Coronado’s run through the CIF Division IV Playoffs ended on an otherwise beautiful afternoon last Friday in Solana Beach, as the Islanders fell to Santa Fe Christian 52-21. The Eagles controlled the contest from the outset and held a 35-0 lead at halftime.

The easy way out in a game like that is to mentally sack the balls and go through the motions for the final 24 minutes of the contest. To their credit, the Islanders kept their heads in the game and outscored SFC 21-7 in the third quarter.

Twenty-eight seconds into the second half, Ricardo Oberwager intercepted an errant Eagle pass and returned the ball 35 yards for an Islander touchdown. Three plays later Ryan Sidorski caused a fumble that was recovered by Ben Thorne and Coronado was back in business. Oberwager ran for six yards and on the second play of the possession, ran for and additional 48 yards, which resulted in Coronado’s second touchdown of the afternoon.

Santa Fe Christian then put on a sustained drive which encompassed 11 plays, covered 64 yards, and culminated in a 15-yard touchdown run by star senior running back Corbin Cutshaw, his fourth and final scoring jaunt of the afternoon.

Coronado’s final points came with 2:12 remaining in the third quarter as quarterback Mason Mills found receiver Stephen Conrad on a nifty pass and run effort that covered 80 yards. Placekicker Brian Crabb was good on all three of his extra point conversion attempts to complete the Islander scoring.

"They were better than we were," said Islander Head Coach Bud Mayfield of the division’s No. 2 playoff seed. "That’s what happens when you go up the line (in the playoffs). They (Santa Fe Christian) have a great chance to win the division; both them and Mission Bay. We were a little bit outgunned, but I am proud of how far we came this season."

Coronado finished the season with a 9-3 overall record and the Central League championship, in what figured to be a rebuilding year.

Mayfield was proud of the 11 seniors on the 2006 squad, who included: Geovanni Saldana, Cameron Feallock, Mitch Moran, Eddie Gomez, Ken Twomey, Scott Shepherd, Mario Saldana, JJ Pontes, Ian Petersen, Sidorski and Thorne.

"As I told the team, every senior contributed during the year, either as a practice player or as a key player on the starting unit. Every one of them played."

Oberwager was able to pass a statistical benchmark in the game, rushing for 64 yards from scrimmage, which allowed the junior tailback to pass the 1,000-yard plateau. "He really wanted to play," said Mayfield of Oberwager, who had missed three games due to a sprained shoulder. "He got through the game fine. Basically he got more than 1,000 yards (an unofficial total of 1,032 yards) in nine games. Ricardo also made a nice interception and run back."

Mills, the Islanders gifted sophomore quarterback, spent most of the game either being chased or being caught by the Eagles. The Coronado signal caller was Santa Fe Christian’s target on 11 running plays, and nine were for minus yardage. Mills also showed considerable toughness, bouncing up after absorbing repeated shots from the Eagles defensive line.

"Their front beat our front and when that happens, there’s not much you can do offensively or defensively," Mayfield said. "Mills only had a split second to throw. He had some guys open deep, but that’s the way it goes. It would only have changed the difference in the outcome, not the outcome itself."

The Islanders 2006 season contained some elements of brilliance, which would include road victories over Clairemont and Madison. The few non-brilliant moments included a loss at El Centro Southwest, which hurt the Islanders playoff seeding position.

Next season, Mayfield has indicated that the Islander’s offensive sets will include the junior running back tandem of Kyle Brown and Oberwager on the field at the same time. Brown rushed for nearly 600 yards in the games that Oberwager missed this season. A total of 18 juniors and nine sophomores were listed on the 2006 Islander varsity roster, so the future is bright.

From one perspective, Your Natterer didn’t have a very successful Thanksgiving break, as the two Islander Girls Varsity Basketball games I attended ended in losses to Chula Vista and Ramona. On the other hand, the Islanders are playing a good brand of up-tempo basketball that will result in a slew of victories this year.

In order, here are the Islanders results in their Annual Coronado Thanksgiving Tournament - Friday Coronado defeated San Dieguito 37-16, and lost to Chula Vista 47-40. Saturday the Islanders dominated Imperial 46-21 and lost to a very strong Ramona club 48-20.

The final round of the tournament, which will be played Saturday, Dec. 2, finds Coronado playing Kearny at 4 pm, with the winner earning third place in the eight-team tourney. The title game at 5:45 pm will feature Our Lady of Peace vs. Ramona. Other tournament games will include Chula Vista vs. San Diegutio and Christian vs. Imperial.

In the Chula Vista game, Coronado trailed the Spartans 35-30 entering the fourth quarter. Emily Bell helped ignite the Islanders comeback with an offensive rebound and basket. Kelsey Branch then hit a long three-pointer; Arrielle Luna hit a jumper on an assist from Bria Phillips; and Branch, who was fouled after an offensive rebound and field goal attempt, converted her two free throws for a 38-36 Coronado lead.

The final three minutes of the game found the Spartans going on an 11-2 run, which earned them the victory. Coronado had some ball handling issues and missed two point blank lay-ups, which they will convert later in the season. Coronado had to foul to regain possession of the ball and Chula Vista converted on five of their last six free throw attempts to seal the victory.

Luna finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots against Chula Vista, while Phillips added 10 points and six rebounds. Branch contributed nine points, four rebounds and three steals.

Highlights of the Ramona game included nine points, three rebounds and five steals from Bell, while point guard Tiffany Depfer had seven points and three rebounds. Ramona, which would beat many summer travel all-star teams, controlled the contest from the outset.

Islander Head Coach Toler Goodwin summarized his team’s goal on offense. "We need to get the shot we want, when we want it, on any possession, against any team. We did a nice job of coming back against Chula Vista, but we didn’t convert on a couple of opportunities. That would have allowed us to play from ahead and make them put us on the (free throw) line, but it went the opposite way. We need more consistency in our passing. We made some very poor passes that hurt us in the games we lost. There is a difference between playing at game speed versus practice speed."

Goodwin praised the effort of junior post player Luna. "Arrielle had the best weekend of anybody, top to bottom. She went after rebounds and defended. She scored by creating her own opportunities by getting offensive rebounds. She has an understanding of the game and is a very coachable kid. We have faith in what she can do."

A late addition to the varsity squad this season is senior guard Lisa Bernardy, who was also a member of the Homecoming Court and served as an Associated Student Body Coordinator for the event. Bernardy was also a valued member of the CHS Girls Volleyball Team and re-joined the basketball team early last week.

In coach speak, Goodwin noted, "This should be a good week of practice. We have a lot to learn from (the four tournament games). We don’t have a game until Saturday." Roughly translated, that means ‘the five practices this week will be tough and I don’t want to lose to Kearny on Saturday.’

CHS Cross Country Head Coach George Green checks in with a final report. "The cross country season came to an end Saturday at the state meet in Fresno. Ben Enowitz set a personal record by 35 seconds on the 3.1-mile Woodward Park course with a time of 16:56 for 54^th place in the Boys Division IV race.

In the Girls Division IV race over the same course, Islander freshman Adrianna Davies placed 99^th with a time of 21:18.

Although the Track and Field Team won’t start official practice until late February, we have off-season club practice through the Southern California Roadrunners, in most events, starting this week. Contact me at 435-3633 or see our website at www.Islandertrack.com for more information."

CHS Athletic Trainer Connie Martinez is unquestionably good at what she does, but even she may have met her match with the 2006-07 edition of the CHS Boys Varsity Basketball Team. The injured list includes Benson Lorden with a broken arm, JJ Pontes with a broken ankle, Cole McLean with a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament (knee), and Erik Karlsson, who is still recovering from a stress fracture to his foot.

Most of the aforementioned athletes should be available in mid to late December. However, the regular season opens Friday night at home against Escondido Charter School, with the tip-off slated for 7 pm.

"If we can get anybody healthy, we might be decent," said Head Coach Sandy Dillon of his MASH unit/basketball team. "I’ve never had so many kids hurt in a whole season, as we have before the beginning of this year."

The Islanders are coming off of good scrimmage showings against Montgomery and La Jolla, according to Dillon. "We won the first quarter against Montgomery 16-2 and our first group won the third quarter by five or six points. La Jolla is very good. They have nine kids back from last year and eight of them have played together for three years. They ran us out in the first quarter, but we played them close later on."

Geoffrey Worley returns as the team’s starting point guard and he will be joined in the backcourt by Liam Cronan. Chas Marks, who enters the year with a realistic chance of reaching 1,000 points for his career, will play the small forward spot. If Marks is able to score 376 points this season, he will join Randy Nixon and Brett Milke as the only other players in recent CHS history to attain that distinction.

Matt Oakley, who Dillon thinks may be the best pure athlete at CHS, will be on the floor a great deal of the time. Oakley, who had recurring knee problems earlier in his career, has regained his form. "At 6-1, he is awfully quick and he can go to the basket and elevate over people," said Dillon of the senior front court player. "He jumped center in one of the scrimmages and out jumped a 6-5 kid."

Drew Zeller and Alex Rowan will play important roles on the team. Dillon will also find playing time for sophomore Blake Malkemus. "He’s a six forward small forward and he can jump. He was our leading rebounder in both of the scrimmages. I have never seen a kid come along as much as he has. We have never had a kid go from the freshman team to the varsity in one year. He will play the middle in our 2-1-2 press."

Players who have seen some varsity practice time include sophomores Christian Samperio and Josh Williams.

At the CHS Girls Tennis banquet held recently, Head Coach Robbin Adair announced his club’s awards. The Most Valuable Player was Spencer Berman; Most Improved was Simmi Deo; and the Team Captain was Hannah Schneider.

Some tidbits of information for the informed sports fan follow. Geoff Worley (Boys Basketball and Lacrosse) has signed to attend the University of Vermont on a lacrosse scholarship. UVM competes at the Division I level in NCAA lacrosse. Worley joins Glenn Goebels (University of Pennsylvania) as the only two Division I lacrosse scholarship athletes from CHS.

Congratulations to Cornell freshman Megan Mushovic, who was named to the All-Ivy League Second Team as a libero (defensive player). Mushovic notched 20 or more digs in 11 of her matches this season and had a career-high 30 digs in Cornell’s match against Brown University.

One of the many concepts about sports that continue to mystify me is the principle that an early season loss is better or less harmful than a late season defeat. What the race to the Bowl Championship Series college football title game comes down to is that USC’s 33-31 loss Oct. 28 at Oregon State is somehow more acceptable than Michigan’s 42-39 loss to No. 1 Ohio State Nov. 18. With apologies to friends who are USC alums, the two best teams in the nation this year are the Buckeyes and the Wolverines. The more attractive matchup for the public and the all-important television network presence may be Ohio State and USC, but those aren’t college football’s two best teams this season.

Another reminder that Thursday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 pm, there will be a Gourmet Chocolate Tasting event at Coronado Middle School. The cost is $30 per person, with the proceeds going to the Islander Sports Foundation and Coronado Youth Softball. For ticket information, please call Mark McNary at 522-0200 or E-mail Mark at jmcnary@san.rr.com. Satisfy your sweet tooth and contribute to worthy causes at the same time.

Your Natterer has been accused of having my picture in the thesaurus next to the term ‘Old School,’ but I’m looking forward to the return of the Chargers’ Shawne Merriman and his ‘Lights Out’ celebration dance. Normally I prefer the LaDainian Tomlinson touchdown method, which is to act as though he has done something great before, which he has. But if the Chargers are going to make a protracted playoff run, they need both Merriman and defensive end Luis Castillo on the field and healthy. The truth of the matter is that the Chargers had to be the recipients of a huge dose of luck Sunday to defeat the Raiders, who co-own the worst record in the NFL with Detroit and Arizona.