Many schools have designed a Hall of Fame for their standout athletes who have gone on to make a name for themselves.
Lakeside El Capitan and El Cajon Granite Hills have done so, as well as Spring Valley Mount Miguel. They make a big deal about it. And why shouldn’t they? In the case of Granite Hills, we’re talking about major-league ballplayers Brian and Marcus Giles. El Capitan has had its share of professional athletes, the latest being former NFL defensive back Kevin McCadam.
The latest to pay homage to their graduates is Vista High. The Panthers honored five former athletes who have excelled in the professional ranks. NFL players Pisa Tinoisamoa, Leon Hall and Russell Allen, along with major-league pitchers Trevor Cahill and Wes Littleton, had their numbers retired recently.
Vista football coach Danny Williams said that school officials are still pondering plans on how to honor the athletes, possibly with banners along the rail above the press box at the football stadium, or something in the gym foyer. Williams said he and baseball coach Rick Lepire helped to bring the project to light. No question the members of the quintet have become stars in their field.
Hall just completed his third season as a starting cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals. Cahill, a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic baseball team, won 10 games as a rookie for the Oakland A’s. And Allen made the Jacksonville Jaguars last fall as an undrafted free agent and worked his way into the starting lineup by the end of the season.
Cahill, 21, was a member of Oakland's starting rotation last year, while Tinoisamoa performed as linebacker for the Chicago Bears.
Littleton, a right-hander with a sidearm delivery, pitched parts of three seasons with the Texas Rangers (2006-08).
Basketball: Torreys topple Matadors
This was supposed to be a major showdown, matching the top two girls basketball teams in the CIF-San Diego Section.
Turns out it was no contest. Top-ranked La Jolla Country Day blasted No. 2 Spring Valley Mount Miguel 66-46.
"This was supposed to be a big game, and we just disappeared," Mount Miguel coach Robbie Sandoval said.
La Jolla Country Day guard Ariana Elegado became only the third Torreys girls basketball player to break the 1,000-point barrier with 24 points against Spring Valley Mount Miguel. Candice Wiggins, now playing for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, holds the mark with 3,252 set in 2001-04. Janae Fulcher, now at Arizona State, also finished her LJCD career in four figures.
Dillon marshals Christian’s narrow escape at Santana
When Shane Dillon determined that Steven Pitts’ bid for a game-winning basket was off the mark Saturday, the 6-foot-5 sophomore made his move.
"I was standing at the top of the key and I realized his shot was going to be short," Dillon said. "So I crashed the boards, got the rebound and got fouled."
Dillon made the first of two free throws to give the Patriots a 66-65 edge with 5.4 seconds remaining. That lead stood up as No. 6-ranked Christian (20-2) knocked off Santana (15-7) in a CIF-SDS contest.
Santana canned 14 3-pointers – twice as many as Christian. Landon Lozoya accounted for six treys and Jesse Vargas knocked down five for the Sultans.
Torreys’ Bamford is doubles squared
La Jolla Country Day’s 6-foot-6 junior Frankie Bamford, son of Torreys girls basketball coach Terri Bamford, registered two double-doubles recently. Bamford had 25 points and 11 rebounds in a loss against Francis Parker. He followed with 24 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots in a win over Santa Fe Christian and 14 points and seven rebounds in a win over Clairemont.
Football: Barragan becomes leader of the Pack
Jess Barragan, who has been coaching football at the community college level the past two years, has been named head football coach at Santee West Hills High School, Wolf Pack assistant principal David Rios announced.
"It’s exciting to be back coaching at the high school level," said Barragan, who tutored inside linebackers and served Southwestern College coach Ed Carberry as assistant head coach during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
"It is going to be a challenge, but I’m not shy about taking on challenges."
Coaching high school football is nothing new to Barragan, who was head coach at Mount Miguel from 2002-04.
Other top performances
— Poway junior Katie Kuklok scored 50 points in two games to breach the 1,000-point mark and become the Titans’ all-time leading scorer with 1,101 in three seasons.
— El Cajon Christian’s Zsolt Lakosa, a native of Hungary, scored 87 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and dished 24 assists as the Patriots extended their winning streak to 18 games.
— La Costa Canyon senior guard Jen Dumiak scored 46 points in Avocado League wins over Escondido and Torrey Pines.
— Torrey Pines guard Max Heller hit five 3-pointers in an Avocado League win over La Costa Canyon.
— Rancho Buena Vista’s Anthony McIver scored 29 points in a game won by Rancho Bernardo over RBV, 73-67.
— DeHaven Peterson of Kearny buried 28 points and cleared 16 rebounds as the Komets clipped Crawford 71-69 in a battle for the Central League lead.
— Vista’s Stephen Que scored 26 points as the Panthers pounced on Carlsbad, 68-57.
— Kenny Keys of La Mesa Helix, a 6-foot-3 junior, broke loose for 22 points and 13 rebounds against Santee West Hills.
— Valley Center’s Joe Gurski, a 6-5, 275-pound offensive lineman, has committed to play for Northern Arizona of the I-AA Big Sky Conference.
Coming attractions
Defending CIF Division V state champion Windward (15-6, 6-0), led by 6-5 junior Wesley Saunders (23.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg), will lead the Wildcats against upset-minded Foothills Christian (21-4) Saturday at El Cajon Granite Hills at 6 p.m.
Troy Leaf, Foothills Christian
File photo by Kirt Winter
Dickens dealings
This season is not all about personal gain for Foothills Christian guard Troy Leaf, who has a chance – albeit a longshot – at becoming California’s all-time leading scorer.
The 6-3 senior, who has a basketball scholarship to UC Santa Barbara in hand, has five regular-season games plus the playoffs remaining. He needs 392 points to break the record of 3,462 set by DeMarcus Nelson, who spent the first three years of his career (2001-03) at Vallejo before transferring to Sheldon for his senior season (2003-04).
At the moment, Leaf has generated 3,071 points and ranks fifth on the state’s all-time scoring ledger.
Leaf elected not to play in the Knights’ 98-16 rout of Chula Vista Lutheran. That was truly a classy decision by Leaf, who scored 14 points in just nine minutes of play when Foothills Christian crushed Lutheran 103-24 last month.
"There is simply no motivation to play our league games," said Knights assistant coach James McHugh. "Coach (Brad) Leaf gave the guys the option to take the day off. And even with an outside shot at the state scoring record, Troy still chose not to play."
Leaf is a big-time player, but he is not a bully. Remember, he has done the bulk of his scoring against perennial powers in all five divisions.
For example, against Division I foes, Leaf lanced Long Beach Jordan for 42 points and chalked up 37 and 33 points in a pair of meetings against Escondido. He knocked down 21 against Division II kingpin Hoover (18-4), the top-ranked team in the CIF-SDS. He dropped in 36 markers in a pivotal win over La Verne Lutheran. And that’s only the highlights for his senior season.
