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.

Offense key for Lady Jags in big win, but untimely errors lead to tough loss

Jasmine Contreras smashes a home run against Westview.

A powerful offense has been the hallmark of the Valley Center varsity softball team so far this season, and the Lady Jaguars took advantage of their big bats in taking a big win over Holtville last week. But Wednesday’s home loss against Westview has the Lady Jags focusing on defense and fundamentals heading into the Jaguar Classic Tournament this week.
The Lady Jaguars hosted Holtville on March 18 and exploded for seven runs in the first inning en route to a dominating 12–2 victory.
After the big first inning, Valley Center added another run in the fourth before Holtville pushed two runs across in the top of the fifth. But the Lady Jaguars put the seal on the win with four runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game.
Leadoff hitter Jasmine Contreras came up big with a home run and a double, with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Stephanie Koishor smashed a two-run home run in the game. Alex Scoles added a double and a single, with two runs scored and a stolen base, while Emma Sloman had two hits, two RBIs and two runs, Andrea Torres had a hit, two RBIs and two runs, Raelyn Rodriguez had a hit, an RBI and a run, Ashley Nuñez had a hit, a run and a stolen base, Anna Luna scored a run and Mindy Faber stole a base.
Anna Luna rips this pitch for a hit.

Sloman pitched an excellent game to get the win, giving up two runs on four hits, with two walks and six strikeouts, in five innings of work.
The Lady Jaguars couldn’t get in rhythm offensively at home on Wednesday against Westview, and a number of errors doomed them to a 9–2 loss.
Valley Center committed five errors in the game, and they came at the most inopportune times. The Lady Jags had three errors in the third inning and the Lady Wolverines scored four runs, then Valley Center made two errors in the fifth, allowing Westview to bring four more runs across to put the game out of reach.
The Lady Jaguars had another good start on offense, as Contreras blasted a solo home run to lead off the first inning. But they couldn’t bring another run in until the fourth, when Rodriguez drove in Luna from second base with an RBI single to right field.
Contreras led the offense with a home run, an RBI and a run, while Rodriguez had a hit and an RBI, Luna had a hit and a run, Koishor had two hits and Scoles had a hit.
Jill Johnson took the loss, pitching five innings and allowing nine runs on seven hits, with seven walks and two strikeouts.
The Lady Jaguars are 7–3 so far this season, with the Jaguar Classic Tournament beginning this week. Valley Center will play at La Jolla on Wednesday at 4 p.m. before returning home to host Kearney on Friday at 4 p.m. The Lady Jags also play a non-league game at San Pasqual on Saturday at 9 a.m.

Jaguar cross-country teams run well in CIF section finals and state finals

Valley Center’s varsity cross-country teams wrapped up an outstanding season with stellar individual performances and solid team results at the CIF San Diego Section Division III Championships at Morley Field on Nov. 20.
The Jaguars took second place in the boys varsity race with 74 points, behind only Cathedral Catholic with 48, and ahead of El Capitan in third with 122.
Leading the way, as he has all season, was senior Nicasio Westlund, who finished second on the 3.04-mile course with a time of 16:24, just one second behind the race winner, Alex Eve of La Jolla. Stephen Lopez also ran well for the Jaguars, finishing in 12th with a time of 17:00.
In all, the Jaguars ran well enough to send seven runners to the state championship race, which will be held on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. The seven runners headed to the state meet are Westlund, Lopez, Nick Vanderpoel (17:10), Daniel Henderson (17:18), Travis Robey (17:22), Jon Larson (17:45) and Genaro Rodriguez (17:57).
Meanwhile, the Lady Jaguars took sixth place as a team, finishing with 216 points, behind the top three teams; Clairemont in first with 52, Cathedral Catholic in second with 55 and University City in third with 88.
Kaylee Hudson finished sixth overall to lead the Lady Jags on the 2.75-mile course, with a time of 17:04. Hudson was the only Lady Jaguar to qualify for the state meet.

The Jaguars sent eight runners to the state meet in Fresno on Saturday and put together another round of outstanding individual times.
The previous weekend, the Jaguars competed in the CIF San Diego Section finals at Morley Field, where the boys team finished second in Division III and posted a team score good enough for sixth overall.
Individually, the Jaguars earned seven spots in the state meet, while Kaylee Hudson, who took sixth in the section final race, was the lone state qualifier for the Lady Jags.
At the state meet, the Jaguars ran well as a team and finished 13th, with a total time of 1:21:56, the best state meet finish for a boys team in Valley Center High School history.
Leading the way, as he has all season, was senior Nicasio Westlund, who finished 16th out of 205 runners with a time of 15:44 on the 3.1-mile course at Woodward Park. Nick Vanderpoel finished 72nd (16:22), followed by Daniel Henderson in 73rd (16:24), Stephen Lopez in 84th (16:28), Travis Robey in 123rd (16:58), Jon Larson in 134th (17:04) and Genaro Rodriguez in 171st (17:36).
Hudson, meanwhile, finished 37th in the girls race, with a time of 19 minutes flat, giving her the third-best overall time for a Lady Jaguar runner in school history. Five of the seven Jaguar runners also moved into the school’s top ten list as well.
“It was a great couple of weeks for us,” said head coach Mike Cummings. “Congratulations to the team for their efforts. All of the hard work paid off.”

Videos: Valley Center vs Orange Glen football

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

video by Dan Kidder

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


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


Travis Bernard punches it in from three yards out:


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


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


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


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


Kenny Thomas gets to the quarterback for a sack:


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


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


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


Martin Cunningham breaks through the line for a big sack:


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

Photos: Valley Center vs Orange Glen football

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

Photos by Gabriel Santana

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

Big plays lead to big win for Jaguars over Orange Glen

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

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

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

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

Videos: Valley Center at Del Norte football

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

video by Kelly Kidder

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

Photos: Valley Center at Del Norte football

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

Photos by Gabriel Santana

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