Nado Natterings
A weekly column by David Axelson Back to Index

3 November 2010 Issue #44

While discussing the San Diego Chargers last week and their wild ride this season, the point was made that turnovers play a huge role in the fortunes of a football team. That concept was particularly applicable this week to the Coronado Islander Football Team, which defeated Central League opponent Morse at home Friday night 21-12, in a tight and well-played game.

An intercepted pass by Coronado linebacker Andrew Toomey became the game-changing play of the contest. With 4:56 remaining in the third quarter and the Islanders holding a tenuous 14-12 lead, Morse was on the Coronado 34-yard line and driving. Toomey anticipated the location of the pass and put himself in position to make the play.

Coronado Head Coach Bud Mayfield endorsed Toomey’s interception “As the play of the game. Morse had us on our heels and then we went back the other way. We had to improvise and somehow we found a way to get it done.”

For now, let’s go back to the beginning of the game, where the Islanders scored on their second possession of the first quarter. They pieced together a 13-play drive that ate almost six minutes off the clock. Quarterback Austin Denson concluded the drive with a three-yard run for the score. Although the gap narrowed later in the game, Coronado (6-2 overall, 4-0 in the Central League) would never relinquish the lead.

In the second quarter Mike Byrne intercepted an errant Morse pass on the Tigers 34-yard line and again the Islanders mounted a scoring drive. This time it took six plays to find pay dirt, and just as he did on the first scoring drive, Denson burrowed into the end zone on a three-yard run. Toomey, who also handles the Coronado place kicking duties, was a perfect 3-3 on the night in extra point attempts.

At that point Morse finally got organized offensively and put together a nine-play scoring drive which repeatedly displayed their team speed. The Tigers’ point after touchdown kick fluttered wide and the Islanders held a 14-6 lead with 3:48 remaining in the quarter, which proved to be the halftime score as well.  

Morse went three and out to open the second half, but Coronado went deep into the Morse end of the field on their first possession, before their drive stalled on an illegal procedure penalty and three consecutive incomplete passes. The Tigers took over on downs and had what looked like a 70-yard touchdown run called back due to an illegal block in the back at the end of the play. The ball was spotted on the Coronado 37 after the penalty was assessed and Morse scored immediately on a 37-yard touchdown run.

It appeared as though Morse had found a weakness in the Islander defense and could run at will. However, a two-point conversion attempt by Morse to tie the game failed.

To make matters worse, Morse intercepted a pass on the Islanders second play from scrimmage on the next offensive series and seemed poised for another score on the Coronado 39. Then Toomey stepped up and intercepted a Morse pass and the momentum shifted to the Islanders.

Coronado scored to open the fourth quarter, after another important defensive play when Jordan Jacobs recovered a Morse fumble. The Islanders assembled an eight-play, 70-yard drive, which was concluded with a four-yard run by Jeff Bona.

Earlier in the game, Bona had to be treated on the sidelines by CHS Athletic Trainer Connie Martinez for leg cramps and missed a significant portion of the game. But Bona returned with a vengeance. “It seemed like he wanted to make up for being out earlier,” Mayfield said of the senior. “He was a force in the last quarter. Our last drive closed the door on them and a large part of that was Bona’s running.”

As the clock wound down and the game neared its conclusion, junior linebacker Bobby Brandenburg stepped up his game on defense. In the space of four plays, Brandenburg tackled a Morse runner for a short gain, made tackle for a five-yard loss and then sacked the Morse quarterback for a 14-yard loss. Due to a season-ending broken hand suffered by lineman Glenn Smith, Brandenburg wound up playing linebacker on defense and tackle on offense. Another lineman John Nettleton missed the game with an injury, causing Jose Sanchez to move to the right side of the line. Senior stalwart and team Co-Captain Austin Copp, whose defensive playing time had been limited recently by injury, has returned to being a two-way player for the Islanders and held down one of the defensive end positions.  

“Brandenburg had never played offensive left tackle before,” Mayfield noted. “He played offensive center on JV, but never tackle. Sophomore Landry Urbanowicz played guard on that side of the field.”

Defensive statistical leaders included Toomey with three solo tackles, four assisted tackles and the aforementioned interception; Brandenburg was credited with four solo tackles, seven assisted tackles, and one quarterback sack; Copp had two solo tackles, four assisted tackles and one sack; while Co-Captain Jacobs contributed four solo tackles, one assisted tackle and the fumble recovery.

Denson probably had his best game at quarterback to date, completing 15 of 33 pass attempts for 163 net yards, to go with 52 yards rushing on 15 attempts. In addition to the above, Denson also plays safety on defense, and is the team’s punter on special teams. “For the most part he made plays out of nothing,” Mayfield said of his signal caller’s offensive effort Friday. “He produced a lot of yardage against a good team with a fast secondary. He never gets to come off the field to talk to me about playing quarterback.” Brandenburg and Denson were honored with Black Shirt Awards (game MVPs) by the coaching staff.

Morse showed up en masse for the game, complete with cheerleaders, band, dance group and three buses of boosters, a fact not lost on Mayfield. “Morse was pretty excited and pumped up. To take the game away from them took a great game on our part. They made a few mistakes that hurt them. Their coaching staff has been around and they are professionals. We have mutual respect between the coaching staffs.”

Speaking of coaching staffs, the San Diego High Staff and most of the team were in the stands Friday evening, the result of a bye in the schedule created by Crawford not fielding a team for the balance of the season.

Mayfield provided a preview the Homecoming game coming Friday, which will kick off at 7:30 pm. “San Diego (5-2-1, 2-2 in the Central League) is very similar to Morse. They have won five games, which is good for them and they are on a roll. When San Diego played Morse, they lost to Morse 30-29. San Diego is huge up front. For us it is the exact same situation. We’re looking okay. We’re up one game in the Central League standings (over Kearny) with two games to go. The injury thing is staring us in the face.”

North County Times Prep Football Poll

This week’s North County Times Prep Football Poll had some significant movement at the top of the poll, as long-time No. 1 Vista suffered their first loss of the season by the score of 31-28 to Mission Hills.

The poll results are: No. 1 Eastlake, No. 2 Helix; No. 3 Torrey Pines; No. 4 Valley Center; No. 5 Oceanside; No. 6 (Tie) Vista and Steele Canyon; No. 8. Mission Hills; No. 9 Mount Miguel; No. 10 (Tie) La Costa Canyon and Rancho Bernardo.

Other schools receiving votes (in order) included Poway, Olympian, Cathedral Catholic, Madison and Grossmont.

Islander Boys Water Polo Finishes Eighth in NorCal Finis Tournament

You know it’s a busy week when you play six games in four days, which is exactly what the CHS Boys Water Polo Team did last week. The week started with a 9-4 loss at Cathedral Catholic, which caused Head Coach Randy Burgess to say of his team, “We got off the bus, and after that we weren’t there. Cathedral played a good game and we didn’t play very well. It was a wake-up call. The same day, La Jolla beat Bishop’s. It’s going to be a very interesting post season, from the seedings through the playoffs.”

Thursday the Islanders headed to Northern California for a game with Campolindo High School of Moraga. Despite trailing 6-4 at the half, Coronado came back to earn the 9-8 victory. Tommy Grall scored three goals, with Eitan Peled and Van Burgess scoring twice each. Garrett Smerdon and Patrick Geer scored one goal apiece while Braydon Hummeldorf played the entire game in goal and had 13 saves and three steals.

The Campolindo contest served as a warm-up for Coronado and the 16-team Cal State/Finis Invitational Tournament hosted by Bellarmine Prep High School in San Jose, which started play Friday. The event has long been considered the unofficial state prep water polo championship. The Islanders played The Menlo School in the first game, coached by former Coronado All-American goalie Jack Bowen. “They are one of the stronger teams in the CIF Central Coast Section,” said Burgess.

Coronado took a 6-2 lead at the half and won by the final score of 8-4. Smerdon and Geer had two goals each, followed by Dylan Peterson, Peled, Grall and Nick Wiley with one goal each. Goalie Garrett Sabesky had 18 saves, a season high for the senior.

Unfortunately that was the last win for the Islanders in Northern California this season, as Coronado lost to Corona del Mar 9-4 in their second game Friday. “It was a game of two halves,” noted Burgess. “We played very well in the first half and were only down 4-3. But we couldn’t keep it together. It was a very well-played game defensively by both teams.” Van Burgess scored two goals while Geer and Christian Dudley scored one each. Sabesky played three quarters of the contest and was credited with 10 saves. Hummeldorf had three saves in the fourth quarter.

Saturday the team faced Foothill and got off to a rocky start on their way to a 13-6 loss. Peled and Josh Williams had two goals, with Geer and Michael Bigham scoring once each. Sabesky played the first half and junior net minder Joe Rodgers played the second half. Both goalies had three saves each. The final game of the tourney was an 11-8 loss to Harvard Westlake. Geer scored three times, with John Hill, Peled, Grall, Smerdon and Wiley scoring once each. Sabesky and Hummeldorf shared time in goal.

The focus now returns to San Diego County, when Coronado returns home to play La Jolla Wednesday, November 3rd at 5pm. That game will be highlighted by two strong opponents and will also serve as a fundraiser for the Lance Armstrong / Live STRONG Foundation.

“The game has a lot of relevance to the league race, based on how well we play,” Burgess said of the Western League contest. “La Jolla has been playing well and they beat Bishop’s. Friday we go to Santa Anna and face Foothill in our last regular season game. We need to finish the season strong.”

Seeding pairings for the CIF Playoffs will be announced next Monday, with 12 teams making the Division III bracket. If Coronado is seeded between first and fourth, they will have a first round bye. If they are seeded fifth or lower, they will host a playoff game Nov. 10th.

Islander Cross Country Dominates Crawford

CHS Head Cross Country Coach George Green recounts last week’s action. “Both the Coronado High School Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams posted perfect 15-50 scores against Crawford last Tuesday.

Aryan Shay again led the parade for the Boys' team, while cruising to a time of 16:41 over the City Conference 3-mile course. Ryan Keeney placed second in 17:40 followed by Will Funk (third in 17:46), Jason Vance (fourth in 18:20), Drew Findley (fifth, also in 18:20), Nicholas Beall (sixth in 18:22) and Casey Engelman (seventh in 18:59) to complete the sweep.

Paul Rodriguez and Carlos Montes followed in eighth and ninth. Chris Leary, Ryan Herrmann, Jack Gold, and Michael Cerdinio finished 11th  through 14th  respectively, followed by Josh Blore (16th), Weston Breay (17th), Kingston De Laurentis (19th), Grainger Lanneau (20th), Chad Faul (22nd) and Greg Coumes (23rd). 

The Girls' team swept the Top 15 spots over the same course, led, this week by Annie Lovering and Nicole Davies who came across the line together in 20:07 followed, in order, by Ashley Englelman, Sadie Gimber, Elise Umansky, Meg Sweeney, Mollie Privett, Taylor Ramos, Martha Byrne, Vanessa Tortolero, Sierra Smith, Sydney Swanson, Samantha Marks, Mary Grace Braun and Lindsay Garner. Also finishing for the Islanders were Yvonne Wood (17th), Melissa Wood (19th), Adrienne Reyes (20th), Sarah Alfano (22nd) and Emma Renly (23rd).”

CHS Girls Tennis Qualifies for CIF Division III Playoffs

With the advance explanation that the tennis post season is really hard to follow, the Coronado Girls Tennis Team competed in the Western League tournament last week. Islander No. 1 singles player Jackie Hites played well and lost in the quarter-finals to the No. 1 seed.

The Islanders No. 1 doubles team of Alex Rawlings/Brooke Gensler beat the No. 8 seed in the first round, but fell in the second round to a team from Cathedral Catholic by the score of 7-5, 6-4. Nikki Kruger/Brittany Kullberg also won their first round match before falling in the second round.

Since none of the Coronado entries advanced into the semi-finals of the Western League tourney, they did not qualify for the CIF Individuals. However, the team qualified for the CIF Division III Playoffs and earned the No. 4 seed in play that begins this week.

“We had a great team this year,” said Head Coach Rob LeBuhn. “I was surprised at the seed, but I kind of fought for it. There is a little respect for Coronado in the (seeding) room now.”

Coronado will host Francis Parker Tuesday at 2 pm and if they win will likely host The Bishop’s School at 2 pm Wednesday.

If you have followed this recitation thus far, you will be interested that the CIF Individuals are played the week following the conclusion of the CIF Team Playoffs.

Cara Barker Qualifies for CIF Girls Golf Tournament

The golf post season is a little more straight forward than tennis. Last week Coronado freshman linkster Cara Barker finished in a tie for fourth place in the City Conference Championships, shooting a fine round of 74. Her performance earned her First Team All-Western League honors and qualified her for the CIF Tournament.

Only the Academy of Our Lady of Peace and Cathedral Catholic advanced from the Western League as teams into the CIF Playoffs. However, Andrea Perez, Erin Dupree, Liza Logan, Tori Davis and Barker all participated in the City Conference event.

“It’s really difficult to get in as a team,” said Head Coach Hanna Cohan of the CIF Playoff process. “They trimmed the field this year and cut back on the amount of players who can qualify. Our final match of the year against Scripps Ranch and we shot a 235 as a team, which is our best score of the year. To end the season shooting our best score is pretty good.”

Portland Trailblazer Maurice Lucas Remembered

With a touch of sadness, I read over the weekend that Maurice Lucas, the 6-9 power forward from the 1977 NBA Championship Portland Trailblazers passed away from cancer at the age of 58. Lucas was the Blazer’s leading scorer that championship season, averaging 20.2 points per game, to go with 11.2 rebounds per game.

Lucas didn’t invent the power forward position, but he did refine it. He also earned his rightful nickname of “The Enforcer” on a nightly basis, as he protected center Bill Walton and the rest of the  starting lineup which included guards Lionel Hollins and Dave Twardzick and small forward Bob Gross. In the much more physical NBA of the 1970’s and 80’s, Lucas didn’t take guff from anybody and wasn’t afraid to throw a well-directed elbow or powerful punch, if he felt they were warranted.

But Lucas had a powerful game to go with his rough demeanor.  He was the master of the 12-15 foot baseline jumper and Walton, whose greatest gifts on the basketball court were his passing ability and complete unselfishness, would willingly get the ball to Lucas where he could score effectively. In return, if an opponent even looked at Walton with malicious intent, Lucas would dish out punishment in retaliation.

I saw Lucas play in person on several occasions and if an opposing player would protest to a referee that Lucas was fouling him or being excessively physical, Lucas would just laugh at the player in question. NBA rules allow for six personals before a player is ejected and Lucas used his full foul quota, on a nightly basis.

Lucas played for 12 seasons in the NBA and two in the ABA and was a five-time NBA All-Star. Other NBA playing stops included New Jersey, New York, Phoenix, Seattle and the Los Angeles Lakers. Lucas served as an assistant coach for Portland for six seasons. The Marquette grad was an unforgettable player and character who passed away too soon.