Goodness Gracyk and Girls Golf Galore

The season began in earnest for a number of local girls teams on Tuesday, including Lompoc Tennis and Cabrillo Golf.

The Cabrillo Girls Golf squad was split 3 ways Tuesday. Team #1 Jacqueline McDonald was out sick, 3 players were at the aforementioned Pirate Invite, and the rest of the Conquistadors were within the friendly confines of the Village Country Club - hosting the Orcutt Academy Spartans in a non-league contest. Meanwhile the Braves varsity were hosting Righetti at Dave Bickmore Courts, and the JV hit the road.

2012 Santa Ynez Lady Pirates Golf Invitational

Aside from pleasure at the buffet, the one thing that everyone in attendance seemed to agree on was that it was HOT out there today. Pirate Head Coach Gretchen Smith told the assemblage at the awards ceremony that the temperature at tee off (1 pm) was 95 degrees. It then got hotter. Luckily for the competitors a late afternoon breeze arose, unfortunately, it wasn't really a cooling wind, and was right in their faces as they made the turn for the clubhouse. 

The St Joseph Knights walked away with the victory in the team scoring and also had the individual Medalist. Desiree Gillaspy posted an 80 for the 18 holes, and that also stood up as the low team score. 

Cabrillo had three competitors in the event - the team of Rosalei Rodrick & Karen Santamaria finished with a middle of the pack team score of 91. That was the best placing of any of the participants from LPL schools. Gabby Baumgardner competed in a special "Combined Team" pairing with a girl form Santa Ynez.

The LPL coaches in attendance (Smith - SY, Tom Elliott - Nipomo, and Cabrillo Asst Steve Moldt) were all happy with their teams performances, especially given the unusually early date of the event which severely shortened practice time. Almost all the coaches attending were also quite happy that the scores for those of their number that braved the course were not revealed. The  tournament was held early this year due to scheduling conflicts at the Alisal River Course, but Coach Smith plans to return it to a post Labor Day contest next year.

Individual and Team Scores.
Each player plays their own ball from tee to cup, with the best score on each hole counting as the team score for that hole.

	Team	Player 1	Score	Player 2	Score		Team
1	Arroyo Grande 'A'	Breanna Garcia	102	Anna Zhang	94		86	T 3rd
2	Arroyo Grande 'B'	Megan Dunagan	102	Callie Norton	100		88
3	Atascadero	Miranda Roetker	114	Heather Wuluff	124		106
4	Cabrillo	Rosalei Redrick	98	Karen Santamaria	104		91
5	Dos Pueblos 'A'	Bekah Berveridge	89	Megan Caird	102		86	T 3rd
6	Dos Pueblos 'B'	Leah Dunn	11	Mika Henrickson	109		98
7	Nipomo	Courtney Cuzick	105	Christin Delabey	104		94
8	Righetti 'A'	Melanie Johnson	96	Lauren Reynoso	107		89
9	Righetti 'B”	Lauren Reade	106	Samantha Bettiga	103		101
10	Rio Mesa	Blake Sjoquist	113	Grace Stephenson	105		95
11	St Joseph	Desiree Gillaspy	80 *	Hana Goble	126		80	1st
12	San Marcos	Melissa Jewkes	94	Brittany Peretiako	104		87
13	San Luis Obispo	Sam Lopez	112	Nura Zakaria	83		82	2nd
14	Santa Ynez	Jenny Andreas	95	Suvra Mostafa	143		94
15	Santa Barbara	Saralisa Ortega	91	Claudia Fanaro	102		87
16	Comb [SY/Cabrillo]	Jinai Jones [SY]	119	Gabby Baumgardner [C]	110		105
	* indicates Medalist

Orcutt Academy @ Cabrillo 

Despite missing their 4 top players, the Conquistadors managed to defeat the Spartans 301-305. Perhaps even more importantly, everyone on the team got to play in a significant match. Varsity consists of 6 players with the top 5 scoring. Of special note is the fact that none of the varsity competitors are seniors.

Cabrillo [301]

Kelsie Merrick - 56, Christina Sawyer -57, Bailey Belluz - 62, Devan McCune - 67, Aidan Badua - 71, Raquel Caballero - 59. 

Orcutt Academy [305]

Maddie Cross - 55, Kathryn O'Neil - 64, Jacky Sharp - 64, Kianna Orteza - 59, Katelyn Matevousian - 63, Kenedi Jacobs - 64.

No JV Scores are currently available, but the particicant were - 

Cabrillo: Adia Hernandez, Haley Holloway, Stephanie Hernandez, Alyssa Rhoades, Elizabeth Caballero, Stephanie Shane, & Britney Grimes. 

Orcutt Acad: Deanna Burke, Sienna Pita, Megan Metzler, & Aryana Manzo.

"A Bunch of Newbies" fall 14-4

Whether performing as a level 6 gymnast for the Vandenberg Jets, a multi-event swimmer for the Lompoc Tsunami, a BMX biker for the Santa Maria Elks Racing Team, a running back in the annual LHS 'Powder-Puff' football contest, or as #1 Singles on the Braves Girls Tennis team, Emily Gracyk has always been a tough competitor - and pretty good, to boot. As one of the few returning players to the varsity ranks the junior won 2 of her 3 sets for half the Lompoc points. The other 2 points were won by her initially quite nervous younger sister, Erica. Ditto for the Frosh on the Jets, Tsunami, & Elks Racing, and on the winning 2 of 3 sets.

School has only been in session for a week, and the doubles units have been a bit of a mystery so far, but the singles appear to be in good shape with the sisters and junior Marielle Tabin.Though Lompoc is lacking in experience at the game, that should be changing in the future as Marjie Ledgerwood & Jim Steffey have nearly 50 girls out for the team (2 more showed up today) - largely freshmen & sophomores. Oh, and Erin Gracyk is still in Middle School.

Leagues, Divisions, and Sections - Oh My !! [Part 1]

Thought I would cover some of the "larger picture" before we get too far into the season, so everyone knows what I'm talking about later on ....

CIF & State Bowl Games

First, California does NOT have a statewide playoff system to determine a state football champion. Although they have created actual state championships in some sports (i.e. volleyball, basketball), they have not done so for the gridders. What they do have is a system analogous to the dreaded BCS. 

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) consists of 10 affiliated sections of widely differing sizes, each of which determines its own football champions in a varying number of divisions.  A few years back, a group got together to create a nice made-for-TV event to crown 'State Champs'. They established a committee system to pick a team in each of 3 mostly enrollment based 'divisions' from both the northern & southern parts of the state to play in "State Championship Bowls". In an attempt to achieve a certain amount of parity, there are 4 sections that represent the 'south', and 6 that are in the 'north'. The reason for this uneven split is the presence of the massive CIF-Southern Section (CIF-SS) in the south. [See Below]

The initial events raked in boatloads of cash for the CIF State Office, which had not gotten much from the sectional playoffs - that money went to the various sections. They have since expanded to 5 bowls, including an 'Open' division bowl (teams from any size division) and a Small Schools Division. A new wrinkle was added this year - instead of the committees picking just one team in each division to represent their region, now they pick two. Those teams selected by the committees of Section Commissioners and their reps will then play each other in  'Regional games' with the winners advancing to the bowls. CIF moved the season earlier in the year to accommodate these extra games, which is why we had games starting on August 23rd. This was ostensibly done to resolve situations like the Lompoc/Washington Union dispute last year and I'm sure that the additional revenue was not a factor (uh-huh).

A major factor to consider in this whole system is a rule that teams MUST win their Section Title in order to be eligible for the State Bowls.

Section Championships

This is where the size disparity between the sections really comes into play - really, really BIG disparity. Instead of trying to describe it, I'll just give you the numbers. [They may not be perfectly exact, but they are pretty darn close.]

CIF has 1527 schools statewide, some of these do not have a football program, might not have a squad this year, or play 8-man football (6 & 9 man have been phased out).  This leaves 1065 11-man teams in the federation. [Some CA teams also play in the associations of other states - i.e. Truckee plays in Nevada.]

A. Here's the breakdown by section:  CIF Sections Map & Contact Info

Northern Section        -   43 (Far North & Northeast)

North Coast Section   - 109 (North from the Bay area along the coast)

Sac-Joaquin Section   - 155 (Sacramento & the northern Central Valley)

Central Coast Section -  94 (Coast south of Bay, San Jose, Salinas, Monterrey)

San Francisco Section -    7 (San Francisco USD)

Oakland Section          -    6 (Oakland USD)

     NorCal Total = 414

Central Section           -  90 (Southern Cent. Valley, Fresno, Clovis, Bakersfield)

Los Angeles Section   -  67 (Not all of LA, just LAUSD)

San Diego Section      -  92 (Far southwest, San Diego to Imperial Valley)

Southern Section        - 402 (Everything else - c. 1/3 of state)

     SoCal Total = 651

B. Most sections have their own divisions, with each section division allocated as a 'State Bowl Division' feeder.   Most of the northern bowl reps have come from the NCS & the SJS, with a few from the CCS. And I will present just a brief overview of the NorCal set-up. 

Northern: 4 divs [43 teams] (I-10, II-10, III-13, IV-10)

North Coast: 5 divs [109] (I-21, II-25, III-22, IV-25,V-16)

Sac-Joaquin: 6 divs (sorta) [155] (I-IV - 127, V-VI - 26) 2012 Football Playoff Plan

Central Coast: 5 divs [94] The process is a bit involved but 40 teams made the playoffs last season, with 8 participants in each of 5 divs (Open, I,II,III,IV) 2011 Playoff Set-up
San Fransisco/Oakland: Um - divisions ? [13]

Central: 5 divs [90] (1-14,2-15,3-17,4-15,5-12)
San Diego: 5 divs [92] (I-18, II-17, III-18, IV-17, V-22)
Both Central & SD sections have modified enrollment based divs that are completely different than league assignments (some leagues have teams from 3 divs).
Los Angeles: 2 divs [67] (Open -28, Invitational -37) Again - the schools are seeded at the end of season regardless of league, etc. .
Southern : 13 divs [402]  (I-33, II-30, III-27, IV-30, V-32,VI-31,VII-34,VIII-28,IX-30,X-30,XI-33,XII-27,XIII-37)

C. The divisions are generally grouped together for selection for the State competition as follows, but there is some flexibility in the system:

    Div I - Southern Sect I & II, Central 1, San Diego 1
    Div II - SoSect III/IV/V/VI/VII/VIII, Central 2 & 3, San Diego II/III
    Div III- SoSect IX/X/XI, Central 4, San Diego IV
    Small Schools Div - XII/XIII, Central 5, San Diego V
    Open Div - May come from any div, but usually from Div I.
 [Note: LA Assignments not known.]

(See More in Part 2)

0 Week Football Update

Seems I got my game predictions reversed - Had Lompoc by 17 & Cabrillo by 28, but the Brave won by 31 & the Conquistadores by 13.

Lompoc played somewhat sloppy ball, but still beat AG 31-0

The Lompoc Braves overcame two 1st half turnovers, 10 penalties (70 yds), and an opening 3 & out, to prevail over a talented though extremely inexperienced flock of Eagles at Huyck Stadium Friday night. What the Braves did show was a punishing ground game (52-287) led by Lavon Coleman (17-175y), who had a 68 yard jaunt that helped turn a close contest in the home squad's favor. Lompoc used 8 guys to tote the pigskin and they amassed 287 yards on 52 carries.

When the Lompoc offense was clicking the AG defense couldn't get them off the field. In their 8 posses ions they compiled drives of 16, 13, 10, and 10 plays. The problem was the Braves spent much of the evening shooting themselves in the foot. The others were 3 & punt, 3 & interception, 4 & fumble, and a 3 play TD drive that included Coleman's ramble. Emblematic of the struggle was their final drive. They racked up 102 yards on 13 plays to set up a 33 yard Juan Morales Field Goal. How? Well, they also mixed in 3 penalties for 25 yards.

http://santamariatimes.com/high-school/when-champions-collide/article_df42db24-ee89-11e1-97b8-001a4bcf887a.html

According to various sources, the JV used two Vincent Cortez TD's to prevail 14-0, and the Frosh won 27-21 on Thursday.

Cabrillo uses 13-0 2nd half to roll the Royals 27-14.

The Conquistadores used long runs by Nick Pence (34y) [Or Collin Babuata, depending on whom you believe] and Bryce Moses (38 + TD) as part of a 5 play, 73 yard TD drive coming out of halftime. That was the only score in the 2nd half until Colby Turnquist's 2 yard plunge with just a few seconds left in the game. The EP was blocked. The Cabrillo defense forced 4 punts in the Royals last 5 possessions. 

Cabrillo opened the scoring, but was quickly answered as San Marcos scored on a half-back option pass. The Conqs retook the lead with by going 86 yards in 8 plays with Alex Green finishing it off with a 63 yard run. The Royals then hit a 35 yard TD pass with 4:37 remaining in the half. 

Bryce Moses (12-139) and Alex Green (7-108) both topped the 100 yard mark, with Green tacking on 2 Sacks.

The JV score has not been reported, but the Frosh won 34 - 21 on Thursday

Area Scores

Lompoc 31, Arroyo Grande 0

Cabrillo 27, San Marcos 14

Dos Pueblos 12, Santa Ynez 0

Bishop Diego 54, Santa Maria 3

Pioneer Valley 37, Nipomo 10

Morro Bay 42, EE Torres 7

Templeton 49, Carpenteria 12

Villa Park 28, Righetti 21

Santa Barbara 25, St Joseph 22

Clovis North 41, Atascadero 21

Bullard (Fresno) 33, Paso Robles 14

Mission Prep 40, Fillmore 7

Agoura 27, Oak Park 20 [ot]

Grace Bretheran 29, Kilpatrick 0

Moorpark 31, West Ranch 0

Newbury Park 31, Buena 0

Santa Clara 19, Verbum Dei 13

Bakersfield 48, Ventura 14

Franklin (Elk Grove) 38, Thousand Oaks 28

Nordhoff 28, San Jqn. Mem. (Fresno) 3

Oaks Christian 40, Del Oro (Loomis) 0

St Bonaventure 48, Garfield (LA) 0

SLO & Orcutt Acad. play on Saturday.

Talkin' Sum Footbawl

Football Is Back !!!!!

Congratulations to both Lompoc Valley schools on magnificent 2011 campaigns, and good luck as we start the 2012 season. Today we'll be taking a quick look at tonight's match-ups, with a look at some of the bigger picture items appearing over the weekend. Both schools are coming off what are arguably their best seasons ever. Lompoc posted yet another CIF Championship along with their 1st ever undefeated season & Cabrillo achieved one of their finest records ever while reaching the 1st CIF Football Championship in school history. I'll start with the Braves ... 

Lompoc [6-0, 14-0]: Andrew Jones 3rd year [25-3]

Lompoc comes into the season as one the more highly regarded squads in the state - currently ranked from 17th to 32nd depending on who's doing the counting. They have one of the longest winning streaks in California (20 games - 4th in CA, 47th Nationally according to MaxPreps) and have won back-to-back CIF Northwestern Division (Div X) titles. They also have a running back who was recently named to the Cal-Hi All-State Preseason 1st Team.

The Braves are led by massive ground attack. Most of the attention, justifiably, goes to U-Dub bound senior Lavon Coleman [295att-2038yds (6.31 ave), 28 TD] and his tag-team partner Taylor Cornejo [203-1078 (5.3), 14], but the team had incredible depth. Sixteen individuals (only 3 seniors) toted the ball for the Braves last season and not one of them had a negative average. Of the top 10, only 1 was a 12th-grader (starting LB Joe Valla - 8-90 (11.25) 3TD), and only 1 had an average under 5 yards per attempt. That would be starting QB Luciano Lopez whose 4.70 average also included sack losses.

The 'other' 14 ball-carriers, including 3 sophomores and a freshman, racked up 1122 yards on 191 carries (5.87 ave.) and scored 16 touchdowns. In total 8 players had runs longer than 20 yards & 5 players had runs longer than 40 yards. To sum up - the O Line was Great !!  Sam Wellmaker and Joshua Powers lead the group that are back. 

So how about throwing the ball ? Well, Lopez didn't throw very often, but in a league where most QB's had pass efficiency ratings below 50, he hit 34 of 65 for 499 yards and a 102 rating. That number was helped significantly by a 6-1 TD/Interception ratio.

Most of those completions were to backs, although some subs listed at RB also played wide-out. Eleven Braves caught passes - 3 FB's (13-176, 2TD), 4 RB (11-168), 3WR (13-203, 2TD), and 1 TE.  Senior FB Aaron Kucharski (7-108, 2TD), RB Coleman (7-105), soph WR Gregory Mitchell (5-103, 2TD), senior WR Colton Concellos (7-92), and soph TE Ainuu Taua (2-14, 2TD) did the most damage. 

The defense was typically very stingy, but perhaps a notch below the 2010 team. They also gave up yards/points in "garbage time" which have skewed the stats a bit. They held opponents to 10.9 ppg, and held  a very good Cabrillo offense that scored over 40 points on 6 occasions to just 7 points in two games. 

While they lost some quality players like Joe Valla, Colton Concellos, Charlie Hawkins, Oscar Arellano & Aaron Kucharski, they also return a bunch of solid to spectacular players including Ainuu Taua, Willie Irribarren,  Rafael Arellano, Keldon Marmalejo, Keith Joseph, and Anthony Gonzalez. Several special teams  players and guys from the JV will have opportunities to play on this side of the ball.

There is also an interesting new addition to the line-backing corps. QB Lopez asked the staff if he could play some defense this year, so he has turned over some of the offensive duties to Tyler Ornales. Ornales was the backup QB last year and also handled the infrequent punting duties. 

All that, and I haven't yet mentioned one of the finest players the Braves have available - K Juan Morales. Already a two year varsity starter he has been lights out. He has been virtually automatic on PATs, has 50+ yard range on FGs (17 in 2 years), and a wizard on kick-offs - pounding them into the end zone for automatic touchbacks or dropping them into the corner of the field inside the 5 yard line. And was named to the Cal-Hi All-State Preseason 2nd Team.

Tonight's Game - Arroyo Grande [Max Prep # 98] @ Lompoc [MP # 27]

Prediction - Braves by 17

Last year AG took a 21-0 lead, before Lompoc woke up and stormed back to win 38-28. Both teams won CIF Championships, AG in the division to which the Braves have been relocated. But whereas Lompoc had a bunch and lost a few, the CIF Div IV Champion Eagles had a bunch and only kept a few. AG graduated 25 of their 54 players, including all 7 captains. They had 459 carries for 3325 yards and 49 TDs - all but 104 yards (33 rushes) are gone. No returning player attempted a pass last year, and of 160 receptions for 2462 yards and 20 TDs, just 24-353y, 2TD remain. 24 of 536 points were scored by returning players.

Not just the offensive 'skill' positions are effected - 24 of 25 pancake blocks have moved on, including Garrett Weinreich's 18. All Punt, Kick- off, and likely FG attempts have left campus as have most Kick-off and punt returns, and 20 of 27 Sacks. The list goes on, but you get the idea. 

AG has to replace QB Brent Vanderbeen (OreSt), WR/DB/K/P Garrett Owens (OreSt), RB/LB/Ath Seth Jacobs (OklaSt), OL/DL Garrett Weinreich (OreSt), LB/FB/RB Henry Adelman (Willamette Unv), CB/WR/RB Gabe DeLeon, FB/LB Ciaren Costa, OG/OT/DL Brandon Berguia, LB/G Morgan Beaudoin, etc. .

They return two major contributors to last years stat sheet. Senior (#5) Matt Wilkommen who was Seth Jacobs back-up as the team's 'Swiss-Army knife' last year. He returns to QB (JV in 2010) as a dual threat to run or pass. The other is junior (#3) CB/RB/WR Tyler Auerbach. Also keep an eye on TE Grant Allon.

In short while they have talent and some mammoth size up from JV, this is an in-experienced group playing on the road against a very good outfit and a 'somewhat' hostile crowd.

Cabrillo [5-1, 11-3]:
 Craig Knowles 5th year (20-24)

Cabrillo is in a similar circumstance to AG - they lost one of the highest rated passers in the LPL (Henry Fienga), his back-up (Sam Beltran), the LPL's leading receiver (Jeff Aldridge) and group of talented RB/LB types (Isaiah Montes, Wyatt Esola, Dan French, Ryan Badertscher, Marshal Larson,and T.J. Babauta). Fortunately, they also have several of those types back - Eric Naputi, Dalton Pacheco, Bryce Moses, & Nate Tulloch. 

Guys coming up from JV incude Gage Buckley (6-4, 190) who steps into the QB slot, TE/LB Jake Heath and from the 2011 frosh team Collin Babauta (5-6, 210) who will be wearing his brothers number and will likely be the Conqs 'rolling-ball-of-knives' runner.

Two BIG bright spots for Cabrillo are the return of linemen Creeka Drap and Caeden Johnson-Green. The Conquistadors should do well this year, but advancing to the Championship again this year will require a number of kids to really step up.

Tonight's Game - Cabrillo [Max Prep # 189] @ San Marcos [MP # 657]

Prediction - Conqs by 28 [Last year Cabrillo 44-7]

Anthony Linebaugh is one of three new SB area high school head football coaches. The Royals were 1-9 last three seasons (last year won 24-0 over Hueneme), and haven't had a Channel League win since 2009 or a winning season since 2003. Their leading returning rusher is senior Thomas Nelson (46-131y in 2011). San Marcos will run the Wing-T offense & the 46 defense.

And We're Back ....

With some news, notes, and occasional commentary. Today we'll be talking about the upcoming fall High School sports season, the future of local area sports coverage, and some interesting tid-bits from the world of sports - starting with ...

Camp Kotowski

For several years now Village Country Club golf pro Bob Kotowski has hosted and been the lead instructor for the Cathedral City High School Golf Camp. Why Cathedral City? At VCC?  Well, the CCHS girls golf Head Coach is Lisa Johnson. Her dad, Jerry, was the Head Coach at Cabrillo and one of his players was a certain "Bobby Kotowski". She likes to drop by and visit the folks during the summer and she brings some of her players and a few other folks along for some team-building fun, top-notch golf instruction, and a chance to avoid the 117 degree heat back in the desert. Coach Johnson gives us the info.

This year Coach Johnson brought another coach, 8 squad members, and two junior golfers - both children of CCHS staff. The Lions prowling the course were 5 seniors - Alma Perez, Karina Munoz, Amanda Barone, Marisa Carona, Angie Cardona, and 3 juniors - Odalys Ugalde, Ariel Carillo, and Brittany Salgado. Good Luck, Ladies !!!

Bob gathers the crew around for a lesson on the driving range. The weather, by the way, was clear with 5mph winds and 78 degrees.

Does remind me of this:  If You're Famous - You Live in Beverly Hills.
                                      If  You're Rich - You Live in Montecito
                                      If You're Lucky - You Live In Lompoc

Upcoming Events

The VCC is also going to have a lot of special events in the coming month:

23 Sept 2012 - The California Classic Blind Golf\Lou Benetti Memorial Tournament [Sign up by 7 Sept]

  This event raises money for the Lions Club Sight programs & support for blin golf activities. Contact Howard Shaw (735-3948 or hemkshaw@verizon.net) for more information.

1 Sept 2012 - Patriot Golf Day

7 Sept 2012 - The Norma Stillman "Fiesta on the Fairways" Memorial Tournament to raise funds for the Lompoc Boys & Girls Club.

30 Sep 2012 - The Braves Classic fundraiser for Lompoc HS athletics.

Broadcast News

It has been a very tumultuous time for Lompoc Valley sports reportage the last few months. First, of course we lost the Dean of local reporters - the inimitable Al Hunt to a sudden and far too early death. Main LV coverage guy for the LCC newspapers, Brad Memberto, is doing better but is still dealing with some major health problems. The SB News-Press has apparently decided to replace Al with their crew of stringers, and LCC has also lost a sports reporter in addition to the Big Guy being on somewhat reduced duty. Oh, and did I mention that the valley has been invaded by the big boys.

The 'Big Boys' being Fox Sports West. After many years of neglecting the area, the LA-based sports folks have discovered SLO and Santa Barbara counties - specifically the AG @ Lompoc season opener on Friday. It will only be shown as a live stream on FSW's Prep Zone and not aired live on TV. It is also likely that this will also happen to the Big Game at the end of the regular season. 

In better news, there is a new game preview show in the works to precede the TAP-TV football broadcasts that do occur, and Steve Crummy is putting together a weekly sports wrap-up show, Sports On TAP-TV, to air on the regular TAP-TV schedule.

Fall Sports News and Notes

Just a few quick notes for now. I will be posting schedules, rosters and more in-depth profiles over the next several days. There will be some football stuff on Friday, and game recaps, etc. on Saturday.

Girls Golf

Out at Cabrillo HS, Dave Schroeder has 17 girls out for the squad, but graduated most of his big guns, including 2011 LPL Champ Morgan Salm and her sidekick Mariah Hall. Tom Garrard has at least 11 girls working to nab a spot on the Lompoc varsity. With the Salm-inators departure to the University of Toledo, the competition for the top individual spot in league is wide open, but expect the usual superior depth of Ginny Smith's Santa Ynez Pirates to carry off the team title.

Girls Volleyball

Aaron Batula's young Lompoc Braves opened things off by taking on an Alumni squad on Thursday night. The varsity dropped three straight to the 'vets', but improved with each game. The junior dominated team (2 seniors, 1 soph) fell 25-15 in the initial game, stayed close in the 2nd (25-23), and led much of the 3rd, before being nipped 27-25. Jim Hilliard has a deep, experienced group up on the hill, and the Conquistadores figure to be competitive in a rather balanced LPL this season. The factor which is causing many area VB watchers some puzzlement is the fact that Chip Fenega's Santa Ynez Pirates do not have any players on their roster listed at 6' or above.

Frosh Football

Both local schools have looked good early. Downtown, the Braves, led by YFL fixture Buddy Sims' son Torey, thoroughly dominated Santa Ynez in a scrimmage last week. The younger Sims, as part of Paul Terrones' well-oiled machine, made a number of plays that would have been good for someone on varsity - in college. Cabrillo, meanwhile, followed a scrimmage at SLO last week with a 34-21 victory over San Marcos at Cabrillo Stadium on Thursday afternoon. QB Ben Gonzales got things started with a pair of TD passes to Marcos Rodriguez. [Much more on this game to come.]