Clark Gets One Record, Aims for Some More

Christian’s Tony Clark broke another scoring record Friday, and if he continues as he has (he is averaging 43 points a game), he might break a couple more by the end of the season.

Clark scored 58 points in Christian’s 88-52 victory over Clairemont and by doing so reached 1,987 points, breaking the San Diego Section record for career scoring. Paul Halupa of Bonita Vista scored 1,982 from 1968-70.

The 58 points were the third most scored in a county game. Madison’s Mitchell Lilly scored 61 against San Diego in 1976.

Another record well within Clark’s range is points in a single season. He has 777 in 18 games and a minimum of six games remaining (five league and at least one in the playoffs), barring injury. Maintaining his 43-point average would give him 1,035 after 24 games, easily beating the record of 960 in 33 games set by Helix’s Bill Walton in 1970.

Last year at Valhalla, Clark scored 847 points in 28 games to rank fourth behind Walton’s record.

The Clairemont girls’ basketball team is undergoing yet another coaching change following David Watson’s departure Monday. Watson, a former assistant, had taken over when Ken Grainger was fired Jan. 19.

Replacing Watson will be on-site aide Lamont Jackson. Jackson, a former Clairemont athlete, will coach on an interim basis for the remainder of the season, after which a new coach will be hired. Jackson will have to be teamed with a certified teacher, Vice Principal Peter Schroeder said.

Schroeder said Watson is leaving because he will begin full-time teaching at Kearny on Monday. Watson had been part-time at Kearny, giving him time to coach at Clairemont, but had said he would eventually have to give up the Clairemont position if his teaching hours increased.

“It was my decision that he would leave now,” Schroeder said. “It is a good time since we are between the first and second round of the (league) basketball season.”

Torrey Pines hopes to attract some of the country’s best high school basketball teams when it plays host to the San Diego Above the Rim Holiday tournament next Dec. 26-29.

The 12-team tournament will begin at Torrey Pines and conclude at the San Diego Sports Arena.

Some of the top-ranked schools that may attend are Mater Dei (Santa Ana), St. Anthony’s (N.J.) and Miami (Fla.) High. Torrey Pines and three other county schools (to be named) will also play.

Having no gym and being forced to practice outside hasn’t hampered the Our Lady of Peace girls’ basketball team. The No. 9 Pilots (16-3, 4-0) defeated Christian, 49-38, Tuesday to break a tie with Christian for first place in the City Harbor League.

OLP plays home games at St. Augustine but never really feels a home-court advantage, Coach Yvonne Sanchez said.

“It’s tough driving all over, and it takes its toll on the girls,” Sanchez said. “We had a game all the way out at Valhalla that was tough, and we couldn’t schedule a home game with them.”

Sanchez said she cringed during the recent rains, although the team was able to practice at St. Michael’s School in Poway on a couple of days.

Tammy Tavares leads OLP by averaging 18.4 points per game, ninth in the county in scoring. April Velk is averaging 12 rebounds.

After a fourth-place finish in the Palomar League last season, the Mt. Carmel girls’ soccer team has shut out 12 opponents this season and is second in the league behind Torrey Pines.

Torrey Pines (15-0-3, 6-0-2) tied Poway, 1-1, in last year’s section 3-A final to share the title. Mt. Carmel (12-4-1, 5-2-1) has already broken its school record of eight shutouts in a season set in 1983.

Senior goalkeeper Heather Petterson is Mt. Carmel’s only four-year varsity player. She started on the freshman team, but when Coach Jim Dutton needed a replacement on the varsity, she was moved up. In her first varsity game, Mt. Carmel tied Poway, 2-2.

Petterson broke her thumb in the second league game her sophomore year and missed most of the rest of the season. But since then, she has been a constant force for Mt. Carmel with 27 career shutouts, 11 this season.

“She has great defense in front of her,” Dutton said. “She does an excellent job of taking control.”

Petterson is backed by senior Michelle Daigle, called by Dutton “the best backup goalkeeper in San Diego”.

Sophomore Leigh Anne Baker leads Mt. Carmel in scoring with 12 goals this season--she had three in a 5-0 victory over Vista last week--and has six assists. She had 35 goals on the freshman team last year. Jan Dolloff, also a sophomore forward, has six assists.

“We’re peaking when we need to,” Dutton said. “We’re reducing mistakes and playing smarter ball. We want to play 80 minutes of good soccer and more team soccer.”

Mt. Carmel’s senior midfielders have been with the program since they were freshmen--Theresa Miranda, Kim Franzen, Christine Phillips and Jennifer Timms.