 300 meter hurdles champion, has been out of action since he sprained his ankle during the basketball season. He has recovered now and should be ready for the Islanders next meet.

The boys’ high jump went as expected with only Gwozdz and Munns surviving past 6’2." After both cleared the bar at 6’6", the bar was placed at 6’8 ½" in an attempt to set the meet record. Munns was close on his second jump, while Gwozdz cleared his jump.

By the time the girls filed was down to Klages and Whetstine at 5’4", we joined Player at the girls’ competition. Both girls cleared 5’6" and the bar was set to 5’8," higher than either competitor had ever jumped. Whetstine jumping first was very close on her second attempt. Klages cleared 5’8" on her second try to win the event.

Player, elevated to Assistant Coach status at this point, had the sixth best jump of the day at 5’0", along with six other girls who cleared the same height. Klages’ jump of 5’8" is one of the best marks in the state this year; the best for a San Diego Section athlete since 1988; and places her in a sixth place tie on San Diego’s All-Time list.

Friday, CHS distance ace Jake Ruzevick, who will be running for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology track team next year, hosted a pasta dinner along with his parents Jim and Bette Ruzevick, for MIT team at his house. The Engineers Track Team was in town to compete at UCSD Saturday, and rumor has it there was no food left in the house. The next day at Mt. Carmel, Jake set a personal best standard in the 1,600-meters, placing fourth in 4:21.58. He was in contention all the way and only 2 seconds back from the winner in a close, fast finish.

Our farm team, also known as the Coronado Middle School Track Team, is doing very well this season. There have been two league meets and the Pelicans were overall winners in both events. Their website is linked to the CHS Track website at Islandertrack.com, where you can see full results for both meets.

Without question, the most outstanding performer has been 7^th grader Sallie Privett. In the second meet she ran 1,600 meters (10 meters short of a mile) in 5:16.9. If she was in high school, this time would put her among the top runners in San Diego.

Some of the other top CMS athletes (listed alphabetically by first name) include: Aaro Kornoned (sprints, 400, 800 and high jump); Adrianna Davies (200, 400); Alena Pokorny (hurdles); Alexandria Flores (sprints); Allison Hart (high jump); Ana Cano (1,600); Andrea Sassenrath (sprints); Andrew Ovrom (hurdles, 400, high jump); Andrew Smith (sprints); Ashley Lazareno (sprints); Ashley Perwich (hurdles, sprints); Briana Giorgione (sprints, high jump); Cotter Stacy (200, 400, 800); Danielle Gillberg (hurdles); David Grimes (800, 1600); Harley Reid (sprints, long jump); Jacob Landers (hurdles, sprints); Lauren Zitman (hurdles); Lizzy Stone (sprints); Luis Cano (hurdles); Madalyn Danielson (sprints, long jump); Mariah Stacy (hurdles, 400); Sallie Privett (400, 800, 1600); Scott Lindquist (sprints, high jump); Stanley Wright (hurdles); and Will Rickard (sprints)."

The Boys Soccer Team gathered to honor their 16-4 season, which included a perfect 10-0 record and a championship in the Harbor League. The varsity awards, which were voted on by the players and announced by Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu included: Islander Sports Foundation Award for Integrity, Sportsmanship and Friendship – Michael Dykstra; Most Inspirational – Ryan Cummins; Most Valuable Offensive Player – Stuart Gallant; Most Valuable Defensive Player – Travis Lindsay; Most Improved – Kevin Chenoweth; Most Valuable Player and Team Captain – Stuart Gallant.

Gallant was also named Player of the Year in the Harbor League; and was named to the "San Diego Union-Tribune’s" All-San Diego Section Second Team. Lindsay was named to the Harbor League First Team and to the All CIF Division III Second Team; Nick Hamilton was named to both the First Team Harbor League and the CIF Division III Second Team; Blair Geiss, Hugo Vera and Michael Dykstra were all named to the All-Harbor League Second Team.

The Junior Varsity Awards as announced by Head JV Coach Jay Peterson included: Most Improved – Alex Lucero; Most Valuable Defensive Player – Fabiano Sarmento; Most Valuable Offensive Player – Patrick Murphy; and Team MVP – Antonio Gastelum.

The CHS Girls Lacrosse Team hosted George Mason (VA) High School and won 12-0 last week and then defeated the USDHS Dons by the score of 11-4 to push their overall record to 6-0 this season.

Head Coach Jessica Battle noted that goalie Liz Thaete "did a phenomenal job in both games last week." She also praised the contributions of Julia Schelkun, Hannah Sebenaler, Marissa Nagler, Marissa Smallwood, and Greer Goebels as they continue to pace the Islander offensive attack; while defensive stalwart Angela Naple anchors the defense in concert with Alex Vido.

Despite the fact that her team is undefeated, Battle knows that the tough part of her schedule comes after this week’s Spring Break. "We definitely need to do some more work before we play La Jolla Tuesday, April 5^th. We’ll be working out a couple of days this week and the girls are supposed to be running on their own."
Battle considers La Jolla to be one of the better teams in San Diego County and their game will be played at 7 pm Tuesday.

The La Jolla game is followed closely on the schedule by home games with Monte Vista Fri. April 8 at 7 pm; and against Scripps Ranch Saturday, April 9 at 1 pm.

What was originally supposed to be a rare 18-hole match against Eastlake became a rain-shortened affair Thursday, which Coronado won 214-220.

Adding meteorology to his list of academic credentials, CHS Golf Coach Dr. Lee Price said of the match, "it was raining like crazy Thursday and we were soaking wet after nine holes. So everybody just decided to stop. We still ended up winning. Nick Finley and Bryan Reed both shot a 40 for us."

The Islanders are off this week due to Spring Break, but have to pick up the pace next week when they play four matches and the following week when they play every day. "We really get into Harbor League play next week," Price said. "We have Christian a couple of times, then Clairemont and Crawford. In three weeks we have an 18-hole match with St. Augustine and Bishop’s."

The Islanders split their four games last week, but their results were good enough to advance to the semi-final game of the AAA Division of the Lions Tournament.

Game 1 saw Coronado fall to Otay Ranch by the score of 5-1. Head Coach Sam Ceci said succinctly, "they played well and we didn’t."

Ceci was verbally more expansive about the following day’s game, a 7-4 victory over Mt. Miguel. "That was a fun game and everybody got to play. We looked at some freshmen. Sophomore Benson Lorden, up from the JV got the win."

Wednesday Coronado played Santa Fe Christian, a team that Coach Ceci described as, "the best team in the bracket. That was probably the best game of the week. We were down 5-0 in the third, came back and scored five runs and tied it up." The Islanders had to employ pitchers Michael Denson, Mike ‘Sarge’ Hollinger, and Kevin Couture to earn the victory.

"We traded the lead with them twice," Ceci elaborated, "and we were able to win the game. Jimmy Gersonde and Max Weinfurtner hit the ball well, as did Ryan Nunn, and Josh Okerman. Danny Cepin got a big hit. Couture got the win on the mound."

Through the computation of run differential from the first three games against other teams in their bracket, and the results of head-to-head play, the Islanders made the playoffs facing Clairemont in the semi-finals. The Islanders took an early 2-0 lead on a home run from Blake Spitzer. "He hit it a ton," said Ceci. But shortly thereafter, the wheels came off the cart, and the Islanders sent seven pitchers to the mound and came out on the short end of an 11-5 game.

"We were sore and tired," said Ceci of his team that played nine games in a 10-day span. "We were stretched pretty thin, arm-wise. It was a real long game." However, the mound staff of the future was on display in this one, with freshmen Tucker Johnson and Kyle Pokorny, and sophomore Lorden all appearing in the contest. "Pokorny has some savvy on the mound and he knows how to pitch. Tucker pitched in the Mt. Miguel game and did well in the Clairemont game."

This week the team will have light workouts on Monday and Tuesday, start to get serious Wednesday and will then host Francis Parker Thursday at 3 pm in the beginning of the City Conference Tournament. The Islanders will play at Kearny High School on Saturday at 1:30 pm.

Head Boys Tennis Coach Robbin Adair and his charges faced Canyon Crest High School for the second time this season, and to make up for the fact that the Islanders won the last outing 17-1 against the ‘freshman class only’ new high school, he agreed to play only underclassmen in the return match.

We’ll let Coach Adair pick up the narrative. "With a thrown-together line-up we got beat. The final set score was 9-9 and they won the game count 80-74. Sophomores Chris Mitchell and Pedro de la Fuente played first doubles, and they led the way sweeping 6-1, 6-1, and 6-3. Sophomore Mike Holman won two out of three singles sets 6-4, 6-3, and 1-6; while the doubles team of freshman Chandler Kear and senior Zack Oakley won two of three sets 1-6, 6-4, 6-1."

The Islanders return to battle next week when they open Western League play Tuesday, April 5 with a match at USDHS. They then host Scripps Ranch Wednesday April 6 and host University City Thursday. The home matches start at 3 pm.

Losing twice in one week isn’t fun, but the Islander Boys Volleyball Team is playing some tough matches. Last week they lost to Bishops 25-22, 25-18 and 25-19. They lost to Otay Ranch by similar scores.

"We’re getting better, but unfortunately we’re losing matches," said Head Coach Phil Trotter. "Part of it is due to better competition. We need to play better as a team. Justin Hardy has been playing well and he has been a bright spot so far. He played well, but more importantly he has had a great attitude. Jed Considine has been working hard."

Friday and Saturday, Coronado hosts a portion of the Beach Cities Tournament. "We need to play a lot of matches," said Trotter. "Starting Friday, all of our matches are at home."