Helix won its third championship in the last six seasons, but the Highlanders were just breaking ground. The best was yet to come, thanks to Bill Walton, a once-in-a-lifetime player.

Meanwhile, the ball continued to swish through the net.

A record twenty-three players scored at least 400 points and junior Paul Halupa of Bonita Vista averaged 28.7, bettering the record of St. Augustine’s Tom Shaules, who averaged 28.3 in 1957-58. Halupa set a Bonita Vista record with 46 points in a 99-65 loss to Chula Vista.

Not to be outdone, Granite Hills’ Tim Doerr knocked down 47 points on the final night of the regular season, but the Eagles sustained a 99-88 loss to Monte Vista, the reverse exclamation point in a 1-21 season.

Julian’s Rob Petrie tied Shaules’ single-game record of 60 in a 115-76 win over Mountain Empire.

There were more teams and more players and the number of games had increased since early-decade, but the high schoolers continued to refine their shooting skills. In 1960-61, the first year of the CIF San Diego Section, two players scored at least 400, led by the 428 of San Dieguito’s John Fairchild, and 13 scored at least 300.

At least 30 players touched 300 this season, the total no longer notable.

Leaders:

NAME	TEAM	GAMES	POINTS	AVERAGE
Strong	Kearny	30	774	25.8 (3)
Edwards	Madison	32	766	23.9 (5)
Halupa	Bonita Vista	25	718	28.7 (1)
Delgadillo	Castle Park	31	553	17.8
Chaffin	Orange Glen	30	550	18.3
McCargo	Oceanside	27	546	20.2 (T8)
Higgins	La Jolla	27	545	20.2 (T8)
Doerr	Granite Hills	22	508	23.1 (6)
Millar	Coronado	24	505	21.0 (7)
Gibbs	Lincoln	25	504	20.2 (T8)
Skelley	Hoover	25	500	20.0
Boone	Crawford	28	483	17.3
Schutier	Chula Vista	24	465	19.4
Menzies	Grossmont	28	459	16.4
Petrie	Julian	17	446	26.2 (2)
Bojorquez	Fallbrook	24	442	18.4
Bill Walton	Helix	26	434	16.7
Gerding	Point Loma	25	428	17.1
Mushovic	Coronado	24	411	17.1
Jackson	Hilltop	23	418	18.2
Hays	Carlsbad	21	413	19.7
Barstow	Mount Miguel	25	412	17.5
Carlson	Mar Vista	24	407	17.0
Carr	Poway	24	399	16.6
Russell	San Diego Military	16	392	24.5 (4)

Rascon, Mountain Empire, scored 221 points in 11 games, a 20.1 average.

FLASHED AS SOPHOMORE

Walton had come up from the junior varsity during the 1967-68 playoffs and impacted a semifinal victory over Hilltop with two blocked shots and three rebounds at important junctures in a 69-57 victory.

Listed then by writer Bill Center as a “spindly, 6-foot, 6-inch sophomore,” Walton had grown over the summer to variously cited heights of 6-7, 6-8 ½, and 6-9 1/2.

Walton missed the season’s first three games, nursing a fractured metatarsal bone in his right foot, two days after receiving permission to play on a strained ligament in the same foot, according to a report in The San Diego Union.

Despite winning CIF and national collegiate championships at UCLA and NBA titles with the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics, Walton’s career often was interrupted and shortened by painful, crippling foot injuries.

SURPRISING SETBACKS

Helix won 29 games and had two unlikely losses, 58-52 to  Monte Vista, with a 2-10 record, and 63-60 to Santa Paula, a small Ventura County school, in the annual Fillmore tournament.

Helix came into the Monte Vista game with a 13-1 record but never led.  Bill Belander (19) and Ernie Arroyo (16) kept the Highlanders at a distance and the Monarchs’ 1-3-1 and 1-2-2 zone defenses slowed the Scots, whose repeated attempts to fast break were short circuited by defender Jim Krattli’s intercepted passes.

The Scots righted the ship the following game, running past El Cajon Valley, 105-53, as Bruce Menser scored 29 points, Dave Unroe 19, Race Paddock and Mike Dupree 11 each, and Bill Walton, 9.

Bill’s older brother, Bruce, a 6-foot-5, 250 pounder, also was an effective rebounder and scorer who went on to an outstanding football career, drafted in the fifth round by the Dallas Cowboys in 1973.

COMING ON

Bill Walton’s emerging dominance was never clearer than in a two-game stretch of Grossmont League play in February.  He had 21 points and 33 rebounds in a 70-48 conquest of Mount Miguel and 21 points and 17 rebounds three days later in a 69-52 win over Grossmont.

Walton, in another overwhelming performance, had 34 rebounds and 24 points against El Capitan as Helix, despite 17 first-half turnovers, won, 84-53.

Walton averaged 19 rebounds and had a 16.7 scoring average despite playing only  one quarter in early-season games.

DON’T KICK HORNETS’ NEST

Bill Center’s lead paragraph in The San Diego Union:  “Morse High won the Eastern League basketball title yesterday by downing Lincoln in the closing seconds, 73-72, in a game that ended with both referees having to be escorted from the Hornets’ gym.”

The trouble began, Center reported, when Lincoln’s Stan Cherry was fouled attempting a shot.  Had Cherry scored, Lincoln would have won and tied for the league championship.

But the referees ruled, after conferring with the timer, that the foul on Cherry occurred after the final buzzer and end of game.

As referee Doug Harvey, a future baseball Hall of Fame umpire, and Bob Moss, a local prep coach and former three-sport athlete at Lincoln, discussed what happened at the official scorer’s table, the near capacity crowd flowed onto the court. When the decision was rendered tempers flared.

FAISON TO RESCUE

Led by Lincoln faculty member and former San Diego Chargers star Earl Faison, a cordon of school officials whisked Harvey and Moss out of the gym away from trouble and into the nearby dressing room.

Harvey had worked many tension-filled games at Lincoln, including one with brother Nolan in 1959-60, when the younger brother of a San Diego High player came out of the stands and took a punch at Lincoln’s Al Catlin.

Morse’s hero was Cedric Reed, who scored the winning basket on a follow shot with 14 seconds remaining.  Reed had beaten the Hornets with two late baskets in a 63-61 thriller earlier.

WILLIAMS’ FIRST

For Morse coach Tom Williams, once a junior member of the Lincoln coaching staff, the victory was particularly satisfying, marking Williams’ first league title in the school’s seven years.

Williams opened the program in 1962-63 and gradually got the Tigers to the top from humble beginnings.  His teams went 2-22, 9-16, 4-16, 13-13, 16-11, and 20-9 before this season’s 23-6.

Williams went on to win 443 games in his career, which included starting up the Serra program when that school opened in 1976.

STANDLY STEPS DOWN.

San Diego High coach Bill Standly announced he was retiring from coaching after nine seasons with the Cavemen, preceded by a long run in Minnesota high schools.

The Cavers fell to 12-15 this season but Standly concluded his Cavers tenure with a 170-85 (.667) record, not counting five forfeits because of player ineligibility in 1965-66, and two Eastern League and two San Diego Section titles.

BARNBURNERS 

Kearny’s Wilburn Strong outscored Phil Edwards, 36-24, but Edwards’ teammate Michael Cohen scored 28 as Madison defeated its league rival, 89-87.  Strong had 40 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists as the Komets broke through on the Warhawks, 83-80, in the rematch.

“I’ve been waiting three years for this,” declared Kearny coach Wayne Colborne.  “They beat us twice with (Steve) Rostoker and twice with (Ron) Dahms.  The kids just made up their minds they wouldn’t do it twice again.”

As Bill Center noted, “Tearful Komets cheerleaders sang the school’s alma mater.”

UNI TRAGEDY

Kevin Madden, a three-sport standout for University, was killed on his way to school in a two-car accident on Friar’s Road near the school’s Linda Vista campus.  The school decided to play the scheduled game against Clairemont the following night and the Dons defeated the Chieftains, 66-44.

REPAIRMAN TO RESCUE

Madison’s 70-66 Western League win over University was delayed almost 20 minutes.  Just before the opening tip a Uni player took a final practice shot and the basket came unhinged and fell to the floor.

TOURNAMENTS

SOUTHERN PREP LEAGUE

–Rob Petrie scored 32 and Julian won the league’s December event, 74-49 over San Diego Military.

FALLBROOK

–Coronado defeated host Fallbrook, 65-56, in finals of the eighth annual of eight teams.  San Clemente, Perris, and Laguna Beach came in from outside the county line.

KIWANIS

–Twenty-second annual included 40 teams in Unlimited (Helix 64-57 over Madison), Limited (University 58-53 over Orange Glen), and Classified (San Marcos 55-45 over Bonita Vista) divisions.

–Highlanders coach Gordon Nash probably heard some groans from his team.  Helix led by one point with 1:43 left against John Hannon’s quick, scrappy Warhawks.  “We’ll be practicing tomorrow morning,” said Nash. “Walton has been out practically all season.  He hasn’t been able to practice with the team.”

–Walton, who did not always take the floor with the starting lineup, scored 67 points in four tournament games, including 24 in the championship.

–Bruce Walton made the all-tournament team.

–Hoover’s Tim Skelley came within one point of John Havens’ school-record 38 points in an 86-75, overtime loss to Point Loma.

–University moved to 9-0 but was held below its 77-point average in the 58-53, Limited Division championship against Orange Glen.

–Paul Halupa had 60 per cent of Bonita Vista’s points, 27 of 45, in the Classified loss.

EL CENTRO ELKS

–Madison and Phil Edwards set school records.  The Warhawks stormed past Mexicali CETY’s, 112-45, and Edwards scored 43 points, augmented by 31 from Bob Brady.

–Crawford, destined to finish 4-8 and in sixth place in the Eastern League, with an overall, 17-11 record, stunned Madison, 71-65 in the semifinals, shocking the team that would win the Western League at 11-1 and finish 26-6 overall.

–The Colts then surprised Morse, 49-48, in the finals.  The Tigers would win the Eastern League at 11-1.

FILLMORE

Santa Paula defeated Helix, 63-60, as Bill Walton was on the bench with five fouls, Bruce Menser did not play, and the Highlanders could not overcome a 54-38 deficit after three quarters.  It was the third time in this event since 1959  that Helix had lost to the unheralded Cardinals.

The Scots recovered to outscore Bakersfield, 78-61, for the consolation championship.

UNIVERSITY

The tournament program was 0-4, retaining its record of misspelling the name of the tournament director, Uni coach Hector Macis.

Macis again was identified as “Mr. Marcis” in the publication.

–Kearny’s Wilburn Strong set a school record with 42 points in a school-record 97-53 win over Granite Hills.

–“I saw where Phil Edwards scored 43 in El Centro last night and I figured I could get that many, too,” said Strong.

–Strong was the tournament most-valuable player and set a record with 121 points (ex-teammate Russ [Whimpy] scored 100 in the 1966 tournament), but Hoover won the championship, 80-60, over Castle Park.

–Coach Wayne DeBate’s Cardinals jumped to a 16-2 lead in the first four minutes, shot 69 per cent from the field in the first half, and balanced the scoring among all five starters.  Bob Martinez led with 18 points, followed by Tim Skelley, 17, Bill Conti, 16, Jack Neal, 15, and Gary Browning, 14.

–“I’ve never had a team come so close to playing as well as those kids tonight,” said DeBate.

JIM MITCHELL MEMORIAL

Originally known as the Mustang Optimist, the name was changed to honor former San Dieguito star Lt. Jim Mitchell, who was killed in action in Viet Nam.

–Eight teams participated.

–El Cajon Valley emerged from the eight-team field, defeating Vista, 58-47, for the championship after knocking off Pomona, 82-42.  San Dieguito claimed third place, 69-64 over Bonita Vista, whose Paul Halupa scored 37 points for the second time this season.

SAN BERNARDINO KIWANIS

San Diego defeated Redlands, 59-56, then was sent home after losses to Ontario Chaffey, 84-65, and Anaheim, 60-49.

CHINO

Escondido went further than Mar Vista and Chula Vista but bowed to Pomona, 64-57, in the consolation semifinals.

PLAYOFFS

–The CIF still was jamming the postseason into one week, with 16 teams in one division.  Poor Julian had to play with the big boys.  Two teams each from the Eastern, Western, Grossmont, Metropolitan and Avocado, which had moved from Class A to Class AA this year, plus one each from the Palomar and Southern leagues, and 4 additional at-large clubs, were invited.

FIRST ROUND

–Madison eliminated Vista (16-10), 81-70.  Castle Park (23-9) ousted Mount Miguel (16-9), 56-40.  Helix beat 16-11 Hoover, 76-41.  Oceanside (15-12) topped Coronado (16-9), 73-57.  Kearny (20-10) edged 16-10 Lincoln, 64-58.  Grossmont (18-10) overwhelmed Julian (13-4), 93-36.  Orange Glen (22-8) got past Marian (16-12), 52-49, and Morse topped University (24-4).

–Morse’s first-ever playoff win was a tribute to ironmen and teamwork.  All five starters went the distance, all in double figures, led by Terry Antoine with 23 points and Avery Clark with 20.

SECOND ROUND

Helix eliminated Kearny, 70-57.  Castle Park nudged Orange Glen, 65-53.  Morse whacked Oceanside, 79-63, and Madison beat Grossmont, 83-73.

SEMIFINALS

–There were 4,635 persons at the Sports Arena, hosting the Final 4 for the first time, although CIF honcho Don Clarkson said the Friday night crowd was closer to 3,800.

–Bob Brady’s two free throws with one second left in overtime lifted Madison past Morse, 67-66.  Helix bombed Castle Park, 68-40.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Bill Walton scored 13 points and had 15 rebounds in 19 minutes as Helix repeated a Kiwanis Tournament victory over Madison, 87-72.  Morse edged Castle Park, 69-64, for third place.

A triple header started with the third place game at 5 p.m., followed by the championship at 7 and the San Diego Rockets-L.A. Lakers  NBA contest at 9, witnessed by an announced turnout of 14,380.

Attendance for the Helix-Madison game was estimated at 6,500. No pep bands were in attendance and cheerleaders were closer to the building’s rafters than the floor, according to Bill Center.

JUMP SHOTS

Francis Parker (9-10) dropped its first-ever game, 53-31 to the Marian Freshmen, who were led by George Milke’s 20 points and Dan Prager’s 18…the Lancers got into the win column in the next game, a 67-19 rout of the San Diego Military junior varsity as Scott Braly scored 27 points at Municipal Gym…Parker scored the first 24 points in a 66-13 win over Southwestern Military in San Marino….Patrick Henry (2-23) lost its inaugural, 70-25 to Vista and its first victory was 49-44 over Vista’s Palomar League neighbor, San Marcos, as Bill Hilke scored 22…the new school in San Carlos was coached by Alan (Fritz) Ziegenfuss, who played for Jim Sams at Crawford in 1960-61…mentor beat student twice in Eastern League play, 63-40 and 68-33…Rod Boone scored 22 in each game to lead the Colts…a 103-31 loss to Calipatria was part of Borrego Springs’ introductory, 1-7 season…Brian Standly, the Madison High correspondent for The San Diego Union, is son of San Diego High mentor Bill Standly…Lincoln equaled a school record in an 86-63 win over Hilltop and bettered that mark in a 91-40 rout of  Patrick Henry that set an Eastern League record for most points in one game…6-foot-9 Ken Barstow, Mount Miguel’s lone starter back from the 32-0 1967-68 team, scored 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds all in the first half of a 70-63 win over Santana…the Matadors’ County record 35 consecutive wins and 53 of 54 came to an end in a 80-65 loss to St Augustine (16-12) despite Barstow’s 35 points…Coronado enjoyed a 33-4 edge in free throws, which was enough to hold off Sweetwater, 71-65…the losing Red Devils were ahead from the field, 62-38, but converted only 4 of 16 free throw attempts…the Islanders were 33×41 from the line…the San Diego High gym had a leaky ceiling from recent rain…Lincoln overcame the moisture, defeating the Cavemen, 55-50…Helix scored 35 points in the first quarter and clinched a tie for the Grossmont League title, 98-48 over Granite Hills…

 

 

The Santana Sultans, not usually compared to the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Earth” of a generation ago, or today’s L.A. Rams, almost short-circuited the scoreboard.

Coach Tim Estes’ squad defeated La Jolla Country Day, 76-55, in an opening-round game in the Division IV playoffs.

This was not eight-man football.

The score represented the highest total by two teams in almost 100 years.

San Diego High and Army-Navy Academy combined for 137 points in 1920.  San Diego was on the front end with 130. The Hilltoppers’ achievement was made easier by a rule of the day that required the defensive team to kick off following a score.

Such was not the case for the Sultans, who still accumulated almost 55 points more than their 2018 average.  The losing Torreys had given up 383 points in their first 10 games, an average of 38 points, which Santana doubled.

Santana outscored ‘Day, 28-27, in the fourth quarter of the three-and-one-half-hour game.

“That was a fun and crazy game,” Estes understated to writer John Maffei.  “We’re at 62 points and I’m still worried they might come back.”

The San Diego Section record for combined points was 119, by Rancho Bernardo and West Hills in a 71-48 ‘Bernardo victory in the 1999 playoffs and by Monte Vista and San Diego in a 71-48 Monarchs win in the 2017 postseason.

WHO GOOFED?

Perhaps a mischievous geek.

I had to squint my eyes and look twice when I fired up the computer Saturday morning and went to Cal Preps.com.

Morse was reported to have beaten Hilltop by a score of 85-2.

The Tigers were a definite favorite, seeded fifth to the Lancers’ 12^th in D-III, but this result would have been the highest for a playoff since San Diego defeated Orange, 84-6, in the 1916 Southern Section postseason.

A quick check on The San Diego Union website showed the right score.  Morse actually won by the more conventional 42-14.  Cal Preps.com soon corrected its error.

FAVORITES COME THROUGH

Higher seeded teams won 25 of the 30 first-round games.  Three eight seeds topped nine seeds in essential pick-‘em contests.  Two No. 11 seeds provided the surprises.

San Diego Southwest traveled almost 140 miles and beat Calexico Vincent Memorial, 34-26, for its first postseason victory since 1989, when Carl Parrick held sway and claimed one of his 189 coaching victories.

Grossmont, saddled with a 3-7 regular-season mark that was its poorest since the 2-8 of 1999, stunned 6 seed Madison, 44-42.

Writer Jim Lindgren noted that seven seconds were left in the game and Madison was on the Foothillers’ 30-yard line.

Then the lights went out at Warhawks Stadium.

A 25-minute delay followed.

Daniel Stokes ran eight yards when play resumed.  The Warhawks still had time to try a reported 38-yard field goal, which was wide to the left.

Just two weeks before a lightning strike forced St. Augustine and Madison to suspend play until the following Monday, when Madison scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to win, 28-24 as the game ended.

You can’t make this up.

TRUE GRID

A couple more successes and Ramona’s Damon Baldwin will become the 42nd area mentor to win 100 games…Baldwin is 98-60-1 since 2005 and sends the 8 seed Bulldogs against 1 seed Granite Hills in the D-II quarterfinals this week…Monte Vista’s Ron Hamamoto needs two victories to tie John Shacklett at 229 victories, fourth all time…Dreaded Administrative Glitch:  Sweetwater recently was discovered to have forfeited six Metro League victories in 1968…the announcement was not made until two months after the season, although no reason was announced…the forfeits made coach Dave Lay’s all-time record  95-41-2…Mission Hills, a 9 seed, has won first-round games in 13 consecutive seasons and gets No. 1 La Costa Canyon in D-I  after a 20-13 win over Rancho Bernardo…Santana’s record for most points in a game was 70 in a shutout of Grande Prairie of Alberta, Canada, in 2011…domestically the Sultans’ highest was in a 59-19  over Kearny in 2015…John McFadden, coach of the 9-1 Eastlake Titans, is 129-43 (.750) since 2000…McFadden was on hiatus from 2014-17 and Eastlake, under two different coaches, was 24-22…Steele Canyon is on a roll similar to 2017, when the Cougars won a record 6 playoff  games and claimed a state III-A state title…the 5 seed Cougars rushed for 491 yards in a 49-17 win over El Camino in D-1 for their fifth in a row and take on No. 4 St. Augustine this week….

The move away from the ubiquitous and arcane “Power Ratings” to those offered by Max Preps and Cal Preps.com, preferred by the coaches, did not evoke the usual shouts of “We wuz robbed,” but still was painful to Scripps Ranch.

The Falcons, who moved to the City League from the Eastern this season, are the only team with a winning record not in the playoff field of 68 teams of 11-man and 8-man football.

Coach Marlon Gardinera’s squad posted a 6-4 record, its first winning season since 2013, but the two computer services were not impressed.

CalPreps.com churned out a 1.3 rating for Scripps, which put it below playoff teams Rancho Buena Vista (3.6) and El Capitan (4.8).  Max Preps rated the Falcons 486^th in the state, while RBV was 450th and El Capitan 428th.

Hilltop is in the the Division IV playoffs despite a Cal Preps.com rating of minus 2.  But as a league champion (Metro South Bay), the Lancers get the privilege.

Galling perhaps to Scripps Ranch is that RBV (4-6) and El Capitan (3-7) had poorer won-loss records.

Who you played can be just as important as your record—the  timeless “strength of schedule” argument.

Torrey Pines, from the Avocado League, the section’s strongest this year, has a 59.1 Cal Preps rating and Cathedral, from the weaker Western loop, is at 56.1.  Torrey Pines is 13^th in the state, according to Max Preps, and Cathedral 17^th.

FILLER UP

The rubber will hit the road this week.

Some of the longest trips in the San Diego Section await teams.

San Diego Southwest is separated by 125 miles from Calexico Vincent Memorial, a  mostly freeway journey that should be covered in one hour, fifty minutes,

Classical is 139 miles from Calexico, a probable two-hour, four-minute ride for the visiting Bulldogs.

West Hills to Imperial is 108 miles, Calipatria to Blythe 98 miles, and Borrego Springs to Foothills Christian, 77.

From North to South, El Camino is 59 miles from Steele Canyon.

2018 CHAMPIONS

LEAGUE	TEAM	LAST SEASON	2017 CHAMP
Avocado	Torrey Pines	Third	Mission Hills
Citrus	Borrego Springs	Tie, third	Julian
City	San Diego	First, Central	University City
Central	Serra	Fourth, City	San Diego
Coastal	Santa Fe Christian	Second	The Bishop’s
Eastern	Christian	Second	Lincoln
Grossmont Hills	Granite Hills, Helix Steele Canyon	*See below	Helix
Grossmont Valley	Monte Vista	Second	Granite Hills
Imperial Valley	El Centro Central	Second	El Centro Southwest
Manzanita	Mountain Empire	Third	Calexico Vincent Memorial
Metro Mesa	Eastlake	Second	Otay Ranch
Metro Pacific	Castle Park	Fourth	Montgomery
Metro South Bay	Hilltop	First	Hilltop
Ocean	Foothills Christian	Second	Calvin Christian
Pacific	Tri-City Christian	^Second	Maranatha
Palomar	Poway	Tie, fifth	Ramona
Valley	Valley Center	First	Valley Center
Western	Cathedral	Fourth	St. Augustine

• *Helix was first and Steele Canyon third in Grossmont Hills League.  Granite Hills was first in Grossmont Valley.

^ Tri-City Christian had same, 3-1 record but Maranatha won head-to-head meeting.

LONG WAIT FOR SOME

Most of this season’s 18 league winners are familiar with the elation that is part of the ride.  All but 5 had at least one championship since 2013.

Manzanita League Mountain Empire’s last undisputed title was in 2000, although the Redhawks tied for first with Holtville and Calipatria in 2012.  Poway had not been in the Palomar League throne room since 2012.

Grossmont Valley titlist Monte Vista’s most recent first was as a member of the Grossmont South League in 2004.  It’s been since 2009 for the Imperial Valley League’s El Centro Central.

Avocado winner Torrey Pines hasn’t celebrated since it won the 2010 Palomar League championship.

El Centro Southwest, 14-1 a year ago and undefeated until the state Division 4-A title game, a 45-41 loss to Milpitas, fell to 4-6 and is out.  Julian, winner of the Citrus League in 2017, also is out of the four-team, 8-man playoffs.

HAIL, TORREY PINES

Torrey Pines took the lead with 22 first-place votes in the San Diego Union-Tribune poll for Week 1  and the Falcons maintained and finished the regular-season polling with 24 first-place votes.

There will be a final poll released following the last game.

Week 11 Union-Tribune poll

Rank             Team                        Record                Points           Previous

1.	Torrey Pines (24)	9-0	294	1
2.	Cathedral	9-1	276	2
3.	San Marcos	8-1	221	3
4.	Eastlake	9-1	202	6
5.	Carlsbad	6-3	193	6
6.	Helix	6-4	113	3
7.	St. Augustine	7-3	104	8
8.	Steele Canyon	8-2	78	NR
9.	La Costa Canyon	6-3	60	7
10..	Granite Hills	9-1	47	10

Others: Poway (8-2, 24 points), Christian (9-1, 19), Madison (6-4, 5), Mira Mesa (7-2, 5), El Centro Central (10-0, 4), Rancho Bernardo (7-3, 3), Lincoln (6-4 with 2 forfeit losses, 2), Mission Hills (3-6, 1), Monte Vista (9-01, 1).

Voting panel: 30 sportswriters, sportscasters, and officials from throughout the County.

• • John Maffei, The San Diego Union                                                                  Jim Lindgren, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Union-Tribune correspondents
  • Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone, KUSI Chl. 51
  • Adam Paul, ECpreps.com
  • Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com
  • Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com
  • Ted Mendenhall, Tyler Quellman, The Mighty 1090
  • Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions
  • Troy Hirsch, Fox 5, San Diego
  • Rick Smith, PartletonSports.com
  • Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, Ron Marquez, Carlton Hoggard, CIF San Diego Section
  • Joe Heinz, Coordinator, Athletics, Sweetwater School District
  • Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net
  • Montell Allen, MBA Sports/San Diego Friday Night Lights Magazine
  • Bob Petinak, Fox 1360 Radio
  • John Kentera, Brandon Suprenant, 97.3 FM The Fan
  • Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM
  • Jim Arnaiz, Mike Dolan, John Carroll, San Diego Section Tournament Directors.

CAL-HI SPORTS
Torrey Pines remained at No. 12 and Cathedral at No. 13 in the newsletter’s weekly top 50 rankings.  Eastlake also stayed in the same place at No. 40 and Carlsbad got into the spirit with its first appearance, at No. 45.

Helix, La Costa Canyon, and San Marcos are on the bubble.

Torrey Pines’ Mac Bingham banged Oceanside for a San Diego Section, record-tying eight touchdowns in a 71-41 win and will lead the Falcons against La Costa Canyon this week, hoping to tie up the Avocado League championship, earn a first-round bye and top seed in the playoffs, and get the Falcons to 9-0 for the first time since 2010.

Only two other runners in the 59-season history of the local CIF, Monte Vista’s Jahmon McClendon and Rancho Buena Vista’s Dorian Robinson, scored eight touchdowns in a game, coincidentally in the 2017 playoffs.

McClendon torched San Diego as Monte Vista claimed the Division IV championship, 71-48, and Robinson landed the knockout punches in a 62-43 win over Santana, and set a section record with 499 yards rushing in a first round, D-III contest.

The trio still came up short of the all-time San Diego County record.

Frank Greene of Coronado scored 11 touchdowns in a 108-0 victory over Sweetwater on Oct. 10, 1929.  Greene also converted 14 points after for a total of 80, still the California high school record.

Greene played one season in the NFL in the ‘thirties, returned to Coronado and eventually was serving as a lieutenant on the police force.  He was shot to death in the line of duty on Oct. 12, 1954 (search “1954: Coronado’s Fallen Officer”).

Week 10 Union-Tribune poll:

Rank             Team                        Record                Points           Previous

1.	Torrey Pines (22)	8-0	292	1
2.	Cathedral (8)	8-1	278	2
3.	Helix	6-3	232	3
4.	Eastlake	8-1	192	6
5.	San Marcos	7-1	190	5
6.	Carlsbad	5-3	150	8
7.	La Costa Canyon	6-2	106	4
8.	St. Augustine	6-3	66	10
9.	Madison	6-3	37	7
10..	Granite Hills	8-1	27	9

Others: Christian (7-0, 18 points), Lincoln (5-2, includes forfeit loss, 15), Poway (6-2, 4), Oceanside (3-4, 2), Mission Hills (2-5, 2), El Centro Central (7-0, 1).

Voting panel: 30 sportswriters, sportscasters, and officials from throughout the County.

• • John Maffei, The San Diego Union                                                                  Jim Lindgren, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Union-Tribune correspondents
  • Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone, KUSI Chl. 51
  • Adam Paul, ECpreps.com
  • Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com
  • Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com
  • Ted Mendenhall, Tyler Quellman, The Mighty 1090
  • Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions
  • Troy Hirsch, Fox 5, San Diego
  • Rick Smith, PartletonSports.com
  • Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, Ron Marquez, Carlton Hoggard, CIF San Diego Section
  • Joe Heinz, Coordinator, Athletics, Sweetwater School District
  • Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net
  • Montell Allen, MBA Sports/San Diego Friday Night Lights Magazine
  • Bob Petinak, Fox 1360 Radio
  • John Kentera, Brandon Suprenant, 97.3 FM The Fan
  • Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM
  • Jim Arnaiz, Mike Dolan, John Carroll, San Diego Section Tournament Directors.

 

The Oscar Foster era was ending and so was the greatest three-year run in San Diego High’s storied basketball history.

The 6-foot, 7-inch forward never was first in scoring among San Diego Section players but set a career scoring record; led the Cavers to two championships in three seasons, established a school record with 41 points in one game, and was on the front end of the score in almost 27 games each season.

The Cavers were 77-17 with Foster in the lineup and their 29-2 record and .935 winning percentage this season was bettered only by the .938 of the 1935-36 team, which was 15-1.

Foster also was a leader off the court, carrying a 3.3 scholastic grade-point average and serving as president of the campus Boys’ Federation, Key Club, and Letterman’s Club.  He also was ranked among the top 40 players in the country, as noted by Scholastic Magazine.

Foster scored 660 points and averaged 20.7 points this season.  His three-season totals were 1,784, an average of 18.97 for 94 games, and he bettered the record, by 250 points, that Von Jacobsen of Crawford had set the season before.

TITLE SQUEAKER

Jumpin’ Johnny Otis’ two free throws with 15 seconds left pushed San Diego’s lead to 54-51 and the Cavers held on to defeat Mount Miguel (25-6) for the San Diego Section 2-A championship, 54-53.

A 28-15 fourth quarter gave the Hillers a 66-53 win over Hilltop in their first playoff.  Foster scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half as an overflow throng of 1,400 roared its approval at San Diego.

Otis scored 24 and Foster 17 in a 75-66 win over Madison (21-6) in the semifinals.

Foster teams were 8-1 in his three post-seasons .

The Cavers’ only two losses this year were to Long Beach Poly, 67-62, in the San Bernardino Kiwanis tournament and to St. Augustine, 55-53,  in a 14-1 Eastern League season.

TOURNAMENTS

The usual Kiwanis Tournament of 16 Unlimited Division and 16 Limited squads returned for a 20^th year.

Thirty-five of the Section’s 43 schools took part in a busy post-Kiwanis and post-Christmas schedule of at least seven events:

FALLBROOK

The earliest of the season saw Orange Glen defeat Laguna Beach, 58-54, for first place.

KIWANIS

What a difference a year makes, especially for Hoover and Crawford, blueblood finalists a year before who were knocked out in the opening round. Rising Mount Miguel beat the Cardinals 59-43, and Oceanside took out Crawford, 62-41.

Junior Roy Gayhart led Helix with 13 points and the Highlanders stunned Mount Miguel, 55-53, in overtime on Bob Kellison’s basket, earning the Highlanders a trip to Unlimited Division finals against San Diego, which outlasted the Scots, 50-44.

Hilltop ran past Coronado, 57-46, for the Limited crown.  The Lancers scored 291 points and averaged 73 points, a record, bettering the 289 by Hilltop in 1965.

Mount Miguel topped second-seeded Madison, 94-76, the teams setting a record for most combined points.

Blaine Bundy of El Capitan raised the single-game scoring record to 46 points in a 70-60 win over San Dieguito.  St. Augustine’s Jacob Crawford had 42 in 1959.

Bundy had games of 20, 33, 46, and 21, tying the 1962 total of 120 by Granite Hills’ Bob Lundgren. The Vaqueros won two games before losing to Santana, 48-43, in the Limited consolation finals.

UNIVERSITY

The 16-team format was the same as for the inaugural event a year before.  All games would be played in the University of San Diego gymnasium, tipoffs ranging from 8 a.m. to 8:15 p.m.

St. Augustine thrived by living dangerously.

Victor Crawford’s follow shot with four seconds left gave the Saints a 54-52, overtime victory against Mount Miguel in the championship game. Gil Evans’ basket with six seconds remaining tied the score at 52 and Evans was fouled.  He missed the free throw attempt but Crawford rebounded.

St. Augustine topped Madison in a quarterfinals game, 61-60, when Evans knocked down two free throws with 12 seconds left. The Saints scored seven points in the final 1:36 after Madison led throughout by 4 to 8 points.

St. Augustine outscored four opponents by a total of 11 points.  They also beat Kearny, 47-42, and Hilltop, 59-56.

Hilltop’s Woody Hamilton scored 34 points in a 71-64 win over Mission Bay to break the individual record of 31 by Clairemont’s Bob Martin in 1965.

EL CENTRO ELKS

Eight of the 16 entries were from San Diego County, including Orange Glen, a 46-43 conqueror of El Centro Central for the title.

Morse’s Monroe Nash was the tournament most-valuable player and his 97 points in four games and high of 31 (El Cajon Valley’s Ray Sutton had 29 in 1965), helped the Tigers claim third place, 61-40 over Marian.

La Jolla won the consolation championship over El Cajon Valley, 55-44.

MUSTANG OPTIMIST

–Four teams, Coronado, San Dieguito, Vista and San Marcos, competed in a round-robin format as the Encinitas optimists downsized their event in competition with the other tournaments involving San Diego teams.

Coronado (24-6) took the measure of host San Dieguito (8-18), 62-46, in the championship.  Vista claimed third, 72-43 over San Marcos.

FILLMORE

Rick Edwards and Roy Gayhart each scored 11 points as the Highlanders topped Santa Monica, 48-32, for third place.

The La Mesans won their opener, 59-51 over Glendale Hoover but lost in the second round, 60-52, to Santa Susanna Simi Valley.

SAN BERNARDINO

San Diego nudged Fontana, 56-52, after Oscar Foster’s basket with five seconds etched a tie at 49 and forced an overtime.

The Cavers’ 11-game winning streak ended in a 67-62 loss to Long Beach Poly, but they claimed fifth place after beating El Monte, 57-56, on Johnny Otis’ basket with five seconds left and San Bernardino, 60-54.

CHINO

Mar Vista outlasted Temple City, 74-72, for third place.  The Mariners were beaten, 62-54, by Pomona in the semifinals of the 26^th annual event, outscored, 24-4, at the free throw line.  The South Bay club had beaten Claremont, 77-54 and Garden Grove Rancho Alamitos, 52-47.

Defending champion Chula Vista won its opener over Upland, 54-50, before bowing out to Temple City, 65-58.  Escondido had been ushered into the consolation bracket by Montclair, 63-51.  The Cougars bounced back to defeat Pomona Garey, 62-61, before losing in the conso’ semifinals to Pomona Ganesha, 83-68.

COVINA

Crawford was eliminated by Covina, 73-58, in the first round.

PLAYOFFS

The Avocado League had moved from Class 1-A to 2-A, so CIF Bosses increased the playoffs from 8 to 12 teams but maintained the 4-day, one-week schedule. Five of the 12, including Orange Glen, Coronado, Oceanside, Morse, and Madison, were making their first appearances in the large school division.

Marian (19-6), behind Steve Bajo, raced past La Jolla Country Day (12-4), 92-60, in the 1-A final and had four games in the regular season in which it scored at least 100 points.

The Crusaders also set the record for most points in one game in a 124-50 romp over San Marcos and defeated Army-Navy, 120-49.

FIRST ROUND

Victor Crawford and Gil Evans scored 38 of St. Augustine’s 39 points as the Saints eliminated Kearny (15-10) and 24-point scoring Russ (Whimpy) Northcutt, 75-60.  Evans made 18 of 19 free throw attempts and the Saints were 27×31 from the line.

Hilltop edged Helix (17-11), 67-61. Clairemont (18-11), outscored, 18-4, in the third quarter, rallied with a 25-10 fourth quarter to oust Oceanside (18-8), 56-51. Orange Glen (25-3) eased past 18-11 Morse, 56-51.

QUARTERFINALS

St. Augustine’s life of living dangerously came to an end in the quarterfinals in a 55-53 loss to Coronado.  Victor Crawford’s running 10-footer missed with 4 seconds left and with Coronado in front, 54-53.  The Saints’ Gil Evans then committed an intentional foul and was ejected.  When the Islanders’ Mike Nienberg missed the second of the ensuing two free throws, the Saints rebounded and had a chance.

Madison’s 80-53 win over Orange Glen set a single-game scoring record..  Steve Rostoker (23) and Ron Dahms (22) led the Warhawks.

Mount Miguel sent Clairemont home, 77-56.

SEMIFINALS

Coach Dick Ridgway’s Mount Miguel Matadors probably were only slight favorites, but they outclassed Coronado, 67-48, behind 24 points from Ken Greenman, one of four starters who would be back in 1968-69,  before 3,700 persons at Cal Western’s Golden Gym.

Madison further diminished Coronado, which had claimed its first league championship since 1955-56, 73-55, for third place as Steve Rostoker scored 22 and Lyneer Nelson 20.

WHY THEY PLAY 

Point Loma (5-21) carried a 1-10 Western League record into the game, but showed toughness and resolve against La Jolla.

The Pointers outlasted the Vikings, 85-83, in overtime after Pete Irwin’s fast-break layin tied the score at 78 in regulation and Phil Northcraft’s two free throws in the final three seconds of the extra session got the peninsula club past La Jolla (14-12).

ROAD WARRIORS

San Diego ran by Morse, 65-56, in the resumption of Eastern League play in January.  The game was the 11^th in a row on the road for the Cavemen and their 10^th victory.  They had not played at home since a 70-40 rout of Clairemont in early December.

THANKS, NEEDEE

Legendary former Coronado coach Hal Niedermeyer came to my rescue when I was refused admittance to Carrothers Gym, where the Islanders would edge Hilltop, 72-71, in a critical Metropolitan League game.

I had shown my press credentials to a retired Admiral type who seem to enjoy telling me that I would have go elsewhere, explaining that the gym was packed beyond capacity.

Niedermeyer pulled me aside and said, “Follow me.”  We went through several back doors and I eventually was able to gain entrance and cover one of the most exciting games of the era.

SCORERS

El Capitan was 5-21 and you could imagine what the Vaqueros would have finished if not for Blaine Bundy, the 6-foot, 7-inch forward who was the CIF’s leading scorer and whose 25.2 average was fourth highest in area history behind Tom Shaules’ 26.3 in 1957-58, Shaules’ 25.5 in 1956-57, and Elburt Miller’s 25.4 in 1962-63.

Marian led in team scoring with a 72.2 average, followed by Madison, 70.7, Mount Miguel, 68.3, Hilltop, 66.7, and San Diego, 63.8.  La Jolla Country Day, despite giving up 92 points in its final game, had the best scoring defense, 43.8.

La Jolla’s Steve Haskett set a school record with 576 points, topping the 447 by Dave Grund in 1962-63.  Haskett scored 32 points in one game, three less than the 35 by Chet Guthrie in 1960-61.

Lincoln’s Leonard Jackson had 36 points in a 62-58 win over Hoover, bettering the 34 by Steve Ojetti in 1960-61. Russ (Whimpy) Northcutt’s 34 in a 68-54 win over Mission Bay set a Kearny record. Steve Rostoker scored 36 for a Madison record in a 72-71, opening-game win over Oceanside.

LEADERS

NAME	TEAM	GAMES	POINTS	AVERAGE
Bundy	El Capitan	26	656	25.2 (1)
Foster	San Diego	31	642	20.7 (6)
Northcutt	Kearny	26	622	23.9 (2)
Rostoker	Madison	26	602	23.2 (3)
Haskett	La Jolla	26	576	22.2 (4)
Crawford	St. Augustine	30	576	19.2 (7)
Nash	Morse	27	567	21.0 (5)
Evans	St. Augustine	30	564	18.8 (8)
Tschogl	Hilltop	30	541	18.0 (10)
Roberts	Clairemont	30	519	17.3
Northcraft	Point Loma	26	473	18.2 (9)
Chavez	Mount Miguel	30	461	15.3
Boone	Mar Vista	27	458	17.0
Jackson	Lincoln	25	440	17.6
Clingan	Marian	25	411	16.4
MacDonald	Hoover	27	411	15.2
Couppee	University	24	407	17.0
Olson	Chula Vista	23	403	17.5
Collins	Granite Hills	24	400	16.7
Maroncelli	Oceanside	26	388	15.0
Heaton	Granite Hills	24	380	15.8

 

JUMP SHOTS

Things looked promising at Crawford after the Colts beat a strong Hilltop team, 75-65, in the season opener…the Colts entered the game with one letterman and graduates of a losing junior varsity…the veteran, Fred Bellinger, scored 18 points but Crawford gained no traction, finishing with a 6-18 record, poorest in the era of coach Jim Sams and the worst since 2-19 and 4-18 seasons after the school opened in 1957-58…Jumpin’ Johnny Otis 23 scored points in his San Diego High varsity debut, a 73-45 win over San Dieguito (8-18)…Oscar Foster had 28 in the same contest and followed with  26 in a 67-61 win over Hilltop, whose home crowd was assessed two technical fouls, leading to five free throw points by Foster in the final minute… Foster had 26 points, 26 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 63-54 win over St. Augustine…brothers Carl and Willie Buchanon combined for 35 in a 92-50 rout of Poway…Russ Northcutt picked up the moniker “Whimpy” in junior high because of his preference for a popular hamburger of that name…Bob Speidel stepped down as Helix coach after 7 seasons, two championships, and a 122-64 record…Dick Eiler was leaving for administration after posting a 83-86 record in seven seasons at Clairermont.

Friday Night Lights turned into Friday Night Lightning.

Games were shortened, postponed, or called because of torrential rain and bolts from the sky.

The score at the time of mass evacuations from the field and stands stood as final for many of the games.  Some, as in the Avocado League, were declared “no contest” and would not be replayed.

Two-and-a-half days later the temperature had jumped to the ’nineties at Madison High, accompanied by dry Santa Ana winds, bringing new meaning to the term “climate change”.

The climate had changed for St. Augustine, which resumed play at Madison, leading the Warhawks, 24-7 with 46 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Saints managed to fritter away most of their lead with a series of misadventures but still led, 24-21, when Madison drove 105 yards (actually 85, with an additional 20 in penalties).

The Warhawks won on Brock White’s 35-yard pass to Daniel Stokes on the last play of the game, which was not official until game officials gathered in a far corner of the North end zone, surrounded by players from both sides, to raise their hands signaling the touchdown and a 27-24 Warhawks victory.

1979 REDUX

Almost 39 years earlier, on Oct. 26, 1979, Kearny edged Point Loma, 9-6, in a game that started the night before but was halted when lightning struck a nearby transformer and the lights went out at Mesa College.

Referee Eddie Olsen took the bull by the horns and gathered coaches Bennie Edens of Point Loma and Tom Barnett of Kearny in the middle of the field, rain pouring, thunder in the distance, pitch dark.

Olsen, without consulting CIF commissioner Kendall (Spider) Webb or anyone else, instructed the coaches to bring their teams back to Mesa the following afternoon and play to a conclusion. Edens and Barnett agreed.

Kearny and Point Loma resumed play, the Komets leading, 6-0, with 11:19 remaining in the fourth quarter and eventually pulling out a 9-6 victory.

(Search “1979: Komets and Pointers Play 18-hour Game!” for complete story).

THIS WEEK’S BIGGIE

San Diego (6-1) plays host to Kearny (7-0) in a battle of the City League’s finest. These two old-line powers continue to rise, not to the bigger program levels of Duane Maley’s 85-15 Cavers in the decade of the 1950s or to Birt Slater’s 1963-76 Komets run of 115-33-9, but they have established themselves as Division IV stalwarts.

Beginning with a 58-12 victory (all of its points in the first three quarters) in 1950, San Diego won the first eight meetings between the schools.  Slater, after leaving San Diego, where he was an assistant from 1953-57, was 6-2 from 1960-76 against his old employer and Kearny leads the all-time series, 20-17.

Will Gray is 23-17 at Kearny since 2015, including 16-3 in the last two seasons.  Charles James is 21-18 at San Diego since 2015 and 18-2 in the last two-plus seasons.  Both coaches took over when their programs were in the abyss.

CAL-HI SPORTS

Torrey Pines remained at 14th in the newsletter’s weekly, top 50 rankings, although the Falcons trailed at halftime, 10-7, to San Marcos when the heavens opened.

Torrey Pines, located a couple miles West on Del Mar Heights Road, now can see  neighbor Cathedral directly in the Falcons’ rear view mirror.  Cathedral still is 15th, but, as noted below, picked up several first place votes in the The Union-Tribune voting.

Eastlake moved from 42nd to 39th, Helix to 42nd from 45th, and La Costa Canyon from 49th to 46th.  Carlsbad, San Marcos, and St. Augustine are on the bubble.

Week 9 Union-Tribune poll:

Rank	Team	2018	Points	Previous
1.	Torrey Pines (19)	7-0	287	1
2.	Cathedral (11)	7-1	281	2
3.	Helix	5-3	216	3
4.	La Costa Canyon	6-1	190	4
5.	San Marcos	6-1	175	6
6.	Eastlake	7-1	173	5
7.	Madison	6-2	130	7
8.	Carlsbad	4-3	66	9
9	Granite Hills	8-0	63	10
10.	St. Augustine	5-3	45	9

Others: Poway (7-2, 5 points), El Centro Central (8-0, 4), Christian (7-1, 3), Rancho Bernardio (6-2, 3), Christian (6-0, 20), Steele Canyon (6-2, 3), Mission Hills (2-5, 2), Oceanside (4-1, 1), Point Loma (5-3, 1).

Voting panel (30 sportswriters, sportscasters, various County football honchos):

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
• Jim Lindgren, Rick Hoff, Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Union-Tribune correspondents
• Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone, KUSI Chl. 51
• Adam Paul, ECpreps.com
• Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com
• Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com
• Ted Mendenhall, Tyler Quellman, The Mighty 1090
• Steve Brand, San Diego Hall of Champions
• Troy Hirsch, Fox 5, San Diego
• Rick Smith, PartletonSports.com
• Jerry Schniepp, John Labeta, Ron Marquez, Carlton Hoggard, CIF San Diego Section
• Joe Heinz, Coordinator, Athletics, Sweetwater School District
• Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net
• Montell Allen, MBA Sports/San Diego Friday Night Lights Magazine
• Bob Petinak, Fox 1360 Radio
• John Kentera, Brandon Suprenant, 97.3 FM The Fan
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM
• Jim Arnaiz, Mike Dolan, John Carroll, San Diego Section Tournament Directors.