The pursuit of a perfect season should lead any sports column. So this week, we’ll start our coverage of Coronado High School sports with The CHS Boys Soccer Team and their nearly perfect record of 15-0-1, which includes a 3-0 mark in Central League play.

Last week the Islanders marched through their two games with a 2-0 victory over Clairemont, on the strength of goals from Travis Lindsay and Jack Harms. Thursday they defeated Madison 3-0 with the scoring coming from Michael Dykstra, Matt Ganyard and Harms.

As you might expect from two conference shutouts, Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu was pleased with his defense, lead by his goalkeeper. "Hugo Vera did well on both Tuesday and Thursday. Nick Hamilton did a good defensive job Thursday. Travis Lindsay has been playing really solid and Matt Ganyard has been playing really well up front. Austen Speer, who is only a sophomore played really well against Clairemont. He and Travis had the best games Tuesday. Pat Ahern has played well."

Coronado, which posted a perfect 10-0 season last year in the old Harbor, now Central League, faces their primary rivals for the conference crown this week. "This coming week we have the powerhouse ones, Crawford and Hoover," said Hiatt-Aleu. "Last year we won so many games by one goal, it was ridiculous. You can get the ball to bounce one way, or get a funny call and it changes everything. We’ll see if we get the breaks we got last year. We just have to finish (score) a little more. We’ll see what happens this week. It should be very interesting."

Tuesday the Islanders travel to Crawford, while they host Hoover Thursday. Both games are slated for 3 pm starts.

Coaching a team sport can be a real roller coaster experience, complete with times you think you will never win another game, to the very satisfying occasion when you think your team has turned the corner and improved.

Head Girls Basketball Coach Toler Goodwin probably had such a ride over the last 10 days. One week ago, his team turned the ball over 42 times in a 32-minute game against Grossmont and lost. Last week the Islanders bested Central League rivals Crawford 45-30 and followed that up with a 46-30 home win over Hoover.

"We outscored Crawford 22-7 in the first quarter," said Goodwin. "I thought we played pretty well and did some good things early. They outscored us 10-2 in the second quarter. I would have liked to put the game away a lot earlier. We got some of our kids an opportunity to play, who don’t normally play that much."

Jessica Davis-Ricci led the scoring for Coronado against Crawford with 15 points and added eight rebounds. She was ably assisted by Arrielle Luna’s 12 points and eight more points from Brooke Becky.

Friday night against Hoover, it was more of the same, as Davis-Ricci scored 12 points, followed by Farrell Pompa with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Luna turned in a huge effort on the boards, snaring 15 total rebounds, with 11 of the caroms coming on the offensive end of the floor. Luna also added three steals, two assists and two blocked shots. "Arrielle was attacking the glass very aggressively, which was nice to see," said Goodwin. "She was in a position with the pressure defense we were putting on up top, to pick off some of their passes."

Goodwin also extolled the efforts of two of his players, senior guard Davis-Ricci and junior guard Kelsey Branch. "Kelsey has been coming along nicely. She had a good game against Crawford and she is creating a lot of turnovers. She did something similar Friday against Hoover. She is doing a better job of getting her body in position on defense and letting her feet do the work. Jessica has been playing very sound basketball. Against Hoover she hit a few shots, which allowed us to score some early."

Davis-Ricci made a fine defensive play against a Hoover forward, taking the charge from the larger Cardinal player, and getting the wind knocked out her in the process. Unfortunately, the fine play was recognized by everyone in the gym, except the referees. "It was disappointing that she wasn’t rewarded with her work on the non-call," said Goodwin. "Her reward was to go in the hall and to try to find her breath for 5 minutes."

This week the girls host Madison Tuesday at 5 pm and play Friday night at Clairemont at 6 pm. "We have finals this week, so it is important how we approach the game mentally. We have to come ready to play Tuesday."

Overall the squad is 11-7, 2-0 in conference play. "If we are able to run the table (in league) we would be 19-7," said Goodwin. "That would put us in a position for a decent seed in the playoffs. That will take some work."

Tyrone Shelley of Crawford High School is averaging a nifty 27.9 points per game to go with his 11.9 rebounds per game and helped lead the Colts past Coronado by the score of 74-30 last Tuesday. Against the Islanders, Shelley scored 27 points, nearly matching his average. Coronado trailed the Colts 42-8 at halftime in the first Central League game for both teams.

"We started out playing well on Shelley," said Head Coach Sandy Dillon. "Then he took a couple of long threes and buried them. After that, they got on a roll. The first half was horrible, but the second half was very competitive. The nice thing was we continued to compete and did a decent job in the second half."

Chas Marks led the scoring for the Islanders with 11 points. Ryan Guard added seven points to the Coronado attack.

Friday evening, Coronado hosted Hoover, currently ranked No. 4 in San Diego County. The Cardinals entered the game with a 15-4 record, but were without the services of their two leading scorers Norvell Arnold and JayDee Luster, who were out due to injury.

Hoover used their extreme team quickness and a run of accurate outside shooting to carry the day 56-49. Cardinal senior forward Aklilu Atanaw converted four consecutive three-pointers in less than 3 minutes to pace Hoover to a 22-5 second quarter advantage.

The Islanders competed hard all night, a fact not lost on Dillon. "We outscored them in three of the four quarters. I thought Friday night the kids played wonderfully. They competed, they broke the press and got the ball down the floor. I was pleased with Geoff Worley. Offensively he held his own and he is learning not to leave his feet and throw the ball. He had a couple of real nice assists."

Chas Marks had a big offensive night, scoring 21 points, while also leading the Islanders in rebounds with seven. "I was real pleased with Chas," Dillon said. "The second half was about as well as I have seen him shoot the ball. I thought Bryan Reed played well on defense and JJ Pontes played well. He went in and competed very hard and I was very pleased."

Following the two tough conference games, Coronado hosted Escondido Charter, which turned into an 80-43 Islander victory. Drew Zeller scored 17 for Coronado, followed by Benson Lorden with 15, Cole McLean with 14 and Kasey Zapatka with 11.

"Saturday night was good for us," said Dillon. "I was pleased that I had a chance to play a lot of kids."

This week Coronado travels to Madison for a game Tuesday and then travels to Clairemont Friday.

If water polo is your thing, there was plenty of it last weekend at the America’s Finest City Tournament, hosted by the CHS Girls Water Polo program. The 16-team tournament was played at both the La Jolla Coggan Family Pool and at the Coronado Municipal Pool.

The Islanders eased in to the tourney with an 11-4 victory over Mater Dei. Molly Patrick led the way with four goals and three steals, with Hannah Sebenaler adding two tallies. Single goals were scored by Katie Estrada, Sandra Fernandez, Maggie Sosnowski, Natalia Lopez, and Emily Bigham.

Coronado beat up on Valley Center 19-4 in the second contest and then bested Vista 12-4 in Saturday morning’s semi-finals. Patrick, Phelps and Sebenaler all scored three times against Vista, with Fernandez, Sosnowski and Bigham scoring once each. Goalie Morgan Ronimus was credited with 10 saves.

All of this set up a very well played tournament final against Whittier High School from the Los Angeles area. The two teams faced each other one week ago in the Santa Barbara Tournament, with Whittier prevailing 5-3.

Whittier started the contest with two quick goals, which were countered on a score by Phelps from a Fernandez assist, and a Sebenaler goal on an assist from Bigham. Whittier sandwiched two goals around an Islander goal form Carly Hoshko and held a 4-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The goal of the game from the Coronado perspective came one minute into the second quarter, when Bigham worked hard for an offensive rebound, and then made a nice pass to Phelps, who made the most of the scoring opportunity. Estrada and Hoshko also scored in the quarter and the Islanders trailed 7-6 at halftime.

During the course of the final game, Coronado tied the game four times, but was never able to take the lead. The third quarter was scoreless as both squads ratcheted up their defense. Phelps answered an early Whittier goal in the fourth quarter. Whittier scored again with 1 minute remaining in the game to make the score 9-7. Sebenaler scored the final goal of the game with 42 seconds remaining. Whittier won the game and the tournament title 9-8.

Islanders Estrada and Phelps were named to the All-Tournament Team. "Offensively Kelly is really starting to get confidence and learn what she is capable of doing," said Head Coach Dave Throop. "Katie is holding her position and doing what we have asked her to do at a very high level. Things are happening (fouls) and she’s not being rewarded (with calls from the officials.)

"I felt there were a lot of positives to it," said Throop if the Whittier game. "There were a couple of game situations that we were exposed to that the girls responded well to. The girls played hard and they played well. Hannah Sebenaler defensively did some very nice things. She is starting to compliment her defensive game with what she already does on the offensive end."

The Islander squad continued their morning practice regimen during the tournament, which means that they practiced twice and played four games in two days. All of that is done with an eye on the ultimate prize, the CIF Division II championship.

"We’re at the midpoint of the season, game-wise," Throop said. "I think we’re going in the right direction and we’re focused on doing what we need to do to improve. This upcoming week will be a real test of our character, with the games and finals."

Wednesday Coronado plays at La Jolla; Thursday they play Patrick Henry at Allied Gardens; Friday is the rivalry game at Bishop’s; and Saturday Coronado hosts Foothill at 6 pm. Each of the first three games listed will be played at 3 pm.

It was a tough week for the CHS Girls Soccer Team, as they lost to Christian 2-0 and then lost to Our Lady of Peace 1-0. The Christian game marked the third time the two teams have met this season, with the Islanders losing to the Patriots in the Barons tournament, and Coronado winning the second contest in the semi-finals of the Lady Vaquero Tournament.

"The situation with both games is that we just got into a state of over confidence," said Head Coach Kiko Medina. "We expected to step on the field and win. We responded well in both games in the second half. Friday was one of our better games in the last month or so. We played really well, but we were unlucky in our finishing. We just had trouble scoring."

Despite the two losses, Medina pointed out the efforts of three of his players. "Sasha Vido continues to work hard and is a quiet leader. She is always working hard and is a good example out there. Kindall Caldwell and Rosie Harris are good leaders for us."

The coming seven-day period, which Medina described as "the toughest week all year" includes a game at University City Wednesday and a home game with Cathedral Catholic Friday at 3:15 pm.

Saturday, February 11, the CHS Baseball Team is hosting their first ever Islander Baseball Fantasy Camp. The format is batting practice starts at 10 am; lunch will be served at noon; followed by a game at 1 pm.

The event is open for any baseball fan, or as Head Coach Sam Ceci describes the target audience, "the has beens, the wannabees and anyone else in between. We’ll have high school kids there to chase the balls down. You’ll get to swing the bat, which most people haven’t done in years. The bottom line is to get some exposure for the program and raise some money."

For a suggested donation of $50, more if you prefer, each of the ‘campers’ will receive a fitted CHS baseball hat, a t-shirt, lunch and have a lot of fun. "You don’t have to be a Coronado grad," said Ceci of the event. "If you are in sight of the program and hear our plea, come on out."For more information on the Islander Baseball Fantasy Camp, please contact Coach Ceci at 435-0854.

Ceci, who played on three national championship baseball teams at USC during the 1970-72 seasons, attended the recent funeral services of legendary Trojan Baseball Head Coach Rod Dedeaux, who passed away at the age of 91. Dedeaux coached at the school from 1942-86 and was the all-time leader in career victories at the collegiate level when he retired.

Dedeaux led USC to 11 National Championships and coached 60 players who eventually reached the Major Leagues. "He lived a very full life and the funeral was something to behold," said Ceci. "He won five national titles in a row, which was something that nobody will ever do again. There were probably 4,000 people at the service, and there were 1,000 or 1,200 of his former players there. It was a touching, moving and extraordinary service for a guy who was much more than a baseball coach."

The services were performed by Cardinal Roger Mahony at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

"Vin Scully did the last eulogy. It was worth being there for that alone," said Ceci. "The USC band played on the patio for 45 minutes afterwards. The USC Bugle Corps played during the service. There were 12 trumpets inside the stone church. It sent shivers up your back when they played the Olympic Fanfare. It was very dramatic."

Ceci was able to catch up with several former USC teammates, including Fred Lynn, who was both the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year in 1975 for the Boston Red Sox. "That was the first time I had seen Freddie in 30 years," Ceci said. "He doesn’t look a whole lot different than when I played with him."

If you have a middle school-aged athlete in your home, sign-ups for CMS spring sports will be held Thursday, February 9 at 6:30 pm at the school’s Granzier Hall. The registration fee is $90 per sport, per child.

Spring sports offerings include Boys Lacrosse and Girls Basketball. Co-ed sports teams include Track and Field, Tennis, Water Polo and Golf.

Each athlete must have proof of having a physical examination within the past 12 months. Other required forms and documents may be downloaded by visiting www.IslanderSportsFoundation.com.

Another reminder that the Coronado Boys Lacrosse Clinics will be held on consecutive Saturday mornings, at both the CHS and CMS fields, from January 28 to Feb. 25. Clinic times will be 9-11 am.

The clinics are designed for boys in third through eighth grades. For new players, the clinics present an excellent opportunity to learn skills as well as the strategy of the game. The clinic fee is $100 per player, with checks made payable to: Coronado School Lacrosse.

Included in the fee are: a U.S. Lacrosse Association membership, a Coronado lacrosse sticker, a lacrosse ball, and a player mouth guard. Players provide a stick, cleats, and shoulder pads. Helmets, gloves and arm pads are available to be loaned, although a deposit is required.

The remaining clinic registration date is Jan. 28 from 8-9:30 am. Registration will be held at the Sixth Street entrance to the CHS football field. Questions may be directed to Sue Runyon at suerunyon@sbcglobal.net or Megan Stanley at megandyno@sbcglobal.net.