|
Nado Natterings |
A
weekly column by David Axelson |
|
1 September 2010 Issue #35
Pre-season games, including those played at the prep level, shouldn’t be taken too seriously. However both Coronado High School teams that competed over the past weekend showed distinct signs of promise in their first quasi-official outings of the season.
Friday the Islander Football Team hosted 2009 Division V Champion Francis Parker in the second game of the CIF Kickoff Classic played at Niedermeyer Field in Coronado and the Islanders won the contest 27-14. The game doesn’t count in the standings and the financial proceeds from the two games accrue to the CIF playoff travel fund.
All of that aside, Coronado showed that they have been paying attention during practice and introduced a couple of new varsity athletes to the home crowd. Although he has been in the program since he was a freshman, senior tailback Jeff Bona impressed the assemblage with a varsity breakout effort of 10 carries for 138 net yards, which included touchdown runs of 27 and 51 yards. Coronado Head Coach Bud Mayfield said of Bona, “He worked hard all through practice and Hell Week. He deserved a start.”
A fine performance was also turned in by junior quarterback Trey Jasonek, who ran the option well and carried the ball seven times for 90 yards. Jasonek also threw an 11-yard touchdown strike to Jordan Jenkins. Junior Austin Denson started the game at quarterback and finished a couple of scoring drives, throwing touchdown passes of 33 yards to Bona and another 18-yard scoring effort to Jenkins.
A full-blown quarterback controversy would likely add a couple of pithy paragraphs to ‘Nado Nattering’ for the foreseeable future, put plans for that will have to be postponed for a couple of weeks. Junior Charles Westbrook, who figured to be the featured back in the Islander ground attack, will miss some time due to a “minor fracture of the clavicle,” according to Mayfield.
“Westbrook was eager for the season,” said Mayfield. “He wanted, in a motivational way, to break J.T. Rogan’s single season rushing record (2003, 1723 yards). He was pretty depressed about missing some games. He knew he had the offensive line in front of him to do it.”
The offensive line, which with an occasional tweak or two is also the defensive line, consists of seniors Jose Sanchez, Austin Copp, Jack Mikesell and Glenn Smith. Mix in junior John Nettleton and those are the two-way guys who will alternatively open and plug holes on the Islander line. “They’re vastly improved over the last year,” said Mayfield. “They’ve all gotten bigger, stronger and more experienced. Those are the guys who we’re expecting to be the heart of the team. They got off to a decent start Friday night.”
Speaking of defense, the game’s first score, which came with 1:14 remaining in the half, was a fumble recovery in the end zone by Jenkins of Coronado, on a mishandled snap by the Parker center/quarterback duo. Andrew Toomey successfully converted three of his four extra point conversions on the evening.
How long Westbrook will be out was unknown as this week’s press deadline approached. The speedy Westbrook also plays defensive back for the Islanders and was slated to handle punt and kick-off returns for Coronado.
Mayfield and his staff now have to patch up the backfield by making a couple of personnel moves. Denson, who also plays free safety, may see more time at tailback. Denson, who also stars as a pitcher/outfielder on the CHS Baseball Team, could form an intriguing backfield combo with Jasonek.
More than most sports, in football a team’s non-conference games are used as a run-up for the league season. Mayfield exhibited that philosophy in his remarks about this Friday night’s home opponent Grossmont, a 7:30 pm tilt that is the regular season opener for both teams. “Grossmont is big and strong and very aggressive. Francis Parker was more our size and type. Parker is more of a skill team and the Grossmont game will be more of a slugfest. It will help us toughen up for the season. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that we don’t lose anybody.”
The CHS Freshman team plays at Grossmont at 5:15 pm Thursday.
Add Football
If you are a connoisseur of prep football, you might like to know the results of the Preseason North County Times Sportswriters/Sportscasters Poll that is hot off the press. No. 1 Cathedral Catholic; No. 2 Oceanside; No. 3 Vista; No. 4 Helix; No. 5 Eastlake; No. 6 La Costa Canyon; No. 7 Torrey Pines; No. 8 Mira Mesa; No. 9 Valley Center and No. 10 Mission Bay.
The next five schools receiving votes included: St. Augustine, Ramona, Steele Canyon, Point Loma and Escondido.
CHS Boys Water Polo Impresses in Debut
Coronado’s Boys Water Polo Team took to the BBMAC Pool at the tail end of a 10-game schedule that comprised the Coach Draz Classic, the water polo version of the Kickoff Classic described above. This contest was competed in shortened quarters, with six minutes of game time instead of the normal seven minutes per frame. The Islanders faced an equally young team from Poway in their game.
The Islanders opened the scoring on a goal from Patrick Geer about a minute into the game and then scored again with less than a minute remaining in the opening quarter on a goal from Van Burgess. Poway and Coronado traded goals in the second quarter, with the Islander tallies coming from Patrick Mayles and Patrick Erskine. Coronado held a 4-2 lead at the half in what was a ho-hum affair to that point.
Islander Head Coach Randy Burgess (Van mentioned earlier is his son, a junior) must have been in peak regular season form during his half-time address as an invigorated Islander team took to the pool for the second half. Coronado scored the next nine consecutive goals, including a 6-0 shutout in the third quarter, to win by the final score of 14-2. At times in the third quarter Poway had trouble getting the ball past the mid-pool area without turning the ball over to the pressing Coronado defense.
A total of 16 Islanders made the score sheet with a positive contribution (goal, assist, steal or field block) and that doesn’t include the net minding trio of Garrett Sabesky, Braydon Hummeldorf and Joe Rodgers, who in that order, shared time in goal.
Burgess led the Islanders with three goals, while John Hill, Nick Wiley and Geer scored two each. Single tallies came from Tommy Grall, Tyler Brownell, Garrett Smerdon, Alex Kuznetsov and Mayles. The Islander steals leader was Hill with three.
So what does all of this mean in terms of the Coronado water polo gestalt? According to Burgess the Elder, now in his 28th season at the helm of the Islander program, not much. “We looked great because of the matchup against a very weak Poway team. Coronado is very young and inexperienced. But playing the game was a no-brainer. Everyone got to show what they had and it gives us an extra game to look at kids. There were no surprises either for the better or the worse. I think that after two weeks of training, I’m just starting to get what the kids are capable of doing. Our standards are high. At this point we have got to be in the top 12 in Division III to make the playoffs.”
Four of the best teams in San Diego County competed in the Draz Classic, a field that included La Jolla, Cathedral Catholic, The Bishop’s School and Coronado. If there were any personnel secrets in the county before Saturday, there aren’t any now. “We got to see our league rivals and division rivals,” said Burgess. “Everyone is in the same boat in terms of inexperience. But it’s still August. We have a lot of work to do internally. I’m excited because the kids have great attitudes. Bishop’s will be the standard this year. They have some studs and they have more experience.”
Coronado has a couple of pre-season scrimmages planned before the start of the regular season. They go on the road to scrimmage Santa Margarita Sept. 8. They host Servite and Esperanza High Schools Saturday, Sept. 11, from 8 am to noon in a round-robin workout among the three schools. The Islanders’ regular season starts Saturday, Sept. 18 when they travel to play Newport Harbor. “They’re one of those teams to beat,” said Burgess of the perennial prep water polo power. “They are loaded. They’ll want to get out of the gates hard.”
Add Water Polo
A recent article posted on Maxpreps.com, written by Kevin Askeland, reviewed the best cities for athletic talent in virtually all prep sports. As an example, the best town for boys volleyball talent was Honolulu; the best for swimming was Mission Viejo; Cincinnati was tops for football; Los Angeles was home for the best boys basketball talent, etc.
Askeland mentioned Coronado as the top site for water polo, saying in part, “Every member of the 2010 USA Men’s Water Polo Team comes from California with Coronado’s four alumni, Tommy Corcoran, Layne Beaubien, Jesse Smith and Thomas Hopkins, the most representatives from any one city.” Deep down, we probably already knew that, but it is nice for someone outside of the immediate area to acknowledge that fact.
Add Water Polo Two
Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 7, the Coronado Aquatics Club will begin holding practices at the Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Center on the CHS campus. The club will offer introductory and advanced play for all athletes, including kids of elementary-school age, middle school aged kids and for high school-aged student-athletes.
For more information, please go to nadoaquatics.com, contact Coach Dave Throop by phone at (619) 851-9734, or contact Coach Throop by E-mail at throopster@hotmail.com.
CHS Girls Tennis Starts Regular Season Play This Week
The Islander Girls Tennis Team, under the direction of Head Coach Rob LeBuhn is wasting no time starting their season, as Coronado charges off to battle with two matches this week. Their season opener is against Francis Parker at the Barnes Tennis Center Tuesday at 3 pm, while their first home match of the season will be played Thursday against San Dieguito at 3:15 pm.
“We start the season with seven non-conference matches,” said LeBuhn. “Our Western League season starts Tuesday, Sept. 21. Even though the Western League is tough, especially with Cathedral Catholic and La Jolla, we didn’t want to change leagues. We’re getting more and more competitive and this is our fourth year of going at it.”
Other Western League teams for the 2010 season include the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, Scripps Ranch and University City.
With the first match rapidly approaching, LeBuhn has arrived on his starting lineup. Jackie Hites will play No. 1 singles; No. 2 singles will be freshman Elena Wang; while the third singles slot will be held by Priscila Gomez. The No. 1 doubles team will be Brooke Gensler and Abigail Andreasen; No. 2 doubles will include Alex Rawlings and Katie Salinda; with the No. 3 doubles team being Mary Mulvey and Nikki Krueger. Team Captains Heidi Jonson and Brittany Kullberg round out the 11-person Islander varsity roster.
CIF San Diego Section Celebrates 50th Anniversary
CIF San Diego Section Commissioner Dennis Ackerman announced Thursday at the organization’s annual media luncheon that the section would be celebrating the Top 50 athletes or glorious sports moments in the 50 year history of the section. The San Diego Section now contains 121 high schools, sponsors 22 sports and has more than 900 volunteers who help the CIF staff conduct the championship events at all levels. The process for nomination of the great athletes or great moments has yet to be announced, but will certainly involved the CIF website, which is CIFSDS.org.
Prior to 1960, San Diego area schools, including Coronado, competed in the CIF Southern Section. Several CHS sports still compete against Southern Section opponents.
In other CIF news, Ackerman announced that the CIF Board of Governors will consider the concept of accepting applications from schools to play up an enrollment division in sports other than football. Currently, teams can petition to play above their division only in football. As an example, Coronado has petitioned to play in Division I instead of the newly created Division II for both Boys and Girls Lacrosse.
Ackerman noted that in some sections, divisions are determined by competitive balance rather than school enrollment. CIF San Diego is the only section of the 10 CIF sections that cover the state that uses enrollment exclusively as the basis for assigning a school’s playing division.
In other news, Ackerman explained that there is likely to be a change in the bats allowed for used in prep baseball in the future. A bill has been introduced in the California State Assembly that outlaws the use of metal bats immediately. If a new bat can be designed and tested by manufacturers before January 2011 that will be safer than the existing models, it will be used this coming season.
It was also noted that the CIF has become more attuned to the medical problems arising from concussions sustained in football. Athletes who have concussions must now be cleared by physicians trained in concussion management before they can return to competition.
Pop Warner Football Update
Coronado Pop Warner opened up play this weekend and the Coronado Pee Wee Team won big over the visiting San Carlos Patriots 40-6. All three phases of the game were working for the Islanders as the offense scored five rushing touchdowns behind the huge holes made by Charlie Duffy and Christian Hurrell. Braden Seay ran for one score and John DeScisciolo ran for four touchdowns.
Greg Gonzalez ran a punt back for a touchdown following some fine blocking by Quinn Karney and Paden Hazuga. The defense smothered the Patriots all day long with linebackers Ian Thorleifson, Hugo Shirey, Wyatt Montague, and Alec Legidakes all recording sacks. Tyler Umansky had the hit of the day with a hard open field tackle.