2012: Week 13, Fog, the Ubiquitous Companion

From the Nov. 24, 2012, UT-San Diego:

–Writer John Maffei, at Mission Hills’ 42-17 victory over San Pasqual: “The fog was so thick that the Grizzlies and San Pasqual looked as if they were playing in clam chowder.”

–Dennis Lin, at Lincoln’s 20-7 win over undefeated Olympian: “Looking like some shrouded figure stepping out of an action movie, Tyree Robinson emerged from the fog hovering over Devore (sic) Stadium….”

— Jim Lindgren, quoting St. Augustine coach Richard Sanchez describing freshman running back Elijah Preston, at the Saints’ 38-20 advance against Valley Center: “Throw in a blanket of fog and you really can’t see him until he’s gone.”

–Craig Malveaux, on Francis Parker’s Gabe Harrington, who passed for four touchdowns in a 27-24, double-overtime victory over visiting Christian: “…battled Christian defenders and a billow of fog….”

Fog was  so intrusive  in the San Diego Section semifinals playoffs this week that writers at four games were moved to include descriptions of  the low-lying mixture of suspended water droplets or ice crystals in their game coverages.

Fog and football in San Diego go together like passes and catches.

Hundreds of games have been affected, going back to when the first night games were played in the 1930s.

Elsewhere on this website are examples, a few cited below.

–Helix’s record-setting passing attack (quarterback Jim Plum, receivers Karl Dorrell, Allan Durden, and Craig Galloway) was crippled in 1981 in a championship game loss to Vista.

Fog was so bad that The San Diego Union writer Steve Brand and other members of the media descended from the press level at San Diego Stadium and went to the field.  Visibility was just as limited, or poorer.

NOT A CELL PHONE, BUT…

–A 1939 Long Beach Wilson-Hoover game drew a crowd of about 4,000 to the Cardinals’ field, but those in attendance had only an idea of the playing area.

Ex-basketball coach Bruce Maxwell, and former Hoover athlete Bob Beckus got together and brought a play-by-play to the fans.

Beckus, armed with a portable telephone, roamed the sideline and Maxwell announced Beckus’ reports over the stadium public address.

The only complaint came from a Long Beach Poly scout who drove 200 miles roundtrip and had nothing to show for his effort to chart the Wilson Bruins, who tied Hoover 6-6.

Union reporter Charlie Byrne’s game account began “By Bruce Maxwell and Bob Beckus, as told to Charles Byrne.”

–Los Angeles Loyola’s Al Pollard ran virtually untouched and unseen for two 70-yard touchdowns in  the Cubs’ 19-6 playoff victory in Balboa Stadium in  1946.

WHO?  WHERE?

San Dieguito coach Curtis French complained that fog “was so thick we lost track of the ball and didn’t know who to tackle” on a kickoff return that went for a 103-yard touchdown in a 20-13 loss to Escondido in 1949.

Evening Tribune reporter Jerry Brucker advised the need for radar after he caught only glimpses of a 1949 Hoover-Pasadena game in Aztec  Bowl.

FOGOUT

Fog blanketed Orange County as San Diego and Fullerton prepared for a first-round playoff in 1950.

San Diego center Fred Thompson recalled that he could not see to whom he was snapping the ball in the pregame warmup.

But Thompson, his teammates, and Cavers coach Duane Maley were stunned when officials postponed the game, after the national anthem.

The  Cavers lost the next day, 20-19.

MOST FAVORITES GET THROUGH

There were 10 semifinals games in five divisions, with arguable favorites posting a 7-2-1 record.

Mission Hills and Eastlake (Division I), Oceanside (II), Ramona (III), Madison and St. Augustine (IV), and Santa Fe Christian (V) were favored semifinalists who will play a fourth and final postseason game for championships.

Poway scored a mild upset of Helix in D-II and Lincoln a moderate upset over Olympian in D-III.  Francis Parker and Christian were rated a tossup in D-V and Parker won 27-24 in double overtime.

Average scores: D-I, 51-23; D-II, 26-18; D-III, 38-7; D-IV, 37-30; D-V, 38-30.