All you need to know about Coronado High School’s 41-0varsity football victory at University City Friday afternoon is confined in the following statistic - Islander tailback Kelcey Fisher rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries.

In the first half.

Fisher galloped through the University City defense for runs of 36, 24, 21, 35, 53, and 18 yards, as well as a couple of shorter runs, and looked remarkably fresh for a tailback playing his ninth game of the season. His efforts helped push Coronado to a 7-2 overall record, 4-0 in the Central League. Fisher, who handles the place kicking for the Islanders, converted five of his six extra point attempts. The one he missed came immediately following his 53-yard touchdown run.

"It was a lot easier game than it was supposed to be," said Islander Head Coach Bud Mayfield. "We played well for our part. We accomplished the goal, which was to get us in the (Central League) championship game this week."

Mix in a pinch of Lance Winslow with 93 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown; a dash of Ricardo Oberwager with 52 yards on 11 carries; add a nice 20-yard touchdown run by Eddie Gomez; and you have what proved to be the recipe for a one-sided victory by the Islanders. Two quarterbacks and six running backs carried the ball against the Centurions, accumulating 403 yards on 52 carries in the process.

Mayfield was pleased that Winslow had the opportunity to showcase his running skills, with all of his yardage coming in the second half. "He has been playing a back up role all year. When he got the chance, he made the most of it. The kids (his Islander teammates) were rooting for him. They know he’s good, but he has to play behind Kelcey and Ricardo. We were all happy for him."

Others who saw action in the Islander backfield were Mike Baker-Denson and Curtis Perkins. Stewart Harris capably handled Coronado’s quarterbacking duties in the second half. In a modern-day statistical oddity, Coronado did not accumulate any passing yardage for the game, failing to complete any of the team’s three pass attempts.

Co-captain and starting quarterback David Loving rushed for a touchdown to start the second quarter, and had two accurate passes fall incomplete.

In part to prevent injury to his starters and in part to not show up the over-matched Centurions, Mayfield did not play any members of the starting backfield in the second half. Also, the starting wide receivers and tight ends were all rotated out of the lineup. By late in the third quarter, most of the starting defense was off the field. University City has experienced bad luck with injuries this season, losing their starting and back-up quarterbacks this year. Three additional quarterbacks played against Coronado.

Despite the heroics of the running back corps, this game was won by the Islanders up front in the trenches. "The Big Uglies" as ABC Television’s football analyst John Madden likes to call offensive linemen, dominated the line of scrimmage. Specifically Dustin West at right tackle, Ben Thorne at right guard, center Ryland Gill, left guard Kyle McArthur and Tim Sexton at left tackle created gaping holes for the Coronado running backs to dance and dodge through. "They played well last week and they continue to grow," said Mayfield of his offensive line. "We don’t have any replacements (in case of injury). I hope they stay the course for the rest of the year."

The Coronado victory Friday and Madison’s 38-0 romp over Crawford, faces the Warhawks off against the Islanders for the Central League title in a game to be played Thursday night, Nov. 10 at 7:30 pm. The contest will be played a day earlier than normal as Nov. 11 is Veterans’ Day.

Mayfield previewed the Madison game, which has CIF Division IV playoff seeding ramifications. "Their offense is run from the ‘I’ formation. It’s a tailback offense that most people in Southern California are familiar with. They hand the ball to the tailback until he breaks one. They are very similar to us in lots of ways. We have similar blocking schemes and we are similar on defense as well. They have better team speed then we do overall, and they have size. They have some big, squatty bodies in there."

Playing the game at home should be an advantage for Coronado. "The kids have worked really hard to get to this point, so I am really happy for them. I believe they can do it (win the Central League title). We have some bumps and bruises, but everybody should answer the bell. I hope everyone in town turns out for the game. I think it will be a great game, very even."

The Islander Boys Cross Country Team raced to the Central League crown last week and Head Coach George Green checks in with a report on the action. "The perfect score of 15-50 in a cross country meet requires that the last (seventh) runner of the winning team beats the first runner of their adversary.

The Boys Cross Country Team came within one place of a perfect score against Crawford last Wednesday at Morley Field, by taking the top six spots to win by the score of 15-48. The victory ran the Islander Boys record to 4-0 to win the Central League cross country team championship. Jack Harms, Michael Davies and Ben Enowitz ran and finished together in a three-way tie for first in 18:06 over the 3-mile City Conference cross country course.

They were followed by David Grimes (fourth in 18:27), Andrew Falkiewicz (fifth in 18:28), Jose Tijerina (sixth in 18:45); Cotter Stacy (ninth), Ben Green (10^th), and Ross Palmer (12^th). Although the Crawford meet officially clinched the league title, the deciding race was against runner-up Clairemont in the first meet of the season that Coronado won by a single point 28-29.

The Girls Cross Country Team’s 26-31 win over Crawford left them with a 3-1 record and the runner-up spot in the league standings. Karolin Ivarsson placed second in 22:21 over the same course the boys ran, followed by Allison Cabana (third in 22:51), Sheila Braun (fifth in 23:11), Sammie Runyon (seventh), Helen Luppi (ninth), Brigid Twomey (10^th) and Sarah Player (11^th). Like the boys, the girls championship was decided by a single point when they lost to eventual league champion Christian two weeks ago by the score of 27-28.

Wednesday the individual league champions will be decided at the Central League finals at Morley Field beginning at 3 pm. Enowitz and two Clairemont runners, Bernardo Bahena and Daniel Crotty figure to take the top three spots. In our dual meet with Clairemont, Enowitz lost by a nose and a neck to Bahena and Crotty. All three runners were clocked in 17:07. The girls individual honors should go to Clairemont’s Bridie McCarey, the Division III defending champion. McCarey has dominated her league competition all season, usually winning by over three minutes.

The Division IV finals will be held at Morley Field Nov. 19. Coronado and Bishop’s are the co-favorites for the Division IV boys championships. Both teams have improved since they matched up at the Saints Small Schools Invitational Sept. 30, in a meet Coronado won by – a single point."

First, the bad news. Coronado lost on the road Tuesday afternoon to archrival Bishop’s by the score of 12-8, closing out the Islanders run at the Western League title. The practical result of the contest is that Bishop’s will enter the CIF Division II Playoffs as the No. 1 seed, while Coronado will enter the fray as the No. 2 seed. A total of 16 teams make the Division II playoffs and the chances are likely that Coronado will host a first round playoff game Thursday, in the late afternoon or evening.

The good news was that the rest of the week Coronado played awfully well, starting Friday evening in front of a standing-room-only crowd as the Islanders dismantled Scripps Ranch 15-4. Watching a home Coronado water polo game is interesting as the conversations in the stands increase in both number and volume in direct proportion to the goal differential of the game being watched. By the conclusion of this one, just about everyone was talked out.

"That’s the kind of thing the kids have missed," said Head Coach Randy Burgess of the overflow crowd at the Coronado Municipal Pool. "That’s the fun in high school sports, having your family and friends come and watch you."

The scoring onslaught was led by Sean Castillo with five goals, followed closely by three tallies from Preston Lujan. Jacob Smith, John Landon and Devin Farrell added two goals each, with Scott Simeral scoring once. Jesse Farquhar added three steals and two assists, with Daniel Pedrotty contributing three steals. Patrick Queisser and Kyle Pokorny shared time in goal.

The Islanders scored the first six goals in the game and ran off another seven straight scores in the third quarter on their way to the victory. Saturday Coronado defeated Foothill 11-8 and the Islanders spread the offense around to earn their 19^th victory on the season to go with eight losses. Foothill of Tustin is a perennial water polo powerhouse.

The CHS Girls Volleyball Team put on a show for the home crowd Thursday, with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-11 defeat of Serra High School. Combined with a 25-9, 25-11, 25-17 victory over San Diego Wednesday, the Islanders posted a winning regular season with a record of 14-12.

Against Serra, the match started out inauspiciously with Coronado winning the first two points, followed by a seven-point run by Serra. Senior Caitlin Kennedy stopped the Conquistador scoring skein with a quick-set kill shot, from a Megan Mushovic pass. Kennedy then served for five straight points to give Coronado the 10-8 lead. Islander Christy Mebust’s successful kill ended the first game.

Emmy Pickett got Coronado off to a good start in Game 2, serving for four straight points. Another nice service run by Kelly Phelps late in the game and a couple of service aces by Mebust helped win the second game.

Mushovic served for the first five points of the third game, while Phelps served for seven straight scores later on. Her service run was aided by three kill shots from Kelsey Fitzgerald, one from Lisa Bernardy and one from Lauren Fancy. Mushovic added some symmetry to the match by serving for the final five points of the final game.

Coronado was originally slated to host Imperial Friday, but the Tigers, who have gone through some coaching turmoil this season, didn’t appear for the game.

Islander Head Coach Phil Trotter rode into the Division IV Coaches’ seeding meeting, hoping to corral a No. 3 seed, but lost out to Christian on a strength-of-schedule debate. "We lost to Horizon and Christian beat them twice," said Trotter, explaining the process. The Top 4 seeds include, in order, Francis Parker, Bishop’s, Christian and Coronado. The Islanders will host No. 5 seed Horizon Thursday at 6 pm, immediately before the 7:30 pm kickoff of the Coronado vs. Madison football game. "If we can get the crowd there from the beginning, that would be great," Trotter said.

"The playoffs are exciting," Trotter continued. "This is a reward for a great season, hosting a home game in the first round. The kids can enjoy being together and competing for as long as we can at this point. It has been a nice career for all of our seniors. We’ll try to honor them on Thursday night." The seniors include Kendall Caldwell, Phelps, Mushovic and Kennedy.

Last week the City Conference golf playoffs, the Islanders didn’t advance as a team, but their leading scorer Alexcie Sanchez qualified for individual play in the CIF playoffs that start Tuesday, with an 18-hole round at Warner Springs Country Club.

"The team did not advance," said Head Coach Hanna Cohan. "But we were in the hunt. Alexcie shot the lowest score." Sanchez, who lead the Islanders in stroke average this season, also plays in American Junior Golf Association events during the off season, and competes in the San Diego Junior Golf program.

Like most skills, the more you play, the better you get, which is a reminder that Cohan passed along to her team. "If the girls want to improve; if they are interested in advancing, they have to get out and play outside of the high school golf season."

The team performed well, posting a fine 10-5 mark this year. As with most winning teams, the players had a good experience. "We had a great season," Cohan said. "We finished in high spirits. We finished with the same number (of players) we started with, so there was no attrition. All of the girls seemed content. Right here at the end we had synergy and enjoyment."

CHS Girls Tennis Head Coach Robbin Adair checks in with a playoff report for his squad. "We traveled to La Jolla Country Day Tuesday, seeded ninth to play the No. 8 seeded Torres. All 16 sets were hotly contested, but we were beaten 12-6.

Allie Gordon won our only singles point, beating their No. 1 before falling to their Nos. 2 and 3 in close sets. Lorena Hernandez and Alicia Ruiz both got swept, but their losses were all very close.

In doubles Jen Carney and Spencer Berman took two of three sets and lost the third one by a close score. The No. 2 doubles team of Nicole Aponte and Hayley Kitzmiller won one set as did our No. 3 team of Amanda Purvis and Hannah Schneider.

This week we go back to the Western League Individual Tournament. We have five singles players entered including: Gordon, Aponte, Mariana Arozarena, Briege McConville and Lindsey Warriner. In doubles we also have five teams entered: Carney/Berman; Kitzmiller and Alicia Ruiz; Hernandez/Schneider; Loren Metzger and Purvis; and Simmi Deo with Corrie Morse. The tournament will be held at the Balboa tennis Club at Morley Field and begins at noon Monday.

Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 6:30 pm, sign-ups will be held for the Coronado Middle School winter sports programs at Granzier Hall at the school. Offerings include Boys Basketball, Girls Soccer, Girls Softball and Boys Soccer. The fee for participation is $90 per student, per sport. All of the forms for athletic registration for CMS sports can be downloaded at www.IslanderSportsFoundation.com.

Sunday around noon, Your Natterer was included in a social gathering of approximately 50 people at a Coronado residence. As the crowd grew in size, the Chargers vs. Jets game entered the second half of play. The party was pretty evenly divided between those watching the game and the more socially adept folks who weren’t. Guess which group your scribe was in?

As the Bolts survived yet another onslaught of ultra conservative play calling when it counted from Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer, the crowd while rooting vociferously for the Chargers, while fearing the worst. San Diego held on to win by the score of 31-26, pleasing the assemblage to no end. Being a relative newcomer to Coronado (only 14 years and counting) I thought the typical Charger fan was around for only the occasional good San Diego season or their rare Super Bowl appearance.

This group, which included several Chargers season ticket holders, was adamantly and completely involved in the game, even though San Diego is just a modest 5-4 heading into their bye week. If nothing else, the group is a testament to the strong hold that a professional sports franchise can have on a community. If the Chargers can go 5-2 in the second half of their season, they should have a decent shot at the playoffs.