La Costa Canyon Maverick alumni and Boise State wide receiver Vinny Perretta ended his productive college career Tuesday night in the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, with an unfortunate loss to TCU; the Horned Frogs downed the Broncos in a nail-biter 17-16.

Perretta finished the game with 2 catches for 78 yards, including a 65 yard reception that began with a beautifully run post rout across the middle of the field. Although the Broncos couldn't come up with a "W," this by no means blemishes Vinny's college football career.

Vinny, the 2004 La Costa Canyon high school grad, initially aimed at playing football for St. Mary's college in northern California. After the football program folded in the summer of 2004, Vinny decided to take his chances at Boise State, at that time led by head coach Dan Hawkins.

Vinny walked on to Boise state and quickly made his presence felt, becoming well known for his blue collar work ethic. After a redshirt season in the fall of 2004, Vinny was awarded the scout team offensive player of the year award, a mere teaser of what Vinny would deliver a few years later.

On January 21, 2007, Vinny played a crucial role in what would later be debated as the most exciting game in college football history. The Boise State Broncos, representing the Western Athletic Conference, finished the season with an undefeated mark, and became one of the few non-BCS schools to ever be selected to play in a big time BCS bowl game, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

The Broncos would face the mighty Oklahoma Sooners, a historic college football program boasting numerous national titles and Heisman trophy winners from the past.

The game was an epic back and forth battle between David and Goliath. The Broncos, heavy underdogs, came out with their high flying coach Chris Peterson-led offense. On a crucial 4th and 18 yard play with 18 seconds left in the ballgame, and the Sooners up by a touchdown, the Broncos connected pulled out some chicanery and connected on an unbelievable hook and ladder play that went 51 yards for the touchdown.

At that moment, every person in America, outside of Oklahoma, if not only for a short moment, jumped on the blue and orange band wagon.

With the Sooner nation shocked, the game went into overtime, and would soon result in the most exciting finish in the BCS era. Enter "Vincenzo" Perretta.

The Sooners took the field first in overtime, and quickly scored a touchdown. With the Sooners up 42-35, Boise State lined up with Perretta in the shotgun formation behind center. As quarterback Jared Zabransky motioned out of the backfield, Perretta took the snap and ran right, as if too turn the ball up and run towards the endzone. At the last second, Vinny pulled up and lobbed a pass over the sooner defense, connecting with his receiver for a touchdown in the back of the endzone. Bronco fans went bazerk.

The play was like a replay from 2 years earlier when Vinny threw a halfback pass for a touchdown against high school football juggernaut De La Salle, except this time, it was on national TV and a Fiesta Bowl championship was on the line.

It was his flash of fame, his defining moment of glory, the play he will always be remembered for for the rest of his life, in Boise Idaho, and throughout the rest of the world. Vinny had just thrown a touchdown to put the Broncos in position to win the Tostitos Fiesta bowl - oh nelly!

Don't bust out the cheese dip yet. Things were about to get better.

Faced with a perilous decision to make, head coach Chris Peterson decided to risk prolonging the epic game, and go for the knockout punch. As the tv commentator suggested, "When you're Cinderella, at a certain point, you don't keep slugging with the big guy."


With the stadium on their feet, the Broncos lined up for the two point conversion for the Fiesta Bowl win. Runningback Ian Johnson took the handoff on the statue of liberty and ran for the game winning touchdown.

Vinny left that game in Tempe, Arizona on cloud nine. He had just written a piece of college football history.

Tuesday night's game against TCU closed a chapter in Vinny's football playbook, but hopefully not his last. Vinny will always symbolize, for high school football players, what a little hard work and determination can bring you - a Fiesta Bowl Championship.

(See the video highlights from the 2007 Fiesta Bowl below. You must come to RawHideNation.com to view)

I've posted some new recruiting highlight videos for the following players on La Costa Canyon's team: LB Jacob Driver, CB Connor Garret, LB Dutch Hapgood, DB Karl Nelson, C Corey Lamb, WR Kenny Stills, and WR/RB Matt Williams. Access the videos on the highlight tape page here. A special thanks to our friends over at SDballers.com for supplying the videos. Visit their site to check out highlight videos from players from around San Diego county.

Players from ALL San Diego teams - not just La Costa Canyon - are welcome to submit their videos to RawHideNation.com and I will post them in the recruiting highlight video section. College coaches who visit the site can then view your highlight videos.

If your highlight tape in awesome, I might want to interview you and write up an article. I'll then distribute it across the internet and to college coaches around the nation.

From: Rivals.com

ORLANDO, Fla. - It doesn't take long to realize Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas is a national championship-caliber football team.

Just ask a coach who has been at the top of the high school football universe.

"They are the best, no doubt about that," Lakeland coach Bill Castle said after falling to the national champion Raiders in Florida's Class 5A state championship game.

Aquinas quarerback Ryan Becker audibles at the line

Castle led the Dreadnaughts (14-1) to a pair of national championships in 2005 and 2006, but he could not come up with any solutions to stopping St. Thomas (15-0) in a 56-7 drubbing Friday in Orlando, Fla., a game that clinched the RivalsHigh national title for the Raiders.

It marked the first national championship and fifth state title for St. Thomas and coach George Smith, who has guided the Raiders for 32 years. Three of the last four national champions came out of Florida's Class 5A, which is arguably one of the most challenging divisions in the country.

"If you win the state championship in the state of Florida, you've got a decent football team no matter what class you are in," Smith said. "We didn't talk about that [the national championship], but if that comes with it, that is a very unbelievable event."

The players knew a national title was on the line. With three minutes left in the game, they already were dumping Gatorade coolers on coaches and pointing index fingers to the sky to celebrate the inevitable victory.

"It's great," said senior wide receiver and Ohio State recruit Duron Carter, the son of NFL great Cris Carter. "I can't explain it. It's the best season in St. Thomas history. It feels good."

St. Thomas left no doubt it was worthy of the national championship, jumping to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and a 35-0 halftime advantage. Eight different players accounted for the scoring, which included a mix of passing and rushing, long and short, and an interception that linebacker Conor O'Neill returned 20 yards.

The lopsided victory wasn't a fluke.

The Raiders didn't play a game decided by less than 21 points since beating Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder 35-24 in the season-opening Herbstreit Challenge. Elder was a state runner-up and is also ranked in the RivalsHigh 100.

"The fire we had in this team was amazing," senior quarterback Ryan Becker said. "The first game we started out a little slow, but that was our wake-up call. We knew we had a team that was going to win the [state] championship. We worked hard every day, and we had that fire and that passion."

Becker was the leader of an offense that averaged 408.4 yards and 46.3 points a game. He finished with 2,027 yards passing and 30 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He threw three touchdown passes and added a rushing touchdown Friday.

St. Thomas' dominance this season wasn't just about the offense, though.

The defense, led by the Wisconsin-bound O'Neill, allowed 7.8 points per game and gave up 14 points or less in every outing except the Elder game, and special teams was just as good.

Punter Ben Turke is committed to Notre Dame, kicker Mike Palardy had touchbacks on all seven of his kickoffs Friday and punt/kick returner Ronnie Kennedy finished the season with three touchdowns on special teams.

	The Raiders celebrate their state and national title

"It was a whole team effort, and it's been that way ever since we got on a plane to go to Ohio," Smith said. "We got better every game, especially down the stretch."

St. Thomas has played in the last five Class 5A state championships, winning the last two, including a 35-20 win over Kissimmee-Osceola last year. The Raiders lost title games to Lakeland three years in a row from 2004-06, making the 2008 championship that much sweeter.

The last meeting in 2006 was especially heartbreaking for St. Thomas, which came back from a 35-14 deficit with 2:25 left only to fall in double overtime.

"It just brings a little extra spark for it," Becker said. "We just wanted to win it for Coach Smith and those seniors [from the graduating classes] of '07, '06 and '05."

Smith, unlike his players, was there for all three losses.

"It's really special obviously," Smith said. "We've been on the other side of this thing with them, but to come out and play the way we played early on and to continue to play like that against a team like Lakeland is certainly a tremendous emotion to me for our players."

The Raiders have been a perennial power, but this group will have a legitimate claim as the best St. Thomas Aquinas squad in school history.

"Every team before us worked hard, but with God's grace, it came together," said Carter, who had one of his 14 touchdowns on the season in the championship game. "He gave us an opportunity and we converted on it."

By Ronnie Flores, Senior Editor CalHiSports.com

It took the California Interscholastic Federation 79 years to implement state championship bowl games in 2006 after discontinuing the state format following the 1927 season amid financial concerns.

It took Polytechnic High School of Long Beach even longer, 89 years, to return to a state football championship game. The Jackrabbits were looking to make history as the first program to win CIF state titles in the early era and the modern CIF State Championship Bowl Games, but Grant of Sacramento made history of its own as the Pacers pulled out a thrilling 25-20 victory over the Jackrabbits in front of 14,122 at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

The win was not only the first for five Northern California teams that traveled South in the first year of the expanded bowl games that included the addition of a small schools and an open division, but the biggest win ever for a Sacramento area prep football team.

"We won this football game because of our character," said Grant head coach Mike Alberghini.

The Pacers were a surprise pick for the open bowl game going up against a Poly team that came in ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the nation in the ESPN RISE FAB 50, but they came in well-prepared and with confidence fueled by those that felt De La Salle of Concord should have played the Jackrabbits.

The Pacers proved they were more than a deserving selection and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 15-yard touchdown reception by Darvin McCauley to cap a eight-play, 65-yard drive that began with 1:11 remaining in the game.

"They shut down our run and we felt early on we had to go to the pass," Alberghini explained. "We just had the answers. We felt the one thing coming in here is everyone said they're more athletic. Well, we're athletic, too."

The game didn't start out too well for Poly (14-1) as the Pacers drew first blood. On the second offensive possession for Grant (14-0), quarterback Kipeli Koniseti caught Poly cornerback Lazari Middleton looking into the backfield and hit McCauley in stride on an out and up pattern for a 54-yard touchdown with 6:59 remaining in the first period.

The CIF Sac Joaquin Div. II champions had great field position throughout the first half as Poly played its customary game of catch up. The Jackrabbits actually dodged two major bullets as Grant had two great opportunities to put points on the board and came away with zero. Following a fumble on a kickoff return by Poly's Jordan Johnson that Grant recovered at the 20-yard line, the Pacers were facing a fourth and four from the 16-yard line and Koniseti just over shot a wide open receiver who got behind Middleton in the corner of the end zone.

With 1:30 remaining in the first quarter, Poly allowed a 40-yard reception by Ronald Fields in the middle of the field, but its defense toughened up and forced a fourth and 10 from the 15-yard line to cap a eight-play, 65-yard drive that began with 1:11 remaining in the game.

"They shut down our run and we felt early on we had to go to the pass," Alberghini explained. "We just had the answers. We felt the one thing coming in here is everyone said they're more athletic. Well we're athletic, too."

The game didn't start out to well for Poly (14-1) as the Pacers drew first blood. On the second offensive possession for Grant (14-0), quarterback Kipeli Koniseti caught Poly cornerback Lazari Middleton looking into the backfield and hit wide receiver Darvin McCauley in stride on an out and up pattern for a 54-yard touchdown with 6:59 remaining in the first period. The CIF Sac Joaquin Div. II champions had great field position throughout the first half as Poly played its customary game catch up. The Jackrabbits actually dodged two major bullets as Grant had two great opportunities to put points on the board and came away with zero.

Following a fumble on a kickoff return by Poly's Jordan Johnson that Grant recovered at the 20-yard line, the Pacers were facing a fourth and four from the 16-yard line and Koniseti just over shot a wide open receiver who got behind Middleton in the corner of the end zone. With 1:30 remaining in the first quarter, Poly allowed a 40-yard reception by Ronald Fields in the middle of the field, but its defense toughened up and forced a fourth and ten from the 15-yard line. On fourth down, junior wide receiver Xavier Amey hauled in a pass near the left corner on the end zone but came down out of bounds. Poly has not been known as an offensive juggernaut in recent seasons, but its offense was just plain anemic in the first half. The ground-oriented Jackrabbits gained a total of six rushing yards and picked up five first downs. It was only a matter of time before a team as talented and tough as Grant capitalized on the Jackrabbits' lethargic play.

Again the Poly defense forced a third and long (15 to be exact), but again Middleton allowed a wideout just enough space to pull down a Koniseti pass as Howard Warren hauled in a 38-yard reception down to the Poly one-yard line. On the next play, Koniseti scored on a quarterback sneak to give Gran a seemingly commanding 13-0 lead with 10:44 remaining in the second quarter.

"Everyone said I'm not a passer," remarked Koniseti, who finished with 236 yards passing on 13 of 26 pass attempts with two touchdowns. "That's all I needed was motivation by the doubters. We may have a lot of different guys on this team, but we have a lot of chemistry and we all speak the same language."

Poly eventually made a defensive adjustment by sliding safety Stan McKay over to right cornerback and placing senior Tylor Showe at McKay's safety spot. The adjustment didn't allow Grant to execute long pass plays, but it still took an extraordinary defensive effort to help Poly get on the scoreboard. With Grant driving once again towards Poly's red zone, all-state defensive end Iuta Tepa not only stripped the ball from junior back Devontae Butler, but actually ripped the ball right from his possession and began rumbling downfield the other way. Tepa actually fumbled on his return, but the ball was recovered by teammate Juwuan Brown at Poly's 35-yard line.

With the Jackrabbits not able to run against Grant's strong defensive front, quarterback Morgan Fannell went to the air. He finally converted on a 65-yard touchdown reception to a streaking Kaelin Clay after misfiring downfield on first and second down. That made the score 13-7 in favor of the Pacers, but the Jackrabbits failed to gain any rhythm offensively. Only another fumble recovery, this one by Corey Walker after Koniseti scrambled and coughed up the ball on third and nineteen play, kept Grant's off-balance and unable to put up any more points in the first half.

In the third quarter, the tables were turned and it was Poly that enjoyed the good field position. On one possession Grant took over at its own two-yard line and escaped with a punt. But on the Pacers' next possession that started at the eight-yard line, disaster struck when Grant had its punt blocked on a surge led by Brown, linebackers Kenny Tuiloma and Matthew Jones. The ball was scooped up and returned six yards for a touchdown by 'backer George Dailey-Lyles to give the two-time CIF Southern Section Pac-Five champions a 14-13 lead with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter.

"I was on the weak side and thought I might have a shot and just went for it," Jones said. "I'm glad I did. I was even happier to see George pick it up."

The Pacers got the break it needed to put itself in scoring position after Poly's special team touchdown when Fennell (11 of 28, 164 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 INT) had a pass picked off. It was returned to the Jackrabbits' 15-yard line by defensive back Marvin Lamb when Johnson, the intended receiver, slipped and the ball floated up in the air for much too long for one of Grant's speedy skill position players not to pick it off.

The Pacers capitalized and took a 19-14 lead when Butler, who finished with 114 yards rushing on 22 carries, scored on a six-yard touchdown run on fourth and inches with 10:36 remaining in the game. The two-point conversion attempt failed.

Poly, accustomed to playing from behind in this year's playoffs, finally found daylight on the ground and answered Grant's score with a 55-yard touchdown run by senior back Melvin Richardson. The 5-foot-10, 210-pound bulldozer, who entered the game with eight postseason touchdowns, accounted for most of Poly's rushing yards on his scoring gallop that gave Poly a 20-19 lead after Fannell over shot a wide open Corey Westbrook on a two-point conversion attempt.

On Poly's other 24 rushing attempts, the Jackrabbits gained 49 yards as their vaunted defense was wearing down from being on the field much too long in the second half.

Poly, the state's all-time winningest program with 684 football victories, was trying to win the school's second CIF state title so it was only fitting that its defense was on the field to perhaps secure the win.

In 1919, coach Eddie Kienholz led Poly to a 21-14 victory over Berkeley at Tournament Park in Pasadena. Similar to Keinholz's team, which allowed just 13 points in its first 11 games heading into the title game with Berkeley, head coach Raul Lara's club was spearheaded by its defense. They allowed a paltry 8.9 points per game heading into the open division bowl against the Pacers, but all that didn't matter as Grant kept it composure and exploited Poly's fatigue in trying to cover McCauley.

Defensive back Darius Williams-Fox was giving the 5-foot-11,180-pound receiver much too cushion and outside of one tackle for loss by Daily-Lyles, the interior defense was not crisp in tackling a relatively fresh Butler on the game-winning drive. Koniseti drove the Pacers down to the 15-yard line of Poly and hit McCauley on a pass where he split Williams-Fox and Showe to score the biggest touchdown in the history of Grant's program.

"I could have done this all year, but we're not a passing team so I sat back and waited for my chance," said McCauley, who finished with eight receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns. "Coach A (Alberghini) gave it to me tonight and I did what I had to do."

Grant, which came into the game ranked No. 5 in the state, will move to at least the No. 2 spot with its five-point victory when the CalHiSports.com final state ratings for the 2008 football season are released next week.

Centennial of Corona, which recorded a 21-16 over previous No. 3 De La Salle in the Div. I bowl game, could be the team to take over the top spot.

After recording a win of this magnitude, Alberghini and his troops probably won't be worrying much about it after the magnitude of Saturday night's victory is felt when they return home.

"Our defense was worn out," Lara said. "Usually we move the ball in the second half and are able to rest our defense, but Grant did a great job. We were No. 1 and they beat us so I guess they're No. 1 but Centennial is very good, too. We didn't execute, we had our chances, but Grant came to prove something."

And prove they did.

From: North County Times

CARSON ---- Tyler Gaffney's wish was to play well on the big stage.

Saturday night in the 2008 CIF State Championships, the senior running back from Cathedral Catholic High put on a performance worthy of a Tony Award.

Gaffney scored all five of his team's touchdowns, had a record-setting 329 yards rushing, caught two passes for 23 yards, completed a pass for 30 yards, had six tackles on defense and blocked a kick. All that was enough to lead the Dons to a thrilling 37-34 victory over Stockton St. Mary's in the Division II title game at the Home Depot Center.

His name won't go up in lights on Broadway. And he won't get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Gaffney's name, however, will be prominent in the record book. He set three bowl game records and four CIF San Diego Section single-season records, including yards (2,787), points (336) and touchdowns (56).

"If there was ever a time to do it, this was the time," said Gaffney, who has narrowed his college choices to USC, Stanford and Notre Dame. "Winning a state title means everything. It means we have a real team.

"And to perform well here is just icing on the cake."

The game was a seesaw affair and wasn't decided until Josh Jacko knocked down St. Mary's fourth-down pass attempt with 2:09 to play. Then, on third-and-6 from the Dons' 37 with 42 seconds left, Gaffney hauled in a 16-yard pass from quarterback Parker Hipp to kill the last hope for St. Mary's (12-3).

"Wow, what a track meet," Cathedral Catholic coach Sean Doyle said after the teams combined for 71 points and 1,051 total yards, 590 of them by the Dons. "We put Tyler Gaffney on the big stage and he showed what the best back in California can do. He put on an absolute show. He's amazing, just amazing.

"What's more important is that he's the most humble young man I've ever been around."

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Gaffney was humbled when the ball was punched from his hands at the end of an 18-yard run, and Andy Hurst recovered the fumble for St. Mary's. Eight plays later, St. Mary's quarterback Cody Vaz hit Alex Pascale with a 10-yard scoring pass to give the Rams their first lead of the game at 27-23 with 9:38 to play.

But Cathedral Catholic (14-0) was far from finished. Hipp hit Brad Harrington with a 31-yard pass on third-and-4 from the Dons' 36 to keep the drive alive. And on a fourth-and-9 from the St. Mary's 31, the Dons dug deep into the playbook, with Gaffney taking a handoff from Hipp, sweeping right, then completing a 30-yard pass to his quarterback, who was wide open in the left flat.

On the next play, Gaffney bulled into the end zone from the 1.

"The play is called '58 Parker,' " said Hipp, who completed 9-of-11 passes for 191 yards. "It was there all night, and Coach Doyle wanted to call it earlier. But I asked him to save it until we really needed it.

"We really needed right then."

That score gave the Dons a 30-27 lead with 6:10 to play, but Chad West's 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown put the Rams back ahead 34-30 with 5:54 to play.

Rarely trailing in a dominant season, the Dons needed just three plays and 58 seconds to cover 65 yards, with Gaffney going the final 51 for a 37-34 lead.

All that was left was for the Dons to hold the record-setting Vaz in check. The Oregon State-bound quarterback completed 31-of-46 passes for 336 yards and four TDs ---- all bowl records.

"I thought we could move the ball, and we did." Vaz said. "Cathedral is a great team. We just came up a play short in the end."

St. Mary's coach Tony Franks had a feeling the game would be a shootout.

"We've been in a few of them this season, and I thought this one might be, too," he said. "I couldn't be more proud of my team. The resiliency we showed, the things we did, were amazing. Absolutely, we're winners.

"But I'll tell you, Tyler Gaffney is a tremendous, tremendous football player. To do what he did in a state championship game is truly amazing.

"Rarely do great players live up to the hype. He did."

Contact staff writer John Maffei at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.

La Costa Canyon football alumnus Justin Witzmann (LCC '04) has been named an academic scholar by the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA).

Justin, a talented defensive tackle for Charleston Southern University, finished his senior year as a second-team All-Big South selection, having played in every game over the course of his two-year career. He finished this year with 42 total tackles including eight tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks.

At CSU, Justin carried his enthusiasm on the field into the classroom, earning a 3.8 overall GPA, and is now honored as a finalist for a $5,000 post graduate scholarship.

Congratulations Justin.

Take a look back at La Costa Canyon's journey to the Division I CIF championship by viewing the slideshow below. A special thanks to Maverick photographer Tom Mills.



After dominating Escondido en route to their first CIF championship in school history, the Union Tribune interviews head coach Darrin Brown and linebacker Jacob Driver on the postgame show. If you missed it, take a look at staff writer Nicole Vargas's interviews here.

From: Los Angeles Times

The football coaches from Long Beach Poly and Sacramento Grant look and sound nothing alike.

Poly's Raul Lara is a 42-year-old Latino who sports a mustache and a graying goatee. Grant's Mike Alberghini is 61, has Italian and Irish roots and is clean shaven.
Yet when the coaches discuss their teams, they might as well be clones.

Said Alberghini: "We believe in the run and we believe in speed on defense and being a team that flies to the ball."

Said Lara: "We're going to run the ball and rely on our great defense and speed."

Their similar philosophies have led to a common destination: Poly (14-0) will play Grant (13-0) tonight at the Home Depot Center in the CIF open division state championship bowl game.

The Jackrabbits had initially expected to play Concord De La Salle before the bowl selection committee picked the Pacers in part because they defeated two teams -- Pocatello (Idaho) Highland and Sandy (Utah) Alta -- that won state championships.

"I'm not really disappointed because the word was that De La Salle wasn't the best team and all we want to do is play the best team to prove we're the No. 1 team in the state," Poly quarterback Morgan Fennell said.

Grant showed that it possessed one of the state's most prolific offenses en route to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II title. The Pacers piled up 4,121 yards rushing and defeated Sacramento McClatchy, 89-0, in November during a three-week stretch in which they outscored their opponents, 205-0.

Grant's Devontae Butler has rushed for 1,850 yards and 36 touchdowns, but the junior running back's most impressive statistic might be his 10.6 yards-per-carry average. Kipeli Koniseti is a dual-threat quarterback who has passed for 1,366 yards and rushed for 777.

The Pacers also possess a stingy defense that notched three shutouts and yielded an average of 10.5 points a game.

"They run a defense we've never seen before -- a 3-5 -- but I don't think that will give us any problems," Fennell said. "They're pretty athletic, but we always believe we're the better team no matter how athletic the other team is."

Poly's defense has been a shade better statistically, giving up only 8.9 points a game. The Jackrabbits have not allowed more than 17 points in any game during a 26-game winning streak that dates to September 2007.

That has come in handy during a playoff run in which Poly has scored only one first-half touchdown in four games, leading to these second-half predicaments: The Jackrabbits trailed La Puente Bishop Amat, 10-0, during a 21-17 victory; they were tied with Anaheim Esperanza, 10-10, before pulling out a 17-10 triumph; they were in a 10-3 hole against Lakewood before coming back for a 20-10 victory; and they were down, 17-7, against Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro before rebounding for a 20-17 victory.

"I can't explain it," Fennell said. "It's not like we did it on purpose."

Lara offered a dual explanation: the inability to match or surpass an opponent's intensity early in games and some coaching curveballs that have forced the Jackrabbits to adjust.

"We've been pretty fortunate to make the adjustments and win these games," Lara said.

Alberghini attributed Poly's comebacks to "great resolve, great athletes and the ability to keep bringing it to you. . . . They make plays when they have to."

From: Los Angeles Times

Corona Centennial High's no-huddle, hurry-up offense took its sweet time in the final minute Friday night.

The Huskies lingered in the backfield after plays. They milled about in the huddle prior to the snap. They savored every moment.

Things then turned bizarre when Centennial quarterback Taylor Martinez sprinted into his own end zone to take a safety with 7.8 seconds remaining.

Concord De La Salle tried a series of laterals on the ensuing kickoff and reached Centennial territory before getting tackled to secure the Huskies' 21-16 victory in the CIF state Division I championship bowl game at the Home Depot Center.

By avenging last year's bowl loss to the Spartans, Centennial (15-0) can make a case to be considered the unofficial California champion, though the winner of tonight's open-division bowl game between Long Beach Poly and Sacramento Grant would surely disagree.

"I kind of look at it like there's really four teams competing for that state crown, because it could come out of any of those teams," Centennial Coach Matt Logan said this week.

The Huskies took a 21-14 lead when running back Arthur Burns spun into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, capping a drive in which Centennial appeared to catch a big break when an apparent fumble by receiver Ricky Marvray was ruled an incomplete pass.

De La Salle remained within striking distance when Noah Perio blocked a 37-yard field-goal attempt by Trevor Romaine, giving the Spartans (12-2) the ball at their own 30-yard line with 3:18 remaining in the game.

De La Salle eventually reached the Centennial 42 before quarterback Blake Wayne's fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

Wayne had pulled the Spartans into a 14-14 tie in the third quarter on a one-yard plunge.

Centennial, which never led and trailed by as many as 24 points during last year's 37-31 loss to De La Salle, had to play catch-up again in the early going Friday.

The Huskies helped the Spartans score first thanks to a pair of mistakes. After a bad punt snap gave De La Salle the ball on the Centennial 18-yard line, it appeared the Huskies had held the Spartans and would force a field-goal attempt.

But De La Salle drew Centennial offsides on fourth down, giving the Spartans a first down at the five-yard line. Two plays later, Terron Ward scored on a one-yard run to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead.

Things further deteriorated for the Huskies when Burns fumbled inside De La Salle's five-yard line, but Centennial linebacker Vontaze Burfict intercepted a pass by Wayne shortly thereafter at the Spartans' 17-yard line. Burns then scored on a four-yard run to tie the score.

Martinez nudged Centennial ahead, 14-7, on his four-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. The Huskies' 50-yard drive was keyed by an acrobatic catch by Geshun Harris that went for a 33-yard gain.

Martinez completed 15 of 21 passes for 243 yards and Harris caught nine passes for 127 yards.

De La Salle Coach Bob Ladouceur fell short in his bid to become the all-time winningest coach in California. He remains tied with former longtime Santa Fe Springs St. Paul coach Marijon Ancich, who retired with 344 victories.

After hours of deliberation, and presentations by section commissioners of their section's bowl eligible teams (50 total), 10 teams have been selected to play in the state CIF bowl championship games, including San Diego representative Cathedral Catholic for division II. Here the matchups.





OPEN DIVISION: GRANT, SACRAMENTO vs. POLY, LONG BEACH

Grant High School (13-0, 5-0) was the Division II Champion from the Sac-Joaquin Section. The Pacers, who play in the Metropolitan League, are coached by Mike Alberghini. They will face Long Beach Poly High School (14-0, 6-0) which was the Pac-5 Division Champion from the Southern Section. The Jackrabbits, who play in the Moore League, are coached by Raul Lara.

Grant finished the season undefeated, including a pair of wins against state champions from Idaho and Utah. Its win against Alta (Sandy, Utah) represented the highest ranked team that anyone from Northern California defeated this season. The Pacers’ high-powered offense scored more than 30 points in all but one of their games. They defeated highly rated Granite Bay in the Section playoffs and also earned victories against Burbank in both league and Section finals.

Long Beach Poly won its Section championship with a come-from-behind 20-17 victory against Tesoro Saturday night in the Pac-5 Finals. The Jackrabbits won their second consecutive Pac-5 championship, the toughest division in the Southern Section. They also began the season against Miami Northwestern who is playing for the Florida 6A State Championship.

DIVISION I: DE LA SALLE, CONCORD vs. CENTENNIAL, CORONA

De La Salle High School (12-1, 7-0) was the Division I Champion from the North Coast Section. The Spartans, who play in the East Bay League, are coached by Bob Ladouceur. They will face Centennial High School (14-0, 7-0) which was the Inland Division Champion from the Southern Section. The Huskies, who play in the Big VIII League, are coached by Matt Logan. This game will be a re-match of last year’s state Division I championship, which De La Salle won 37-31.

De La Salle, making its third appearance in as many years in the state championship, played a tough schedule and their only loss was in the preseason to Don Bosco (Ramsey, N.J.), who went on to become the private school state champion in New Jersey. Should the Spartans win the game, Ladouceur would take over as the leader in career wins in California state high
school football history.

Undefeated Centennial bested Central Section champion Clovis West and also perennial power Mater Dei in a preseason game. The Huskies also beat highly ranked Chaparral twice, including the Section final.

DIVISION II: ST. MARY’S, STOCKTON vs. CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC, SAN DIEGO

St. Mary’s, Stockton High School (12-2, 5-0) was the Division I Champion from the Sac-Joaquin Section. The Rams, who play in the Tri-City League, are coached by Tony Franks. They will face Cathedral Catholic High School (13-0, 5-0) which was the Division III Champion from the San Diego Section. The Dons, who play in the Eastern League, are coached by Sean Doyle.

St. Mary’s of Stockton’s greatest strength was its tough schedule. Its only loss was to Bellarmine, a contender for the Division I state berth. The Rams had strong playoff wins against Merced and twice defeated Lincoln of Stockton, giving them their only two losses of the season.

Cathedral Catholic has been the top-ranked Division team in the statewide polls throughout the season. Nine of their 10 regular season opponents made the Section playoffs, and they are riding a 20-game win streak. The Dons have victories this season against Carlsbad, a SDS Division I semifinalist, and Scripps Ranch, a Division II semifinalist. Cathedral Catholic
also earned the CIF State girls’ volleyball championship Dec. 6, 2008.

DIVISION III: CARDINAL NEWMAN, SANTA ROSA vs. ST. BONAVENTURE, VENTURA

Cardinal Newman High School of Santa Rosa (13-0, 7-0) was the Division II Champion from the North Coast Section. The Cardinals, who play in the North Bay League, are coached by Paul Cronin. They will face St. Bonaventure High School of Ventura (13-1, 7-0) which was the Northern Division Champion from the Southern Section.

The Seraphs, who play in the Channel League, are coached by Todd Therrien. Both teams are making their second appearance in the state finals as the Cardinals played in the inaugural games in 2006, and the Seraphs won last year.

Cardinal Newman was the top-ranked Division III team in Northern California for virtually the entire season. They had wins against Central Catholic, Del Oro and Palma during non-league play. They also defeated previously undefeated Clayton Valley in their Section championship.

St. Bonaventure’s only loss was to Long Beach Poly, which will be playing in the state Open Division championship. The Seraphs had a commanding 42-7 victory in their Section final against Moorpark to finish off their tough season schedule.

SMALL SCHOOLS DIVISION: HAMILTON UNION, HAMILTON CITY vs. ST. MARGARET’S, SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

Hamilton Union High School of Hamilton City (10-2, 6-1) was the Division III Champion from the Northern Section. The Braves, who play in the Mid-Valley League, are coached by Mark Cooley. They will face St. Margaret’s High School of San Juan Capistrano (14-0, 3-0) which was the East Valley Division Champion from the Southern Section.

The Tartans, who play in the Academy League, are coached by Harry Welch. This is Welch’s second coaching appearance in the state finals as he also led Canyon of Canyon Country to the Division I title in 2006.

Hamilton Union won its Section final in overtime against Willows and finished the season as the top-ranked team in the Small Schools Division in all the statewide polls. Their strength of schedule was key to their selection. The Braves are the first team from the Northern Section to participate in the state football championships.

St. Margaret’s enters the state football championships on a 42-game win streak, the longest such string in Orange County history. The Tartans won their third straight Section title this season, though the first since being moved up to a higher division. They defeated two schools of approximately 2,000 students in the playoffs.

“The Selection Committee made a commitment to a complete process during which all 50 schools were presented by their respective Commissioner and discussed thoroughly, said Ishida.” I applaud the other 40 Section champions for their performances this season.”

Today, 10 teams, from all Divisions across the state of California will be selected to play in the state CIF championship bowl games. By virtue of the abundant amount of teams in the giant state of California, teams must make big statements during the regular season and playoffs in order to get selected.

Many factors are considered in determining whether a team is worth of playing at the Home Depot center in Carson including strength of schedule, record, points scored, points allowed, and many more. One mandatory prerequisite for earning a birth to a game is to a team to win its section.

Looking at the bowl rankings, which has been compiled by sportswriters from around the state, 3 San Diego teams will legitimately be considered to represent southern California in the games. These teams include: Oceanside, Cathedral Catholic, and Francis Parker.

Even though La Costa Canyon won the Division I San Diego section title, they lost to South Section team Mission Viejo and Santa Margarita. Mission Viejo lost to Tesoro, who lost to Long Beach Poly in the South Section title game. Had this been La Costa Canyon's only loss, they might of had a shot at an at large bowl game bid (there are 5 total bowls), but their loss to Santa Margarita, who finished the season 3-7, really killed their chances.

Here are the final Southern California bowl rankings, mainly created 3 writers, Mark Tennis, Steve Brand, and Ronnie Flores of CalHiSports.com.

Division I South

1. (1) Poly (Long Beach) 14-0
2. (2) Centennial (Corona) 14-0
3. (3) Tesoro (Las Flores) 13-1*
4. (4) Chaparral (Temecula) 12-2*
5. (5) Rancho Cucamonga 13-0-1
6. (6) Narbonne (Harbor City) 12-1-1
7. (7) San Pedro 12-1-1
8. (8) Lakewood 10-3*
9. (9) Mission Viejo 10-2*
10. (10) Clovis West (Fresno) 10-3
11. (11) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 11-2
12. (13) Esperanza (Anaheim) 8-4*
13. (nr) Los Alamitos 8-3*
14. (14) Edison (Huntington Beach) 7-3*
15. (15) Saugus 9-4*

Division II South

1. (1) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 13-0
2. (2) Oceanside 12-0-1
3. (3) Lutheran (Orange) 10-3*
4. (4) Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 11-1*
5. (6) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 8-4*
6. (7) Servite (Anaheim) 7-4*
7. (8) Tulare Union 13-0
8. (9) Citrus Hill (Perris) 14-0
9. (11) Charter Oak (Covina) 13-0-1
10. (10) Helix (La Mesa) 10-2-1*
11. (5) Moorpark 12-2*
12. (12) Bishop Amat (La Puente) 8-3*
13. (nr) La Habra 12-2
14. (nr) Crespi (Encino) 6-4*
15. (nr) Laguna Hills 13-0

Division III South

1. (1) St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 13-1
2. (2) Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 14-0
3. (4) Bakersfield Christian 12-1
4. (3) Serra (Gardena) 13-1*
5. (6) Chowchilla 12-1
6. (5) Corcoran 12-1*
7. (7) Paraclete (Lancaster) 11-3
8. (8) Twentynine Palms 10-4*
9. (9) St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 10-2*
10. (10) Exeter 9-2*

Small Schools South

1. (1) St. Margaret's (SJ Capistrano) 14-0
2. (2) Parker (San Diego) 12-1
3. (4) Central Valley Christian (Visalia) 9-3*
4. (nr) Santa Clara (Oxnard) 9-2*
5. (5) Christian (El Cajon) 10-2*

While the championship bowl game series is a step in the right direction in determining the best football teams in the state of California, it is far from perfect for a variety of reasons.

First, the bids are determined by a vote, not a true playoff system. While teams from around the state compete in their section's playoff, there are no games between the section championship games and the bowl games, to further narrow the field with head to head battles. With 10 sections in the state, and multiple divisions within each section, many teams might go undefeated and win their section for their specific division, but not be invited to a championship bowl games because a group of sportswriters determined they were not as powerful as another team. The only way to accurately determine the better team is play them head to head and see who wins.

Long Beach Poly player Melvin Richardson, and Warren G (Background), from CalHiSports.com

Second, big name schools get the advantage. No matter what the bowl game commissioners might say, there is definitely biases in selecting the teams who play in the bowl games. Big name school's like De La Salle and Long Beach Poly will always get the advantage because they have a history of success in the national polls. This is not taking anything away from these great programs, who have fielded excellent teams in the past 20 years, but wouldn't it be nice to have a system that is bias-proof? Lesser known school's that are not prominently positioned in the national spotlight might get left out.

The official bowl bids will be released late Sunday night.

From CalHiSports.com

Other than San Diego and Oaks Christian vs. Gardena Serra, here were some other key results from championship football games played on Friday, Dec. 12:

De La Salle (Concord) 34, Pittsburg 10

Kylan Butler ran for nearly 200 yards as the Spartans extended their state record for winning consecutive section titles to an astounding 17 with a win over Pitt at Dublin High. When teams like Central Catholic of Modesto get upset like they did last week against Hilmar and consider that the Spartans haven't missed a beat in such a long time in NCS finals is quite impressive. De La Salle head coach Bob Ladoucuer also won the 344th game of his career to tie the state record held by former St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs coach Marijon Ancich.

Centennial (Corona) 23, Chaparral (Temecula) 17

The Huskies played a strong fourth quarter after the two teams were tied 14-14 after three quarters. Taylor Martinez ran for a three-yard TD on a fourth down play for the winning score. Centennial improved to 14-0 and will likely get a spot in either the open or Division I state bowl games. Which game depends on what happens during Saturday's CIF Southern Section Pac-Five Division title game between state No. 1 Long Beach Poly (13-0) and Tesoro of Las Flores, also 13-0.

Whitney (Rocklin) 35, Placer (Auburn) 14

Zack Graves capped a monstrous senior season with 36 carries for 282 yards and three TDs for the Wildcats. Head coach Mike Gimenez' team (13-0) earned the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Div. IV title and ended the Cinderella-run of Placer, which got into the playoffs on a court order.

St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 42, Moorpark 7

Head coach Todd Therrian's team completed a dominant run through the field in the CIF Southern Section Northern Division. It was the Seraphs second straight crown in the division. They are now expected to receive a bid to play in their second straight CIF Division III state bowl game.

It's still going to be a close call between Cathedral Catholic and Oceanside during CIF state bowl selections on Sunday after both won section titles on Friday. La Costa Canyon and Valley Center also won in quadruple header of championships. By Tom Shanahan, Special to CalHiSports.com (All games played Friday at Qualcomm Stadium)



Division I

La Costa Canyon needed a narrow 21-17 win over Escondido to claim the Avocado League title in the regular season, but the Mavericks rolled over the Cougars in the rematch with a 45-28 win. The score was 24-14 at halftime before LCC pulled away with three third quarter touchdowns. Seth Hansen broke off a 47-yard touchdown run and Kenny Stills caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sebastian Frausto.

Escondido junior Ricky Seale ran for 216 yards and three touchdowns. His total gave him a San Diego Section single-season rushing record of 2,663 yards, breaking the record of 2,625 by Morse's Gary Taylor in 1990.

Division II

Oceanside didn't get the rout it probably needed to overtake Cathedra Catholic in the State CIF South Division II bowl rankings, but the Pirates did win a fifth straight CIF San Diego Section Division II title with a 23-19 win over Helix of La Mesa. "You really can't judge us completely by this game, said Pirates' quarterback Jordan Wynn. "That's because you can't compare Helix to Valhalla (which is the team Cathedral Catholic defeated in its game). They're Division III and we're Division II.

Oceanside was trailing 19-16 until Jake Fely scored a touchdown on a 1-yard with 6:55 left in the third quarter. Utah-bound quarterback Jordan Wynn was intercepted an atypical three times, but he otherwise finished the game completing 18-of-33 passes for 315 yards and one touchdown. Demario Coleman caught two balls for 81 yards and one touchdown and King Holder caught seven balls for 75 yards.

Helix had a chance to win the game, but a third-and-goal pass from the 2-yard line was intercepted by Rene Siluano with 40 seconds remaining in the contest. Siluano was Oceanside's leading rusher with 14 carries for 72 yards.

Travon Van led the Highlanders with 17 carries for 91 yards and a 25-yard touchdown run that gave the Highlanders a 19-16 lead just before halftime. "That's not for me to say, said Oceanside head coach John Carroll about the possibility of playing another game. "I'm just so proud of our kids and what they did tonight. They overcame a lot and won our fifth in the row. We made history no matter what.

Division III

Cathedral Catholic needed to make a statement and the Dons responded with a 49-13 win over Valhalla. Cathedral running back Tyler Gaffney finished the 253 total yards and four touchdowns. The 6-2, 200-pound senior rushed 19 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 98 yards and two more touchdowns. He also had what would have been a punt return for a touchdown called back for a penalty. The four touchdown pushed his San Diego Section records to 51 touchdowns and 306 points.

The lopsided victory was important for the Dons to gain the CIF State Bowl Division South bid. Cathedral came into the game ranked No. 1 and Oceanside is No. 2 in the San Diego Section and the Division II South bowl rankings. By way of comparison scores, Oceanside played the Division II final against Helix, which beat Valhalla, 28-14.

"We hope they'd give it to us, said Dons' head coach Sean Doyle. "But whatever they do, they do. "The kids wanted it from the get-go. Eastern League, CIF championship and a chance to go to the bowl game. It would be great for them.

Division IV

Valley Center won its second straight section title with a 31-20 win over Madison. Valley Center senior wide receiver James Johnson caught six passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns to set a career receiving yardage record with 2,907 yards on 137 catches. Madison's Fresno State-bound running back Robbie Rouse carried 36 times for 251 yards and two touchdowns.

By Kevin Gemmell, San Diego Union Tribune

Before last night's San Diego Section Division I championship game, La Costa Canyon coach Darrin Brown said his offense would take what the Escondido defense was giving. As it turned out, the Mavericks didn't bother to ask for directions. They just took what they wanted.

Veni, vidi, vici, indeed.

They came, saw and conquered with an explosive offensive attack and a typical, pain-inducing performance from the “Gang Green” defense, routing the Cougars 45-28 at Qualcomm Stadium. It was the first championship appearance and football title for LCC.

“We can pass; we can throw. We can do it all,” Brown said. “We were able to do that tonight.”

Quarterback Sebastian Frausto tossed two touchdowns and ran for another, leading an offense that racked up more than 400 yards.

The high point for the Cougars was that running back Ricky Seale set the San Diego Section record for most rushing yards in a season. His 216-yard, three touchdown performance (125 yards in the fourth quarter) gave him 2,679 on the year, moving him past Morse's Gary Taylor, who ran for 2,625 in 1990.

“It's great (to break the record in Qualcomm) because my dad played here,” said Seale, referring to his father, Sam Seale, a former Charger. “Hopefully, I'll make it back here on a bigger stage someday.”

Other than that – and the brief period the Cougars held a 7-0 advantage – everything was coming up green and blue for the Mavericks.

Escondido opened the scoring with a 17-yard run from fullback Tim Zier.

LCC answered with a 2-yard Weston Manor run, then added a 32-yard Bobby Zalud field goal, set up by a Michael Kaiser sack and an Adam Witzmann fumble recovery deep in Escondido territory. Seale scored his first touchdown and Frausto ran for a score and tossed a 37-yard pass to Matt S. Williams, giving LCC a 24-14 lead at the half.

“Our offense was clicking; our defense was clicking,” said linebacker Jacob Driver, who had five tackles. “We're playing the best football at the right part of the season.”

Then the Mavericks erupted for 21 third quarter points and the rout was on. Seth Hanson rushed for a 48-yard touchdown, Frausto found Kenny Stills for a 39-yard score and Williams added a 4-yard run.

“We know when we play well, no one can stop us,” said Hanson, who rushed for 138 yards. “We have the best O-line in the county, that's for sure. Once we get things going, we can't be stopped.”

For Escondido coach Paul Gomes, it was a frustrating end to the season, but also a hopeful look at the future.

“Our kids didn't quit,” he said. “As far as our program is concerned, we're on our way up. We made tremendous advances this year and we've got some great kids coming back.

“(LCC) came to play. Defensively, we made a lot of mistakes, but Darrin did a great job getting his kids ready. That's just a great football team.”

The La Costa Canyon Mavericks have done it. Big offensive plays by an athletic Mavericks offense, and a stifling Gang Green defensive showing have landed the Mavericks their first Division I CIF championship, with at 45-28 win over Escondido.

Quarterback Sebastian Frausto passed for 235 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also added a score on the ground. Frausto's favorite targets were Matt S. Williams, who added 2 scores on 50 yards receiving, and Kenny Stills, ended the night with 100 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns, including a 47-yard touchdown reception midway through the third quarter to ice the game.

The Gang Green defense proved its dominance, culminating a fantastic year with a dominant championship display, shutting down Escondido stars Ricky Seale and Tim Zier for 3 quarters. Dutch Hapgood pulled down a first quarter interception and Mike Kaiser put a kill shot on the Escondido quarterback. Linebacker Jacob Driver flew around like a bat out of hell all night. It was a total team effort, with each defensive player contributing.

For head coach Darrin Brown, its been a long road to the championship. Taking over the football program in 2000, Brown has taken the program from mediocrity to a CIF champion. With runningback Seth Hanson, linebacker Ian Seau, kicker Robert Zalud, defensive tackle Adam Witzmann, offensive lineman Aaron Wofford, and wide receiver Kenny Stills coming back for the 2009 campaign, the Mavericks will challenge for a back-to-back championship.

Division I - La Costa Canyon 45 Escondido 28

Division II - Oceanside 23 Helix 19

Division III - Cathedral Catholic 49 Valhalla 13 (Final)

Divsion IV - Valley Center 31 Madison 20 (Final)

The Outside the Line's article, "Miles Apart," has received a barrage of critical responses from readers around the country. The article, which compared the lives of two high school athletes from different schools, La Costa Canyon and Oceanside, lacked a real point, and stirred a firestorm of critical responses oriented towards the pieces "sensationalist" approach.

Check out these comments below:

"ESPN.... This story bastardizes a great American town, one that has plays a crucial role in the United States armed forces, high school athletics, and more. The author of this article should be fired immediately. He has no writing ability and represents bogus media - trying to make a story out of something that doesn't exist. He should join Fox news or MSNBC."

"Gare Joyce is a hack reporter. Gare settled for sensationalism instead of reality. What a poor choice to depict one players enviornment better than the other. All your comment regarding Oside are inacurate and is cause for a slander suit. Have you ever stepped foot in Oceanside!! You have lost all creditability and should not be writing any more atricles on Highschool sports and you need to print a full apology to the citizens of Oceanside, California and Justin Vae'ena."


"Thank you to ryanbrodman for pointing out that Oceanside is not the horrible place that it is painted out to be.


A few months back OTL wrote a story on another Oceanside graduate, Matthew Cerda, who in that story was the "have" and Danny Almonte was the "have not". In that story Oceanside was a "nice place to raise a family." In this story nobody would want to come within a five mile radius of Oceanside. A huge contradiction, as well as poor reporting. A school where 50% of the student's parents attended college is not poor.


As a fourth-generation Oceanside resident and an Oceanside educator I have time and again talked to my students about the negative stereotypes of Oceanside. Both my students and I are frustrated time and again with the negative press of Oceanside. It is not a secret that there has been gang violence in some of the city's neighborhoods, but these gangs do not speak for nor represent the community as a whole.


I'm sure neither Justin nor Connor or there families would appreciate being defined by their social class. What the Vae'ena family lacks in money, they make up in rich culture, tradition, family, and friends. They are by no means poor. And while I do not know the Garrett family, I'm sure what they value most is not their money.
Justin and Connor seem to have faith in common. In the video of Justin leading a post-game prayer, the players are from both teams. Maybe the story should have been on the boys' faith, not the money that separates them."

"ThomasGertrude: Well said! To paraphrase Shakespeare, "It is a tale told by an idiot, lacking sound and fury, signifying nothing." I've been to Oceanside High many times for athletic events, debate contests; one of my sons even took the SAT there. It's a beautiful campus less than a mile from the Oceanside Pier where I've taken my boys fishing. Right down the block is perhaps the best camera and telescope shop in San Diego county. Whatever if anything Justin is suffering from, it isn't emanating from the school.

It must be a J-school thing, that all of life is best described through the prism of income inequity. Note to the writer: I've lived in Boston, Chicago, Denver and points in between, and Southern California is the most egalitarian place I've ever been. When you're surfing, no one cares whether the guy next to you is a CEO or a carpenter. Trying to make Connor and Justin fit into the preconceived class template in the author's head isn't pretty. But I suppose we should expect this muddled mess when the author has to take three paragraphs at the top to try to explain his purpose."

"Another ESPN story about race.....zzzzz...zzz z...zzzz...zzzz...."

"Just like any big city (and Oceanside is a big one), there are some good parts and bad parts. Oceanside High School happens to be located in one of the worst parts of Oceanside. There are a lot of bad neighborhoods very close to the school, and the gang violence is not blown out of proportion. You'd be hard pressed to find a person who went to high school in that area who didn't know someone who was a victim of gang related violence. Does this make it a terrible, gang ridden city? No. But let's not pretend it's all rainbows and lollipops either.

The point of this article though is to show that both of these impressive young men are building nice futures for themselves, regardless of their background or demographic.

A rose can grow in a garden, and it grow out of concrete, but a rose is a rose."

After a devastating 2007 14-10 heartbreaking loss to the Oceanside Pirates, where a late La Costa Canyon lead slipped away with under a minute remaining in the ballgame, tonight the Mavericks have a chance to redeem themselves in the division I CIF championship game.

The Mavericks opponent - a dangerous Escondido team that field two workhorse running backs, one the them the son of a 10 year NFL veteran.

In order for La Costa Canyon to win its first CIF championship, they need play better than they did October 31st when they better skidded by the Cougars and had to overcome a 10 point halftime defecit for the win.

Here are the keys to an LCC victory:

1) Play like there is no tomorrow - because their probably isn't. For the Senior, this is it, the big one, the grand finale. Even with a win, the chances of La Costa earning a birth to the state championship bowl series is pretty much non-existent because of their 2 losses. The Mavericks must come out and set the tempo. They must be the drivers of the game, not Escondido. Whether LCC comes out on offense or defense first, one player needs to make a big play - a touchdown or a big hit. Its like making a first impression all over again. LCC must play with urgency on every series.

2) Tame the horses - LCC must find away, again, to stop the Escondido thorobreads. Seale has racked up a staggering 2447 yards with 29 touchdowns. Tim Zier has also run for an impressive 1240 yards. In their previous bout, the Gangrene defense held the dynamic cougar offense to under 200 total yards. Jacob Driver, Dutch Hapgood, Connor Garrett, Ian Seau, Paul Quessenberry, and Mike Kaisier must ignite the defense and stun Seale and Zier, because they will be looking for the opportunity to take the game into their own hands. You DO NOT want to give Ricky Seale any life, because if he gets on a role, he will burn you.


3) Coach Brown must take risks - In a championship game, anything can happen on any play. In the investment world, high risk can reap high reward. Its the same thing in tonights game. The Mavericks must take their shots down field, and not fall into a conservative whole. With Frausto, Stills, Hanson on a roll heading into the championship game, Brown must get them into the mix early. If Kenny Stills can come out and make some big plays in the first quarter, this could get in the heads of Escondido.

4) Frausto must use his wheels - In LCC's previous meeting with Escondido, Frausto pulled down the ball and ran for 2 touchdowns. Frausto is a playmaker and will make the difference in tonight's game. With the addition of Seth Hanson's powerful legs in the past couple of weeks, the Mavericks offense is like a 3 pronged stabbing weapon. If Frausto can consistently pick up the 5-10 yard scampers all night, this will frustrate an Escondido defense and take them off their game.

Prediction: Mavericks 24 Escondido 21

Outside the Line's article featuring La Costa Canyon's Connor Garrett and Oceanside's Justin Vae'ena juxtaposes the different world's of two players, and their respective schools, two schools that compete in North County San Diego.

While a sociolgist might consider their unique demographics worlds apart, I'd argue the two schools are much more similar than made out to be.

Both Oceanside and La Costa Canyon have written stories on their own this season. The Pirates finished with an impressive undefeated 9-0-1 regular season, and currently running their unbeaten streak to 23 games, while the Mavericks never lost to a San Diego section team, finishing with an 8-2 mark, and eventually advancing to their very first section championship game appearance in the school's 12 year history. Both teams are playing out of their minds and have dedicated themselves to winning CIF championships Friday night at Qualcomm Stadium. From a more universal perspective both schools have always only been committed to one thing, excellence in the classroom and on the field. Have they not?

While the socio-economic chasm between the two schools might extend the reaches between Oceanside and La Costa, there is a common bond that each of these school's players share. Is it their new found North County rivalry, which took flight in the mud bath at Oceanside High one year ago? Maybe it's their rough rider cultures, of Mavericks and Pirates. Or maybe its something so simple it exists right under their feet.

The single force that brings these two team's together is a familiar game everybody loves. For two different programs "worlds apart," football has proved itself as a democritizing force, a platform that allows competition on an equal level, disregarding pettiness and superficiality. "Elite" is determined by an "L" or a "W," nothing more, and nothing less. On Friday nights, there are no inequalities, prejudicess, or injustices, there is only a 100 yard field, a score board, and a bunch of athletes standing on different sides of the field.

Outside the Line's article unearth's a story that doesn't actually take presidence in the locker rooms, under the helmets, in the coaching box, or on the field of play. Football does not belong to the neighborhoods of La Costa or Oceanside. Football belongs to the players, coaches, and fans that gather together around the same green field each Friday night. Football is a liberating force that delivers freedom and rebirth to all.

The Maverick Football program has grown by leaps and bounds in the past couple of years, and now, the next quantum leap forward, a featured story on an ESPN award winning show. Outside the Lines has been following Connor Garrett and the La Costa Canyon football team around for the past couple of months, culminating in a phenomenal article and television show that focus on the commonly overlooked tale of two programs, in two separate worlds, the La Costa Canyon Mavericks and the Oceanside Pirates.

You can read the article here.

When the Mavericks played the Cougars on October 31st, the Mavericks had to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit on their way to a tough fought 21-17 victory. The Maverick defense shut down the Escondido runningback duo of Ricky Seale and Tim Zier. The defense will need another lights out performance to guide the Mavericks to their first CIF title.

Check out the highlights of the La Costa Canyon vs. Escondido game when they played earlier in the season. If you are reading this by email post, come to the site to view the video.

Article from North County Times, by John Maffei

The sons have the opportunity to do something their famous fathers never did.

Ken Stills and Sammy Seale both played college football. Stills went on to play for six years in the NFL with the Packers and Vikings. Seale played 10 years of pro ball with the Raiders, Chargers and Rams.

Neither, however, won a championship in high school.

On Friday night, their sons ---- wide receiver Kenny Stills of La Costa Canyon High and running back Ricky Seale of Escondido, both juniors ---- will get that chance when the top-seeded Mavericks (10-2) and second-seeded Cougars (10-2) meet at 8 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium for the CIF San Diego Section Division I title.

"This is a big deal for us," Kenny Stills said of La Costa Canyon's first trip to the finals. "I asked my dad if he had played for a championship in high school. After all he has done in football, when he said 'no,' I realized just how special this is."

Ken Stills played at El Camino before starring at Wisconsin and later in the NFL. Sammy Seale played at Orange High in New Jersey. He went on to star at Western State College in Colorado before playing for a decade in the NFL.

Both Seale and Stills were defensive backs. Both are still involved in football. Stills coached in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe, and he's currently helping at LCC. Seale has been a West Coast scout for the Green Bay Packers for more than a decade.

"My high school team got to the semifinals in 1979 and lost to a team ---- Madison ---- that had won something like 40 straight," Seale said. "So to see Ricky in the final ---- and Kenny, too ---- is exciting."

Ken and Sammy Seale played in the NFL in the same era ---- 1985-1990. Kenny and Ricky Seale have played against each other since their Pop Warner days ---- Kenny in Oceanside and Ricky in Rancho Bernardo.

"My dad wouldn't let me play until I was 10," said Ricky Seale, who has 2,447 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns this season. "And when I started, I was too heavy, so I was a defensive lineman, linebacker.

"Pop Warner was fun. It seemed like every year Rancho Bernardo played Oceanside for the championship and a trip to Florida."

Both teams earned trips to Florida when Kenny, then a quarterback, and Ricky were young. And both families moved before Kenny and Ricky started high school ---- the Stillses from Oceanside to Carlsbad, the Seales from RB to Escondido.

Neither father, however, pushed his son to become an athlete, though both were eager to play. Ken Stills remembers Kenny crawling around in the Packers' locker room. Sammy Seale said Ricky has grown up around professional athletes like Dokie Williams, Vencie Glenn, Leslie O'Neal, Reggie Cobb, Alonzo Highsmith, Gill Byrd and Shawn Jones.

"Ricky has heard all the stores," Sammy Seale said. "More importantly, he has a wealth of people to lean on if he has a question. I try to stay in the background. Certainly, we talk. We watch film together. We talk about how to attack defenses.

"But I don't want to be 'one of those fathers.' I believe a player should listen to his coaches and do what he's told. The coach does what he believes is best for the team, not for any one person. You win or lose as a team.

"That's old school, I know. But that's what I believe."

Kenny Stills and Ricky Seale were too young to see their fathers play. But the NFL Network has brought the past to life for both families. Vintage Raiders games against the Houston Oilers and Seattle Seahawks have been on TV recently.

"Ricky was about nine months old when I was at the end of my career," Sammy Seale said. "But we got to watch Bo Jackson run over Brian Bosworth on film not long ago."

The 1985 Bears-Packers game was on the NFL Network last week.

"And I called Kenny right away to check it out," Ken Stills said. "He missed it, but it'll come on again. I think he knows what I did as a player. We watch film together, throw out all the coaching lingo.

"I always ask him what he sees, what he thinks. He's always learning something."

Kenny Stills and Ricky Seale have learned their lessons well ---- on and off the field. Both are blue-chip college recruits. Both have done the work in the classroom, too. Their grades, core classes and test scores are all in order.

Stills, who has 60 receptions for 1,170 yards and 15 TDs, has offers from Colorado and Boise State. USC recruiters were on the LCC campus Tuesday.

"I'm getting, like, 25 letters a day," Kenny Stills said. "I have time to make my choice, but I'd like to play in the NFL someday, too. I realize that's a long way off, but that's my dream. I also know I want to stay in sports, no matter what.

"So choosing the right school is pretty darn important."

Ricky Seale said he'd prefer to stay on the West Coast for college, but would head east for the right school. Don't expect him to commit any time soon, though.

"Ricky's just a junior," Sammy Seale said. "There is no rush. I understand the early-commitment concept, the fact it takes pressure off the player his senior year. But I believe a man's word is the most important thing he has. So I want Ricky to be absolutely sure when he makes his choice because I don't want him to change his mind.

"The recruiting thing is new to me. I was an inner-city kid from New Jersey and wasn't highly recruited. I was going into the armed forces until a coach steered me to Western State in Gunnison, Colorado. Talk about culture shock. But I got to play college ball, and it got me to the NFL."

Sammy Seale said he and Ken Stills are friends, as are their sons. Sammy and Ken talk on the phone or e-mail at least once a week.

"We're going to be on opposite sides of the field on Friday," Sammy Seale said. "The bottom line, though, is that we'll both be there. And we both want what's best for our kids."

It seems like every prestigious high school football program has their own football family. If you are a school like Vista high school, the Altieris and Faraimos come to mind. If you're a Maverick fan, there's not doubt that one family takes the cake, the Witzmanns.

The Witzmanns don't bleed red, they bleed green and gold. The family is all about football and is in the process of sending their 3rd son, Adam Witzmann, through the La Costa Canyon football program.

Their two older sons, Nick and Justin, were fantastic players at La Costa Canyon and eventually played in the collegiate ranks. Their father, Dwayne Witzmann, played football at the University of Nevada, and is currently a freshman football coach. Annie Witzmann, the mother of the family, is a Maverick football evangelist, and could possibly be considered the ultimate team Mom. Over the years, even the two daughters, Molly and Abby have gotten in on the action, continually helping out on the sidelines.

I was able to catch up with Adam Witzmann, the 215 pound Junior defensive tackle for the Mavericks, who recently stormed back from an ankle injury and has made an immediate impact for the Gangrene defense. Witzmann insists the Mavericks are ready for the division I championship game against the Escondido Cougars. Check out our question and answer session below:

Q: How does it feel to get the opportunity to play at Qualcomm stadium for the Division I CIF championship?

Adam: It will be crazy, playing in front of a huge crowd and all that noise. I'm excited to see what its like. We're going down (Thursday) to Qualcomm to get the jitters out and take pictures.

Q: What has Coach Brown been telling the team all week in preparation for the big game?

Adam: He's been telling the team not to overlook Escondido. Don't look past them. We beat them once before but they are a good team.

Q: What are the keys to the game against Escondido?

Adam: Our Offense needs to sustain drives and keep Seale and Zier (Escondido runningbacks) off the field. They've rushed for over 2000 and 1000 yards each. We gotta keep giving Seth the ball. Matt Williams needs some catches too.

Q: What's your main individual focus this week coming into the game?

Adam: I need to get off the ball, blow up the center and disrupt. We watched film and Knuckles (Mission Hills defensive tackle) was messing up the center pretty good.

Q: How's the offense doing in practice this week?

Answer: Seth Hanson is running hard and has been getting confidence over the past 2 weeks. The O-line is getting better. Frausto's a play maker. He escapes sacks and can throw to Matt S. Williams. Kenny is Kenny.

Q: You've been to a lot of football game at La Costa before. What differentiates this year's team from La Costa teams of the past?

Answer: One this thing is that everybody is fast... speed at every position. The defense is flying to ball all the time. Jacob is a good leader. He gets everybody going.

Q: What'd you guys do differently over the summer to prepare for the season?

Adam: We ran more bleachers, every Friday, six sets of six bleachers.

Q: How many years have you been playing football?

Adam: I've been playing since second grade.

Q: What is the best team you've ever played on in your football career besides this year?

Adam: My Pee Wee team. The one with Jose (Muller). We won the Palomar conference championship and beat oceanside.

Q: Who is on your team from your Pop Warner Seahawk team?

Adam: Driver, Buhr, Kaiser, Driver, Garrett, Dutch Hapgood, Matt Williams, Frausto, and some others.

(When reading this post, my brother Tyler who played on the team with Adam also noted that they hit so hard that they sent two guys to the hospital in the same game; one guy broke his leg and another finger tip got ripped off -- ouch! Seahawk players will remember this).

Q: How does it feel being the only player out of your family to go the the Q?

Adam: It feels really good to have some bragging rights on them. They've accomplished a lot but this is something they haven't done. They are jealous

Q: Unfortunately you were out for many regular season games due to injury. What was going through your mind during this time?

Answer: It was really hard standing on the sideline watching everybody have fun, but I was patient and worked hard. A couple times I came back a little too early. Coming back to play (for the Fallbrook game) was a really good feeling. I'm glad the coaches gave me an opportunity to play when I came back.

Q: How would you describe your defense in one word?

Answer: Fast

Q: Where did "gangrene" defense come from?

Answer: Coach Scott Brown thought about it. He got it from the idea of a fast defense, like the blackshirts (of Vista). Even since when you played, La Costa has had a defensive reputation. Kids that play the best in practice get a gangrene jersey.