Two of baseball’s all-time greatest players were playing with hundreds of so-called mortals.

Hoover’s Ted Williams and Pasadena Muir Tech’s Jackie Robinson trod on the diamonds and little Escondido High knocked down some  giants and went all the way to the Southern California finals.

3/31/36

A total of 31 teams and up to 600 players were signed to play in the fourth annual Pomona 20-30 Rotary Club tournament, including Escondido, San Diego and St. Augustine, and Hoover, which was on a waiting list.

4/1/36

San Diego divided its squad, with coach Mike Morrow taking the first team to Escondido, where it defeated the Cougars, 4-3.

The second team stayed home and dropped a 13-2 decision to the U.S. Dobbin.

4/7/36

Hoover, late to apply for a berth in the Pomona Tournament and finding the field filled, was allowed in when St. Augustine withdrew.

—A five-run third inning propelled San Diego to a 13-4, Coast League victory in Balboa Stadium against Santa Ana.

Bill Skelley allowed the visitors five hits and hit a home run for the Hilltoppers.

Johnny Le Grand had four hits in five times at bat and San Diego moved into a tie with Santa Ana and Long Beach Poly for the Coast League lead, each 2-1.

4/9/36

POMONA 20-30 ROTARY CLUB TOURNAMENT

Hoover coach Wofford (Wos) Caldwell went with a couple reserve pitchers, saving ace Ted Williams, for a later game, but the Calexico Bulldog erupted for 15 hits and won the opener, 11-0, behind Andrade, who limited the Cardinals to three hits and struck a home run.

—San Diego blanked Chino, 12-0, behind Vidal Ortiz’ three-hit pitching.

—Karl Hoffmann hurled a three-hit, 7-1 victory for Escondido over Azusa Citrus.

4/10/36

San Diego won a second-round game, 7-1 over Norwalk Excelsior in the morning and then scratched out a quarterfinals victory against Lawndale Leuzinger, 3-1, in the afternoon quarterfinals.

The Hilltoppers, trailing, 1-0, scored three runs in the top of the seventh on successive hits by Bill Skelley, Chito Rivas, Roy Ortiz, and James Curtis.

—Escondido also gained the semifinal found with wins of 5-3 over Compton and 4-1 over Pasadena Muir Tech, the latter in which Aden Galindo hit a two-run homer.

—Hoover, exiled to the Consolation bracket after its opening loss, bounced back with Ted Williams, in a 21^st century version of an “opener”, starting both games of 18-1 and 8-2 triumphs over Monrovia and Anaheim, respectively.

Del Ballinger relieved Williams in the first game and Gordon Bennett stepped up in the nightcap.

4/11/36

San Diego (2-1 over Whittier) and Escondido (4-3 over Long Beach Poly) won morning semifinal games, setting up an afternoon championship encounter, and Hoover gained the Consolation finals.

San Diego won its third Pomona 20-30 Club tournament title since the event debuted in 1933, 13-3, over Escondido

The Hilltoppers’ victory, aided by seven Cougars errors and behind the five-hit pitching of Bill Skelley, was accompanied by Ted Williams’ pitching in Hoover’s 7-0 win over Pasadena for the consolation championship.

Williams also was on the mound when Hoover won its consolation semifinal, 13-1 against South Pasadena.

Williams allowed three runs on nine hits in four tournament games, struck out 21 batters in 19 innings and hit four home runs, two in the same inning against Monrovia.

As a team, Hoover hit .331 and Joe Villarino led with eight hits in 11 at-bats.

4/16/36

Bill Skelley pitched an 11-inning, 8-7, Coast League victory at Alhambra and doubled home Johnny Le Grand with the winning run.

—Ted Williams apparently was purposely walked three times and made an infield out in his other time at bat but gave up only a third inning triple before slamming the door on Bay League rival Compton, 7-1.

4/20/30

Ed Vitalich’s home run was the big blow in St. Augustine’s 6-2 victory at Sweetwater.  Catching for the Saints was Solly Hemus, future major league infielder and manager.

4/22/36

Chet Kehn and Al Olsen combined to give up one hit and pitched San Diego’s junior varsity to a 13-2 win over the host Sweetwater varsity.

—The Muhleisen Company team edged San Diego, 9-8, as both teams combined for 30 hits in a warmup for the Hilltoppers before their game with Long Beach Poly.

4/25/36

Ted Williams struck out 19 batters and broke a 1924 Bay League record as Hoover won on the road at Redondo Beach Redondo, 5-2.

—Long Beach Poly clinched the Coast League championship with a six-run ninth inning that stunned coach Mike Morrow’s San Diego Hilltoppers, 8-5.

The Jackrabbits collected four hits and two bases on balls, and capitalized on an error. Bill Skelley, who went the distance on the mound for the Hilltoppers, had two doubles and a single.

4/28/36

Lefty Al Olsen gave up five hits and pitched the San Diego JV to a win over the host La Jolla varsity, 5-0.

5/1/36

San Diego clinched second place in the Coast to Long Beach Poly with a 14-11 win at Santa Ana as Vidal Ortiz hit two home runs. Bill Skelley and Jack Zimmerman also homered.

5/2/36

Ted Williams and Gordon Bennett combined to pitch Hoover to a 17-0 win over Inglewood.

Hoover collectively was almost knocking the cover off the ball, according to statistics most likely provided by the Cardinals to The San Diego Union.

Through 21 games, Hoover batsmen had 215 hits in 614 at-bats for a .351 average with 172 runs scored, an average of eight a game.

Outfielder-pitcher Ted Williams had 28 hits in 61 plate appearances for a .460 average with 19 runs scored.

Catcher Roy Engle, later the Cardinals’ head football coach, was batting .381 and outfielder Del Ballinger, who played many years in the minor leagues, including six with the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League, was batting .319.

5/4/36

Del Ballinger pitched and Roy Engle caught and Coach Wos Caldwell, prepping for a big Bay League contest against Long Beach Wilson, sent his varsity against his reserves and the first team won, 4-3.

5/6/36

Ted Williams homered and Hank Ondler had three hits as Hoover’s first team defeated the visiting Marine Corps Recruit Depot Devildogs, 6-2.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ second team invaded the foothills and topped Grossmont, 7-2.

5/8/36

Sweetwater’s Tom Coffman pitched well enough, allowing six hits, but the Red Devils committed 10 errors and Karl Hoffmann pitched an 8-1, Metropolitan League victory for Escondido (3-0), setting up a championship game with Oceanside, also 3-0.

5/12/36

Gordon Bennett homered, tripled, and doubled in four times at bat and cuffed visiting Beverly Hills on two hits, 9-1, as Hoover claimed the Bay League championship.

—Escondido’s Karl Hoffmann outdueled Ortega and the Cougars clinched the Metropolitan League championship with a 1-0 victory over Oceanside.

Willie Reyes singled in the eighth inning and eventually scored on errors by Pirates centerfielder Bobby Betoncini and shortstop Goodin, whose throw to the plate almost caught Reyes.

5/14/36

Hoover was going to play Calexico in a CIF Southern Section first-round playoff until the Civilian Conservation Corps, a product of President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal”, got involved.

Early in the evening CIF commissioner Seth Van Patten informed Hoover coach Wos Caldwell that the Cardinals would meet coach Ed Covington’s Imperial Valley champion Bulldogs at a site to be determined.

Later in the evening Covington placed a long-distance call to Caldwell  and said that three of Covington’s players were entering a CCC camp and that Calexico would have to disband for the remainder of the season, leaving Hoover without an opponent.

Boss man Van Patten was to go into clarification mode.

5/15/36

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

No news for the Cardinals today, but Metropolitan champion Escondido eliminated Mountain Empire of the Southern League, 16-1.

5/16/36

Hoover, given a first-round bye, was assigned a second-round playoff at Escondido and prepared for a game with a team called the San Diego All-Stars at Golden Hill playground.

5/21/36

Metropolitan loop coaches met at the downtown YMCA to discuss whether to play baseball in 1937.  Coronado, Point Loma, and Army Navy did not field teams this season and some coaches favored going to a softball schedule.

5/22/36

QUARTERFINALS

HOOVER 3, @ ESCONDIDO 8

Escondido eliminated Hoover in what The San Diego Union described as “a startling upset.”

Escondido lefthander Karl Hoffmann walked seven but allowed only five hits.  Hoover’s Ted Williams was reached for nine hits.

The Cougars’ Aden Galindo collected three hits in three at bats and Willie Reyes doubled and singled in three tries.

–An interclass baseball game at Coronado High ended in “turmoil.”   A team of seniors defeated juniors, 13-12.

The underclassmen shouted that the seniors used a fifth-year player.

5/23/36

USC assistant football coach Hobbs Adams and San Diego State head coach Leo Calland were principal speakers at San Diego High’s year-end sports banquet.

Approximately 250 athletes from varsity and junior varsity football, basketball, baseball, and track squads, plus letter winners in minor sports were saluted in the school cafeteria.

5/29/36

SEMIFINALS

PASADENA MUIR TECH 4, @ESCONDIDO 5.

Pitcher Karl Hoffmann tripled to centerfield leading off the ninth inning.  Willie Reyes walked, and Aden Galindo singled to centerfield, scoring Hofmann with the winning run.

The Escondido victory was the Cougars’ second over the Mustangs, following a 4-1win in the Pomona 20-30 Rotary Club tournament.

Muir’s lineup included future Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, who broke the major league color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

6/3/36

An obscure but historic item appeared in The San Diego Union, headlined “Padres Seek Ted Williams”.

The short story said H.W. (Bill) Lane, owner of the new Pacific Coast League team in San Diego, had offered Williams a contract for the remainder of the season.

Williams would hit .271 with 2 home runs in limited action for the Padres in a precursor to a career as one of baseball all-time great hitters.

6/5/36

FINALS

ESCONDIDO 4, @LONG BEACH POLY 14

The Cougars couldn’t repeat their 4-3 win over the Jackrabbits in the Pomona tournament after taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

Escondido represented the Metropolitan League, one of the Southern Section’s circuits for small schools, while Poly was from the Coast League, arguably the strongest in Southern California.

Poly, which advanced after victories of 8-2 over Paso Robles and 11-1 over Montebello, jumped on Cougars starter Karl Hoffmann for three runs in the first inning, three more in the third, four in the seventh, and finally drove Hofmann from the mound in a three-run eighth.

Chuck Stevens had three hits, including one of the Jackrabbits’ five home runs.  Willie Reyes had two hits for the Cougars and Bob Iliff added a home run.

 

 

This is the curious time of the season.

The San Diego Section rounds of championship games, concluding with Division I, II  III, and IV last week, now centers on the Southern California Regional playoffs.

And many of us are curious about these strangers suddenly looming on the postseason schedule.

How good are San Diego Section teams, which will play representatives from the Los Angeles City and Southern Sections?

Locals are 6-2 in regional 1-AA games since the present format was implemented:

YEAR	TEAM	OPPONENT	CIF SECTION	SCORE
2014	Oceanside	Fresno Edison	Central	37-20
2015	Helix	Mission Viejo	Southern	28-32
2016	Cathedral	Harbor City Narbonne	L.A. City	35-28
2017	Helix	Westlake Village Oaks Christian	Southern	28-13
2018	Cathedral	Harbor City Narbonne	L.A. City	24-21
2019	Helix	Chatsworth Sierra Canyon	Southern	20-38
2021	Cathedral	Orange Lutheran	Southern	71-62
2022	Lincoln	Chatsworth Sierra Canyon	Southern	37-14

The successes of San Diego’s top teams against those Southern Section squads is tempered.

The huge Section’s Open Division champion (Santa Ana Mater Dei, 35-7 winner this season over Bellflower St. John Bosco) always enjoys the  status and plays the Northern California champion each year and will meet San Mateo Serra Dec. 8.

San Diego Section Open Division champions always are slotted in I-AA in the Regional playoff.

DIVISION I-AA

Granite Hills (12-0), @Mission Viejo (11-3)  Friday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m.

South Coast League-dominant Mission Viejo has had its way with San Diego Section teams, posting a 19-4 record since 1974.

San Diego’s infrequent victories are spread out.

Morse prevailed, 3-0, in Balboa Stadium in 1986.  Rancho Buena Vista was a 45-24 winner at home in 1990.  Vista won at home, 26-14, in 2007.

Oceanside, with John Carroll in his last year as coach and headed for a 14-1 season in 2014, scored a 24-7 win over the visiting Diablos, who finished 12-2.

An 11-2 Helix team, on the road in the 2015 Regional, had the Diablos in its grasp, leading, 28-25, with two minutes remaining and in possession of the ball but fumbled; Mission Viejo recovered and pulled out a 32-28 victory en route to a state-record, 16-0 season.

Mission Viejo took field in I-AA playoff title game against Anaheim Servite last week.

COACHES

Chad Johnson, no relation to the legendary Bob Johnson, whom Chad replaced at Mission Viejo in 2018, is 51-15. That includes four consecutive forfeits at the start of his first season.

Kellan Cobbs, a 2005 Granite Hills graduate, played on the 1-9 team in 2004 and took a 1-9 punch in the nose in his first season as coach in 2012.

Cobbs, who also wrestled and played Lacrosse in high school, rallied the program to a 7-6 finish in 2013, is 93-47 overall, and riding a 21-game winning streak.

The Eagles won the state DII-A title in a 13-2 campaign in 2022 and their last loss was in Week 6 of that season, 15-12, to Madison.

TO GET THERE

Mission Viejo (69.8 Cal-Preps.com rating) outscored three Southern Section playoff opponents, 109-51.

The Diablos defeated 59.6 Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 39-14; Murietta Valley (58.9), 31-21, and Anaheim Servite (62.1), 34-15.

Mission Viejo won its 2023 opening game, 38-13, at the San Diego Section’s El Camino.

Granite Hills (65.9) defeated Carlsbad (56.9), 46-45, in overtime and Lincoln (64.0), 27-26.

EAGLES TO WATCH

Zach Benitez, a Max Preps-listed 6-feet, 2-inch, 200-pound freshman quarterback, has passed for 2,135 yards and 22 touchdowns and has a 66 per cent completion average.

Max Turner has rushed for 1,095 yards and 16 touchdowns, with two more receiving, and has a 91.3 game rushing average.

Pablo Jackson has scored 11 touchdowns and placekicker Robert Petrich made 11 field goals.  Petrich has a career 71 per cent average (25×35) with a long of 47 yards and has converted 125×132 PAT, 94.6 per cent.

DANGEROUS DIABLOS

Quarterbacks Luke Fahey and Draiden Trudeau have combined to throw for 38 touchdown passes. Three rushers averaging 6.0 yards a carry, led by Hinesward Lilomaiava’s 75.4-yard average, have combined for 2,312 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Vance Spafford has caught 74 passes for 20 touchdowns.

Individual statistics for both teams from Max Preps.

This is the year of living dangerously for Granite Hills.

The Eagles beat Lincoln, 27-26, for the San Diego Section Open Division championship Saturday night in Snapdragon Stadium in the third of a series of cliffhangers and barnburners in the last four weeks.

The east El Cajon club, 93-47 under coach Kellan Cobbs since 2013, defending state Division II-A, champion, and now winner of 21 games in a row, edged Helix, 44-43, in double overtime a month ago, and knocked out Carlsbad, 46-45, in overtime in the Open semifinals.

Those were just warmups.

Victory Saturday night at came after the Hornets had leads of 13-0 and 26-13.

Granite Hills (12-0) fought back and nudged ahead with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter on a three-yard pass from freshman quarterback Zach Benitez to Josh Zander.

The successful point after kick by Robert Petrich, grandson of Bob, a 1960s San Diego Chargers linebacker, proved the difference in the final score.

NOT OUT OF WOODS

The Eagles still faced a scary finish.

After a change of possession, Lincoln (11-1) took over on its 40-yard line with 1:30 remaining.

Akili Smith ran 6 yards and completed two passes to C.J. Williams to put the ball on the Eagles’ four-yard line with 58 seconds remaining.

Lincoln had second down on the one-yard line after the teams traded penalties and the Hornets’ Aden Jackson gained six yards to the one. Two thrusts into the middle of Granite’s defense netted nothing and a fourth-down snap from center eluded quarterback Smith.

Ball game.

Cue the celebration.

DIVISION VI

“And we’re going to be better next year,” Foothills Christian coach Joe Mackey exclaimed to Rick Hoff of The San Diego Union-Tribune after the 9-2 Knights had defeated 8-3 St. Joseph, 31-26, for their fourth eight-man championship since 2016.

Mackey, 55-17 since taking over the program in 2016, was referring to several underclassmen, notably running back Kameron Brown, who rushed for 175 yards in 32 carries and scored twice on a 15-yard run and 40-yard pass from quarterback Ben Hernandez, who also returns in 2024.

DV-AA

Holtville knows football. The Vikings (9-3) won their sixth San Diego Section championship since 1984, 27-21, over Army-Navy (8-4).

Sophomore quarterback Armando Cuevas threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and Enrique Armas ran for a clinching touchdown with 3:35 remaining.

Holtville defeated Army-Navy, 37-27, for the Class A title in 1990 and had not appeared in the championship since a 42-6 win over Crawford for the D-V title in 2013.

D-V

Sweetwater (7-6) exploded for 25 consecutive points in the second half and defeated 9-4 Calexico Vincent Memorial, 46-37.

The Red Devils, overcoming an 0-4 start, won their first championship since they started 1-4 but went on to top Monte Vista, 7-0, for the D-IV title in 2013.

Sweetwater, in the eras of coaches Dave Lay and Gene Alim, won championships in 1972, ’83, and ’84. Brian Hay coached the 2013 championship run.

Championships in Division I, II, III, IV will be decided this week at Southwestern College.

Sophomores Alison Dring of Mt. Carmel and Erin Blunt of San Pasqual gave promise but only four of the original 45 qualifiers from the San Diego Section finished in the top five in finals at the state meet.

6/1/90

17^TH GIRLS STATE TRACK TRIALS, @CERRITOS COLLEGE, NORWALK

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Kimmey	University City	:12.10	8th*
	McKinney	Monte Vista	:12.20	10th
	Henderson	Morse	:12.28	13th
200	Dring	Mt. Carmel	:25.11	10th
	Henderson	Morse	:25.16	11th
	Kimmey		—	—
400	Dring		:55.55	2nd*
	Bugg	Patrick Henry	:57.59	7th*
	Freeman	Crawford	—	—
800	Stowell	Mt. Carmel	2:16.78	12th
	Scott	Mt. Carmel	2:18.57	19th
	Schoene	La Jolla	2:24.07	26th
1600	Schiebel	Orange Glen	5:10.83	14th
	Faye	San Pasqual	5:11.50	15th
	Ferguson	La Jolla	5:14.10	17th
100 Hurdles	Dill	Poway	:14.17w	2nd*
	Blunt	San Pasqual	:14.60	13th
300 Hurdles	Blunt		:44.05	6th*
	Dill		:46.69	19th
4×100 Relay		Morse	:48.37	12th
		Mt. Carmel	:48.87	13th
		Lincoln	:48.95	16th
4×400 Relay		Mt. Carmel	3:56.27	10th
		San Pasqual	3:56.39	11th
		Lincoln	4:01.05	16th
High Jump	Armstrong	Torrey Pines	5-4	8T*
	Weeks	Madison
	Barnes	Granite Hills	5-0	20T
Long Jump	Crisell	Fallbrook	16-9	18th
	Conston	Oceanside	16-3 ½	20th
Triple Jump	Sims	Oceanside	38-3/4	6th*
	Harrison	Mount Miguel	37-3 ¼	9th*
	Andrews	Torrey Pines	35-8 ¾	16th
Shot Put	Houston	Montgomery	39-2 ¾	10th*
	Bailey	Ramona	36-5 ¼	19th
	Beers	Poway	—	—
Discus	Bihis	Mt. Carmel	139-6	6th*
	Wadlington	Granite Hills	118-9	20th
	Allen	El Capitan	109-02	23rd

6/2/90

17^TH GIRLS STATE FINALS, CERRITOS COLLEGE, NORWALK

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Kimmey	University	:12.10	5th
400	Dring	Mt. Carmel	:55.07	3rd
	Bugg	Patrick Henry	—	—
3200	Glusac	Fallbrook	11:10.01	7th
	Armstrong	San Dieguito	11:10.69	11th
	Villareal	La Jolla	11:13.73	15th
100 Hurdles	Dill	Poway	:14.19	5th
300 Hurdles	Blunt	San Pasqual	:43.95	7th
High Jump	Armstrong	Torrey Pines	5-6	7th
Triple Jump	Sims	Oceanside	38-2 ½	2nd
	Harrison	Mount Miguel	36-5	8th
	Bihis	Mt. Carmel	133-6	8th

Seventeen of 48 qualifiers from the San Diego Section finals advanced from the 72^nd state meet trials at Cerritos College in Norwalk, including San Diego Section all-timers, Brent Noon of Fallbrook and Jerome Price of University City.

Nine of the 17, or 53 per cent, scored points based on at least a top six finish in the finals.

Noon, the 1969 state champion at 66-1 ½, defended his shot put title with a throw of 74 feet, 4 3/4 inches and came close to the national record of 77 feet in another competition, with a career best of 76-2.

The nearest anyone would come to Noon’s CIF meet standard in the next 30-plus years was more than two feet less, 72-0 by Matt Katnik of Bellflower St. John Bosco in 2015.

Noon was second in the discus at 200-8, his all-time best despite still recovering from a sore hamstring muscle.

Price won the long jump at 25-3 ½, and had several legal and wind-sided attempts trying to break Doyle Steel’s Section record of 25-5 ¼, once jumping 25-8 with more than the allowable wind allowance.

Sophomore Riley Washington of San Diego Southwest gave notice of what to expect in the future, finishing third in the 100 meters in :10.70.

5/3/90

Fallbrook’s Brent Noon hurled the shot 76 feet, 2 inches, a personal improvement of almost two feet in a dual meet with Torrey Pines.

Noon’s distance, second best all-time in the U.S., moved him closer to the accepted national record of 77 feet by Michael Carter of Jefferson high in Dallas in 1979.  Carter had a throw of 81-3 ½ in the postseason Golden West Invitational.

Noon also set a personal best and a San Diego Section record with a 196-6 effort in the discus, bettering Billy Joe Winchester’s 195-8 in 1970.

—Pat Pidgeon of St. Augustine became the first record holder in the first Harbor League finals, clearing 13 feet in the league meet at Balboa Stadium.

–Scott Hammond ran the 100 meters in :10.6 as Lincoln clinched the Eastern League dual championship, 71-54 over Crawford.

5/9/90

BOYS

EASTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

George Denny of Morse won a 400 heat in :49.2 and ran a leg on the Tigers’ 400 relay team that included Brian Griffith, Teddy Lawrence, and Stephan McQueen.  The Tigers quartet was timed in :42.1.

Patrick Henry’s David Gregory (:49.5) and Mira Mesa’s Sean Cahill (:50) ran 1-2 in another 400 heat.

AVOCADO LEAGUE TRIALS, @MIRACOSTA COLLEGE

Pulu Poumele of Oceanside (51-11 ¾) edged Junior Cienega of Escondido (51-11 3/8) in the shot put, setting up a rematch in the finals.

5/10/90

FINALS

PALOMAR @MIRACOSTA COLLEGE

Poway’s Steve Pomiak was a triple winner and named athlete of the meet.  Patrick won the 100-meter dash in :11. 200 in :22.8, and long jumped 22 feet, 7 inches.

Fallbrook’s Brent Noon set a San Diego Section record in the discus with a throw of 195-9, topping the 1970 mark of 195-8 by Mount Miguel’s Billy Joe Winchester.

5/11/90

PALOMAR SHOT PUT, @ORANGE GLEN

Brent Noon of Fallbrook smashed his meet record with an effort of 75 feet, 2 inches.

METROPOLITAN, @HILLTOP

Riley Washington of San Diego Southwest won the 100 (:10.80), and 220 (:21.7) and was a member of the winning 4×100 (:43.5) and 4×1600 (3:30.4) relay teams.

Castle Park’s Eric Bell struck four hurdles but still managed to finish the 110 highs in :14.8 and won the 300 barriers in :40.2.

Hector Hernandez of Mar Vista won the mile in 4:27.8 and two-mile in 9:54.7.

AVOCADO, @ MIRACOSTA COLLEGE

Junior Cienega of Escondido won the shot put showdown with Oceanside’s Pulu Poumele, 56-2 ¾-53-0.

Escondido doubled in the relays, :42.9 in the 4×100 and 3:24.3 in the 4×1600.  The Cougars Keith Williams  was byed into the CIF trials in the 300 hurdles.

GROSSMONT 3-A, @HELIX

El Capitan edged Helix, 75-74, for the team championship, with Granite Hills at 73 ½, Monte Vista, 32, and Mount Miguel, 19.

David Loshenkohl of Granite Hills was a double winner, 53-8 ½ in the shot put and 145-4 in the discus. Chris Ruff of El Capitan won the 110 hurdles in :14.9, 300 hurdles in :40.5, and ran a leg for the Eagles’ 4×1600 relay.

GROSSMONT 2-A, @HELIX

Santana outscored Grossmont, 96-71, for the team title.  El Cajon Valley had 63 points, Valhalla 31, and West Hills 28.

5/16/90

Brent Noon sustained a leg injury in the Palomar League finals but would be denied a request to be byed into the Section finals in the shot put and discus, according to CIF commissioner Kendall (Spider) Webb.

5/19/90

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Allowable wind is 2.04 meters, so Jerome Price’s 25-foot, 8-inch long jump, while better than Doyle Steel’s 25-5 ¼ in 1966, was not a record.

Nor was another wind-sided jump of 25-3, so the University City jumper settled for 25-0 ¾, second longest in County history and No. 1 in the state.

Morse’s Teddy Lawrence was second with a jump of 23-4.

San Diego Southwest sophomore Riley Washington won a heat in the 100 meters in :10.72 and Kearny’s Darnay Scott lowered the season best in the 220 to :21.55.

OTHER SEASON BESTS

Eric Bell, Castle Park, :14.46, 110 high hurdles.

Hector Hernandez, Mar Vista, 4:19.2 1600.

Lincoln 4×100 relay, :42.01.

Morse 4×1600 relay, 3:21.92.

A virtually immobile Brent Noon, nursing a tender hamstring, led qualifiers with a 61-1/2 shot put and 168-foot discus throw.

5/26/90

SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @POWAY

Morse outscored Mt. Carmel, 56-38, for the team title.
Brent Noon set a meet shot put record of 74-10 ½ and University City’s Jerome Price came close to Doyle Steel’s 25-5 ¼ broad jump in 1966, closing with a 25-4 ½ leap.

Two meet records were set.

NAME	EVENT	RECORD	NAME	PREVIOUS	YEAR
Washington, San Diego Southwest	100	:10.53	Ethridge, Crawford	:10.56	1987
Noon, Fallbrook	Shot Put	74-10 ½	Noon	66-7	1989

OTHER SEASON BESTS

—Darnay Scott, Kearny, :21.49 200.

—Sean Cahill, Mira Mesa, :48.49 400.

—Scott Robeson, Mt. Carmel, 1:54.49 800.

—Hector Hernandez, Mar Vista, 4:17.26 1600.

—Tom Bache, University, 9:25.78 3200.

—Chris Jones, Morse, :37.89 300 hurdles.

—Wes Stephens, Orange Glen, 15-0 pole vault.

—Matt Johnson, Castle Park, 46-11 triple jump.

6/1/90

72^ND STATE TRACK TRIALS, @CERRITOS COLLEGE, NORWALK
(*qualified for finals)

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Washington	San Diego Southwest	:10.66	5th*
	Lawrence	Morse	:10.88	12th
200	Hammond	Lincoln	:21.75	8th*
400	Cahill	Mira Mesa	:50.01	16th
	Gregory	Patrick Henry	:50.26	18th
800	Robeson	Mt. Carmel	1:54.59	9th*
	Luna	Poway	1:56.96	19th
	Sanchez	Castle Park	2:01.70	27th
1600	Hernandez	Mar Vista	4:12.95	3rd*
	Walker	San Pasqual	4:14.05	9th*
	Biddle	Mt. Carmel	4:17.15	14th
4×100 Relay	Lincoln		:41.98	7th*
	Morse		:42.38	9th*
	University City		:42.60	13th
4×1600 Relay	Mira Mesa		3:17.87	4th*
	Morse		3:20.83	13th
	Poway		3:22.10	15th
110 Hurdles	Jones	Morse	:14.8	11th
	Bell	Castle Park	:14.87	14th
300 Hurdles	Williams	Escondido	:38.26	3rd*
	Lewis	Mira Mesa	:38.94	12th
	Jones	Morse	:39.97	21st
High Jump	Duffield	Vista	6-4	10th
	Krebs	University City	6-2	18th
Long Jump	Price	University City	24-4 3/4	2nd*
	Balina	Mt. Carmel	23-4 ½	5th*
	Hammond	Lincoln	22-1 3/4	13th
Triple Jump	Johnson	Castle Park	45-1/4	20th
	Lundy	Morse	43-10 ¾	22nd
Shot Put	Noon	Fallbrook	73-6	1st*
	Martz	Orange Glen	54-9 1/2	10th
	Cienega	Escondido	53-5 1/2	13th
Discus	Noon		193-6	2nd*
	Martz		168-7
	Graham	Mira Mesa	154-11
Pole Vault	Stephens	Orange Glen	14-8	9th*
	Roth	Mt. Carmel	14-0
	Aubuchon	Fallbrook	13-8

6/2/90

72^ND STATE FINALS, AT CERRITOS COLLEGE, NORWALK

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Washington	San Diego Southwest	:10.70	3rd
200	Hammond	Lincoln	:21.84	8th
800	Robeson	Mt. Carmel	1:53.89	6th
1600	Hernandez	Mar Vista	4:14.42	5th
	Walker	San Pasqual	4:18.78	7th
3200	Lozano	Helix	9:32.17	19th
	Hernandez		9:35.81	21st
	Bache	University	9:46.93	23rd
110 Hurdles	Jones	Morse	:14.90	7th
300 Hurdles	Williams	Escondido	:38.29	6th
4×100 Relay	Lincoln		:42.34	7th
	Morse		:42.38	8th
4×400 Relay	Mira Mesa		3:17.66	7th
Long Jump	Price	University City	25-3 ¼	1st
	Balina	Mt. Carmel	23-1w	5th
Shot Put	Noon	Fallbrook	74-4 ¾	1st
Discus	Noon		200-8	2nd
Pole Vault	Stephens	Orange Glen	15-2	5th

The CIF’s scoring system had evolved since the first meet in 1915. Originally a finish in the top four was awarded points and a medal.

By 1980, scoring had evolved to include recognition and points as far down as sixth place.

YEARS	FIRST	SECOND	THIRD	FOURTH	FIFTH	SIXTH
1915-28	5	3	2	1	—	—
1929-30	5	3	2	1	½	—
1931-65	5	4	3	2	1	—
1966-79	6	4	3	2	1	—
1980—	10	8	6	4	2	1

6/16/90

The 31^st Golden West Invitational in Sacramento attracted some of the nation’s premier athletes.

Brent Noon of Fallbrook won the shot put with a throw of 72 feet.  Jim Flanigan of  Brussels, Wisconsin, was second at 66-5.

University City’s Jerome Price was fourth in the long jump at 24-5 ½, behind the winning 25-5 ½ by Michael Hightower of Paris, Texas.

(Avocado and Eastern League championship meet results were not found).

After an essentially quiet first week, quarterfinals and Open Division semifinals brought the San Diego Section playoffs to life, starting with a couple wild Open Division battles.

Distance and facing California’s No. 8-ranked team and second seed didn’t deter third seed and California-ranked 14^th Granite Hills.

The Eagles bused 44 miles and then outlasted state No. 8 Carlsbad, 46-45, in overtime, while top-ranked Lincoln, behind in the fourth quarter for the first time, rallied to beat Helix, 45-38, in two overtimes.

Two startling contests and two outstanding teams, 10-1 Carlsbad of the Avocado League and 9-2 Helix of the Grossmont Hills, that saw their seasons come to jarring ends.

“It might have been the best game I’ve ever seen,” said veteran Union-Tribune writer John Maffei of the Carlsbad-Granite thriller.

WARHAWKS BRING DOWN FALCONS

Two surprises stood out in  Division I and III quarterfinals.

A stunner was No. 9 Madison’s upset of D-I top seed Torrey Pines, 21-0.

The loss shocked not only the Falcons but the North County cognoscenti, which proclaims, sometimes loudly, that the best football is played in the Avocado League.

Other reversals included D-I No. 5 St. Augustine’s thumping No. 4 La Costa Canyon, 32-17, in another Avocado League setback, and No. 6 La Jolla Country Day’s 35-7 win over 3 West Hills in D-III.

Madison, written off after six losses in a seven-game stretch that ended with a seemingly meaningless, 33-0 win against 1-9 University City, pitched its third consecutive shutout.

The Warhawks’ defense constricted Torrey Pines, which mustered 113 yards offense and six yards rushing.

Madison (6-6) will try to continue its late-season run in the semifinals against Western League rival 8-4 St. Augustine, a 34-14 winner in the teams’ Week 9 matchup.

Not all was despair for the Avocado League.  Mission Hills, annually tough and seasoned and the No. 2 seed in D-I, takes on loop rival 3 El Camino after a 27-13 win over 7 seed and neighbor San Marcos.

The Grizzlies  of coach Chris Hauser, making their 15th semifinals appearance in the last 18 years, gave the ball to Giovanni Harte, who responded with 286 yards in 37 carries and scored four touchdowns.

FOUR FINALS

Games at Escondido High Friday, Nov. 17, and Saturday, Nov. 18, will determine lower division champions:

V-AA—1 Holtville (8-2) versus 2 Army-Navy (8-3), 1  p.m. Saturday.

VI—1 Foothills Christian (8-2) versus 2 St. Joseph (8-3), 4:30 p.m. Friday.

V—No. 1 Calexico Vincent Memorial (9-3) versus 2 Sweetwater (6-6), 7:30 p.m. Friday.

OPEN–1 Lincoln and 3 Granite Hills will kick off at 7:30 p.m.  Saturday, Nov. 18, at Snapdragon Stadium.

Divisions I and IV will be part of a doubleheader Friday, Nov. 24, at Southwestern College.  Divisions II & III will settle matters in a twin bill Saturday, Nov. 25. Starting times are 2 and 7:30 p.m. each day

Lincoln (11-0) and Granite Hills (11-0) are the first undefeated, 11-man opponents since Christian (12-0) met The Bishop’s (12-0) in the Division III championship in 2016.

Foothills Christian (10-0) played San Diego Jewish (8-0) in an eight-man title game in 2019.

Three others undefeated but tied also have played.

Bold type  indicates winning team:

YEAR/DIVISION	TEAM	RECORD	TEAM	RECORD	SCORE
1970 AA	Grossmont	11-0	St. Augustine	11-0	13-8
1974 AA	Vista	12-0	Patrick Henry	11-0-1	32-0
1982 AA	El Camino	12-0	Pont Loma	10-0-2	6-6
2004 III	Brawley	12-0	Valley Center	10-0-2	39-36
2016  II	Christian	12-0	The Bishop’s	12-0	49-20
2019 8-MAN	Foothills Christian	10-0	San Diego Jewish	8-0	62-0
2023 OPEN	Lincoln	11-0	Granite Hills	11-0

TRUE GRID

Lincoln is 2-0 all-time versus Granite Hills…the 1977 Marcus Allen-led Hornets upset the No. 1 Eagles, 19-12, in the semifinals and they repeated, 34-20, in a 2018 semifinal…St. Augustine is 13-11 against Madison in a series which began in 1968 with a 26-0 Saints victory….2 Chula Vista (9-2), which is host to 3 Westview (7-4) in D-IV, hasn’t been as successful since the 2003 team was 10-2…1 Del Norte (9-2) is in uncharted waters…the D-II Nighthawks, who entertain playoff savvy 5 Point Loma (6-5), came into the season with an all-time best record of 7-5 in 2021 and ’22…Greg Tate was Mission Bay’s fifth coach in four years when he took the job in 2019… the D-III 3 seed Bucs, who take on 5 seed Grossmont (6-5), are 27-13 with Tate…Holtville leads Army-Navy, 15-10, in a series that began in 1981 but hadn’t been renewed since 2014…latest Cal-Hi Sports state rankings:  6, Lincoln; 7, Granite Hills; 11, Carlsbad; 16, Helix.  On the bubble: El Camino, Madison, Mission Hills, St. Augustine….