The Sweetwater Union High School District’s fall break occurred smack dab in the middle of regular season play for the Metro Conference’s collection of sports teams, be it girls field hockey, girls volleyball, girls tennis, girls golf, boys water polo, boys and girls cross country or football.
Did we miss any?
The two-week break allowed many families to take out-of-town vacations. However, the schedule of many teams did not feature an extended break. Thus, those teams were affected by glaring absences in the lineup.
The Bonita Vista High School boys water polo team felt a particular numbers drain either due to players out of town with their families or out of the lineup due to illness.
The Barons had just one sub for Thursday’s Mesa League game against the Hilltop Lancers at the Parkway pool. The visitors won the contest by a score of 14-9 but had to rally from an early 4-2 deficit.
BVHS head coach Betty Alexander admitted she’s not overly enamored by the timing of the fall break but feels her team has dealt with the adversity as best as possible.
“We haven’t played one game with the entire team being here,” Alexander said. “We’ve had one of our starters out of the lineup for some reason or another.
“On Tuesday (in an 11-7 loss to Eastlake), had had two injured and everyone else was sick. Today, we were missing three starters. Right now we’re trying to get everyone healthy for league games.”
The Barons have played through the adversity in admirable fashion after recording a runner-up finish at last week’s East County Invitational at West Hills High School.
Bonita Vista finished 4-1 in the tournament with victories against Southwest (15-3), Mission Hills (14-11), Mater Dei Catholic (14-13) and Santa Fe Christian (12-10) and a 14-8 loss in the championship game to Classical Academy.
Bonita Vista and Classical Academy are vying at the moment for the top spot in the San Diego Section Division III rankings.
“We were No. 1 and they were No. 2 and now they’re No. 1 and we’re No. 2,” Alexander said. “The three most competitive teams in the division seem to be Classical Academy, us and Helix.”
Helix (12-4) entered the week ranked third in the 20-team division, followed by Francis Parker (8-4), La Jolla Country Day (7-8), Castle Park (2-1), El Capitan (10-6) and West Hills (8-7).
Bonita Vista improved to 12-6 on the season following Thursday’s win, which allowed the Barons to even their league record at 2-2.
Emiliano Castro scored seven goals off the bench to lead Bonita Vista on the scoresheet while Archie Orozco scored three goals. Jon Ibarguren contributed two goals while Wesley Haslett and Felix Ikeda each scored single goals.
Goalie Josh Roman played a big part in helping his team secure the win by making 13 saves. He earned the team’s MVP award at last week’s tournament.
Skylar Garces paced the Lancers (0-4 in league, 7-8-1 overall) with six goals while Lorenzo Rodriguez scored two goals.
Hilltop finished 2-3 at the East County Invitational, posting victories against Mira Mesa (9-8) and El Capitan (12-8) and dropping matchups against Santa Fe Christian (9-7), El Capitan (13-8) and Monte Vista (11-5).
The Lancers host current Mesa League leader Eastlake (4-0 in league, 9-7 overall) on Tuesday, Oct. 9, at the Parkway pool. Game time is 3 p.m.
Eastlake defeated San Ysidro, 13-9, on Thursday to remain in the Mesa League lead and extend their current win streak to five games.
The Titans finished 2-3 at the recent America’s Finest City Invitational (Sept. 21-22) with victories against Auburn (Wash.) Riverside (16-7) and La Costa Canyon (12-11) and losses to Cathedral Catholic (20-5), Riverside King (11-8) and Rancho Bernardo (15-11).
Eastlake topped Ramona, 11-7, in a non-league game last Friday.
Bonita Vista returns home to host Mater Dei Catholic in a league contest next Tuesday (Oct. 9) at Southwestern College at 5:30 p.m.
Mesa League Standings
(Through Oct. 4)
Eastlake Titans 4-0, 9-7
Mar Vista Mariners 3-1, 13-4
Mater Dei Catholic 2-2, 7-10
Bonita Vista Barons 2-2, 12-6
San Ysidro Cougars 1-3, 8-5-1
Hilltop Lancers 0-4, 7-8-1
South Bay League Standings
(Through Oct. 4)
Otay Ranch Mustangs 4-0, 7-6
Olympian Eagles 3-1, 4-2
Castle Park Trojans 2-2, 2-2
Southwest 1-3, 1-21
Chula Vista 0-3, 2-7
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
