The school named for Mabel E. O’Farrell was created in 1957 and opened in 1959 as a junior high, became a School of Performing Arts, and now operates under the tony brand of “The O’Farrell Charter School.”
The Falcons got on the favored side of the scoreboard for the first time last week.
After 18 consecutive losses dating to its football debut in 2018, the Falcons defeated Whittier Christian at Whittier College, 24-12.
The same Whittier Christian that dispatched Coach Tim Baxter’s club, 35-7, in 2019. The Falcons did not play in the 2020 season and they have moved on from being an Independent to the Pacific League.
The Falcons have a game this week against, gulp, San Diego High.
WHO WAS SHE?
Mabel E. O’Farrell was said to have been born around 1870 and was an early 20th century member of the San Diego County board of supervisors. There is no online record of her serving in such a position. According to her wikipedia, Mabel served on a committee charged with creating a detention home for wayward youth.
Not much else is known.
“I’m an O’Farrell fan already,” I wrote in 2018. “One of its alumni was the late Rosie Hamlin, lead singer of Rosie and the Originals, who recorded a ‘sixties favorite, Angel Baby.
Angel Baby was a top 10 hit in January, 1961.
Rosie spent most of her high school years at Sweetwater but also had a cup of coffee at Mission Bay.
STATS
University City rolled on El Centro Southwest, 75-6, last week, tying the Centurions with seven other teams that have scored 75 points. The total ranks 35th among 11-man squads on the all-time Top Team Scoring list, headlined by San Diego’s 130-7 destruction of Army-Navy in 1920.
U.C. broke its own record, made in a 69-13 rout of La Jolla Country Day in 2018.
For a complete list of historic blowouts, see Football / Top Performances / Top Team Scores.
THE RATINGS
John Maffei’s weekly The San Diego Union-Tribune Top 10: First place votes in parenthesis. Points on scale of 10 points to 1 point.
RANK
TEAM/RECORD
POINTS
PREVIOUS
1.
Carlsbad
3-0 (16)
231
1
2.
Cathedral
2-1 (8)
220
2
3.
Lincoln
3-0
196
3
4.
Mater Dei
3-0
154
5
5.
Mission Hills
2-1
147
3
6.
Helix
3-0
116
6
7
Torrey Pines
2-1
86
10
8.
Scripps Ranch
3-0
75
9
9.
Poway
2-1
27
NR
10.
Madison
2-1
19
NR
Others receiving votes
La Jolla (2-1, 8 points), Santa Fe Christian (3-0, 8), El Camino (1-1, 7), Eastlake (2-1, 6), Grossmont (2-1, 5), Granite Hills (2-1, 4), Mt. Carmel (3-0, 3), Rancho Buena Vista (3-0, 3), Oceanside (1-1, 1), University City (3-0, 1).
Voting panel: Twenty-four sportswriters and sportscasters throughout San Diego County.
John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Thomas Gutierrez, freelance contributors.
John Carroll, Nick Pollino, KUSI Ch. 51.
John Kentera, Braden Suprenant, 97.3-FM The Fan).
Adam Paul, ECPreps.com.
Bodie DeSilva, scorebooklive.com.
Rick Smith, Partletonsports.com.
Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego.
Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, Mike Dolan, CIF San Diego Section.
Ramon Scott, Eastcountysports.com.
Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country, 107.9-FM.
How others see San Diego’s Top 10: *The second entry in each rating is from the previous week.
Team
Record
Cal-Hi Sports
MaxPreps
CalPreps
Cathedral
2-1
12-14*
8/19
60.6/44
Carlsbad
3-0
11-12
16/12
47.9/49
Mission Hills
2-1
29-19
27/15
40.7/45.2
Lincoln
3-0
15-22
14/25
48.8/39.6
Mater Dei
3-0
Bubble-NR
71/70
26.2/24.6
Helix
3-0
45-NR
83/82
23.6/21.7
Torrey Pines
2-1
Bubble-NR
46/44
35.4/32.6
Scripps Ranch
3-0
Bubble-NR
108/192
18.6/15.0
Poway
2-1
NR-NR
85/NR
22.9/NR
Madison
2-1
Bubble-NR
98/NR
20.0/NR
MaxPreps.com and CalPreps.com computer ratings are usually the same and based on strength of schedule and other factors.
Cal-HiSports.com ratings are created by publisher Mark Tennis, who coordinates with several state-wide sources.
2021 Week 3: Dons’ Loss Opens Door for Carlsbad
Not that they give a rip, but the Cathedral Dons’ 43-point, 57-14 defeat last week at Corona Centennial didn’t represent the worst loss in school history.
More decisive was a 45-point loss, 55-10 to Sacramento-area power Folsom in 2014. Almost as painful was another 43-point reversal, 56-13 to Marian in the 2003 San Diego Section playoffs.
Contributing to the misery was that the Dons had defeated the Huskies in San Diego, 44-41, in 2019.
On the devastation scale, 57-14 ranks close to Oceanside’s 68-7 loss to Folsom and El Capitan’s 35-28 defeat to Moraga Campolindo, after the Vaqueros blew a 21-point lead in the final seven and a half minutes, in state championship games on the same day in 2014.
The Dons have no time to grieve, playing at home this week in one of the Honor Bowl games against a another tough Southern Section team, Los Angeles Mission Hills Chaminade, which is 2-0 after victories of 48-17 over the Southern Section’s Westlake Village Oaks Christian and 49-7 over Lake Balboa Birmingham of the Los Angeles City Section.
Chaminade is ranked 13th in the state in this week’s Cal-Hi Sports poll and 29th, according to Max Preps. The Eagles have a 38.0 Cal Preps.com rating. See below for how San Diego teams rate.
QUICK KICKS
Cathedral hasn’t seen the last of Corona Centennial…the Huskies will play Chatsworth Sierra Canyon at Cathedral this week in one of the Honor Bowl games…Lincoln, down 21-3 at halftime, took the fight to Los Alamitos and had a chance to win but a pass was knocked down in the endzone on the last play…the Hornets, who lost, 21-17, struck for 495 yards against the Cal-Hi Sports No. 9-ranked Griffins…Roderick Robinson had 145 yards rushing and 1 touchdown and Nathan Azevedo caught 4 passes for 150 yards and 1 TD…Army-Navy and El Capitan are feeling chipper after their 2-0 starts, the first for the Cadets since 2013 and the first for El Cap since its 14-1 season in 2014…Hoover’s 30-14 win over El Cajon Valley broke a 15-game losing streak and was the Cardinals first since a 34-16 victory over Coronado in Week 9 of 2018…the Cardinals are 7-44 since the 2015 season, a stretch of misery comparable to a 7-46-1 slog from 1970-75…Calexico’s 60-6 destruction of Castle Park represented most points for the Bulldogs since a 65-0 blowout of neighboring Vincent Memorial in 2008….
THE RATINGS
John Maffei’s The San Diego Union-Tribune Top 10: First place votes in parenthesis. Points on scale of 10 points to 1 point.
RANK
TEAM/RECORD
POINTS
PREVIOUS
1.
Carlsbad
2-0 (16)
231
2
2.
Cathedral
1-1 (6)
206
1
3.
Mission Hills
2-0
190
3
4.
Lincoln
2-0
157
4
5.
Mater Dei
2-0
139
5
6.
Helix
2-0
91
NR
7
Granite Hills
2-0
69
NR
8.
Grossmont
2-0
60
NR
9.
Scripps Ranch
2-0
46
NR
10.
Torrey Pines
0-1
42
9
Others receiving votes: El Camino (1-1, 11 points), Poway (1-1 10), Ramona (2-0, 8), La Jolla (1-1, 7), Oceanside (1-1, 4), El Capitan (2-0, 3), Eastlake (1-1) & Santa Fe Christian (2-0), 1 point each.
Voting panel: Twenty-three sportswriters and sportscasters throughout San Diego County.
John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, freelance contributors.
John Carroll, Nick Pollino, KUSI Ch. 51.
John Kentera, Braden Suprenant, 97.3-FM The Fan).
Adam Paul, ECPreps.com.
Bodie DeSilva, scorebooklive.com.
Rick Smith, Partletonsports.com.
Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego.
Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, Mike Dolan, CIF San Diego Section.
Ramon Scott, Eastcountysports.com.
Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country, 107.9-FM.
How others see San Diego’s Top 10:
*The second entry in each rating is from the previous week.
Team
Record
Cal-Hi Sports
MaxPreps
CalPreps
Cathedral
1-1
14-5*
19-5
44/71.6
Carlsbad
2-0
12-14
12-10
49/51.2
Mission Hills
2-0
21-23
15-16
45.2
Lincoln
1-1
24-26
25-19
39.6
Mater Dei
2-0
Bubble-NR
70-75
24.6
Helix
2-0
NR-NR
82-NR
21.7
Granite Hills
1-0
Bubble-NR
80-NR
22.2-NR
Grossmont
2-0
Bubble-NR
92-NR
20.3-NR
Scripps Ranch
2-0
NR-NR
192-NR
15.0
Torrey Pines
0-1
Bubble-NR
44-44
32.6
MaxPreps.com and CalPreps.com computer ratings are usually the same and based on strength of schedule and other factors.
CalHiSports.com ratings are created by publisher Mark Tennis, who coordinates with several state-wide sources.
PREP FOOTBALL SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE Sportswriters/Sportscasters Poll (First-place votes in parenthesis) Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
Others receiving votes
La Jolla (2-1, 8 points), Santa Fe Christian (3-0, 8 points), El Camino (1-1, 7 points), Eastlake (2-1, 6 points), Grossmont (2-1, 5 points), Granite Hills (2-1, 4 points), Mt. Carmel (3-0, 3 points), Rancho Buena Vista (3-0, 3 points), Oceanside (1-1, 1 point), University City (3-0, 1 point).
scorebooklive.com), John Kentera and Braden Suprenant (97.3-FM The Fan), Ramon Scott (EastCountySports.com), Steve Dolan (Mountain Country 107.9-FM, Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association), Troy Hirsch (Fox 5 Sa
1953 Track: Nelson Won State Championship, led Hoover to top in CPL
Hoover, led by high jumper-hurdler Bernie Nelson, stole thunder usually heard only by San Diego High opponents.
The Cardinals were 6-0 in dual meets and along with Grossmont and Point Loma won a dual meet from the usually unbeatable Hillers.
Nelson, who cleared 6 feet, 4 inches, was the County’s first state champion since Grossmont’s Hal Norris won at 56-5 ½ in the shotput at Sacramento in 1950.
Point Loma’s Herman Thompson made a splash in the 100-yard dash, and Dick Bronson continued Grossmont’s domination in the shot put.
Bernie Nelson, jumping in Balboa Stadium, was three-event threat.
3/4/53
Tom Williams of Vista set a school record of 4:55.4 in the mile as the Panthers defeated Mar Vista, 61-41, in a Metropolitan League dual meet.
3/6/53
Charlie Rose set a Coronado school record with a 6-foot, 1 3/4-inch high jump in the Islanders’ 57-38 dual meet win over St Augustine.
Oceanside won the 880-yard relay in 1:36.9 and defeated Metropolitan League rival Sweetwater, 53-51.
–Football star C.R. Roberts ran a leg on the relay, won the 100 in :10.8, and was second to John Foster‘s 21-10 ½ broad jump.
Point Loma scored 44 points to win the City Prep League relays, a series of medley events and field events with winning scores based on teams’ combined heights and distances.
Kearny was second with 38, followed by Hoover, 34, Grossmont, 31, San Diego, 29, La Jolla 20, and Helix, 2.
Grossmont, the Class A defending champion, maintained in Class B and C, winning each.
Individual event honors went to the Pointers’ Herman Thompson, who won the 100-yard dash in :10.4 and teammate Bob Miller, who took the 120-yard high hurdles in :15.3.
3/20/53
Both teams were disqualified for lane violations in the 880 relay, but Kearny already was in the house with a 55-44 victory over Point Loma.
The Pointers’ Herman Thompson was a double winner at :10.1 and :23 in the 100 and 220.
3/24/53
Jim Giyer set a Grossmont school record of 4:35.2 in the mile, but Hoover, led by Bernie Nelson’s three wins, defeated the Foothillers, 60-44.
Nelson’s ran :15.2 and :20.5 in the high and low hurdles, respectively, and high jumped 5-11 ¼.
3/27/53
Hoover improved to 3-0 in dual meets with a 55-49 win at Point Loma, although the Pointers relay squad of Waldo Palmer, Jesse Denny, Hal Krupens, and Herman Thompson set a school record of 1:33.2.
Bernie Nelson set the pace for Hoover with wins of :15.3 in the high hurdles, :20.2 in the lows, and 6-1 in the high jump.
4/9/53
Fred White of Chula Vista, chasing the school record of 56-1 3/4 set by his brother Kenny in 1950, took the County lead with a 55-10 toss in a 77-26 victory over Vista.
Coronado and Escondido battled to a 52-52 deadlock, the second this season for the Islanders, who earlier had a 52-52 stalemate with Chula Vista.
Herman Thompson, who had best time of :09.8, won 100-yard dash heat in :10 in CPL trials in Balboa Stadium. Others (from left): Blythe of Kearny, Hoover’s John Adams, La Jolla’s Joe Epps and Al Chapman, and Cooper of Point Loma.
4/10/53
San Diego lost a dual meet for the first time since 1948, a span of 26 victories and one tie, as Grossmont stunned the Hillers, 55 1/2-48 1/2.
The Cavers held a 16-2 advantage in the sprints, but the Foothillers made up the deficit with a 17-1 advantage in the distances and shot put.
Grossmont’s Dick Bronson hurled the shot 55 feet, 5 inches, and Jim Giyer won the mile in 4:36.7.
San Diego’s Halden Grey was a double winner in the 100 (:10.2) and 220 in a time-disputed :21.7. Grey’s best time before and after was at least one second slower.
Hoover improved to 4-0 with a 73-31 win over Kearny. Bernie Nelson high jumped 6-3, third best in school history. Alvin Cordray cleared 6-3 ½ in 1938 and Jack Razzeto 6-5 ¼ in 1948.
Nelson also won the 120-yard high hurdles in :15.5 and the 180 lows in :20.9.
4/17/53
Beating San Diego in track and field no longer was news. Point Loma stunned the Hillers, 69-35, in Balboa Stadium and the Peninsula thinclads did it by barging into San Diego’s figurative kitchen.
Junior Herman Thompson won the 100 in :09.9, 220 in :22.5, broad jump at 21-9, and anchored a school record, 1:32.0 victory in the 880 relay, events San Diego had dominated locally.
Bob Miller also bruised the Hillers with wins of :15.6 and :21.1 in the high and low hurdles.
Football star C.R. Roberts won the 100 in :10.3 and broad jump at 21-5 ½, and ran a leg on the winning relay (1:37.8) that was the difference in Oceanside’s 56 ½-47 ½ win over San Dieguito.
4/23/53
Fred White of Chula Vista broke the school shot put record held by his brother.
Fred pushed the 12-pound ball 56 feet, 2 ½ inches in a dual-meet with Oceanside, which outscored the Spartans, 56 ½-46 1/2. Kenny White reached 56-1 ¾ in a CIF divisional meet in 1950.
Russ Elwell of Coronado set a school record of 53 feet and Charlie Rose tied his early-season school record of 6-1 ¾ as Coronado beat Mar Vista, 88-16.
Point Loma’s Herman Thompson became the seventh sprinter in County history to cover 100 yards in :09.8 and tied George Able’s school record, set in 1938.
Thompson negotiated the distance in a dual meet with La Jolla in Balboa Stadium.
Grossmont’s Jim Giyer was area’s top distance runner with 4:30.5 time in mile.
5/1/53
Escondido won the 12-team Vista Relays with 41 1/2 points. Oceanside was second with 34. C.R. Roberts of Oceanside won the Open 100 in :10.3 and was part of the Pirates’ :47.3 winning effort in the 440 relay.
5/2/53
Hoover completed a 6-0 dual-meet season with a 61 ½-41 ½ victory at San Diego as Bernie Nelson won the high hurdles (:15), lows (:20.1) and high jump (6-0).
Nelson’s Cardinals teammate Dave Abbott hurled the shot 53 feet, 6 inches, an outstanding effort but on this day second to (next paragraph).
Grossmont junior Dick Bronson bettered the school record with a 58-foot, 10 1/2-inch toss but Point Loma won the last-event relay in 1:34.8 and the meet, 55 ½-48 ½.
Bronson bettered Clyde Wetter’s school record of 58-4 7/8 in 1951.
5/5/53
City Prep League Class B and C finals were held in Balboa Stadium, where La Jolla’s Bob Gutowski set a B record with a pole vault of 11 feet, 10 ½ inches.
Less than four years later (three years, 357 days), Gutowski vaulted 15-8 for a world record as a member of the Occidental College team in Eagle Rock.
5/8/53
CITY PREP LEAGUE FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
Three meet records were set despite “nippy weather” before an estimated crowd of 3,500 persons.
Hoover’s Bernie Nelson set a record of :14.9 in the high hurdles, won the lows in :20.1 and signed off early after beating the competition at 5 feet, 8 inches, in the high jump.
Grossmont’s George Davis ran the 880 in 2:02.1 and teammate Jim Giyer the mile in 4:32.4.
Hoover, the dual-meet champion, scored 45 1/3 points, edging Point Loma (43 7/12), which was followed by Grossmont, 37 ½, San Diego, 23 ½, Kearny, 19 ¾, La Jolla, 14 ½, and Helix, 8.
Kearny’s Lee Buchanan (left) with teammate Paul Rushing was County leader in 440 with best time of :50.9.
METROPOLITAN LEAGUE FINALS, @VISTA
No meet records were set and San Dieguito scored 34 ¾ points, followed by dual meet champion Coronado, 31, Oceanside, 26, Vista, 25, Sweetwater, 20 ½, Escondido, 18, Mar Vista 13, Chula Vista, 9.
Escondido’s Rich Gehring was a double winner in the 120 high hurdles (:15.4) and 180 lows (:20.0).
SOUTHERN PREP LEAGUE FINALS, @CAMP PENDLETON
Fallbrook won seven of 12 events and scored 128 ½ points to runner-up Army-Navy’s 97 ½. Mountain Empire followed with 28, Ramona 27 ½, and Brown Military, 1.
Best mark was a :10.3 in the 100-yard dash by Manning of Army-Navy.
5/16/53
A CIF Divisional meet for City Prep, Southern Prep, Metropolitan, Orange, and Sunset leagues was held on what The San Diego Union writer Harry Monahan declared was a “soggy, windswept” San Diego State track.
Santa Ana led team qualifiers with eight. Hoover and Grossmont each had seven.
Bernie Nelson survived disaster in the 120-yard hurdles when he tripped on the third barrier and fell. Nelson regained his feet and finished fourth in his race to qualify for the Divisional semifinals the following week at Ontario Chaffey.
Nelson also made the cut in the 180-yard low hurdles and high jump.
Point Loma’s Herman Thompson was not as fortunate. Thompson arrived late in the afternoon, missing a chance to qualify in the 100 and 220.
The junior speedster anchored The Pointers to victory in one of the 880-yard relay heats in 1:33.6.
Grossmont individual winners were Jim Giyer, who ran the mile in 4:35.4, and Dick Bronson, who led all shot putters with a toss of 53-5 5/8.
Bernie Nelson (second from right) led 180-yard low hurdlers as they turned for home in Hoover-San Diego dual. Nelson won in :20.1, followed by (from left): Fred DeBotts of San Diego, Hoover’s Paul Tenney, San Diego’s Harry Cooper, Hoover’s Don Mumper. and Dick Grob of Hoover (right).
5/19/53
Kearny’s Lee Buchanan won a 440 heat in the Chaffey divisional semifinal in Ontario in :50.9. Grossmont’s Jim Giyer won one of the mile races in 4:30.5 and teammate George Davis took an 880 heat in 2:01.3.
Tom Noonan of Coronado cleared 6 feet for the first time and got over 6-2. Bernie Nelson of Hoover qualified in the high jump at 6 feet and advanced in both hurdle races.
5/23/53
SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS, @OXNARD HIGH
Point Loma, Hoover and Grossmont tied for eighth in the Southern Section finals with 6 points each at Oxnard High.
Bernie Nelson tied with three others for third in the high jump at 6 feet, 1 inch, but qualified for the state meet along with Coronado’s Tom Noonan on the basis of fewer misses.
Nelson also was fourth in the 120 high hurdles in a wind-aided :14.6 and fifth in the 180 lows, won in :19.2 on the breezy afternoon.
Jim Giyer of Grossmont was fourth in the mile and Dick Bronson was second in the shot put at 56 feet, 3 3/4. Don Vick of Ontario Chaffey won at 61-1/8. Fred White of Chula Vista was third at 54-4 7/8.
Waldo Palmer of Point Loma tied for first with Turner of San Bernardino in the broad jump with a best of 22 feet, 4 ¾ inches.
Charlie Cota of Kearny tied for first in the Class B pole vault at 12 feet. Bob Gutowski of La Jolla tied for third at 11-8.
Armstrong of Grossmont won the Class C shot put at 50-10 ¾. Bodenhamer of Kearny was fifth in the Class C 120-yard low hurdles.
5/30/53
35TH STATE MEET, @FRESNO
Bernie Nelson completed a brilliant season by winning the state high jump at Fresno’s Ratcliff Stadium with a leap of 6 feet, 4 inches.
Grossmont’s Dick Bronson, fifth in the shot put at 55-2 3/8, was the only other County entry to score.
1953 Baseball: La Jolla Almost Wins It All With “Pupil” Coach
La Jolla first baseman Eddie Olsen took pickoff throw from pitcher Dave Jordan (background) and reached to tag Lynwood’s Jim Thompson in Vikings’ 5-2 playoff victory.
Walt Harvey was a football and track coach and once confessed he “didn’t know anything about baseball.”
Harvey was a 1936 Hoover High classmate and friend of Les Cassie, who was a successful baseball coach at San Diego High. Cassie didn’t know it but he deserved an assist when Harvey found himself coaching the varsity at La Jolla and figuritively went to school.
Harvey took his self-described lack of knowledge to the San Diego State library and borrowed books detailing baseball strategy and made it a point to read the baseball-oriented master’s degree thesis of his old friend, Les Cassie.
That La Jolla won the City Prep League championship and beat Cassie’s San Diego team, was only part of the Vikings’ success.
Behind pitcher Art Weber, who posted a 16-3 record and wielded a powerful bat, La Jolla and Harvey, who coached the Vikings’ football team to playoff appearances in 1951 and ’52, went all the way to the CIF Southern Section championship game.
Weber was the Southern California player of the year and teammate and first baseman Eddie Olsen was a second-team choice.
Cassie would continue to have outstanding teams at San Diego, but Harvey moved on, leaving baseball and building championship football and track programs at fledglings Lincoln and Crawford.
Despite a loss to Compton in the CIF finals, La Jolla became the third different team in three seasons from San Diego to reach the big game. Grossmont won in 1951 and San Diego in 1952.
Weber was leader of 24-4 La Jolla Vikings.
2/28/53
Twenty-four teams, including outsiders Fullerton, Inglewood, Santa Monica, and Glendale Hoover, were announced as participants in the third annual Lions Tournament at the end of March.
A 16-team, large-school division would be accompanied by an eight-team small-schools’ division.
–San Diego exploded for eight runs in the first two innings and defeated Sweetwater, 12-2. It was the Hillers’ second straight over the well-regarded Metropolitan League team.
Tony Asaro and Horace Tucker each had two hits and Lee Babbitt allowed the Red Devils three hits.
3/17/53
San Diego moved to 8-0 behind a one-hit pitching performance by Rudy Venzor, who stopped the 8-1 Los Angeles Loyola Cubs, 10-1.
City Prep League middle-of-the-road Hoover took it to Metro power Chula Vista, 14-0, on the Spartans’ diamond.
3/24/53
Chula Vista opened the Metro League campaign with a 10-0 win at Escondido. Bobby Handley scattered eight hits and Bob West hit four singles in four times at bat.
Point Loma scored 10 runs in the first inning and routed the visiting San Diego State frosh, 13-1.
Ronnie Robertson had three hits including a home run and double for the Pointers; Bill Martin had three hits and four runs batted in, and Bob Roeder held the collegians to four hits.
La Jolla Vikings (from left): Eddie Olsen, Dick Greenfield, Joe Barrington, Dick Corrick, Art Luppino, Hal Maler.
3/30/53
LIONS TOURNAMENT
Dialing down from nine innings, games were scheduled for seven with no time limit.
One exception.
Play was terminated after five innings with San Dieguito ahead of Julian, 18-3, in the small schools’ division.
San Diego teams banished all five visiting clubs into the consolation bracket.
Sophomores Ron Wilkins and Dick Mesa of Hoover combined to hurl a no-hitter in an 11-2 win over Montebello.
Southpaw Wilkins was relieved by right-hander Mesa after a wild streak in the fifth inning as the Oilers scored twice.
–San Diego’s Rudy Venzor pitched a two-hitter and the Hillers topped Inglewood, 6-0.
–St. Augustine edged Glendale Hoover, 3-2; La Jolla whipped Santa Monica, 10-2, and Point Loma nipped Fullerton, 3-2.
Harvey was fast learner.
3/31/53
It was doubleheader day. Quarterfinals in the morning, lunch, and the afternoon semifinal in the large schools’ division, and championship game for the small schools
Mar Vista won the eight-team small schools’ bracket, 9-0 over Oceanside and 6-2 over Yuma at Point Loma High.
Jesus Morales’ and Jim Bragg’s three-hit pitching checked the Pirates in the morning and Morales followed with a three-hitter that stopped the Arizona entry.
If there was an 11-run rule, Ramona would have sued for relief. Fallbrook butchered the Bulldogs, 26-0, including a 10-run fifth inning.
4/1/53
HILLERS, POINTERS IN FINAL
San Diego pounded St. Augustine, 15-1 in the quarterfinals. Rudy Venzor outdueled Art Weber in a 2-1 semifinals victory over La Jolla.
Richie Johnson’s two-run single in the top of the sixth at San Diego State offset an RBI single by La Jolla’s Joe Barrington in the bottom of the seventh.
Of Vikings pitcher Weber, San Diego coach Les Cassie said, “We’ll have to be lucky to beat that boy again. He’s really good.”
(Cassie was prophetic. Weber would lead La Jolla to a sweep of the teams’ two-game league series).
Bill Martin went the distance in Point Loma’s morning, 4-2 win over Chula Vista and Bob Snelling tamed Hoover, 6-0, in the afternoon, both games at San Diego State.
La Jolla Vikings (from left): Ronnie Callan, Frank Rivas, Dave Jordan, Jack Cravens, Joe Tucker, Charles Smith.
FINALS
San Diego and Point Loma were the undercard on a scheduled Pacific Coast League game at Lane Field between the San Diego Padres and Hollywood Stars.
The Hillers opened a 5-0 lead after two innings and cruised to their 15th win without loss, 9-1, behind Lee Babbitt’s four-hit pitching.
Eddie Boyle and Al Weymiller each had two hits and were the tandem that produced perhaps the play of the tournament.
Weymiller raced in to make a diving, one-handed catch of Frank Stevenson’s fly to shallow right field. Weymiller then made a throw from a kneeling position to Boyle at first base to double a runner.
Fullerton edged Inglewood, 4-2, for consolation honors.
4/8/53
Lee Babbitt allowed five hits and San Diego scored 3 runs in the fifth inning and defeated Helix, 3-2, in a CPL opener on the Helix diamond.
Dick Greenfield homered and Art Weber held visiting Hoover to two hits in a 3-2 La Jolla victory.
Chula Vista and San Dieguito each improved to 2-0 in the Metropolitan League, the Spartans dominating Mar Vista, 10-4, and the Mustangs pounding out 16 hits in a 21-6 win over North County neighbor Vista.
4/9/53
It was military day in the Southern Prep League.
Luis Marquez pitched a four-hitter and Brown Military shut out visiting Ramona, 12-0.
Pitcher Martinez struck out a reported 19 batters, which was virtually impossible. Army-Navy’s 19-4 victory at home over Mountain Empire went only five innings and Martinez would have faced only 15 hitters who made out.
Perhaps four batters reached first base after striking out but the catcher was charged with passed balls. Perhaps.
Chula Vista’s Bob Handley and Earl Jenson combined to pitch a one-hitter as the Spartans whipped San Dieguito, 9-3, to take the Metropolitan League lead with a 3-0 record.
Escondido handed Vista an 11-4 defeat, no doubt aided by the Panthers’ 10 errors.
San Diego shortstop Richie Johnson (left) and Point Loma first baseman Frank Stevenson received postgame awards from Lions Club honcho Willis Fletcher.
4/10/53
The game story lede win in The San Diego Union:
“La Jolla High’s Art Weber exploded the myth of San Diego High invincibility with a slow curve, an occasional fastball, and a deceptive change of pace that limited the Hillers to three hits…”
Weber did not allow a hit until Floyd Robinson singled with two out in the eighth inning and the Vikings ahead, 7-0.
The 9-2 victory on the San Diego diamond represented the Hillers’ first loss after 16 victories and their third in the last 54 games.
Vikings first baseman Eddie Olsen had two hits in three times at bat, including a 350-foot home run.
4/13/53
Chula Vista and Sweetwater each improved to 4-0 in the Metropolitan League, the Spartans beating Vista, 18-4, and the Red Devils measuring San Dieguito, 7-1.
4/14/53
Art Weber hurled a three-hit, 8-2 win over Helix, helped in no small part by Highlanders pitchers, who issued 13 bases on balls and a defense which committed seven errors.
San Diego bounced back from its loss to La Jolla with a 20-hit attack that smothered Grossmont, 20-7. Hoover beat Point Loma, 15-4.
4/17/53
San Diego and Hoover each moved to 3-1 in the CPL, a half-game behind La Jolla, with victories of 8-1 and 6-3.
Rudy Venzor stopped the Point Loma on four hits and Frank Powell went the distance in Hoover’s 12-inning win over Kearny.
Catcher Bob West (left) and pitcher Earl Jenson formed the Chula Vista battery for its playoff at El Centro Central.
5/2/53
Horace Tucker’s grand slam home run in the sixth inning widened a 2-0 San Diego lead and led to a 9-1 victory over Helix and 6-1 Hillers league record.
Art Weber allowed five hits and hit a home run in La Jolla’s 9-3 win at Hoover.
Vikings Dick Greenfield, Jack Cravens, and Joe Barrington also took advantage of Hoover’s inviting ball park dimensions (short right field) with four-base hits.
5/4/53
Bob Handley and Earl Jenson combined to pitch a no-hitter in Chula Vista’s 1-0 shutout of Mar Vista. Lavon Baker singled home Al Aleman in the seventh inning.
At the end of the day the Spartans were 8-1, a game behind Sweetwater in the Metro.
5/12/53
Hoover and Kearny, tied at 4-4 after nine innings, had lengthening daylight on their side as they went another eight innings before the Cardinals pulled out a 5-4 victory.
Ron Wilkins went the first 11 innings for Hoover and then gave way to Frank Powell. Jim Schaubel scored the winning run.
The battery of Duke Hottell and Flaming went all the way for the Komets.
Sweetwater’s 10th straight win without a loss, 5-4 over San Dieguito, kept the Red Devils a game ahead of 9-1 Chula Vista, which beat Vista, 7-2.
Lee Babbitt was San Diego’s pitching ace.
5/15/53
Jack Lepore pitched a five-hitter and San Diego stayed mathematically alive in the CPL with an 8-0 win over Kearny. Days before La Jolla had gained a share of the title with a 6-0 win over Grossmont.
Chula Vista earned a tie for first in the Metro with a 3-0 win over Sweetwater that left both clubs with 10-1 records.
5/19/53
Chula Vista beat Oceanside, 5-2, and Vista shocked Sweetwater 5-2, as the Metropolitan League race ended amid a dramatic, 10-day swing.
The Spartans (11-1) trailed Sweetwater by one game with two remaining, but Sweetwater lost its last two to finish 10-2.
Bob Wilson hit a two-run home run and Lavon Baker drove in two with two singles in Chula Vista’s victory.
La Jolla became the third team in three seasons, following Grossmont and San Diego, to win the CPL as Art Weber advanced the Vikings to 10-1 in league play with a 6-0 win over Point Loma while San Diego (8-3) was losing to Hoover (7-4), 4-3.
Weber struck out seven, allowed six hits, and was 2 for 3 at the plate. Joe Barrington supported with a home run and Art Luppino singled, doubled, and tripled.
5/22/53
Art Weber’s two-run home run in the sixth inning erased a 1-0 Kearny lead and La Jolla finished the CPL season with a 3-1 victory and 11-1 record.
Hoover’s 11-4 win over Helix moved the Cardinals into a second-place tie with San Diego, each with an 8-4 record.
The Hillers finished 23-4 overall and out of the playoffs.
5/26/52
Fallbrook forfeited its first-round playoff to Chula Vista in the Southern Section small schools’ division playoffs.
La Jolla opened the major division playoffs at the home of the Citrus Belt League champion and left with a 12-6 win over San Bernardino.
The Vikings scored five runs in the fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie and added four more in the seventh.
Coach Walt Harvey relieved Art Weber with the Cardinals leading 12-2 after seven innings, saving the La Jolla ace for a quarterfinals test against Fullerton.
Dick Greenfield and Jack Cravens each had four hits and Eddie Olsen and Weber each drove in four runs.
Sweetwater’s Al Jacobus escaped rundown with Vista catcher Bob Hedrick and third baseman Joe Lopez. It was a small victory for Jacobus, whose team was upset by Panthers, 5-2, and knocked out of Metropolitan League title picture.
5/28/53
Eddie Olsen and Joe Barrington ensured La Jolla’s home diamond, 10-8 win over Fullerton before about 1,100 persons at Scripps Field in the playoff quarterfinals.
The Vikings’ Art Weber had developed a sore arm after the game at San Bernardino and was restricted to playing shortstop.
Olsen, who delivered a run-producing, tie-breaking single in the sixth inning, was called on by coach Walt Harvey to relieve sophomore Dave Jordan in the eighth after Jordan had given up a two-run home run and loaded the bases on walks.
Olsen got a third out in the eighth and gave up a double to the lead-off batter in the ninth but then retired the next three hitters for the victory.
Joe Barrington’s three-run homer in the sixth gave the Vikings a 10-6 lead.
Chula Vista took a 5-3 lead in the top of the 10th inning at El Centro Central, but the host Spartans eliminated the visiting Spartans, 6-5.
Chula Vista ended the season with a 17-8 record.
6/3/53
Art Weber was relegated to outfield duty because of a sore arm, which had been receiving treatment from San Diego Padres trainer Les Cook, so Vikings coach Walt Harvey again turned to sophomore Dave Jordan for the semifinals test against the visiting, 20-7 Lynwood Knights.
Jordan responded with a tidy, six-hit, seven-strikeout performance as the Vikings broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning and scored three runs for a 5-2 victory.
Weber was hit by a pitch leading off the eighth, advanced on Eddie Olsen’s sacrifice bunt, and scored on reserve Hal Maler’s single
Maler had entered the game in the sixth inning after Jack Cravens was forced to retire when Cravens reinjured a groin muscle.
6/6/53
Almost 2,000 persons filled the Scripps Field stadium and the Vikings took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning of the CIF championship game against the Compton Tarbabes.
Art Weber, making his first start in 10 days, gave up a walk and a two-run homer to Mike Yeager that gave Compton a 3-2 lead in the seventh.
The visitors (23-2) scored two more runs in the ninth to clinch the championship, 5-2.
Weber, who homered in the second inning for the 24-4 Vikings, went the distance, his arm aching with every pitch he attempted.
2021 Week 2: Cathedral, Lincoln Face Rugged Road Tests
Cathedral and Lincoln, each with high aspirations, leave the sanctuary of comfortable surroundings and head North to face two of the state’s bests this week.
Cathedral, No. 1 in San Diego and fifth in the state, as ranked by Cal-Hi Sports, takes on No. 8 Corona Centennial. Lincoln, No. 24, goes to No. 10 Los Alamitos.
Coach Sean Doyle’s Dons won a rouser from the visiting Centennial Huskies, 44-42, here in 2019 and annually play a stiff intersectional schedule. Lincoln is stepping up in class, keeping with the progress the Hornets have made under coach David Dunn.
Dunn, in his 11th season, has posted a 63-52-1 record but is 43-17 since 2017. Los Al, long one of the Southern Section’s top teams, is 36-17-1 since Ray Fenton replaced the legendary John Barnes in 2016.
Carlsbad, which also has developed under coach Thadd MacNeal, visits Long Beach Millikan, a rival when MacNeal coached at Lakewood. The Lancers are 65-44 under MacNeal in 10-plus seasons and 16-2 since 2019.
THE RATINGS
John Maffei’s The San Diego Union-Tribune Top 10:
First place votes in parenthesis. Points on scale of 10 points to 1 point.
Voting panel: Twenty-three sportswriters and sportscasters throughout San Diego County.
John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
Steve Brand, Thomas Gutierrez, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindgren, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, freelance contributors.
John Carroll, Nick Pollino,KUSI Ch. 51
John Kentera, Braden Suprenant (97.3 The Fan).
Adam Paul, Ramon Scott, Eastcountysports.com
Bodie DeSilva, scorebooklive.com
Rick Smith, Partletonsports.com
Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
Troy Hirsch, Fox 5 San Diego.
Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net.
Joe Heinz, Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, Mike Dolan, CIF San Diego Section.
How others see San Diego’s Top 10:
Team
Record
Cal-Hi Sports
MaxPreps
CalPreps
Cathedral
1-0
5-5*
5
71.6
Carlsbad
1-0
14-14
10
51.2
Mission Hills
1-0
21-23
16
42.4
Lincoln
1-0
24-26
19
39.2
El Camino
1-0
49-NR
51
33.9
Eastlake
1-0
29-36
73
22.7
Mater Dei
1-0
NR
75
24.2
La Jolla
1-0
Bubble-50
54
39.2
Torrey Pines
0-1
NR
44
32.6
St. Augustine
0-1
NR
63
27.1
*The second entry in Cal-Hi Sports’ ratings is from the previous week.
MaxPreps.com and CalPreps.com computer ratings are usually the same and based on strength of schedule and other factors.
CalHiSports.com ratings are created by publisher Mark Tennis, who coordinates with several state-wide sources.
2021 Week 0: Back to the Future
Call it a return to (the new) normal.
Football is back in real football time, but the Covid still looms, with the likelihood of canceled games and quarantines.
And the pandemic, which reduced the 2020 season to an abbreviated schedule of 2021 spring games, probably was a factor in the turnover of coaches.
There will be at least 13 new head coaches (not counting eight-man teams) when action begins this week, according to John Maffei of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Eleven, actually.
Charles Bussey returns to Valhalla, where Bussey was 40-40 from 2011-17.
New Mt. Carmel boss Drew Westling was 28-18 from 2016-19 at Hilltop.
Others: Canyon Hills (nee Serra), Brandon Harris. Classical Academy, Josiah Cruz. Francis Parker, Stephen Cooper. Grossmont, Chris Holmes. Maranatha, Nick Novak. Mar Vista, Syd Reed. Olympian, Jimmy Clark. Orange Glen, Tido Smith. Tri-City Christian, Neil Breight. University City, Paul Lawrence. Westview, Neil Donnelly.
CATHEDRAL SCHEDULE…YIKES!
Top-ranked Cathedral opens against rugged Torrey Pines and then it gets tougher… games against Corona Centennial, Helix, Concord de la Salle, and Mission Hills Chaminade, not to mention Western League contests versus Lincoln and St. Augustine.
Because of racist remarks toward the Lincoln team by players on the Dons’ squad, head coach Sean Doyle, the captain of the ship will have to sit out two games, probably when the Dons open City Conference play against Madison in Week 7.
DONS IN TOP 5
Cal-Hi Sports’ preseason top 50 has strong San Diego Section representation.
Cathedral is fifth, just behind No. 4 De La Salle. Carlsbad is 14th, Mission Hills 23rd, Lincoln 26th, Eastlake 36th, and La Jolla 50th.
St. Augustine and Torrey Pines have “on the bubble” designation.
AT RISK
Several species of the Manzanita plant are listed as endangered in California and the San Diego Section league by that name since 2011 has been declared extinct by the CIF, at least for the present.
The far flung circuit (173 miles between Buckman Springs’ Mountain Empire and Blythe’s Palo Verde Valley and which also includes Calexico Vincent Memorial, Calipatria, and Holtville), is back to being called the Desert League.
Since Mountain Empire joined in 1960 the league had been known as the Desert or Mountain-Desert.
‘BYE
The San Diego Section bid Happy Trails to the Metro Pacific, whose members merged with the Metro Mesa or Metro South Bay leagues.
Several other teams changed leagues (see table below) and San Diego Southwest notified the CIF that it will play only a junior varsity schedule. Newcomer Coastal Academy is in Oceanside.
For a complete list of teams and schedules, use the “Football / Scores / By Team” or “Football / Teams menu.
