Nado Natterings
A weekly column by David Axelson

Nado Natterings
by David Axelson, Chief Executive Officer
The Islander Sports Foundation

14 Nov 2007 Issue #44

Saturday afternoon the Coronado Boys Water Polo Team made short work of Santa Fe Christian by the score of 13-1 in their CIF Division II quarter-final contest. Reviewing that last sentence, the word ‘contest’ might be generous.

In 2006 the Eagles were the surprise team of water polo playoffs, when they edged La Jolla 10-9 to earn a berth in the finals against The Bishop’s School. This year Santa Fe Christian didn’t sneak up on anyone, especially those nattily attired in the forest green swim trunks and black caps with white numbers.

The game’s first six goals were either scored by senior Jacob Smith or were the direct result of a Smith assist. Smith would go on to score seven goals, and finish with three steals and the aforementioned three assists. Also contributing to the final score were three goals and three assists from Sean Cook, and single goals from Adam Ratcliffe, Jake Hunzeker and Paul Pedrotty.

Senior Kyle Pokorny and junior Justin Parsons split the game in goal, with Pokorny being credited with six saves in the first half and Parsons with seven in the second half. Neither net minder was seriously or repeatedly challenged.

The Coronado victory over Santa Fe Christian was preceded by a 23-4 Islander victory Thursday over Mater Dei (formerly Marian Catholic High School) as the No. 1 seeded Islanders dominated the No. 16 seed in their first round game at home.

“I was very happy with the way the starting group of guys played in the last two games, against a lower level of competition,” said Head Coach Randy Burgess. “Everyone got a chance to contribute.”A playoff fun fact is that Coronado held a two-hour practice Saturday morning in advance of the 1:30 pm game with Santa Fe Christian.

Things get more serious Wednesday evening when Coronado plays Cathedral Catholic in the semi-finals at 5:45 pm at the La Jolla Coggan Family Pool. If Coronado works their way past the Dons, the Islanders will play the winner of the Bishop’s vs. La Jolla semi-final game at 7:30 pm Saturday evening.

CHS Football Dominates Kearney 35-0 in Homecoming Game

Homecoming at Coronado High School takes on a life of its own each year, with the pep rally, the parade, and the dance. Let’s not forget the football game itself, which found Coronado defeating Kearney 35-0 to earn the Islanders their fifth shutout of the season and second in a row (Clairemont 43-0).

The Komets took the opening kickoff, ran six plays from scrimmage, wound up at midfield and were forced to punt to Coronado. The Islanders started with the ball at their own nine-yard line and then proceeded to march 91 yards in 4:32 for a scoring drive that was topped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mason Mills to tight end Blake Malkemus.

During the opening drive tailback Ricardo Oberwager rushed six times for a total of 73 yards, Mills ran once for eight yards and completed one of his two passes. It was a collective team effort that made Head Coach Bud Mayfield proud. “I was very happy that we drove the ball on our first possession. We drove the ball consistently, with no mistakes. It was really beautiful to watch, with a wonderful mix of passing and running, which is what I always hope for. Ricardo had one of his best games of the year. In the game, we got the balance we always look for with 124 yards passing and 264 yards rushing.”

Oberwager had a great all-around offensive game, with a total of 230 multi-purpose yards including 142 rushing with one touchdown, 59 yards in return yardage, and 29 total yards in pass receiving yardage on three catches. One of his runs was a 24-yard touchdown scamper in the early portion of the second quarter. Mayfield gave Oberwager high praise when the veteran coach said, “Ricardo shortens the field for us every week. We often have to go 40 yards on offense (to score), instead of 80. He’s the best punt return and kick return guy I have ever coached.”

Oberwager’s backfield running mate Kyle Brown was incredibly efficient, scoring on touchdown runs of 50, 5 and 11 yards on his way to 81 yards from scrimmage on five carries.

Curtis Perkins earned the starting assignment as the lead blocker in the offensive backfield and linebacker on defense. “Curtis is a fine two-way player,” said Mayfield of the senior. “We gave him a start and he responded. He also had an interception on defense.”

Mayfield noted the contributions of several other Islanders, including his starting quarterback. “Mason keeps coming and coming. He’s really steady now and will be a big force in the playoffs. Ray San Giovanni led the team in tackles and it’s always a good sign when your middle linebacker leads the team in that category. Charlie Moore had a nice game at defensive tackle.”

The only downside to the game from my perspective was that Kearney, a program that has been down for a decade or longer, was on the cusp of earning a Division III playoff slot. The shutout laid on them by a Division IV league opponent, was likely the final blow that knocked the Komets out of the CIF playoffs.

For Coronado, it’s off to the playoffs, but at a leisurely pace, if you please. Like all Division IV teams, the Islanders have no games this week as they only have an eight-team playoff field. To keep pace with the playoff schedule of the other divisions, all Division IV teams have a bye week. Practice sessions however, will march right along.

The Islanders were given the No. 7 seed, and will play No. 2 La Jolla in the quarter-finals Friday Nov. 23 at 7:30 pm at La Jolla High School. Mayfield, who has been around the block a couple of times during his tenure at CHS was somewhat surprised by the seeding. “Mater Dei jumped from No. 7 to No. 5 and bumped everybody down. They weren’t on anybody’s radar. Somebody got in there (the CIF seeding meeting) and argued for them. But it doesn’t really matter because we figured we would play La Jolla anyway. In the past this has been a spirited rivalry. La Jolla Head Coach Dave Ponsford and I are good friends and have a very similar philosophy. For a change, it won’t be a bitter rivalry game. We’re still focused on the playoffs and I expect a really good game with La Jolla.”

Add Football

In what was apparently their season finale, the USD Toreros defeated Morehead State 27-14. CHS grad J.T. Rogan did his best Ricardo Oberwager imitation (or perhaps vice versa) and helped lead his team to victory with a 1-yard touchdown run, a 51-yard pass reception for a touchdown and a total of 154 yards gained from scrimmage in 31 rushing attempts.

‘So You Want to be a Sports Columnist’ Trivia Quiz

There are five varsity teams fielded by Coronado High School during the winter sports season. Name the league affiliation and CIF Division of each of the five teams. See below for the answer.

Coronado Cross Country Athletes Earn All-League Honors

Head Coach George Green provides information on the continued success of the CHS Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams.

“Last Tuesday at the Central League Championships at Morley Field, the CHS Cross Country teams finished the league part of the season in fine style with nine runners named to the Central League First Team.

This honor is bestowed upon the Top 10 finishers in the final race of the season that consists of all schools in each league running at the same time. For the Central League this is Coronado, Christian, Clairemont, Crawford, Lincoln and Madison.

In the Boys' race, the pace up-front was fast and furious with the Islander's Ben Enowitz and Clairemont's Eamonn McCarey blazing around the three-mile City Conference course at sub 16-minute pace. Ben kept in front, winning by 6 seconds with a personal record of 15:38 to McCarey's 15:44.

David Grimes placed sixth place in 16:49, followed by Kevin Siefert (seventh in 17:00), Sean O'Brien (ninth in 17:23), and Andy Centeno (10^th in 17:33), to place five Islander boys in the Top 10 All-League positions. Turner Stanley (17^th in 18:12) and Ben Green (20^th in 18:45) rounded out the Islander varsity finishers.

We had 20 Islander boys toe the line with Cotter Stacy finishing next in 19:29, followed by Kramer De Laurentis (19:30), Gabe Salvatierra (19:30), Danny Luiken, John Tolles, Jordan Vance, Byran Beverly, Greg Wilson, Micah Fischer, Jack Nolan, Daniel Grazian, Lucas Hemp, and Alex Fish.

The Girls' race was also very fast with Lincoln's Elizabeth Apgar setting a new City Conference Girls' course record of 17:41 over the same route the boys ran. Coronado's Sallie Privett was the runner-up clocking in at 18:51, followed by Annie Lovering (third in 19:44), Sadie Gimber (fifth in 20:13), and Adie Davies (sixth in 20:25) to take four of the 10 All-League spots.

Coco O'Brien (13th) and Selina Schmeck (23^rd) were the other two varsity finishers for Coronado. Cassie Callahan, one of our Top 5 runners, was missing because she had a make-up soccer game. Otherwise the girls certainly would have matched the boy's haul of five All-League titles.

The season is over for all but the varsity squads (our top seven runners), which will compete in the CIF Division IV finals this Saturday at Morley Field. The girls run at 11:45 am, the boys at 1:25 pm.”

Trivia Answer

The five CHS winter sports teams are Boys and Girls Soccer, Boys and Girls Basketball and Girls Water Polo. The Boys Soccer Team plays in the Central League and CIF Division IV; the Girls Soccer Team competes in the Western League and is also in CIF Division IV. On the basketball side, both the Girls and the Boys are in the Central League and CIF Division IV. Girls Water Polo competes in the Western League and CIF Division II.

This proves conclusively that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

CHS Girls Volleyball Beats Holtville, Loses to Parker

The CHS Girls Volleyball Team entered the CIF Division IV Playoffs with a tough path ahead of them. By finishing in second place in the competitive Eastern League, and by consistently competing against schools with larger enrollments, the Islanders earned the No. 7 seed. In the opening round they hosted Holtville and dispatched the Vikings 25-15, 25-18 and 25-20.

Kori (The Younger) Fitzgerald led the Islanders in both digs with 11 and kills with six. Kelcey (The Elder) Fitzgerald dished out 17 assists in the match. “Holtville was a fun team to play,” said CHS Head Coach Christina Lahr. “They played some incredible defense. They aren’t the highest scoring team, with a lot of kills. It was fun for us to work around their defense. It was a good setup for the Parker game Friday.”

Thus we enter the ‘tough path’ part of the proceedings. Francis Parker’s Boys and Girls volleyball teams over the past decade have competed at the state level in Division IV and have sent numerous players to compete at the Division I level of college volleyball. Somewhat surprisingly this year, the Lancers were the No. 2 seed behind Santa Fe Christian.

But the Coronado team entered the game undaunted and played “one of our best matches all season, next to the first Patrick Henry game,” according to Lahr. “We played an incredible match and I didn’t see any ‘giving up’ until the very end of the match when our girls just got tired. We’re not used to playing a team when you have to fight for every point of every game.”

The Islanders gave notice early in the match, leading Game 1 at one point 16-15. Junior Rachel Ricker saved her best for last, having what Lahr called “her game of the season.” Ricker flew all over the court, making digs and putting away kill shots. “Rachel had the goal this season of wanting to hit hard and block with a purpose,” Lahr said. “The girls were going crazy when she got a block. On offense, she was going over the top of the block and finding the corners. She was getting our team fired up and excited herself.”

Although the score didn’t reflect the closeness of the game, with Parker prevailing 25-19, 25-14 and 25-13, Lahr had plenty to be happy about. “I couldn’t have wished for anything better. I told the kids ‘play the game the way we know you can play. If you play together, you never know what might happen.’ The Parker coach commented about what a fight we put up. The girls’ goal was to leave everything out on the court. It was a hard game that they didn’t want to lose. Our seniors Christy Mebust and Kelcey came off the court smiling. They said, ‘That was a phenomenal game and it was so much fun. We have no regrets’.”

Islander Girls Golf Finishes at CIF Tourney in Warner Springs

In one of the more bizarre finishes to a golf season of recent vintage, the Islander Girls Golf Team completed their season last week when Mackenzie Coutts and Jacqueline Davis competed in the CIF event held in Warner Springs. That in itself is no big deal, but the road to the final round was unusual.

When last we left Coutts, she had finished strong in the City Conference Tournament and earned an individual entry into the CIF Tournament. However, she injured her leg playing soccer and withdrew from the event. But, not so fast.

Tuesday, incorrect placement of the tees for the first couple of flights (the girls should have all been playing from the white tees, but several markers were in the red tee area) brought cancellation of the first day of play. The 36-hole event was shortened to an 18-hole affair, with Tuesday’s first round considered to be a practice round.

Re-enter Coutts, who was invited to return for Wednesday’s round, where she shot a 90. Davis completed her 18-hole round by shooting a 94.

“It was a good experience and it is pretty up there,” said Co-Head Coach Randy Coutts. “A fun time was had by all. It was a bonus we didn’t expect.”

Girls Tennis Wraps Up the Season

The entire CHS Girls Tennis Team entered Western League play this year, but only two entries made it past the first round. CHS No. 1 singles player Spencer Berman won her first round ‘pro set’ by the score of 8-1 (first to eight games, win by two, for the first couple of rounds, to quicken the playing pace) over a competitor from La Jolla. Berman lost her second round match to a University City athlete.

On the doubles side, the tandem of Katie Culora and Grace Lancaster won their first match 8-6 before falling to the doubles finalists from La Jolla. Thanks to Head Coach Rob LeBuhn for the information.

CHS Surf Team Competes with Torrey Pines

CHS Surf Coach Lorton Mitchell checks in with a report on his team’s recent competition against the Torrey Pines B Team. “Saturday we competed at the Army Navy Cadet School in Carlsbad. The school is right on the beach in front of a white sand beach break. The surf was small, but clean and workable.

Our team did extremely well with Taylor Mitchell, Joe McMahon and Mallory Mitchell each taking first in their respective heats. Cliff Nies finished second in his short board and sponging heats. Gabe Alari showed his steady improvement with a third place finish against some very tough Torrey Pines short boarders. Tyler Smith and John Hogan both held their own and caught good waves.

I remember when most of these young men would have been blown out of the water by a team like Torrey Pines. Not only did they surf well, but they maneuvered and positioned themselves like contest veterans. Unfortunately, we lost the team competition by the score of 57-50. I am encouraged and happy that we are competing at this level.”