CHULA VISTACHULA VISTA — Marlon Gardinera was coerced into coaching football for the first time when he took his 6-year son, Nicholas, to sign up for Pop Warner flag football in Scripps Ranch. When Nicholas got to high school, Marlon applied for the freshman coaching job at Scripps Ranch.
Turns out, Marlon was so impressive in his interview he was offered the varsity job. His son was all set to go to St. Augustine, but switched to Scripps to be with Dad.
This year, Nicholas, a junior, rushed for 1,778 yards and 24 touchdowns, including eight TDs in the playoffs, but Scripps Ranch (12-1) came up just short of its goal, losing to La Jolla 17-10 in the Division III championship game Saturday afternoon at Southwestern College.
“I kind of like him,” Marlon said of his oldest son. “I think I’m going to keep him. I’ve never coached a football game without him.”
Marlon, a 1991 graduate of Mission Bay, was a standout running back and linebacker in high school but played baseball as a 260-pound center fielder at Oklahoma State. His last swing ever was a home run off Cal State Fullerton’s Mark Kotsay, who won the Golden Spikes Award as the college player of the year and later played with the Padres.
Friendly wager?
Marlon Gardinera is also a co-owner of a restaurant, Public House 131 in Scripps Ranch. La Jolla coach Tyler Roach also lives in Scripps Ranch, so the friends made a strange gesture before the game.
“If (Roach) wins, he has to move out of Scripps Ranch,” Gardinera said. “If I win, he gets to eat at my restaurant for free for life. I told him, you can’t lose.”
Roach won the game, so apparently he needs a real estate agent and a new favorite tavern.
“I’m going to have ask my principal for a raise,” Roach joked. “I need a house in La Jolla.”
Happy to be here
Santana lost to Serra 37-7 in the Division IV title game on Friday, but Sultans coach Tim Estes wakes up every day feeling very fortunate.
Estes, 51, had just finished his first year as an assistant coach at Santana and was in his third week of student teaching on a fateful day — March 5, 2001 — at Santana when 15-year-old freshman Andrew Williams shot and killed two students and wounded 13 others.
Estes was in the restroom when he was shot in the lower back by Williams. The bullet went through his belt and exited out the front, but Estes never went down.
In fact, moments later Estes helped save the life of a student who was shot in the neck.
“It was a tragic event,” Estes said. “But it gave me more appreciation for everything I have.”
Cheer girl has talent
Scripps Ranch senior cheerleader Victoria Majors and cheer coach Trisha Camp did a magnificent job singing the national anthem before Saturday’s game. On three days’ notice! Practicing one time!
“I was really nervous,” Majors said as several players and coaches congratulated her on the sideline. “But it was very exciting. I feel so famous. Oh, my goodness.”
High-def tech
Used to be, electronic devices were restricted on the sidelines. La Jolla and Scripps Ranch both had 40-inch, flat-screen TVs with live game feed provided by TVX Video and owner Ted Bendrick. The number of iPads was approximately eight on each side.
Bendrick estimated the cost of his video equipment at $12,000.
QB carousal
Lincoln has had eight different players throw es this season, seven of them have TD es. The latest was a freshman, Samuel Cooper IV, who threw for 70 yards and a TD in the Hornets’ 35-14 win over Mission Hills in the Division I semifinals. Only five Lincoln players have caught TD es.
Cool new tradition
On a preseason team-bonding trip to Big Bear this summer, Roach introduced the Viking Shield, a 5-foot-wide red warrior shield on which every player wrote an inspirational word. A chosen player carries it onto the field before each game. Junior linebacker Max Smith had the honor on Saturday. His word: “Honor.”
Roach wrote “Trust.” Others include “Grit,” “Focus” and “Love.”
The Vikings can now write Champs!
Lindgren is a freelance writer.
