Video: Valley Center vs. Brawley, CIF football playoffs

Here are the video highlights of the Jaguars' huge win over Brawley in the CIF Division IV quarterfinals on Friday night.

Due to some technical issues (ie, a video camera with a zoom lens that no longer zooms), we are fortunate to have the video feed from the Jags' official videographer, Brandon Usher, who provided us with all three views (sideline, press box, and end zone) of each VC scoring play. Thanks, Brandon!

Also, further technical issues prevented the upload of the video clips from the VC at Orange Glen game. My apologies.

Garrett Fiehler gets the Jaguars on the scoreboard with a two-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
Sideline:


Press Box:


End Zone:



Ryan Kleiman hits Michael McInerny on the slant for a 15-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.
Sideline:


Press Box:


End Zone:



McInerny hits a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Sideline:


Press Box:


End Zone:



Kleiman unleashes the deep ball down the middle, where Damian Stehly hauls it in for an 82-yard touchdown catch.
Sideline:


Press Box:


End Zone:



Fiehler explodes through the line and runs away from the defense for a 64-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half.
Sideline:


Press Box:


End Zone:



Fiehler plows it in from one yard out to put the Jags way ahead in the third quarter.
Press Box:


End Zone:



Dylan Glass slashes through the defense to score from nine yards out in the fourth quarter.
Sideline:


Press Box:


End Zone:



Look out! The Jaguars are fired up for the second half, leaving our intrepid cameraman in the middle of the action. Way to brave the dangers of the stampede, Brandon!

Video: Valley Center vs. Del Norte football

Here are the video highlights from the Jaguars' 42-7 win over Del Norte on Friday night, including some nice runs by Garrett Fiehler and a beautiful touchdown pass from Ryan Kleiman to Michael McInerny.

Video by Kelly Kidder

Kleiman lowers his shoulders and drives in behind his linemen for a one-yard touchdown for the first points of the game.


Kleiman hits Cody Gearhart near the sideline, and the speedy receiver cuts back to the middle of the field to pick up a first down on a fourth-and-ten play.


Fiehler takes the handoff, cuts to the outside and outruns the defense to the corner for a four-yard touchdown run.


Fiehler runs through a gaping hole up the middle to score from 11 yards out.


Fiehler gets a huge gain on first down, running through another big hole to pick up 30 yards.


Kleiman uses the pump fake before delivering a perfect fade pass to WR Michael McInerny in the back corner of the endzone for a 15-yard touchdown pass.


Dylan Glass runs through a defender to score a three-yard touchdown late in the game.

Six months after accident, Conrad Murphy focuses on the positive

Conrad Murphy finds a way to keep smiling in tough times

Click here to see more recent photos of Conrad

By Dan Kidder

Six months ago, Conrad Murphy was clinging to life after he survived a terrible head-on car crash while on his way to baseball practice.

And until just over a month ago, the 2010 Valley Center High School graduate says that he didn’t completely believe that what was happening to him was real.

Murphy says that his memories of the early days of his recovery are like a dream—flashes of clarity mixed with confusing, muddled images that don’t fit together. What brought him back to a mostly-conscious state was the pain of a terrible side effect from all the necessary antibiotics pumped into his system.

“I remember what we were doing two days before the accident, and then I thought I remembered waking up, but it was just a hallucination or a dream or something,” he says. “But the first thing I remember after the accident is waking up in horrible pain. The C-DIF bacteria that I got from the antibiotics was horrible, it was the most pain I’ve ever been in. I honestly thought about suicide, it hurt that bad.”

But even as his physical health improved, he says that he kept expecting to wake up and be back to normal.

“Something happened when I saw my truck,” he says, describing the first time he saw the mangled remains of the vehicle that bore the brunt of the head-on collision. “I don’t know if it was a side effect of my injuries, but for a while, I thought it was all fake, like a hallucination or like The Truman Show or something. But when I saw what was left of my truck, I knew it was all real.”

“Anybody who sees that truck, it just leaves you in awe,” says Murphy’s dad, Jim. “Behind the driver’s seat, you can see where there was a pool of blood, and the effect that has on you, it makes you think twice. I haven’t seen them, but I was told that one of the paramedics took some photos at the scene, and the way the column behind the driver’s door was smashed into Conrad’s head, they were amazed that he was still alive. Once we saw that truck, we realized all over again just how lucky we are that he’s alive.”

That was in September, and now, with six months of recovery behind him since the accident, Murphy says that it’s been a difficult journey, but he’s able to see just how well he’s doing.

“When I first got out of the hospital, I was very discouraged,” he admits. “What keeps me going now is a mixture of hope and rage. I have hope that I’m getting better, but I’m angry that this happened to me just because some guy weaved into my lane. I am getting better though, and that hope keeps me positive. And the rage helps me work harder in therapy. I look at where I was three months ago, and I’m really hopeful about where I’ll be three months from now.”

Murphy acknowledges that his athletic training helped him prepare for the occupational therapy he goes through now, but he also says that there were dark days when he didn’t know how he would make it through.

“God helped me get through it, and it helped that I was too lethargic to follow through on committing suicide,” he says. “But it was really tough.”

Murphy has three sessions a week in occupational therapy and one session in psychology, helping him exercise his brain as it recovers. He says that the injuries to his brain have been the hardest to deal with, both in how his mental processes have changed and in how other people relate to him.

“Most people can understand a disability, but this has been hard because you don’t know how much other people can affect you,” he says. “So many people have been so encouraging, and the whole Valley Center community did so much. But one guy told me not to get my hopes up, and I know that he was trying to be helpful, but it came at a bad time and I took it horribly, and it really discouraged me.

“But that’s part of what a brain injury does,” he continues. “I don’t have any short-term memory issues, but I still deal with a lot of anxiety and fear. It’s really scary sometimes, like you know how you get that feeling like somebody’s right behind you? I’ll get that sometimes. I’m still scared that I’ll get hurt again, so I don’t like going in vehicles.”

But Murphy’s progress has been remarkable—his family was told that he had less than a two percent chance of surviving his injuries, and when it became clear that he would survive, he was told that he would most likely not be able to walk again. And even though his vision has been affected—Murphy went from 20/10 vision before the accident to needing to wear glasses for his 20/30 vision—he was told that his injuries should have left him blind. He still doesn’t have the full use of the left side of his body—a sensation he describes as a feeling “like my arm is asleep, times ten.”—but he is able to walk, talk and see, and still regularly beats his brother at chess.

“I don’t want to brag or anything, but I shouldn’t be doing as well as I am right now,” Murphy says. “I’m setting my own goals, and right now, I want to be able to jog again. I used to jog up the hill behind our house every day, and I loved it. I’ve been approved to lift weights again, so I’ve been able to lift ninety-five pounds in therapy, which is better than lifting PVC pipe like I was a few months ago.”

As he walks around the house, cracks jokes with his family, hangs out with his friends, practices the piano and the guitar, and continues to improve, Murphy says that he’s able to keep a positive outlook through everything.

“I’m blessed, because things could be a lot worse,” he says. “I’ve been through a lot, and in a lot of ways, it’s still miserable. But I can focus on the positive now. I try to look at the good things, like how I have a really cool story and a lot of great sympathy scars. I don’t want to sound dumb or clichéd or whatever, but I really try to stay positive and stay hopeful, because no matter how bad things are, it could always get worse.”

Murphy and his family are also incredibly grateful to the Valley Center community for all the support they’ve received, from the hugs and handshakes to the love and prayers to the tireless efforts of those who organized the fundraiser concert in July.

A fund-raiser golf tournament for Murphy will be held on Jan. 24 at the Fallbrook Country Club.

To pass on your words of encouragement to Conrad, search Facebook for the page “Get Well Soon, Conrad Murphy.”

Video: Valley Center vs. Mt. Carmel football

The Jaguars played tough in a physical game against Mt. Carmel on Friday, coming away with a 48-21 win for their seventh consecutive victory. Here are the video highlights:

Video by Kelly Kidder

Ryan Kleiman goes deep for Michael McInerny, who shows great concentration in turning around, finding the ball and hauling it in for a 40-yard touchdown.


Garrett Fiehler picks up a few yards, but McInerny gets tangled up with Mt. Carmel CB Dominique Nelson in an outburst that had been brewing for a few plays. Both players were penalized on the play.


Fiehler takes the handoff, breaks a tackle and gets in for the touchdown.


The Sundevils pitch the ball wide, but VC CB Cody Gearhart makes the tackle for a big loss.


Kleiman fakes the handoff and finds Damian Stehly for a three-yard touchdown completion.


Fiehler rumbles in for a 3-yard touchdown in the third quarter.


Fiehler pushes the pile to get a one-yard touchdown on fourth down in the fourth quarter.


Sundevil WR Dominique Nelson catches a short swing pass and tries to leap over Anthony Ricks, but instead ends up kicking him in the head, knocking off his helmet. Nelson was penalized for the kick.


Fiehler gets hit in the backfield, but breaks free and dives into the corner of the endzone for a nine-yard touchdown.


The Sundevils, in desperation passing mode late in the game, try to complete a pass near the goal line, but Ricks swoops in to get the interception and returns it 93 yards for a touchdown.

Video: Valley Center at San Marcos football

It was a close game for three quarters, but the Jaguars broke out with 14 points in a span of 23 seconds in the fourth quarter to beat San Marcos 34-17 on Friday night. Here are the video highlights:

Video by Kelly Kidder

he Knights complete a quick pass to the WR, but JD Frankovich drills the receiver for a loss.


Ryan Kleiman airs it out for Michael McInerny for a 36-yard gain on the Jaguars' first offensive play of the game.


Garrett Fiehler takes the ball to the outside and runs in for a five-yard touchdown.


The Knights try to run the ball, but Dylan Fredenburg makes a big tackle in the backfield.


Kleiman hits McInerny on a post pattern for a 20-yard gain.


As the Knights try to rally in the third quarter, they pass the ball over the middle, but Tommy Aguilar steps in front to get the interception.


McInerny hits a short field goal to put the Jags up by six in the third quarter.


Kleiman throws it deep for McInerny for a big gain down to the two-yard line.


Fiehler puts the Jaguars up by ten with a two-yard touchdown run.


Kleiman rolls out and tosses it deep for McInerny, who out-jumps his defender for the catch on an 80-yard touchdown pass.


Martin Cunningham jumps in front of this San Marcos pass to get an interception in the fourth quarter.


Kleiman hits Cody Gearhart on a wheel route down the sideline for a 34-yard touchdown late in the game.


The Knights try some trickery with a halfback pass, but Aguilar breaks up the completion for the Jags.

Video: Valley Center vs Escondido football

The Jaguars celebrated Homecoming on Friday night with a 35-7 win over Escondido. Here are the video highlights:

Video by Dan Kidder

The Cougars complete a pass over the middle, but when the receiver fumbles, Matt Preston is there to scoop up the loose ball.


Ryan Kleiman rolls out and finds Damian Stehly for a completion down to the one-yard line.


Garrett Fiehler pounds the ball in for a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter.


The Cougars run a toss to the outside and the runner has the ball knocked away, but Escondido comes up with the recovery.


The Cougars get stuffed at the line and fumble, and Dylan Smith is there for the recovery.


Fiehler runs in his second score from one yard out.


Kleiman rolls out and hits Jean-Marc Brierre for a two-point conversion.


The Cougars try to complete a quick pass on the slant, but JD Frankovich jumps the route and gets the interception.


Fiehler runs into his own line, gets hit and fumbles, and the Cougars get the ball.


Fiehler busts through the line and outruns the defense down the middle of the field for a 67-yard touchdown.


Kleiman rolls out and finds Stehly, who works his way down the sideline for a 30-yard touchdown.


The Cougars have trouble on a handoff exchange, leading to a fumble that the offense gets back.


Dylan Glass gets some help from the line to get the ball across the line for a one-yard touchdown run.


The Cougars try to complete the pass on a post pattern, but Tommy Aguilar flips the receiver with a big hit to cause the incompletion.

Video: Valley Center vs. Ramona football

Friday night's game between Valley Center and Ramona was a thriller from start to finish, as the Jaguars came back from a late deficit to beat the Bulldogs 38-24. Check out the video highlights from the game...

video by Everett Bean

Ryan Kleiman hits Michael McInerny on a slant, and the receiver outruns the defense for a 79-yard score early in the first quarter.


The Bulldogs try to connect on a pass near the sideline, but JD Frankovich drops off his man in time to snag the interception.


Kleiman runs the quarterback draw, eludes a few defenders and finds his way into the endzone for a ten-yard touchdown.


On a run by the Bulldogs, Zach Tests flies around the end and delivers a big hit on the runner.


On a post pattern over the middle, VC WR Cody Gearhart dives to make the catch, but the pass is ruled incomplete, even though Gearhart came up with the ball securely in his hands.


Garrett Fiehler drives through the line to score a one-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-goal midway through the second quarter.


The Bulldogs try to pick up a first down through the air, but Gearhart delivers a bone-rattling hit to knock the ball away.


Fiehler has the ball stripped away, but when the Bulldogs recover and try to get away, QB Ryan Kleiman drops the ball-carrier with a solid tackle.


Kleiman puts up a deep pass for McInerny, but the Ramona CB makes a good play and comes away with the interception.


Jean-Marc Brierre breaks through the line to drop the Ramona quarterback for a sack on third down late in the third quarter.


On fourth down, Kleiman rolls out and heaves the ball deep down the middle, where Gearhart out-jumps his defender to come down with the catch that set up the game-winning touchdown.


Fiehler plows into the pile and escapes for a 13-yard touchdown that proved to be the game-winning points.


Dylan Fredenburg slips through the offensive line to drop the ball-carrier with a big hit late in the fourth quarter.


Martin Cunningham comes on the blitz, hits the QB hard and forces a fumble late in the fourth quarter.


Shaun Woods gets to the QB on third-and-21 for a sack that forced a desperation fourth-down pass that came up short and all but sealed the win for the Jaguars.


Fiehler hits the hole and takes off for a 67-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds left in the game to put the game out of reach.

Video: Valley Center vs. Lincoln football

The Jaguars won their third straight football game with a 24-7 win over Lincoln on Friday night. Here are the video highlights:

video by Dan Kidder

Ryan Kleiman airs it out to Michael McInerny for a 45-yard touchdown on the Jaguars' first offensive play of the game.


Tommy Aguilar slices through the Lincoln blockers to drop the runner for a loss.


JD Frankovich steps in front of a Lincoln pass to knock it away.


Kleiman connects with McInerny on a long pass down the sideline, and the receiver takes it all the way down to the one yard line.


Garrett Fiehler finds a sliver of an opening in the line and slips in for a one-yard touchdown.


Shaun Woods darts through the Lincoln line and drags the QB down on a fourth down try early in the game.


JD Frankovich takes advantage of a tipped pass to come down with the interception in the first half.


Fiehler pushes the pile to score a six-yard touchdown.


Martin Cunningham reads the play, steps in front of the Lincoln receiver and nearly comes away with an interception.


The Hornets go for it on fourth and goal from the one, and after a fumbled snap, VC LB Matt Preston dives on the loose ball to give possession back to the Jaguars.


Anthony Ricks goes up to knock down a Lincoln pass in the corner of the end zone.


Frankovich comes up with his second interception of the game on another tipped Lincoln pass.


Late in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars punt the ball away, and after the return, VC LB Jacob Beason is hit late with a vicious shot to the head, well after the whistle is heard. Beason left with an apparent concussion, and no flag was thrown on the play.


Jean-Marc Brierre gets to the Lincoln QB on a third-down play late in the game.


Brierre lays a big hit on the Lincoln QB to get the sack on the second-to-last play of the game.

Video: Valley Center at La Jolla football

The Jaguars won their second straight lopsided game with a 53-14 win over La Jolla on Friday, behind huge efforts from QB Ryan Kleiman (which is not pronounced "KLEE-man"--see below for more), WR Michael McInerny (also not pronounced "Mick-IN-rey" or "Mick-LEARN-ey") and RB Garrett Fiehler (not pronounced "FILE-er"). Maybe we can get a memo out to visiting team's announcers...and perhaps the Prep Pigskin Report, who decided to not even bother trying to pronounce "MACK-in-er-ney" or "KLY-man"...



And if his name really is pronounced "KLEE-man," then apparently this also applies:



Now, on to the real highlights from the game:

video by Kelly Kidder

Kleiman to McInerny for 10 yards:


Fiehler plows in for 2-yard TD:


Matt Preston makes a big tackle for a loss:


Kleiman to Gearhart for 65 yards:


Fiehler draw play for 10-yard TD:


Fiehler one-yard TD plunge:


Kleiman to McInerny 78-yard TD:


Fiehler 2-yard TD run:


Martin Cunningham lays a big hit on the La Jolla returner:


Kleiman hits McInerny for a 35-yard TD just before halftime:


La Jolla run stuffed by Jacob Beason:


Dylan Glass runs in a six-yard TD:


Fiehler recovers a fumble on a La Jolla kick return:


Kleiman rolls out and hits Damian Stehly for a 10-yard TD:


Zach Tests puts a big hit on La Jolla's kick returner:

Video: Valley Center at Imperial football

The Jaguars got their first win of the season by beating Imperial 47-14 on Friday night. Here are some of the big plays that helped the Jags get the win:

video by Kelly Kidder

Imperial screen pass blown up by the VC defense:


Garrett Fiehler runs in a 14-yard touchdown:


Tommy Aguilar runs in the 2-point conversion:


Ryan Kleiman hits Cody Gearhart for a big gain:


Aguilar deflects the Imperial pass and Gearhart makes the diving interception:


Kleiman hits Damian Stehly for a 45-yard touchdown:


Kleiman's pass for Gearhart gets intercepted:


Kleiman throws deep for Michael McInerny, who takes it down to the five:


Fiehler runs in a five-yard touchdown:


Kleiman finds McInerny again, this time for a 68-yard touchdown:


Fiehler plunges in for a one-yard touchdown:


Dylan Glass runs in a nine-yard touchdown:


Anthony Ricks gets the second of his two interceptions in the game:

Video: Valley Center at San Pasqual football

The Jaguars opened the 2011 football season at San Pasqual and couldn't get the offense they needed in a 28-7 loss. Despite the lopsided score, there were a number of exciting plays in the game. Here are the video highlights:

Ryan Kleiman hits Cody Gearhart on the post for a nice pitch-and-catch.


Garrett Fiehler picks up good yardage, dragging tacklers along the way.


Kleiman hits John Watkins for a big first down.


Fiehler plows in for a seven-yard touchdown.


Kleiman fumbles the ball on a rollout in the second quarter.


Kleiman rolls out and fumbles again, but recovers it himself this time.


The Jaguar defense forces an incomplete pass on fourth down.


Fiehler slashes through the line for a good gain.


Kleiman hits Watkins on a hitch, and Watkins breaks a tackle for a good gain.


Kleiman fumbles the ball on a fake handoff, but recovers the loose ball.


Kleiman hits Watkins on the slant for a nice gain.


Kleiman hits Damian Stehly on a quick pass that turns into a big gain.


video by Dan Kidder

Video: VCHS football scrimmage vs. Chula Vista

The Valley Center varsity football team hosted Chula Vista for a scrimmage on Friday night, and although no official score was kept, the Jaguars came away with two touchdowns while holding the Spartans scoreless.

Click here to see photos from the scrimmage, courtesy of Gabriel Santana.

Here are some video highlights from the action:

Garrett Fiehler scores on a 65-yard touchdown run:


Jean-Marc Brierre sacks the Spartan QB:


Anthony Ricks intercepts a deep pass:


Matt Preston gets the second of his two sacks in the game:


Cody Gearhart makes a big tackle for a loss on a Chula Vista reverse:


Damian Stehly, Jacob Beason and Jean-Marc Brierre combine for a sack:


Jacob Beason picks off a screen pass:


Garrett Fiehler bounces off tacklers for a great gain:


Garrett Fiehler takes the handoff in for a 7-yard touchdown:


Ryan Kleiman drops off a screen pass to Fiehler for a good gain:


video by Dan Kidder

I Kid You Not: reviewing last year's sleepers and snoozers

I said Jason Campbell would have a good season last year. Well, I got other things right, anyway.

It takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong.
But I happen to be of the opinion that it takes an even bigger man to publish an article outlining some of the ways in which he was wrong, as long as such an article was really just part of an elaborate plan to also point out some of the ways in which he was exceedingly right, and therefore awesome.
I am talking, of course, about my fantasy football sleepers and snoozers predictions from last year, an article highlighting some of the players I thought you should target in your draft and others I thought you should avoid.
I went into some detail about why I thought what I thought about each player, and backed it up to some degree by drafting my two fantasy football teams last season with those thoughts in mind.
This year, I figured it could be fun to look back and see how my predictions panned out. It turns out I was right on some, wrong on some, and pretty close on the rest—which is about average for any of the national fantasy football writers who get paid to dissect football statistics and then graciously walk us through the results of their predictions from the past year.
We’ll look at what I said, whether or not it came true, and what the overall result of the prediction was. And for the specific numbers (points, rankings, etc.) I’m going by my ESPN.com fantasy football leagues, which have 12 teams each but only have a couple of minor variations from standard scoring.
So let’s get started—here are my sleepers and snoozers from last year, and the results of their fantasy football seasons.

Sleepers
Quarterbacks
Jason Campbell, Oakland Raiders
I predicted: He’d be better than Jamarcus Russell (true), he’d be accurate (kind of true), that the Raiders would not win the Super Bowl (definitely true) and that he’d put up solid numbers (not entirely true).
He finished the season ranked as the No. 25 quarterback in scoring with 146 points (nearly 200 behind No. 1 QB Tom Brady’s 343) and got benched in favor of Bruce Gradkowski—but in the 11 games he started and finished, he averaged almost 13.3 points per game, which would have made him the No. 15 QB for the season. Not great, but not terrible.
Result: Close, but no cigar

Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
I predicted: We would see more than just glimpses of his tremendous ability (true) and that his toughness would get him through a healthy season (not true). Also, that he wouldn’t win the MVP (true) but that you could do a lot worse in the late rounds (definitely true).
He finished in a tie with Rex Grossman as the No. 37 QB last season, but it was definitely due to injury. He only played in three games last year because of a shoulder injury, but in the two he completed, he scored 31 and 26 points against the Redskins and Jets, respectively.
Result: Would have been right if he’d been healthy. And somewhere, Chad Pennington is nodding sadly.

Running Backs
Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins
I predicted: That I’m biased when it comes to Miami Dolphins players (oh heavens yes that’s true), that Brown had a chance of getting hurt during the season (he played in all but one game) and that he’d be a better pick in the fourth round than Justin Forsett (yep) or Jerome Harrison (double yep).
Brown was the No.31-ranked RB in the league last year with 128.5 points, well short of No. 1 Arian Foster’s 356. Brown did have big weeks against the Bills in week one (15 points), the Ravens in week nine (17.5 points) and the Bills again in week 15 (9.5 points), but he was frustratingly inconsistent, and was summarily released in the off-season. He’ll be a nice backup for LeSean McCoy in Philadelphia this year, but I doubt he’ll have much fantasy relevance.
Result: Not really even close on this one. Allegiance to a team is a dangerous thing in fantasy sports.

Cadillac Williams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I predicted: Nobody on the Tampa offense would be great (wrong-o), that Caddy would show some promise when he made it on the field (correct, but he didn’t get much time) and that nobody had ever made a car-related joke when talking about a guy with the nickname “Cadillac” (pretty sure that one’s still good).
He finished in the top 40 running backs, but his name falls into the space between fellow backups C.J. Spiller and Jason Snelling, so he really wasn’t worth drafting. Meanwhile, rookie LeGarrette Blount came out of nowhere to become another one of the exciting young stars on the Buccaneer offense, essentially relegating Cadillac to the garage (didn’t see that one coming, did you?).
Result: Yeah, let’s just move on.

Wide Receivers
Chris Chambers, Kansas City Chiefs
I predicted: That there wouldn’t be much excitement from the Chiefs’ offense (false), the receivers would struggle (to the tune of Dwayne Bowe finishing as the No. 3 WR in the league—safe to say I missed that one), and that Chambers would get his fair share of chances in the passing game (fair is a relative term, so—oh who am I kidding, I was way off).
Chambers didn’t even make it into the top 100 receivers last year, so it’s safe to say that he shouldn’t have even sniffed a chance at your starting lineup.
Result: I apologize profusely.

Josh Morgan, San Francisco 49ers
I predicted: Pretty much the same things I said about Chambers (none of which came true) and I implied that Morgan’s quarterback, Alex Smith, would be better since he actually played in college (he did play in college, unlike Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel—but Cassel definitely outplayed Smith last year).
Morgan finished with a grand total of 98 fantasy points, a far cry from No. 1 WR Roddy White and his 256.
Result: So much for going with my gut feelings.

Derrick Mason, Baltimore Ravens
I predicted: That everybody would be “all ga-ga” for Mason’s teammate, Anquan Boldin (true), but that Mason would actually get more open looks because of all the attention on the offense’s other stars (kind of true). Also, that he would be a great pick in the sixth of seventh round (definitely true).
Mason was decent—like I said then, not a top WR or anything, but a guy you could use with a solid degree of confidence. He finished with 148.5 points, good for the No. 32 WR spot, just one behind Boldin (who finished with 151 points).
Result: Things are starting to pick up—I think that one counts as a “correct” prediction.

Tight End
Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers
I predicted: That I agreed with most experts on Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers having a monster year (understatement of the year), and that Finley would be the recipient of lots of touchdowns (
Finley battled a few injuries, but for the most part, he was nearly unstoppable. The Packers put up one of the best statistical seasons on offense and hoisted the Lombardi Trophy when all was said and done. Finley played a key role and made lots of fantasy owners very happy in the process.
Result: Nailed it.

Snoozers
Quarterback
Donovan McNabb, Washington Redskins
I predicted: That he would struggle in a new system with a new team (correct) and that he’d end up with a decent season, but nothing to write home about (also correct).
McNabb finished as the No. 23-ranked QB last year, totaling 160 points, which was six fewer points than the incomparable Jon Kitna. That’s never a good sign.
Result: Right on the money.

Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals
I predicted: Despite how great the Cincinnati offense looked on paper going into the season, I said Palmer would struggle against tough defenses like Pittsburgh and Baltimore (true) and that the overall health of the team would suffer because of the hotshot wide receivers he had to deal with (also true).
Palmer finished as the No. 12 QB with 246 points, behind Matt Cassel but ahead of Joe Flacco. He was decent, but struggled mightily against the Ravens (five points), the Jets (four points), the Steelers (four points again) and the Browns of all teams (eight points). When the season ended, he made it clear that he no longer wished to play for the Bengals, so he followed through on his threat to retire when the team refused to trade or release him. Somewhere, Terrell Owens is doing situps in his driveway and nodding proudly.
Result: Decent doesn’t win championships, so we’re counting this one correct.

Running Back
C.J. Spiller, Buffalo Bills
I predicted: People, especially in the greater Buffalo area, would be excited about Spiller’s speed (and they were), but Spiller himself would have trouble getting on the field with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson ahead of him on the depth chart (true, even after Lynch got traded to Seattle).
Spiller showed that he’s talented, but couldn’t do anything special enough to unseat Jackson, the team’s rushing leader from the prior season. His 109 fantasy points ranked him No. 38, ahead of the aforementioned Cadillac Williams and just behind fellow backup Tim Hightower.
Result: Correct, with bonus points for giving Bills fans one more reason to feel sad.

Joseph Addai, Indianapolis Colts
I predicted: His age, the competition of a younger back and the lack of rushing attempts included in the Indianapolis attack would leave him without much to work with (somewhat true).
Addai started strong, with nine points or more in five of his first six games (including a 20-point performance against Jacksonville), but suffered a neck injury that kept him off the field for eight weeks. His average for the eight games he did play was a reasonable 10.9 points, but with the nagging injuries, the lack of breakaway speed and the pass-heavy offense he toils in, he didn’t have much upside.
Result: The long absence due to injury left us with a small sample size, but that alone kind of proves what I was getting at. We’ll call it mostly correct.

Wide Receiver
Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnati Bengals
I predicted: Much of the same as what I predicted for his quarterback, Carson Palmer, along with Ochocinco’s advanced age, narcissism and easily frustrated nature combining to make it a rough year for the former Mr. Johnson (all true).
Ochocinco looked like he’d rather be playing soccer, or learning how to dance, or riding a rodeo bull—all things he found time to do during the lockout this year, rather than, you know, practicing football—than having to gator-arm another floater from Palmer on a crossing pattern. His 135.5 points placed him at No. 38 for the WR position, while his teammate, Terrell Owens, posted a very respectable 188 points, good for the No. 16 spot.
Result: Apparently guys who change their last names to match their jersey numbers don’t think ahead very much. Also, I got this one exactly right.

Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys
I predicted: A similar fate for the latest ex-boyfriend of Kim Kardashian as I saw for McNabb—that he wouldn’t be terrible, but that he’d have trouble living up to the considerable hype around him (arguably true).
And he wasn’t terrible. He finished with 191.5 points, good for No. 15 on the WR list, and put up some incredible games early in the season. The problem was that his starting quarterback broke a collarbone in week seven, and that Kitna guy we talked about earlier was trying to heave the ball in his general direction. He got the job done, which is about what I thought would happen, but if he’d had the luxury of a legitimate QB for an entire season, he would have been pretty good.
Result: Only by luck did I end up seeming even a little bit correct.

Any Receivers From The Pittsburgh Steelers
I predicted: That the six-game suspension of Fatty McFatterson (or as you know him, Ben Roethlisberger—my wife is from Seattle, so we don’t really have flattering nicknames for the Steelers in our home) and the porous offensive line would mean few opportunities for the Pittsburgh wideouts (sadly, not true at all).
Hines Ward had some really good games, putting up 129.5 points, good for No. 44 on the list, in the process. But the breakout star was Mike Wallace (I still get a mental image of the guy from 60 Minutes running around on the field), who racked up 222 points and finished as the No. 7 receiver last year.
Result: In the same way that loyalty to a team can get you into fantasy trouble, hating a team too much can also blind you to the reality of the situation. Not that I’ll ever be a fan of Mr. McFatterson.

Tight End
Greg Olsen, Chicago Bears
I predicted: His quarterback would have trouble distinguishing his team from his opponents (to the tune of 16 interceptions) and the offensive system of Mike Martz would prevent the tight end from seeing much of the ball (Greg Olsen, meet Roland Williams).
Olsen had his good weeks (14.5 points against the Packers in week three) and his bad weeks (zeroes in weeks five and six, and only half a point each in weeks 13, 14 and 16), but the bad definitely outweighed the good. He didn’t produce more than 4.5 points in any week after week 12, and when you’re trying to make your league’s playoffs, that is incredibly frustrating.
Result: Correct, and I didn’t even have to drag Ernie Conwell into it.
* * *
I hope you enjoyed breaking down last year’s successes and failures with me, and I hope we all learned something about fantasy football. Namely, that nobody really knows what’s going to happen, so the best thing you can do is watch the games, read the analysis and come up with your own opinions on what you think gives you the best chance to win.
And if you want one more opinion, here’s a short list of players I would like on my team this year and players who I want to avoid.

Players I want—QB: Michael Vick, Josh Freeman; RB: Jamaal Charles, LeSean McCoy, LeGarrette Blount, Daniel Thomas, Tim Hightower; WR: Calvin Johnson, Vincent Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Danny Amendola, Jacoby Ford; TE: Antonio Gates (enough to spend a third round pick), Jimmy Graham, Brandon Pettigrew, Visanthe Shiancoe.

Players I’ll try to avoid—QB: Matt Schaub, Jay Cutler, David Garrard, Kyle Orton; RB: Chris Johnson, Frank Gore, Ryan Mathews, anyone on the Panthers, anyone on the Patriots; WR: Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin, Brandon Lloyd, Steve Johnson, Brandon Marshall; TE: Owen Daniels, Marcedes Lewis, Zach Miller, Tony Gonzalez.

If you agree or disagree and you’d like to tell me why, send me an e-mail to sports@valleycenter.com anytime and I’d be happy to discuss your thoughts on the matter.
And like I told you last year—take this advice, go forth, and dominate your league.
Or wonder whether or not I gave you a bunch of false leads just to throw off any of the other owners in my league who might be reading this column. Maybe I’m giving good advice, or maybe I’m watching out for my own interests. I will let you decide.

I Kid You Not--fantasty football draft strategy

Should you grab quarterback Michael Vick with your first pick? Depends on your strategy...

You’ve enjoyed your summer.
You’ve eaten your hot dogs at family picnics, you’ve gone to the beach, and you’ve even found the time to avoid doing anything resembling hard work.
But now that August is here again, it’s time to shift our collective minds back into gear to tackle the really important things once again.
And obviously, that begins with preparing for your fantasy football draft.
In years past, I’ve shared my thoughts about sleepers and snoozers—or if you prefer layman’s terms, guys you want and guys you don’t.
This year, in part because of the recently-resolved NFL lockout, and in even larger part because of the aforementioned summer plans of eating hot dogs and avoiding hard work, I’m not going to do that.
Instead, I’ve decided to help you tackle your overall draft strategy. In the end, it kind of doesn’t matter what players you have—so much of the game is luck, plus you can easily go to about 84 different places online to get “expert” advice, and part of what makes fantasy football fun is rooting for the guys you like, so go ahead and draft the guys you like—so instead of talking about specific players, let’s look at some options for how your team could look once the drafting is over.
It never hurts to have a plan, especially when you come to the sudden realization that you’re the only guy (or girl!) in your league who doesn’t have one, and you start re-thinking that decision to draft T.J. Houshmandzadeh last year (even though you just couldn’t resist quoting that ESPN commercial).
All slight variations aside, there are five directions you can take your fantasy football team on draft day, and it pretty much comes down to what you do with your first three or four picks. Let’s dive in and see what we can discover.

Quarterback
The strategy here is to grab a quarterback with your first pick, no matter who else is on the board. If you’re picking in the top five, you can land Michael Vick and simultaneously bookmark WebMD so you know exactly how serious every tweaked ankle really is. If you’re outside the top five, you can hope Aaron Rodgers didn’t just have the best season of his life last year, or that Drew Brees plays better than his haircut makes him look.
Pros: My favorite sportswriter, Bill Simmons, once said that having a crappy fantasy QB is like driving a four-cylinder car. Yeah, it works, but it just isn’t a whole lot of fun. And if you’re into having fun with your fantasy football team, then you should probably help the rest of us convince that one guy in every league who takes it way too seriously. You know—the guy who writes about fantasy football for the local newspaper every summer. Oh wait…
Plus, if you look at the statistics (always dangerous, I know), you can see that the difference between a great QB and a mediocre QB is bigger than the difference between the top players at other positions and their mediocre counterparts. If math is your thing, this might be something to pay attention to.
Cons: If your fun, six-cylinder QB tweaks an ankle, bruises a shoulder, gets his head slammed into the turf, or just flat-out stinks like a redneck barbecue, you’re stuck with a nightmare all season. A lot of pressure gets packed into that one pick.
Plus, you almost have to tag-team this strategy with the “make sure you get the best tight end available” strategy so you can maximize the whole point-differential thing. And unless you want to draft a tight end with your third pick, that might be difficult.

Running Back
A strategy as old as the game itself—running backs win fantasy football championships. The strategy is to grab a stud RB who can carry your team to the title.
Pros: Running backs get the ball consistently, which is what you want in fantasy sports. There’s nothing worse than suffering through a feast-or-famine-that’s-mostly-famine season with a streaky QB or WR threatening to obliterate your lineup every Sunday. Well, that redneck barbecue might be worse, but let’s just move on.
Cons: The days of Earl Campbell, Eric Dickerson, Emmitt Smith, Curtis Martin, Marshall Faulk, Priest Holmes, Jamal Lewis and LaDanian Tomlinson are well behind us, no matter what Tomlinson fans try to tell you this year. Coaches these days worry about running backs like they’re used cars—nobody wants to have to get a new one when the old one breaks down. So a stud running back gets maybe 80% of his team’s carries, while a decent running back gets maybe 70% of the action. Not to mention the trend of more passing in the game than ever before.

Wide Receivers
The NFL is a passing league! Run-heavy offenses died out with Curly Lambeau and the leather helmet! Airing it out not only wins games, it keeps the crowds coming back! Exclamation points are great for emphasizing a point!
This strategy involves going after wide receivers with your first two picks, then worrying about everything else. If you have a mid- to late-round pick, this could be intriguing.
Pros: You lock up studs at one position, hopefully avoiding injuries and essentially forgetting about those two slots in your lineup for the rest of the year. Not bad for those who like some degree of peace of mind.
Plus, there are always players who make surprise leaps to fantasy relevance every year, so when you lose your first three matchups, you have the waiver priority to snatch up this year’s steals.
Cons: The rest of your team is awful, and you find yourself asking questions like, “Who sees more third-down action for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Deji Karim or Greg Jones?” And that, I assure you, is not a place you want to be in December.

One Of Each
The thought here is to spread the wealth—grab a running back, then a quarterback, then a receiver, then a tight end, then running backs and receivers until the last two rounds.
Pros: It evens out your team a little bit and doesn’t leave big gaps. This is a nice strategy for people who like folding laundry and alphabetizing bookshelves in their spare time.
Cons: You can’t cover all the gaps, and if you follow a pattern too closely, you miss out on chances to snag a sleeper that other owners either forget about or don’t have room for.

Best Available
This is almost an actual NFL draft strategy, in that NFL owners throw around the “he was the best guy available” excuse when they don’t know what they’re doing and just grab the first name they find under the empty pizza boxes in the draft room.
Pros: You’re getting the best player available at any given moment. It never hurts to have good players.
Cons: You might end up with seven good wide receivers and a headache trying to figure out which ones to start each week. And when the later rounds start whizzing by, it gets harder and harder to know who the best player actually is, so there’s kind of a lot of guesswork that I don’t think any of us is qualified to do.
* * *
Hopefully this helps you make up your mind about how to strategize for your fantasy football draft this year.
Because if you don’t spend the time thinking about this stuff now, then you’ll probably end up actually getting something productive done, and we definitely can’t have that.
And be sure to share your thoughts with me by leaving a comment or sending me an e-mail to sports@valleycenter.com.

Benefit concert marks another chapter in Conrad Murphy’s story--Event raises more than $30,000 for Murphy’s ongoing recovery

To see more photos from the Conrad Murphy Benefit Concert on our Facebook page, click here for a gallery of photos by Dan Kidder and click here for a gallery of photos by Gabriel Santana.

By: Dan Kidder
When you live in a community like Valley Center, it doesn’t take long to see how powerfully and passionately people come together to help others in their time of need.

I met Conrad Murphy when baseball season started this spring, and I could easily see why his coaches and teammates spoke so highly of him. His hard work and dedication to the game were obvious, but this quiet, contemplative young man impressed me with his thoughtful observations and the specific encouragements he gave his teammates.

Like the rest of you in our community and beyond, I followed the next chapter of Conrad’s story from day one with a mixture of sadness and hope. It broke my heart to see the Facebook posts from his friends as the news spread about the car accident that Saturday morning in April. When I stopped by the hospital to say hello to the Murphy family that Monday night, I was encouraged to see so many people there supporting, encouraging and loving them in such a difficult time.

And when I asked Conrad’s friends to write in with their stories about him, I was amazed at the consistent threads of kindness, generosity, humor and perseverance woven into their words. As the days and weeks rolled by, we all celebrated the small victories—from Conrad opening his eyes for the first time to waking up fully to wiggling his toes to remembering sign language—all the way up to the day he got to go home again, nearly nine weeks after the accident.

Saturday’s benefit concert at Bates Nut Farm was so much more than just a group of well-wishers paying lip service to a kid they’d never met. No, our community joined with those in Conrad’s hometown of Fallbrook, as well as communities from all across the county, the country and the world—Conrad has been receiving little messages of encouragement in the Facebook group “Get Well Soon, Conrad Murphy,” some of which have come from places such as Australia and the United Kingdom—to do what we all know our community would do for us in a situation like this.

We got together and made a difference.

Signs for the Conrad Murphy Benefit Concert started popping up around town—and around the interwebs—before the official lineup of entertainers had been finalized. Hardly a conversation could be ended without a half-question, half-admonition—“See you at Conrad’s concert?” And when the day arrived, there was a general sense of excitement in the air—different than what you feel at the annual Western Days celebrations or a home football game for the Jaguars, which are always fun—as though we all knew that we were a part of what was happening, not just spectators sitting on the sidelines. We all helped Conrad write this chapter of his story, and we couldn’t wait to celebrate with him because we’ve been celebrating with him all along the way.

I have to say, our community knows how to celebrate. The music was fantastic, with a little bit of something for everybody—from the show tunes of A Little Bit Of Broadway to the pop/country mix of Morgan Leigh to the praise music of the Ridgeview Church Worship Band to the toe-tapping country of Heidi & The Hurricane. I arrived right at 4 p.m., and it wasn’t long before the wonderful aroma of the barbecue started plucking at the strings of my appetite. It was a tough choice between tri-tip, chicken or hot dogs, but I noticed that a lot of folks simply opted for one of each, which is never a bad choice with cooking like this.

The silent auction items were numerous and incredible, with an entire row of tables dedicated to autographed memorabilia from Major League Baseball, including a baseball signed by the entire 2011 National League All-Star team, a Barry Bonds autographed bat, an Adrian Gonzalez autographed jersey and a host of items from the Padres and Rangers.

And that was just the beginning. There were items that ranged from quilts and beautifully-crafted wooden bowls all the way up to a stove and two washing machines and a week’s free lodging in Costa Rica. There were even lots of activities for the kids, from an inflatable bouncy castle to pony rides to a cake walk to a football toss game.

Halfway through the event, one of the helicopter crews from Mercy Air landed in the field and invited the crowd to see the craft that carried Conrad to the hospital after the crash. But even with a helicopter landing nearby, it was still easy to see that Conrad was the real star of the show. Being back at home has had a very evident positive effect on him—even since his graduation ceremony in the hospital a month ago, his speech is vastly improved, his general demeanor seems much more at ease, and he is able to walk around with the help of a cane, something that seemed unimaginable just a few months ago. There was a pretty steady stream of people who found Conrad in his seat in the shade and stopped by to say hello, to wish him well, and to give him a few words of encouragement.

One particularly poignant moment came when the firefighters who were first on the scene at Conrad’s accident came to say hi. There wasn’t much to say between them, but they both expressed how amazing it was to see Conrad doing so well after coming so far from where they found him that day.

And after all the handshakes, hugs, silent auction bids and swinging tunes, the exhausted but happy concert organizers took one last moment to look around and appreciate what the night meant. When all the numbers were added up, the benefit concert raised more than $30,000 for Conrad and his family as he continues to work through physical therapy and the many challenges of full recovery yet to be faced. But more than the numbers, the Conrad Murphy Benefit Concert was another reminder that this young man’s story is far from being written.

And we are privileged to have been a small part of it.

Native athletes show off their skills in 2011 Indigenous Games

Manny Boyle (left) and Raelyn Rodriguez (right, with her dad, Dennis) brought home medals from the 2011 Indigenous Games in Wisconsin.

Click here to see more photos from the Indigenous Games on our Facebook page.

Valley Center is known for its production of amazing athletic talent, and a few of our young local athletes got the chance to show off their skills in the 2011 Indigenous Games in Milwaukee, Wisconsin last week.
Manny Boyle, a junior at Valley Center High School, represented the San Pasqual tribe in the wrestling tournament and swept his opponents to bring home the gold medal in the 135-pound division.
“It was a really amazing experience,” Boyle says. “I knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I went in focused on wrestling, and when I won, I was able to celebrate.”
In the softball tournament, Team California featured 15 players from six different tribes, including VCHS senior Raelyn Rodriguez, a member of the Rincon tribe, and 2010 VCHS graduate Olivia Hernandez, a member of the Pauma tribe. After suffering a tough loss to Wisconsin in the opening game, the team won its next four games before falling in the championship game to Wisconsin again.
“I felt so privileged and honored to represent California and my tribe against the best of the best,” Rodriguez says. “We had girls from different tribes and different towns, but we were able to set aside our differences and get along on the field.”
Boyle’s run to the gold medal included four wins in the tournament against opponents from Wisconsin, New Mexico and North Carolina. The only match he didn’t win by pin was the second match, which he won by major decision.
“It was harder than I expected going in,” he admits. “I noticed that their style was much slower than what you usually see in California. Our style is trickier and less aggressive, but I was able to pick up on it pretty quick and take on the pressure.”
The softball team also had to make some adjustments after losing the first game largely because of errors.
“The team from Wisconsin beat us in the first game because we had so many errors,” Rodriguez says. “After we gave up seven runs in the first inning, we knew we had to play so much better in the next game.”
The team rattled off four straight wins, then ran into Team Wisconsin again in the title game.
“We were tied at two through seven this time,” Rodriguez explains. “And in international rules, extra innings start with a runner on second. So their first batter dropped down a bunt, and our third baseman air-mailed it over the first baseman’s head, but we somehow kept the runner at third. We loaded the bases with a walk, and with one out, they hit a grounder that our shortstop threw over the first baseman’s head, and that was it.”
Despite some rough patches on defense, Rodriguez says that the team played well in some tight spots.
“It seemed like whenever we had two outs, or we really needed a run, someone would step up and start a rally,” she says. “We found ways to score runs and we got in a good rhythm. And our outfield knew where to throw the ball and knew what to do no matter what the situation.”
Rodriguez, the starting centerfielder for the Lady Jaguars varsity softball team this past season, came up with a few big plays herself.
“I don’t want to brag or anything, but I did so good!” she says with a laugh. “I drove in the two runs we scored [in the championship game], I scored six or seven runs and I made a couple of catches on balls in the gap. I was so proud!”
Both Boyle and Rodriguez say they were impressed with the quality of play they saw on display at the games, and they even picked up a few new things that should help them when the next school season rolls around.
“I want to be CIF champion and Master’s champion next year,” Boyle says. “And I just want to thank my coaches and my dad for all their support.”
“I thought that they would be easy to beat, but they’re legit,” Rodriguez says. “There were no easy teams, and they battled us every game. I noticed that I need to work on the little things. We didn’t get any batting practice while we were there, so I can’t wait to start working again.”
Thousands of athletes, primarily young people, participated in the competitions, making the U.S. Indigenous Games (USIG) the largest event to host competitions for young Native youth across Indian country. The U.S. Games take place every two years and Milwaukee was the launch site for Indigenous Games USA. The Games proved to be a showcase for Native youth to participate in individual competitions such as archery, track, boxing and wrestling. The team competitions such as baseball, basketball and a newly added competition of dodgeball are examples of the span of competitions. The games certainly proved to be a spectacular event for spectators and allowed Native and non-native people to watch the competition and learn about the cultural activities of tribal nations from across the United States.

Athlete of the Year: Coaches' Thoughts

Our 2011 Athlete of the Year, Kevin Murphy, has had a lot of different coaches in his life.
In his senior year at VCHS, Murphy had five different coaches from five different varsity sports, and they all had plenty of good things to say about such a versatile, hard-working athlete.
Here are their thoughts:

Kyle Kline, varsity boys water polo coach:
I think Kevin is a great choice for Athlete of the Year. I only had the pleasure of coaching Kevin for one season. I have had many athletes show up senior year and decide they want to play water polo and I was skeptical when I heard about Kevin and his desire to join the team. He showed up with confidence and I really didn’t expect him to last more than one day.
Kevin proved me wrong and exceeded my expectations. He was definitely behind on experience and conditioning in the water but that didn’t discourage him one bit. He worked through the tough practices and absorbed as much as he could to try to catch up. This is definitely one of the most coachable athletes I have had and he put everything I tried to teach him to use. I would only have to tell Kevin something once, and I would see him working on whatever it was throughout the rest of practice and the whole season. Kevin is also a natural athlete. He is aggressive and gives 110% with everything he does.
Something else that really defined Kevin was his willingness to face a tough challenge. He never backed down from a tough swim set that would give seasoned swimmers a tough time. What really set him apart was his decision to take on one of the toughest positions in the pool as two meter defense. This position involves defending usually the biggest and strongest player on the opposing team. When I described this position Kevin’s eyes lit up. He knew this was his spot and he wanted to make sure he earned the starting position. He worked hard and earned the starting spot and again exceeded my expectations. This position does not usually get the stats that the offensive two meter player gets. It does not get nearly as much attention or glory as other positions. Kevin was not in it for those things. He was in it for the challenge and to help his team. He handled athletes that had many more years experience than him and did an excellent job.
What makes Kevin a successful athlete is a combination of things. His work ethic is exceptional. He is confident but not over confident. He faces challenges head on and with an enthusiasm that I don’t often see. He is a positive role model for younger athletes and a team leader. He leads by example but is outspoken when necessary. He is extremely coachable and has a great attitude. All of these things are beneficial to a team. He made a huge contribution to my team this season and I can only imagine the water polo player he would have been with a few more years experience.
I am sure Kevin will apply these characteristics in the future and it is these that will ensure success in anything he chooses to pursue.
Kevin’s senior year stats: nine goals, 16 assists, 31 steals, and four blocks.
Thanks for giving recognition to a great athlete, student, and individual!

Clay Clifford, varsity wrestling coach:
Kevin was a three-year varsity letterman for wrestling and was a contributor to our second place finish at the San Diego CIF Division IV Championships. Kevin is good-natured and was a pleasure to have on the wrestling team. He made many sacrifices for the team when called upon, and always gave his best effort. I expect that Kevin will one day be a very good coach, hopefully in the sport of wrestling.

Rick Darland, varsity boys golf coach:
Kevin is a great kid and a team leader, and I had a lot of fun coaching him this season. To be able to do that many things that well shows you what kind of an athlete and what kind of a person he is.
Because of the nature of golf, you can’t just pick up your sticks after taking all winter off, but somehow Kevin showed up this spring and was better than he was last year. He progressed further than I thought he would this year.
He’s a well-rounded person who enjoys life, and he knows what it takes to be successful in whatever he wants to do.

Rob Gilster, varsity football coach:
He played football all four years, and he was thinking about just doing water polo his senior year, but he was such a strong long snapper that we found a way to make it work out for him to do both this year. He’s a really good long snapper, and I’m sure he could have helped us out at some other positions on the football field, but he was really passionate about water polo. He was able to get in some practice time and work with Davey [Last, the football team’s kicker] on his own. And he was able to get to all our games on time, even though he had other games on the same day.
He was also one of my ASB students this year, so I got to work closely with him on a lot of school activities. He’s a great kid, a hard worker, and very dependable. You know he’s going to get the job done.
He’s very responsible, and as a student and as a player, same thing. I know he had a lot of other responsibilities in his life, but he’s committed to doing what he needs to do to be a good teammate, a good student and a good person.
I think the balance and time management that he’s learned through sports and ASB in high school are important skills he will carry with him. That’s what so much of life is—we don’t always get to focus on just one thing, we have to be able to handle a lot at a time, and Kevin is definitely prepared to do that.
And he was good, too. He’s a great athlete.

Laura McCaulley, varsity swim coach:
Kevin did really well this year for the swim team. He fit in well with the boys and helped us out a lot, especially in the relays. He went to league for the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays and got better throughout the year.
His experience with the water polo team helped him be successful because he was already training really hard. During the swim season, he would come to the morning workout because he had golf in the afternoon, so he had a lot of long days.
But it paid off because he did such a great job in the league finals, where he placed in both the relay events as well as the 200 freestyle.
He’s a really hard worker, and that’s only going to help him with whatever he does in life. His work ethic is unreal!

2011 Roadrunner Athlete of the Year: Kevin Murphy

To see more photos of Kevin Murphy, click here to visit the gallery on Facebook.

By: Dan Kidder

They say that a jack of all trades is the master of none.
But Kevin Murphy is the rare kind of athlete who defies simple sayings.
Murphy, like the Jim Thorpes and Bo Jacksons before him, was never content with the challenge of just one athletic endeavor.
He grew up playing Little League baseball, Boys & Girls Club basketball, Pop Warner football and youth soccer. He tried his hand at motocross for a while (“Just for fun,” he says).
His older sister, Erin, ran cross country in high school and earned a scholarship to UNLV. Since the middle school didn’t offer very many sports at the time, Murphy decided to follow in his sister’s footsteps and joined the cross-country team. He continued playing flag football and basketball while waiting for his chance to show his stuff at the next level—high school.
His freshman season, Murphy played football, basketball and golf, a sport he picked up on a whim and ended up playing at the varsity levels all four years of high school.
“We became members of the country club,” he says. “And I totally fell in love with golf.”
In his sophomore season, he once again played football and golf, but switched to wrestling in the winter season.
“I loved playing basketball,” he says. “I grew up playing with Beau [Reilly], Stehly [Reden] and AJ [Broomell] on a lot of travel teams. But I wanted to try something a little different. One of my favorite sports to watch is MMA [Mixed Martial Arts], and I’ve always wanted to try to get into that. But in wrestling, you work so hard, especially with the guys around you, it’s like a brotherhood of wrestlers.”
Murphy’s sports schedule remained unchanged for his junior year, but things really picked up for him this year.
In his senior year, he played football and water polo in the fall season, wrestling in the winter season and both swimming and golf in the spring.
“My buddy Ian Macfarlane said I should come swim with him because it’s a great workout,” Murphy says. “It totally changes your body. I used to lift weights to bulk up for football, but swimming really leaned me out while keeping me really strong.”
Not only does Murphy play so many different sports, he plays such unique positions that usually require specific skills beyond the pick-it-up-as-I-go-along mentality.
Growing up, he played middle infield and pitcher on the baseball diamond, as well as point guard in basketball.
Although he grew up playing different positions in football, by the time he got to the varsity level, Murphy was so good as a long snapper that he was able to work out his own practice schedule that allowed him to play both water polo and football this season. He worked out with the special teams unit on Thursdays and found time with kicker David Last to keep his game at the highest level.
On the water polo team, Murphy quickly carved out a spot at two-meter defense, despite his relative inexperience.
“I’ve played so many sports, and water polo is a combination of so many sports, it just came to me,” Murphy says. “I played against the other team’s best offender. I like playing defense, and if the team needs something, I’m willing to do whatever.”
He wrestled somewhere in the 140-pound range, posted a golf index of four (which basically calculates how many strokes above par a player is, on average), and swam the 100 freestyle, the 200 freestyle and the 100 backstroke for the swim team this year.
“I love the camaraderie with my teammates,” Murphy says. “I love winning, and for me, there’s nothing like trying to be the best you can. I was never the quarterback, never scored the most goals, never was the biggest guy on the field, but I always want to work hard and try as many different things as I can.”
To try so many different sports takes a unique approach, and Murphy says that each sport he has played carries its own mentality.
“It’s different for each person,” he says. “For example, a football player isn’t as methodical as a golfer. Before he gets to the first tee, a golfer knows where he wants to put the ball and he has a plan for that hole. A football player walks on the field and he has all his coaches worrying about the bigger picture. He just has to go out and make a play.
“In wrestling, it’s just you against one other guy,” he adds. “You don’t really need the whole team to do your job—it’s a team sport, but so much is placed on the individual. It’s all about self-motivation. In water polo, it’s a lot of work and a lot of swimming, but that sense of brotherhood is big. You work so hard with these other guys that you really appreciate each other. And in swimming, it’s a pretty small group but it’s really tight-knit. It takes a lot of work to do swimming, but it pays off when you start to see your times drop. The coaches were great—they know they work us hard, but we know it’s for our benefit.”
Murphy didn’t earn any scholarships for his play on the field, and even though he will always enjoy playing sports for fun, he doesn’t have any plans to pursue college athletics.
“My sister’s boyfriend is a division one football player—he’s six-two, runs a four-six forty and he plays free safety,” Murphy says. “I love playing sports, but I know I can’t reach that kind of level. To play college sports, you have to be so naturally gifted. I look at Stehly [Reden] and that’s the kind of natural athlete you have to be. But even if I’m not playing, I still love working my body to the point where it feels like it’s breaking down and exceeding my goals. We’ll see where life takes me, and what God’s plan is for me.”
Murphy’s father, Sean, was a Navy pilot, his grandfather was a Blue Angel, and his uncle is an F-4 pilot, and Murphy says that he would love to join the ranks of his fellow naval aviators. But he also says his faith plays a central role in his life, and that he’s willing to pursue other directions as well. As a core team member at St. Stephen’s church, Murphy says he wants to honor God’s plan for his life.
“I definitely have an interest in the military, but I want to go where God leads,” he says. “You don’t know where God’s going to take you, but if you love Him and serve Him, wherever He takes you will be wherever you’re supposed to be. For me, if that’s the Navy, then that’s great. But I’m open to whatever.”
Wherever he goes next, Murphy says that he will never forget the years he spent playing sports with his friends here in Valley Center.
“There are so many great memories,” he says. “Like rushing back from a water polo game at Poway to make it to our home football game—I walked in with no shirt on, my pads in my hands and my eyes still watering from the pool, but I made it in time. And I’ll always remember winning league with the golf team this year—we came through a lot. All the practices, working hard and messing around with the guys, those are the things I’ll remember.”
Kevin Patrick Murphy grew up in Valley Center with his family—his father, Sean, a retired Navy pilot who works for Computer Protection Technology; his mother, Colleen, an aide for the Valley Center/Pauma Unified School District; and his siblings, Erin, John and Bridget.
Befitting his Irish heritage—his grandmother is from Ireland—Murphy is a fan of the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Celtics, and Notre Dame football. He and his father are planning a trip to Dublin, Ireland, to see Notre Dame play against Navy next year. He also likes Duke basketball and has been following the emerging career of PGA golfer Rory McElroy, lamenting that “I was a Tiger Woods fan, but…you can’t really do that anymore.”
When he’s not playing sports, Murphy says he’s working, working out, participating in church activities or sleeping.
After his high school athletics experience, Murphy has some encouragement for young athletes.
“To all the little guys out there, don’t ever stop working hard,” he says. “You may not be a stud, but you mean just as much. A team is a well-oiled machine, and it needs every part to work. So never give up, and don’t be afraid to go out and try a new sport. You never know if you’ll like it, so even if it’s hard, keep pushing through.”