GAME OF THE WEEK: STEELE CANYON AND MT. MIGUEL TIE 21-21 IN NAIL-BITER
Printer-friendly versionMt. Miguel Wins Overtime Period, Gains Tiebreaker Advantage for League and Playoffs by Christopher Mohr (RANCHO SAN DIEGO) October 30 – Tonight’s football game at Steele Canyon High School between the host Cougars and the visiting Matadors from Mt. Miguel High School turned out to be a very exciting matchup between two Grossmont South league rivals. Both teams played to a 21-21 tie, but Mt. Miguel gained an advantage in terms of playoff seeding and league standing by winning an overtime period. The Matadors got off to a quick start on the strength of their kickoff unit. Steele Canyon’s Rudy Burruel fumbled the opening kickoff and Mt. Miguel recovered, giving the Matadors great field position at the Steele Canyon 15-yard line. Just a few plays later, A.J. Stanford carried the ball in from nine yards out to give the Matadors an early 7-0 lead. Steele Canyon’s kickoff receiving woes quickly went from bad to worse. On the next kickoff, Jorge Medina kicked a hard line drive that bounced off one of the Cougars’ blockers. The Matadors recovered the muff at the Cougars’ 44-yard line and once again had a short field with which to work. "We were just told to squib it, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and it hit him, he tried to get out but he walked right into it," Medina said about the kickoff play and the opponent it struck. Fortunately for Steele Canyon, Mt. Miguel was unable to convert the turnover to points. The Matadors went on a 12 play drive, but came up empty when Medina missed a 37-yard field goal attempt. That’s not to say that the Cougars solved their problems in the kicking game. They were forced to punt after their next drive went three-and-out. Mt. Miguel’s Natone Morgan returned the punt 37 yards for a touchdown to put the Matadors up 14-0 with the game still in the first quarter. Momentum changed as the second quarter would belong to Steele Canyon. They executed an impressive 10 play drive that covered 78 yards, ending with a 13 yard touchdown pass from Brad Boehmke to Taylor Mishler. Jake Wragg played a big part in the drive’s success, carrying the ball four times for 46 yards. The Cougars’ next scoring drive was more efficient, bearing no resemblance to the previous one, taking only four plays to cover 76 yards. A 54-yard pass play from Boehmke to Cody Simpson tied the game at 14 just before halftime. "The corners came up and bumped, so I checked the route and went deep on them. Cody’s a fast guy so you have to have a pretty fast corner to cover him," Boehmke said about the game-tying play. Steele Canyon’s success carried over into the second half as they went back to the ball control strategy that served them so well on their first scoring drive. Alex Perlin had four carries for 26 yards while Wragg ran the ball three times for 24 yards. The drive covered 16 plays and 73 yards, ending on a one-yard touchdown run by Boehmke to put the Cougars ahead 21-14. Mt. Miguel was not about to quit and executed some ball control of their own on their next scoring drive. After covering 16 plays and 80 yards, they tied the game at 21 on an eight-yard pass from Stanford to Willie Morales. Derall Hunter, the career leader in rushing yardage for Mt. Miguel, ran 11 times for 44 yards to aid the lengthy drive. Punts and turnovers by both teams would be the story for both teams’ offenses for the remainder of the game. With neither offense able to move the ball effectively, one of the things that competitive athletes dread most eventually came to fruition: the game ended in a tie. Tie games by their very nature are anathema to the game of football. Domination, whether physical, mental or both, is a major part of the sport. It dictates that someone wins and someone loses. The concept of a tie game has been compared by many to kissing one’s sister. It is an outcome so undesirable that losing almost seems better. Most sisters would probably agree. So would most of football’s governing bodies. The NCAA years ago established a tiebreaking procedure for its games. About the only way a football game can end in a tie is from violent weather or a natural disaster. It is possible to get a tie in the NFL, but their rules make it unlikely as many NFL seasons pass by without a single tie game. To appreciate how rare a tie is in the NFL, one need look no further than Mission Valley: the San Diego Chargers have not played to a tie since 1973. Unfortunately for high school fans, the CIF is not as averse to tie games as the NCAA and NFL are. CIF rules do not normally allow tiebreakers during regular season games. However, since Steele Canyon and Mt. Miguel are both in the Grossmont South league and are both in Division III, an interesting paradox emerged. They would have to play an overtime period to resolve potential future ties in league standings and playoff seedings, but the results of the overtime would not change either team’s record or the final score of the game. Mt. Miguel got the ball first in the overtime period and moved the ball effectively. Stanford connected on a pass play to Morales for 14 yards while Hunter carried three times for 11 yards and scored on a one-yard touchdown run. Advantage Matadors. The Cougars were not as effective moving the ball in overtime. After going eight yards the first two plays on consecutive runs by Perlin, Steele Canyon went backwards after an incomplete pass and a false start penalty. When they failed to convert a fourth down, the overtime period was over and the Matadors’
LOCAL HEROES, BUSINESSES HONORED AT SANTEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AWARDS
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery November 3, 2009 – “All of you had a piece of making this happen,” Santee Chamber of Commerce executive director Warren Savage said to more than 200 guests in attendance at an awards presentation held October 16th at Barona Resort. In addition to naming businesses of the year, the Chamber also honored citizens ranging from a Santee teacher to a U.S. Marine unit adopted by the City of Santee. Ron Hall Insurance and Notary Services was named small business of the year. Medium and large business awards went to GTM General Discount Stores and the Barona Resort and Casino. Savage praised Barona for being “passionate about giving back to the casino, noting that Barona gave over $2 million to hundreds of charities in 2009 including funding the Santee summer concert series. In the new business of the year category, River View Medical Spa was the winner. Soldiers from the U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Battalion 1st Marines, stationed at Camp Pendleton and the USMC Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462 – “Heavy Haulers” received a standing ovation. At a recent Santee Council meeting, Mayor Randy Voepel disclosed that the 2nd Battalion has had a higher casualty rate than Okinawa during World War II. An officer from the unit thanked Mayor Voepel for his “support and patriotism.” Representatives from Congressman Duncan Hunter, Assemblyman Joel Anderson and and State Senator Dennis Hollingsworth were also on hand to present certificates of recognition to the troops. Lisa Hopewell was named Citizen of the Year. A member of the Santee United Methodist Church who helps at-risk-youths with mission trips to Mexico, Hopewell also helped relocated Santee’s Food Bank to her church and has been active in Little League. The San Diego Board of Supervisors named October 16 “Lisa Hopewell Day” in her honor. Donna Farquar, Santee School District’s resource coordinator for its English learner program, was also honored. Farquar has also been named 2009 Santee School District teacher of the year and was a finalist in the San Diego County teacher of the year awards. Jason Custeau, firefighter of the year, was honored for his work, which includes teaching new medics as a health pathways mentor at West Hills High School. Molli Knobbe received the Sheriff crimefighter of the year award. Ron Durett from Santee Lakeside Rotary Club was named Rotarian of the year for creating “Drive Safely” signs posted near area schools. In addition, the Chamber’s President award was presented to Pat Chambers for heading up the Santee Street Fair which drew 40,000 attendees this year. “He took it from a small street fair to a major festival,” said president Rob McNelis. Printer-friendly version
PHOTOS OF THE MONTH: OCTOBER 2009
Printer-friendly version This month, we bring you the many faces of our community – plus some holiday spirits! Printer-friendly version
EDITORIAL: THE SHOW “NEEDS” TO GO ON
Printer-friendly version …"There is no disagreement over the present lack of qualified theatrical management at ECPAC. If the City of El Cajon were to seriously consider hiring a good management group with a sound reputation, there would be no difficulty in obtaining talent to attract patrons." By Ron Shelby, President Grossmont Community Concert Association November 1, 2009 (El Cajon) — On Saturday, October 31, 2009, an article appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune’s East County section entitled: “The Show Need Not Go On.” While there is some validity to this article, it has overlooked some very important issues. First of all, for the past several years, the Grossmont Community Concert Association has conducted six major concerts a year at the East County Performing Arts Center (ECPAC). Reference to our organization is rarely mentioned in the media and that is a mystery, in that we are a major attraction to the theater. I use the word major because at each of our concerts we have a sold-out house, which means that well over 1100 East County residents have attended all of these events. GCCA’s rental cost for the theater usually amounts to several thousands of dollars for each concert. These concerts are not local “wantabes” but professional artists from all over the world who are obtained through a major theatrical agency in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition, because of the magnitude of the number of our patrons, funds are made possible to present outreach programs to our local schools along with scholarship awards for aspiring young artists. Secondly, I do not agree that the theater cannot compete with local casinos. I am sure that there are thousands of folks who would much prefer to come to ECPAC rather than drive to distant locations for entertainment amidst noisy gambling and drinking establishments. There are many types of theatrical productions such as plays, ballets, operas/operettas and other types of concerts that could easily fill the theater. Not all entertainment involves one or two stand-up comedians or country or rock star singers and bands. Lastly, there is no disagreement over the present lack of qualified theatrical management at ECPAC. If the City of El Cajon were to seriously consider hiring a good management group with a sound reputation, there would be no difficulty in obtaining talent to attract patrons. There are many reputable agencies anxious to provide quality talent. Along with proper publicity, ECPAC could be filled most of the time. Incidentally, if a volunteer non-professional group such as GCCA can be successful, think what a professional team could do. City Mayor Mark Lewis and his council have agreed to have open forums to allow concerned citizens to voice their opinions and needs and we applaud them for that. Many of these concerned citizens are the same folks or groups that helped raise funds and personally donated toward the building of the theater in the 1970’s and deserve the opportunity to voice their concerns and needs. We also believe that the City of El Cajon should show their support of the arts through monetary donations to the theater just as many other San Diego County cities do. The October 31st published article states that there is no formal plan regarding the so called two-year renovation program. Really? Then why does it take two years to accomplish? One cannot help but think that there is an agenda with definitive plans that the City Council chooses not to reveal. ECPAC is truly a jewel in our community. While repairs and upgrading are certainly in order,, the theater should be preserved. It is an outstanding venue and with proper management, could produce good revenue as well as build patronage to the many restaurants and other business in the area. Sounds like a win-win situation for everyone. The opinions expressed in this editorial reflect those of its author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org. Printer-friendly version