Saturday, November 20, 2010

Former Mission Bay RB Dillon Baxter ruled ineligible at USC

A story on ESPN.com today reported that former Mission Bay High School standout running back Dillon Baxter was ruled ineligible by the USC Trojans after inappropriate contact with an agent.

The story says Baxter solicited a golf cart ride from an NFLPA-certified agent on Thursday, and that this violates NCAA policy regarding extra benefits for college athletes.

The news comes at an interesting time for Valley Center fans, with the Jaguars set to play Mission Bay on Friday night (in a rematch of last year's 48-17 trouncing the Buccaneers laid on the Jags behind seven touchdowns by Baxter).

Not that we're at all happy to see the young man have struggles of this kind, but perhaps it sheds a bit of light on why he seemed so difficult and unpopular during his record-setting high school career.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Videos: Valley Center vs Orange Glen football

Here are some video highlights from Valley Center's big win over Orange Glen in the regular season finale:

video by Dan Kidder

Beau Reilly takes off for a 25-yard touchdown in the first quarter:


David Last catches a pass on a hitch pattern and takes it down to the three yard line:


Travis Bernard punches it in from three yards out:


Bernard explodes through the line for an 84-yard touchdown run:


Reilly scrambles away from the pressure, then hits Taylor Oshinski, who gets into the endzone with some help from his offensive line:


Orange Glen runs a screen, but Zach Blanco makes the tackle for a loss:


Bernard starts out running right, but cuts back to the middle of the field and gets in for an easy touchdown:


Kenny Thomas gets to the quarterback for a sack:


Reilly hits Shonta Chaloux on an out pattern, and the receiver turns it into a ten-yard touchdown:


The Patriots complete a short pass, but Last lowers the boom with a big hit:


Reilly hits Oshinski on a short hitch, and the receiver breaks through tackles on his way to the endzone:


Martin Cunningham breaks through the line for a big sack:


Mike Rodriguez punches it in for a three-yard touchdown late in the game:

Photos: Valley Center vs Orange Glen football


Here are some photo highlights from the Jaguars' big win over Orange Glen last Friday.

Photos by Gabriel Santana

Travis Bernard escapes a defender's reach:
Beau Reilly scrambles...
...bounces off a tackle...
...and keeps going down the sideline for a touchdown in the first quarter:
David Last looks upfield after making the catch:
Bernard plows through the hole to the goal line:
Bernard gets in for the touchdown:
Damian Stehly wraps up the ball-carrier...
...and drags him down for a loss:
Bernard breaks free on a long run in the first half:
Bernard isn't going to be caught when he finds the open field:
Taylor Oshinski makes a catch at the 15...
...and gets shoved into the endzone by his teammates in the middle of this scrum:
Oshinski takes off down the sideline after the first of his two interceptions in the game:
The Jaguar defense gang-tackles another runner:
Last and Kenny Thomas combine to drag down the runner:
Oshinski turns up the field after his second interception:
Bernard crosses the goal line on his second touchdown run:
Shonta Chaloux makes the catch and turns it into a touchdown:
Oshinski puts a big hit on the Orange Glen receiver...
...and drops him for a short gain:
Dylan Smith (28) and Stehly Reden (66) get to the running back in the backfield:
Smith and Reden again combine for a big hit:
Bernard breaks through the line:
Chaloux makes another catch along the sideline:
Oshinski breaks through a tackle on his way to the endzone:
Nico Carrasco makes a big hit to break up this pass attempt:
Mike Rodriguez carries the ball in the fourth quarter:
Rodriguez dives over a defender...
...and lands in the endzone for the touchdown:
Stehly makes another tackle for a loss:
Martin Cunningham (52) celebrates a sack late in the game:
Garrett Fiehler took the handoff, broke to the sideline...
...outruns the defense...
...and scores on the final play of the game:

Big plays lead to big win for Jaguars over Orange Glen

Valley Center earns No. 1 ranking in CIF Division IV football playoffs

The Valley Center varsity football team sent a statement to the rest of CIF Division IV with a huge win over Orange Glen in the final game of the regular season.
The Jaguars rolled to a 70–0 victory over the rival Patriots at home on Friday night to secure the No. 1 seed in the CIF Division IV playoffs. The Jags earned a bye for the first week of the playoffs and will host the winner of this week’s game between Palo Verde and Mission Bay on Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.
In the big win, Valley Center running back Travis Bernard pushed his rushing yardage for the season above the 2,000-yard mark, making him the just twelfth running back in the North County to exceed that total in CIF history.
Bernard, who was coming off a rough game last week at Del Norte in which he hurt his ankle, surpassed the 2,000-yard mark on an 84-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that put the Jaguars up by 21 early in the game.
Senior wide receiver/defensive back Taylor Oshinski also had a big game with three catches for 79 yards and two touchdowns on offense, as well as a pair of interceptions, one of which he returned for a 40-yard touchdown, on defense.
“Last week we came out really slow, but this week we knew we had to come out fired up,” he said. “And this week, with Travis injured, we knew we had to step up, especially on defense.”
The Jaguar defense posted its second consecutive shutout and its fourth of the season, thanks in part to Oshinski’s efforts. And even though both teams ran the same number of plays (36), the Jaguars gained a total of 531 yards on offense while holding the Patriots to just 55, including only three total rushing yards.
“We came out with great intensity,” said middle linebacker Martin Cunningham. “We weren’t playing asleep like we did against Del Norte. It’s a great feeling to get the shutout and the undefeated [regular] season. We just have to keep playing hard, keep practicing hard and come out ready to play.”
Valley Center scored on each of its ten possessions in the game, with the exception of a kneel-down to end the first half. Twice the Jaguars scored on only one play, once they scored on two plays, and the most plays they ran in a drive was nine.
The Jaguars started out with the first possession of the game, and promptly marched 64 yards down the field in six plays to score the game’s first touchdown. Quarterback Beau Reilly scampered 25 yards in for the score, putting Valley Center ahead just over two minutes into the game.
Defensive end Kenny Thomas recorded a sack on the Jags’ first play on defense, and the Patriots were forced to punt two plays later.
The Jaguars needed only two plays to score, as Reilly hit slot receiver David Last on a hitch that Last took almost all the way down the sideline before getting knocked out of bounds at the three-yard line. Bernard pounded the ball into the endzone on the next play to give the Jaguars a 14-point lead with 7:26 left in the first quarter.
Another three-and-out by the Patriots gave the ball back to the Jaguars, but they took over at their own 16 after an illegal block on the punt return.
The long field didn’t stop the Jags from getting another quick score, as Bernard exploded through the middle of the line and outran the defense down the left sideline for an 84-yard touchdown with exactly five minutes left in the first quarter.
Orange Glen couldn’t stem the overwhelming tide of Valley Center’s momentum and turned the ball over on an interception to Oshinski on the first play of the ensuing drive.
Another illegal block penalty on the Jaguars backed them up to the Orange Glen 45 after the interception. The Jags embarked on their longest drive of the night, covering the 45 yards in nine plays and scoring on a 22-yard pass from Reilly to Oshinski with ten seconds remaining in the first quarter. On the play, Reilly scrambled to his left to avoid the pressure and found Oshinski at the eight-yard line. As the receiver battled through five defenders to get to the goal line, the rest of the Jaguars came in and pushed him across for the score.
Three plays later, Oshinski was in the endzone again, this time after he picked off a third-down pass and returned it 40 yards for the score, putting the Jags up by 35 with exactly 11 minutes left in the second quarter.
The Patriots picked up a first down for the first time in the game on the ensuing possession, but the Jaguars held on the next three plays and forced another punt.
Taking over at their own 38, the Jags needed only five plays to drive the 62 yards for another touchdown. Bernard scored his second touchdown of the game on a 29-yard run that started out toward the sideline but cut back to the middle of the field for the easy score.
The Valley Center defense stepped up again on the next drive, nearly intercepting a pass on second down before picking up another sack by Thomas on third down to force a punt once again.
The Jags picked up a big chunk of yards on first down on a reverse run by Last that covered 41 yards. Two plays later, Reilly hit flanker Shonta Chaloux in the flat, and Chaloux barreled in for the touchdown to put the Jaguars up by 49 with just under four minutes left in the first half.
Orange Glen picked up another first down on the ensuing possession, but the Jaguars held once again and forced another punt. With only two seconds left in the first half, the Jags simply took a knee and went into the locker room ahead by 49.
Because of the lopsided score, the second half was played with a running clock, giving each team only three possessions each. The Patriots turned the ball over on downs on their first drive of the half, then punted on their final two drives.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars scored on a five-play, 59-yard drive on their first possession, capping the drive with a 25-yard catch and run by Oshinski for the touchdown.
The second drive covered 43 yards in four plays and ended with a three-yard touchdown plunge by Mike Rodriguez.
The final score came on another one-play drive, this time as Garrett Fiehler took the handoff and broke free for a 59-yard touchdown on what turned out to be the game’s final play.
“We didn’t play well last week to start, and we weren’t ready as a team,” said head coach Rob Gilster. “We knew we had to come out stronger this week, and this is how it looks.”
Despite the big win, Gilster admitted that he isn’t sure what to expect in the playoffs.
“This is a tough one—we’d like to have a little tougher of a contest to know a little bit more about where we are,” he said. “But the guys played well, and we’re going to rest and get them refreshed for the playoffs.”
The Jaguars have two weeks to rest up for the next game, but due to the Division IV playoff schedule, the teams that advance to the championship game will have to play three games in a span of 12 days.
The quarterfinals take place on Friday, Nov. 26, then the semifinal games take place on Thursday, Dec. 2 before the championship game is played at Qualcomm Stadium at 10 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 6.

Jags finish unbeaten cross-country season with win in Valley League finals

The Valley Center varsity boys cross-country team continued its season-long winning streak, taking first place in the Valley League finals on Saturday.
This concluded an undefeated regular season for the Jaguars, as they earned their fifth league championship.
Senior runner Nicasio Westlund completed his own undefeated season to win the Valley League’s individual championship:
At league finals, the Jaguars competed against San Dieguito, Canyon Crest, Del Norte, and Orange Glen high schools. The race started at a fast pace as a group of runners completed the first mile in 4:52. The race then entered the back part of the course, and the Jaguars kept the pace up.
Westlund and Nick Vanderpool:
...took the top two positions and started to pull away, building a lead. Stephen Lopez:
...Travis Robey, Jon Larson, and Daniel Henderson were in the group following the two lead runners. Genaro Rodriguez, Logan Fidler, Alex Sanchez, Kyle Ryan, and Daniel Caballero were in the third pack of runners.
As the runners came out of the back portion of the course, Westlund was in the lead position and finished at 16:45, followed by Vanderpool who finished at 17:05.
Six Jaguars earned first-team honors and three more earned second-team honors with their outstanding finishes.
Valley Center’s top five runners took positions one, two, four, seven and nine, earning 23 points. San Dieguito had 62 points for second place, Canyon Crest was third with 72 points, Del Norte scored 93 points for fourth and Orange Glen took fifth with 137 points.
Valley Center Jaguars placed six runners in the top ten positions and nine of the top 20 positions.
For the girls, Bama Velazquez raced well, placing ninth:
...and Dani Lettice placed eleventh:
Velasquez earned first-team honors and Lettice earned second-team honors.
The boys have trained hard and have been racing well. Next up, the Jaguars will run in the CIF finals at Morley field on Saturday. The boys race is at 8:30 a.m. and the girls race starts at 9:30 a.m.
Photos by Gabriel Santana

Lady Jags advance to CIF semifinals in field hockey

The Valley Center varsity field hockey team has scored only two goals in its last two games, but the Lady Jaguars were winners in both games, finishing out the regular season with a win over Canyon Crest Academy and starting off the post-season with a win over Helix.
The Lady Jags played at Canyon Crest on Nov. 2 in the final game of the regular season, and after scoring early, held on for a 1–0 win.
Laura Sengestacke scored the lone goal in the first half, and Danielle Moran made five saves in goal for Valley Center to get the victory.
The win gave the Lady Jaguars second place in the Valley League this season with a 19–6–1 overall record, and set them up with a home game to start the CIF playoffs.
Hosting Helix on Saturday, the Lady Jaguars again battled for an early goal in the first half and held on through a scoreless second half in a 1–0 win.
This time, the goal came from a penalty stroke by Jennifer Brossart after the Helix goalie sat on the ball before it crossed the goal line. Brossart put the shot in the right corner for the goal, and the Lady Jags didn’t look back.
“We were able to change the momentum after a slow start,” head coach Katy Moyneur said of the playoff win. “We got aggressive and goal-hungry, and in the second half, we dominated.”
The Lady Jaguars move on to the second round, where they will have played at La Jolla on Tuesday in a rematch of the regular season opener.
“We lost two-to-one in the first game, so it should be a good game,” Moyneur added. “We need to be aggressive and play the whole sixty minutes. We have flashes of greatness every game, but we need to play the whole game that way.”

Photos: 2010 Turkey Trot Races

Check out the photos from the 2010 Turkey Trot races at Lilac School on Friday on our Facebook page:

Turkey Trot runners & winners

Turkey Trot photos

Photos by Cathy Schwickert

Pam Hargesheimer takes first place in World Championship Appaloosa Show

Equestrian show veteran Pam Hargesheimer of Valley Center has waited a long time for this.
Hargesheimer and her appaloosa Skipa Maxi Treat won the Non-Pro Masters Hunt Seat Equitation division in the 2010 World Championship Appaloosa Show, which took place in Fort Worth, Texas, from Oct. 22–30.
“It’s been a long journey,” she says. “My mom was a horse trainer, but I had never really won any medals. After eighteen years of trying, and after spending the last year training after work, riding in the dark, and walking on treadmills just to be ready, it finally worked out.”
Hargesheimer has come close to winning the championship, after she won the Reserve Champion award for taking second place in 2006 and 2009. But taking the first place prize has been something she admits has been on her “bucket list” for a long time.
In addition to taking the win, Skipa Maxi Treat, known to the Hargesheimers as Daddy Max, was the Reserve World Champion in the Hunter In Hand Four & Older Stallion division, took sixth in the Aged Stallions Halter division and finished ninth in the Novice Non-Pro Western Equitation division.
Pam and her husband, Dean, have been showing appaloosas since 1992, coincidentally the same year that their champion, Skipa Maxi Treat, was born. Both Hargesheimers are used to being around horses, especially Pam, whose mother was Peg Richardson, the founder of TLC Riding Center in Norco.
“I grew up with a mom who was horse crazy,” Pam says. “When I was thirteen, my grandma bought me my first horse, and that was it.”
Pam and Dean both spent their childhoods around horses and horse shows, and they found a mutual connection through their love of all things equestrian. Even though they both say they got a little sidetracked with marriage and raising children, their mutual interest in horse showing came through again.
“It was our daughter’s fault. She told us, ‘I want a horse!’ and we got her one,” Pam says with a laugh.
Along with their champion stallion, who is double registered as an appaloosa and a palomino, the Hargesheimers also have another appaloosa named Couldn’t Get Much Hotter.
“He is loud,” Pam says of the young horse’s dramatic coloring. “He’s the typical appaloosa; white with polka dots.”
The Hargesheimers work with the Calizona Appaloosa Horse Club, supporting and promoting club events and competing in open shows. They also sponsor youth riders on occasion, saying that equestrian sports are a good outlet for kids.
And the Hargesheimers also have a secondary passion, currently in the form of a 1948 Plymouth convertible still in mid-assembly in their garage. Dean estimates its progress at about 60 percent, and Pam jokes about whether or not they will put a trailer hitch on it to haul their horses back and forth to competitions.
“Very funny, Pamela,” Dean replies.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Bonus video: Valley Center vs Del Norte football

Here's a bonus video of the altercation between the Jaguars and the Nighthawks in last week's football game. Keep an eye on No. 21 in blue as he hits No. 9, John Watkins, after the whistle, which sparks the brawl.

My official reaction: this kind of thing has no place in sports, and everyone involved should be ashamed of himself.

My unofficial reaction: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!!! (I also enjoy Stehly Reden calmly wading into the fray and tossing guys off the pile with one hand. It must be fun to be that big sometimes.)

Anyway, here's the video, courtesy of Brandon Usher:

Friday, November 12, 2010

Videos: Valley Center at Del Norte football

Here are some video highlights from Valley Center's football game at Del Norte on Friday:

video by Kelly Kidder

Beau Reilly hits Taylor Oshinski with a quick pass for a good gain early in the game:


Reilly finds TE Jean-Marc Brierre down the seam, and the big tight end runs over and through the defense for the touchdown:


Travis Bernard battles through a tackle and falls backward into the endzone for his first touchdown of the night:


David Last catches a nice pass from Reilly on the post pattern and gets into the endzone for the touchdown:


The Nighthawks try to run a screen pass to the running back, but the Valley Center defense is all over the play for a big loss:


Mike Rodriguez gets a short gain, but keep an eye on WR John Watkins (No. 9) and on Del Norte defender David Belcher (No. 21), who runs into Watkins after the whistle. The two players got into a shoving match, and both were penalized for the extra-curricular activities:


Reilly connects with Last, who gets hit out of bounds after the whistle. The Nighthawks were penalized for this late hit, but the overly-physical style of play did not seem to change throughout the remainder of the game:


Bernard has a nice run, looks for the goal line, but has the ball knocked away. Del Norte recovered the fumble in the endzone for a touchback:


Reilly hits Last again, and he fights through a tackle to get in for the touchdown:


Reilly hits Watkins for a good gain along the sideline. The Valley Center sideline wanted a late hit flag on Del Norte, but there was no penalty called on the play. Should there have been? Post a comment to share your thoughts:


Reilly fakes the handoff, runs right and hurdles a defender at the goal line to score his second rushing touchdown of the game:


Backup QB Watkins finds OL/TE Stehly Reden in the open, and heshakes off a defender on his way into the endzone:

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Photos: Valley Center at Del Norte football

Here are some photo highlights from the Jaguars' big shutout at Del Norte on Friday:

Photos by Gabriel Santana

Shonta Chaloux (12), Damian Stehly (85), Kenny Thomas (57), Dylan Smith (28) and I assume that's Martin Cunningham (52) all combine to make the stop:
Taylor Oshinski makes the catch:
...and gets driven out of bounds by a pair of tacklers:
Jean-Marc Brierre grabs a pass down the seam, stiff-arms a defender...
...runs away from the defense...
...and skips into the endzone for the first touchdown of the game:
David Last goes up high to snag this pass for a long completion:
Thomas dives for the Del Norte runner:
Travis Bernard (22) leaps over one tackler and tries to go through a second:
Bernard has a big hole to run through on this play...
...and he takes advantage with a good gain:
Bernard scores the second touchdown of the game:
Bernard has lots more running room:
Bernard gets dragged down:
Jacob Beason (84) and Zach Blanco (91) move in for the tackle:
Last catches another one in open space...
and has no trouble finding the endzone:
Stehly Reden (66) delivers a punishing hit:
Smith drags down the runner:
More running room for Bernard up the middle:
Chaloux lays a big hit on the Del Norte running back:
Reden delivers another bone-crunching hit:
Quarterback Beau Reilly (16) goes airborne for extra yardage on the ground:
Stehly Reden cuts a Paul Bunyan-esque figure on the field:
Cunningham and Beason get to the running back:
Beason wraps up the runner as Last gets set to deliver a hit...
...and when he delivers it, the ball comes loose, and the Jaguars recover:
Last dives in for his second touchdown reception of the night:
Reilly cuts back, looking for more room in the middle of the field...
...and escapes a clinging tackler:
John Watkins makes the grab and shakes a defender...
...well, almost shakes him...but he gets a good gain:
Garrett Fiehler plows through the line in the second half:
Last gets caught around the ankles after another reception:
Reilly takes to the air again...
...and hurdles into the endzone for his second rushing touchdown:
Mike Rodriguez gains some tough yards:
Reden (wearing the No. 88 jersey that makes him an eligible receiver) shakes off a defender on his way to the endzone: