Are you ready for some football?
Three local scholastic teams certainly are. La Jolla Country Day School, The Bishop’s School and La Jolla High are set to kick off their campaigns over the next week.
At La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School, the Torreys and head coach Jeff Hutzler come off a 10-2 campaign, winning the Pacific League crown and reaching the CIF Division V semifinals before falling to Christian.
Among the players lost to graduation was Pacific League Player of the Year, tailback/cornerback Lance Rutledge, who rushed for 1,707 yards and 25 TDs last season. He also had 35 tackles and three interceptions on defense.
Looking to shine this fall will be first team all-league defensive back Kevin Ings (11 interceptions last season), second team all-league tight end/linebacker Jamie Coleman, first team all-league tight end/defensive end Mark Schu, second team all-league running back/linebacker Collin Tuck, quarterbacks Matt Mulligan and Zack Kushnir, linemen Nikil Najaraj, Andy Altman, Anthony Burket, Alex Ferre, Alex Yanez, (second team all-league last season), and running back Alex Maire.
“The offensive and defensive line will be the strength of the team due to the boys [named] above,” Hutzler said. “We must find and settle on a starting QB but at this point, although both boys look very solid, neither has won the job outright yet.”
The Torreys have the largest squad in school history with 58 boys out, topping last season’s record of 48 participants.
LJCD opens at Rick Hansen High School in British Columbia, Canada on Sept. 2.
At The Bishop’s School, new head coach Mike David and the Knights will also have league and CIF aspirations on their minds this fall.
According to David, key players look to include quarterback Tommy Wornham, tight end/linebacker Chase Jensen, running backs/linebackers Michael Strauss and Patrick Carrillo, running backs and safeties Will Peck and Tim Costello, wide receivers Saron Hood (also at cornerback) and Toby Hernandez, running back/cornerback Jacob Kelly and lineman Zach Franz.
“We are very young but have a number of players with varsity experience,” David noted. “Our players were very dedicated in the off-season. We feel that we are much stronger and faster than in the spring. We expect to do very well in our league and division.”
Bishop’s will open the season at La Jolla High on Sept. 1 vs. Mt. Empire.
At La Jolla High School, head coach Dave Ponsford and the Vikings will look to several players to lead the way and improve on last season’s 6-6 record. La Jolla lost in the CIF semifinals 23-17 to eventual champion Valley Center.
According to Ponsford, key players look to include senior Blake Shelburne, who started both as a safety on defense and was the team’s leading wide receiver last year with 19 catches for 317 yards and five touchdowns.
The running back position battle is between senior Yien Gatkouth (56 carries for 251 yards, two TDs) and junior Jerrell Agnew (who had 2,200 yards on the JV squad last year). The quarterback decision is between junior Matt Mulvey, who quarterbacked the JV last year, and senior Casey Richmond.
The strong point of the team will reportedly be the defensive line, with returnees Ja’Rood Watson (who also started at fullback last year), senior Edward Johnson (who also started at tight end last year) and senior Richard Moore (who will also start on the offensive line). The linebackers will be led in the middle by seniors Andres Liera, Kevin Jones and Brendan Cummings.
“The offensive line is the biggest question mark going into this season,” Ponsford noted. “All five positions will be new starters this year, who will led by Moore. We will go as far as the development of the offensive line allows us. I am hopeful they will develop.”
La Jolla opens the season on Sept. 2 at Santa Fe Christian.
” Editor’s note: Look for more fall sports previews in the Sept. 7 issue.