2015: Carberry Makes 40, 100-Game Winners

An error in compilation of our list of coaches with at least 100 career victories omitted a 40th member of that club.

Monte Vista’s Ed Carberry posted a 100-59-3 record in 14 seasons, with a .626 winning percentage.

Carberry became the Monarchs’ coach in 1989 and was 72-51-2 through 1999.  Page Culver coached the Spring Valley team in 2000. Carberry returned in 2001 and closed with a 28-8-1 mark through 2003 and then moved on to Southwestern College.

Carberry’s teams won seven league championships and two San Diego Section titles in three appearances.  He is the fifth coach from the East County to win 100 games.

Helix’ Jim Arnaiz was 213-77-11 (.726) from 1973-99,  Steve Sutton, 131-91-1 (.587) from 1989-2010 at West Hills and Valhalla, Matt Oliver, 128-56-3 (.693) from 1999-02 and 2004-14 at Christian, and Ladimir (Jack) Mashin, 125-66-19 (.640) from 1923-47 at Grossmont.

Oliver is the only coach from the East County group still active.




2015: Rory Trup, Section 880 Champ in 1970

Rory Trup, the San Diego Section 880-yard run champion in 1970 at Mission Bay, passed away.

Trup, 62, of Encinitas ran 1:55.3 to win the Section title at Balboa Stadium and was timed in 1:55.1 in the State trials at Edwards Stadium on the University of California campus in Berkeley.

Trup finished third in the 1971 San Diego Section finals but ran his all-time best, 1:54.4.

Trup ranked 15h all-time among County half-milers at conclusion of his high school career.




2014-15: Knights Hope to Turn Over New Leaf

Foothills Christian is No. 1 in the UT-San Diego poll, but the Knights  got there wondering what if.

Foothills is 8-6 and has a “woulda-coulda” lament.

The Knights forfeited two early, blowout victories because of the ubiquitous and Dreaded Administrative Glitch involving player eligibility and they’ve dropped two of their last three following the loss of their star.

Coach Troy Leaf’s team has not been the same since Leaf’s 6-foot, 10-inch son, T.J., went down with a sprained ankle with two minutes remaining in the first round of the Under-Armour tournament at Torrey Pines.

Leaf had scored 22 points with 13 rebounds, and seven assists in the 67-49 victory over Los Angeles Westchester, then was unavailable as the Knights were mauled by Corona Centennial, 73-51, and Brooklyn Thomas Jefferson, 77-47.

With Leaf still out, Foothills then scored an unexpected, 49-47 win over La Costa Canyon.

But the  10-4 and second-ranked Mavericks had some injury problems of their own.  They played  without 6-8 Travis Fuller, who is averaging 17 points.

Foothills Christian’s other losses were 84-75 to state ninth-ranked Chino Hills and 66-59 to state third-ranked Long Beach Poly.

The El Cajon school will take another shot at a California powerhouse when it meets No. 5 Redondo Beach Redondo Union Jan. 17 at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

The Knights open Coastal League play this evening at home against 9-5 Santa Fe Christian. Leaf, averaging 28 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, will be welcomed back.

La Costa Canyon has a nonleague game Wednesday night versus Escondido, 7-5.

Late December tournaments and intersectional games shook up the Top 10.  Five teams changed positions since the last vote.

UT-San Diego poll #3:

# Team (1st place votes) W-L Points* Previous
1 Foothills Christian (7) 8-6 101 2
2 La Costa Canyon (1) 10-4 94 1
3 Torrey Pines (2) 13-2 86 3
4 San Marcos (1) 13-1 77 4
5 El Camino (1) 11-2 62 5
6 Army-Navy 12-2 58 8
7 St. Augustine 11-4 46 7
8 Mission Bay 10-0 27 NR
9 Morse 6-3 22 6
10 Francis Parker 6-3 17 10

*Awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. NR–Not ranked.

Others receiving votes: Kearny, 9 (9-5); Grossmont  (11-2), Escondido (7-5), Cathedral (7-5), 3 each; Vista, 2 (11-4); Mission Hills, 1 (8-4).

Eleven San Diego County sportswriters and broadcasters, and a CIF San Diego Section representative vote each week. The panel includes John Maffei and Kirk Kenney (UT-San Diego), Terry Monahan (UT-San Diego correspondent), Bill Dickens (eastcountysports.com), Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions), John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section), Bodie DeSilva (sandiegopreps.com), Aaron Burgin (fulltimeshoops.com), Rick Willis (KUSI Chl. 51), Rick Smith (partletonsports.com), Drew Willis (sdcoastalsports.com).




1997: Gender Doesn’t Matter

Jason Bott of the Union-Tribune said it best: “Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman.”

Her name is Andy Wharton and she hammered a 29-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the game to give West Hills a 31-28 victory over Serra.

Andy Wharton's kick saved the Wolfpack.
Andy Wharton’s kick made difference for  Wolfpack.

“I thought the play was stopped,” said Wharton, “but when I saw it wasn’t I just hoped it went through.”

Wharton split the uprights.  No surprise to Wolf Pack coach Steve Sutton.

“She’s a pressure player and has been in situations like this before (in other sports), but not like this with a football game on the line,” said Sutton.

Quarterback Lon Sheriff also helped, throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns.

UNHAPPY DEADLOCK

The 21-21 Division I title tie did not sit well with Torrey Pines coach Ed Burke or Vista’s Steve Silberman. “I feel bad for the kids,” Burke said to writer Steve Brand, “because this hasn’t been resolved.”

“Nobody likes a tie–they don’t and we don’t,” said Silberman.

San Diego Section rules are that ties cannot be broken in championship games. Overtime tie-breakers are only for elimination purposes in the earlier rounds.

Point Loma and El Camino tied, 6-6, in 1982 and no one was happy with that either.

EL NINO BOWL

Rain-soaked fields turned to mush in the playoff semifinals, highlighted by driving rainstorms in various County locales.

Desert visitor Imperial couldn’t handle the conditions in a 41-14, D-IV loss to Marian Catholic, whose Mike Davies returned a kickoff 85 yards for a score, rushed for touchdowns of 66, and 70 yards, and accounted for more than 300 yards.

The mud also was just fine for Vista, which defeated Chula Vista, 25-0, as the Panthers’ Pisa Tinoisamoa rushed for 208 yards and sidekick Adrian Waddy added 85.

Chula Vista defenders struggled to bring down Vista's hard-knocking Pisa Tinoisamoa.
Chula Vista defenders struggled to bring down Vista’s hard-knocking Pisa Tinoisamoa.

LOUSY SPORTSMANSHIP

Running up the Score, a.k.a, piling on.

It’s unpleasant and old as the game itself, from peewees to the pros.

What happened this season was remindful of a San Diego Chargers game against Denver in 1963.

The Chargers led, 56-20, after scoring a touchdown in the game’s final minutes.

Instead of maintaining and kicking for the extra point, Chargers coach Sid Gillman instructed quarterback John Hadl to pursue a two-point conversion.

Hadl passed complete to Earl Faison, a defensive end lined up as a blocker and eligible receiver on the special teams unit.

FAULKNER VENTS

Denver’s Jack Faulkner seethed as he approached Gillman at the traditional, postgame, midfield meeting of head coaches and uttered, “Thanks a lot, Sid, you son of a bitch!”

Faulkner had been an assistant coach with Gillman for more than 20 years in college and pro football before becoming Denver’s head coach in 1962.

Fast forward 34 years.

Friday night high school football.  Week 2, Sweetwater vs. Scripps Ranch.

Twenty seconds remained, Sweetwater in front, 26-11, Red Devils in possession, second and nine on Scripps’ 19-yard line.

Take a knee? Run out the clock, get on the bus,  head home happy?

No. Sweetwater coach Tony Garcia called time out.

When play resumed, Sweetwater quarterback Hameem Hunter found Brian Guthrie in the end zone with a touchdown pass.

Final score, Sweetwater 33, Scripps Ranch 11.

Union-Tribune photographer Nancee E. Lewis captured the moment as offender and defender committed the same foul. Patrick Henry’s Dwayne Neabers (right) and San Pasqual’s Josh Heck used facemask grab technique for different reasons.  San Pasqual did more things better, winning playoff semifinal, 34-12.

YOU DID IT FIRST!

When asked about the pass play, Garcia defensively responded by saying Sweetwater’s JV team lost a one-sided contest that preceded the varsity game and that Scripps Ranch was passing when the game ended.

“It works both ways,” Garcia told Tom Shanahan of the Union-Tribune. “I don’t want to run up the score, but I didn’t like what they did in the JV game.  They were throwing long passes.  And their coaches were jumping up and down.”

 JV STUNT

While Garcia’s response was not as pungent as Jack Faulkner’s to Sid Gillman, Scripps Ranch coach David Drake made it plain that he thought Garcia’s action was bush league.

“Then he made a JV call,” said  Drake said, restraining himself.

“I don’t know what happened in the JV game,” said Drake, “but that’s not good for anybody.  The kids aren’t dumb and they know what’s going on. It’s a small world and things like that come back around.”

TO TOP IT OFF

Sweetwater had the last word.

Host Scripps Ranch officials  held a 50-50 raffle fund-raiser, common in area high schools.  A lucky fan whose name was drawn could keep half of the raffle money.

The wife of a Sweetwater assistant coach came forth with the winning raffle ticket.

She took home $179.

DICK HAINES’ GIFT

Only three seasons removed from coaching, Dick Haines resided in a nursing home in San Diego’s North County, the victim of Alzheimer’s.

But Haines’s 194 victories from 1970-94 and the school stadium that bears his name ensured the old coach’s legacy and was  honored by his successor, Steve Silberman.

Silberman, who took over in 1995, retained coaches Andy Crouch and Chris Hauser, who had played for and were members of Haines’ staff.

B;adow and Hauser remained when Haines retired.
Crouch (left) and Hauser remained when Haines retired.

Hauser would become head coach in  2000, after Silberman posted a 46-16-3 record, which the included the championship tie  with Torrey Pines this season, plus another title in 1998.

When Silberman was named head coach there were some who suggested that Panthers uniforms revert to black and white, since those were Vista’s official school colors.

Upon inheriting an 0-9 team in 1970, Haines immediately sought a cultural change and dressed his team in red.

“That didn’t make much sense to me (changing),” said Silberman.  “Every envelope that is mailed out of this school has ‘Go Big Red’ on it.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Dick Haines’ Stadium is just one of many in the area that have official designations.

At least 18 venues of the 82 San Diego section schools that play football were named after administrative or coaching leaders.

SCHOOL NAME HISTORY
Army-Navy John Maffucci Field Longtime coach-athletic director.
Carlsbad Swede Krcmar  Field First football coach.
Castle Park Mike Swift Stadium Taught at school many years.
Chula Vista Joseph Rindone Stadium First principal, 1947.
Coronado Blumenthal Complex (1) District superintendent.
Escondido Chick Embrey Field Star player and coach for Cougars.
Patrick Henry Don Giddings Stadium First principal, 1968.
Helix Benton Hart Stadium First principal, 1951.
Hilltop Bob Dodds Stadium Longtime administrator.
La Jolla Gene Edwards Stadium (2) Head coach, 1962-88
Madison George Hoagland Stadium First football coach, 1963.
Marian Egger Stadium Robert Egger donated land for school construction.
Mar Vista Myron L. Smull Stadium Early school principal.
Oceanside John Simcox Field 1950s Coach.
Point Loma Pete Ross Field First school principal, 1926.
San Diego Glenn R. Broderick (3) Football or track coach, 1926-38.
Sweetwater Gail Devers Stadium (4) Twice Olympic track champion.
Vista Dick Haines Stadium Football coach, 1970-94.
  • 1) Until 1995, Coronado played on field named for J. Leslie Cutler, former school principal and superintendent.
  • 2) Field is named after Ellen Browning Scripps.
  • 3) Broderick Field is part of Balboa Stadium.
  • 4) Field is named after Guy Hudgins, first school principal.

Embrey starred as player and coach at Escondido.
Bob (Chick) Embrey starred as player and coach at Escondido.

More fields and stadiums names would recognize the accomplishments of various coaches in ensuing years (John Shacklett, Herb Myers, Ed Burke, Jim Arnaiz, John Carroll, to name some), but Bennie Edens, in his 41st season at Point Loma, ruled  out a name change at his school.

“The field already has a name,” Edens told Steve Brand of the Union-Tribune.

“It’s Pete Ross Field, the first principal,” said Edens.  “If people of that era felt that strongly, who are we to change things now?

“No,” Bennie added,  “I wouldn’t  want  them to change the name at Point Loma or even make it Bennie Edens Stadium.  It takes away from the person after whom the facility is already named.”

P.S.:  The school didn’t hear Bennie.  Ross Field eventually shared marquis with Bennie Edens Stadium.

DOUBLE PUNCH

Davies (left) and Cruz scored 51 touchdowns between them.

Marian was beaten in the D-IV finals but Mike Davies and Domonic Cruz formed the County’s best scoring duo.

Davies was second in the Section with 32 touchdowns and 192 points and Cruz was seventh with 19 touchdowns and 120 points

HAIL TO THE KNIGHTS

State playoffs still were years away, but so what?  The Bishop’s could wait.

The Knights could sit around their roundtables in decades to come, safe in the knowledge that they were the No. 1 team in the state, so anointed by Cal-Hi Sports.

Coach Bill Lekvold’s team was declared No. 1 in Division V, although it played in D-IV in the San Diego Section. Cal-Hi-Sports follows the state format, based on enrollment.

IT’S WINNING TIME

The Knights ended the season with a 26-game winning streak, including a 28-20 win over Marian in the D-IV final (the Crusaders were ninth in Cal-Hi’s final ranking).The_Bishop's Logo

The Bishop’s School opened in 1909, but didn’t field a football team until 1983. First-season coach Lekvold is the Knights’ seventh in the 15 football seasons.

The Bishop’s would run its winning streak to 31 games before a loss to Santa Fe Christian in 1998.  The streak, including eight-man games in the early years, was second in the San Diego Section to the 36 in a row won by Sweetwater from 1983-85.

OTHERS RATE WITH CAL-HI

Torrey Pines was 17th in the state in all divisions, tenth in Southern California, and sixth in D-II.

Other rankings included Vista, 26th overall, San Pasqual, 12th in D-II, and St. Augustine, 12th in D-III.

‘PINES GETS EDGE

Torrey Pines (12-0-1) and Vista (10-1-2) tied for the D-I title, 21-21, but Ed Burke’s Falcons were No. 1 in the final Union-Tribune poll.

Torrey Pines defeated  division winners San Pasqual (II) and Oceanside (III), and Marian, the D-IV finalist,  during the season.

NORTH COUNTY TRAFFIC

Helix coach Jim Arnaiz allowed one hour and 17 minutes for the 44-mile bus ride to El Camino in east Oceanside.

Normally a 51-minute commute, Arnaiz was playing it safe.

However, a crash in Del Mar backed up the I-5 for miles.  The Highlanders arrived 30 minutes late.

An additional delay was caused when El Camino had to retreat to its locker room to change jerseys.  Both teams were wearing white.

Visiting teams almost always wear white. Home teams wear the predominant school color.

For Helix, it was all good.  The Highlanders defeated the Wildcats, 28-15.

Torrey Pines’ Adam Geitner had 130 yards in 13 carries, and one face plant, in 35-17, quarterfinals playoff win over Rancho Buena Vista.

BEAR IS MISSED

“The coach’s office is going to be lonely,” said San Pasqual’s Mike Dolan.  “We’re going to miss him.”

Dolan was lamenting that the “Bear” would be moving to the Orange Glen campus.

The Golden Eagles lost a 7-0 decision to Orange Glen in the Battle of Bear Valley Parkway and gave up the Bear trophy that goes to the winner.

The schools are located a very long walk from each other on the same Escondido roadway.

The Bear had resided in Dolan’s office since 1992. San Pasqual won the Escondido teams’ five previous rivalry games.

With pile-driving Tom Kirovski again leading the Golden Eagles, San Pasqual got over loss of the Bear, reaching the D-III finals, and hammering Castle Park, 47-13, for the championship..

SAY, AREN’T  YOU…?

Gene Alim, who was 74-9-1, .887, from 1981-87 and 26-20-1 from 1991-94 at Sweetwater, was back in the arena,  succeeding Alan Duke as head coach at Eastlake.

Alim retired from coaching after an auto accident in 1994, but “you start to miss being around the other coaches, the camaraderie.  I’m excited.  This is very challenging position.”

Alim redux was such that he was 14-10 in two seasons at Eastlake, then retired again after the 1999 campaign.

But not for good.

Alim opened Otay Ranch in 2004 and went back to the sidelines, posting a 25-8 record in three years.

The veteran mentor retired again, but….

He came back one more time at Otay Ranch before finally calling it a day.  Alim was 8-12-2 in 2008-09 and went out with a record of 147-59-4 and a .708 win percentage.

THE BISHOP’S CHECKMATE

Walton juggled soccer with football and then chose the latter.

Paul Stefani was The Bishop’s leading scorer with 140 points, but wide receiver, kick returner, and defensive back Shane Walton was their catalyst.

Walton, who caught seven passes and returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown in the championship, scored 80 points.  He chose Notre Dame over UCLA and eventually was a fourth-round draft choice of the St. Louis Rams.

“This one was for all those colleges that are not recruiting me,” Walton said to Kevin J. Farmer of the Union-Tribune.  “I can’t believe San Diego State hasn’t looked at me and I’m right here in their own back yard.”

Walton hadn’t played football until he turned out at The Bishop’s and was considered a future major soccer player, having  been a standout  for the Nomads, a nationally recognized San Diego junior team.

KICKERS SET RECORDS

Greg Pieratt’s 27-yard field goal in overtime gave Patrick Henry a 25-22 victory over Mira Mesa in the first round of the playoffs and was his fourth game winner of 9 successful placements this season.

St. Augustine’s John  Cortney set a San Diego Section record with 16 field goals and Torrey Pines’ Hayden Epstein set a Section record with a 58-yard field goal in the D-I championship.

I CAN’T HEAR YOU

There was no sound system when Madison and St. Augustine squared off in the first round of the D-III playoffs at Balboa Stadium.  Loud speakers reportedly were stolen and the city-governed field had no gridiron lines; someone forgot to paint them.

Not to worry for the Saints, who advanced with a 44-6 victory.

Crawford’s Raul Cano tried to stop Southwest’s Joel Mercado, whose teammate, Corey Sanford attempted to clear the way. Colts stopped Mercado and Raiders, 24-7.

THE OFFICIALS’ WORLD

Crawford and San Diego Southwest almost were blinded by flying yellow flags in the first half of the Colts’ 24-7 victory.

Crawford was called for clipping, encroachment, holding, and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Southwest was fined for face mask, illegal block, holding, false start, and unsportsmanlike conduct.

“We’re still young, still learning,” said Raiders coach Ed Bajet.  “Penalties are part of the learning process.”

TRUE GRID

Rancho Bernardo’s 17-0 victory over Morse was the Tigers’ first shutout in 39 games, dating to Bernardo’s 3-0 victory over Morse in the D-I finals in 1993…Granite Hills’ topped Orange Glen, 2-0, for its first playoff win since 1986, ending an 0-6 stretch…Hilltop won 2 playoff games after having not won  any since its first postseason appearance in 1967…the Lancers had lost seven in a row…all four divisional championship games were played in Qualcomm Stadium, games starting at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4, and 7…total attendance was 16,752, almost 8,000 more than attended the 1996 finals, and the games were played under dry skies, ensuring a good field for the San Diego Chargers’ next game…West Hills, which opened in 1989, announced plans for 2,300 permanent concrete bleachers…Mt. Carmel, 6-4 overall and 5-2 in the Palomar League, was forced to forfeit its last eight regular-season games and bow out of the playoffs…belated internal investigation by school officials revealed an ineligible player in another example of the Dreaded Administrative Glitch….

Jubilant San Pasqual players let loose after 47-13, D-II title win over Castle Park.
Jubilant San Pasqual players let loose after 47-13, D-II title win over Castle Park.




2014: Hamamoto (200), Jackson (100) Hit Milestones

Like mile markers on the interstate, coaching victories progress at their own pace and gradually add up.

Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto became the eighth  to win 200 games this season and Madison’s Rick Jackson was the 39th to reach 100.

Hamamoto (201-127-4), a 30-year veteran of San Diego high school wars, was at University (Cathedral), Rancho Bernardo, and Lincoln before moving to Monte Vista in 2012.

Jackson (100-31-3) has averaged 9.2 wins in 11 seasons at Madison and his .761 winning percentage is second only to John Carroll’s .765.  The late Birt Slater of Kearny had a .753 percentage for third.

Carroll moved past Bennie Edens this season and now has 248 victories, 91 less than all-time leader Herb Meyers.  Carroll could catch Meyers in nine seasons if he continued to average 9.5 victories a year as he has done in the 26 he’s been at Oceanside.,

See the complete “Coach 100 Club” list under the “Football” menu item.

CAL-HI  RANKINGS

Oceanside’s loss to Folsom in the State D-I championship resulted in the Pirates’ dropping from fifth to 10th in the final Cal-Hi Sports list of the state’s top 25 teams.

El Capitan fell from 16th to 22nd, Helix from 22nd to 23rd, and Cathedral remained 25th.

Concord De La Salle, which defeated Corona Centennial, 63-42, in the Open Division championship, was first and Folsom second.




2014-15: Hoops Hot in Foothills

Foothills Christian is second in UT-San Diego‘s basketball poll, but the Knights are 18th in the Cal-Hi Sports state vote, ahead of San Diego Section rankings leader La Costa Canyon.

La Costa received all 11 first-place votes in the local balloting, but the Mavericks  received on-the-bubble status and are out of the top 20 in the state-wide publication’s weekly ratings.

The UT-San Diego poll  is inclusive of games through last Saturday.

Action has been hot and heavy for the  first three weeks of the season and local clubs have been active in tournaments here, out of the area, and out of state.

All attention shifts  this week to the Under-Armour tournament at Torrey Pines and other North County venues.  The four-day event brings together outstanding teams from throughout the U.S.

Foothills (6-4) tips at 7 p.m. on Friday at Torrey Pines against Los Angeles Westchester (6-4), for decades a state and national leader.  La Costa Canyon (9-1) will be on its home court at 7 Friday against Santa Monica (3-5).

Coach Brad Leaf’s Foothills Knights are 8-2 competitively but 6-4 legislatively. The ubiquitous and Dreaded Administrative Glitch resulted in forfeiture of a 89-59 win over San Ysidro and 83-33 rout of Rancho Buena Vista. Player eligibility, as usual, was the problem.

The Knights’ two losses on the court were 66-59 to Long Beach Poly (Cal-Hi Sports’ 6) and 84-73 to Chino Hills (16).  They also own victories over Constitution of Philadelphia, 88-60, and 71-66 over Lone Peak of  Montana.

UT-San Diego poll #2:

# Team (1st place votes) W-L Points* Previous
1 La Costa Canyon (11) 9-1 110 1
2 Foothills Christian 6-4 93 2
3 Torrey Pines 10-0 91 3
4 San Marcos 8-1 62 6
5 El Camino 8-1 57 4
6 Morse 3-1 52 5
7 St. Augustine 8-2 39 8
8 Army-Navy 9-1 23 NR
9 Kearny 7-3 21 7
10 Francis Parker 3-0 19 9

*Awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. NR–Not ranked.

Others receiving votes:  Grossmont, 15; Mater Dei, 11; Cathedral, Poway, 10 each; Army-Navy, Steele Canyon, 7 each; Mission Baay, 54; Sweetwater, 3; Eastlake, 2.

Eleven San Diego County sportswriters and broadcasters, and a CIF San Diego Section representative vote each week. The panel includes John Maffei and Kirk Kenney (UT-San Diego), Terry Monahan (UT-San Diego correspondent), Bill Dickens (eastcountysports.com), Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions), John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section), Bodie DeSilva (sandiegopreps.com), Aaron Burgin (fulltimeshoops.com), Rick Willis (KUSI Chl. 51), Rick Smith (partletonsports.com), Drew Willis (sdcoastalsports.com).