Olympian upset (?) Montgomery, 53-47, in a Metro Mesa League game but the voters weren’t too impressed. The Aztecs remained No. 1 in the poll and the Eagles advanced only from eighth to fifth despite an overall record of 16-2.  Montgomery is 18-2.

Olympian’s losses were 60-56 to Francis Parker and 63-60 to now-No. 2 San Marcos.  Montgomery’s other defeat was 61-57 to San Juan Capistrano JSerra.

Most surprising score of the week was Torrey Pines’ 76-45 rout of Carlsbad, which withered under the heat of a game-ending 41-6 run by the Falcons.  The Lancers had led, 39-35.

John Maffei’s weekly The San Diego Union poll. First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Bold entries in columns are up-to-date rankings, followed by previous.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max-Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.
Records as of Jan 19.

	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS	MAXPREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Montgomery	18-2 (16)	178	1	13-8	15/11
2	San Marcos	17-3	151	3	27-24	On Bubble/NR
3	Carlsbad	14-3 (1)	147	2	31-28	28/15
4	Torrey Pines	15-5	119	6	54-67	NR-NR
5	Olympian	16-2 (1)	95	8	42-58	NR-NR
6	Cathedral	13-7	85	5	87	NR-NR
7	Mission Bay	13-5	83	4	50	NR-NR
8	Santa Fe Christian	18-4	72	7	65	NR-NR
9	Mission Hills	14-6	25	10	163-139	NR-NR
10	St. Augustine	7-12	17	NR	197	NR-NR

Others receiving votes
La Jolla Country Day (11-10, 16 points) Mira Mesa  (16-2, 11), San Diego (14-3, 2).

Voting panel: 18 sportswriters, sportscasters, and administrators who cover the San Diego Section, plus MaxPreps:

John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-time hoops).
Steve Brand,  Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance correspondents).
Todd Cassen (CIF office).
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com).
Joe Evangelist (Coaching Legends).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference).
Rex Johnson (CIF Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
John Kentera, Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Eric Williams, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (freelance contributors).

 

John Maffei’s weekly The San Diego Union poll. First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Bold entries in columns are up-to-date rankings, followed by previous.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max-Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.
Records as of Feb. 12.

	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS	MAXPREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Montgomery	17-1 (18)	180	1	8-9	11/10
2	Carlsbad	13-2	162	2	15-24	15-14
3	San Marcos	15-3	142	3	28-27	On Bubble/NR
4	Mission Bay	13-4	125	4	40-34	NR-NR
5	Cathedral	12-6	97	6	91-110	NR-NR
6	Torrey Pines	13-5	90	7	67-68	NR-NR
7	Santa Fe Christian	15-4	71	5	75-64	NR-NR
8	Olympian	13-2	56	8	58-54	NR-NR
9	La Jolla Country Day	10-9	35	8	139-154	NR-NR
10	Mission Hills	11-6	8	NR	182	NR-NR

Others receiving votes
Francis Parker (11-7, 7 points), Mira Mesa  (13-2, 6), San Diego (11-2, 6), St. Augustine (5-12, 6).

Voting panel: 18 sportswriters, sportscasters, and administrators who cover the San Diego Section, plus MaxPreps:

John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-time hoops).
Steve Brand,  Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance correspondents).
Todd Cassen (CIF office).
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com).
Joe Evangelist (Coaching Legends).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference).
Rex Johnson (CIF Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
John Kentera, Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Eric Williams, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (freelance contributors).

Max Turner of Granite Hills wrapped the San Diego Section scoring championship after he rushed for three touchdowns in the Eagles’ 34-28, Southern California regional playoff loss against Huntington Beach Edison.

Turner’s 216 points outpaced the 188 of Calipatria’s Dominic Hawk and the 5-foot-8, 185-pounder was a model of consistency for coach Kellan Cobbs’ team, scoring an average of at least three TD’s a game, with a 7.6-yard average for 268 rushing attempts, according to MaxPreps.

Turner, who scored 32 rushing touchdowns, also caught 23 passes for a 9.2-yard average and four touchdowns.  He passed once for 44 yards and a touchdown.

The scoring total put the Eagles senior into a tie for 22nd with Imperial’s Royce Freeman (2012) among all-time San Diego Section ballers.  Oceanside’s C.R. Roberts had 194 points in 1953 and Ramona’s Gary Mayer 193 in 1958 for all-time highs in the period of 1915-59, when the County was aligned in the CIF Southern Section.

Turner bettered the school record of 150 by Jacob Siegfried in 2017.

San Diego Section basketball teams, after hundreds of games and enough travel to catch the attention of Triple-A, are settling into the January-February grind of league play and selected intersectionals before the Southern California playoffs.

Montgomery is No. 1 in John Maffei’s latest The San Diego Union-Tribune poll and No. 8 in California, according to Max Preps and Cal-Hi Sports.

Montgomery coach Ed Martin, a 1996 graduate of the school, which opened in 1970, has built a power since taking direction of the program 17 seasons ago, elevating the Aztecs into regional prominence.

(Martin also boldly brought attention to his team when he scheduled three consecutive years of home games and certain losses, but capacity crowds, against Chatsworth Sierra Canyon and LeBron’s son Bronny James).

The Aztecs are 16-1 with only a 61-57 loss to 15-3 JSerra of San Juan Capistrano after trailing, 36-20, at halftime. Carlsbad is 12-2 and Cal-Hi Sports’ No. 14 and has losses to JSerra, 91-77, and Philadelphia’s Father Judge, 80-70.

Carlsbad won a November game against Santa Ana Mater Dei, 74-72, in overtime.  The usually powerful Monarchs are 13-4 and defeated San Diego Section No. 3 San Marcos, 71-63, last week.

John Maffei’s weekly The San Diego Union–Tribune poll:
*First-place votes in parenthesis.
*Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
*Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings.
*NR—Not ranked.

Records as of Monday, Jan. 6.

#	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS	MAX-PREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Montgomery	16-1 (18)	180	1	8	10/13
2	Carlsbad	12-2	161	2	24	14/15
3	San Marcos	15-3	153	3	27	NR
4	Mission Bay	12-4	120	6	34	NR
5	Santa Fe Christian	15-3	103	5	64	NR
6	Cathedral	11-6	82	7	110	NR
7	Torrey Pines	11-5	72	4	68	NR
8	Olympian	12-2	35	9	54	NR
9	La Jolla Country Day	8-9	34	8	154	NR
10	Mira Mesa	13-1	22	10	87	NR

Others receiving votes
Francis Parker (11-5, 21 points), Mission Hills (10-6, 9), San Diego (9-2, 3), Calexico (12-4, 2).

Voting panel: 18 sportswriters, sportscasters and administrators from throughout the San Diego Section:
John Maffei (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Aaron Burgin (Full-time hoops).
Steve Brand,  Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune correspondents).
Todd Cassen (CIF San Diego Section).
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com).
Joe Evangelist (Coaching Legends Committee).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference Advisor).
Rex Johnson (CIF Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan)
John Kentera, Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, Eric Williams, Tom Ronco, Adam Paul (freelance contributors).

El Camino High, three years removed from opening its doors and splitting from Oceanside High (taking many outstanding athletes and football coach Herb Meyer), became the first San Diego County team since San Diego High in 1938 to win a state team championship.

The Wildcats scored 16 points, edging Gardena and Pasadena, which had 15 each.

Darrell (Dokie) Williams completed a brilliant career with victories in the long jump (25-1 ¼) and triple jump (50-4 ¼), but it was Williams’ fourth place in the 100-yard dash and a late-in-the-competition fourth in the triple jump by Craig Montgomery which pushed the Wildcats over the top.

ELECTRONIC WAYS TO DO IT

San Diego Section track was awash with great marks, with multiple outstanding performances in many events, some not noted.

But races in which times were by stopwatches and the human hand were on their way out.  Fully electronic times were used for most races in the state meet since 1976 and would be favored in big events in the years to come.

Even blazing wind-aided efforts by Williams, Patrick Henry’s Kipper Bell and Point Loma’s Milton Weaver, and the girls’ Judy Reed in the local meets did not carry over to the state meet in Bakersfield.

But it still was a banner year for the boys and girls.

5/5/78

Matt Gauthier of Valhalla concluded the dual meet season with a 61-foot, 10 ½-inch shot put and 170-11 ½ discus throw in the Norsemen’s 75-41 win over Santana.

–McFadden of Crawford turned a :49.9 440, Mike Durden of Helix a :50, Mike (Ace) Adkins of Bonita Vista a :50.4, and Tony Banks of Morse a :50.6.

—La Jolla’s Jeff Woodland doubled with a 2:00.0 half mile and 9:20.9 two-mile in La Jolla’s 91-44 win over Mira Mesa.

–San Diego, trailing, 67-66, won the final event mile relay in 3:24.3 for a 71-67 squeaker over Madison.

—Point Loma’s Milton Weaver doubled in :09.9 and :21.8 in the 100 and 220 and Kipper bell of Patrick Henry doubled in :10 and :21.9.

5/9/78

EASTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @PATRICK HENRY

Point Loma’s Milton Weaver and Patrick Henry’s Kipper Bell each raced to :09.8 clockings in the 100-yard dash and Morse’s Tony Banks ran :09.9.

All three also won heats in the 220 and Banks added a :49.7 victory in the 440.  Morse’s Ron Roberts doubled with a 1:59.5 in the 880 and 4:24.9 in the mile.

WESTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @SERRA

Hoover’s Jeff Mays raced to a :21.6, the County’s fastest in the 220; his best had been :22.2.  Mays also won a heat in the 100 in :9.9.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE TRIALS, @HELIX

Matt Gauthier of Valhalla and Ken Pole of El Capitan wowed a mob of spectators in the shot put area, where Gauthier went 61 feet, 4 ¼ inches, and Pole 61-4.

Helix’ Mike Durden ran :49.5 in the 440 and Marc Keller 4:19.2 in the mile.

Helix led Valhalla in qualifiers 25-17.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE TRIALS, @CASTLE PARK.

Bonita Vista’s Mike (Ace) Adkins won a 100 heat in :10.3 and a 440 try in :51.5.

Hilltop’s Randy Wagner (:14.9, :39.4) and Castle Park’s Jon Wilford (:15.0, :39.6) set up an anticipated duel later in the week in finals of the 120-yard high hurdles and 330 lows.

5/12/78

EASTERN LEAGUE FINALS, @PATRICK HENRY

Kipper Bell of the host school was a double winner, :09.6 in the 100 and :21.7 in the 220.  The 100 time was wind-aided, also reflected in the :09.6 by runner-up Milton Weaver of Point Loma and the :09.7 by third-place Tony Banks of Morse.

Judy Reed of Crawford smoked a windy :10.6 in the 100, with teammate Danita Young posting :10.8.  Reed and Young teamed with Kari Alexander and Vanessa Williams for a blazing :47.2, reported fastest time in the country, to Morse’s :48.1 in the 440 relay.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE FINALS, @HELIX

Ken Pole and Matt Gauthier engaged in another outstanding shot put competition, Pole winning at 63 feet, 4 inches, second best in California this season.  Gauthier was close at 62-7 ¼.

—Mike Durden led a 1-2-3 Helix finish in the 440 at :49.0, followed by Green and Bartzak at :50.2 each.  The Highlanders won the mile relay in 3:23.2.

—Butch Schroll of Granite Hills high jumped 6-6 and Cameron Gary of Helix reached 23-4 ½ in the long jump. Tim Nash of Santana won the 880 in 1:56.7.

—Valhalla’s Cheryl Flowers won her third consecutive mile championship in 5:00.2 and added the two-mile in 11:13.2.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE FINALS, @CHULA VISTA

Mike Adkins doubled with a :10.1 100 and :49.8 440 for Bonita Vista.  Teammate Fred Doane set a record of 9:30.2 in the two-mile and came back later to take the mile in 4:28.8.

Randy Wagner, running without competition from Castle Park’s Jon Wilford, who was byed into the CIF trials, was a :15.0 and :38.4 winner in the 120 highs and 330 low hurdles.  Kenny Blinsman of Mar Vista won the 880 in 1:56.7.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE FINALS

All races were measured in meters, a preview of what would take place when state track and field fully embraced the metric system in 1983.

Covington of La Jolla Country Day won the high jump at 6-6 and pole vault at 11 feet.

AVOCADO WEST TRIALS, @VISTA
El Camino’s Dokie Williams turned in a seemingly routine triple, winning his 100 heat in :09.8 and leading in the long jump (23 feet, 6 inches) and triple jump (48-2 ½).

AVOCADO EAST TRIALS, @MT. CARMEL

Poway’s Dave Brown and Escondido’s Pat Nash previewed a battle in the 300 hurdles.  Brown ran :39 in his heat and Nash rambled to the same clocking a few minutes later.

5/20/78

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @MT. CARMEL

BOYS

El Camino’s Dokie Williams was frustrated.

“It seems like every time I do something good it’s followed by a little ‘w’,” Williams told Steve Brand of The San Diego Union after winning a 100-yard dash heat in :09.4 with a 7.60 wind, over the allowable 04.47 miles per hour.

Patrick Henry’s Kipper Bell equaled Williams’ run with another :09.4, aided by a 5.59 breeze. Morse’s Tony Banks had a push of 10.28 m.p.h. in his :09.6 heat win.

Point Loma’s Milton Weaver was timed in :09.5 in Williams’ race, followed by Sam Jackson of Lincoln in :09.7.

“The :09.4 felt the same as a :09.7 and having Milton right there helped, but it was wind-aided,” said Williams.  “I just hate W’s.”

Bell weighed in: “I’d rather it be legit, but it’s hard to push yourself when there’s no one with you. It might have been a :09.2 if Dokie had been in my heat.”

—Weaver’s :21.2 in the 220 was fastest in the state this season, but also was trailed by excessive wind.

—Williams also paced the field with a 23-8 1/4w long jump and 48-11 3/4w triple jump, plus anchoring the Wildcats to :42.5, the day’s fastest 440 relay.

Jim Brennan of El Camino ran the season’s fastest 880 in 1:54.5.

—El Captain’s Ken Pole, one of the favorites, did not qualify in the discus but hit a career high 62-4 ½ in the shot put.  Nine others competitors did at least 52 feet.

El Camino, quietly positive/hopeful of its team chances in the upcoming state meet, sustained a big loss when Dokie’’s brother, Alex Williams, failed to qualify in the high jump at 6 feet 6 inches, below his best of 6-10 as Williams labored with a sore heel.

El Camino (16), Morse (10), Helix (9), Lincoln (7), and San Diego (6) led qualifiers.

GIRLS

Morse’s Judy Reed blazed to wind-aided :10.7 and :23.6 100 and 220 victories. Reed also was a member of the Colts’ winning 440 (:48.2) and mile (4:00.6) relays.

Morse led qualifiers with 12, followed by Crawford (10), Vista (8), and Mt. Carmel (7).

5/26/78

BOYS SAN DIEGO SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPS, @MT. CARMEL

Dokie Williams had a hand in 22 of the 41 points El Camino scored as the Wildcats survived a scary moment. before rolling to the team title.

Williams fouled on his first two attempts in the triple jump.  One more misstep and he would be out. Competitors get three jumps in the trials and three more if they move to the finals.

Williams stared down the long, asphalt approach as he stepped on the runway for a third and final try to be one of six finalists.

“All I thought about was hitting the line. I told myself, ‘Just don’t foul,’ “ said Williams who soared a state-leading 51 feet, ¾ inch on his last try to qualify, breaking the Section record of 50-4½ he set the season before.

Williams also won the long jump at 24-6 ½ and emerged after a tense duel with Patrick Henry’s Kipper Bell in the 100. There were three false starts, including one by Bell, before Williams, sitting patiently in his blocks, exploded for a :09.4 victory which was aided by a 6.71 wind, over the allowable 4.447.

Bell returned and had no wind as he tied the meet record of :21.0 in the 220.

Anchor man Williams also almost made up eight yards on winning Morse in the 440 relay, with both teams timed in :41.9.

Overshadowed was a second place in the triple jump at 47-4 1/2 by El Camino’s Craig Montgomery.  Craig’s effort would prove important the following week as the Wildcats geared for a state team championship bid.

GIRLS SAN DIEGO SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPS, @MT, CARMEL

Judy Reed’s spectacular :10.5 win in the 100 was aided by an 8.95 miles an hour wind, short circuiting a record, but Reed and her teammates won the team title with 35 points to Morse’s 30.

Reed set a meet record of :24 in the 220 and Crawford’s Kari Alexander set a meet record of :14.4 in the 110 low hurdles and the duo teamed with Danita Young and Vanessa Williams for a :47.4 in the short relay to Morse’s :47.8 and a winning 3:57.2 in the mile relay to Morse’s 3:57.6.

6/2/78

60^TH STATE TRACK TRIALS, MEMORIAL STADIUM, BAKERSFIELD

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE*
100	Williams	El Camino	:09.98	6th
	Bell	Patrick Henry	:10.02	14th
220	Bell		:21.77	T2
	Weaver	Point Loma	:22.38	16th
440	Banks	Morse	:48.60	9th
	Durden	Helix	:50.02	15th
880	Brown	Poway	1:54.0	3rd
	Brennan	El Camino	1:54.73	7th
Mile	Keller	Helix	4:13.09	8th
120 High Hurdles	Nash	Escondido	:14.89	14th
	Wagner	Hilltop	:14.8	15th
330 Low Hurdles	Nash		:38.4	16th
	Johnson	San Diego	:38.88	18th
4×110 Relay	B. Ervin, W. Ervin, Becton, Banks	Morse	:42.74	18th
		El Camino	—	—
4X440 Relay	Hawkins, Godwin, W. Ervin, Banks	Morse	3:14.8	3rd
High Jump	Schiefer	Madison	6-6	13th
	Younger	Mira Mesa	—	—
Long Jump	Hamilton	Castle Park	24-0	1st
	Williams		22-9 ¾	7th
Triple Jump	Williams		50-2 ¾	1st
	Montgomery	El Camino	47-6¾	8th
Shot Put	Pole	El Capitan	60-5¼	4th
	Gauthier	Valhalla	59-4¼	8th
Discus	Esquibel	Valhalla	161-02	12th
	Gauthier		145-01	19th
Pole Vault`	Reid	El Cajon Valley	—	—
	Kennedy	Fallbrook	No Height	—

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Reed	Crawford	:11.01	6th
	Herring	Morse	:11.51	16th
220	Reed		:24.57	5th
	Herring		:25.69	15T
440	Fulton	Bonita Vista	:57.6	14th
	Thomas	Morse	:58.8	17T
880	Hawks	San Dieguito	2:19.4	17th
	Proulx	El Cajon Valley	2:21.9	23rd
Mile	Flowers	Valhalla	4:55.8	8T
	Spencer	Bonita Vista	—	—
110 Hurdles	Alexander	Crawford	:15.10	14th
	Perkins	Helix	:15.13	15th
4×100 Relay	Alexander, Reed, Williams, Young	Crawford	:47.33	1st
	Herring, Millsap, Reed, Bullard	Morse	:48.13	6th
4×400 Relay	Alexander, K. Williams, V. Williams, Reed	Crawford	3:53.3	3rd
	Bullard, M. Thomas, Millsap, Herring	Morse	3:53.9	4th
High Jump	McNeal	Carlsbad	5-4	1T
	Lapp	Ramona	5-2	17T
Long Jump	Whitlow	Vista	—	—
	Grauf	La Jolla	—	—
Shot Put	McBride	Vista	41-0¾	10th
	Herse	Patrick Henry	37-11 1/2	18th
Discus	McBride		118-03	14th
	Herse		117-05	16th

6/3/78

60^TH BOYS STATE TRACK FINALS, MEMORIAL STADIUM, BAKERSFIELD

100	Williams	El Camino	:10.1	4th
220	Bell	Patrick Henry	:21.85	6th
880	Brown	Poway	1:52.64	5th
	Brennan	El Camino	1:53.6	8th
Mile	Doane	Bonita Vista	4:18.5	6th
Two Miles	Rose	Helix	9:10.8	7th
	Woodland	La Jolla	9:12.4	10th
4×400 Relay	Hawkins, Goodwin, W. Ervin, Banks	Morse	3:19.1	8th
Long Jump	Williams		25-1¼	1st
	Hamilton	Castle Park	23-7½	5th
Triple Jump	Williams		50-4 1/4	1st
	Montgomery	El Camino	48-8 ¼	4th
Shot Put	Pole	El Capitan	60-9¼	5th
	Gauthier	Valhalla	60-7 1/4	6th

60^TH GIRLS STATE TRACK FINALS, MEMORIAL STADIUM, BAKERSFIELD

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
220	Reed	Morse	:24.52	5th
Mile	Flowers	Valhalla	4:54.5	6th
Two Miles	Keller	Helix	10:59.1	9th
	Brown	San Pasqual	—	—
4×110 Relay	Herring, Millsap, Reed, Bullard	Morse	:48.37	6th
	Alexander, Reed, Williams, Young	Crawford	—	9th
4×400 Relay	Alexander, K. Williams, V. Williams, Reed	Crawford	3:51.93	2nd
	Bullard, M. Thomas, Millsap, Herring	Morse	3:55.74	4th
High Jump	MacNeal	Carlsbad	5-10 ¼	1st

Dick Serrano coached his second San Diego Section championship team and continued to leave a legacy at the school, from which he graduated in 1961 and which he guided the baseball program for 30 years until his retirement after the 2000 season.

Unlike the 1972 team that finished the regular season with a 12-10 record and third place in the Western League, Serrano’s 1978 club was 21-3 and ranked first in the County by the Evening Tribune heading into the postseason.

The Dons defeated four playoff teams with combined records of 66-33 over a five-day span of solid starting and relief pitching and timely (home runs) hitting and they became the only team other than Santana in 1970 to win their division of the Lions Tournament and a league championship to go with the Section title.

Tom Keating was the ace of Serrano’s pitching staff with a 1.98 earned-run average and 78 strikeouts in 105 innings of a 15-1 season.  Keating threw strikes on 62 of 85 pitches in the championship game.

5/2/78

The San Diego Section board of managers approved a proposal for the 1978-79 school year calling for playoff competition in 3-A, 2-A, and 1-A divisions.  The new setup adds one more classification to the existing 2-A, 1-A alignment.

The move will affect football, boys’ basketball, and baseball, said CIF commissioner Kendall (Spider) Webb.

—Marian hit five home runs, including two by Mike Owens, and won a 13-8 slugfest from San Diego Southwest.

—Future baseball executive Billy Beane, who was played by Brad Pitt in the movie “Money Ball,” homered in Mt. Carmel’s 9-4 win at El Camino.

—Tom Zeithing hurled a no-hitter and battery mate Craig Earley hit a two-run home run in the second inning that was all Zeithing needed in a 6-0 San Pasqual victory over Ramona.

5/5/78

—Orange Glen, a 3-15 team in 1977 and playing with junior varsity graduates who were almost equally unsuccessful last year, beat Escondido and ace Brad Palmer, 4-3, to improve to 7-1 in the Avocado East, a game ahead of the host Cougars.

5/12/78

Billy Beane hit a pair of two-run home runs and Mt. Carmel routed San Pasqual, 14-3.

—Carlsbad overcame a 7-4 Vista lead with five runs in the last half of the seventh inning.   John Hickman tripled with two out and the bases loaded for an 8-7 Lancers victory.

5/18/78

FINAL STANDINGS

EASTERN

LEAGUE					OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Patrick Henry	10	4	.714	—	18	5	.783
Kearny	10	4	.714	—	16	8	.667
Madison	9	5	.643	1	15	8	.652
Clairemont	8	6	.571	2	15	8	.652
Morse	7	7	.500	3	10	10	.500
California	6	8	.429	4	12	12	.500
Point Loma	4	10	.286	6	8	13	.381
San Diego	2	12	.167	8	5	16	.238

WESTERN                               

LEAGUE					OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
University	12	2	.857	—	21	3	.875
Hoover	12	2	.857	—	18	6	.750
Serra	7	7	.500	5	13	8	.619
Lincoln	7	7	.500	5	11	10	.524
St. Augustine	5	9	.357	7	10	13	.435
Mission Bay	4	10	.286	8	7	14	.333
Mira Mesa	1	13	.071	11	4	16	.200

GROSSMONT        

LEAGUE					OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Helix	13	3	.829	—	17	5	.773
El Cajon Valley	11	5	.688	2	12	10	.545
Grossmont	10	6	.625	3	13	10	.565
Granite Hills	9	7	.563	4	15	9	.625
Santana	8	8	.500	5	9	13	.409
El Capitan	7	9	.438	6	11	12	.478
Valhalla	7	9	.438	6	12	12	.500
Mount Miguel	4	12	9	9	5	17	.227
Monte Vista	3	13	.188	10	4	16	.200

METROPOLITAN                                       

LEAGUE					OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Marian	16	2	.889	—	18	2	.900
Bonita Vista	11	5	.688	5	11	9	.550
Montgomery	11	7	.611	6	12	10	.545
Chula Vista	10	7	.588	6 ½	12	10	.545
Hilltop	9	9	.500	7	10	12	.455
Castle Park	7	11	.388	9	11	13	.458
Coronado	6	11	.353	9 ½	9	14	.391
Sweetwater	6	11	.353	9 ½	7	15	.318
San Diego Southwest	6	12	.333	10	8	14	.364
Mar Vista	5	12	.294	11	6	.15	.286

AVOCADO EAST         

LEAGUE					OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Orange Glen	10	2	.833	—	14	8	.636
Escondido	10	2	.833	—	16	6	.727
Mt. Carmel	8	4	.667	2	15	7	.628
San Marcos	5	7	.417	5	6	16	.273
San Pasqual	4	8	.333	6	5	17	.227
Ramona	3	9	.250	7	7	16	.304
Poway	2	10	.167	8	5	16	.238

AVOCADO WEST                

LEAGUE					OVERALL
TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Fallbrook	10	2	.833	—	15	5	.714
Carlsbad	8	3	.727	1 1/2	17	4	.810
Torrey Pines	7	4	.636	2 ½	13	7	.650
San Dieguito	5	7	.417	5	9	9	.500
El Camino	4	7	.364	5 ½	5	16	.238
Oceanside	3	8	.273	6 ½	8	12	.400
Vista	2	8	.200	8	5	14	.263

5/23/78

PLAYOFFS

2-A FIRST ROUND (INTRALEAGUE).

GROSSMONT CONFERENCE

4 Granite Hills 5, @1 Helix (17-6) 3.

Kent Paine’s two home runs was the difference for the Eagles, whose Tony Haymes set down the Highlanders on four hits.

3 Grossmont (13-11) 1, @2 El Cajon Valley 5.

Henry Garcia’s three-run homer in the first inning augmented complete-game pitching by Troy Embleton.

CITY CONFERENCE

2 Western Hoover (18-7) 4, @Eastern 1 Kearny 5.

Dennis Jones’s double scored Steve Dreher, who had walked, and Steve Brinkley, who had been hit by a pitch, in the Komets’ walk-off victory.

2 Eastern Patrick Henry (18-6), 4, vs. Western 1 University 5, @University San Diego.

Adam Asaro hit a game-winning home run in the last of the seventh inning, after the Patriots had tied the score at 4-4 with a two-run single in the top of the inning.  Righthander Tom Keating won his 14^th game in 15 decisions.

METROPOLITAN CONFERENCE

4 Chula Vista (12-11) 0, @1 Marian 4.

Paul Kelly’s three-run home run in the sixth inning and Paul Torano’s four-hit pitching advanced the Crusaders.

3 Montgomery 7, @2 Bonita Vista (11-11) 6.

John Rice’s two-run triple sparked a five-run fifth inning for the Aztecs.

AVOCADO CONFERENCE

2 West Escondido 5, @1 East Fallbrook (15-7) 4.

Zac Garcia’s two home runs backed the two-hit pitching of Brad Palmer, who struck out 13 and survived a three-run home run by Mark Fleming.

2 West Carlsbad (17-5) 4, @1 East Orange Glen 5.

Greg West allowed three hits and became a winner when Mark Kubilus doubled in two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

1-A SEMIFINALS

2 Coastal Army-Navy 3, @1 Mountain Christian 18.

2 Mountain Mountain Empire 5, @4 Coastal Francis Parker 13.

5/24/78

QUARTERFINALS

Granite Hills (16-10) 2, vs. University 6, @University San Diego.

“Be a hero,” entreated University coach Dick Serrano to relief pitcher Chris Cohn in the first inning.

Cohn, a junior reliever with just 18 career innings, went the last 6 1/3, allowing four hits and single runs in the second and third and the Dons moved on after Dave Martinez’ triple cleared the bases and Ron Egan’s sacrifice fly made for a four-run sixth.

Orange Glen (15-9) 4, vs. Montgomery 7, @Palomar College.

Three Patriots errors led to a five-run first inning for the Aztecs.

Escondido 4, vs. Marian (19-3) 1, @Southwestern College.

The Cougars broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning with four runs.  Catcher Ron O’Rourke drove in the first run with a triple, scoring pitcher Brad Palmer.

O’Rourke scored on an error and Bryan Luskey’s single off pitcher Bryan Delore’s leg scored two more.

Kearny 10, vs. El Cajon Valley (13-11) 3, @Grossmont College.

The Komets, leading, 3-2, scored seven times in the fifth and sixth innings.  One of Brian Giles’ three doubles ignited a three-run fifth after two were out.  Steve Dreher and Dennis Jones drove in two runs each.

5/26/78

SEMIFINALS

Montgomery (13-11) 1, vs. University 6, @University San Diego. 

Mario Estrada, knocked out of the quarterfinals game with a jammed thumb after flagging down a line drive, came on in relief of Dan Sousa and shut down a bases loaded threat in the second inning and then allowed two hits and an unearned run over the distance.

The Dons’ Dave Martinez had three hits in three times at bat and drove in four runs.  Ron Egan singled in two runs and Dan Anguiano scored three runs.

Kearny (18-9) 5, vs. Escondido 8, @Grossmont College.

“I’ve never seen Brad hit that hard, never,” Cougars coach Bill Townsend told Henry Wesch of The San Diego Union.

Townsend was referring to pitcher Brad Palmer, making his third appearance of the playoffs, following a route-going first round and relief the next day.

“He didn’t have his overpowering fastball; he walked more guys than usual (5) …but still, if we play good defense behind him we probably only give up one run,” said Townsend.

Komets second baseman Brian Giles doubled in leadoff batter Brian Villandre in the first inning and doubled in another run in the third. Giles scored on Steve Brinkley’s single in the fifth.

Six of Escondido’s 10 hits off four pitchers came in a five-run fourth, which featured two-out hits by Mark Schmidt, Ben Sanchez, Zac Garcia, and Brian Luskey.

Kearny managed a 5-5 tie, but the Cougars scored three more runs in the bottom of the sixth on five walks and a bunt single. Palmer closed out the victory with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh inning.

5/27/78

2-A CHAMPIONSHIP

Escondido (19-7) 1, vs. University (25-3) 11, @ University San Diego.

Tom Keating (15-1) set down 18 consecutive batters and took a perfect game into the seventh inning, when an error and infield single ended the University pitcher’s pursuit.

Keating sailed to an 11-1 victory over the Cougars, who did not call on weary ace Brad Palmer to make a fourth consecutive appearance of the week.

“From about the fourth or fifth inning I knew I had the no-hitter, “ the 6-foot, 3-inch junior told Henry Wesch of The San Diego Union.   I wanted it, but it didn’t happen,”

First baseman Dan Souza led the Dons’ 11-hit attack with two prodigious home runs. The first, a three-run shot in the first inning, went over the fence near the 390-foot marker in right center field.  The second cleared trees behind the 375-foot sign in left center.

Souza, a .284 hitter during the regular season, was 5 for 10 in the playoffs with three home runs.

“We know we didn’t face their best pitcher, but that’s part of the game,” said Uni coach Dick Serrano.  “We were hoping to get an early lead so we wouldn’t have to see Palmer in the late innings in relief with the score close.”

1-A CHAMPIONSHIP.

Francis Parker 0, vs. Christian 3, @University San Diego.

The Lancers were shut down by Christian’s Tom Meinhert,  who pitched a no-hitter.