The Point Loma High School (PLHS) football team not only kept the now-mythical “Shoe” trophy in their annual battle with La Jolla High School (LJHS), but the damage they inflicted on LJHS could have been much worse if the Pointers first-stringers were kept on the field all day. The final score of 31-8 didn’t nearly describe the ease with which the Dogs devoured the outclassed Vikings. Most punishing to LJHS was Pointer running back Jaivon Griffin, whose 85-yard touchdown run three minutes into the second half left a number of would-be Viking tacklers sprawled on the turf as he upped his team’s lead to 31-0. At this point, head coach Mike Hastings and staff took the high road, signaling their second- and third-stringers to loosen up for some extended action. Griffin’s totals for the afternoon were 173 yards on 12 runs, an average of more than 14 yards per carry. He scored three times. Even without his long touchdown, Griffin still picked up eight yards per touch. As a team, the Pointers gained 262 yards on the afternoon on only 34 offensive plays, an average of 7.7 yards per snap. Quarterback Sam Augustine completed two of three passes for 50 yards, including a touchdown toss to Matt Magers on a fourth-down play from the Viking 28 shortly before halftime. A Felipe Soares field goal from 42 yards out with Griffin’s first two touchdown runs sent the teams to the break with a 24-0 Pointer lead. The Vikings found out quickly they couldn’t run the ball (30 carries for 47 total yards) and opted instead to take to the air, where two quarterbacks combined for 120 yards — many of them while Pointer starters watched from the sidelines with the game’s outcome no longer in doubt. Junior Sydney Rush and sophomores Tanner Manion and Grant Wilborn each picked off Viking passes in the second half, but Pointer reserves were unable to pad the lead. The Vikings avoided a shutout after they picked off a fourth-quarter Augustine pass. Their score and two-point conversion came with 1:43 left in the rout. BITS ’N’ BITES: • The game was selected by the local chapter of the National Football Foundation as its prep Game of the Week. A foundation representative on hand selected Griffin as the Pointers’ Most Valuable Player. Griffin will be invited to attend a luncheon and the group’s annual banquet in March with other MVPs from the season. In addition, he will receive tickets to a Chargers game. • In the last eight years, the Pointers have outscored the Vikings 189-66 in winning every game. • The actual “Shoe” trophy that is part of the PLHS/LJHS rivalry reportedly is in the possession of the widow of a former Vikings coach. This particular rivalry is one of the county’s oldest. However, during a gap of several years in the series, the trophy was apparently given to an ill La Jolla coach who later passed.
