What Happened over the Weekend ?

Girls Golf

It was a rough day at La Purisima - both on the girls and on the scorecards.

LPL Tournament #1

Both local teams were in action on Thursday. Cabrillo finished in 3rd as Gabby Hott shot a personal best 51.

Cabrillo Scores [270]: 1) Morgan Salm 45, 2) Mariah Hall 46, 3) Paige Hurlbut 65, 4) Jade Stevens 66 [out], 5) Marissa Merrick 61, 6) Gabby Hott 53.

Lompoc Scores [331]: 1) Kaleigh Goethe 49, 2) Julieta Solis 69, 3) Jocelyn Caudillo 69, 4) Betty Sullivan 64, 5) Ali Wilson w/d, 6) Brittney Kowelewski 81

League Duals

Both squads were also busy on Monday, with Lompoc hosting Santa Ynez and Cabrillo traveling to take on St. Joseph.

Lompoc

Several girls from both teams had played at La Purisima before. They had not, however, played the back nine. But with the front nine closed for course maintenance, that is exactly where they found themselves. Coming down the stretch, into a gathering wind, on a pro-caliber course. Yikes !!

Under the circumstances, Medalist Maddison Shean's 43 was particularly noteworthy, but not beyond what we have come to expect from the LPL title challenger. A short-handed Lompoc unit recieved good efforts from its inexperienced crew including some first year players.

There Are Compen- sations, however !

Lompoc [380] : Kaleigh Goethe 63, Julietta Solis 73, Jocelyn Caudillo 74, Jericha Garcia 88, Ali Wilson 82.

Santa Ynez [250] : Kristen Henno 51, Madisson Shean 43, Sarah Sanger 51, Blake Colvin 51, Merideth Stewart 54, Nichole Aviad 61.

Cabrillo

The Conqs played well at Rancho Maria, but didn't have quite as much depth as the Knights. Morgan Salm (2 over par 37) did out-duel St. Joe ace Danille Gilaspy (40) and has now injected herself into LPL Individual title competition. Jade Stevens (53) became the 2nd Conquistador in as many outings to post a personal low score.

Cabrillo [274] : Morgan Salm 37, Mariah Hall 50, Jade Stevens 58, Gabby Hott 61, Marissa Merrick 68, Brianna Lopez 83.

St. Joseph [244] : Danielle Gillaspy 40, Kelsey Wong 47, Marissa Gutierrez 51, Chloe Dunn 52, Devan Teschner 54, Christy Mahan 55.

Cross- Country
On Saturday, harriers from Cabrillo went north to the Optimist Big Ditch Invitational in Arroyo Grande, and those from Lompoc went south to UCSB for the Blue Lagoon Run.

Cabrillo

Ongoing construction mandated that the usual course be modified - namely the removal of a large undulating hill in the middle of the race. It didn't bother the Conquistador boys any, as they raced to a first place finish in the small schools division.

Boys Team Results (small school):

Place Team Points [Scorers] Displacers

1 CABRILLO: 45 [6-7-8-9-15] 18

2 PASO ROBLES: 46 [1-3-4-16-22] 29-33

3 ATASCADERO: 60 [10-11-12-13-14] 19-26

4 NIPOMO: 133 [5-21-30-37-40] 48

5 MIDLAND: 136 [23-24-27-28-34] 35-36

6 TEMPLETON: 147 [2-17-38-39-51]

7 SANTA YNEZ: 191 [25-31-43-45-47] 50-52

8 ESTANCIA: 205 [32-41-42-44-46] 49

Cabrillo Individual scores

Finish Place Name Grade Team place [Time]

6 6 Eddie Tovar Sr 1 [17:18.77]

7 7Armando Torres Sr 2 [17:28.08]

8 8 Levi Block Jr 3 [17:28.59]

9 9 Joel Velazquez So 4 [17:28.9]

15 15 Jeshua Hopson Jr 5 [17:35.1]

18 18 Johnny Hernandez Jr 6 [17:41.8]

The girls were competitive, but only finshed fifth. It was a close one between Atascadero and Templeton team wise and individually. Stud Templeton Freshman Savannah Camacho (20:13) and Atascadero's Mimi Peterson (20:14) battled it out in the last 30 meters, but Savannah held her off in the end. Mimi Peterson made a big move in the last 200 meters to catch up to Savannah in the last 100 meters (Savannah had about 20 meters on Mimi).

Girls Team Results :

Place Team Points [Scorers] Displacers

1 ATASCADERO HS 30 [2-4-5-7-12] 14-42

2 TEMPLETON HIGH SCHOO 34 [1-6-8-9-10] 11-22

3 SANTA YNEZ HIGH SCHO 123 [18-19-26-29-31] 46

4 ESTANCIA HS 136 [15-20-32-33-36] 45

5 CABRILLO 140 [21-23-27-34-35 39-43]

6 LAGUNA BLANCA 151 [17-25-28-40-41] 44

7 NIPOMO HIGH 176 [24-30-37-38-47]

- PASO ROBLES (No Score 32) [3-13-16]

Girls Individual Scores

Finish Place Name Grade Team place [Time]

21 21 Chelsey Sidhu Jr CABRILLO 1 [22:38.4]

23 23 Kathleen Anderson Jr CABRILLO 2 [22:51.3]

27 27 Britni Heter Jr CABRILLO 3 [23:11.1]

34 34 Dean Roell So CABRILLO 4 [23:57.4]

35 35 Vaidaihi Buch So CABRILLO 5 [24:02.4]

39 39 Isabel Li So CABRILLO 6 [25:23.9]

43 43 Allie Kazianka Sr CABRILLO 7 [25:46.8]

Lompoc

The Braves joined Ventura, Nordoff, Dos Pueblos, Carpenteria, and Fillmore at UCSB for a pair of races which, if they had been scored, would have been easily won by Ventura. Overall Lompoc ran quite well. Freshman Eduardo Morales was 8th in his first varsity, and his 2nd ever cross-country race.

Girls Individual Scores [3 mile - 80 runners]

Place Name Year [Time]

4 Ashley Fabing 11 [20:12.19]

11 Andrea Caballero 11 [21:13.53]

15 Kaylin Barnes 10 [21:22.34]

33 Kim Maynes 12 [23:17.39]
35 Michelle Kurz 10 [23:20.07]
36 Stepanie Soza 9 [23:31.77]

43 Violet Vargas 10 [24:20.20]

62 Cami Cartisser 9 [26:05.60]
65 Deanna Dominguez 9 [26:33.10]

73 Paige Rios 10 [29:08.66]

Boys Individual Scores [3 mile-131 runners]
Place Name Year [Time]

7 Joel Martin 12 [17:04.48]
8 Eduardo Morales 9 [17:04.74]
11 Jose Garcia 12 [17:20.26]

17 Kiefer Gallagher 12 [17:42.76]

24 Grossi Tyler [18:13.86]

34 Cole Berber 10 [18:32.92]

48 Carlos Ortiz 12 [19:10.24]

73 Chris Manzaneres 11 [20:07.36]

85 Joey Hess 11 [20:43.76]

88 Paul Vasquez xx [20:48.46]

105 Alex Thumm 9 [22:22.79]

120 Stevie Galvan 10 [23:27.11]

123 Eric Grill 10 [24:56.61]

131 Charles Prince xx [29:35.79]

Water Polo
Buena Tournament

Both Lompoc and Cabrillo participated in the Buena Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The field also included Pacifica, Paso Robles, Atascadero, and three teams from the Buena program. Buena 'A' won the tourney and Pacifica was second.
Lompoc [2-12] finally got off the schnied, and won their first two games of the season, going 2-2 and beating Paso Robles in the third place game. Both Kyle Pickles and goalie Kyle Thumm were named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Braves beat Buena 'C' 14-1 in pool play with good defense and balanced scoring. Five players had 3 streals each and Robert Macias (4), Daniel Dunaetz (3), Kyle Pickles (2), Juan Ruiz (2), Michael Ostrander, and Tyler Emery all scored. Game 2, a 12-2 loss to Buena 'A', featured goals by Pickles and Dunaetz, and 6 steals by Pickles.
Macias and Dunaetz each had two goals against Pacifica in game 3, and Ostrander and each had one in a 15-6 loss. Tyler Emery had three assists.
The 3rd place game, a 9-8 win over Paso Robles, saw four Braves score - Dunaetz (4), Pickles (3), Ostrander and Stone. Kyle Thumm had 32 blocks in the four games.

Cabrillo

The Conqs, now a "very un-Cabrillo-like" according to headman Joel Jory, 3-10 on the season, were 1-3 at Buena. They lost to Paso Robles and Buena 'B', beat Atascadero, and lost to Buena 'B' again.

They host Oxnard on Tuesday and then host the Braves on Wednesday. Coach Jory estimates the match-up with the Braves to be the most competitive since early in his tenure a decade ago.

Football [Pictures]




Just a few shots courtesy of Russ Sameniego (more to come). --el stato

Alumni Update Sunday 28 Sept 2008

Joel Smith [LHS]

Maurice Maggiolino, who serves as both Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach and Sports Information Director has confirmed that Joel Smith will be playing this season at Chaminade University (of Ralph Sampson led Virginia upset fame) in Honolulu. Chaminade is an NCAA Division II school, so he will be eligible to play immediately.

Joel will get one more chance at playing in the big time as the Silverswords host the annual Maui Invitational, pitting Chaminade against North Carolina in the first round with a second round game against Oregon or Alabama. [Schedule]

The Swords, led by Head Coach Matt Mahar, are coming off their second Pac West Championship in three years, winning the conference in 2008 and finishing as NCAA Regional Semifinalists with a 21-8 record. The 2007-08 season marked the first twenty-plus win campaign in twenty three years for Chaminade. In 07-08 the team consited of 7 seniors and four juniors.

Smith did not return to UW for his fifth-year senior season as the Huskies needed to clear a scholarship spot to fit in all of its incoming freshmen class. He did, however, graduate from U-dub and will be working on his Masters Degree in Education at Chaminade.


Football

Boo Jackson
The Boo Jackson led Ohio Bobcats (1-4) spotted VMI a 17-14 lead on Saturday before roaring back for a 51-31 win. Jackson was 16-23-0 287 yards with 2 TDs, and netted 33 yards on 8 carries. The offense racked up 575 yards - the fifth highest total in school history.

Vai Taua
The Nevada Wolfpack took on the UNLV Runnin' Rebels for possession of the Fremont Cannon, but it was the Wolfpack that did the running erasing an early double-digit deficit to beat UNLV 49-27.
Vai Taua rushed for 123 yards on 19 carries and a 4-yard touchdown run. QB Colin Kaepernick accounted for five touchdowns and 416 yards of offense Saturday night. Kaepernick rushed for 240 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns, including a 66-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half to give the Wolf Pack (2-2) a 35-20 lead. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns.

After scoring 17 points in the first 10 minutes, UNLV (3-2) was limited to 10 points the rest of the game. It was Nevada fourth straight win in the series.

Lydell Sargeant
The 12th ranked Nittany Lions hosted the 22nd ranked Illini at Happy Valley and improved to 5-0 (1-0 Big 10) with a 38-24 victory. Lydell again started at CB amd was avoided by the offense. Attendance was 109,626 -the eighth-largest crowd in the history of Beaver Stadium

Michael Slaughter #44 [LB] / Justice Clegg #71[OL]
The Univ. of Upper Iowa Peacocks football team traveled to St. Cloud, MN to battle the St. Cloud State Huskies in a NSIC contest on Saturday. In their first four games, the Peacocks posted a 1-3 record with losses at Drake (four points), to U-Mary (three points), and to Southwest Minnesota State(seven points) . On Saturday, Upper Iowa was not able to stay with their hosts as they fell to the Huskies of St. Cloud State, 54-28. Mike Slaughter had two solo tackles and an assist. Clegg starts on the O-line which helped UIU grind out 240 yards on the ground, and 159 through the air, but gave up 3 SACs.

Robert Sherman #82 [WR]
The Atherton based Menlo College Oaks stopped Whittier 38-20 for their first win of the season. Robert Sherman, a freshman wideout from Lompoc, saw his first action of the season, but did not figure in the stats.

The Ladies

Courney Dosa #22
The recent Lompoc grad is the lone non-Missourrian on the Jefferson JC womens softball squad. Last year the Vikings were 35-15 (18-2 in conference). They were scheduled to begin play on August 30th, but no results are currrently available. Dosa is listed a Pitcher / Infielder.

Katie McIntosh #14

Chico St. lost again - a 1-0 road loss to San Francisco St. . They had played three consecutive double overtime home matches. Two scoreless draws, followed by a 2-1 loss to CS San Bernadino in the 107th minute. Starting Wildcat defender, senior Katie McIntosh has two assists on the season, but none since a 3-2 loss to St. Martins on September 4th.

Amanda Murray

The Cal St Dominguez Hills [5-5, 3-2 CCAA] womens soccer team used a header with two seconds left to defeat CSU San Berdu 1-0. Amanda, a junior transfer has not played in the last several games.

Julia Heath

Cal Poly finished second for the second consecutive tournament. This time it was the Bulldog / Eagles Womans Invitational in Post Falls, Idaho. Julia carded a 76 in the final round to finish 4th overall (4 strokes back at 229), and lead the Mustangs.


AHC Cross Country
The Bulldog harriers,which feature several local runners, were in action again recently, although without some of their top performers. On the men's side the squad includes: Nick Gilligan, Miguel Ortiz, and Oscar Torres from Cabrillo, plus Orion Casteel from LHS - the only sophomore on the team. The women have have sophs Ariana Fabing [LHS], Duania Evans [LHS],and Terri Ladja [CHS].

The Bulldogs have run in three meets (4 mile men/ 5K women) this season at Ventura, Cuesta and most recently the Lou Vasquez Invitational at CCSF.

Team Results:

Site ----- Men ------ Women

Ventura : 11th /12, ---- 7th /10

Cuesta: --- 6th /6,----- 4th /5

CCSF: ---13th /17,----12th /15

Individual results (Score /Time):

[Ventura / Cuesta/CCSF]

Ariana Fabing - 25th (25:01)/ 15 (22:45)/ Not Run

Duania Evans - 52nd (28:21)/ 31 (26:39)/ 65 (23:40)

Terri Ladja - NS (34:24)/ Not Run/ 89 (28:07)

Nick Gilligan - 56 (27:09)/ 31 (26:24)/ 81 (23:33)

Miguel Ortiz - 44* (26:16)/ 28 (25:58)/ Not Run

Oscar Torres - Not Run/ 4* (22:29)/ 4* (20:44)

Orion Casteel - Not Run/ Not Run/ Not Run

* Led AHC runners

Check Back next Sunday, and throughout the week for more updates !!
-- el stato

Duffy Makes First Appearance in KC

DUFFY HONORED

Drafted only 16 months ago but already on a path to the major leagues by 2010 DANNY DUFFY was honored recently along with a dozen others of the Kansas City Royals' brightest minor league prospects.

In the group shot Duffy is in the middle right in front of the "R" in "Futures."

At the batting cage Duffy is fourth from the right.

DUFFY was named pitcher of the year with Burlington of the Class-A Midwest League, a Royals affiliate. A pitcher and a position player from each Royal minor league team was honored. Right now Duffy is in Arizona at the Royals' fall camp.

Thanks for these pictures to Dan and Deanna Duffy, Danny's mom and dad.

Braves Crash Chargers Party

Football


The Dos Pueblos community threw a party on Friday, but the Braves crashed the joint and brought some party tricks of their own. It was a big evening for the school as kids dressed up in costumes, the National Anthem was preceded by a flyover, and the stands were packed. Bright yellow 'Charger Fan' t-shirts, emblazoned with "Straight out of Hicktown" on the front & "you too can drive a tractor to school" on the back, were in great abundance.












Lompoc
The Braves, however, threw a wrench into the works, winning 31-17. It all began with a little 'trickeration'. Lompoc Assistant Andrew 'Jonesy' Jones saw something on tape and talked Head Coach Robin Luken into calling an onside kick to start the game. As he told Charger Assistant Nate Mendoza after the game "you guys kept bailing out into a vee".

1st Half
Drew Sapp's kick hit at the DP 42, was picked up around the 33 yardline by a player who was immediately hammered by two Lompoc players and fumbled the ball. It was recovered by the Chargers at their own 27 after a mad scramble with the ball visible on the ground for a couple of seconds as members of both teams crawed to get to it.


The Chargers took full advantage of possession - marching 73 yards on 7 plays and a personal foul penalty. Shifty scatback Dane Limosnero had 24 yards on 2 carries, but the drive belonged to Junior QB Zach Boytis. He completed his only pass attempt of the drive for 9 yards and rushed 4 times (including a SAC) for 29 yards and the TD. Bradon Tangle kicked the PAT and the home team was up 7-0 with 3 1/2 minutes gone in the first period.


Lompoc tried to respond with the Braves triumvirate of Collins, Aguailar, and Vargas. They gained 15 yards on three plays. They also put the ball on the ground & DP recovered. This time the Lompoc 'D' held the Chargers and forced a punt after 5 plays.


Stating at their own 14, the Braves unleashed a 13 play masterpiece to tie it at 7-7 with 10:09 left in the half after a Sapp EP kick. Bobby Collins (7 carries) had 64 of his 88 first half yards, Favi Vargas (3 carries) hammered the middle for 8 yards and the score, and Scottie Aguailar carried twice (8 yards) and caught a 12 yard pass from Ritchie Hirzel, who was merely perfect on the night. Hirzel, who played all but two series (#3 & #4), was 8-8 for 82 yards, a TD, a 2PT conversion, and no pics.


Ryan Bower led the Braves on that 3rd possession - a 6 play, 34 yard march after a shanked DP punt (a punt that was set up by the snap on third down sailing over Boytis for a 24 yard loss). Drew Sapp picked up 9 yards to start the drive in his sole carry of the game, and Vargas & Collins did the rest. Collins did the honors, diving over the pile at the goalline for the score. Sapp's EP made it 14-7 at 3:28 of the 2nd quarter.


The teams then exchanged punts, but the Chargers coughed up the football on their 2nd play after the Lompoc punt. Boytis hit a reciever in the left flat - but not nearly as hard as Jake Morehart did. The ball popped loose and Jamel Whitaker scooped it up and returned it to the DP 13 with just over 30 seconds left in the half. Hirzel came back in and threw to Rudy Yruegas in the endzone for the score. The PAT attempt was blocked, and the Braves went to the locker room up 20-7.

2nd Half
Lompoc punted after recieving the second half kickoff, and DP responded with a 13 play drive of their own that burned up most of the third quarter. Helped immeasurably by an early pass interference call on 3rd and 13 and a 42 yard pass to Cody Bidlow on the following play, the Chargers were able to set up a 32 yard Tangle Field Goal with 2:43 left in the period.


The next Brave possession was the Bobby Collins Show. Except for a 10 yard pass from Hirzel to Morehart, Collins got the ball on every single play. Seven carries for 41 yards (including a 5 yd TD), and two receptions - a 17 yard swing pass left side and a 2PT conversion for a 28-10 advantage with 11 minutes left in the fourth. Collins finished with 167 yards on 24 carries (just under 7 yards per carry).


But Dos Pueblos wasn't done yet. They struck quickly, with two Lemosnero 3 yard runs, setting up a 60 yard Lemosnero TD reception. The "great Dane" got loose on the Home sideline and outraced the coverage while Boytis lofted an arcing bomb to him at about the Lompoc 30 yardline. He hauled it in, dodged a couple DB's at the five, and strolled into the endzone. Tangle's EP made it 28-17 9 1/2 minutes still on the clock, and the Charger faithfull dreaming comeback.


Lompoc went three and out, and then committed a 15 yard facemask violation that allowed DP to set up shop, first and ten, on the Braves 44 yardline. Anthony Houston (9 att-25 yds) gained 2 yards, and the Chargers tried the air again. Jamel Whitaker picked it off at the Lompoc 20.


The Braves then drove downfield on long runs by Collins (19 yd), and Vargas (13 yd), and a fourth down 19 yard pass reception by Vargas to the DP 22. Whitaker even contributed 9 yards on two carries, but the drive stalled after a fumble and a stiffening Charger defense. So Lompoc called in Drew Sapp for a 37 yard field goal attempt which was good - making the score 31- 17 with 2:09 to play.


When DP got the ball back, they followed two incomplete passes with a 9 yard SAC (4 for 30 yards). On fouth down the snap rolled back to Boytis who tried to do something with it but was swarmed under by the hard hitting Braves defense. Hirzel then took a knee twice, and that was the ballgame. Final 31-17, with Lompoc 4-0 for the first time since 2004.

Stat Brief
Category Lompoc Dos Pueblos
1st Downs 15 11
Total Yards 302 212
Rush-Yards 44-219 32-59
Passing 9-10-0 9-15-1
Pass yards 83 153
Penalties 5-55 1-5
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 4-1

Indiviual Rushing
Lompoc
Bobby Collins 24-167 2TD
Favi Vargas 10-29 TD
Scottie Aguailar 5-11
Drew Sapp 1-9
Jamel Whitaker 2-9
Ritchie Hirzel 2- (6)
Dos Pueblos
Dane Lemosnero 10-48
Antony Houston 9-25
Zach Boytis 11-0

Individual Passing
Hirzel [L] 8-8-0 82 TD,2PT
Bower [L] 1-2-0 1
*Boytis [DP] 9-15-1 153 TD
* 1H:7-9 51yd 2H: 2-6-1 102 TD

Indiviual Receiving
Lompoc
Vargas 3-28
Collins 2-19 2PT
Aguailar 2-13
Yruegas 1-13 TD
Morehart 1-10
Dos Pueblos
Isaiah Brown 3-22
Tyler McGaughey 2-15
D. Lemosnero 1-60 TD
C. Bidlow 1-42
Leo Ibarra 1-11
B. Tangle 1-3

Cabrillo
The Conqs gave up three first period TD's to the visiting St. Joseph Knights and never recovered falling 41-0. -- el stato

Big Thursday

The Lompoc Braves JV girls volleyball squad are now wearing patches to honor the memory of teammate Alyssa Miller.








Girls Volleyball
Lompoc
The Morro Bay Pirates came raiding in the Lompoc Valley, and won 2 of 3 matches...

Varsity 0-3 [20- 25, 19-25, 14-25] -
The Braves were competitive throughout this match. Unfortunately, they didn't have the results show up on the scoreboard.

Game 1 started off well for Lompoc, as they sprinted to 3-0 & 4-1 leads, but after they lost a side out to the Pirates, everything ground to a halt. Initially umpire Doug Lazek penalized Morro Bay for an illegal substitution and a point and the ball awarded to Lompoc. He then reversed that call and the Pirates were penalized a timeout and also charged for a timeout called by their coach. That call was also was reversed, by referee John Isel, since Coach Brian Plunkett argued that he had called his timeout before the call to serve had been made and therefore was no illegal substitution existed. After 10 minutes or so the situation was resolved but by then the formerly red-hot Braves had gone cold.

The Pirates slowly reeled them, passed them, and eased out to a 2 point lead. Then 3 points, 4 points, 5 points, and finally 6 points at 20-14. Lompoc was able to stop the bleeding, but was never able to catch up, dropping the game 25- 20.

Game 2 followed a simlar pattern, but without the official delay. Lompoc jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, but each team started siding out with regularity. It was 12-5 when the game changed. The Pirates recieved a side out point and Chelsea Mansfield started serving. And serving. And serving. When they finally got her stopped, on one of Jackie Townsend's many great hustle plays, it was 14-13 Morro Bay. Erika Slikker pounded one to the floor to tie it at 14, but the Braves were outscored 11-5 down the stretch. The kept trading 2-3 points for one and fell 25-19.

Game 3 was also close for a while. Lompoc lost a side out and Sara Hoversten went to the line. It was 9-8 Braves when she started, and 17-10 Pirates when she was done. She had 4 aces in that stretch. Lompoc never recovered and lost the game 25-14.

JV 2-1 [19-25, 26-24, 15-13] -
The JV squad which could really use some good news prevailed in a three game match that was close all the way. The total point differential for the match was 2, and that in favor of the losing team.

Lompoc leapt from the gate to a 4-0 start in game 1, but the Pirates clawed back to a 14-12 lead. Then came one of those service streaks, this time by Alexis Galena. When the Braves were finally able to stop her,and it took a great rally to do it, Morro Bay was up 19-13. Both teams traded short point spurts the rest of the way, but the margin held - with thePirates winning 25-19.

Game 2 was a dandy, with early ties at 3, 6, 7, & 8. Morro Bay then began to ease out to the lead again, at 15-10, 16-12, 18-12, and 20-15. That's when the Braves began serving light out for a change! Amanda Roman got 4 in a row, including a massive Jess Brundy block. After a MB timeout, the Pirates forced a side out on a great rally, but Lompoc won the ball right back. A couple of exchanges put the ball in Jesslyn Brundy's hands, the Braves facing match point, down 24-20. She proceded to win 6 consecutive points, including 2 aces. Amanda Roman finishing things off with a thunderous kill from the back row for the win.

In the tie-breaker Lompoc forged a 9-4 lead, before Morro Bay pulled themselves back into contention - first 9-7, the 12-10. Coach Savella called a timout and the Braves mostly traded points until the 15-13 conclusion.

Varsity head honcho Don Savella coached the team since Ramona Thomas was out of town to attend yet another funeral.


Frosh 0-2 [8-25, 18-25] -
Did we mention service errors yesterday ? Well, they reappeared big-time in this one. In the opening game the Braves had 10 serve chances and 8 services errors. They quickly fell behind 13-3 and never recovered, losing 25-8. The second game saw great improvement by the squad, but they hit a stretch in the middle of the game, as LHS v-ball teams are wont to do, were the just couldn't get a side out. Down 5-1, they fought back on the serving of Tawny Nunes, Lauren Pouliot, and Gabbie Armero to a 12-9 lead. They couldn't hold it. The two teams struggled back and forth until the game was tied at 14 all.
The Morro Bay servers then took over. Kylie Gacad pushed it to 19-14. A brief Lompoc resurgence to cut it to 20-17. Tia Gacad served 4 more straight points, and the visitors were soon after able to close out the match. The final was a 25-8, 25-18 sweep by the Pirates.

Cabrillo
The Conquistadors took on the visitors from Coastal Christian:

Varsity- Misty Sano's Conquerors came into the night with a win in their only prior match - a 3-0 (25-11, 25-13. 25-12) sweep of Lompoc last week. They weren't able to duplicate that feat, but they did take home a 3-1 [20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-16] victory.

JV- Jennifer Smith's charges swept in straight games 25-14, 25-7 over an out-manned CC unit that only had 7 girls. Kristina Goodchild put together a remarkable string of 16 consecutive serves in the second game including 3 of the 13 aces the Conquistadors had in the match. Kiley Shae Aldridge had 5 more of those aces while doing an "awesome job setting", and Summer Galvan had four kills.

Frosh- The Frosh did not play since Coastal Christian does not have a freshman team.

Girls Tennis

Lompoc
The Lompoc [0-3 LPL] varsity lost to Santa Ynez [6-1, 2-0 LPL] 14- 4.
In singles, the Pirates were led by two exchange students -#1 Nathalia Chaddad [Brazil] (6-0, 6-1), #2 Louise Gyllerman [Sweden] (6-1, 6-0) and Holly Adams (6-4, 6-4) each won two before being pulled for substitutes. Doubles #1 Lauren Swift / Emily Ineman won two (6-2, 6-0) and # 2 Alisa Silsbee / Erica Schroeder also swept 6-1, 6-0, for Santa Ynez.
The Braves recieved points from a doubles win over the #3 team and three wins over substitutes. The Maria Morales / Dana Campitelli combo topped Katie Manser / Brittany Feighner in doubles (6-3), and Renee Xiong (6-2 Rachael Welch), Nicole Nomany ( 6-0 Lauren Gerlach), and Sameeha Husayn (6-1 Heather Vellekamp) each picked up wins.
The final points went to Pirate doubles teams Brittany & Amanda Nelson (6-3), and Sophie Brandstater / Shelby Lee (6-1).
Lompoc's Karina Esqueda was called up to varsity to replace an absent member and teamed with Jessica Cosio at #3 doubles.

Cabrillo
At Templeton, the Conquistadores [4-1, 2-0 LPL] topped Templeton [1-2 LPL] 13-5. Julie Levya swept (6-1, 6-0, 6-0) in singles and the Montez sisters (Brissa & Jessica) swept at No.1 doubles for Cabrillo.

Girls Golf

LPL Tournament # 1
[Rancho Maria/ St Joe]
*** Preliminary Info ***
The medalist competition came down to a match-up between (surprise, surprise) St. Joseph's Danielle Gilaspy and Maddison Shean of Santa Ynez. This time Gilaspy (37) came out ahead of Shean (39).

Gilaspy's Knights also won the team contest, with no golfer carding higher than a 48 for the nine holes:
1. St. Joseph (215)
Danielle Gilaspy 37
2. Santa Ynez (220)
Maddison Shean 39
3. Cabrillo (270)
Morgan Salm 45, Mariah Hall 46, Gabby Hott 53,
4. Santa Maria (296)
Jackie Teniente 46, Greta Corsa 53
5. Lompoc (331)
Kaleigh Goethe 49, Betty Sullivan 64
6. Morro Bay (336)
Shanna Crawford 57
Templeton doesn't have a girls golf team












Football


Lompoc JV
The Braves and Chargers echanged big plays, but Lompoc had more of them - especially on special teams. After DP opened the scoring Lavon Haynes returned the kickoff (c.75 yds) for a TD. A long punt return TD by Jordan Collins, two TD runs (c. 65 & 5 yds) by Dillon "Moose" Morgan, and several missed conversion opportunities resulted in a 25-7 score in the waning moments of the 3rd period.

The Chargers John Dickenson then stepped in front a Braves pass in the right flat and cruised 38 yards for a score. The kick narrowed the gap to 25- 14 and had DP dreaming of a comeback. The dream was short-lived. Lavon Haynes took the resulting kickoff on an 80 yard TD gallop. Morgan drilled the PAT, and with 0:33 left in the quarter Lompoc was leading by 18 points again. DP tacked on late (2:16) TD on a 5 yard run by Michael Spiritossantos, but the EP was blocked, resulting in a 32-20 final.

The win was doubly sweet for Lompoc offensive coordinator Danny Lara since he was able to pull a few fast ones on the DP defense coached by LHS grad Nate Mendoza.

Lompoc Frosh
The freshmen didn't fare so well. They got a kickoff return TD from Virlin Donelson to cut the margin to 14-7, but trailed at the big break 35-7. Aaron "Big Train" Kucharski scored the only TD of the second half to make the final 35-14 Dos Pueblos.

Cabrillo Frosh
No Information received yet.

Coming Attractions
LLR regular features Alumni Update on each Sunday and LPL Round-up on every Tuesday during the season.

Football
On Friday, the Conquistadors JV and Varsity will host the St. Joseph Knights in Huyck Stadium at 7:30 pm. Meanwhile, the Braves will participate in the first ever varsity football game at Scott O'Leary Stadium on the campus of Dos Pueblos High School [Take Glen Annie to Cathedral Oaks, turn left and then left again on Alameda Ave.]. If you can't make to the game in person, remember you can listen to the game live on Comcast (Lompoc area) channel 23 or (hopefully) streaming audio on lompoclockerroom.com .

Boys Water Polo
The varsity teams from both high schools will be participating in the Buena tournament on Friday and Saturday.

Cross Country
Both schools X-C units will be in action this weekend. The Conqs heading north to the Big Ditch Invitational at Arroyo Grande, and the Braves head south to the UCSB Lagoon Run in Santa Barbara. Both events are on Saturday. --- el stato

Cabrillo Tops Braves on Hill

Girls Volleyball

Lompoc @ Cabrillo

The Cabrillo squads swept the Braves at all three levels Wednesday evening although Lompoc had opportunities. The matches were played a day later than originally scheduled to accommodate the funeral of Lompoc JV team member Alyssa Miller. The varsity match was 26-24, 25-15, 25-9; the JV was 25-14, 25-17; and the frosh won 25-13, 25-13.

In baseball the credo is "pitching and defense" - the volleyball equivalent is serving and defense, and on this occasion the Conquistadors made serves count and Lompoc didn't.

The freshmen started things off with tremendous serving performances by Mara Malae and Kaylie Chard. Cabrillo took a 12-3 lead in the first game, pushed it to 20-7, and held off a minor rally by the Braves to win 25-13. The Lompoc rally continued into the second game as the Braves took a 4-3 lead. But the Conqs zoomed out an 11-5 advantage, got it to 21-13, and Chard served out the match. There were some great, 12-15 hit, rallies in the game, but most of them went the way of the hosts.

Jennifer Smith's JV team used 8 aces and 6 kills from Kristina Goodchild and excellent defense to topple a game Lompoc unit. Smith especially cited the defense and passing of Tori Tennant and Cathy Lynes, but was most pleased with the overall effort of her squad - "They all played really well".

The varsity rode the service of Chelsea McCarty (7 aces), the power of Jessica Farley (14 kills), and great all-around defensive teamwork to a victory over a very game Braves outfit. In game 1, the Braves got 5 straight from Cameron Lizaragga to pull within one (22-21), tied it up at 24 all, but Kelly O'Connell served out. Lompoc had 6 service errors in the opener, and followed it up with 5 more in the second, enabling Cabrillo to go from 11-8 to 15-9 in short order. Lizaragga had 7 kills to lead the Braves.[Story]

Boys Water Polo

Cabrillo @ AG

The Arroyo Grande Eagles [8-0] are the top-rated team in CIF Division IV, and they demonstrated why on Wednesday at home against the young Conqs [2-6], as they rolled to a 15-5 victory. The score was briefly tied at 2 all in the 1st quarter, but the Eagles led 7-2 at the end of the period and 10-2 at the half. Cabrillo didn't score again until the 5:06 mark of the 3rd quarter, even though AG substituted liberally from the start of the second. ten Eagles scored.

Santa Ynez beat Atascadero 9-3 on Wednesay. By way of comparison, CHS just edged past the Grayhounds, and Lompoc fell by a goal. The Pirates [8-2] take on Morro Bay on Tuesday, while the Braves & Conqs both travel to the Buena Tournament this weekend before playing each other next week. --- el stato

Braves to Meet the Public Saturday

BRAVE PERSONAL APPEARANCES

Four prominent members of the undefeated Lompoc High football team will meet the public and sell discount coupon books on Saturday

Favi Vargas, Jake Morehart, Saul Dominguez and Bobby Collins will be at The Shack, 1313 North H Street, next to the 99-Cent Store, beginning at 1 p.m. They will be joined by Lompoc Locker Room host Mike 'Statmeister' Loney.

The players will also have color photographs by Russ Samaniego available for autographing. Favi Vargas (45) carries in the picture above.

NEW FOOTBALL GAME SITE FOR FRIDAY

For those of you who haven't heard yet, the Braves game on Friday will not be at Valley Stadium. Lompoc, ranked 10th in the CIF Northern Division, will, instead, help DP christen the brand spanking new 'Scott O'Leary Stadium' on the campus of DPHS. To get there: take the the Glen Annie / Storke road exit off the 101, turn left under the freeway and drive north on Glenn Annie. Turn left on Cathedral Oaks Road, and then left on Alameda Ave. . Finally, try and find a place to park. Good luck and remember that the game starts at 7 pm not 7:30. - el stato

Now that we know something...

NOTE: The Lompoc-Cabrillo Volleyball matches scheduled for Tuesday, 23 Sept. have been postponed to Wednesday, 24 Sept. . Alyssa Miller's funeral will be on Tuesday.

We can actually discuss Water Polo and Cross-Country.

The Water Polo squads at both local schools are very young and even more inexperienced, and the X-C units are also untested. So we waited until there were some results to look at before we "preview" them.

[Lompoc girls X-C unit (above) didn't forget their homework before a recent meet at River Park.]

Water Polo

Cabrillo
The Conquistadors graduated a bunch of kids from last years team, including 6 All-LPL team members, and are dealing with a large number of novices in the lower levels - they do have talent and numbers, however. They also return LPL first-teamer Garrett Darling, but he is one of only three seniors on the squad.

Varsity
Joel Jory's varsity started the season at the Conejo Classic in what one coach described as a "learning experience". The Conq's opened with a very difficult assignment - the nationally ranked host Buena Bulldogs. The resulting drubbing was followed by a close loss to Burbank. On day two, they dropped games to Santa Ynez and SLO, before topping Santa Maria 10-1.

The squad did show improvement, however. The SY loss was only by a half dozen, in comparison to an 18-4 pummeling by the Pirates in summer league action.

They then played Nipomo (without one of their starters) and lost a close one despite good defense, and dropped a 5-11 decision to SLO.

Junior Varsity

Jeff Dacus, assisted by current part-time AHC student and CHS all-time leading scorer Wes Hain, is mostly working with a group of novice players while some returning JV members are practicing with the varsity. The full group lost to a close one to Nipomo and a not-so-close one to SLO (4-14), before taking the novices the the Righetti Novice Tournament over the weekend.

At least it's supposed to be for novices, although several teams had players that were young varsity returners. Cabrillo went 0-4, being blown out by Righetti (20-0), and dropping three 3 goal losses to Santa Maria, Arroyo Grande, & Morro Bay.

So, what do we make of this team ? Well, most folks have penciled in the 6-2 SY Pirates as LPL Champs this year, including apparently the Pirates, but don't start counting those chickens just yet. Expect this team to have some uneven play, but they can rise up and bite anyone.

Lompoc
The Braves actually have some returners on varsity, including 2 of 4 All-LPL performers, and have decent numbers out, but have continued the recent tradition of having to teach some players how to swim at the start of the practice season. They also have lost one of those returning players, senior Juan Ruiz, for most of the preseason to jaw surgery. Fortunately, the 'Kyles' return. Kyle Pickles was an LPL 2nd team member last year, while goalie Kyle Thumm was Honorable Mention. Kevin Hicks coaches the varsity and Casey Brooks has the JV.

Lompoc opened at home against the traditionally tough Atascadero Greyhounds. The varsity gave the visitors all they wanted before falling 9-8. [See the 12 Sept 08 post] The JV was only down 7-5 in the fourth quarter, and were only beaten 9-6.

Rosters
















Cross-country
Rosters
















Cabrillo
The Conqs have a slew of kids out for the team, but few established point scorers. They have now run at the Seaside Invitational (Ventura), where the participants run races against others in their same grade regardless of skill level and the tougher course at the Ojai Invitational where there are two divisions based on school size and team scores are not kept.
The girls have captain Katie Avila, a few other returners, and a whole lot of choices. They had 26 run at Ojai - all under 28:28. The fellows have to replace a bunch of scorers from last year, many now at AHC. Do not despair, however, the cupboard is not empty. Seniors Eddie Tovar and Armando Torres lead a group of youngsters that will likely win another league title.


Girls [Katie Wallace / Miranda Rich] place (time)
Seaside Invitational [Sr-184,Jr-255,So-272,Fr-237]
[No results for the CHS girls are availible]
Ojai (small school) [211 runners]

Heter, Britni [11] /35 (21:48.57)
Sidhu, Chelsey [11] /43 (22:12.27)
Bedell, Deven [10] /63 (23:01.60)
Hinkens, Audra [12] /68 (23:13.27)
Rich, Karina [9] /73 (23:29.28)
Roell, Dean [10] /81 (23:45.64)
Merana, Lora [10] /82 (23:45.93)
Buch, Vaidehi [10] /88 (24:06.84)
Lopez, Crystal [9] /94 (24:16.76)
Rodriguez, Bianca [11] / 100 (24:27.95)
Li, Isabel [10] /101 (24:29.96)
Pack, Leeila [9] /102 (24:32.63)
Millis, Caitlin [11] /111 (24:52.49)
Favela, Milinda [10] /117 (25:07.99)
Avila, Katie [12] /118 (25:08.17)
Kazianka, Allie [12]/ 130 (25:37.21)
Perez, Marisol [9] /132 (26:03.75)
Rocha, Claudia [12] /134 (26:13.58)
Rangel, Jennifer [10] /137 (26:28.12)
McAninch, Michelle [11] /138 (26:28.83)
Lopez-Jimenez, Maribel [11] / 139 (26:30.49)
O'Malley, Katie [11] /146 (26:43.25)
Kovach, Jessica [10] /147 (26:43.70)
Yates, Victoria [9] /169 (27:51.48)
Pitts, Marina [11] /178 (28:11.64)
Salas, Maria [11] /181 (28:17.27)


Boys [Peter Anderson] place (time)
Seaside Invitational[Sr-232,Jr-274,So-314,Fr-286]
Ojai small school [245 runners]

Tovar, Eddie [12] Not Run ?/4 (16:51.58 )
Torres, Armando [12] SR51 (16:40.48) / 5 (17:05.87)
Villanueva, Steven [10] SO24 (16:27.21) / 10( 17:16.72)
Hopson, Jeshua [11] JR46 (17:13.09) / 13 (17:24.25)
Velazquez, Joel [10] SO23 (16:24.61) / 17 (17:29.23)
Pogue, Joey [10] JR274 (29:16.97) / 22 (17:32.85)
Hernandez, Johnny [11] Not Run ? / 27 (17:36.81)
Pena, Daniel [10] Not Run ? / 32 (17:50.71)
Odam, Eric [11] Not Run ? / 40 (18:12.92)
Wise, Craig [10] Not Run ? / 62 (18:45.54 )
Avila, Nico [10] SO103 (18:11.54) / 86 (19:28.52)
Trevino, Zachary [9] Not Run ? / 87 (19:28.77)
Leedham, Vincent [12] SR122 (18:01.14) / 88 (19:29.97)
Ramos, Julio [11]Not Run ? / 106 (19:47.38)
Bedoya, Estevan [10] Not Run ? / 122 (20:09.64)
McConnell, Matt [11] Not Run ? / 146 (20:54.53)
Wang, Eric [10] Not Run ? / 159 (21:21.40)
Mangrio, Humza [9] Not Run ? / 164 (21:31.18)
Nothstein, Shane [9] Not Run ? / 166 (21:34.06)
Larson, Ed [9] FR185 (21:42.08) / 178 (21:42.07)
Collins, Jared [11] JR227 (20:58.11) / 192 (22:03.84)
Schmidt, Conner [9] Not Run ? / 198 (22:11.44)
Flint, Jared [9] FR146 (20:47.91) / 200 (22:14.09)
Monteleone, Brandon [9] FR180 (21:38.14) / 219 (23:41.94)
Gore, Chris [11] JR263 (24:26.78) / 229 (25:01.24)
Nunez, Lazaro [11] JR130 (18:26.44) / Not Run ?
Block, Levi [11] JR132 (18:27.61) / Not Run ?
Billings, Nick [10] SO57 (17:22.46) / Not Run ?

Lompoc

A very young group of girls are led by junior Ashley Fabing who could challenge for an individual league title. Very few of the others have any varsity experience. Seniors Joel Martin and Jose Garcia figure to lead the Brave boys, but watch out for frosh phenom Eduardo Morales who just showed up out of the blue. Lompoc has run in three meets - Seaside , Ojai, and in between they hosted a six-way at River Park.

At the 6-way-

Boys Varsity: Righetti (33), AG (46), San Marcos (89), Pioneer Valley (96), Lompoc (113), St. Joseph (169).
Girls Varsity: San Marcos (43), St. Joseph (54), AG (86), Righetti (90), Lompoc (115), Pioneer Valley (155).
Boys JV: Righetti (42), AG (49), San Marcos (55), Pioneer Valley (193), Lompoc (253), St. Joseph (348).
Girls JV: San Marcos (15), Righetti (83), AG (85), St. Joseph (120), Pioneer Valley (164), Lompoc (No Score - 4 runners).

Girls [Rich Zellers / Joe Warrick] place (time)
Seaside Invitational [Sr-184,Jr-255,So-272,Fr-237]
Lompoc Six-way [44 Var/ 69 JV]
Ojai (small school) [211 runners]

Ashley Fabing: JR33 (20:09)/6th V(20:06) /7th (20:16)
Andrea Caballero: JR57 (20:52)/19thV (21:32) /46th (22:21)
Kaylin Barnes: SO72 (21:13)/20th (21:35) /47th (22:21)
Denice Hernandez: SO99 (22:00)/34thV (22:13) /[Not Run ?]
Violet Vargas: SO119 (22:29)/36thV (22:32) /56th (22:53)
Michelle Kurz: SO179 (24:44)/12thJV (23:04)/83rd (23:47)
Stephanie Soza: FR69 (22:15)/40thV (22:53) /90th (24:08)
Kim Maynes: SR105 (22:48)/39thV (22:40) /91st (24:15)
Deanna Dominguez: FR175 (26:38)/52ndJV (27:32)/Not Run ?
Cami Cartisser: Not Run ? /44thJV (26:20)/172nd (28:00)
Paige Rios: SO266 (33:50)/60thJV (30:41)/194th (29:46)
Brittany Reeves: Not Run /Not Run/199th (30:39)
Cindy Barraza: Not Run ?/Not Run /Not Run ?
unknown [165th (27:43)]

Boys [Jim Warrick] place (time)
Seaside Invitational [Sr-232,Jr-274,So-314,Fr-286]
Lompoc Six-way [39 Var/ 133 JV]
Ojai small school [245 runners]

Joel, Martin [12] Sr86 (17:23.03)/V12 (17:07)/14 (17:24.48)
Jose, Garcia [12] SR88 (17:25.96)/ V22 (17:30)/35 (17:58.64)
Eduardo, Morales [9] Not Run/JV2 (17:39)/57 (18:40.09)
Johnathan, Holmund [12] SR118 (18:01.12)/V28 (17:59)/68 (18:57.01)
Kiefer, Gallagher [12] SR114 (17:52.59)/V24 (17:33) /69 (18:57.40)
Grossi, Tyler [11] JR253 (22:53.70)/V26 (17:49)/ Not Run ?
Cody, Flynn [11] Not Run ?/V32 (18:41)/84 (19:27.82)
Cole, Berber [10] SO115 (18:20.32)/V34 (18:52)/97 (19:38.00)
Ortiz -Jimenez, Carlos [12] SR201 (18:01.14)/JV53 (20:14)/136 (20:35.94)
Chris, Manzaneres [11] JR216 (20:24.54)/JV58 (20:28)/180 (21:43.38)
Vasques, Paul [10] SO240 (21:10.57)/JV67 (20:56)/ Not Run ?
Joey, Hess [11] Not Run ?/JV73 (21:22)/218 (23:40.55)
Alex, Thumn [9] Fr238 (23:06.91)/JV94 (23:00)/222 (23:52.58)
Stevie, Galvan [10] Not Run ?/JV87 (22:23)/232 (25:49.10)
Slikker, Rory [10] SO264 (22:03.72)/JV105 (23:44)/ Not Run ?
Eric, Grill [10] SO300 (24:55.43)/JV115 (24:49)/236 (26:34.02)

Note: The Seaside results were garbled at the meet and may be missing some runners. Times may also be problematic, especially the boys senior race.

College
The AHC X-C team features several local runners. On the men's side : Nick Gilligan, Miguel Ortiz, and Oscar Torres from Cabrillo, plus Orion Casteel from LHS - the only sophomore on the team. The women have women have sophs Ariana Fabing [LHS], Duania Evans [LHS],and Terri Ladja [CHS].

The Bulldogs have run in two meets (4 mile/ 5K) this season at Ventura and Cuesta . At Ventura the men finished 11th of 12 teams and the women were 7th out of 10. Results at Cuesta were similar, the women 4th of 5 & the men last in 6th

Individual results (Score /Time):
[Ventura / Cuesta]

Ariana Fabing - 25th (25:01)/ 15 (22:45)
Duania Evans - 52nd (28:21)/ 31 (26:39)
Terri Ladja - NS (34:24)/ Not Run
Nick Gilligan - 56 (27:09)/ 31 (26:24)
Miguel Ortiz - 44th* (26:16)/ 28 (25:58)
Oscar Torres - Not Run/ 4th* (22:29)
Orion Casteel - Not Run/ Not Run
* Led AHC runners

Michael Coe [CHS] was touted to be one of the runners to watch for the Cal Bears this X-C season, but hasn't appeared in either of the two meets the Golden Bears have run in this year - the USF Invitational & the Sacramento St. Jamboree. So what gives ?


Awards
The Lompoc Renaissance program presented Scholar Letters on Monday evening. Not surprisingly, many recipients were current or former Brave athletes. The highlight was an impassioned presentation by former LHS Principal and founder of the American Dream Foundation, Ed Albright, on the importance of teachers. Several late arriving members of the tennis team (just getting back from a match at Mission Prep) also were thrilled to receive certificates for Letterman jackets as part of the prize drawings.

Letter winners were:
Seniors - Stephen Aldama, Cooper Barrick, Abraham Beltran, Dana Campitelli, Maria Carrera, Tiana Cisowski, Selene Estrada-Villela, Juan Flores, Kimly Hoang, Alex Jensen, Angela Maciel, Cody Michel, Joel Martin, Kaitlin Munoz, Ty Naccarato, Kyle Pickles, Daniel Porr, Karen Rios-Sanchez, Milton Royster, Melissa Scanlon, Danielle Sebring, Kayla Short, Kyle Thumm, and Jacqueline (Jackie) Townsend.

Juniors - Connie Aguilera, Aaron Carmona, Jessica Cosio, Ashley Fabing, Tyler Grossini, Katelynn Lee, Perla Lopez, Brandy Machado, Robert Macias, Gisela Martinez, Nicholas McComber, Melissa Morrison, Charlie Rios, Maureen Silva, Shalon Starr, Dominic Tabin, Carl Thacker, Emily Tremblay, Sherman (Trae) Vernon, Azucena Villalobos, Hanna Wong, and Adriana Zaragoza.
Sophomores - Dinara Arevalo, Cody Davis, Veronica Duarte, Eric Grill, Crystal Grover, Sameeha Husayn, Salvador Jimenez, Alissa Lindemann, Thomas Lintner, Blanca Lopez, Jasmine McGinty, Zachary Powell, Drew Sapp, Gold Vang, and Lee Xiong.

So how are they doing now...

Alumni Update

Kellie George (pictured), Boo Jackson, Vai Taua, Julia Heath, and more ! Find out what recent valley grads are up to now.







Football

Boo Jackson [LHS]
The Ohio University "Boocats" fell to Northwestern 16-8 on Saturday in a defensive battle. Boo started at QB for the second straight game and did pretty well. He was 27-42 for 228 yards, threw a 3rd quarter TD & a 2pt conversion, but was also picked off twice. Under pressure all day, he was sacked 5 times for 31 yards. The Bobcats problems were on the ground where they totaled 4, count 'em, 4 yards rushing. Boo was 13 - (-28) including SAC yardage. The rest of the team totaled 32 yards on 15 carries.
The Wildcats are now 4-0 for the first time since 1962, Ohio falls to 0-4.

Vai Taua [CHS]
The Nevada Wolfpack had the week off after being drubbed by Missouri last week. Next week they take on UNLV which has beaten Arizona State & Iowa State their last two times out. Vai is now the starter for Nevada at TB - see Thursday's [18 Sep 08] post.

Lydell Sargeant [CHS]
12th Penn St ranked crushed Temple 45-3. Lydell, a 5-10, 190 lb, senior is starting at cornerback for the now 4-0 Nittany Lions. In the first 3 games this year, Lydell has 6 tackles (3 solo, 3 asst), 2 pass break-ups [on two chances], and a fumble recovery. Sounds like teams are avoiding him !

Michael Slaughter [LHS]
As usual, the Upper Iowa University - SW Minnesota St. game was a dandy (UIU led in points 98-93 in the four games prior to Saturday). Unfortunately, the Peacocks fell 38-31 on stunning play at the end of the game. A Peacock FG tied it up with 0:21 left in the fourth, then ...

"After a short squib kick was returned to the Mustang 46-yard line by Levi Bullerman, the Peacocks just needed to defend one more play to force the game into OT. Shudlick was pushed out of the pocket by a hard charging Mike Slaughter. The Mustang quarterback set himself long enough to fire a long pass down the sideline. Sean O'Leary got behind the Peacock defense and made a tough catch before hopping on one leg twice to maintain his balance and lay out into the endzone. The Peacocks and their fans were stunned. A last Hail Mary pass from Curran was knocked down on the final play as the Peacocks dropped their third heartbreaking loss of the year, 38-31."
Mike finished the game tied for third with 6 tackles.

Allan Hancock College
The Bulldogs (2-1) bounced back from last weeks thumping by giving LA Pierce (0-3) a 35-3 whumping. AHC has a half-dozen Lompoc valley players on the roster, and while individual stats are currently unavailable, we do know that LHS grad Tim Ochoa blocked a field goal and intercepted a pass.

Ladies --

Kellie George, the founder of the Cabrillo girls golf team, has been unable to stay away. She signed up with Gini Shekell to help coach the squad this year. She is attending AHC this year, and they, once again, are not fielding a ladies team - but she tells LLR "once is enough".
Kellie is not alone on the hill though. Miranda Rich, X-C runner & founder of the Rich Flower Festival Queen dynasty, is assisting X-C girls coach Katie Wallace.

Julia Heath
The Cal Poly women’s golf team finished second in the season-opening North Texas Women’s Classic, which concluded a two-day run Tuesday at the Robson Ranch Golf Course in Denton, TX. The Mustangs posted a final-round four-person 313 total, finishing with a 54-hole 924 total.

Central Arkansas (905) won the nine-team event, third, one stroke behind Cal Poly, was Houston Baptist at 925, with Texas-San Antonio (926) and Lamar (929).

Julia shot a final-round 77 and a 234 total [78-79-77], good for 20th place.

Cal Poly returns to competition Sept. 22-23 at the Bulldog and Eagle Women’s Invitational co-hosted by Gonzaga and Eastern Washington at The Links Golf Course in Post Falls, Idaho.

Amanda Murray [CHS]
The Toros (CalSt Dominguez Hills) womens soccer team beat Cal St LA 5-3 to even their conference record at 2-2 and move to 4-5 overall. Amanda, a transfer from AHC has 45 minutes of playing time in two games with one unsuccessful shot on goal.

MORE to Come -- Michael Coe, & Ariana Fabing are among the folks we update tomorrow when we profile X-C and Water Polo.

Return of the Creatures from the Blue Lagoon

Well, Chet Shirk's 1930 version of the Braves still have an intact record. Their three straight shutouts to open the season is still unmatched, but the current group of Lompoc gridders will no doubt be happy with their third win in a row to start the season. They did match the 1941 squad with two in a row.

Lompoc used a pounding running game, of which Favi Vargas was the most consistent weapon, along with other sporadic offensive spurts to defeat the San Marcos Royals 24-7 at Valley Stadium on Friday night. The Royal 'offense' was almost exclusively the purview of RB Jordon Kuykendall [17-53 yds] and QB James Crook [5-14-0 37 yds]

The Braves again started slowly, receiving a gift fumble on the second play from scrimmage - but immediately returned the favor on their own first play. Neither side did anything offensively in the first period, until Lompoc punted from their 15 yard-line on their next possession. The ball travelled 18 yards past the line of scrimmage, before bouncing back 7 yards to the Braves 26. The Royals used 9 plays to travel the distance for the initial score surrendered by the Lompoc this year.

The Braves responded with a 14 play drive that culminated in a 20 yard Drew Sapp FG with 6:34 left in the half. A punting exchange followed until San Marcos muffed a punt at the Royals 15, and Ryan Bower, who played the 2nd & 4th quarters, hit Scotty Aguailar with a 14 yard TD pass. Sapp's kick gave the Braves a 10-7 lead at the break.

Another punt contest broke out briefly, and then the Blue Creatures rose up and scored on back-to-back drives in the 3rd period. After Aguailar picked up 12 on the 'criss-cross', Bobby Collins took over - gaining 26 yards on three carries, including a 7 yard TD jaunt for one score. And after a 42 yard Aguailar punt return, Collins cruised 10 yards for the second one. Sapp kicked both EP's, and that finished the scoring. Lompoc did threaten in the fourth, but turned the ball over on downs at the end of a 14 play drive.

Lompoc totaled 257 yards on 47 carries [Collins 19-117, Favi Vargas 17-113, Aguilar 6- 36] and were 10-19 for 83 yards with 1 TD and no pics passing. The Royals totaled 104 yards on 43 plays [67 yards on 26 carries, 5-17 passing for 37 yards].

The Braves next game will be Friday, 26 Sep, against Dos Pueblos also at Valley Stadium in Goleta. The game will once again be carried live by Lompoc Locker Room on Comcast (Lompoc) Cable channel 23 and on lompoclockerroom.com .

The Cabrillo Conquistadors lost a 19-17 heartbreaker to Dos Pueblos.
--- El Stato (Russ Samaniego photo)

VAI NOW THE STARTER; Braves Game Time 7:00

VAI TO START

.....................VAI TAUA (pictured here in a shot by Robert B. Parker of the Reno Gazette-Journal) will be the starting running back in Nevada’s one-back offense starting Saturday. The erstwhile starter, Luke Lippincott, has been lost for the season due to a knee injury.

Here’s the take of Reno Gazette-Journal reporter Dan Hinxman. In his story he notes a little-publicized departure away from the team that Vai made last season.

You probably wouldn't know it from looking at him, but football came easy to Vailala Lima "Vai" Taua. So easily, in fact, that he kind of took his talents for granted.

"In high school it was easy," the Nevada running back said. His coach at Cabrillo High in Lompoc, Calif., remembers Taua having a pretty easy time of it, too.

"Vai was almost unstoppable," said Don Cross, now the football coach at rival Lompoc High. "His senior year he set a couple (school) records, led us to a league championship, led us to the (California Interscholastic Federation) semifinals."

Taua was the big man on campus -- even if he was barely 5-foot-9 and 225 pounds. His senior year he had 260 carries for 1,709 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also played linebacker, some nose guard and some defensive end.

The rude awakening came quickly, during his first day on the Wolf Pack practice field in 2006.
"When he came out here he was trying to run through the ropes and the bags, and about two minutes into it he was on a knee," running backs coach Jim Mastro said. "He was just gassed. I told him, 'You've got no idea what you've got yourself into, no idea.'"

Taua, who became the starting running back when senior Luke Lippincott was lost for the season with a knee injury on Sept. 6, flashed a wide grin when asked if he remembered having issues with conditioning.

"Yup," he admitted, laughing. "Everything just seemed harder, faster. It took a lot more effort to be successful. That was killing me. ... Here, everybody is just as good. You've got to put a lot more effort into it."

As Mastro put it, when it comes to Taua it's "all about perception and reality."

It was Taua's perception that he would basically just continue to do what he was doing and be an impact player for the Wolf Pack. The reality was, as he learned while on bended knee, very different.

It didn't help matters that he quit the team early last season, pleaded with coach Chris Ault a few weeks later to come back, and then had his season end a few games early with a knee injury. The injury required offseason, arthroscopic surgery, which led to a period of sedentary recovery.
"(And) McDonald's and Taco Bell," Mastro said.

Taua reported to camp this summer at 240 pounds.

"I did a lot of eating," Taua said, still wearing a smile that only someone who is now in proper shape can wear. "It was kind of right after the surgery. I couldn't do a lot of running, so I sat around. But a lot of eating."

Mastro said he joked with Taua this summer that he was going to have to do his conditioning at Jenny Craig.

"So what happened is it took him two years to get into Division I football shape," Mastro said. "He redshirted his first year. He hurt his knee (last season), so he missed six weeks there. He never really understood. He came back last year as a redshirt freshman thinking highly of himself, but he still didn't know what it took.

"I think quitting helped him because he realized what he had, and if he wanted to play as bad as he said he did, then it's going to take some work."

"When I quit it gave me a lot of time for myself to figure out what I wanted," Taua said. "Coming out here (at the time) was not what I wanted. When I quit I had time to sit back and figure what I wanted in life and what I wanted to do. I finally got to make a decision on my own instead of my parents helping me."

Taua, these days sporting an Abe Lincoln-style beard (sans moustache), still keeps in regular contact with Cross.

"He's such a competitive kid, he wanted to be on the field," said Cross, whose son is being coached by Taua's dad in youth football. "He was wrong in walking away, but he just wanted to play."

The perception on the outside is of Taua as a guy who doesn't appear any more imposing than a rifle team member. Sure, he's packed 220 or so solid pounds into that nearly 5-10 frame, but a Division I-A running back? If you saw him walk across campus in jeans and a T-shirt, you might have your doubts.

"He was a kid who just fell through the cracks a little bit," said receivers coach Scott Baumgartner, who recruited Taua.

The reality will get your attention.

"He's very athletic, very athletic," Mastro said. "You don't realize how nifty his feet are. I always say he's got the niftiness of a 130-pounder but at 220 pounds. And he's got incredible vision. He sees things that just aren't coachable."

Both Mastro and Cross mentioned his vision, as well as his pass-catching ability and strength as a pass-protection blocker.

"He's got the whole package," said Cross, who likes to playfully emasculate Taua by calling him by the latter half of his first name, "Lala." "We ran the wing-T and he was an excellent receiver."
Taua said his dad always wanted him to be a linebacker, and he takes that attitude with him when he's asked to pass block.

"In pass protection he's unbelievable," Mastro said. "He's got a 400-pound bench press. He just stones people."

Given what Taua has gone through, both self-inflicted and otherwise, it's no surprise that two of his biggest supporters are coaches past and present.

"I'm a really big fan of his, and I really want him to succeed," Mastro said. "I'm really proud of him. He figured out this is not high school anymore. It's a tough game to play. I think when he first got here it overwhelmed him. It's part of the reason why he hung it up. 'This is too much. I can't do all this.'"

Lippincott, who led the Western Athletic Conference in rushing last season and was a first-team all-conference pick, was a sure thing to start this season.

"Through fall camp he gave Luke a run for his money," Mastro said of Taua. "Luke just has that experience you can't coach."

Said Cross: "The kid works his tail off. I'm so proud of him for what he's done."

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BRAVES START AT 7:00

The Lompoc Braves football game at San Marcos which we hope to broadcast over this website (yeah, we know the last two weeks we haven't quite delivered) will begin at 7:00 p.m., not 7:30.