Helix is one of 12 schools in the country with at least 4 alumni players who made 2015 opening-day rosters in the NFL.

Thirteen San Diego Section graduates were active, down from the 16 of 2013, the last year we published this information from the NFL Communications Department.

Reggie Bush, Levine Loiolo, Alex Smith, and Jamar Taylor also represented Helix in the 2013 survey.

Saint Thomas Aquinas (alma mater of tennis’ Chris Evert and  all-pro receiver Michael Irvin of the Dallas Cowboys, among others) leads all U.S. high schools with 15 NFL players.

Cleveland Glenville (6), Miami Norland (6) and DeMatha Catholic of Hyattsville, Maryland (5), round out the top 4,

Calfornia’s Long Beach Poly, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, San Mateo Serra, Anaheim Servite, and Westlake Village Oaks Christian joined Helix with 4 each.

Oceanside and Mira Mesa each has 2, tying 155 schools.  There are 1,172  with 1 player.

Florida is the leading contributor with 204 players.  California was next with 203, followed by Texas (181) and Georgia (114).

Miami (31), Fort Lauderdale (20), Atlanta (16), and Houston (14) were leaders in the “hometown” category.  Los Angeles city had 10.

Alabama, with a population of 4,779,736, based on the 2010 U.S. Census, is the leader “per capita”  with one player for every 75,869 persons.

The pool of 1,668 NFL players in the U.S. population of 308,745,538 represented one player per 185,099 persons.

Name	Position	High School	Team	Year	College
Khalif Barnes	T	Mount Miguel	Oakland	11	Washington
Sam Brenner	T	Oceanside	Miami	3	Utah
Reggie Bush	RB	Helix	San Francisco	10	USC
Nate Chandler	T	Mira Mesa	Carolina	5	UCLA
Arian Foster	RB	Mission Bay	Houston	7	Tennessee
Leon Hall	CB	Vista	Cincinnati	9	Michigan
Levine Loiolo	TE	Helix	Atlanta	3	Stanford
Brian Schwenke	C	Oceanside	Tennessee	3	California
Alex Smith	QB	Helix	Kansas City	11	Utah
Kenny Stills	WR	La Costa Canyon	Miami	3	Oklahoma
Jamar Taylor	CB	Helix	Miami	3	Boise State
Damien Williams	RB	Mira Mesa	Miami	3	Oklahoma
Jimmy Wilson	S	Point Loma	San Diego	5	Montana

The Watergate break-in and burglary in Washington, D.C., still was about nine months from taking place, but spying and potential dirty tricks already were part of a fierce Eastern League rivalry.

St. Augustine’s defending San  Diego Section champion was scheduled to play Patrick Henry, the city’s “elite”, newest public school, one that quickly had become thought of as being a little full of itself.

In only its fourth year, the San Carlos campus numbered 3,281 students in three grades and would grow to more than 4,000 later in the decade, making it one of the larger three-year schools in the state as well as the country.

Head coach Russ Leslie had smoothly built a strong program, posting records of 5-4 and 6-3 in its first two varsity seasons.

Nine miles away in North Park, nestled amid 50- and 60-year-old Craftsman homes, St. Augustine annually enrolled no more than 650 in an all-boys environment and for years had sought respect and recognition.

As defending champion, the Saints were the preseason top-ranked by the Evening Tribune.

The Patriots were No. 2 but the probable favorite to win the San Diego Section championship, especially after a 17-0, opening-game victory over 1970 finalist Grossmont that was followed by a 24-8 win over Point Loma.

The Saints also had opened smartly with victories over Clairemont, 32-0, and University, 21-6, under new coach Larry Shepard, a fiery competitor who learned at the knee of the legendary Birt Slater and had led Kearny to the 1963 title.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT

Leslie was directing practice Tuesday before the game when it was brought to his attention that St. Augustine students were attempting to “chart and photograph” Patriots’ formations and plays.

“At first we noticed two of them sitting in the stands,” Leslie told the Evening Tribune’s Bill Finley.  “We have four or five kids patrolling the place and they saw these guys writing information in their tablets (probably three-hole binders; this long before I-Pads).

Leslie continued.  “Okay, so we asked them to leave.  A little while later, though, we noticed the two of them along with a third guy in a Saint letterman’s jacket watching us from their car on the hill overlooking our practice field.”

The Patriots swung into action.

“Some of our players scrambled up the hill, jumped the fence and caught them,” said Leslie.

Leslie offered some evidence.  “We have the letterman’s jacket and the camera,” he said.

SHEPHARD RESPONDS

Bill Finley made a telephone call to St. Augustine coach Larry Shepard.

“Yeah, those were our kids,” said Shepard, who added, “I didn’t send them.  They did it on their own.”

Shepard told the writer that the students had come to the coach’s office the following morning.  “They said, ‘Here’s what they’re doing’ and gave me some stuff on paper.  You know, I threw it all away.”

PHONE LINES SCORCHED

Shepard discounted the value of the students’ “scouting”, but was beginning to warm up.

“They can talk all they want about this ‘spy’ stuff, but somebody out there with a good mouth has been calling our coaches and players at home all week to tell us what’s going to happen to us on Friday night.”

Things had not been rosy between the schools since Henry upset the Saints, 7-0, in 1969, forcing a three-way tie for the Eastern League championship with Henry and San Diego.

“Sure, we remember that,” said Shepard.

“What we remember most is that someone watered the (Aztec Bowl) field the day of the game.  We had all that speed in Jesse Ochoa and Frank George and there was no way in the world they could get outside in that muck.”

The Saints won, 7-6, in 1970 and Shepard told Finley he personally made sure that there was no watering of the Balboa Stadium gridiron, which represented the Saints’ home field.

And this year, at Aztec Bowl?

“We’re going to have a guy out there keeping an eye on the sprinklers.”

MANY MASCARIS

St. Augustine linebacker Larry Mascari was the sixth from his family to play for the Saints. He was preceded by his dad, Larry, Sr.: uncle, Clarence, and brothers Frank, Billy, Phil, and Mike….

THEY LOOK LIKE THE PACKERS

Patrick Henry’s colors were green and gold and its uniforms were replicas of the Green Bay Packers.  The Patriots wanted to run the ball in the fashion of Vince Lombardi’s teams.

Patrick Henry won the early showdown with the Saints, 17-8, rolled all the way to the San Diego Section finals, and lined up again against Grossmont.

“Our team is the type no one likes to see,” said Leslie, pointing out that the Patriots ran 17 consecutive plays off tackle in a 14-8, semifinals victory over El Capitan.

“I’m tired of reading about ‘em,” said Grossmont coach Pat Roberts.  “Every time I think about ‘em I get an anxious feeling from head to toe.”

Roberts’ anxiety was relieved when the Foothillers drove 90 yards to a tying touchdown with 9:38 left in the game.

LET’S GO FOR 2

Grossmont then executed a two-point conversion and edged the Patriots, 8-7, in the lowest scoring San Diego Section final, a yawner played before more than 13,000 in San Diego Stadium.

Grossmont quarterback Mike Rundle kept the winning play alive, drifting out of the pocket before he passed to tight end Chuck North in the left corner of the end zone.

“That’s the first time we’ve run that play to the left,” said Roberts.  “We’ve run it to the right, but they had us scouted.”

“The play should work every time,” said Rundle.  “They’re trying to cover three receivers with two defenders.”

Henry contributed to its defeat with three intercepted passes and five lost fumbles.

Roberts pointed to running backs Larry Olson and Mike Hicks when asked why the Foothillers usually disdain the pass, but the coach added, “Maybe I don’t have enough guts.  Whenever we pass I want to hide under the bench.”

HAINES AGREES

Vista’s Dick Haines echoed Roberts.

“Look at the pros,” said Haines.  “Teams that pass 30 times a game lose.  Teams that pass 10-15 times a game win, but maybe we’re just cowards.”

Nick Canepa of the Evening Tribune suggested that Haines brought some of Woody Hayes’ Ohio State offense when Haines relocated from Dover, Ohio.

A 34-12 defeat of Oceanside was Vista’s first over the Pirates since 1960 and only their third in 27 years.

The win was the 131^st in Haines career.

“I wouldn’t have known that if my wife hadn’t told me,” claimed the Panthers’ mentor, who won 12 consecutive league championships in Ohio and took with him to Vista assistant coaches Dave Parks and Steve Korcheran.

Haines won 125 games in the community 80 miles south of Cleveland and would claim another 194 at Vista before he retired following the 1994 season.

Vista, 0-9 in 1969 and 4-5 in 1970, Haines’ first season, completed a remarkable turnaround, closing at 10-1 following a 34-7 playoff loss to Grossmont.

DEDICATED TO FALLEN COACH

Clairemont players voted to play the day after popular teacher and coach Gerry Stryker was killed in a plane crash following takeoff from Montgomery Field.

Stryker, 32, a Kearny and San Diego State graduate, and his parents and brother perished along with Stryker’s uncle, who was piloting a twin-engine craft.

The plane struck power lines on both sides of the I-805 construction site and crashed into a house in the 4000 block of Antiem Street.

No one was hurt on the ground, although Mrs. Edward Peterson told investigators she was thrown from her bed after the plane tore out a tree and crashed into the side of her residence.

Observers reported that the plane began to lose power after takeoff.

“This game was solely for coach Stryker,” said Mark Jones, who rushed for 138 yards in 33 carries and scored the winning touchdown with 1:30 remaining as the Chieftains defeated University, 22-20.

KOMETS NOW 0-5

Kearny was going nowhere in the playoffs but traveled in style to get there.

The Komets were bounced by Grossmont, 21-17, in the first round, making their fifth consecutive early exit,  but Kearny ended the season with a Western League winning streak of 28 games and 33 without loss.

Kearny couldn’t stop a Grossmont play called “52 Veer”, which the Foothillers ran with success through the left side of the Linda Vistans’ defense.

“I think we called it five times and got four big gains,” Grossmont’s Roberts said of the maneuver.

“We’re snakebit,” said Kearny coach Birt Slater.

On the brighter side, the Komets hadn’t been beaten in league play since dropping a 19-14 decision to Point Loma in 1966.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Only 28 of Marian’s first 86 games since the school opened in 1961 were played on campus.  Night games at home were out, until Week 3 this season.

“We got some old lights from Mar Vista and we’re in the process of aiming them,” Crusader coach Joy Gritz told Will Watson of The San Diego Union.

Gritz singled out booster club president Chuck Perkins:  “He got the lights, some old telephone poles, and put the transformer in.”

It was Coronado that saw the light(s), defeating the host Crusaders, 10-7, in Marian’s first home game under the arcs.

WHAT IS CETY’S?

The name began showing up in results involving San Diego teams in 1969, when Mountain Empire scored an 18-6 victory over CETY’s of Mexicali. Borrego Springs dropped a 23-8 decision this season.

Centro de Ensenanza Tecnica y Superior of Mexicali opened in 1961.  Translated the name essentially means Superior Technical Education Center.

A Tijuana campus would open in 1972 and another in Ensenada in 1975.

San Diego teams in the future would schedule many American football games against squads from the two older Mexican institutions that offer high school and university business and technical curricula.

TRANSBAY CAMELOT

Coronado raced to a 5-1 start, its best since the Harry Sykes days and the 8-2 club of 1951.

A 5-0 start in the Metropolitan League also had Islanders followers honking horns on Orange Avenue and celebrating on their yachts in Glorietta Bay.

“We haven’t met the strength of the league,” cautioned coach Gene Greene before a 16-7 victory over Bonita Vista.

Greene knew.  A capacity crowd of more than 3,000 at Cutler Field the next week witnessed a 38-0 loss to Sweetwater.

Coronado was outscored, 85-21, in its last three games, all losses.

Despite the flat finish the Islanders’ 5-4 record was their best since the Roger Rigdon-coached squad was 4-3-1 in 1962.

Quarterback Jim Skaalen, who would go on to a 40-year career as a player,  scout, and major league coach in baseball, was so valuable that Greene said, “If we lose him we might as well close our doors and go home.”

Skaalen also starred in basketball and signed a baseball contract out of San Diego State.

WALLY’S WORLD

The yards weren’t coming for Wally Henry.  He rushed for 910  and made the all-San Diego Section third team at San Diego as a sophomore.

Henry transferred to Lincoln and his numbers fell off to 600 yards this season.

“We just don’t block for him,” said Hornets coach Earl Faison.  “If he could block for himself he’d be a lot better off.  Wally might be the best blocker we have.”

That Henry was as dangerous as any runner in the area was demonstrated when he scored on a game-deciding 26-yard run as Lincoln beat Crawford, 10-7, knocking the Colts out of the playoffs, and pushing Lincoln through the door.

INSECT INFESTATION?

“A cold East wind swept through here making it an evening not fit for man or beast.  But it apparently was perfect weather for Bugs.”

So wrote the Tribune’s Harlon Bartlett on a blustery, late-fall night at Ramona High, where Julian’s James (Bugs) Ponchetti rushed for 194 yards in 28 carries and scored three touchdowns.

The 170-pound Ponchetti, a Diegueno Indian from the Santa Ysabel band, also played middle linebacker as the Eagles defeated Army-Navy, 30-8, for the San Diego Section A (small schools) championship.

“Bugs”, who has a brother named Charles but is better known as “Goody,” also led the section in scoring with 118 points.

A STEP FORWARD

Football would not come until 1983, but The Bishop’s School became co-educational for the first time since opening in 1909 when the all-girls La Jolla student body merged with San Miguel School.

San Miguel originally was located in National City but moved to Linda Vista to a site that would be occupied by upper level students of Francis Parker.

Parker, which began as a college prep curriculum in 1912, had housed all students at its Mission Hills location.

THEY SAID IT

University coach Robert (Bull) Trometter, on the origination of his nickname:  “I used to smoke Bull Durham tobacco.  I couldn’t afford the expensive stuff.”

Santana coach Joe DiTomaso, on diminished success at Santana after a 12-0,  season at St. Augustine in 1970:  “The last time I walked on water, I fell in.”

QUICK KICKS:  Sweetwater’s Steve Riiff set a San Diego Section record with 52 career touchdown passes, bettering the 48 by San Diego’s Ezell Singleton from 1956-58…Riiff’s mark would stand until Helix’ Jim Plum passed for 70 touchdowns from 1979-81…El Capitan outscored Helix, 14-0, in one quarter and led the East to a 14-0 victory over the West in the 11^th annual Grossmont league carnival actually 16^th  including 1957-60, when the schools were in the Metropolitan circuit…St. Augustine was in its 50th season, but Crawford ate the celebratory  cake, winning, 21-14,in a wild game that saw a total of 185 yards in penalties and St. Augustine quarterback Charlie Flower’s being ejected for throwing a punch at Crawford’s Mike Oliver…Crawford’s  victory  “was the best win for me since I’ve been a head coach,” said the Colts’ Bill Hall…Hall was 1-8 in 1970 but improved the Colts to 6-2-1 this year….

*With apologies to the late, syndicated gossip columnist Walter Winchell, who described bitter rivals as “don’t invitems”, as in don’t extend them an invitation to the same event.

You haven’t found them in any top 10 poll lately, but in a constantly shifting world one thing is certain:  Chula Vista and Sweetwater will play, every  year.

The South Bay schools, connected by  Highland Avenue in National City and 4th Avenue in the community to the South, have battled each other every season since 1947.  Theirs is the longest continuous rivalry in the County.

The Spartans defeated Sweetwater, 35-21, last week, but Sweetwater leads in the game-by-game count, 36 victories against 30 losses and three ties.

Other great series have come and gone, a few to return.

Leagues are realigned or made defunct. Teams move around.  Neighborhoods and demographics change. New schools take the place of old rivals.

Before Sweetwater and Chula Vista there was Grossmont and Sweetwater, the County’s answer to the city’s San Diego and Hoover and La Jolla and Point Loma.

The Red Devils of National City and the Foothillers of La Mesa met all but one year from 1920-60.  Grossmont was in the City Prep League in 1952 and the teams’ schedules were in conflict.

Sweetwater leads, 23-21, and two of those victories came in San Diego Section playoff games in 1970 and ’78.

Grossmont and Sweetwater have not met in the regular season since 1961, when the Foothillers joined the new Grossmont League and Sweetwater remained in the Metropolitan.

The Foothillers by that time had shifted most of their attention to Helix.

The La Mesa neighbors were natural rivals when Helix began classes on the Grossmont campus in 1951.  Helix leads, 39-18-1 and the schools reunited in the Grossmont Hills League in 2010  after going their separate ways in 2000.

San Diego and Hoover played each other every season from 1933-77, but only 27 times in the last 38 seasons.  Hoover is 17-9-1 since 1978 but the Cavemen, who won 18 of the first 23 games, still lead, 39-32-1.

La Jolla and Point Loma played for the Shoe Trophy annually from 1926-72  and just 24 times in the last 43 seasons, although they have been back together in the Western League since 2003.  Point Loma has the edge in the shoe war, 44-24-4.

Oceanside and Escondido first traveled the dirt road that connected their communities in 1926 and watched as that 20-mile link became state highway 78. Escondido holds a 40-28-5 advantage in the oldest Northern rivalry, but the Cougars and Pirates have not met since 2006.

Week 5 Union-Tribune poll, after four weeks of games:

#	Team (1st place votes)	Points	W-L	Previous
1.	Mission Hills (20)	235	4-0	1
2.	Helix (4)	212	2-1	2
3.	St. Augustine	197	3-1	3
4.	Oceanside	164	3-1	5
5.	El Camino	125	4-0	7
6.	La Costa Canyon	103	3-1	10
7.	Rancho Bernardo	45	3-1	4
8.	Eastlake	44	2-2	NR
9.	Christian	42	2-1	9
10.	San Marcos	40	3-1	NR

NR–Not rated.

Others receiving votes (record & points in parenthesis): Madison (2-2, 39), westview (4-0, 26), Cathedral (1-3, 16), Point Loma (3-1, 9), Bonita Vista (3-1, 8), Grossmont (3-0), Mater Dei  (3-0, 8 points each), Mission Bay (4-0, 2), Valhalla (2-1), Poway (2-2), 1 point each.

24 Media and CIF representatives vote each week: John Maffei (U-T San Diego), Steve Brand, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Jim Lindgren, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff (U-T San Diego correspondents), Bill Dickens, Chris Davis (East County Sports.com), Steve (Biff) Dolan, Rick (Red) Hill (Mountain Country 107.9 FM), John (Coach) Kentera, Ted Mendenhall, Bob Petinak (The Mighty 1090), Rick Willis, Brandon Stone (KUSI-TV), Rick Smith (partletonsports.com), Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section), Bodie DeSilva (sandiegopreps.com), Drew Smith (sdcoastalsports.com), Lisa Lane (San Diego Preps Insider), Raymond Brown (sdfootball.net), Montell Allen (MBASportsrecruiting.com).

HELIX RISES

A 37-7 victory over Cathedral elevated Helix to No. 17 in the Cal-Hi Sports‘ state rankings. Mission Hills remained 16th and on-the-bubble recognition went to St. Augustine, La Costa Canyon, and Oceanside.

TWELVE STILL PERFECT

Twelve teams will try to maintain their undefeated status this week.

Mission Hills, Calexico Vincent Memorial, Calvary Christian San Diego, El Camino, Westview, El Centro Southwest, Mission Bay, and The Rock are each 4-0.

Army-Navy, Grossmont, Maranatha, and Mater Dei are 3-0.

 

Helix has vanished!

From Cal-Hi Sports.

The Highlanders  are nowhere to be found in this week’s top 20 ratings.

Coach Troy Starr’s Scots are 1-1 and coming off a 56-7 blowout of Eastlake.  They aren’t even given “On the Bubble” status, that “something’s missing here” honor being accorded locally only to Cathedral and St. Augustine.

“A typo,” said Cal-Hi’s Mark Tennis, who said the Highlanders really are a bubble team this week.

Helix and Mission Hills also are on the bubble in Division I, which lists 15 teams.

Helix, No. 1 in San Diego and No. 12 in Cal-Hi Sports in preseason, will need to beat Cathedral if it entertains any hope of climbing back in to the state’s top 20.

That game, featuring the Union-Tribune poll No. 2 Scots and No. 9 Dons, is the marquee event on this week’s schedule, just ahead of No. 4 Rancho Bernardo’s playing host to La Costa Canyon (10).

San Diego’s only representative in the State Top 20 is San Diego No. 1 Mission Hills.  The Grizzlies are 16th, same as last week, after a 48-7 rout at mediocre Long Beach Millikan.

Week 4 poll, after three weeks of games:

#	Team (1st place votes)	Points	W-L	Previous
1.	Mission Hills (23)	239	3-0	1
2.	Helix (3)	204	2-1	3
3.	St. Augustine	196	2-1	2
4.	Rancho Bernardo	136	3-0	4
5.	Oceanside	125	2-1	6
6.	Madison	116	2-1	5
7.	El Camino	89	3-0	10
8.	Cathedral	84	1-2	9
9.	Christian	33	2-1	7
10.	La Costa Canyon	24	2-1	NR

NR–Not rated.

Others receiving votes (record & points in parenthesis):San Marcos (2-1, 18) Bonita Vista (2-1, 25), Eastlake (1-2, 10), Mater Dei (3-0, 9),Torrey Pines (1-1, 34), Point Loma (2-1, 7), Hoover (2-0, 13), Westview (3-0), The Bishop’s (3-0), Grossmont (3-0), 3 points each; Mission Bay (3-0, 2),Poway (2-1, 1).

Media and CIF representatives vote each week: John Maffei (U-T San Diego), Steve Brand, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Jim Lindgren, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff (U-T San Diego correspondents), Bill Dickens, Chris Davis (East County Sports.com), Steve (Biff) Dolan, Rick (Red) Hill (Mountain Country 107.9 FM), John (Coach) Kentera, Ted Mendenhall, Bob Petinak (The Mighty 1090), Rick Willis, Brandon Stone (KUSI-TV), Rick Smith (partletonsports.com), Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section), Bodie DeSilva (sandiegopreps.com), Drew Smith (sdcoastalsports.com), Lisa Lane (San Diego Preps Insider), Raymond Brown (sdfootball.net), Montell Allen (MBASportsrecruiting.com).

QUICK KICKS

Coach Tristan McCoy has reversed the downward spiral at Ranch Bernardo…5-6, 1-10, and 1-9 in his first three seasons, McCoy led the Broncos to a 10-3 record in 2014 and they are  3-0 this season…Rancho Bernardo is 14th in Cal-Hi Sports‘ D-II, while St. Augustine is fifth and Cathedral seventh…Christian is on the bubble in D-III.

Dick Haines embarked on a 25-year career as head coach at Vista and North County football would not be the same, but Haines, taking over an 0-9 team,  had a rush of buyer’s remorse.

The regular-season final game in 1969, a 21-0 loss to Oceanside, had been played in the rain, according to Tom Shanahan of The San Diego Union.

Haines was taken aback when he began inventory  in anticipation of his first season. The equipment room was unusually dank and moist.

“The muddied uniforms from that loss to Oceanside in coach Gary Schulz’s final game had been packed away unwashed,” wrote Shanahan.

“I almost turned around and went back to Ohio,” Haines said when he retired in 1995 after 13 league championships, three San Diego Section titles, and acclamation as having the No. 1 team in the state in 1985.

With clean uniforms and solid coaching, Vista went from winless to 4-5 this season and would rise to 10-1 the following season and its first Avocado League championship since 1960.

SAINTS POETIC

“Neither rain nor sleet nor snow can keep the Saints from twelve and oh.”

That prophecy,  as reported by Bill Center of The San  Diego Union, was scrawled on a chalkboard in a pregame meeting room under the Aztec Bowl stands before St. Augustine’s playoff against Escondido.

The week before, running backs Frankie George and Jesse Ochoa, playing as a tandem for one of the few times in the season, rushed for a combined 254 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 38-7, opening round win over Madison.

The Saints were confident and should have been.

They dispatched Escondido, 21-0, in the semifinal game on a soggy gridiron and prompted Cougars coach Chick Embrey to remark, “It would have been worse if the field was dry.”

The championship game against Grossmont, before a San Diego Section record crowd of 18,827, would have had more cachet if quarterback Matt Fahl were not sidelined by a  sprained knee early in the Foothillers’ 26-20 win over Sweetwater.

The Saints’ defense carried the day in a 13-8 victory and coach Joe DiTomaso, after coming up short in the finals in 1967, in the semifinals in 1969, and missing out on the postseason despite a 7-2 record in 1968, became  the second coach of a 12-0 team in San Diego County history, matching the San Diego Hilltoppers of 1916.

The Saints’ Greg Ricks hit Grossmont quarterback Mike Rundle as he delivered a pass that Robert George  intercepted and returned 43 yards to set up a touchdown by Frankie George, who had 16 unassisted tackles on defense. Robert also ran 67 yards for a touchdown with a recovered fumble for a score.

WITHOUT FAHL

Grossmont outgained St. Augustine, 257-226, and had 16 first downs to 11.  Rundle completed 7 of 12 passes for 78 yards and two interceptions.

Rundle took over for the injured Fahl the week before in a 26-20 semifinal, leading the ‘Hillers on a 51-yard touchdown drive to the come-from-behind, winning touchdown with 40 seconds to play that overcame a  20-0 deficit manufactured by Sweetwater quarterback Mike Riiff and running back Mike Ruiz.

CASTLE’S GREAT STRETCH RUN 

Castle Park coach Gil Warren, whose team averaged 40 points and won its last seven games, was on the outside looking in when  playoff brackets were announced.

The Trojans finished the season with a 7-2 record after losing to Sweetwater, 20-13, and Granite Hills, 14-12, in their first two games.,

So inexperienced were the Trojans at the start of the season, they were penalized three times versus Granite Hills when players exited the field to the wrong sideline.

“I think we’re the hottest team in the CIF now and we’ve got results to prove it,” said Warren.

Warren had a compelling argument:

“The committee voted San Diego into the playoffs (as a higher seed than St. Augustine in 1969), because San Diego was the hottest team in the (Eastern) league at the end of the regular season.”

Warren  lost the argument.  That defeat to Granite Hills allowed the Grossmont League’s Santana, 6-3 overall and 5-2 in loop play, to squeeze in.  The Sultans had a 26-13 victory over Granite Hills.

CHICK’S CENTURY MARK

Escondido’s Chick Embrey passed a milestone achieved only once in the first 79 seasons of games played by teams in San Diego County.

Embrey, in his 15^th season as the Cougars’ coach, won his 100th career game, becoming the second area mentor to achieve that number.

Grossmont’s Jack Mashin was the first, winning 125 games in a career that stretched from 1923-47.

Embrey reached triple digits in his 138^th game, Mashin in his 164^th,  a 21-6 victory over Oceanside in 1941.

Embrey began the season with 98 victories.  No. 100 did not come easily.

The Cougars dropped a 13-12 decision at San Luis Obispo in the opening game after a six-hour bus ride.

The loss was followed by win No. 99, a  22-0 shutout of Poway, but that was a met by another loss, 8-7 to Carlsbad.  Escondido finally put Embrey over the hump with a 41-6 triumph against Vista.

MALEY,  PERRY CAME CLOSE

Two prominent coaches from other eras had outstanding records but retired a few wins short.

San  Diego’s Duane Maley was 97-19-3 from 1948-59.  John Perry was 92-45-11 from 1920-26 at San Diego and from 1930-39 at Hoover.

Perry stepped aside from coaching and was in charge of the physical education department at San Diego from 1927-29.

DISNEY DISSAPPOINTED

Twenty Orange Glen players came down with viral meningitis and the Patriots were forced to forfeit their Avocado League game to San Marcos.

“The cancelation of the game was no fault of the players or schools, so I don’t think either should be punished,” said coach Dick Disney, petitioning for a rescheduled game.

Disney told Bill Center that a game could be played the Monday or Tuesday after the regular season.

“If they say play, we’ll play,” said San Marcos coach Bob Woodhouse,  “You know we don’t like winning games that way, but on the other hand it’s hard to prepare for a game with only 3 days at most in between,”

San Diego Section commissioner Don Clarkson, who would take such a request to the CIF board of managers, encouraged Disney.  “The board might approve such a game,” said Clarkson.  “It is not something the school could have stopped or had any control over.”

The issue went up the administrative ladder.  “I don’t know what use it would serve,” said Guilford (Bud) Quade, the Escondido School District superintendent.

“The game still would be a forfeit,” Quade added.  “We’d try to help, but there would be a lot in the way of a game after the season.”

Quade was being charitable.  His message quickly reached the ears of Orange Glen principal Pat Ross, who spoke with Center a few days later:

“Any discussions we had are over and it’s a closed issue now,” said Ross.

Disney started the Orange Glen program from scratch, built it into an 11-0 juggernaut in 1969 and was 39-39-3 when he stepped down after the 1971 campaign.

He always remembered the losing game his team never played.

WALLY’S WORLD

A burgeoning superstar was sophomore Wally Henry of San Diego.

“He’s the closest thing I’ve ever seen to Cleveland Jones,” said Cavers coach Allan (Scotty) Harris, who coached the legendary Jones when both were at the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

“Wally’s not that fast, but he has tremendous balance and quickness.  He doesn’t fumble, he doesn’t drop a pass.  It takes an army to knock him down.”

Henry got his chance to play when starter Elijah Turner was hurt.  “I wanted to bring him along slowly,” said Harris.  “Now we can’t get him out of there.”

As Jerry Powell had done four years before, Henry transferred from San Diego to Lincoln, where former Chargers star Earl Faison replaced Shan Deniston as head coach.  Scotty Harris retired at San Diego and  Deniston replaced Harris.

WALTONS MOVE ON

UCLA’s gain was Helix’ loss.  The Highlanders took a 49-game winning streak into the opening game of the 1970-71 basketball season, but, sans Bill and Bruce Walton, the Highlanders were denied No. 50, losing, 63-61, to Kearny.

Bruce was a starting forward on the 29-2, 1968-69 club.  Bill was the architect of that season’s success and a 33-0 campaign the following season.

Bruce already was on the Bruins’ football varsity when freshman Bill showed up for basketball.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

San Diegans may be driving to El Centro to catch planes for Chicago and Boston or Washington in another 15 years, according to the top story in The San Diego Union local section.

A federal committee said it may be necessary for San Diegans to use the El Centro Naval Air Facility as a second airport unless an alternate site for Lindbergh Field is developed before then.

Hmm, uh-huh.

SAINTS ASSISTANT GETS PROPS

St. Augustine coach Joe DiTomaso saluted the effectiveness of the 4-4-3 defense installed by assistant Larry Shepard, who made his bones as a quarterback at Kearny in 1963.

Saints linebackers Larry Mascari, Frankie, and Robert George, augmented by cornerback Monte Jackson and several other defenders, were standouts in a group that held 12 opponents to a touchdown a game.

Mascari was from a family that had produced St. Augustine players since 1948.  Jackson played at San Diego State and was the first selection in the second round of the 1975 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams.

Jackson led the NFL with 10 pass interceptions in 1978 and played nine seasons.

Monte’s younger, freshman brother Terry was a fifth-round draft choice of the New York Giants out of San Diego State in 1978 and played eight seasons.

TOUGH, IN LEAGUE

Kearny annually was knocked out of the playoffs, this year for the fourth consecutive time, but the Komets owned the Western League.  They were in the midst of a 28-game league winning streak that started in 1967 and would not be broken until 1972.

TICKETS AVAILABLE, BUT…

It was a yearly complaint.  The CIF once again appeared inadequately prepared for the playoff game between St. Augustine and Grossmont, two programs known for large followings.

Kickoff was delayed 10 minutes to accommodate the crowd, which flocked to the three ticket booths at Aztec Bowl.

CIF RESPONDS

Commissioner Don Clarkson, after complaints in 1969, arranged for playoff dates so that there were two games each on Friday and Saturday in the first-round, quarterfinals and one game each on Friday and Saturday in the semifinals.

The playoffs were expanded to eight teams and had the authenticity of an upper and lower bracket.  A legitimate and workable thirty-three per cent of the Section’s large schools earned postseason bids.

The CIF, in its 11th season, finally had come up with a playoff format that satisfied everyone.

QUICK KICKS

University of San Diego High became coed for the first time…many students from Cathedral High for girls in downtown San Diego enrolled at Uni…Sweetwater’s Mike Ruiz scored 99 points in the regular season, three touchdowns and four PAT behind the 121 of Castle Park’s George Ohnessorgen, but Ruiz knocked down 40 points in two playoff games to earn the County scoring touchdown with 139…Joe DiTomaso, a 1954 graduate of St. Augustine, left after the 1970-71 school year and became coach at Santana…with a growing family, the move was easier with pay definitely higher in the Grossmont School District and the hours  shorter…Clairemont defeated Hoover, 47-44, after scoring only 42 points in the first six games…Bill Center estimated that 13,000 persons attended the annual city bragging rights game between Escondido and Orange Glen…”The stands overflowed, there was standing room only, and the banks on both end zones were full,” said The San Diego Union correspondent…Center also estimated that 13,000 overflowed Aztec Bowl for the Grossmont-Sweetwater playoff…Grossmont coach Pat Roberts’ philosophy on defense:  “Fight as hard as you can, get to the ball, and get there as ugly as you can”…Santana defensive back Steve West had the pedigree…dad Harry West was head coach at San Diego City College, played in the Rose Bowl as a collegian for the University of California, and teamed with Cosimo Cutri to form the “Touchdown Twins” at San Diego in 1945…