By Richard Paolinelli
MaxPreps.com
Call it a family tradition and a lifelong ambition all rolled up into one.
Pacific Grove lineman Chris Hardee is heading for West Point where he'll likely play on the Army offensive line for the next four years on the gridiron before beginning a five-year hitch in the Army as an officer.
Hardee's love for the military has its roots in his grandfather's three-decade service in the United States Army.
Hardee will not attend West Point on an athletic scholarship, the Army does not offer those, but he will have his education - over $300,000 in value - fully paid for.
The 6-5, 265-pound Hardee earned All-Monterey County honors as a defensive end - finishing with six sacks - and was an All-Mission Trail Athletic League selection at defensive end and tight end and is expected to serve as the Cadets long snapper after serving one year as a redshirt.
Virginia Tech Trampled by Trojan Horse
Virginia Tech's coaching staff had St. Francis High tight end Rhett Ellison all but signed, sealed and delivered before the University of Southern California stole Ellison away with an 11th-hour phone call by Pete Carroll.
Within 48 hours, Ellison had signed with the Trojans, where his father Riki completed an All-Pac-10 career in 1979 before spending time with both the 49ers and Raiders in the NFL. Riki Ellison played for USC's 1978 national championship team and collected three Super Bowl rings during his pro career.
Rhett Ellison collected two touchdowns among his 31 catches this year for the Lancers and added two sacks, one interception and 49 tackles on defense.
Girls Soccer
Santa Catalina (16-1-1, 15-0-1 MTAL) sealed the league title with a dominating 10-0 rout over Pacific Grove, while second place R.L. Stevenson (15-2-1, 14-2) tried to keep pace with a 5-0 win over Greenfield.
Santa Catalina plays Anzar while R.L. Stevenson battles King City on Wednesday.
Boys Soccer
Alvarez blanked Palma 3-0 to keep alive its hopes for an at-large berth in the upcoming Central Coast Section playoffs. The Eagles finished the regular season at 10-4-5, 5-4-3 in Tri-County Athletic League play this year.
Boys Basketball
Seaside High sealed up the Monterey Bay League championship with two games left in the league schedule. The Spartans (8-0) are three games ahead of North Monterey County and Watsonville - both teams are tied for second at 5-3 in league play - following last week's 64-57 win over NMC.
Woodside Priory easily wrapped up the Private Schools Athletic League title with a 70-55 win over Redwood Christian. The Panthers (21-3, 14-0 PSAL) jumped out to a 22-4 lead after the opening period and never looked back.
Wrestling
A young Terra Nova squad wrapped up a strong campaign last week with a 48-22 win over Hillsdale. The Tigers (5-0 Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division) are loaded with first-year grapplers but fully expect to make an impact deep into the postseason tournament.
