The Bonita Vista Barons keep rolling in their 18th season, 15th as members of the trail-blazing CIF-Metro Conference. The season has two more weeks to go before the Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs.
The Barons were part of last year’s 12-team post-season field. Will they return this season? That has yet to be determined.
In the meantime, head coach Keith Quigley’s squad is playing with a lot of enthusiasm. The Barons improved their season record to 8-10 following Monday’s 7-3 non-league victory against Sweetwater at the Castle Park High School rink.
It was the second consecutive win for Bonita Vista after edging Southwest, 4-0, in another non-league game last Friday.
It’s been a season of mostly tight competition this season for Sweetwater district teams. Bonita Vista and Mar Vista exchanged a pair of nail-biting wins in recent match-ups. The Barons slipped past the Mariners by a score of 3-2 in a game played Feb. 3 after Mar Vista had posted a 3-1 win on Jan. 30. The Jan. 30 game was one of the most exciting and intense games played this season by two Sweetwater district teams.
Quigley is hoping for renewed fortunes next season, as the Barons are losing 12 seniors to graduation after this season.
“I’ve already starting speaking to the team about next season,” the BVHS coach explained. “We have four games left this season and our goal is to try to win all four or at least be competitive in all four games.”
Quigley said he’s been aided in recruiting players for next season by the team’s sizable outgoing senior class.
“We had a car wash last week to raise money for next season, which the seniors had the idea for,” Quigley said. “I think it’s nice for the seniors to be involved in helping out next year’s team, even though they are moving on.”
Matt Custodio recorded a hat trick to lead Bonita Vista in Monday’s game while Chris Miguel scored two goals and Leo Gurrola had two assists. Angel Ortega and Dylan Riley each chipped in with one goal apiece while Mike McIlwain had one assist.
Naya Romero played the third period between the pipes in relief of starter Hawk Anderson. Romero allowed just one goal.
“This gave was not a gimme,” Quigley said. “Sweetwater is a much improved team, and the score was 4-1 for a long time.”
Luis Trevino scored two goals for the Red Devils, who dropped to 0-17 on the season.
Scripps Ranch 10, West Hills 2
In a non-league game played Monday at the Skate San Diego rink in El Cajon:
Scripps Ranch 10, West Hills 2?Shaun Simmons scored four goals, Jesse Lycan had three goals, Taegan Warren had two goals and Scott Rhyne had one goal to lead the Falcons. Cade Frederick and Wes Konold each scored one goal for the Wolf Pack in the loss.
Raiders tip Mariners; Trojans inch closer to South Bay League title
The Southwest Raiders may or may not repeat as South Bay League champions this season but they sure might have a say in which team wins this year’s league title after scoring a 3-1 victory against Mar Vista in a key league match-up on Monday.
The Raiders received two goals from Joshua Lopez and one goal from Chantel Piedra to skate past the Mariners in a mild upset. Southwest opened up a 2-0 first-period lead and kept Mar Vista off the scoreboard until the dying minutes of the final period.
Kayleigh Andrew set up Piedra’s opening goal in an all-female one-two punch while Lopez scored Southwest’s final two goals.
Eloy Rodriguez, set up by Cindy Moeller, scored the lone goal for the Mariners.
The loss dropped Mar Vista to 2-2-1 in league play, 5-12-1 overall, while raising the Raiders’ league record to 3-2, 6-11 overall.
Castle Park is 5-1 in league play, 8-7 overall, and remains in the driver’s seat to sew up its first league championship in 11 seasons with victories in its final two league games. The Trojans play the Mariners on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and close out league play Thursday with a game against Southwest.
The South Bay League championship race now involves four teams. Southwest now resides in sole possession of second place, followed by Chula Vista and Mar Vista in a tie for third place in the league standings.
A win by Castle Park on Tuesday would clinch no worse than a league co-championship for the Trojans while a Mar Vista win would extend the league title chase for all teams involved.
Chula Vista is 2-2-1 in league play, 6-10-1 overall.
Chula Vista plays Southwest Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in what might be considered as an elimination game for the loser.
Mar Vista plays winless Sweetwater on Thursday.
Trojans poised to claim South Bay League championship
The Castle Park Trojans can collect their first South Bay League championship title in 11 years by defeating the defending league champion Southwest Raiders Thursday at the CPHS roller rink. Face-off is 4:30 p.m.
The Trojans inched closer to claiming this year’s league title after defeating the Mar Vista Mariners, 7-0, in a key league encounter on Tuesday.
Castle Park improved to 6-1 in league play (9-7 overall) with the victory and assured itself of no worse than a co-championship. The Trojans need one more win to claim this year’s league banner outright.
Southwest remained in the championship hunt by dealing a 3-1 defeat to the Chula Vista Spartans on Tuesday. The Raiders improved to 4-2 in league play (7-11 overall) and can tie Castle Park for the league title if they win their last two league contests.
The Trojans’ final league game is Thursday. They will either finish 7-1 or 6-2 in league play. A tie is also possible, which would give them a 6-1-1 record.
Southwest can finish 6-2 at best in league play. Thus, a Castle Park win or tie on Thursday would hand the 2014-15 South Bay League championship to the Trojans.
Should the Raiders win on Thursday, both teams will have to take a wait and see attitude. A loss in Southwest’s final two games would also hand the league title outright to the Trojans.
“It’s going to be a tough competition,” Raider assistant coach Marco Rey noted. “Both teams have been working hard. It will be a battle to the very end.”
“It will be a good South Bay League contest,” Southwest head coach Jerry Nestlerode said.
Tuesday’s win by Castle Park was its sixth consecutive in league play. Julian DeAlba and Miguel Flores led the Trojans with two goals and one assist each while Marvin Cirignano scored two goals and Mario Presa scored once. CP goaltender Hector Garcia stopped a breakaway by Mar Vista’s Austin Hoffman to preserve the shutout victory.
The Mariners, who defeated the Trojans in the teams’ league opener, dropped to 2-3-1 in league play, 5-13-1 overall.
Southwest received two goals from Joshua Lopez and a single goal from Hector Hernandez to tame Chula Vista, which saw its league record dip to 2-3-1. The Spartans dropped to 6-11-1 overall.
The Raiders opened up a 2-0 lead and made it 3-1 on a goal scored just 28 seconds into the third period. Abraham Carlon scored the lone goal for the Spartans.
Titans pile up 36 goals in two games, hike record to 17-1 on season
The Eastlake High School scoring machine continues to rumble. The Titans scored 36 goals in picking up their latest two victories to improve to 17-1 on the season.
In a non-league game played Tuesday at the CPHS rink, Eastlake out-scored Sweetwater 22-0.
In a Mesa League game played Wednesday at the same site, the Titans rolled past the Hilltop Lancers by a score of 14-0.
Eastlake 14, Hilltop 0
The Titans improved to 5-0 in league play and secured at least a share of this year’s league title, which would constitute the team’s third straight league championship (either shared or outright). Eastlake can claim this year’s league title outright with a win in its final league game Feb. 18 against Otay Ranch (4-1 in league play).
Aaron Mayer paced Eastlake to its latest win with eight goals and three assists to raise his season scoring total to 98 goals and 152 points. Mayer remains on a record-pace to shatter his own single-season conference record for total points he set last season. The 152-point total already eclipses last year’s regular season total of 145 points in 20 games. Mayer finished last season with a single-season conference record 158 points in 22 games.
Bawden is not far behind Mayer on the scoring chart. He had three goals and one assist to hike his season total to 69 goals and 101 points. Michael Mechling contributed two goals and one assist while Percilla Mayer had one goal and Brian Benson and William Hamilton each had one assist.
Mechling has 51 goals and 82 points on the season.
Hilltop dropped to 1-4 in Mesa League play, 14-6 overall.
Eastlake 22, Sweetwater 0
The Titans improved to 16-1 on the season while the Red Devils dropped to 0-18. Aaron Mayer and Sam Bawden each finished the game with six goals and one assist to lead the Titans while Michael Mechling tacked on four goals and one assist, Stefanos Alexiou and Sean Layton each tallied two goals and Brian Benson and Percilla Mayer each contributed one goal.
Eastlake led 8-0 after the first period and 15-0 after two periods.
Mustangs win pair of tight contest; stay in league title chase
The wins are coming harder at the end of the season for all the teams in the CIF-Metro Conference as opponents improve and simply buckle down in key contests. The Otay Ranch Mustangs persevered through a pair of close match-ups to stay in contention for the both Mesa League championship title and a possible upper tier seed in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup playoffs.
“It’s a great experience; the kids really look forward to competing in close games,” ORHS coach Adrian Rodriguez explained.
Otay Ranch 9, West Hills 6
The Mustangs scored a key non-league win over the Wolf Pack in a game played at the Skate San Diego rink in El Cajon to solidify a playoff berth. Devyn Taras keyed Otay Ranch with four goals and four assists while David Mendez had three goals and four assists. Ricky Portilla and Aaron Marientes each had one goal while Nick Puentes had one assist.
Otay Ranch 3, Bonita Vista 2
The Mustangs and the Barons paired up to produce one of the season’s most exciting games on Wednesday. Otay Ranch twice led by two goals in the game, but Bonita Vista rallied each time to trim the Mustang lead to a goal. The game ended in nail-biting fashion for both teams.
The first period ended with Otay Ranch in front, 1-0, on a goal by David Mendez, assisted by Ricky Portilla. The Mustangs doubled their lead to 2-0 on a goal by Nick Puentes, assisted by Mendez.
The Barons then got their hustle and offense going to out-score Otay Ranch, 2-1, over the balance of the game. Leo Gurrola, assisted by Matt Custodio, scored for Bonita Vista to half the Barons’ deficit to 2-1.
However, the Mustangs responded with a goal by Milo Bivens, assisted by #5, to go up 3-1.
Bonita Vista came charging back as Gurrola scored his second goal of the game to trim the Otay Ranch lead to 3-2. However, the Barons could not get the tying goal despite much effort on their part.
Otay Ranch improved to 4-1 in league play, 16-3 overall, while Bonita Vista dropped to 0-5 in league play, 8-11 overall.
The teams each have one league game remaining.
Castle Park captures first South Bay League title in 11 years
The Castle Park Trojans may not necessarily have roared to their seventh consecutive South Bay League victory but they did complete what they set out to accomplish in recording a 6-2 win over the Southwest Raiders in a high profile encounter Thursday at the Castle Park HIgh School rink.
The Trojans opened up a 3-0 lead and later weathered two Southwest goals to snap the Raiders’ multi-year hold on the league title.
“It was sloppy at first but we finished strong,” CPHS assistant coach Horacio Mireles explained. “We can we can continue this into our next games.”
Included among those upcoming games will be at least one in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs as the reigning South Bay League champion.
Castle Park finished league play 7-1 and improved to 10-7 overall.
The Raiders, who dropped to 4-3 in league play, 7-12 overall, didn’t make it easy.
Julian DeAlba scored the first goal of the game with 5:40 left in the first period, and teammate Marvin Cirginano added a second goal with 4:27 left in the opening period.
Prior to the two goals separated by just 47 seconds, the Trojans were not able to score on Southwest net minder Jose Andrade.
David Lopez, assisted by DeAlba, made it 3-0 early in the second period. But the Raiders began to find their offensive rhythm by scoring two of the next three goals to make it a 4-2 game to end the middle frame. Joshua Lopez made the score 3-1 and, after a goal by Castle Park’s Miguel Flores upped the Trojan lead to 4-1, Lopez scored again to cut his team’s deficit on the scoreboard to 4-2.
The teams remained separated by two goals on the scoreboard until Castle Park scored twice in the final 45 seconds of the third period. Flores scored first to make the score 5-2 and then DeAlba scored next to make the final score 6-2.
DeAlba finished the game with two goals and two assists while Flores finished with two goals and one assist to pace the league champion Trojans. Eleazar Cruz and Tavian Black also picked up one assist each for Castle Park. Kayleigh Andrew had one assist for Southwest on a power play.
In another South Bay League game played Thursday at the CPHS rink:
Mar Vista 3, Sweetwater 0
Eloy Rodriguez paced the Mariners with two goals while David Suarez scored once in support of winning goaltender Dane Bottomley.
LJCD standout Lyman showcases his skills in 7-2 win over Hilltop
Grayson Lyman showed why he ranks as one of the CIF-Metro Conference’s top players in leading the La Jolla Country Day Torreys to a key 7-2 non-league win over the Hilltop Lancers in a game played Thursday at the Castle Park High School rink. He scored five goals and added one assist in the game pitting teams vying for valuable seeding positions in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs.
Lyman, a multi-sport standout (baseball, football, soccer, roller and ice hockey, cross country and track and field) and also an academic standout at LJCD, helped put the Torreys up 2-0 in the key match-up by assisting on teammate George Little’s opener and then scoring a short-handed goal. Hilltop trimmed the early LJCD lead to 2-1 on a goal by Andrew Tesner, assisted by Danny Godinez. However, Lyman, utilizing his speed, scored the game’s next two goals to put the Torreys in front 4-1. Lyman’s fourth goal gave LJCD a 6-2 lead at the end of the second period.
Little finished the contest with a goal and two assists.
LJCD, which competes in the Central League, raised its record to 2-15 on the season while Hilltop, which competes in the Mesa League, saw its record dip to 14-7.
Spartans win make-up affair against Red Devils
The Chula Vista Spartans employed some last period heroics to defeat the Sweetwater Red Devils, 9-3, in a South Bay League game Friday at the Castle Park High School rink. The Spartans jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before the Red Devils closed to within 5-3 on the scoreboard midway through the second period.
Chula Vista (3-3-1 in league, 7-11-1 overall) buckled down to secure the victory by scoring a short-handed goal, power play goal and two empty net goals in the third period.
Hector Garcia led the Spartan scoring parade with five goals and one assist while David Garcia had two goals and Abraham Carlon and Cruz Salas each scored once. Carlon also picked up one assist.
Hector Garcia scored a short-handed goal and assisted David Garcia on a power play goal. Hector Garcia and Salas each scored empty net goals.
Allison Smith was credited with two assists in the game for Chula Vista.
Luis Trevino led Sweetwater (0-7 in league, 0-20 overall) with two goals while Marco Salazar scored one goal and Phillip Brandon and Armando Rivera each had one assist.
Sweetwater District Team Records
(Through Feb. 13, 2015)
Eastlake Titans 17-1
Otay Ranch Mustangs 16-3
Hilltop Lancers 14-7
Castle Park Trojans 10-7
Bonita Vista Barons 8-11
Chula Vista Spartans 7-11-1
Southwest Raiders 7-12
Mar Vista Mariners 6-13-1
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-20
CIF-Metro Conference Standings
(Through Feb. 13, 2015)
Mesa League Standings
Eastlake Titans 5-0, 17-1
Otay Ranch Mustangs 4-1, 16-3
Hilltop Lancers 1-4, 14-7
Bonita Vista Barons 0-5, 8-11
South Bay League Standings
Castle Park Trojans 7-1, 10-7
Southwest Raiders 4-3, 7-12
Chula Vista Spartans 3-3-1, 7-11-1
Mar Vista Mariners 3-3-1, 6-13-1
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-7, 0-20
Note: Castle Park wins South Bay League title
Central League Standings
Cathedral Catholic Dons 6-0, 9-4
St. Augustine Saints 6-2, 8-11 (*1 overtime loss)
West Hills Wolf Pack 2-6, 2-15
La Jolla Country Day Torreys 0-6, 2-15
Note: Cathedral Catholic wins Central League title
North County League Standings
Rancho Bernardo Broncos 8-0, 16-0
Westview Wolverines 5-2, 13-4
Poway Titans 2-5, 9-6
Scripps Ranch 0-8, 6-10 (*1 overtime loss)
Note: Rancho Bernardo wins North County League title
Monday, Feb. 9
South Bay League
Southwest 3, Mar Vista 1
Non-League
Bonita Vista 7, Sweetwater 3
Scripps Ranch 10, West Hills 2
Rancho Bernardo 21, La Jolla Country Day 0
Cathedral Catholic 10, Poway 3
Westview 10, St. Augustine 6
Tuesday, Feb. 10
South Bay League
Castle Park 7, Mar Vista 0
Southwest 3, Chula Vista 1
Non-League
Eastlake 22, Sweetwater 0
Otay Ranch 9, West Hills 6
Wednesday, Feb. 11
Mesa League
Eastlake 14, Hilltop 0
Otay Ranch 3, Bonita Vista 2
North County League
Westview 5, Scripps Ranch 3
Rancho Bernardo defeated Poway, score unavailable
Central League
St. Augustine 12, La Jolla Country Day 6
Cathedral Catholic vs. West Hills, no report
Thursday, Feb. 12
South Bay League
Castle Park 6. Southwest 2 (Castle Park wins South Bay League championship)
Mar Vista 3, Sweetwater 0
Non-League
La Jolla Country Day 7, Hilltop 2
Friday, Feb. 13
South Bay League
Chula Vista 9, Sweetwater 3
CIF-Metro Conference Scoring Leaders
Sweetwater District Schools
(Through Feb. 13, 2015)??Player, team
Aaron Mayer (Eastlake) 98 goals, 54 assists – 152 points
Sam Bawden (Eastlake) 69 goals, 32 assists – 101 points
Michael Mechling (Eastlake) 51 goals, 31 assists – 82 points
David Mendez (Otay Ranch) 40 goals, 20 assists – 60 points
Devyn Taras (Otay Ranch) 27 goals, 29 assists – 56 points
Andrew Tesner (Hilltop) 25 goals, 17 assists – 42 points
Danny Godinez (Hilltop) 22 goals, 16 assists – 38 points
Eloy Rodriguez (Mar Vista) 29 goals, 4 assists – 33 points
Hector Garcia (Chula Vista) 25 goals, 6 assists – 31 points
Ricardo Portilla (Otay Ranch) 18 goals, 13 assists – 31 points
David Garcia (Chula Vista) 17 goals, 10 assists – 27 points
Sean Layton (Eastlake) 14 goals, 13 assists – 27 points
Marvin Cirignano (Castle Park) 23 goals, 2 assists – 25 points
Joshua Lopez (Southwest) 20 goals, 5 assists – 25 points
William Hamilton (Eastlake) 16 goals, 8 assists – 24 points
Jacob Ayala (Castle Park) 13 goals, 8 assists – 21 points
Brian Anderson (Eastlake) 13 goals, 8 assists – 21 points
Miguel Flores (Castle Park) 15 goals, 5 assists – 20 points
Leo Gurrola (Bonita Vista) 12 goals, 4 assists – 16 points
Percilla Mayer (Eastlake) 7 goals, 9 assists – 16 points
Brandon Benson (Eastlake) 7 goals, 8 assists – 15 points
Matt Custodio (Bonita Vista) 11 goals, 3 assists – 14 points
Phillip Brandon (Sweetwater) 9 goals, 4 assists – 13 points
Julian DeAlba (Castle Park) 8 goals, 5 assists – 13 points
Chris Miguel (Bonita Vista) 10 goals, 2 assists – 12 points
Luis Trevino (Sweetwater) 8 goals, 4 assists – 12 points
Austin Hoffman (Mar Vista) 7 goals, 5 assists – 12 points
Ruben Abarazi (Hilltop) 8 goals, 3 assists – 11 points
Eleazar Cruz (Castle Park) 2 goals, 9 assists – 11 points
Adrian Contreras (Mar Vista) 8 goals, 2 assist – 10 points
Cameron Adams (Hilltop) 8 goals, 2 assists – 10 points
Esteban Martinez (Hilltop) 7 goals, 2 assists – 9 points
Paul Chavez (Otay Ranch) 8 goals – 8 points
Aaron Marientes (Otay Ranch) 6 goals, 2 assists – 8 points
Hector Hernandez (Southwest) 5 goals, 3 assists – 8 points
Nicholas Puentes (Otay Ranch) 4 goals, 4 assists – 8 points
Milo Bivens (Otay Ranch) 4 goals, 4 assists – 8 points
Javier Garcia (Otay Ranch) 3 goals, 5 assists – 8 points
David Lopez (Castle Park) 4 goals, 3 assists – 7 points
Freddie Perez (Castle Park) 3 goals, 4 assists – 7 points
Seiya Hagiya (Eastlake) 6 goals – 6 points
Abraham Carlon (Chula Vista) 4 goals, 2 assists – 6 points
Armando Rivera (Sweetwater) 3 goals, 3 assists – 6 points
Allison Smith (Chula Vista) 2 goals, 4 assists – 6 points
Gerardo Barragan (Hilltop) 5 goals – 5 points
Jake Dilliott (Mar Vista) 4 goals, 1 assist – 5 points
Ryan Tabago (Otay Ranch) 4 goals, 1 assist – 5 points
Daniel Zapeda (Sweetwater) 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
Angel Ortega (Bonita Vista) 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
Dylan Riley (Bonita Vista) 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
Chantel Piedra (Southwest) 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
Wyatt Schmidt (Hilltop) 1 goal, 3 assists – 4 points
Marco Garcia (Chula Vista) 1 goal, 3 assists – 4 points
Tavian Black (Castle Park) 1 goal, 3 assists – 4 points
Andrew Deguzman (Otay Ranch) 4 assists – 4 points
Kayleigh Andrew (Southwest) 4 assists – 4 points
