With the local high school football season having kicked off last weekend for La Jolla Country Day School, and La Jolla High and The Bishop’s School getting under way this week, the La Jolla Village News recently talked to the three head coaches about the 2007 season.
LJVN: Name several key players on the offensive side of the ball this year.
Dave Ponsford (La Jolla): Last year’s two leading ground-gainers are back in the offensive backfield in senior fullback Ja’Rodd Watson (774 yards rushing, seven TDs) and tailback Jerrell Agnew (662 yards, seven TDs). Both players will start on defense as an end and back, respectively. Quarterbacking duties will fall to returner Matt Mulvey, who missed much of last season with an injury. Toward the end of the season last year, Mulvey shared the quarterbacking duties in the last three games and completed 11 of 19 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Another Viking who will contribute greatly this year in the backfield is junior Henry Nawahine. Nawahine will see some time at quarterback and will contribute at four other positions on both the offense and defensive sides of the ball. The Vikings will also count on senior Kevin Leyva and junior Hans Baker. This year’s tight end will be senior Garret Anderson. The receiving corps is led by senior John Jackson and junior Yoshi Rothman.
Jeff Hutzler (LJCD): Top players (offense and defense) include senior offensive/defensive lineman Andy Altman (out at the moment), senior kicker/punter Travis Golia, senior receiver/offensive lineman/defensive ends John Hansbrough and Mark Mannum, senior lineman Anthony Barkett, sophomore quarterback Dereh Hatfield and sophomore linebacker Montell Allen.
Mike David (Bishop’s School): Top players on both sides of the ball are Tommy Wornham (quarterback), Tim Costello (wide receiver), Saron Hood (wide receiver), Nicky Cox (defensive back/wide receiver), Michael Strauss (running back/linebacker), Jacob Kelly (running back), Hector Felix (offensive lineman/linebacker), Zach Franz (offensive lineman/linebacker), Mike P. Jensen (running back/safety), Austin Rutherford (lineman) and Mike D. Jensen (running back/linebacker).
LJVN: Name some key players on this year’s defensive side of the ball and special teams.
Ponsford: Last year’s leading tackler was middle linebacker Tony Sandoval. He will lead the always-strong defense coached by coordinator Rey Hernandez. Perhaps the strongest unit for the Vikings will be the defensive backfield. Senior Kevin Miller and junior Robbie Beathard are both hitters who have added 20 pounds of muscle this year. Senior Spencer Moyer played all season last year at cornerback, and along with Agnew, help solidify the pass coverage team. The kicking game has provided some of the strong pre-season competition this year. Juniors Lee Abelkop, Ethan Swerdlow and McCall Penn all have strong legs and are all fighting for punting, placekicking and kickoff time.
LJVN: While all games are important, what’s the one game you would circle on your calendar this season?
Ponsford: I would say that all of our league games are very important, but the two games against the league favorites, Mission Bay and Point Loma, will be big games for us. Not only do we need to get through these two tough opponents, but for La Jolla High, these have been big games for years.
Hutzler: We are looking forward to non-league games versus Bishop’s and Parker, and to our league game versus Army-Navy Academy. We have a very young team this year with two freshmen and nine sophomores on the varsity. We expect to challenge for our fourth consecutive Pacific League title.
David: The games our team is pointing to are the four Coastal League games. I don’t think there is a tougher league around.
LJVN: If you had to improve one thing from last season, what would it be?
Ponsford: One area where we need to improve over last year is with the offensive line. This year we are younger, but I feel that we have a good core of hardworking kids that will solidify our “Hogs.”
Hutzler: We are looking to improve our ability to throw the ball. Running back position is a question mark at this time. We’re looking to replace outstanding back Kevin Ings.
David: In the off-season, we have focused on getting stronger as a team and also faster. The results have been very good so far. Our kids were in the weight room for two hours a day this summer.
LJVN: What is the best thing about coaching this group of kids this season?
Ponsford: I would say the best things about working with these kids this year is that they really bought into the off-season with hard work. We set very high goals for the returning players, and most of the players bought into our lifting and running program. Our summer lifting days doubled over last summer and we increased by 16 the number of athletes who completed our summer running program. As a result, as a team, we are in the best physical shape that we have been in years. It is exciting to coach kids who have not just talked about having high team goals for this season but have been willing to lay the foundation for those goals with commitments of time and work. Our goals are to compete for league, make the Division IV playoffs and go further in the playoffs than any La Jolla team has in the last decade. However we do with these goals, it is exciting to be with a group of kids who have invested themselves totally into achieving them.
Hutzler: We have the largest squad in school history with over one-third of the boys on campus on the team. They are a terrific group of hardworking, smart and trustworthy young men with terrific senior leadership.
David: It is a real pleasure coaching this group of players. They always bring their best whether it’s at practice or the weight room. We can’t wait to see what happens on the field.
LJVN: Next up on the schedule?
Ponsford: The Vikings open the season against defending CIF Division IV champion Santa Fe Christian at Edwards Field Friday night (Aug. 31). The JVs kick off at 5 p.m., with the varsity kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Hutzler: We open the regular season this Friday night at home versus The Meadows School of Las Vegas. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. At 4 p.m., the JV Torreys will face the San Diego Jewish Academy’s varsity team, also at home.
David: We travel to Hawaii and open in Maui against Maui High School on Sept. 1.