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…

 

How far has coach Richard Sanchez’s program come at St. Augustine?

The Saints get another shot against a major opponent this week, tradition strong Los Angeles Loyola, ranked 24th in the L.A. Times and winner of its first two games, 34-0, and 45-7.

St. Augustine is 2-0 and second in  the Union-Tribune poll after an impressive, 48-21 victory over Madison, which followed a 41-3 win over Ramona.

Running back Elijah Preston, a 5-foot, 6-inch, 180-pounder, fires a prolific offense that will again test Loyola’s defense.

St. Augustine helped the Cubs celebrate their first home game since 1949 last season when Preston ran for more than 200 yards in a 42-35 loss.  The Saints had the ball in the final four minutes and in decent field position, but 3 consecutive incomplete passes put them out of business.

Always fielding a solid program, the young men at 32nd and Nutmeg streets in North Park have elevated under Sanchez, winning two San Diego Section titles (I in 2014 and II in 2013) and Sanchez has an overall record of 58-18 since succeeding Jerry Ralph in 2009.

Week 3 poll, after two weeks of games:

#	Team (1st place votes)	Points	W-L	Previous
1.	Mission Hills (17)	233	2-0	1
2.	St. Augustine (5)	220	2-0	2
3.	Helix (2)	194	0-1	3
4.	Rancho Bernardo	109	2-0	8
5.	Madison	92	1-1	4
6.	Oceanside	87	1-1	5
7.	Christian	83	2-0	7
8.	Eastlake	70	1-1	10
9.	Cathedral	68	0-2	7
10.	El Camino	54	2-0	NR

NR–Not rated.

Others receiving votes (record & points in parenthesis): Torrey Pines (1-1, 34), Bonita Vista (2-0, 25), Hoover (2-0, 13), San Marcos (1-1, 11), Poway (2-0, 9), Lincoln (2-0, 8), La Costa Canyon (1-1, 8), Mater Dei (2-0, 3), The Bishop’s (2-0, 3), Mt. Carmel (2-0, 2), Grossmont (2-0, 2), Mission Bay (2-0, 1), Santana (2-0, 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).

A HOME FOR KEARNY

Kearny inaugurated its new football field in a 59-19 loss to Santana. Komets home games have been  at nearby Mesa College, which opened in 1964.

Before coach Birt Slater introduced the team’s traditional  “walk” (a pilgrimage in full gear from school to games at Mesa, a distance of several hundred yards),  home fields were at Hoover, Balboa Stadium, or La Jolla, with an occasional contest on campus, on the old field with the encircling track.

That field now is the baseball diamond, while the new football field occupies the former baseball location.

Alumnus Stephen Grooms estimated that the Komets have probably played no more than 40 or 50 games on campus in the school’s 71-season football history.  This would include games when the school was located at what became Montgomery Junior High. The present campus opened in 1955.

Kearny drew its biggest crowds for CIF track meets, which were held there in 1961 and ’62.

The track was notorious for blazing sprint times as runners were aided by significant breezes from the Kearny Mesa.  Birt Slater on more than one occasion remarked that the wind would die down as soon as some planted Eucalyptus trees “got some height and growth.”

NAMES IN THE GAMES

Trailing in the third quarter, 35-7, Cathedral battled back behind quarterback Tate Haynes but came up short, 35-33, to L.A. Times 14th-ranked Westlake Village Oaks Christian. Haines’s father is Mike Haynes, former NFL cornerback now in the pro football Hall of Fame.

One of Oaks Christian’s stars is Mike Pittman, whose father by the same name and uncle Wayne were standouts at Mira Mesa. The senior  Mike Pittman  was an 11-season NFL running back out of Fresno State.

David Justice, Jr., whose father hit 307 home runs in his major league baseball career, is St. Augustine’s punter, holder on extra points, and partcipates on other special teams.  The sophomore eventually figures to  be the Saints’ quarterback.

QUICK KICKS

Saints-Madison  drew about 5,000 persons to Mesa College…St. Augustine partisans weekly fill the East bleachers at Mesa…this includes several hundred, milling, socializing students on the rear concourse…that area is known as the “Petting Zoo”…Richard Sanchez was 6-14 as head coach at San diego High in 1998 and ’99…he coached in Northern California for several years…Mission Hills is the only San Diego team in Cal-Hi Sports‘ state top 20…the Grizzlies are 16th….

Late November in San Diego County produced rain, muddy fields, and fog.

Such expressions by Mother Nature carried the promise of critical fumbles and controversial calls, but not a field goal that no spectator saw, accompanied by not one but two shots from the timer’s pistol.

A 29-yard placement by University’s Steve Johnson gave the Dons a 10-7 halftime lead they improved to a final score of 19-7 against El Capitan in the County Conference semifinals in Aztec Bowl.

Although the fog prevented anyone but officials under the goal posts from witnessing Johnson’s field goal, most of those on hand enjoyed the faculty of perceiving sounds.

El Capitan principal Russell Savage was one whose organ of hearing was working.

Savage heard two starter pistol reports at the end of the first half and announced immediately following the game that the Vaqueros were going to  protest the Dons’ three-point play.

Referee Clarence Burton ruled Johnson’s kick was launched before the half ended.

According to Burton, the unidentified timer, located high above the field in the press box, told the referee that the first shot sounded after the ball was snapped for the kick.

NO SEE, NO HEAR

The second shot, according to the timer, was to let the teams know that the half was over, because in the timer’s words, “The first shot was too faint to be heard throughout the stadium.”

Bill Center of The San Diego Union wrote that no one in the stadium was in position to see the scoreboard clock in the bowl’s South end zone or the kick at the north end.

In fact, Center added, few of the 6,500 on hand could have witnessed either.

An unidentified panel of three principals ruled against El Capitan the following Monday.

After more than an hour of deliberation, the principals issued a statement:  “Due to inconclusive evidence as to whether or not any time remained, the protest is disallowed.”

RAW DEAL?

The El Capitan principal asked CIF commissioner Don Clarkson that the game be replayed from just before the field goal attempt.  Russell Savage noted the timer could neither see the field or the clock.

Savage also cited the fact that one official had told him that only 15 seconds remained two plays before the kick and that University had only one time out.

Savage also protested that no provision had been made for keeping time on the field, although “everyone knew it was going to be foggy.”

Game clock timing from the field had been done many times before.

For an example, search “1939: Pointer Coach Has Scary Exit From Europe” and scroll to the segment tilted  “Ghosts in the Mist.”

The principal’s final shot, no pun intended, was that the semifinals contest was “handled with complete incompetence.”

CO-CHAMPIONSHIP STINKS

Bill Center reported that coaches and administrators were preparing to take several grievances to the  CIF, most notably the idea of two winners at season’s end.

The second year in which a Metropolitan titlist and a County winner would be declared co-champions was roundly criticized.

So were dates of games (the Metropolitan playoff was on the same night as the San Diego State-Utah State game)  and methods of picking playoff teams (at-large squads were being given preference over teams that had finished tied for first in their leagues).

Morse defeated University, 26-21, and Castle Park edged Escondido, 21-14, in the two title games.

Chuck Coover of Morse weighed in on the two-championship controversy.  “We want it and I know Gil (Castle Park coach Warren) wants it.  I don’t know of a coach who doesn’t want one title and one game.”

Castle Park and Morse would meet…in the season-opening game of 1969.

FIZZLED KOMETS

Birt Slater’s Kearny Komets had to gag on another bitter pill  after being knocked  out of the playoffs for the second successive year.

In 1967 they were on Lincoln’s one-foot line when time ran out in a 7-6 loss.

Kearny led Morse, 19-13, with at least two downs to run out the final 61 seconds in the City Conference final.

On second down from the Komets’ 27-yard line, quarterback Gene Watkins was sacked by Avery Clark, Morse’s 6-foot-3,  215-pound all-San Diego Section tackle, as Watkins attempted to hand off on a risky end-around play.

Clark hit with enough force that Watkins fumbled the ball into the air and Clark intercepted and rumbled to the 10-yard line.

Rick Halsey’s 10-yard pass to Mike Hawks on the next play etched a 19-19 tie.  Hawks then soccer-styled the winning point after through the heavy fog of Aztec Bowl with seconds remaining.

Until Clark’s game-breaking play, the game was a Watkins-Ed Evilsizor show.

The quarterback and his split end collaborated on touchdown pass plays of 43, 20, and 46 yards for a 19-13 lead.  Evilsizor had set up Kearny’s first score when he ran 18 yards on fourth and eight out of punt formation.

SIGNS OF THE TIME

San Diego County population was 1,320,000, increasing by 97 persons a day.

Caltrans district supervisor Jacob Dekema said the freeways weren’t keeping up with the population as he announced groundbreaking for an extension of the I-8 freeway from east of the bridge crossing the San Diego River  west to Nimitz and Sunset Cliffs boulevards.

Dekema,  also said that traffic analyses would be impossible in the metropolitan area “without use of computers”.

Computers?

SIGNS, CON’T

The Adams Avenue Bridge over the man-made I-805 canyon between Iowa and Boundary Streets was being replaced. The old structure, with its wooden trestles, conveyed the historic Adams Avenue trolley.

MORE DISSATISFACTION

Small schools bosses Tom Gillaspie of Julian and Louis Bitterlin of San Diego Military Academy wanted no part of a releaguing proposal that  pitted their teams against Army-Navy and Ramona, schools with much larger enrollments.

The two principals suggested a two-division Southern League.  This would include a Mountain Division of Borrego Springs, Mountain Empire, Julian, and Rancho del Campo and a Coastal Division of Francis Parker, La Jolla Country Day, Christian, and San Diego Military.

Army-Navy and Ramona would become independents under the Gillaspie-Bitterlin plan.

The CIF disagreed.  Releaguing in 1969 would put Ramona in a Southern Mountain Division and Army-Navy in a Coastal Division.

Ramona and Army-Navy were going to move, because the Palomar League would go on hiatus in 1969, with San Marcos headed for the Avocado and Marian for the Metropolitan.

OOPS

Orange Glen coach Dick Disney spoke too soon. “Potentially, this team is every bit as good as last year’s.  I’d have to rate our chances as good for a repeat.”

Disney must have overlooked the fact that the Patriots lost 31 of their first 38 players from the 1967 club that was 11-0 and won the County Conference title.

Orange Glen flatted out to a 3-5 record.

 

 

DREADED ADMINISTRATIVE GLITCHES

Point Loma won its first game of the season…twice.

The Pointers, forced to forfeit three victories, bounced back to defeat Crawford, 21-9, for their official first win.

Point Loma, Mission Bay, and La Jolla all were penalized for using residentially ineligible players.

Games between the three Western League schools were declared “no contest.”  The schools also were forced to vacate any nonleague wins from start of the season.

La Jolla saved one victory because it did not use  its ineligible player in a 21-6 victory over Point Loma.

STOP THE CLOCK

La Jolla coach Gene Edwards stormed away after the Vikings’ frantic signal for a time out either was not seen, heard, or was too late in an 18-14 loss to University.

La Jolla and Uni had combined for 213 yards in a wild last seven minutes on the Vikings’ rain-soaked, muddy field.  La Jolla was parked on the Dons’ 10-yard line at the final gun and screamed that its time-out shouts weren’t recognized.

RISING GIANT

Patrick Henry, 1,732 students strong in two grades, opened its doors and 170 boys turned out for football, eventually pared to 66 for varsity and junior varsity.

Head coach Russ Leslie, an assistant to Roy Engle at Hoover since 1960, had coached at least one all-Eastern League lineman since 1962.

The Patriots played three varsity games, going 1-1-1 and overall were 3-1 with a statistics freak’s dream, 5 ties, against mostly junior varsity competition.

NEXT YEAR IS GOAL

“We’re not deep, but we’ve got some real good football players,” said Leslie.  “If we can play with these small schools now, we should be able to play with anyone next year.”

The coach was prescient.  Henry tied Lincoln and St. Augustine at 5-1 for the Eastern League championship in 1969 and was 6-3 overall.

POPULATION BOMB

Crawford was the largest school in the city with 2,932 students in three grades.  Madison was next at 2,700, followed by Kearny at 2,640.

The fourth largest was Horace Mann Junior High, one block from Crawford, where 2,469 students were enrolled.

County schools Mount Miguel (2,571), Helix (2,510), and Oceanside (2,485) had more students than Mann but all had freshmen classes.

THIGH BONE IS CONNECTED…

…to the knee bone.

Morse’s Joe Kneebone teamed with quarterback Rick Halsey and scored on 60 and 41-yard pass plays in a 41-7 victory over Clairemont

ALMOST GOALLINE STAND

Hoover stopped Lincoln on six plays inside its four-yard line, but Lincoln scored on the seventh.

You can’t blame the Cardinals’ defense if it focused a collective stink eye on the offense.

After recovering a Lincoln fumble on the three-yard line, the Cardinals fumbled on the next play and Lincoln recovered.

Fullback Larry Williams finally scored from the one-yard line and that was all the Hornets got, or needed, in a 6-0 triumph.

QUICK KICKS

Bill Walton was about to become a nationally known basketball player at Helix and his older brother, Bruce, 6 foot 5, 270 pounds, was the anchor lineman at Helix…Bruce went on to UCLA and was a fifth-round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in  1973…Mount Miguel, scoreless in its first three games, outscored, 92-6, in its first four, made a startling recovery, outscoring its last 4 opponents, 135-22, to finish 4-4…Lincoln returned 9 of 11 defensive starters and moved end Melvin Chapman to quarterback, but Jerry Powell had graduated and the Hornets fell to 6-3 after winning the City Conference title in 1967…the Grossmont League’s eighth annual carnival drew an overflow crowd of 12,000 to Aztec Bowl as El Capitan, Santana, Grossmont, and Granite Hills led the East to a 27-0 victory over the West, made up of Helix, Monte Vista, Mount Miguel, and El Cajon Valley…when in doubt give the ball to Jeff Phair, who got the call on 11 successive plays and scored from 9 yards for Hilltop’s first score in a 14-6 win over Clairemont…Lincoln and Los Angeles Locke were “rained out”…Hornets coach Shan Deniston and his team were en route to their final game when Deniston was informed by Locke officials that the field at Gardena High was  a quagmire and that the game should be called…the Hornets collected a forfeit victory, turned around on Interstate 5 and headed home…Coronado would like to forget its 1968 homecoming game…final score, Sweetwater 58, Islanders 0…stone tossing, harassment, and rowdyism at night games had city officials thinking hard again about going to an all-daytime schedule…some games were switched but game lights prevailed….