By any reasonable indicator Friday evening’s CHS Boys Basketball home game with Crawford should have been a Colt runaway. When the two clubs played three weeks ago, Crawford won by the score of 72-30. In addition, Crawford’s junior forward Tyrone Shelley is averaging 28.5 points per game this season, a formidable total at any level of basketball.

Seemingly undeterred by these ‘facts’ the Islanders under the direction of Head Coach Sandy Dillon, proceeded to give the Colts (16-8 overall, 6-0 in the Central League) all they could handle before falling just short 53-52.

"Give the kids the credit," said Dillon. "Our kids played about as well as they could play. Everybody up in the stands was thrilled to death that they were there. We didn’t lose that game, time just ran out. If there had been another 2 minutes, we would have found a way to win. Even with all of that noise and excitement, they did what was right the vast amount of the time. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the team."

Coronado trailed by one point at the end of the first quarter and by three at halftime, 29-26. At this point the Colts knew they were in for a battle. The middle three minutes of the second quarter found the Islanders and the Colts competing at a very high level, as both teams traded baskets, without fouls being called or violations committed for nearly 4 straight minutes. "It was like a college game," Dillon said of the quality of play. "If our kids don’t let down, we make it (the Islanders home court) a tough place to play."

Coronado never held the lead in the game, but tied the score twice at the outset of the fourth quarter. A free throw by senior Ryan Guard and a jumper from senior sharpshooter Chas Marks tied the game at 42-42 with 7:05 left in the game. A layup by Guard tied the game again a minute later, just before Crawford ran off seven unanswered points to take their biggest lead of the game at 51-44. At that point the game appeared to be lost, but Coronado fought back.

A driving layup by Matt Oakley cut the Crawford lead to three. With 20 seconds remaining in the game, Guard drove to the corner of the floor in front of the CHS student cheering section and attempted a three-pointer. Trying to create contact that would at least send him to the free throw line, Guard was fouled in the act of shooting. Too much contact was created either by Guard on offense or by the Crawford defender for a non-call by the officials, but no whistle was blown. Bryan Reed hit a three-pointer with 1 second remaining in the game to get to the final score of 53-52.

The CHS Cheerleaders did a fine job of working the crowd during the exciting contest and the student section was rocking in support of the Islanders. Shelley was greeted with cheers of ‘over-rated’ every time he touched the ball in the final quarter, was held to no field goals in the final 8 minutes of the contest and had no three-pointers in the game. Shelley’s 14 points against Coronado was half of his season scoring average.

Reed, a senior center, had an outstanding game, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, while battling the Colt’s front line hard all night long. Dillon acknowledged Reed’s contribution. "Bryan has grown up. Now he’s just a man. He competes and he has finally figured out that he can shoot from the outside." (Note - Unfortunately, as the old joke goes, all of the games are played inside.)

Guard finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists, but his greater contribution to the Islander’s effort was his ball handling, especially late in the game. Guard repeatedly worked the shot clock and then drove to the basket and dished to open teammates, providing them with scoring opportunities.

Marks wound up with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Oakley contributed five points and nine rebounds to the effort. For the game, Coronado had 47 rebounds, with 23 of them coming on the offensive end of the floor.

Oakley also earned praise from Dillon. "He played defense the other night probably as well as he has played. I had to gamble and put him on Shelley and he almost blocked one of his shots. Matt went up with him and wasn’t far away from the block."

The other game last week wasn’t as exciting, but the Islanders again acquitted themselves well in a 62-55 home loss to Christian. The Patriots lineup contains three players from Lithuania, but Coronado competed well. An 18-11 run in the third quarter by Christian earned them the victory.

Chas Marks scored 23 points to again lead the Islanders offensive effort. In the first quarter, Marks scored four points on one play, being fouled on a long three-point shot and converting the free throw. He was also Coronado’s leading rebounder with eight. Guard added 11 points, Reed scored eight points and contributed six rebounds, while Geoff Worley chipped in seven points, four rebounds and two steals.

The two losses last week brings Coronado’s record to 11-9 overall, 1-4 in the Central League. This week the Islanders host Madison at 5 pm Tuesday and then travel to Hoover for a 6:45 pm contest Thursday evening.

The Islanders began their week on an unusual note. Lack of communication between Christian and Coronado regarding a scheduling conflict with the Patriot’s home gym caused the game to be played Wednesday instead of Tuesday. Coronado made the trek to El Cajon Tuesday and as a result was only able to get 40 minutes of practice in their own facility that day.

Wednesday found the Islanders and the Patriots, the co-favorites for the Central League crown, finally tangling on the hardwood, with Coronado coming out on the short end of a 46-42 score. "The biggest difference (between the teams in the game) was getting to the free throw line," said Head Coach Toler Goodwin. "Christian was 25-31 and we were 9-16. The difference was both in the number of shots and makes."

"We played well," continued Goodwin. "Everybody did what we asked them to do. Overall we defended well. We had too many soft fouls away from the basket that allowed them to get extra free throws later in the game. Jessica Davis-Ricci kept us in it early and Brooke Becky kept us in it late. We had some opportunities that we didn’t convert." Becky finished the game with 13 points, and Davis-Ricci added 9 points.

The loss dropped Coronado into second place in the Central League, but according to Goodwin, there is good news regarding the rematch between the schools. "We get them at our place on the day we were scheduled to play."

Coronado’s second game of the week was at home against Crawford, won handily by Coronado 51-30. The Islanders laid a shutout on the Colts in the first quarter, pulling away to a 15-0 lead by the conclusion of the first stanza. Coronado’s second unit played much of the game.

Becky contributed 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots; Davis-Ricci had 12 points and three rebounds; Farrell Pompa added 10 points, six rebounds and two assists. Arrielle Luna scored four points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists. In a statistical oddity, sophomore point guard Tiffany Depfer who was the shortest player on the floor for either team, led Coronado with eight rebounds, to go nicely with her three points and three steals.

"We did a good job creating offensive opportunities, including some extra fast break opportunities," said Goodwin of the Crawford contest. "We work on that and we need to make sure we finish and get some easy points. Against Christian or in the playoffs, we have to take advantage of easy scoring opportunities.

The Islanders are now 14-8 overall, and 5-1 in the Central League. This week both the Madison game Tuesday and the Hoover game scheduled for Thursday are on the road. The Madison game is scheduled for a 3 pm start, while the Hoover game tips off at 5 pm.

CHS Boys Head Soccer Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu is a little young to be ‘old school,’ but he wasn’t enamored with the Islanders 2-1 loss at Clairemont last week, which ended Coronado’s perfect season and threw the Central League crown up for grabs.

"It was a competitive game," said Hiatt-Aleu. "We let the score on a throw-in and on a header. They beat us at our own game. They wanted it more than we did, which is not acceptable. I have no problem losing to a team better than us, but not to a team that tries harder than us. Offensively we didn’t do much creatively up top. In the last few minutes of the game, we were hammering balls across their box, but we didn’t have the hunger to get the ball in the goal. They were celebrating (after the game) like they had just won the World Cup."

Junior Nick Hamilton accounted for the Islanders lone goal.

Although he would never use it as an excuse, Hiatt-Aleu’s club was missing two key players due to injury in Jack Harms and Travis Lindsay. Harms may be available in another week, while Lindsay may return to play this week. "Without our two big six-footers, we couldn’t score in the air and we couldn’t clear the ball in the air."

On the plus side, senior forward Kelcey Fisher has returned to the team, and scored twice in Coronado’s 4-0 defeat of Christian earlier in the week. Matt Ganyard and Jake Vita each added a goal. "Kelcey will be ready in two more weeks for the playoffs. He’ll be back in shape and he’ll help us out."

Despite the loss, the Islanders are still 17-1-2, 5-1-1 in the Central League. If both teams complete the final three games without a loss, a playoff game would be held to determine the league champion. This week Coronado travels to Madison Tuesday for a 3 pm game and then host Crawford Thursday evening at 6:30 pm for Senior Night. "It should be a good game," said Hiatt-Aleu regarding the impending re-match with Crawford. "Either we’ll feel sorry for ourselves or we’ll get things done. It could go either way. Now we have to work hard again."

The CHS Girls Soccer Team earned a nice result last week, when they blanked Scripps Ranch 4-0 in their lone Western League game. Two goals by Sasha Vido and one each from Leah Hatheway and Colleen Burns fueled the victory.

Head Coach Kiko Medina mentioned center-midfielder Katie Ferrar, forward Burns and midfielder/forward Hatheway for their roles in the win. "We’re playing a bit of a different style now. Katie is playing a holding, defensive mid for us. She did a good job of organizing the filed and controlling the pace of the game for us. Colleen did a good job of working really hard up top. We’re playing with one forward and she holds the ball for us, which allows our midfielders to get up into the attack. She and Leah did an excellent job of doing that. It requires skill and more of a work ethic. It’s a lot of responsibility for them and it makes a difference for us."

The Islanders are still in the middle of the pack in the seven-team Western League, with an 11-5-4 overall record. But the good news is that come CIF Playoff time, they are well positioned to make a run at the title. "I still think we’re in the Top 4 in Division III," said Medina. "We’re still in pretty good shape there. We showed well in the tournaments we played, winning one and reaching the semis of the other. We have played some quality teams."

The schedule is proving to be a challenge, as the Islanders only play one game this week, a 3 pm Wednesday affair at home against La Jolla High School. This week’s game against Christian is still in re-schedule mode. The Serra game originally slated for Monday Feb 13 has been moved to Friday, Feb. 17.

A final reminder that if you have a middle school-aged athlete in your home, sign-ups for CMS spring sports will be held Thursday, February 9 at 6:30 pm at the school’s Granzer Hall. The registration fee is $90 per sport, per child.

Spring sports offerings include Boys Lacrosse and Girls Basketball. Co-ed sports teams include Track and Field, Tennis, Water Polo and Golf.

Each athlete must have proof of having a physical examination within the past 12 months. Other required forms and documents may be downloaded by visiting www.IslanderSportsFoundation.com.