Barons to hang first league boys lacrosse banner since 2004

“It’s been a while,” were the only words that Bonita Vista High School boys lacrosse coach Sam Cardenas could utter after his team secured no worse than a Mesa League co-championship by defeating host Hilltop, 10-6, in dramatic come-from-behind fashion on Monday.

It has been a while indeed.

The Barons stormed out of the chute by winning three league championships from 2002-4 as the South County’s first bona fide boys lacrosse dynasty.

Eastlake won its first league championship in 2005 under head coach Doug Murphy; the Titans went on to win three consecutive league banners through 2008 when Otay Ranch captured its first league championship.

Since then, it’s been either Eastlake or Otay Ranch at the top of the league standings.

It’s time to welcome back the Barons, who will share this year’s league title with Eastlake after the teams split their two league games.

Bonita Vista concluded regular season play with Monday’s win at Hilltop.

“This isn’t the end of the season; hopefully we can make some noise in the playoffs,” explained Cardenas in anticipation of his team’s participation in the upcoming San Diego Section Division II playoff field.

“I’m proud of these guys,” he reiterated. “Coaches can help out and facilitate but it’s all on the players to produce. They kept it up and played hard.”

The Barons had to play hard on Monday to overcome a Hilltop team bent on denying them a share of this year’s league banner. The Lancers led, in fact, by a score of 5-4 at halftime.

Billy Ray Esparza led Bonita Vista with three goals in Monday’s game while Simon Tang scored twice and Frank Rodriguez, Kevin Tang, Kyle Tucker, Michael Lopez and Malachi Winfield each scored one goal.

Henry Wong was credited with six goalie saves in the contest.

Hilltop played hard until the end in an attempt to tie the score. The game ended in the BV defensive zone.

“We keep taking steps forward and some steps backward,” Cardenas admitted about his team. “One thing we’d like to see is more consistency. But there’s no denying their effort and ability. They’re capable of playing with anybody.”
The Barons will take an overall 15-4 record into the playoffs after finishing 7-1 in league play. Bonita Vista entered the week ranked at the top of the Division II power rankings.

Eastlake improved to 12-7 overall, also 7-1 in league play, after defeating host Montgomery by forfeit on Wednesday.
The Titans edged host Serra, 11-10, in a non-league game on Monday as Jaxen Trinidad collected one goal and four assists and Evan Farrage and Michael Egland-Young each scored three goals.

Eastlake cleared a big hurdle to join Bonita Vista in the championship circle this season after defeating visiting Otay Ranch, 5-3, last Friday.

The Titans will close out regular season play with a game Friday at Patrick Henry.

Hilltop is shooting for at least a .500 season this spring. Despite Monday’s loss, the Lancers are still on track to accomplish that with an overall 9-10 record.

“We’ve won some games and lost some games, we feel we could have won some more games,” veteran coach Pete Bishop’s explained.

Top returners for Hilltop include senior attackman/midfielder Kade Simonds, senior defender Jovanni Harrison and attackman Luis Hernandez.

Junior goalkeeper David De La Torre is the team’s top newcomer, according to Bishop.

“Most of the returning defense are experienced varsity players,” Bishop noted. “Kade Simonds is a very talented player.”

Championship lineup

The section’s girls lacrosse championships are set Saturday, May 13, at San Dieguito Academy. The Division II final starts at noon, followed by the Division I final at 2:30 p.m. and the Open Division final at 5 p.m.

The section’s boys lacrosse championships are set May 20, at San Marcos High School. The Division II final starts at 2:30 p.m., followed by the Division I final at 5 p.m. and the Open Division final at 7:30 p.m.

The section’s boys volleyball championships are scheduled May 19-20 at Montgomery High School.

Two finals will be played on May 19: Division IV at 5 p.m. and Division III at 7 p.m. Three finals will be played on May 20: Division II at 1 p.m., Division I at 3 p.m. and Open Division at 5 p.m.

The boys volleyball playoffs got started with Monday’s play-in round. Serra defeated El Capitan, 3-1, to earn a berth in the Division III field. The Conquistadors prevailed in the highly competitive match by scores of 10-25, 25-20, 25-22, 30-28.

Granite Hills received the No. 12 seed in the Division I bracket while Santana received the No. 7 in the Division II bracket, followed by No. 9 Steele Canyon and No. 11 Grossmont.

The Open Division playoffs are being conducted in a double-elimination format this year.

The section diving championship is set for Friday, May 12, at Mesa College. The combined girls field will start at 10 a.m., followed by the combined boys field at 2 p.m.

The section swimming championships are set Saturday, May 13, at Granite Hills High School. The Division II meet starts at 9 a.m., followed by the Division I meet at 3 p.m.

Play-in games for the section softball playoffs are scheduled Monday, May 15, followed by competition in six divisions starting Tuesday, May 16.

Section championship games are scheduled May 26-27 at UC San Diego.

The section team and individual boys golf championships are scheduled May 16 and May 18, respectively, at the Admiral Baker Golf Course. Division II and Division III teams will start at 7:30 a.m., followed by Division I teams at 1 p.m. on May 16. Individual play will start at 7:30 a.m. on May 18.

All team, individual, compulsory and optional championships in girls gymnastics will be conducted May 19 at La Costa Canyon High School, starting at 12:30 p.m.

The section track and field prelims are scheduled May 20 at Mt. Carmel High School, starting at 9 a.m. for girls events and 2 p.m. for boys events. The section finals follow on May 27 at the same site, with events in the combined field starting at 10 a.m.

Place-finishes will be determined in Division I and Division II fields for team scoring. The top three place-finishers in state-qualifying heats, plus those athletes who meet a predetermined standard, will advance to the state championship meet June 2-3 in Clovis.

The section baseball playoffs are scheduled to start with play-in rounds on May 22. Divisional play starts May 23.

There will be six divisional baseball championship games at two sites.

The University of San Diego will host two finals on June 2: Division III at 3:30 p.m. and Division I at 7 p.m. USD will host two finals on June 3: Division II at 1:30 p.m. and the Open Division at 7 p.m.

UC San Diego will host two division finals on June 3: Division V at noon and Division IV at 3:30 p.m.

San Diego Section
Boys Lacrosse Playoffs

Open Division

Saturday, May 13

(8) Bishop’s at (1) Torrey Pines, 7 p.m.

(5) Cathedral Catholic at (4) Coronado, 7 p.m.

(6) San Marcos at (3) Poway, 7 p.m.

(7) La Costa Canyon at (2) Santa Fe Christian, 7 p.m.

Semifinals

Wednesday, May 17

(5) Cathedral Catholic-(4) Coronado winner vs. (8) Bishop’s-(1) Torrey Pines winner

(7) La Costa Canyon-(2) Santa Fe Christian winner vs. (6) San Marcos-(3) Poway winner

Championship

Saturday, May 20

Teams TBA, 7:30 p.m. at San Marcos High School

Division I

First Round

Tuesday, May 9

(8) Valley Center 14, (9) Rancho Bernardo 8

(5) La Jolla 9, (12) Granite Hills 2

(6) La Jolla Country Day 12, (11) Eastlake 2

(7) Mt. Carmel 10, (10) Pacific Ridge 4

Byes: (1) Westview, (2) Carlsbad, (3) Scripps Ranch, (4) Grossmont

Quarterfinals

Friday, May 12

(8) Valley Center at (1) Westview

(5) La Jolla at (4) Grossmont

(6) La Jolla Country Day at (3) Scripps Ranch

(7) Mt. Carmel at (2) Carlsbad

Semifinals

Tuesday, May 16

Valley Center-Westview winner vs. La Jolla-Grossmont winner

La Jolla Country Day-Scripps Ranch winner vs. Mt. Carmel-Carlsbad winner

Championship

Saturday, May 20

Teams TBA, 5 p.m. at San Marcos High School

Division II

Play-in Round

Monday, May 8

Mission Bay 9, Otay Ranch 4

Point Loma 13, Olympian 6

First Round

Wednesday, May 10

(9) Francis Parker 8,  (8) Serra 6

(5) El Camino 12, (12) Mission Bay 1

(6) San Dieguito Academy 11, (11) Point Loma 6

(7) Bonita Vista 13, (10) Helix 7

Byes: (1) Del Norte, (2) St. Augustine, (3) Canyon Crest Academy, (4) Patrick Henry

Quarterfinals

Saturday, May 13

(9) Francis Parker at (1) Del Norte

(12) El Camino at (4) Patrick Henry

(11) San Dieguito Academy at (3) Canyon Crest Academy

(7) Bonita Vista at (2) St. Augustine

Semifinals

Wednesday, May 17

Francis Parker-Del Norte winner vs. El Camino-Patrick Henry winner
San Dieguito Academy-Canyon Crest Academy winner vs. Bonita Vista-St. Augustine winner

Championship

Saturday, May 20

Teams TBA, 2:30 p.m. at San Marcos High School

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