Resplendent in new black uniforms with dark green numbers, and hosting a team they had defeated earlier in the season, the Islander Varsity Football Team entered Friday night’s CIF Division III playoff game seemingly as the favorite against Point Loma High School.

Unfortunately, at the conclusion of the evening the Pointers prevailed 14-7, holding the high-scoring Coronado offense a lone touchdown at the 9:46 mark of the fourth quarter, a 5-yard scamper by fullback Nick Shepherd.

Game and competitive until the end, the Islanders simply ran out of players. Standout two-way line standout Dan Simmons did not dress for the contest due to injury, but did his best to exhort both the crowd and his teammates throughout the game. Senior running back J.T. Rogan exited the game with a severe contusion below the knee in the third quarter, while classmate Wesley Bowman suffered a mild concussion late in the contest.

Senior Geoff Thorne was hampered by an early-season ankle injury that has never completely healed. Senior Kyle Neeley was only able to compete for a couple of games this year due to a shoulder injury. A reoccurrence of that injury in the Crawford game sidelined the wide receiver/defensive back for the balance of the year.

In many respects, football is a war of attrition. Head Coach Bud Mayfield, who has taken eight of his 16 CHS teams to post-season playoff competition, said, "going down the stretch, we were without a few people. We were scrambling looking for somebody to put in at tailback. We were pretty handicapped."

"There were two keys to the game," Mayfield added. "The first was when we didn’t score on the opening drive and the other was when we gave them the long run (a 61-yard scoring effort by the Pointer quarterback). I never dreamed anybody could hold us to seven points. They came out of the game one or two plays better than us, that’s all."

Point Loma won the coin toss and deferred their option to the start of the second half. The Islanders wanted the ball and promptly embarked on one of their patented ball-control drives. The 12-play, 6 ½ minute drive found Coronado first and goal on the Point Loma three-yard line. Four plays later the Islanders weren’t able to penetrate the goal line and the Pointers embarked on a 19-play, 7-minute drive of their own, which resulted in a 26-yard field goal.

Point Loma would later add another field goal, and a two-point conversion to account for their 14 points.

The Islander offensive attack wasn’t without highlights. Rogan, who earned the CHS modern-era rushing and scoring titles this season, ran for 150 yards on 22 attempts, including scampers of 34 and 21 yards. Bowman rushed for 80 yards on six carries, with his longest run of 50 yards coming late in the game.

The depleted Coronado offensive line yielded 11 sacks of senior quarterback Cote Perkins and the Islanders were never able to mount an air attack to balance their running game.

The Islanders finished the season with a fine 9-2 mark. Point Loma, now 8-3, continues on in the playoffs at Marian Catholic High School this weekend.

Looking to the future, the probability exists that the Islanders will compete at the Division IV level next year in the CIF San Diego section playoffs, as several new high schools in the county (Otay Ranch, Steele Canyon and San Ysidro) will have larger enrollments than Coronado, pushing the Islanders into the lower division. In addition, the CIF is contemplating a state-wide playoff system and the CHS enrollment of approximately 800 would likely place them at the lower level.

After the annual football banquet slated for this weekend, we’ll have the post season award winners in next week’s column.

CHS Head Track Coach George Green checks in with his final report of the Cross Country season. "Cross Country season ended this weekend at the state meet in Fresno. Jake Ruzevick was the only male runner to attend this year as Brad Munns, who had also qualified, was sick and didn’t make the trip. Ruzevick placed 64^th in the Division IV race with a time of 17:16 over the Woodward Park 5k course.

A much-improved Caitlin Alley led the girls team over the same course finishing 44^th in 20:05. She was followed by Beth Wittry (47^th in 20:10), Katherine Wingert (58^th in 20:20), Caitlin Bigham (166^th) and Karoline Ivarsson (172^nd).

In Coronado Middle School action Ben Enowitz and Sallie Privett ran a tune-up race for the USATF nationals they’ll attend in December by entering the Balboa Park Thanksgiving day run. This is a fast downhill 5k course as evidenced by their times. Enowitz won the 13-17 age group in 16:58. Privett placed 2^nd in the 12 and under division in 17:55 just behind Roadrunner teammate Erin Gillingham who ran 17:49. Sallie’s sister, Mollie Privett (9 years old) placed fourth in the same division."

The Girls Basketball Team began the season with their traditional Thanksgiving Weekend Shootout and emerged with three victories in four games. After losing their lid-lifter 41-29 to San Dieguito, the Islanders recovered to defeat Chula Vista 43-31; Our Lady of Peace 44-26; and Brawley 41-31.

Head Coach Toler Goodwin’s squad features five seniors, three juniors, three sophomores and one freshman.

Senior Anne Marie Strohbeck, who averaged nearly a dozen points through the first two days of the tournament, also got some help from returning senior Janelle Kuhlow. "Anne Marie played really well," said Goodwin. "She was really consistent offensively. It was nice to have Janelle out there. She tore her knee up a year ago and she’s put in s tremendous amount of work between her surgery in March and now. Those are the kind of kids that make it easy for you as a coach."

Senior forward Alexis Castro, who didn’t play in the team’s first two games, scored 12 points against OLP and 15 against Brawley.

A new addition to the program is Brooke Becky, who transferred to Coronado from Scripps Ranch over the summer. "She’s going to help us a great deal," said Goodwin of his freshman guard. "She plays shooting guard and will back up at point guard. Brooke knows how to battle for rebounds and gives us a little flexibility."

The Islander starting five figures to be Vanessa Gosenheim, Kuhlow and Strohbeck at the guard spots, with senior Nikki Hayden in the post and Castro at the forward spot. For the first time in several years, roster depth will be a plus for Coronado. "We expect (junior) Amanda Marks to come in and spell people in the post and give us strong 3-4 minute blocks," Goodwin said. "Junior Ashley Depfer played well and under control in the tournament and did what she’s supposed to do. Ashley Settle came in and made a couple of big shots at key times and played hard. We’ll be able to use nine players and get things out of them that could lead to a successful situation. We have a good chance to be a good team and a sound team. We’ll see how everything shapes up. We’re excited about the season."

Wednesday evening the Islanders travel to Westview High School for a 7 pm game. Saturday night Coronado concludes the Thanksgiving Tournament with a game against Valley Center at 7 pm. The following Tuesday at 6:30 pm, the Islanders host Mar Vista High School for a 6:30 pm game.

Although the varsity high school level is the emphasis of this column, occasionally we deviate from that stance to provide news on the age group sports front. Recently, the Coronado Peninsula Water Polo Club’s 11-13 year old girls team competed in the Speedo Cup in St. Louis, which club coach Dave Throop described as "water polo’s version of the Little League World Series."

A total of 12 teams representing various geographic areas of the country competed in the event, almost all of which were All-Star contingents. The Florida entry, as an example, used players from all over the state. Tribucca Hills employs players from throughout Orange County. Coronado used players from throughout, well, Coronado.

"It’s a big deal just to qualify for the tournament," said Throop, who also coaches the CHS Varsity Girls Water Polo team. "We had to defeat the San Diego Shores team in a qualifier. We traveled with 12 girls and we had 11 sets of parents on the trip. We proved we belonged. It was an awesome trip and the girls bonded together really well. These are girls that in many cases are just starting to learn about athletics. They got the job done."

After an 11-2 victory in the opening round, the CPWPC dropped a 7-5 contest to Stanford, which represents the Palo Alto area. They then tied Tribucca Hills 8-8, but the Coronado contingent emerged to compete in the semi-finals. Coronado wound up losing to eventual Cup Champion Commerce in the semi-finals by an 8-4 score, the closest contest that Commerce had throughout the tournament.

As luck would have it, Coronado’s opponent in the third place game was Stanford and Coronado prevailed this time 7-5. "We always meet up with Stanford and Commerce in the Junior Olympics and other events," Throop added. "This time we really dominated Stanford. The game was never in question from the first goal on. They are one of the powerhouses of youth water polo. It was great that we weren’t just there, but that we were competitive."

Driver/attacker Hannah Sebenaler was named to the All-Tournament Team and Throop noted that defender Carly Hoshko and goalie Alex Adamson both had outstanding tournaments. "Alex was one of the best goalies in the tournament and she’s fairly new at the position. She started as a soccer goalie and will be the high school team’s manager. Sabrina Anonas had a great tournament. She plays the center position and nobody could match up with her. She created match up problems for every team we played."