CIF rules Madison football player ineligible; Division IV title still up in the air

The Valley Center High School varsity football team came so close to capturing its fifth CIF championship this season, falling to Madison 40–14 at Qualcomm Stadium in December.
But now, it turns out the game shouldn’t have happened.
The CIF San Diego Section has notified both Valley Center and Madison that an ineligible player was used by the Warhawks, which would wipe out 11 of Madison’s wins this season.
There is a 15-day waiting period for the schools to review the findings and appeal, if they so choose.
The big question is, what will happen to the CIF Division IV championship?
“It’s unfortunate for everybody,” said VCHS principal Ron McCowan. “We feel like everybody got cheated out of a championship—Madison, us, the other schools in Division Four—it shouldn’t have happened this way.”
No one seems to know whether the championship will be awarded to Valley Center by virtue of a forfeit, or if the title will simply be vacated. But McCowan says that’s not what he’s worried about.
“We’re not real interested in winning a championship that way,” he said. “What we are interested in is making sure that we’re all held to the same set of rules and that we have a level playing field for everybody. The rules we have in place are pretty good, but only if they’re followed.”
VCHS varsity football coach Rob Gilster echoed the concern for ensuring fair play in the future.
“To me, they beat us on the field with one ineligible guy, so it is what it is,” he said. “But, as a coach, if I’m held to a standard by my principal, my athletic director and my superintendent, I want to be sure that other coaches are being held to that same standard. We went through this same process with two players who were ineligible this year, and if it’s that way for us, it has to be that way for everybody.”
No matter what the final outcome is, neither McCowan or Gilster seems pleased by what’s happening.
“It adds a feeling of bitterness,” McCowan said. “Our kids don’t get to celebrate a championship, their kids don’t get to, and nobody wins.”
“Everybody loses,” Gilster added. “We try to teach these kids life lessons. Every day, you make choices, and we want to see them make good choices. This is a bad deal, but we have to look forward and ask, ‘Does this make all of us better next year?’ We just have to keep moving forward and make sure we’re all on the same page.”

VC Avengers rugby team set for season finale against Temecula

John Turori leaves Cathedral Catholic players in his wake on this run (photos by Teresa Everett)

By: BEN EVERETT
As the Valley Center Avengers look to close out their inaugural season this Saturday with a home game against Temecula, the town’s newly emerging U19 rugby club can look back upon several months defined by exciting potential and a devastating lack of numbers. Competing in the traditionally short high school season which immediately precedes the longer, more meaningful springtime club season, our team has faced only three opponents thus far (having had two other games canceled due to forfeit). Before finally fielding a full squad of fifteen against Fallbrook– the fifth-ranked team in America– in a losing effort on the 15th, the Avengers had struggled to cope with borrowed players and inexperience in losses to San Pasqual and Cathedral Catholic.
Valley Center hopes to avenge those frustrating defeats this Saturday at 2:00 on the middle school soccer field during their final game of the high school season. Anyone wanting an introduction to the fast-growing sport, or simply a pleasant afternoon of wholesome family fun, is welcome to come watch as the club battles for its first ever official win.
Fortunately for the Avengers, and for any local boys interested in rugby, their playing days won’t be over after Saturday’s game. The club season, which involves more teams, more matches, and better competition, begins in February, and needless to say, our local team is still searching for new players to become a part of this exciting sport.
A game whose true nature lies somewhere in between soccer and football, rugby retains the fluid gameplay and evenly distributed ball-handling of its European predecessor, intermixed with many of the positions and principles (the physical ones, especially) of modern football, the pastime that grew out of it. In short, rugby is an intense, dynamic sport that is as almost as fun to watch as it is to play. The upcoming club season is open to any Valley Center athletes born after August 31st, 1991 – no prior experience required. The Avengers practice Monday-Thursday from 3:30-5:00 on the Lower Elementary football field, and would love to see you drop by. For more information, contact Coach George Turori at (760) 522-6194 or get in touch with the team on their Facebook page, “Valley Center Rugby Club.”

Garrett Fiehler outruns the Cathedral Catholic defense on his way to scoring a try.

John Turori looks to pass the ball after making contact with a Cathedral Catholic player.

VC Little League seeks information about the history of the league

Valley Center Little League (VCLL) is approaching opening night in March, and to help celebrate a new season, the league would like to commemorate some of the history of VCLL through the years.
VCLL president Bill Layne is looking to collect stories, photos, documents and any other memorabilia to be put together as the introduction to the 2011 VCLL yearbook.
“We've not done a yearbook in the eight years I've been associated with the league,” Layne says. “But as a kid, that was one of the highlights of playing little league for me and I really enjoyed revisiting those books as I got older. I'm sure most parents will love to have a collection of their children’s little league years to look back on when the kids are beyond little league age.”
The information the league is looking for is about how VCLL came to be, the evolution from playing at Matics field behind the post office and the development of the current facility behind the community center.
Anyone with information can contact Layne by e-mail at teamlayne@vcweb.org or by phone at 760-638-0659.

VC Junior Lacrosse holds sign-ups and a fund-raiser

Tired of playing the same old sports? Play the fastest game on two feet and join the Valley Center boys junior lacrosse team. Player registrations are being accepted for the 2011 season. Boys in grades 5–8 are eligible to play. Practices start Feb. 12 with games played March through May. Loan equipment is available. Visit www.vclacrosse.org for more information and registration forms or call coach Morgan Rogers at 76-751-9835.
The Valley Center Lacrosse Foundation is looking for a head coach and assistants for the Valley Center middle school level boys lacrosse team and their upcoming 2011 spring season. The team and coaches will have the strong support of the Foundation. The boys program is well established and in its fifth season of play. Interested persons should contact coach Morgan Rogers.

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The Valley Center Lacrosse Foundation is hosting a Valentine’s Day wine tasting and tour at Orfila Vineyards & Winery in Escondido on Feb. 12 from 2–4 p.m.
The event includes an accompanied tour with samples of five distinct and unique varietals, a souvenir wine glass, and the wonderful company of Valley Center Lacrosse Foundation supporters.
A single event ticket costs $50 while couples tickets are $100 for the pair.
An opportunity drawing also allows the chance to pick up something special for your favorite lacrosse player or your special valentine. One drawing ticket is included with admission, and additional tickets are available for $5 each or six for $20.
To order a ticket, or for more information, contact Lucy Daniel-Bosworth at TBosw51133@aol.com or 760-751-0786, Pam Postuma at PCPostuma@yahoo.com or 760-749-7453, or Lisa Brewster at lbrewster@prioritydoors.com or 760-751-3583.
Under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code Tax id# 20-1887721, contributions for this event may be tax deductible. Check with your accountant for more information.

Two Jaguar football stars commit to play in Colorado

Travis Bernard (22) and Beau Reilly (16) are both headed to the state of Colorado for college.

A pair of Valley Center football stars will be playing their college ball in the state of Colorado.
Quarterback Beau Reilly recently committed orally to play at Colorado State University (CSU), while running back Travis Bernard committed on Saturday to play at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC).
Bernard, a finalist for the KUSI Prep Pigskin Report Silver Pigskin Award, rushed for 2,790 yards in his senior season, the third-best rushing total in CIF San Diego Section history. He says that meeting the UNC coaching staff, led by head coach Earnest Collins Jr., was what led him to make his commitment there.
“I was able to interact with the coaches in such a comfortable way, and we bonded,” he says. “The way I was able to talk with them so easily, it was different than it was at any other school I talked to.”
Bernard is also excited about battling for a starting spot at running back right away.
“They want me to come in and compete for a starting spot right away, so that’s what I’m working for in the off-season,” he says. “I think there are three other guys competing for the job, so I’m going to go up about a month early to work out with the team as much as possible.”
As for his final year as a Jaguar, Bernard says that he’s excited about playing at the next level, but he will always appreciate what he and his teammates accomplished in 2010.
“It really meant a lot to play on this team with my friends,” he says. “And I’m really looking forward to playing in college.”
Reilly, meanwhile, led the Jaguars with 1,953 passing yards and 15 touchdowns through the air. The six-foot-six quarterback comes from a family of outstanding collegiate athletes, with his three older brothers playing at the next level. Oldest brother AJ is a basketball player at Westminster College, next oldest brother Trevor plays defensive end at Utah and Drew is a safety at Colorado State.
But the quarterback of the family won’t be slinging passes in college for a couple of years, because he will first go on a two-year Mormon mission.
When Reilly returns, he will play for a CSU team that runs a similar style of offense run at Valley Center, and features a quarterbacks coach in Orange Glen alum Daren Wilkinson who will help the young signal-caller hone his ability.
One other Jaguar, offensive tackle Stehly Reden, has committed to play at Brigham Young University (BYU). National Signing Day for high school athletes signing their national letter of intent is Feb. 2 this year.

Jaguars back on track after two straight basketball wins

AJ Broomell puts up a three-pointer against El Cajon Valley (photo by Gabriel Santana).

After suffering a four-point loss in the waning moments of the first game in league play, the Valley Center varsity boys basketball team bounced back for a pair of convincing wins to get back on track this week.
The Jaguars couldn’t hold on to an early lead in the league opener against Canyon Crest Academy last Tuesday, and ended up taking a 58–54 loss.
The Jags scored 19 points in the first quarter to take a commanding ten-point lead, but Canyon Crest came back with 15 points in the second to narrow the margin to six points at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Ravens pulled even by outscoring the Jaguars 18–12. Down the stretch, the Jags couldn’t get their shots to fall when they needed them and were outscored by five in the fourth quarter.
Stehly Reden turned in another monster performance with 30 points, while AJ Broomell added 11, James Siva had seven, Robby Tortes had four and Mike McInerny had two.
The Jaguars turned the week around on Thursday at Del Norte, as they scored big in the first and fourth quarters to take a 60–43 win.
Valley Center pulled out to another ten-point lead with 18 points in the first quarter, but once again, faltered in the second quarter, allowing 17 points to Del Norte and leading by only four at halftime.
But this time, the Jags came out of the locker room fired up and outscored the Nighthawks 31–18 in the second half, holding Del Norte to just five points in the fourth quarter, to take the win.
Reden once again racked up a game-high 30 points to lead the Jaguars, while Broomell added 14, Beau Reilly had five, McInerny had four, Siva had three and Tortes and Brett Henderson each had two.
The Jags finished off the week with a Saturday night game at home against El Cajon Valley, and dominated in the second half to take a 70–40 win.
Valley Center fed Reden down low early and often, and the big center racked up seven points in the opening period in leading the Jags to a 16–13 lead through the first quarter. With Reden catching his breath on the bench, Tortes stepped up for the Jags and scored eight points in the second quarter, giving Valley Center a 32–24 lead at halftime.
The Jaguars spread the ball around very effectively in the third quarter, as Reden and Tortes combined for 12 points down low and Broomell and McInerny combined for six points shooting from outside.
In the fourth quarter, Reden helped the Jaguars put the game away with 13 points, while Tortes added six more to seal the win.
Reden scored 26 points to complete his unbelievable week of 86 points, while Tortes scored 20, Broomell had ten, McInerny had eight, Dan Henderson had three, Reilly had two and Siva had one.
Valley Center is now 11–8 overall and 2–1 in league. Next up, the Jaguars host Orange Glen on Friday night at 7 p.m.

Photos by Ray Flores:


















Photos by Gabriel Santana:

Oros wins, Jags take ninth in San Pasqual wrestling tourney

Senior wrestler Juan Oros not only won the 105-pound weight class, but was also given the Most Outstanding Lightweight Wrestler award in the San Pasqual Wrestling Tournament this weekend.
The day didn’t start off as planned for Oros, however. Overweight by nearly a pound with only thirty minutes to shed the weight, Oros had to somehow work the weight off in the back seat of Coach Miller’s pickup truck. With the heater blasting, Oros did sit-ups and pepper-steps in the back seat until he arrived at San Pasqual High School right on weight.
Pinning all three opponents on the way to the finals, Oros was confident that he would win the championship. However, his finals match-up opponent, Jordon Griffin of Hilltop High, had other plans.
Oros spent a lot of energy executing two hard driving takedown attempts in the first period, only to come up scoreless. What was expected to be an easy victory for Oros turned out to be an aggravating, back-and-forth battle that ended up a tie in regulation time. So the match went into sudden death overtime, first takedown wins. Griffin attempted and nearly scored a double leg takedown, but Oros was able to counter the attack and stepped over for the takedown and the championship.
Junior Dylan Smith continued his winning ways at 162 pounds by finishing third place. Placing in their first varsity tournament, junior Damian Stehly finished third at 173 pounds, sophomore Daquota Avila finished second place at 137 pounds, and sophomore Christian Guerrero finished in fifth place at 132 pounds.
The Jaguars finished ninth as a team in a field of 23 schools.
Bouncing back from a Valley League loss to Orange Glen Patriots, 52–19, the Jaguars defeated the San Dieguito Academy Mustangs, 60–12. Individual winners were: Juan Oros (105 pounds), Zach Dewey (127 pounds), Christian Guerrero (132 pounds), Daquota Avila (137 pounds), Kevin Murphy(147 pounds), Damian Stehly (162 pounds), Dylan Smith (173 pounds), Jesus Diaz (191 pounds), and Aydin Cooper (heavyweight).

Big first quarter leads to big water polo win for Lady Jaguars

The Valley Center varsity girls water polo team played an outstanding game on offense and defense to come up with a big league win this week.
The Lady Jaguars took on Canyon Crest Academy on Thursday at Adams Park and after building a huge lead early on, put the game away for a 14–5 win.
The Lady Jags came out pumped for this game after defeating the Lady Ravens by only one goal in the last meeting.
The Lady Jags took a solid 7–0 lead in the first quarter. Valley Center was able to back that up with three more goals in the second, while keeping Canyon Crest scoreless to lead 10–0 at half.
Canyon Crest was able to put away three goals in the third while allowing two for the Lady Jaguars. But both teams were able to score two in the fourth, giving the Lady Jags the big win.
“The girls had an excellent first quarter that really set the tone for the game,” head coach Kyle Kline said. “We were able to convert on some counterattacks and some cross cage shots which were created from playing solid defense. Carina and Maddy had huge games as well as Nikki, and it was good to get some other girls scoring and having eight players involved in assists.”
Maddy Daugherty had five goals, four assists, seven steals, and earned one exclusion. Carina Favela had five goals, two assists. Nikki Paredes played well with two goals, two assists, two steals, and earned one exclusion. Makayla Markey had one goal, one assist, one steal, and earned one exclusion. Macy Morrison had one goal, one steal, and earned one exclusion. Dani Lettice had two assists, a huge block, and earned one exclusion. Nicole Marler had one assist, and two steals. Sarah Mitchell had three steals. Melissa Persichetti played well in the goal with seven goal saves.
Next up for the Lady Jags is a game against Orange Glen at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday at Adams Park.

Lady Jags split two basketball games

Valley Center’s varsity girls basketball team put together another solid win to start league play this week, but came up just three points short of making it two in a row.
The Lady Jaguars played an outstanding game from start to finish in a 47–34 win over Canyon Crest Academy last Tuesday.
The Lady Jags doubled up the Lady Ravens with 16 points in the first quarter, but Canyon Crest narrowed the margin by two points in the second quarter to leave Valley Center with a six-point lead at halftime.
But that was as close as the Lady Ravens would get, as the Lady Jaguars held them to just seven points in each of the final two periods, while racking up 21 points of their own in the half to put the win away.
Lauren Gilster led all scorers with 16 points, while Miriam Zabinsky wasn’t far behind with 15 points, Sidney Reilly scored five, Andie Wagner had four, Victoria Navarro had three, and Vinessa Perryman and Darin Gilmore each had two.
Valley Center played again on Friday at Del Norte, but after a slow start, the Lady Jags just missed out on a big comeback in a 43–40 loss.
The Lady Jaguars could only muster four points in the first quarter, while Del Norte didn’t fare much better with eight points in the opening period. Valley Center narrowed the gap by one with nine points in the second quarter, but the Lady Nighthawks still held a three-point lead at the break.
Del Norte came out of the locker room on fire, scoring 13 in the third quarter, while holding the Lady Jaguars to just seven, to push the lead up to nine heading into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Jaguar offense came to life with 20 points, but Del Norte tacked on 14 to take the close win.
Zabinsky racked up 15 points to lead the way for Valley Center, while Gilster added nine, Reilly had seven, Kelly Imgrund had five and Perryman had four.
The Lady Jaguars are now 10–11 overall and 1–1 in league. They play again on Friday at home against Orange Glen at 5:30 p.m.

Ridgeview Church to host concert on Saturday

An exciting new band consisting of three brothers will be performing at Ridgeview Church on Saturday evening.
No, it’s not those brothers. The band is called 3Union and is made up of the Boyd brothers: Ryan, age 16; Shaun, age 18; and Brandon, age 20. The trio recently opened for Christian artists Jeremy Camp, Keith Urban and Kris Allen.
The doors will open at 6 p.m. and the concert will begin at 6:30. Tickets will be available at the door for $5, or you can buy presale tickets at Ridgeview Church. The band will be selling CDs and T-shirts at the concert and the snack bar will be open.
For more information please call Ridgeview Church at 760-751-9890 or check out the band on the 3Union Web site at www.threeunion.com/

VC Little League looking for classic cars

To help celebrate opening day this March, Valley Center Little League (VCLL) would like to invite anyone in the community with any restored classic Chevrolet cars or trucks to be a part of the start of the new season.
The car show is part of this year’s opening day theme, “Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie & Chevrolet.” Opening night is March 4, and anyone who is willing to bring their restored Chevy to the field is asked to be at the field at 4:30 p.m. that evening. The fields will open to the public at 5 p.m. for food and car viewing, then team introductions will take place at 6 p.m. and the first game starts at 7:30 p.m.
Anyone who is interested should contact VCLL president Bill Layne by e-mail at teamlayne@vcweb.org or by phone at 760-638-0659.

VC Girls Softball League visits Palomar College for skills clinic

The Valley Center Girls Softball League (VCGSL) recently teamed up with the Palomar College Lady Comets for an exciting clinic.
On Jan. 8, over 50 girls from the VCGSL traveled to Palomar College for a one-day clinic with the Lady Comets. The girls, ranging from age 4–14, participated in a true college-level softball practice focusing on their skills in batting, pitching, catching, fielding, base running, team spirit and even dancing.
Despite the chilly weather, VCGSL heated up the field with their talent and heart. The awestruck girls broke off into groups and had one-on-one and group instruction given by their big sisters. Everyone walked away with a smile on their face and pumped to make the 2011 season a smash!
VCGSL expresses gratitude to the Palomar College Comets for a memorable day and plenty of new goals to achieve.