Football played at any level is a complex game, complete with complicated pass patterns, rife with intricate blocking assignments, and convoluted defensive schemes. But coming off of Coronado’s 45-0 home victory over Southwest High School in the lid-lifter for both teams, two pretty simple elements pleased Coronado High School Head Coach Bud Mayfield about his team – their enthusiasm and hustle.

"I told the team that we weren’t very scrappy in the scrimmage last week (vs. Mission Bay and Rancho Buena Vista). We came to life (against Southwest) and I was very pleased about that," said Mayfield. "The most important things are the enthusiasm and the hustle. We (the coaching staff) can fix anything else that’s broken. They (the Islanders) were really pumped up for this game and that made it fun. We can’t provide any more entertainment than that."

Taken as a unit, the running back corps of Kelcey Fisher, Mike Baker-Denson and Ricardo Oberwager was outstanding. Tailback Fisher gained 55 yards on the ground; blocking back Baker-Denson scored four times on runs of 6,4,18 and 1 yards; while Oberwager rushed twice for 70 yards, including a 45-yard scamper that concluded the scoring for Coronado. For good measure, Fisher was a perfect 6-6 on his extra point conversions and concluded the first half with a 22-yard field goal.

"They all have speed, good moves and they are good backs," said Mayfield of his stable of running backs. "The offense we developed many years ago is perfect for three little guys who are fast. We looked like ourselves Friday night. Last year at the end of the season, we didn’t look like anybody I recognized."

Mayfield elaborated on the skills of sophomore Oberwager. "He’s very hungry and he gives us a punt return and kick return game we haven’t had in the last couple of years. He will play wide receiver, free safety and tailback. He loves the game and is really intense when he gets out there. He gives us the versatility we need."

The defensive side of the ball provided some points as well, when senior defensive back Will Purvis stymied Southwest’s opening drive of the second half with a 66-yard pass interception and return for a touchdown. Purvis made a nice jumping catch for the interception and showed speed in outrunning the Raiders to the end zone. That play essentially concluded any chance Southwest had to upset Coronado.

As is the case in any winning football game, the big guys in the trenches contributed mightily to the victory. Virtually all of the linemen at Coronado play both ways and the contributors included in various combinations Ryland Gill, Kyle McArthur, Dustin West, Tim Sexton, Levi Lozano and Ben Thorne.

Some concern was expressed in the preseason that the linemen might more aptly be described as plow horses as opposed to thoroughbreds in the team speed department, but that doubt was erased in the early going. "David Loving had a run of 40 yards or so, and two of our offensive tackles, Dusty West and Tim Sexton were downfield next to him," Mayfield said. "When Will ran 66 yards with the interception and touchdown, all of the linemen showed up a few seconds later in the end zone to congratulate him."

Ah, the wonders of game film.

Mayfield knows that depth in the trenches is important. "We have enough linemen that we can rotate them and keep them fresh in the fourth quarter, when kids normally wear down."

The kicking game, which features Fisher as the kicker and Stewart Harris as the holder, received a boost from Cory Couture, who handled some of the kick-offs to provide Fisher a much-needed rest. "He never thought he would get in the game," laughed Mayfield when asked about his sophomore kicker. "He wore number 73 because that was the only number we had left. He’s a good little athlete."

The game could have been even more lopsided that it was, as the final quarter was played with a running clock. Mayfield honored the Southwest coaching staff’s request to not prolong the inevitable. The procedure calls for the request to be made through the game referee and both coaches have to concur. "Most coaches agree because everybody winds up in that situation some time during their career."

Mayfield and the coaching staff awarded Black Shirt recognition to Baker-Denson and Sexton for their efforts in the victory. "We actually could have given out many more black shirts, because we had so many kids play well," Mayfield said. "We’ll recognize them with the decals that they put on their lockers."

An interesting note is that the Coronado program defeated the Southwest program by the combined score of 111-0, as both the JV and the Frosh/Soph teams won by the identical score of 33-0. A televised replay of the varsity game will be shown at 7 pm Wednesday evening on Coronado Cable Channel 19. Your Natterer and Islander Football Booster Club President Terry Leary bring you the action.

This sets up the 47^th meeting between Coronado and Mar Vista this coming Friday, as the Islanders take the trip down the Silver Strand Highway and strive to retain possession of the Adrian Taufaasau Trophy, named in memory of the Islander quarterback who tragically died due to an on-field injury in 1996. Coronado leads the South Bay series, which began play in 1951, by a margin of 26-20.

Mar Vista comes into the game fresh from an 18-6 victory over Kearny. Mayfield handicapped the Mariners. "They’re improved. They have a new offense that looks like the Air Force double wing option. They have a good quarterback and good running backs. Overall, I’m impressed and I’m sure they will be excited about getting us down there." The kickoff is set for 7:30 pm.

The CHS Girls Volleyball Team earned a strong result at the Wolfpack Fall Classic, fighting their way into Gold Division play Saturday and holding their own quite well.

The Islanders were assigned to a pool for preliminary round play that included teams from Westview, the defending CIF Division II champion; the Bishop’s School; and Eastlake.

Coronado emerged with a 28-26, 26-24 victory over Westview; a 19-25, 25-23, 15-9 loss to Bishop’s; and a 25-12, 25-16 win over Eastlake. The Gold Division was comprised of the seven first place finishers in pool play, plus the best second place team. This latter honor went to Coronado. Saturday Coronado lost a seeding placement match to Vista 25-19, 25-20 and then lost in the quarter-finals to Carlsbad 25-16, 25-21.

The result was the best tournament finish during the coaching tenure of Girls Volleyball Head Coach Phil Trotter, who was quite understandably pleased with his team. "We exceeded everybody’s expectations but our own. We played phenomenally well on Friday in pool play. One of the reasons we played so well was our great defense. It was fun to be a part of it."

Trotter mentioned the fine efforts of two of his seniors. "Megan Mushovic and Kelly Phelps played at a level that was among the top tier of the players there at the tournament. They played so well because everybody else stepped up and we played as a team. Kelsey Fitzgerald and our other sophomore Christy Mebust played really well as did Emmy Pickett and Caitlin Kennedy. They all played great, although we didn’t play as well as we had hoped to on Saturday. We all went away feeling we will develop as a team and have a great season. When you have a younger team, it’s hard to stay consistent. If they continue to work hard, we’ll do well."

Mushovic is attracting recruiting attention from Division I programs as a libero or back row defensive specialist. Trotter discussed his setter’s volleyball abilities. "Megan has all of the leadership skills you need as a setter. She’s a coach on the floor."

This week the Islanders travel to Grossmont for a match Wednesday and then hit the road again for an away contest at Patrick Henry. Both games start at 3:30 pm.

CHS Head Cross Country Coach George Green checks in with a brief blurb about the Boys Cross Country Team. "Although the Boys Cross Country squad placed seventh at the Mustang Invitational at Rohr Park last Friday, the competition included larger schools. Among the schools in CIF Division IV, they were first and among the Division III schools they were third.

Ben Enowitz placed eighth overall with a time of 17:42 over the 3.1-mile course. He was followed by Michael Davies (24^th in 18:47), David Grimes (46^th in 19:23), Jose Tijerina (49^th in 19:27) and Jack Harms (51^st in 19:37)."

Robbin Adair, head Girls Tennis coach checks in with a court report. "We played two matches last week. On Labor Day, Brawley came in and we beat them 16-2. The first doubles team of freshmen Spencer Berman and Jen Carney got off to a great start by winning three sets 6-0, 6-0, 6-0. The No. 2 doubles team of Hayley Kitzmiller/Alicia Ruiz and the No. 3 team of Loren Metzger/Amanda Purvis each swept their sets as well. In the singles, Allie Gordon swept at No. 1, while Nicole Aponte and Hannah Schneider each took two out of three sets.

Thursday we played San Dieguito Academy, who came in with the second best team in Division III, behind La Jolla. They beat us 17-1. We had a number of close sets, but only Berman/Carney were able to get a set and then they lost a really close tiebreaker. Gordon and Aponte had some really close sets too, but weren’t able to pull them off. It was a really good early season test for us.

This week we play Mira Mesa at home Wednesday and then travel to Torrey Pines to play Canyon Crest on Friday."

Last week the CHS Boys Water Polo program participated in a scrimmage at Carlsbad Friday and in a three-way exhibition featuring Orange County high schools Esperanza and Servite Saturday morning.

According to CHS Boys Water Polo Head Coach Randy Burgess, all three teams are quality opponents. "Carlsbad is definitely one of the top teams in San Diego and in Orange County, Servite and Esperanza are two of the Top 4 teams in their division, along with Los Alamitos and Villa Park."

Coronado was a bit sluggish in the early going Saturday against Esperanza, a fact not lost on Burgess. "Everyone was off a little bit. We’re working hard and will continue to work hard in practices. We played 40 minutes on and 20 minutes off until noon. Everyone got a chance to play and I learned a lot about the team and they learned a lot about themselves. It’s going to be a long season, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. We have a lot of time to get things in line. We’ve been playing hard and we’re going to need every week."

Taking the three exhibition games as a whole, Burgess gave his impressions of the play of some of his athletes. "Eric Clapper performed very well in the scrimmages and he probably played as much as anybody. I thought John Landon and Preston Lujan played very well and they were consistent both days. Devin Farrell played well and (goalie) Patrick Queisser played well in Carlsbad. Saturday (goalie) Kyle Pokorny played well. We’re looking to get a lot of contributions from a lot of different people. That’s just the way it’s going to be this year."

Burgess also announced that sophomore Sean Cook and freshman Adam Ratcliffe will round out the 15-man varsity squad.

The conclusion of the exhibition season leads into a full week of practice, followed by a game at Newport Harbor Saturday morning.

When does a season start, but not really start? Wednesday the Coronado Islander Girls Golf Team was ready for their season inaugural match against Kearny, when the Komets didn’t show at the appointed time at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course.

The result according to CHS Girls Golf Head Coach Hanna Cohan was a forfeit win for Coronado. "We went out and played for a score. For some of the girls it was a good thing. They got out on the course and played nine holes. Alexcie Sanchez shot a 39."

This week the schedule kicks us a notch as Coronado plays home matches Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday against Mira Mesa, Patrick Henry and Our Lady of Peace respectively.

"It should be a good week," said Cohan. "We’re looking forward to a fun week. Our spirit Captain Brooke Bower put together a dinner party in the middle of the week. It’s something fun for the team to do."