Point Loma canceled its season, hours after the story below was published.
Joel Allen, who quarterbacked Christian to a Division IV championship in 2002 and created a brilliant coaching record at The Bishop’s (11 seasons, 100-39-1 record, .739 winning percentage) had stepped down.
Allen was going to go into business with his brother and was stepping back, but when Mike Hastings suddenly retired after 22 seasons at Point Loma, Allen, a Point Loma resident, stepped back in and became the Pointers’ fourth head coach in the last 75 years.
Talk about stability.
Don Giddings guided the Pointers from 1946-54 and Bennie Edens from 1955-97. Hastings took over in 1998.
The pandemic and and the uncertainty around it virtually emptied the cupboard. Only 17 players turned out for practice and Point Loma considered opting out of the season, according to John Maffei of The San Diego Union. “Joel went out and ‘recruited the campus’,” said Maffei and got the roster count up to 27.
Much work lies ahead as the Pointers attempt to negotiate the season, which began with a 64-0 loss to ascendant Lincoln. The score represented the most decisive shutout in school history, replacing a 55-0 defeat to Coronado in 1929, and were the most points allowed since a 63-7 loss to Helix in 2001.
TOP 10
Cathedral had 14 first place votes and took the top spot in the weekly Union-Tribune poll. No. 2 was St. Augustine, followed by Lincoln, Carlsbad, Mater Dei, Mission Hills, El Camino, Oceanside, Granite Hills, and Grossmont.
QUICK KICKS
Losing, 19-2, to Mater Dei was Helix’ second loss in a row and marked the first time since losses of 31-14 to Steele Canyon and 31-14 to Valhalla in 2009 that the Scots had lost successive games to teams from the San Diego Section…Santa Fe Christian, with 91 points and Cathedral, with 90, are off to roaring starts but no two-game record…under Nick Ruscetta the Eagles scored 95 in 2004 and 103 in 2009…Cathedral tied its two-game record set in 2008….
