The Pirates are unbeaten in their last 37 games. It would be hard to believe that they wouldn’t be the favorite when they meet Helix on Friday at Qualcomm Stadium at 4:30.
Carroll, whose team won the state Division II championship in 2007, has eight players that go both ways this year. He won’t openly predict that his Pirates as the heavy favorites, but he will admit his team is more experienced than the youthful Highlanders.
Oceanside eliminated Mission Hills 28-7 in the SDSCIF semifinals, sparked by Rene Siluano, who had a 28-yard pass reception to set up a go-ahead touchdown with 29 seconds left in the first half. The Pirates added the only two scores of the second half to eliminate the Grizzlies.
"At halftime, we dug deep within ourselves,’’ said Siluano, who rushed for 91 yards on 16 carries and had his only two interceptions of the season. "We said, ‘We want it. We have to play our power football.’"
Panthers pound Mavericks
This one was a shocker — Vista’s 47-7 blowout of La Costa Canyon.
In ending LCC’s 20-game winning streak, Vista (10-2) slashed the Mavericks' vaunted defense for 504 total yards, including 363 rushing yards. Facing an LCC offense that had averaged 38 points per game, the Panthers didn't allow a first down until midway through the second quarter and permitted just 201 yards.
Cathedral continues to roll
Cathedral Catholic High's Jonny Martin rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns, Chance Early hauled in two more scores and even Cathedral's defense found the end zone twice as the Dons rolled to a pain-free 42-3 victory over St. Augustine. Quite a difference from a 17-14 regular-season win.
Cathedral (11-1), which has now won 32 of its last 33 games, will attempt to win its third straight section title next Friday when the Dons face Point Loma in the championship game at Qualcomm Stadium at 1 p.m.
Wrestling: Romero leads Lancers
Carlsbad compiled 267.5 points to easily outpace Temecula Great Oak (204.5) and San Marcos (199) in the Lancers Wrestling Invitational. The Knights sent five wrestlers to the finals and won a pair of individual titles. Senior Daniel Romero, the Lancers’ 125-pounder who recorded one of Carlsbad’s four pins in the finals, became the first four-time champion in the history of the tournament.
Former Spring Valley Monte Vista coach killed
A memorial service to honor the life of Eastern Illinois assistant football coach Jeff Hoover was held Saturday. Hoover, 41, a 1986 graduate of Spring Valley Monte Vista, where he was a standout football player and wrestler, lost his life in a car accident when returning from the Panthers' first-round FCS playoff game in Carbondale, Ill. Hoover had just completed his third season as a member of the EIU coaching staff.
Other top performances
— Granite Hills senior point guard Andre Lewis averaged 30.1 points per game as the Eagles charged out of the gate for a 2-1 start. He scored 40 points in the Eagles' season opener against Mt. Carmel.
— El Camino’s Joita Te’i, a two-way starter the last two football seasons at El Camino High, has verbally committed to play next season at Arizona State. The 6-foot-4, 270-pounder was the kingpin of the offensive line at tackle.
— Helix sophomore corner Jimmy Pruitt had the major theft of Helix’s three interceptions, as he rode his pick 58 yards to a second-quarter touchdown, giving the Highlanders a 14-0 lead en route to a 17-6 victory over Scripps Ranch in the SDSCIF semifinals.
— On the girls basketball front, West Hills’ Marilyn Naderhoff (Cal State Bakersfield), Sherika Miller (San Francisco State) and Mount Miguel’s Yvonte Neal (Cal State Fullerton) have accepted scholarships. West Hills’ Kimberly Clark has committed to Western New Mexico.
— On the softball front, El Cajon Christian’s Alli Scott has committed to Harvard, while Austine Sanders has committed to Princeton.
Coming attractions
Four of the five San Diego Section CIF divisional finals will be held on Friday at Qualcomm Stadium. In Division V, Francis Parker (10-2) rates as heavy favorite over The Bishop’s School (8-4), while Parker’s Lancers will be seeking a second straight title. In Division III, Cathedral Catholic (11-1) will be looking for its third consecutive title when the Dons face Point Loma (9-3). In Division II, Oceanside (12-0) tangles with Helix (9-4). The Pirates are aiming for their sixth straight Div. II title. In Division I, first-timer Eastlake (10-0-2) tackles upstart Vista (10-2). The Division IV championship game pitting Mission Bay (12-0) against Valley Center (11-1) will be played Saturday at Southwestern College. Valley Center will be looking for its third straight Division IV title.
Dickens dealings
One thing that has become all too common is coaches fighting over quality athletes. I’m not talking about recruiting from school to school. This is about on-campus struggles.
No doubt this is more of a battle in schools with smaller enrollments. Coaches that feature one or two superstar athletes create a tug-of-war in their quest for success. Coaches have been known to force athletes to choose between sports in order to focus all their time on a particular sport. If they do not do so, they’ll be overlooked when it comes to playing time. It’s a form of athletic extortion.
Naturally, parents are confused and coaches are greedy. Unfortunately at some schools there is no bottom line. Parents, players and coaches never come together. Remember, this is high school sports. The problem here is that too often people in control treat the various sports as a collegiate or professional competition rather than creating an opportunity for student athletes to experience a variety of athletic activities.
