New All-Star Game Proposed

Last week, John Shacklett, presiding over a special meeting of the San Diego High School Sports Assn., announced his group’s intentions to create an all-star football game that would rival, if not replace, a game played between San Diego and Los Angeles County all-stars last August in San Diego.

Shacklett, head football coach and athletic director at Morse, said the group would like to establish its own game to attract community interest and raise revenue that would be returned to the community.

Shacklett and the association said the Southern California College Prep All-Star game, played at Mira Mesa High, Aug. 4, accomplished neither.

“We’re very concerned with the all-star football game that’s being played and the people who are promoting it,” Shacklett said.

Shacklett said his group’s game would include only San Diego County players in a division 2-A vs. 3-A format, including top 1-A and eight-man players, and would take place shortly after the 1990-1991 school year. He said the association is “in the process” of obtaining sanctioning rights and securing sponsors.

When one of the top cross country programs in the state fails to have any freshman come out, it is, in Coach Dan Schaitel’s words, “unbelievable.”

Although there are reasons for the lack of freshmen with the Poway girls cross country team this season, Schaitel said “it’s very unusual and very shocking.”

Every summer, Poway has a summer cross country program that attracts many freshmen. This year, however, renovation of the training facilities restricted the coaches from “executing the camp to its fullest potential.”

Whether it was the program, change in interest or both, two freshmen Schaitel expected on the cross country team decided to play tennis, and 11 others chose volleyball.

Just last week, a couple freshmen did join the team, and Schaitel said he hopes to have them ready to compete at the Mount SAC Invitational in three weeks.

“We usually have a good mixture of ages,” Schaitel said. “For a program that’s traditionally as balanced as ours, it’s kind of a rude awakening.”

Poway, which has gone to the state meet two of the last three years and ranked sixth in the preseason state coaches’ poll, is currently being led by sophomore Monica Callan, an all-Section pick last year.

Two seniors, Tara Barnhart and Emily Reinys, also are previous all-Section selections.

The Titans began dual meet competition Friday by defeating Torrey Pines, 22-35.

Although the season is young, it’s not premature to predict that the Poway boys team will be the first team to win a fourth consecutive San Diego Section cross country title.

The Titans, who finished ninth at the state meet last year, were ranked third in the preseason state coaches’ poll. In 1988, Poway placed third at the state meet and the previous year placed fifth.

Poway returns three all-Section runners with junior Nate Arnold, who placed third at the Section meet last season, senior Sean Finn, who placed fourth, and senior Spence Shoemake, who finished eighth.

El Camino and Lincoln, the two 2-A football finalists last year, have combined for an 0-7 record. Lincoln hasn’t lost its first four games since 1969.

El Camino plays at Carlsbad (3-0) in Avocado League opener Friday and Lincoln is off.

When Dominique Walltower, a Hoover cornerback, intercepted a pass in Hoover’s 28-0 victory over St. Augustine and ran it back 60 yards for a touchdown on Friday, it was the second time he has done just that this season. Walltower also has a 72-yard touchdown return among his three interceptions.

Academics are supposed to come before athletics, but the new Rancho Bernardo High played a tennis match and a football game before the school even opened.

John Geis, Dana Haddad, Martin Henderson and Jim Lindgren contributed to this report.