A number of Mission Bay High fall sports teams are winding their way through the October schedule.
On the gridiron, the Bucs (3-4) under head coach Willie Matson have a big game this coming weekend at Morse. Homecoming is Oct. 28 against Scripps Ranch. Matson noted the play of running back Kenyon Sims and junior defensive back Kenny Russell. Field hockey
In field hockey action, the Bucs under head coach Kris Auer come into this week with a record of 6-4.
According to Auer, one of the key players to date this season has been Naomy Espinosa.
“She is our most consistent week in and week out,” Auer commented. “Her work rate is through the roof and she helps us at both ends of the field.”
Mission Bay is opening Eastern League play, with Auer noting, “Our goal is to win every game and win the league. We have a very realistic shot at doing so.” Beach volleyball
In boys beach volleyball, the Bucs under head coach Nikki Caufield finished their second season of league play with a 2-2 record (tied for second in the Southern League), losing to Coronado last Thursday in a windy match on the island.
According to Caufield, “Coronado has played every match at home this season where the wind direction and velocity are a huge advantage. A number of our games were very close, but we really struggled with the unfamiliar wind direction and velocity. If we play them next year we’ll definitely play them on our home courts.”  The tentative playoff schedule has the MBHS boys getting a bye in the first round of the Division II playoffs, and then playing either Scripps Ranch or San Marcos on Oct. 26 in Ocean Beach.
“We are very happy to get a first-round bye and will have to wait to see whether we play Scripps Ranch or San Marcos. As we beat Scripps Ranch in our league, we match up against them pretty well,” Caufield stated.
The junior varsity high school pairs championships were slated to be held yesterday (Oct. 19) in Ocean Beach.
“We have a couple of really solid young teams with Ian Briski/Dusty Schroeder, Zander Caufield/Tetsoro Escadero, and Jake Smythos/Ryan Derry that could make a very serious run in the JV tournament this year,” Caufield remarked. In reassessing her varsity squad, Caufield added, “Last year was the first year for the program and we didn’t win a single match.
” This year we’ve doubled our win total from last year, tied for second in the league, and could easily be 3-1 going into playoffs. We are very proud of the hard work the boys have been putting in on the court.”