1995: Bennie Burns as Monte Vista Begins Title Run
Bennie Edens was pissed.
“I don’t appreciate being embarrassed,” Edens heatedly responded to a question from Paula Mascari-Bott of the Union-Tribune.
“Playing your starters in the fourth quarter, it’s poor sportsmanship,” steamed Edens. “I’ve been coaching forty-one years and I’ve never embarrassed anyone when they’re that far behind. That’s wrong.”
The Pointers had just finished on the wrong end of a 52-0 score in their season opener, a drubbing administered by the visiting, ambitious Monte Vista Monarchs.
The response of visiting coach Ed Carberry was tepid.
“We don’t have a lot of guys to sub in,” Carberry said. “We only have thirty-one varsity players. We played our second string defense the entire second half. Everybody played in the game.”
BIGGEST BLOWOUT
The loss was the worst in Edens’ career and represented the most points allowed since Rancho Buena Vista outscored the Pointers, 56-36, in the San Diego Section playoffs in 1989.
The Pointers had suffered only one shutout more decisive. Coronado beat them, 55-0, in 1929.
That the season opener was a home game made this one more galling for Edens. Point Loma had been the visiting team or the game was at a neutral site in those other losses.
Edens rallied his team from a 0-4 start and was 6-5 before dropping a 36-0 decision to Escondido in the playoff quarterfinals.
Bennie was in the sunset of his career.
The decade of the ‘eighties and its 94 Point Loma victories were a memory. Bennie would retire after a 0-10 season in 1997, a sad ending to Edens’ remarkable, 43-season run at the same school.
WEARING THE CROWN
The opener at Point Loma was a precursor to the finest season in Monte Vista history.
Behind Michael Wiley and Ian Miller, one of the best1-2 rushing punches in San Diego Section history, the Monarch rolled to a 12-1 record.
The 13-12, Division II championship win over Escondido almost was secondary to two victories over Helix, for years Monte Vista’s neighborhood bully.
The Monarchs roused a roaring crowd of a reported 6,800 by winning the Grossmont League South championship and defeating visiting Helix, 17-12, in the final game of the regular season.
“We’re going to run the football, run the football, run the football,” Ed Carberry told Paula Mascari-Bott.
Michael Wiley had 159 yards in 22 attempts and Ian Miller, 127 in 25 as the Monarchs ran behind the blocks of Will Goodloe, James Vargas, Silas Hess, Corey Schneider, Ronnie Williams, and Devlin Olsen.
The Spring Valley team had not beaten the Highlanders in 11 years and trailed in the series, 17-6.
The rematch three weeks later in the D-II playoffs was much easier.
Monte Vista eliminated Helix, 28-0, as Wiley and Miller each rushed for more than 100 yards and the voluble Will Goodloe made eight tackles and batted down four passes.
Goodloe saw a young fan waving to him on the sideline.
“That’s the thing that makes me play hard every down, having kids look up to me, ”Goodloe said, smiling to writer Mascari-Bott. “Find that kid and invite him to the Murph for me.”
Jack Murphy Stadium was the site for the Section championships.
Monarchs quarterback Josh Schmidt, noted for handoffs to Wiley and Miller and for shouting huddle up, made the season’s biggest play in the victory over Escondido the following week.
Schmidt lofted a 34-yard pass to Goodloe for the game-winning touchdown.
Goodloe had practically begged Carberry to call his number. “Just once, coach. Just throw me one pass.”
GO FIGURE
Rancho Bernardo’s Nate Tandberg bombed a record, 58-yard field goal in a 24-0 victory over Mt. Carmel, but missed from 27, 25, and 34 yards, and had a 37-yard attempt blocked.
In the same game RB’s John Thompson set a school rushing record with 216 yards and Chris Garnier had four quarterback sacks.
“I can make the long stuff,” Tandberg told writer Steve (Biff) Dolan. “The short stuff gave me trouble. I was thinking too much….”
CONFIDENCE
Scripps Ranch’s Morris Jackson had 153 yards in 20 carries in a 24-15 victory over Mission Bay, and then announced, “I hope I’m making a statement. I see every other running back in the top twenty, but I don’t see my name up there, because I don ‘t get the carries they do.”
POOR TIMING
Twelve Ramona players, including six starters, were suspended for participating in a dustup on the Bulldogs’ campus.
What was left of coach Rick Foley’s squad took almost all of the punches in a 55-6 loss to Oceanside.
PASSING FANCY
Mike Van Raaphorst of Helix, Daniel Jeremiah of Christian, and Bryan Halsey of West Hills lit up the East County skies.
Jeremiah threw for 31 touchdowns, including 6 in a 42-0 playoff rout of Horizon, and for a career total of 7,550.
Jeremiah followed his brother David and led the Patriots to a 14-0 win over The Bishop’s in the Division IV championship.
Halsey passed for 27 touchdowns and for a career total of 6,886.
Van Raaphorst passed for 19 touchdowns after transferring from Grossmont and had more than 4,200 career passing yards.
TO HELIX AND BACK
Van Raaphorst no sooner had removed his shoulder pads following the season’s final game and was on the move again.
After a 28-0 loss to Monte Vista in the D-II semifinals, the quarterback packed up, headed home, and turned out for the basketball team at Grossmont the following Monday.
The family had moved into an apartment in La Mesa during the summer so Mike could be eligible for football at the more prestigious Helix program.
SURGERY SIDELINES MOM
The 6-foot, 5-inch Van Raaphorst had played football, basketball, and volleyball for three years at Grossmont. The move back to the family residence in the Grossmont enrollment area was necessary after Van Raaphorst’s mother underwent foot surgery.
It was explained that recovery was easier in a more familiar setting for Mrs. Van Raaphorst. The family’s apartment in La Mesa was two-story. Stairs would be a problem.
Hurting most was Helix basketball coach John Singer.
FRIDAY OF REST
Scott Worley is a Seventh Day Adventist and his religion became a focal point as Christian sought a third consecutive championship in Division IV.
Worley and his brother, Mike, had not participated in the 38-28 championship victory over Mountain Empire in 1993 because of their church’s requirement of rest from sunset Friday until sunset Saturday, the time of the Adventists’ Sabbath.
The 1994 game, a 28-7 win over La Jolla Country Day, was on Saturday night and Worley played. The 1995 game would be on a Friday. Worley would have to sit.
San Diego Section commissioner Kendall (Spider) Webb initially thought the game should proceed on Friday. “That’s the night for the high schools,” said Webb.
The Bishop’s also did not want to change.
PERSISTENCE PAYS
Christian pressed the issue and, to his credit, Webb was a positive presence, working with both schools. After a “day of appeals and counter proposals,” the game was rescheduled for Saturday evening.
“We’re very pleased,” said Webb. “I want to thank Bishop’s for going the extra mile.”
It turned out to be a hard road for the Knights. Christian won, 14-0, and Worley gained 117 yards in 26 carries, scored the Patriots’ two touchdowns and made eight tackles.
“I gave it everything I had,” said Worley. “This was the best game I’ve ever played.”
IT COSTS TO GO TO THE ISLANDS
Preparations for Morse’s 11th trip to Hawaii began almost immediately after the last visit.
Tigers coach John Shacklett noted that cost per person was $650, with money coming from a variety of fund-raising events.
Each year, as part of the itinerary, the team visited the battleship Arizona Memorial.
Morse tied Oahu Kahuku, 36-36.
PENN STATE WEST?
Mar Vista’s game pants and home, dark jerseys were stolen from the equipment room days before the Mariners’ game at Hoover.
Wearing dull, white practice pants and light-colored jerseys, the Mariners defeated Hoover, 25-6.
“We’re starting to like them, senior Carlos Ibarra said of the Penn State-like uniforms. “They look good on us.”
RANCHO CAN’T HANG
Concord De La Salle slammed Rancho Buena Vista, 35-12, although Brian Marquardt recovered a fumble on the first play from scrimmage and two plays later Matt Thorne ran eight yards to give Rancho a 6-0 lead.
The Spartans rushed for 295 yards and made it 40 victories in a row and 74 out of 75 with their second consecutive win over Craig Bell’s Longhorns.
EDENS ENDORSES
“Ian Loper might be the best defensive end in the United States. I’m not kidding. He’s as good as we’ve ever had, or better,” said Bennie Edens of Point Loma.
Loper, 6-5, 235, had four tackles for loss and intercepted a pass in Point Loma’s 24-8, first-round win over Mount Miguel.
QUIET, THEN EXPLOSION
After a 6-0 first half, Torrey Pines and Los Angeles Dorsey exchanged 65 points and eight lead changes in the final 24 minutes.
Torrey Pines won, 37-35, as Marty Graham, who ran like this in 1994 for Helix, rushed for 274 yards in 29 carries and scored two touchdowns.
Dorsey missed a 38-yard field goal attempt as time expired, the ball just short of clearing the crossbar.
NEW ADDRESSES
Torrey Pines moved from D-II to D-I and El Camino dropped from D-II to D-III.
“Not taking anything away from Torrey Pines, El Camino will have more impact on D-III than Torrey on D-I,” said John Shacklett of D-I giant Morse.
In accompanying moves, Scripps Ranch and Kearny sauntered over to the Western League from the Harbor and Eastern, respectively.
Crawford left the Western for the Harbor, joining Madison, which bolted the Western for the Harbor in 1994.
OUT AND IN
The Grossmont School District’s 3-A and 2-A designations for its two leagues was voted out and Grossmont North and Grossmont South were voted in.
Monte Vista athletic director Phil Poist suggested the idea.
“When we went to leagues based on enrollment, we noticed some of the old neighborhood rivalries disappeared,” said Poist, who added that “there was a stigma attached to the 3-A and 2-A leagues. The bigger league somehow meant the better league.”
Changing leagues for more competitive balance was the usual criteria.
The changes sometimes are just cosmetic. Three of the five teams in the table below experienced improvement, but only one made a leap.
| Team | Year | League | W-L | Year | League | W-L |
| Crawford | 1994 | Western | 2-8 | 1995 | Harbor | 2-8 |
| El Camino | 1994 | D-III* | 10-3 | 1995 | D-II | 7-6 |
| Kearny | 1994 | Eastern | 1-8 | 1995 | Western | 7-6 |
| Scripps Ranch | 1994 | Harbor | 7-5 | 1995 | Western | 8-4 |
| Torrey Pines | 1994 | D-II* | 9-5 | 1995 | D-I | 9-2 |
QUICK KICKS
The high schools’ National Federation passed a rule allowing quarterbacks to spike the ball to stop the clock…the rule had been a five-yard penalty… Helix’s 19-14 victory over Patrick Henry gave the Highlanders a 13-0-1 record on opening day, dating to 1982…Rancho Bernardo boasted triplets in its starting lineup: running back Brian, guard Brett, and free safety Garret Heintz…Valhalla defeated San Marcos for its first playoff victory in four tries…the Hustead family came close…father Dan was the star of the 1969 Escondido squad that tied San Diego, 21-21, for the San Diego Section title, but son Chad was on Escondido’s 13-12 loss to Monte Vista in the II championship…Dan was an assistant coach on this year’s team….