Nado Natterings
A weekly column by David Axelson Back to Index

12 January 2011 Issue #2

As this week’s installment of ‘Nado Natterings’ is being written on January 10th, the Coronado High School Boys Soccer Team is 10-0, having won all 10 of their games by shutout. Symmetry probably wasn’t a primary goal for Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu at this point in the season, especially since he scheduled a tough opponent for his team’s tenth game, but more on that a little later.
In their first game back in action after a long game layoff due to the holidays, Coronado defeated Christian 3-0 at home. The game marked the first outing for the Islanders in the Central League season and it was a victory against an opponent that often gives them problems.
The three Islander goals came from three different players, Andrew Toomey, Ryan Keeney and Andrew Orozco.
Hiatt-Aleu described the flow of the game. “Our first goal was scored off of a throw-in on a set play. We had been struggling a little bit due to being off for the Christmas break and that we hadn’t had a real game for a long time. Christian came out pretty hard. Our scoring off of a set play relaxed the team and we started playing much better after that. We rely a lot on set plays.”
Jake Nicholson earned the shutout in goal, according to Hiatt-Aleu. “Jake has worked hard, he wants to learn and he has a really great attitude. It has really helped us out that he has improved so much.”
A game originally scheduled for Thursday against San Ysidro was cancelled because the Cougars had booked too many games for the current season. Hiatt-Aleu was looking for a good opponent, so he scheduled the defending CIF Division III champions from Castle Park for a home game Friday.
“We wanted a strong game,” said Hiatt-Aleu. “Castle Park was 10-0-1 going into the game. They beat Cathedral Catholic in the finals last year, after Cathedral defeated us in the semi-finals. Castle Park has all of their big time players returning and they were still loaded for this season. I knew it would be a tough game. We prepared well and came out with high pressure. We didn’t want to give them any time on the ball. We wanted to outnumber them on the ball and make it difficult for them. When they didn’t score any goals in the first 20 minutes of the game, it gave us a lot of confidence.”
Roughly 25 minutes into the game, Kyle Runyon scored for Coronado, which proved to be the lone and decisive goal in the contest. Hiatt-Aleu described the game winning goal. “Kyle saw the opening and got some space for himself. It was a really nice finish on his part. The rest of the boys played their role and it was a good team win. Castle Park relies on two or three guys with individual skill. A team that plays well will beat a team with a few individual players.”
Ricardo Diaz earned the shutout in goal against Castle Park. Hiatt-Aleu credited his defense for their efforts. “Especially on Friday night, we got great play from Nathan Andersen, Mathew Ovrom, Tommy Hart and Sergio Flores. Everybody played really well Friday. It was a wide open game. Either team could have won. We finished our opportunity and they didn’t.”
Apparently the Trojans don’t like to be on the short side of the scoreboard and their collective frustration came into play when the game was in the final minutes of injury time. A hard tackle by a Coronado player led to an altercation near the visiting bench, which Hiatt-Aleu discussed. “After the slide tackle, another (Castle Park) player bodied our player into the bench. It was good to see my guys sticking up for each other right away. The officials did a good job throughout the night. They called a good game. Those guys (the Trojans) don’t like to lose. They lost their composure. The referees decided to call the game. There was another minute left at most. They ended it there.”
The good news is that at least for this year, there won’t be a return game with Castle Park. The Trojans continue to reside and play in Division III. Coronado competes in Division IV this season after the CIF expanded to five competitive divisions.
This week the Islanders return to Central League play with two contests. Tuesday they travel to Crawford for a 3 pm game. Thursday they host Madison at 6 pm in Coronado. Maybe next week the Islanders winning streak will reach an even dozen.
Islander Girls Soccer Returns to Winning Ways
Despite a won-loss-tie record to start their season of 1-4-3, CHS Girls Soccer Head Coach Kiko Medina remained upbeat about his team. With a considerably upgraded non-conference schedule, and a host of injuries to several players who had been significant contributors to last season’s CIF title team, Medina was confident the Islanders would soon turn the corner.
His goal may have been realized last Friday at home, when the Islanders hosted Eastlake in the first of a twilight doubleheader (baseball term) that featured the Girls playing at 4:30 pm and the boys following with their mini-war against Castle Park.
“We knew going in they were a good team,” said Medina of the Eastlake squad, which includes several players who compete alongside Islander team members during the club season. “We were so close to a breakout game. Offensively we were combining really well and the creativity and confidence were there. We scored three goals against a very good keeper, who kept Eastlake in the game. Without her we would have had three or four more goals. I couldn’t be happier with the way we played offensively.”
The Islanders emerged with a 3-2 victory, with two goals coming from Mallory Mitchell and one from Olivia Lillegraven. Medina described Mitchell’s first goal. “We have been working on getting the service in early and Allie Culora laid it off. Mallory caught the keeper out of position and chipped the ball over her. Good things finally happened on our side.”
What would a close soccer game be without some controversy? According to Medina, the two Titan tallies came on one shot on goal. Both goals were scored on penalty kicks, derived from questionable calls at the Islanders defensive end. “The final score was not indicative of the game,” Medina said.
This week the Islanders are off until Friday evening when the host University City in the Western League opener for Coronado. Game time is 6 pm. As a reminder, the level of play throughout the circuit is very competitive.  “We have all week off and a good amount of time to prepare for U.C.,” Medina noted. “Hopefully we will start the Western League with a win. We’re definitely back and we’re going to keep it going.”
Coronado Girls Basketball Wins Two in Central League Play
When I wandered into the Madison gymnasium Friday night, the Warhawk Girls Basketball Team was going through their warm-up drills. Since Madison had at least three players who were taller than any of the Islander players, my first thought was ‘If those girls can play, we’re in trouble.’
It would be fair to say that the team concept hasn’t been well developed at Madison yet this season and the Islanders cruised to a 69-10 victory. Fueled by 31 steals, the Islanders lead 23-2 at the end of the first quarter. Since Coronado’s lead was more than 40 points at the end of the third quarter (65-8), the final quarter was played with a running clock, so the score could have been much more lop-sided. 
Some of the game statistics were interesting, starting with Peri Curtis, who scored 35 points, to go with 11 rebounds, six steals and four assists. If you are starting a Central League Basketball Fantasy League, Peri has to be in the discussion for the first pick of the draft. The Tom Brady of Central League, you might say.
Samantha Kirk scored nine points and also had 10 steals. Nicollette Abrantes chipped in 16 points and seven steals. Meganne Weissenfels contributed two points, two assists and three steals. Alex Reidy had four points, three rebounds and four assists. Cory De Marco boogied over to Madison after playing goalie in the Islander Girls Soccer game against Eastlake and in limited playing time scored one point, snared two rebounds, dished out two assists and committed two steals.
Alex Evans, who is leading the Free World in rebounds per game, missed the victory over Madison due to illness. Islander Head Coach Toler Goodwin said of Evans, “We’re hoping she’ll be cleared to play soon.” As a result, Goodwin brought freshmen Rachel Brennan and Martha Byrne up from the JV. Brennan didn’t score but had 13 rebounds and two steals. Byrne scored two points and grabbed five rebounds.
“Friday night we played well,” Goodwin recounted. “We had great energy all the way around. We were short-handed, but we got a good solid effort from the kids who came up from the JV. They were able to go in and affect steals, get rebounds and keep possessions. That was an important piece for us. Samantha Kirk was active defensively with the 10 steals and she had a few other deflections.”
The Madison game was the second game of the week for Coronado. The first was a 61-14 victory over Crawford. In that game, Curtis had 25 points and nine rebounds, while Evans had 15 points, 15 rebounds and six steals. Abrantes added 16 points from her small forward position.
Although the Crawford game was a blowout in similar proportion to the Madison game, Goodwin was less enthusiastic about Tuesday’s victory. “We were a little sluggish in the first half and we weren’t finishing opportunities. Crawford turned over the ball excessively in the first half and we didn’t capitalize. We didn’t convert our live ball turnovers into points in the first half. We played a lot of selfish basketball.”
Essentially, the Islander’s easier games for the first round of Central League play have passed. As the first couple of league results are now in, Goodwin handicapped the next several games. “Kearny is the No. 1 opposition. Point Loma, Clairemont and Christian can all cause problems, especially if we aren’t at full strength. Kearny is probably the best of the opposition.”
Tuesday Coronado hosts Clairemont for a 5 pm game. Friday the Girls host Point Loma at 6 pm as the first game of a Girls/Boys doubleheader. “These are tough games for us, as we are shorthanded. We’ll be missing 10 points and 14 rebounds a game from Alex Evans and we have to find that somewhere. Hopefully we can get Camille Wilson back from a high ankle sprain. She has been working hard with (CHS Athletic Trainer) Connie Martinez. We should have Camille back by Friday.”
CHS Boys Basketball Also Jumps to 2-0 Central League Start
Last Tuesday the CHS Boys Basketball tipped off their Central League season with a 77-42 victory over Crawford, a game that had Islander Head Coach J.D. Laaperi worried going into the game. “It was a great game for us, but I was concerned about last week’s loss to Twentynine Palms. I thought this week would tell us a lot. We put the pressure on Crawford early and got up 12 or 15 points in the first quarter and then Crawford lost some interest. We kept our foot on the gas until the third quarter.”
Guards Justin Hebner and Danny Hebert performed a lot of the scoring damage for Coronado against Crawford. Hebner tossed in 15 points, distributed 10 assists and committed eight steals. Hebert scored 21 points and nine steals. Billy Schmitt had 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Jordan Jacobs contributed nine rebounds and four steals. Luke Gillingham had seven rebounds.
“Harley Ralph was the guy that gave us the lead in the first half,” Laaperi said. “He caught the ball on the wing and took it to the basket.” Laaperi, who physically might be described as ‘smallish,’ noted that Crawford had “Three guys smaller than me on the team. I haven’t seen a Crawford team that small in the five years that I have been coaching on the varsity level.”
Friday night at Madison, it was more of the same for Coronado, which came away with a 53-47 victory over the Warhawks. Coronado seemingly had the game under control, leading 47-33 with 6:14 left in the game. Madison scored the next seven points in a row to make the game a little too interesting.
Offensively in the fourth quarter, Hebner and Hebert scored all 16 Islander points between them and seemingly alternated scores on a series of jumpers and drives to the basket. Some of the relevant game stats included 19 points for Hebert; 18 points for Hebner; eight points and nine rebounds for Gillingham; plus six points and three assists for Dylan Gouthro. 
On the defensive end, Schmitt had two of his four blocked shots in the final several minutes of the game, in both cases deflecting the shot and then controlling the rebound for an Islander possession. Schmitt had six rebounds, an assist and a steal as well. “We had a big enough lead, because of his defensive stops, that we were able to win the game,” Laaperi said of Schmitt.
Laaperi also acknowledged the efforts of Hebert, Hebner and Gouthro. “Offensively Danny and Justin took over the game. Justin had 10 points in the fourth quarter alone. They carried us home and we weren’t going to lose this game. Dylan came in and played some big minutes for us. He knocked down a couple of threes without thinking about it. He picked up some reach fouls, but had good energy.”
This week the Islanders travel to Clairemont for a Tuesday game which tips off at 4:30 pm. Friday Coronado hosts Point Loma at roughly 7:45 pm, or 20 minutes after the conclusion of the Girls game, also against the Pointers.
Laaperi looked ahead a little to some of the Islanders coming games. “I think we will have a true test against Point Loma Friday night with their size. Christian is 2-0 this season. Shane Dillon is still on their team and he is averaging 22-24 points per game.”
Girls Water Polo Returns to Action Friday at Santa Barbara Tourney
Due to a hole in their game schedule, the Islander Girls Water Polo Team didn’t play last week, but as Head Coach Dave Throop notes in his update which follows, that brief lull will be followed by a raft games, to be played in a short stretch of time.
“We are playing in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions this coming Friday and Saturday, which will be a big challenge, but also a great opportunity.  We've had a lot of young players get some playing time this season, and short term we can only be better for it.  
The tournament is arguably the toughest in Southern California due to the depth of teams and this year's field is superb.  We should be more competitive then the hosts believe, based on our No. 16 seed in a field of 16 teams. I like our opportunity to challenge some teams within the tournament.  It will also be a great chance for our group to focus on our season and the camaraderie of traveling is incredible for team growth.  
Beginning January 14th, we will play 11 games in eight days, so it'll provide us with a real opportunity for additional growth. Coupled with CHS Finals Week, that should be a real opportunity to improve our team and individual focus and discipline.”
Jesse Smith Earns CIF Top 50 Athlete Honors
The California Interscholastic Federation, San Diego Section, recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary by naming ‘The 50 Top Athletes of the First 50 Years of the CIFSDS.’ Included on the list was Jesse Smith (CHS ’01) in the sport of water polo.
Smith, the all-time leading scorer in Coronado history with 352 goals, was a four-time high school All-American. Smith was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Men’s Water Polo Teams in both Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. The U.S. team won the Olympic silver medal in Beijing.
Smith is currently playing professionally for R.N. Savona in the Italian professional league. Savona is located in the Liguria coastal region of Northwest Italy.
Smith and Ericka Lorenz, also an Olympian who played at Patrick Henry High School, were the only two water polo players to make the Top 50 list. Smith was the lone Coronado representative.
Sanchez Earns Sectionsports.com Second Team Football Honors
Coronado High School senior Jose Sanchez, a two-way lineman for the Islander Football Team last season, was named to the Sectionsports.com Second Team Defensive Team as a defensive tackle. Sanchez paced the Islanders in tackles in 2010 with 35 solo tackles and 35 assisted tackles. He also helped lead Coronado to an appearance in the CIF Division IV quarter-finals. The Islanders ended the season with an overall record of 9-3.
NFL Outlook for 2011 Season is Grim
Since neither of the National Football League teams I follow, the Chicago Bears and the San Diego Chargers, played last week, I found a whole lot of free time over the weekend that I don’t normally have.
I have to admit that I did watch most of the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens game. I was once a runner on the Chiefs stats crew and since I grew up in Kansas City, I like to see the Chiefs do well. Thus, Saturday’s game wasn’t a particularly positive one for me, as the Ravens took names and left Arrowhead Stadium with a 30-7 win. Frankly, it wasn’t that close.
However, I did have time to read David Feith’s “Weekend Interview” column with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in “The Wall Street Journal.” Cutting to the bottom line, the upshot of the piece was that the NFL Owners and Players are at serious odds on how to split the league’s $9 billion in annual revenue going forward into next season. Yes, that’s billion with a capital ‘B.’
The attendant issues are the owners want to reduce players’ compensation by nine percent, add a rookie salary cap, and expand the regular season from the current 16 games and four exhibition games to 18 games and two exhibition games. Let’s just say the NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith isn’t doing cartwheels over those proposals. Last year Smith estimated the chances of a work stoppage at 14 on a scale of 1-10.
So Your Natterer has a simple solution for the Coronado-based NFL fan. If one of your teams is still alive in the playoff chase, DVR or video tape their remaining games. It may be the only pro football you will be watching next fall.