By Craig at 619Sports.net

VALLEY CENTER- The Valley Center Jaguars are an elite Division IV program, with five CIF championship banners to prove it. But each year when they meet Oceanside in Valley League play, coach Rob Gilster’s team gets to see a level of talent and speed that rarely travels up Cole Grade Road.

“Our kids only see speed like that once a year,” said Gilster.

On Friday night, #1 Oceanside raced past #4 Valley Centerso quickly, the Jaguars and their fans barely got a glimpse before the Pirates were off with the treasure. Oceanside (9-0, 5-0) jumped out to a 24-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and completely throttled the Valley Center offense in a 45-7 final that was not nearly as close as the score.

Pirates head coach John Carroll was proud of his team’s intensity on a night when the Pirates’ first-team defense held the Jaguars (8-1, 4-1) to 37 yards, three first downs and zero points in 13 possessions.

Oceanside scored two touchdowns in the first 2:44 of the game to quickly drain any drama from a matchup of 8-0 teams. The Pirates marched 72 yards on the opening drive, scoring on a Devin Taverna wide receiver option TD pass to Demario Coleman. Moments later, senior cornerback/running back Noah Tarrant picked off a Beau Reilly pass in the left flat and easily scampered 26 yards for a pick six, making it 14-0.

Oceanside racked up 152 of their 381 total yards of offense in the first quarter, with quarterback Quentis Clark (9-for-17, 125 yards, TD) hooking up with Jerry Whittaker on a 27-yard scoring toss to make it 21-0. The Pirates ran for a combined 210 yards, with Whittaker (8 carries, 82 yards) and King Holder (3 carries, 52 yards, 2 TD) leading the way.

But the story on this night was on the other side of the football, where the Pirates’ defense regularly induced gasps from the Valley Center crowd with their pad-rattling hits. Stanton Upson, an all-league running back who entered the game with over 1200 yards and 13 touchdowns, was held to a paltry 26 yards on 22 carries.

With Upson under wraps and the score out of hand, the Oceanside defenders were left free to pin their ears back and chase the quarterback. Beau Reilly wound up being sacked six times, three times by Molesi.

Noah Tarrant, meanwhile, enjoyed an unusual two touchdown day. After his pick six score as a corner, Tarrant found himself in the right place at the right time in the third quarter, when a bad snap on a punt left Jaguars’ punter David Last awkwardly booting a scrambling kick from his end zone. Tarrant grabbed the short wobbler on the run and raced 12 yards for his second non-offensive touchdown of the game:

On a night where there wasn’t much to enjoy from a Valley Center perspective, head coach Rob Gilster saw something very important on the field: a Jaguars team that met the physical challenge offered by the Pirates without backing down.

Oceanside further bolstered their #1 section and #5 state ranking, and at 9-0, they are a week (and a win over Ramona) away from both securing another Valley League title and completing a 10-0 regular season. While John Carroll’s team once had a 10-0 season that included a forfeit, they’ve never completed a 10-0 regular season on the field, a fact he shared with his team in the postgame huddle.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars will still be a #1 or #2 seed for the Division-IV playoffs, where they will likely roll until they see another brilliantly fast San Diego athlete, Mission Bay’s Dillon Baxter.

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

Positions: RB / DB Height: 5′ 7″ Weight: 150 Class: 2010

Point Loma High School San Diego, CA

Despite his small stature, Point Loma running back Stephan Jackson continues to come up big for the Pointers this season. He rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown on only 7 carries to help propel his team over conference rival Serra last Friday. Jackson is averaging nearly 8 yards per carry this season and has 363 total yards from scrimmage. Jackson looks to continue his stellar play this season when the Pointers take on the Hoover Cardinals in a battle of 5-3 teams this Friday night.

Visit Stephan’s full SportsForce profile HERE

Ricky Seale continues to dominate the opposition. The 5’10” 190lb senior running back out of Escondido rushed 25 times for 162 yards, including a 60-yard TD run, in a 21-21 tie with Torrey Pines last week. Seale, who now has 5,600 career rushing yards, is looking to become the all time rushing leader in San Diego-CIF Section history. He needs only 50 yards against #2 ranked La Costa Canyon to break the all-time rushing mark set by Demetrius Sumier of Cathedral Catholic. PAC-10 powerhouses including, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, and Washington are heavily recruiting Seale for next years college football season.

Check out Ricky’s SportsForce Profile HERE

www.sportsforceonline.com

Sam Hoekstra is an explosive running back/ defensive back out of Santa Fe Christian High School in California. Sam was simply unstoppable when his Santa Fe Christian Eagles took on the Coronado Islanders last week. Sam scored 2 touchdowns while amassing 226 rushing yards on only 13 carries, including an impressive 75 yard punt return touchdown. Sam now has 865 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in only 6 games this season while averaging a staggering 16.32 yards per carry. Sam and his 6-0 Eagles look to extend their unbeaten streak when they faceoff this week against their conference rival, the 5-2 Christian Patriots.

Learn more about Sam at his SportsForce profile.

SportsForce athletes haven been recognized over the past few weeks for their stand out performances. Previous Athlete of the Week, running back and USC commit Dillon Baxter has been the talk of many news outlets with an explosive start to his season. 619Sports.net wrote of Baxter and Missions Bay’s 49-27 win over Point Loma:

“ He ran the ball 22 times for 133 yards and four scores; breaking through tackles and embarrassing defenders along the way. Through the air he totaled 170 yards with 2 touchdowns and only one interception.

“All week we’ve been preparing,” said Baxter after the game. Our wide receivers just had to execute, the O-line had to buckle down because we knew they have a strong front. We just came out and matched their intensity and took it over.”

Full article here

Baxter had another amazing performance two weeks back against the Lincoln High Hornets, with the San Diego Union-Tribune reporting:

Baxter rushed for 268 yards and two touchdown in addition to passing for another 277 yards and four TDs while coming ever so close to 600 total yards after returning a crucial interception 41 yards to lead the Buccaneers to a 41-34 non-league victory, spoiling Lincoln’s homecoming.

Full article here or View Dillon’s Full SportsForce Profile

Kenny Stills, Jr, has also had a very impressive season thus far, and the Union-Tribune recently published a feature on the La Costa Canyon receiver. The Union-Tribune highlighted how Stills relationship with his father has helped to nurture his sports career. Stills father is Kenny Stills Sr, former NFL player and current USD defensive backs coach. The U-T writes:

Stills Sr. knew his son had talent and drive, but he has surpassed his expectations.

“Honestly, Kenny has developed more than I ever dreamed,” Stills Sr. said. “I’ve been a coach at the high school, college and pro ranks, and I can tell you I am totally impressed with the way he has developed into a complete player.”

Stills said his son has had one big motivating factor driving him his entire career as a football player.

“He’s always wanted to be better than his dad,” Stills Sr. said.

Full article here

This past weekend, the senior receiver continued his dominance and had nine catches for 130 yards, threw a 29-yard touchdown pass, returned an interception 75 yards interception and finished a 56-7 win over Mission Hills with 311 all-purpose yards.

View Kenny’s Full SportsForce Profile

Dillon Baxter is an extremely talented running back out of Mission Bay High School in San Diego, CA. A standout of the class of 2010 Dillon has a verbal commitment to USC and has immense talent and promise for his future in football.

According to XX1090 Dillion is “built like an every-down back that can take continual punishment. He runs excellent routes and has soft hands which will give him more opportunities in the open field. He’s got the hands of an all-purpose back, could play receiver, but can also take the pounding that the traditional back goes through on a daily basis.”

The XX1090 Athlete of the Week is Brennan Clay of Scripps Ranch High School. Brennan is a Running Back for the Falcons. As listed on the XX1090 website Brennan is “…a very muscular and compact back and very high-effort kid that has tremendous change of direction and above-average speed. He will be extra dangerous because he is a stellar pass receiver and dangerous in space.”

I believe “the dream” for any athlete, started the minute he or she watched a game on tv, or was at a venue, seeing pro athletes for the first time, aware of what was happening. For me, I can point to three incidents.

1982, I was only in 2^nd grade, but I remember watching Paolo Rossi lead Italy to the World Cup title in Spain. I remember the crowd chanting and the Televisa announcer’s high octane call of the action. The majesty of the Copa Mundial got me so hooked on soccer, I got the rest of the kids in my section of the Imperial Manor apartments in south San Diego (right between Sidro and IB) into soccer. We played “metegol” (shootouts) everyday, wearing the low budget goalie gloves (they were gold to me) that my pops bought me at La Popular sports shop in TJ.

1983, Russ Hall (Dude was awesome, he went out of his way to make a bunch of us little Mexican kids love sports) our coach from the South Bay Rec Center league, took our flag football team to watch the Chargers and Rams scrimmage in Training Camp. The moment I saw Dan Fouts thread one into Kellen Winslow’s hands across the middle, I knew I wanted to be a QB (that thought was cemented after watching a young buck named John Elway with a rifle that left crosses on receiver’s chests).

Of course 1984, the Padres went to their first World Series, and I remember eating a Padres Pack from McDonalds, watching the man who would become my hero, Tony Gwynn, use that sweet cut as he went “oppo”. Padres became Cub-busters and everyone wanted that t-shirt. By the way, former Dodger Steve Garvey may have been getting more attention, but TG19 was the one batting .350.

From those key moments, the little “guzanito” in me was born. The “guzanito,” is the little fire in the pit of the stomach that motivates you to do whatever it is you were born to do. It’s the feeling of “I can’t wait to pick up a bat, or a football, shoot a 3, or shoot on goal.”

Read the rest of this entry »

With summer tournaments, showcases and camps happening nearly everyday of the week in California, SportsForce has been all over the place getting footage and meeting with coaches, athletes, parents and teams.

19^th Annual Alex Spanos All-Star Football Classic

SportsForce was meeting with coaches and filming at the 19^th Annual Alex Spanos All-Star Football Classic where some of San Diego’s best graduating senior football players are showcased before heading off to play college football. Many of the players at the showcase have signed with college programs including SportsForce alum, La Jolla’s Robbie Beathard who will be playing at the University of San Diego. Jerik Davis of Mira Mesa who will be playing at New Mexico State and Robbie Rouse of Madison High School who is signed with Fresno State.

San Diego High School Baseball Showcase

The San Diego Showcase sponsored by the San Diego County Baseball Coaches Association was held July 12 at Poway High School. The event showcased top baseball players from around the county who are entering their senior year. Over 20 college coaches (including USD, Long Beach State, Univ. of Oklahoma, LMU and more) and MLB scouts were at the event while SportsForce filmed the entire pro-style workout and games.

Champions Cup Softball 16U Tournament

SportsForce was able to see top softball players at the Champions Cup Softball 16U Tournament in Irvine, CA this weekend as well. Over 50 college coaches attended the event, which was the first of a two-weekend tournament. The 18U Tournament will be held next weekend.

Top Soccer Tournament – Albion Cup

SportsForce is partnered with the Albion Cup for this weekend’s National Soccer Showcase. The tournament offers college exposure showcasing the top teams in the country. The Showcase is open for teams to play in either the Top Showcase Group or the Cup Group and is for Boys and Girls U8-U19. www.albioncup.org

The Showcase is an amazing opportunity for the athletes and teams that attend and Puma is helping to make one level even more competitive. Puma is putting on a special Puma V Elite Bracket for U14 and U15 teams, including special invitations sent out to Puma clubs from around the country. Noah Gins, Technical Director/ Director of Coaching for the Albion Peninsula Soccer league commented on the company’s involvement. “They’ve brought all the bells and whistles for this including banners, retail stores and tents, and a lounge for kids to hang out in. We had (former women’s national team player) Leslie Osborne here last year,” he said. “We’re at a point now where we want the best teams in the country and that’s what we’re after.” Follow up with us next week for a full recap of the Albion Cup National Soccer Showcase.

New Additions

SportsForce has added a new member to our Street Team, Katherine Salter. Katherine was a former high school volleyball player that was recruited by smaller schools to play college volleyball. Katherine is assisting with our grassroots efforts for Girls and Boys Volleyball.

District Champs

SportsForce partner Dan Plashke’s son Jackie and his little league team won their district this past weekend. The team is now the 9-10 year old District 31 Champions are moving on hoping to win the divisional title this coming weekend. We wish them the best of luck!

SportsForceonline.com

The SportsForce team also met with our web development group, Barefoot Solutions (www.barefootsolutions.com) to discuss the homestretch towards launching the new site. We have a lot of video and content to add to the site as well as some changes to make to ensure the best experience when we launch (hopefully) in early August.