Enriched by the transfer from St. Augustine of running back-defensive back Isaac Taylor Stuart (a four- or five star recruit, according to  grading services), coach Robbie Owens’ Helix Highlanders begin the season as the No. 1 team in the San Diego Section, according to the 28-member Union-Tribune voting panel.

The Scots, 10-3 a year ago, received 19 first-place votes.  Cathedral, defending state D-1AA champion,  received seven, and Mission Hills and Lincoln one each.

Helix is 12th in Cal-Hi Sports‘ preseason, California top 50 poll.

Cathedral, 14, and St. Augustine, 22, are the other San Diego Section teams in Cal-Hi‘s first 25.  Madison is 36th, Mission Hills, 43rd, and Torrey Pines is on the bubble.

The state CIF has 1,587 schools, although many do not field teams..  The internet site Max Preps  lists 94 schools fielding teams of the 127 dues-paying members in the San Diego Section.

 

Rank	Team	2016	Points	2016 Final
1.	Helix (19)	10-3	258	3
2.	Mission Hills (1)	7-5	214	9
3.	Cathedral (7)	15-0	204	1
4.	Madison	13-2	198	2
5.	St. Augustine	10-3	178	6
6.	Torrey Pines	8-3	88	8
7.	Oceanside	8-3	76	NR
8.	El Camino	3-8	63	NR
9.	Lincoln (1)	7-5	58	NR
10.	San Marcos	7-5	49	NR

 Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

NR: Not Ranked.

Others receiving votes:  The Bishop’s (14-1, 24 points), Point Loma (5-7, 22), Mater Dei (13-1, 15), Rancho Bernardo (11-1,15), Grossmont (9-2, 14), Carlsbad (4-8, 13), La Costa Canyon (6-6, 13), Eastlake (2-9, 8), Olympian (8-5. 6), Valley Center (10-2, 5), Ramona (5-6, 2), Valhalla (8-3, 1).

Voters: (28 sportswriters, sportscasters, officials) John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Terry Monahan, Don Norcross, Tom Saxe, Rick Hoff, Jim Lindren, Union-Tribune correspondents; Paul Rudy, Brandon Stone, Rick Willis, KUSI Chl. 51; Adam Paul , East County Preps.com; Ramon Scott, East County Sports.com; Bodie DeSilva, San Diego Preps.com; Ted Mendenhall, Taylor 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, Carlton Hoggard, CIF San Diego; Raymond Brown, sdfootball.net; Montell Allen, MBASports-SDFNL Magazine; Bob Petinak,  1360AM; John Kentera, Prep Talent Evaluator; Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9FM; Jim Arnaiz, Mike Dolan, John Carroll, CIF Football Tournament Directors.

Name Hoover’s starting five in 1959-60 and Johnny (Bo) Williams probably would be the fifth to come to mind.

But Williams, a 6-foot, 1-inch guard, was an effective offensive player (269 points in 27 games) and outstanding defender for arguably the finest San Diego-area team before Bill Walton and Helix arrived a decade later.

Williams, 75, passed away recently at his home in Modesto, California.

The ’59-60 Hoover Cardinals were 23-0, the first major area team with an undefeated regular season, and the No. 1 seed in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

The Cardinals fell short, losing to Anaheim, 39-34, in a stunning upset in the semifinals round and to Ventura in the third-place game, 53-50.

The losses left Hoover with a final record of 26-2.

The Cardinals’ starting lineup also included 6-foot, 7-inch Walt Ramsey, 6-5 Bill Wylie, 6-0 John Bocko, and 6-1 Dave Morehead.

Morehead teamed with Williams in the backcourt, later signed a bonus baseball contract , and pitched a no-hitter for the Boston Red Sox in 1965.

David Grayson, who retired before the 1971 NFL season as one of the pro game’s all-time defensive backs, passed away recently at age 78.

Grayson intercepted 48 passes from 1961-70 in the American Football League and NFL as a member of the Dallas Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, and Oakland Raiders.

The 5-foot, 10-inch, 187-pounder with sprinter speed  was named to the all-time all-AFL team, the high point of a great career that began in the San Diego City Prep League.

Grayson was a starting defensive back and played fullback on the 11-0-1, 1955 San Diego High team that won the Southern California championship and was acclaimed the national high school team of the year.

Grayson and teammate Luther Hayes transferred to Lincoln after their junior football seasons at San Diego and they put the fledgling program of coach Walt Harvey’s on the map the following year.

Lincoln posted a 5-2-1 record in 1956 and came within a few feet of tying San Diego and Hoover for first place in the City Prep League.

Grayson’s  45-yard pass interception return set up one touchdown in the season-ending, 26-19 loss to San Diego and his 36-yard option pass to a diving Leonard Burnett put the Hornets on San Diego’s eight-yard line with time running out in the fourth quarter.

Hayes gained five yards but then was stopped short of the goal line  as the game ended.

“I should have given the ball to Grayson,” Harvey said of the last play years later.

The coach’s reasoning was that the quicker Grayson, shorter and more compact than the lanky Hayes, would have been able to find space in the Cavers’ defensive line and get the Hornets into position to tie the favored Cavemen.

The 170-pound Grayson made the all-City League team on offense and was one of the premier sprinters in the County during the spring track season with a best time of 10 seconds in the 100-yard dash.

Grayson and Lincoln also posted a time of 1:29.2 in the 880-yard relay and qualified for the CIF Southern Section finals.

Grayson was a member of San Diego Junior College’s 1957 Metropolitan Conference football championship squad and teamed with Roscoe Cook, Bobby Staten, and Fred Lucas as the Knights set a national JC record of 1:25.6 in the 880-yard relay in 1958 at the West Coast Relays in Fresno.

Grayson then moved onto to the University of Oregon, competed in football and track, and was co-captain of the Ducks’ 1960 football squad.

AL WAIBEL, 91

Waibel was a passing quarterback for the 1943 Oceanside Pirates, who were unbeaten with a 6-0 record in the World War II-shortened Southern Prep League campaign.

Waibel was head coach at Fallbrook from 1959-64.

The often undermanned Warriors did not join the newly formed San Diego Section in 1960 and competed in the Riverside County De Anza League, winning the league title and posting as 6-3 record.

VINCE KILPELA, 80, EARLY HORNETS STAR

The most-valuable player in the 1955 Lions Club Baseball Tournament was lefthanded pitcher Vince Kilpela of the emerging Lincoln High program.

Kilpela signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals and led the Sooner State League with 272 strikeouts in 1956.

Kilpela posted a 14-9 record for Ardmore, Oklahoma, pitching a whopping 231 innings and completing 25 starting assignments.

He also pitched at Fresno, Winston-Salem, and Billings, but a sore arm ended Kilpela’s career in 1957.

 

 

They have been cast in the 6-foot, 11-inch shadow of Bill Walton and Helix’ 33-0 team of 1969-70.

History has overlooked the Mount Miguel clubs that dominated the Grossmont League and San Diego Section in the late 1960s.

The Matadors were 25-6 in 1966-67 and 32-0 this season.

But coach Dick Ridgway’s squad did not embrace an intersectional schedule.

The Matadors won a couple December tournaments of local import and ran roughshod over area teams, eight times scoring more than 100 points.

Walton and Helix “went national”.

The Highlanders dominated the prestigious Covina Tournament, winning by 42 points in the finals against Pasadena and, in an earlier round, routing eventual Southern Section champion Long Beach Millikan by 24 points.

Walton was spotlighted in Faces in the Crowd, a weekly feature of Sports Illustrated.

Ridgway, who played for coach John Wooden at UCLA in the early ‘fifties, employed a pressing zone defense that Wooden’s teams had perfected to domination on the collegiate level.

Junior varsity graduate Ken Barstow, a 6-foot, 9-inch center, joined 6-3 forward Mike Ela and two split-second guards, Blake Mathews, and Ken Greenman, who formed the offensive and defensive attack along with forward Dave Lower.

Bill Center of The San Diego Union covered the Matadors and Walton’s Helix squads.

Which was better?

”Very close,” said Center.  “Walton was such a great athlete that I think Helix would win.”

But Center reserved a special place in his hoops hierarchy for the Spring Valley entry.

“Mount Miguel played so well together,” said Center. “It was the most fun team to watch that I covered. It was so unselfish and Mathews and Greenman were the perfect players to run his (Ridgway’s) press.”

The Matadors outscored their 32 opponents by an average score of 85.1-46.6 and set a County single-game scoring record in a 121-64 victory over Santana.  They beat Point Loma, 118-54, and scored 92 points in the last three quarters in a 111-62 win over El Cajon Valley.

Ela scored 685 points and averaged 21.4.  Greenman scored 594 and averaged 18.5.  Mathews scored 467 and averaged 14.6.

Helix, a year away from beginning a great run with Walton, was 0-4 against its neighboring rival.  The Matadors prevailed, 80-62, 86-57, and 67-56 in the regular season, and 69-55 in the CIF finals.

Oceanside got closer than anyone, bowing, 58-47, in the playoff quarterfinals after trailing, 31-26, at the half.  The Pirates, led by big Jim McCargo, Steve Waddell, and Willie Buchanon, had won 14 straight.

DIFFERENT VIEW

Point Loma coach Don Buechler tossed cold water on the idea that Mount Miguel could beat the best team in the Southern Section.

Buechler had some local knowledge.  His team dropped a 118-54 decision to the Matadors and also played a powerful Northern squad.

Point Loma scheduled an unusual, late-season, nonleague home game against the 27-0 Compton Tarbabes, who would conclude a 32-0 season with the Southern Section championship a couple weeks later.

Compton easily whipped the 14-11 Pointers, 106-43, and Buechler was asked to compare the Matadors and the Northern powerhouse.

“They’re the best team I’ve seen in many a season,” Buechler said of Compton. “There is no team in our area that can match them man-for-man, rebounding, shooting, and individual defense.

“Everyone takes turns killing you.”

TOURNAMENTS

KIWANIS

Mount Miguel won the Unlimited Division, 83-50, over Eastern League power Morse.  The Matadors topped Granite Hills in an earlier game, 103-38, but fell short of the record 104 by Newhall Hart against Oceanside in 1954.

Castle Park claimed the Limited Division championship, 63-56, over Chula Vista and Vista topped Fallbrook, 55-54, in overtime to win the newly created Classified Division.

UNIVERSITY

Top seed Mount Miguel defeated No. 2 Lincoln, another Eastern League big shot, 69-52, after scoring 107 in one tournament game and 118 in another.

CHINO

Chula Vista, which had been playing in this post-December event almost from the time the school opened in 1947, swept to four straight victories including a 73-56 decision over Santa Clarita Simi Valley in the championship game.

SAN BERNARDINO KIWANIS

A free throw with 1:30 remaining in the game was what separated Long Beach Poly from San Diego in the Jackrabbits’ 63-62 championship game victory. Cavers Steve Clifford and Orie McLemore were all-tournament.

MUSTANG

San Dieguito won its own tournament, 48-47, over Coronado.  The Mustangs posted a 4-0 record in the round-robin event, followed by Coronado (3-1), San Marcos (2-2), Poway (1-3), and Bonita Vista (0-4).

EL CENTRO ELKS

Six-foot, 10 1/2-inch Ron Dahms scored 25 points to lead Madison to a 62-47 win over Orange Glen, which was making its second straight appearance in the finals.

Brawley edged Crawford, 56-55, for third place, the Colts missing Rodney Boone, who sustained a back injury the day before.

El Centro Central topped Morse, playing without Monroe Nash, home in bed with the flu, 50-46, for fifth place.  La Jolla defeated Holtville, 54-43, for the consolation title.

PLAYOFFS

Despite protests from Metropolitan League coaches that their top teams, Chula Vista, Castle Park, and Hilltop, were disrespected in the 16-team pairings, the postseason playoff committee approved its original seedings.

No. 1 Mount Miguel ousted 24-5 Castle Park, 64-44, in the first round and 17-8 University upset 26-3 Chula Vista, 52-50.  Hilltop upheld South Bay pride by bouncing 15-10 Clairemont, 69-51.

Hilltop (23-9) reached the semifinals before bowing to 21-10 Helix, 69-57.  Mount Miguel thumped Madison, 67-44.

The 27-5 Warhawks defeated Hilltop, 73-54, for third place.

Steve Bajo scored 29 points as Marian (21-6) was a 91-44 winner over 11-5 La Jolla Country Day in the 1-A final.

FOUL

Santana defeated El Cajon Valley, 90-76, by converting 50 of 70 fouls shots.

Game officials called 72 infractions, an average of more than two a minute, including 45 against the Braves.

Seven El Cajon Valley players and three Sultans were whistled to the bench with five personals each.

The Braves converted 22 of 36 free throw attempts and would have won, 54-40, if only field goals counted.

REALLY FOUL

Bizarre finish in a Western League game between University and Clairemont.

The score was tied at 62 with the Chiefs in possession when the Dons’ Kevin Madden was called for a personal foul with four seconds remaining.

Madden complained and was additionally assessed a technical.

Clairemont’s Pat Casey missed the first free-throw in the one-and-one for the personal foul.

But Clairemont remained in possession as the Chiefs still had a free throw coming for the technical.

Chiefs coach Russ Cravens opted for his best player and scorer, Frank Petersen, to attempt the technical free throw.

Petersen found the bottom of the net, giving Clairemont a 63-62 lead.

Four seconds still remained and the Chiefs retained possession at midcourt.

Game over?

Clairemont stunningly was called for a rules violation with one second remaining.

The Chiefs, according to student correspondent Homer Williams, were called for “a violation of the rule which requires the team ahead move the ball into an attacking area.”

Clairemont coach Cravens was outraged, lashing out at the official, who  promptly slapped Cravens with a technical.

All’s well that ended well.  University’s Dennis Kramer, who was 4 for 4 from the foul line, missed the technical free shot.

“SCORING” THE BASKETBALL

It’s a trite term overused in the modern game, but scoring was what San Diego preps did best this season.

Ten players averaged at least 20 points a game and 10 teams scored at least 63.3 points a game.

Mount Miguel’s record-setting 85.1 was followed by the  Chula Vista average of 71.2.  Helix was third at 69.3, Hilltop fourth at 67.7.  Figures unheard of as recently as 10 years before.

Madison’s Ron Dahms scored 706 points, third to the 737 that Crawford’s Larry Blum scored in 1962-63 and to the 736 by St. Augustine’s Tom Shaules in 1957-58.

Morse’s Monroe Nash won the scoring championship with a 24.3 average, with 608 points in 25 games.  Dahms averaged 22.06 and was edged by sophomore Paul Halupa of Bonita Vista, who scored 574 points in 26 games for an average of 22.08.

Halupa’s total represented the most ever by a 10^th grade player.

Leaders by points:

NAME	TEAM	GAMES	POINTS	AVERAGE
Dahms	Madison	32	706	22.1 (3)
M. Ela	Mount Miguel	32	685	21.4 (5)
Tschogl	Hilltop	32	649	20.3 (10)
Nash	Morse	25	608	24.3 (1)
S. Bajo	Marian	28	594	21.2 (6)
Greenman	Morse	32	594	18.5
Anderson	Lincoln	27	586	21.7 (4)
Halupa	Bonita Vista	26	572	22.1 (3)
Kellison	Helix	31	571	18.4
Petersen	Clairemont	25	528	21.1 (7)
Olson	Chula Vista	29	526	18.2
Faulkner	San Dieguito	28	511	18.3
Trueblood	Chula Vista	29	511	17.6
Weichert	Mar Vista	26	502	19.3
Chaffin	Orange Glen	26	496	19.1
Havens	Hoover	26	478	18.4
Nielsen	El Capitan	23	468	20.3 (9)
Caradonna	Santana	26	465	17.9
Mayville	Mission Bay	21	435	20.7 (8)
LeBrun	Vista	23	420	18.3
Tyler	Kearny	23	418	18.2
Doerr	Granite Hills	24	416	17.3
Chastang	St. Augustine	20	371	18.6
Franch	Ramona	18	331	18.4

HEAVENS! MR. HAVENS

Hoover’s John Havens broke two school records.

Havens’ 38 points in a 91-69 win over Granite Hills in consolation play of the Kiwanis Tournament bettered the 36 by Dick Barnes in 1944-45.

Havens, who averaged 18.4 points as the Cardinals struggled to a 9-17 record, had a season total of 478, bettering the 446 by Norris Greenwood in 1957-58.

NEEDED: ONE COPY EDITOR

San Diego coach Bill Standly did not take kindly to what he considered editorial impudence by the staff of The Russ, as noted by Don King in Caver Conquest.

Standly was not amused after reading a headline in the school newspaper that described a “Bush Sports Calendar.”

After all, the coach had put together a strong nonleague and intersectional schedule as his team was defending its 1966-67 San Diego Section championship.

Standly was mollified  when a Russ editor apologized and explained that the headline was a typographical error and should have read “Busy Sports Calendar.”

WALTON SAMPLE

Helix outscored Hilltop, 24-12, in nine minutes of the second and third quarters in their 69-57, CIF semifinal playoff victory before 3,573 persons at Peterson Gym, “with sophomore center Bill Walton and forward Paul Drozd leading the way.”

Writer Bill Center elaborated:

“Walton, a spindly, 6-6 center who was brought up from the junior varsity for the playoffs, took charge around the basket, batting down two shots and grabbing three defensive rebounds, which set up Highlander scores.”

Walton also scored eight points in this first, brief appearance on the big stage, which he would command for the next several years, at Helix, UCLA, and in the NBA.

IT’S A CRAZY GAME

–Mar Vista led visiting Coronado, 43-22, at halftime and lost, 65-64, as the Islanders took their only lead in the game on Jim Haught’s looper with 21 seconds remaining.

–Lincoln’s Jerry Powell scored 20 points, including 10 in a row and 12 in the final seven minutes, as the Hornets topped Crawford, 64-56.

–St. Augustine, 2-12, beat 12-5 Lincoln, 69-66.  Hoover, 6-12, beat 14-6 Morse, 51-48.  Crawford, 8-12, defeated 15-6 Lincoln, 56-53.

–Monroe Nash, despite 4 personal fouls, scored 19 points in the final 11 minutes as Morse beat San Diego, 72-70, in two overtimes.

–Madison jumped to 34-16 lead over Point Loma, but then was outscored, 50-32, and the teams deadlocked at 66, forcing overtime, which Madison dominated and won, 70-67.

–James (Bouncy) Moore broke free for a layup with two seconds to go in the second overtime as San Diego defeated Crawford, 75-73, after the teams deadlocked at 62 in regulation play and 66 in the first overtime.

–Helix trailed Monte Vista, 29-12, and then led, 56-39, before finally moving past the Monarchs, 68-65.  Bob Kellison and Bill’s brother, Bruce Walton, led the Scots with 13 points each.

JUMP SHOTS

Although eliminated in the playoffs’ first round, it was a banner year for the Chula Vista Spartans, who won their third Metropolitan League championship in five seasons under coach Larry Armbrust and tied the school record for most wins…Bob Olson scored 35 points in a 77-59 win over Coronado and broke the school record of 33 set by Koichi Yamamoto in 1956-57 and equaled by Eric Martensen in ’65-’66…Clairemont’s Frank Petersen was the season’s single-game scoring leader with 48 points in an 85-51 win over first-year Bonita Vista…the 21^st annual December Kiwanis Tournament expanded to three divisions…there now were 16 Unlimited entries, 16 Limited, and 8 Classified…the Oscar Foster era had ended at San Diego, but the Cavers still posted a 20-8 record with one returning starter (Orie McLemore) and four junior varsity graduates…Hilltop joined Mount Miguel in 100-point club with a 104-46 win over Bonita Vista as forward John Tschogl set a school record with 41 points…Tschogl played at the University of California at Santa Barbara and for two seasons in the National Basketball Association with the Philadelphia 76ers…3,075 persons attended the Saturday night playoff finals at Peterson Gym, bringing two-night attendance to almost 7,000….

Who would have thought a team that started the season with a 1-8 record and finished 10-10 would be celebrated?

Hats off to the Sweetwater Red Devils.

An eighth loss in nine games was where coach Wells Gorman’s team stood on January 6, 1957, after a 55-50, Metropolitan League, opening-game loss at Helix.

But that score against Helix, the reigning and decidedly favored league champion, was a tell.

Sweetwater had  found a different track, shedding the memory of an awful December. They began a run that extended deep into the CIF Southern Section Central Group playoffs.

Coach Wells Gorman, who coached the Class B squad at Coronado before moving across the bay to the National City school this season, directed the sudden and remarkable turnaround.

What followed the loss to Helix was a string of league victories as opponents floundered against the Red Devils’ tight zone defense and patient, pass-oriented offense.

Sweetwater startled favored Chula Vista, 46-31, for its first league win; punished El Cajon Valley, 48-23, suffocated Grossmont, 54-16, and got even with Helix, 51-47, in a game that ended with a near melee between players and fans on the Sweetwater court.

ROGER WAS LIVELY

Roger Lively, a 6-foot, 3-inch center who affected an outer-space look with thick, prescription glasses/goggles, scored 26 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, as Sweetwater got even with the Highlanders.

Lively was joined in the starting lineup by John Dial, Jack Lensing, Bob Beardsley, and Bob Jordan, a 5-11 sharpshooting guard and blossoming star.

At 4-1 in the circuit and 5-8 overall, the Red Devils stepped out of league play and were briefly interrupted, 45-43, by City League honcho Mission Bay.

The National Citians returned to the league fray with a 56-54 win over Chula Vista on Lively’s hook shot with 30 seconds left and followed with a 69-31 dismissal of El Cajon Valley.

Grossmont, closing out a 4-19 season, strategized.

The Foothillers decided to played keep away.  They held the ball after the opening jump ball and didn’t attempt a shot for the first four minutes. Guards Mickey Bruce and Larry Dearing played catch along the half-court line.

Sweetwater trailed, 3-0, at the end of the first quarter but had finally nudged ahead, 19-16, in the fourth quarter.  At that point, the ‘Devils went into their own stall and finished a 23-19 victory.

THE RUN CONTINUES

More surprises were in store.

Jordan made 10 of 14 field goal attempts and scored 22 points, the Red Devils rapped in 24 of 45 overall for 53 per cent, and shot the favored host San Diego (16-10) out of the playoffs, 57-47.

Next up were the Newport Beach Newport Harbor Tars at neutral Kearny High. Sweetwater won a tense battle, overcoming the visitors with a 15-10 fourth quarter in a 49-45 victory.

Sweetwater won at the free throw line, converting 23 of 27 attempts, with Lively making 10 of 12, and with Dial converting three to give the winners a 47-41 advantage with 2:03 left.

The Red Devils finally were eliminated, 49-41, by tall (one starter 6 feet 7, another 6-4) Los Angeles Mt. Carmel in a quarterfinals game at Point Loma.

The Crusaders (30-1), who reached the finals before losing to El Monte, 55-54, pulled away with a succession of free throws after leading 34-33, at the end of three quarters.

DECEMBER CHAMPIONS

A weekend doubleheader in mid-December seemed to indicate a changing of the guard.

Helix defeated Hoover, 63-46, on Friday night and San Diego, 64-58, on Saturday.

The Highlanders’ parlay, against two City Prep League powers, was usually reserved for Los Angeles-area teams.

Hoover was 25-5 in 1955-56 and returned several players from the squad that finished third in the  playoffs.  San Diego’s eminence extended almost back to the days of peach baskets.

Helix, although occasionally successful against its urban neighbors, had never been so convincing.

With 6-6 Ronnie Mulder, 6-3 Gael Barsotti and vest-pocket guards John Drumm, Jerry Goins, and John Wible, the Highlanders appeared set to make a run.

IMPROVING

Under fourth-year coach Bob Divine, the Scots had shown some muscle during a 15-8 season in 1955-56.

Although stunned in a major surprise earlier by Point Loma, 45-43, Helix had a 6-1 record going into the Kiwanis Tournament and was favored to win its second straight Metropolitan League title.

The Highlanders dismissed Point Loma, 52-40, in their opening Kiwanis game and withered defending champion Beverly Hills with 26 consecutive points in a 29-4 fourth quarter that resulted in a 61-37 victory, punctuated by Barsotti’s 25 points.

CARDINALS ANSWER 

Hoover, taking charge with success on 58 per cent of 24 shots in the last two quarters, broke from a 23-23 halftime deadlock to oust Helix, 57-45 in the Kiwanis semifinals.

The Highlanders gained a share of the Metropolitan League championship with Sweetwater and met Hoover again in the playoffs after a 55-50 victory over Long Beach St. Anthony.

The Cardinals were superior again, topping their La Mesa rivals, 51-44, and closing out the Highlanders, who completed a 22-6 season, best in school history, but were an early playoff casualty for the second consecutive season.

Hoover (22-4) was knocked out in the next round by 24-4 El Monte, 57-54.

Jerry Magee of The San Diego Union described El Monte’s 7-foot Bill Engesser as a player “who seemed to move with great gnashing and clanking of gears.”

Engesser did not have to move much.  He took high lobs from his shorter teammates and dropped in 25 points, off-setting 19 in the second half by Hoover’s Wayne Adams, the City Prep League’s player of the year.

KIWANIS

The 10^th annual event featured 32 teams, 8 playing floors, 28 assigned game officials, and 46 total games.  All City, Avocado, and Metropolitan league squads were joined by three teams from the Southern Prep League, and St. Augustine.

At the same time, host Sweetwater’s annual Class B tournament began, with teams from Chula Vista, El Cajon Valley, Grossmont, Helix, Coronado. Mar Vista, and St. Augustine.

ALL-SAN DIEGO FINAL

When four area teams, Hoover, Lincoln, Mission Bay, and Helix, reached the Kiwanis Unlimited Division round of four an all-San Diego final was assured for the first time since 1953, when San Diego defeated Hoover, 54-44.

Hoover was in the finals again but lost for the fourth time.

Upstart Mission Bay, bolstered by the transfer from La Jolla of starters Jim Anderson and Doug Crockett, and the arrival of 6-7 ½ Dave Hinds from Leadville, Colorado, nipped the Cardinals, 43-42.

Crockett dribbled half the court after a stolen Hoover pass by Jerry Dinsmore to score the winning basket on a layup with 2 seconds remaining.

The Buccaneers also got past Hoover, 42-40, with a basket in the final eight seconds in the league opener and were 18-7 in their third varsity season but finished third in the CPL with a 7-5 record, including a late-season 50-39 loss to the Cardinals.

The sentries apparently didn’t get the memo.

The old guard maintained, as Hoover and San Diego, with a predominantly underclass starting five led by Artist Gilbert and Edward Lee Johnson, finished 1-2.

THE SHOOTER

Tom Shaules, a 5-foot, 8-inch, 123-pound junior guard, burst on the scene, scoring 22 points in his first game, a 44-37 win over Lincoln, and followed with 36 a week later in a 53-45 triumph over Escondido.

Shaules accelerated the trend to more offense by setting a one-season County record of 587 points.  He averaged 25.5 points and improved on the unofficial record of 474, set by the Saints’ John Cunningham in 1954-55.

Shaules averaged 33.5 with 201 points in his final six games. His 49 points in a 87-55 win over Brown Military broke the County record of 47, set by Fallbrook’s Paul Lockridge in 1951 during a 90-31 romp over Brown.

Shaules did not load up on the poor.  He also had six other games over 30, including 36 in an 86-72 defeat of Helix that reversed an earlier, 82-58 loss to the Scots.

Still campaigning as an independent, the Saints posted a 13-10 record against varied competition, a decided improvement over the 7-17 of the post-Cunningham squad in 1955-56.

St. Augustine would gain entry to the City Prep League in 1957-58 and Shaules would set additional records with his unorthodox delivery, a jump shot that featured a backward spin on the ball.

OUTSIDER PREVAILS

Sherman Burroughs High of Ridgecrest, adjacent the China Lake Naval Air Station, made the 224-mile trip to San Diego and the Kiwanis Tournament a rousing success.

The Burros defeated Mar Vista, 47-29, for the Limited Division championship and interrupted an Avocado League dominance of four championships in the previous five years.

REDEMPTION

Lincoln guard Bob Byrd, who missed two free throws with six seconds to play in regulation time, sent San Diego to the sideline in the Kiwanis quarterfinals when he drained a 15-foot jump shot with five seconds remaining in overtime for a 51-50 victory.

AFTER THE HOLIDAY

Chula Vista (12-12)  reached finals of the post-Christmas Chino tournament before bowing to Azusa Citrus and high scoring Billy Kilmer, 54-48.  Kilmer scored 17 points after 43 in an opening-round, 78-35 win over Grossmont, and 28 and 22 in the next two games.

Corona, after eliminating Mar Vista (14-15) in the semifinals, defeated Escondido (12-13), 59-44, for the consolation championship.

Helix lost to 12-0 Oxnard, 66-64, after defeating Ventura, 70-60, in the Fillmore Tournament.  The Highlanders finished third in the eight-team event, overcoming a 16-point, third quarter deficit to top Burbank Burroughs, 70-69.

ICE 

Mission Bay’s zone defense never was more effective than against Lincoln (12-12).  The Hornets made one of their first 32 field goal attempts and shot 15 per cent overall, 10 for 63, in a 38-24 loss to the Buccaneers.

SIGNS OF THE TIME

Fifteen players got into the game and 14 scored as Helix set a Metropolitan League scoring record in a 97-50 win over El Cajon Valley.

Oceanside emerged with an Avocado League record after an 83-48 victory over San Dieguito.

St. Augustine was a 66-32 winner at Brown Military although Tom Shaules was held to a season low 11 points.

Julian, Ramona, and Army-Navy tied for first in the Southern Prep League but Army-Navy was odd man out in coin flips to determine which teams went to the playoffs. Julian and Ramona advanced.

Oceanside (14-7) was one and done in the Southern Group playoffs after a quarterfinals, 71-57 loss to San Jacinto, which had beaten Ramona, 49-36, in the first round.  Tustin eliminated Julian, 62-45.

Rancho del Campo finished with three players on the court after 4 of the seven-man roster fouled out in a 55-32 loss to Brown Military.

There were 17 lead changes, four in the game’s final minute, before Hoover’s Wayne Adams, laboring with 4 fouls since midway of the second quarter, converted two free throws in the last five seconds to give Hoover a 51-50 win over Lincoln.

JUMP SHOTS

Julian’s Quinten Fernald led all Kiwanis scorers with 88 points in four games, the final a 45-35 loss to Hemet in the Limited Division consolation windup…also starting for Julian was Quint’s brother, Denny…Helix coach  Bob Divine missed several games in December after  contacting pneumonia…assistant coach Dave LeFever directed the early victory over Hoover…Hoover made 17 successive free throws and defeated Glendale, 47-36, and host San Diego nipped Glendale Hoover, 43-42, in a December twinbill at San Diego…switching sites, host Hoover beat Glendale Hoover, 54-25, and Glendale topped San Diego, 52-46…Lincoln was a loser, 46-33 and 53-31, in Long Beach against Wilson and Millikan…first-year Escondido coach Gene Taylor was 107-23 in the previous five years at Clifton, Arizona, 12-13 in his only season here…Chick Embrey replaced Walter West as head coach of Escondido football after West moved to Oceanside as basketball coach…Kiwanis director Darrell (Snuffy) Smith  reported that at least 60 per cent of the 400 participating players were 6 feet or taller…Mission Bay coaches Kenny Hale and Chuck Coover produced a Buccaneers “press brochure”….

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coronado paid an old debt.

Hoover’s playoff advance was halted at the foul line.

Merrill Douglas ended a great run at San Diego High.

Lincoln showed that patience had virtue.

—John Kovac was a football coach who happened to come along at the right basketball time at Coronado.

The dour Kovac without prompting often recalled that he coached future professional stars Lenny Moore and Roosevelt Grier when Kovac guided the Penn State freshmen team.

Relocating to San Diego’s trans-bay community in the early ‘fifties, Kovac still saw football in his future but found himself directing the Islanders’ basketball program, with stunning success.

Kovac’s teams posted a three-season, 63-13 record with players who weren’t very tall but had roadrunner speed and swarmed on defense.

Despite starters Charlie Love, Willie Dickey, and Roger Nix returning from the 21-4 squad in ’54-55, Kovac’s preseason appraisal was loaded with typical coach speak:

“We will be very short and not nearly as fast or sharp as last year.  We hope we’re not in for a long year.”

Coronado raced through the Avocado League schedule, finishing 12-0 and winning by an average score of 65-40.  They were 27-1 overall, losing only to Hoover, 49-45, in an early December game.

Love, Dickey, Nix, Jon Crawford, Steve Solier, and Dennis (Swede) Grimaud, none taller than Nix’s 6-feet, 1 inch, were the principals as the Islanders won their last 25 and the CIF Southern Section Southern Group (small schools) championship.

As one of the top seeds, the Islanders had a first-round bye in the playoffs and then blew out Tustin, 75-55, with a 28-13 fourth quarter on the neutral Sweetwater floor as  Herman Wright led all scorers with 25 points. Charlie Love added 16, and Roger Nix 15.

They sweated out  a 55-50, semifinals victory over San Jacinto, after having built a 34-19 halftime lead at neutral Hemet High and then seeing top scorer Roger Nix foul out midway through the second half.

(“Neutral” courts, as mandated by the CIF, meant that host teams usually played at venues close to home.  Hemet was less than three-and-a-half miles from the Tigers’ facility.)

Nix and his teammates then surprised and silenced most of the 2,300 persons in attendance at Azusa College with a 60-54, championship game victory over Azusa Citrus and high scoring Billy Kilmer.

Winning on the road was the sweetener.  Citrus had beaten Coronado, 63-58, in the finals the year before as the visiting team at Point Loma High.

Kovac left Coronado and moved to Hoover as an assistant football coach in 1956.

Two years later the transplanted Pennsylvanian joined the staff at San Diego Junior College and became the Knights’ head coach in 1961.  Kovac started the new Mesa College program and posted a 30-14-2 record from 1964-68.

CARDINALS HAVE HUGE RESUME

Hoover won the postseason Beverly Hills Tournament title in 1944-45 when there were no CIF playoffs because of World War II.  The East San Diego squad had not gotten that far before or since.

Three days prior to their win over Coronado, the Cardinals came from behind in the fourth quarter for a  41-39 win at Long Beach Poly, giving them victories over two of the three eventual Southern Section champions in less than a week.

Poly won the Central Group (large) playoff championship, defeating Montebello, 74-63, after the Oilers had beaten Hoover, 69-57, in the semifinals.

Hoover was 11-1 in the City Prep League and opened the postseason with a 63-52 win at Point Loma over Newport Beach Newport Harbor, which had knocked out Helix, 66-60, in the first round.

Next was a quarterfinals test at Manhattan Beach Mira Costa against nearby Redondo Beach Redondo Union.

Hoover led, 54-47, with 2:45 remaining.  Redondo went into a press.  Rex Hughes, who had 28 points and 15 rebounds, scored with 46 seconds left to forge a tie at 54.

The Seahawks stole a pass as Hoover attempted to get the ball down court after Hughes’ basket.  Traveling was called on Redondo.  Hoover inbounded again, Walt Baranski to Larry Elliot, who passed crosscourt, where Bill Landry drained a 15-foot jump shot with 15 seconds remaining for a 56-54 win.

The Cardinals were eliminated in the semifinals before an overflow crowd at Long Beach City College by Montebello and jump-shooting Jerry Pimm, whose lovely floaters and 28 points kept the Cardinals at a distance and in foul trouble.

Pimm found the range firing behind screens as Hoover’s man-to-man defenders, trying to keep up with Pimm, constantly bumped into one of Pimm’s teammates, usually center Bill Doner.

HOOVER’S EDGE IN FIELD GOALS

The Cardinals outscored the Oilers, 46-40, from the field, but the winners, had an 18-point advantage at the free throw line, converting 29 of 39 attempts, 10 by Pimm, and 13 by Doner.  Hoover was 11×23.

Larry Elliot, Hoover’s all-City forward and second-team all-Southern California selection, scored 22 points, 14 in the second half, but Elliot fouled out, as did guards Bill Landry and Walt Baranski.

Landry actually held Pimm scoreless for the game’s first seven minutes, but acquired three personals during that time.

Hoover defeated Glendale Hoover, 57-53, the following evening for third place and a final, 25-5 record.

HORNETS STEP UP

Lincoln, 2-18 and 6-16 with virtually the same squad in its first two seasons, reaped the fruits of their sometimes painful development, which originated with games on the Hornets’ outdoor, asphalt court and in Municipal Gym.

Coach Don Smith’s club, with City League player of the year and three-year starter Bob Mendoza leading the way, were 10-2 in the league and 20-4 overall.

A 62-46 loss to Hoover in the first round of play was erased with a 56-43 victory before a packed house in Lincoln’s new gymnasium in the second round of CPL play.

The Hornets’ foray into the playoffs started with a 62-54 win over Grossmont.

The postseason ended quickly and with finality in a 71-52 loss to Long Beach Poly, led by the  Southern California player of the year, 6-foot, 7-inch Jim Hannah.

Two busloads of Lincoln students arrived at Long Beach Jordan at halftime of the second-round contest.  Poly led, 36-23.

The seemingly awestruck Hornets were outnumbered everywhere. Poly had more cheerleaders than Lincoln had players and the Jackrabbits’ bench was a long, green and gold line.

“We were like a bunch of elementary school kids (in that environment),” said Hornets guard Brad Griffith.

DOUGLAS MOVES ON

—Merrill Douglas, who succeeded Bill Schutte as head coach in 1940-41, stepped down at San Diego High and moved across Russ Boulevard to San Diego Junior College.

Douglas, who missed three seasons serving in the military in World War II,  guided teams that averaged 19 wins and posted a 236-76 (.756) record in 12 seasons.

The San Diego Junior College Knights won the Metropolitan Conference championship in Douglas’ first season.  He also served as the school’s athletics director and took the same position when Mesa College opened in 1964.

Olympians teams and high schools eventually would play football and compete in track and field and soccer in the Merrill Douglas Stadium on campus.

DAVEY, DAVEY…?

No, not Davey Crockett, but La Jolla had a couple sharpshooters by the same name. Clyde Crockett led City Prep League scores with 209 points in 12 games, a 17.4 average. Crockett’s younger brother, Doug, had 94 points and a 7.8 average.

Mission Bay’s Leroy Brandt (15.2) was runner-up to Clyde in league scoring, followed by Jim Gilchrist (14.0) of San Diego, Lincoln’s Bob Mendoza (13.6),  Willie West (13.2) of San Diego, Bill Landry (11.7) and Larry Elliot (11.3) of Hoover, and Brad Griffith (10.8) of Lincoln.

Helix’ Gael Barsotti led Metropolitan League scorers with an 18.4 average in eight games. Chula Vista’s Bill Collins (15.8), Helix’ Ronnie Mulder (15.4), and Grossmont’s Lowell Raper  (12.5)  followed.

Prep writers of the day did not list scoring beyond league play and Avocado and Southern League scorers, such as Coronado’s Roger Nix and others, were not listed at all.

NORMANS DEFEND

Beverly Hills defeated Hoover, 45-42, for its second consecutive Kiwanis Tournament Unlimited Division title.

San Diego, waiting on several players still playing football, surprised Inglewood Morningside, 51-46, in the first round. Months later Morningside scored a 64-62 win over Beverly Hills for the CIF Northern Group (small schools) playoff title.

Mar Vista’s Larry Boyd, who earned all-Southern California second-team honors in 1954-55, scored 99 points in four games to break the Kiwanis scoring record of 96, set  the year before by Morningside’s John Arrillaga.

Boyd scored 25, but the Mariners couldn’t overcome the 19 each by Jon Crawford and Willie Dickey, who led Coronado to a 53-49 triumph in the Limited final.

ABOVE THE TREE LINE

Helix reportedly had 14 players on varsity and JV, standing at least 6-3.  The varsity measured 6-6 Bill Turpin, 6-5 Ronnie Mulder, and 6-5 Mel Robinson.

Tallest Metro Leaguer was Grossmont’s Lee Carick, a 6-9 reserve center.

Andy Dunn, a reserve forward at Point Loma, and Lincoln backup center Bill Beatty stood highest in the City League, each at 6-5.

JUMP SHOTS

Julian was ousted from the playoffs for the smallest schools, 78-43, by Brea-Olinda…Grossmont won a coin flip with Helix to determine playoff pairings after the teams tied for the Metropolitan League title…Lincoln topped the Foothillers at Hoover behind 20 points by Bob Mendoza and 14 by Brad Griffith…Helix led Newport Harbor, 17-12, after one quarter at Garden Grove High, but Ronnie Mulder was sidelined for long periods with 4 fouls…Lincoln’s first victory over San Diego in football or basketball was a 55-53 thriller in which the Hornets overcame a six-point San Diego lead in the fourth quarter…Mendoza’s two free throws, after a layup by Griffith, put Lincoln in front, 54-51, in the final minute…San Diego coach Merrill Douglas surprised Lincoln in the league opener with a zone defense that stymied the Hornets, 35-30…late-arriving football stars Willie West (guard) and Deron Johnson (center) were starters for the Cavemen…Escondido made 29 of 44 free throw attempts in a 65-59 win over Vista…the Cougars and Panthers committed 46 fouls in the 32-minute game …Coronado set an Avocado League points record in an 81-55 victory over Escondido…Helix posted the highest total in the Metropolitan League in a 79-50 conquest of Sweetwater…Coronado’s starters played all but two minutes in a 71-32 rout of Escondido…La Jolla’s George Graham set a City League Class B record with 33 points in a 68-46 win over Kearny…San Diego’s sophomore team, paced by Edward Lee Johnson’s 17.2 average, was 20-0…Vista played in the post-Christmas Banning tournament and Helix was in the Fillmore event…Chula Vista topped Bell Gardens, 50-46, for the consolation title at Chino…