New Season Begins on a Frenzied Note

The high school season is only two weeks old, and already we have confusion running amok. Let’s get some things straightened out:

--San Clemente. The traditionally woeful Tritons upset fourth-ranked Tustin, 24-7, Friday night. Since this outcome was no less shocking than a lightning bolt to the noggin, experts from every field--sociological, psychological, astrological--rushed in to explain this extraordinary occurrence.

No one had a clue, so here’s our guess: The San Clemente administration--desperate to see more Tritons on its sideline--finally got smart and made football a mandatory prerequisite for the school surf team.

--Valencia. After an impressive 38-21 victory over Villa Park last week, the seventh-ranked Tigers took a catnap Friday, losing to unranked Servite, 14-0.

Tiger fans might have walked away growling--the loss ended Valencia’s 15-game winning streak--but there wasn’t any reason to fret.

The loss was just another example of Mike Marrujo’s craftiness. The Valencia coach is so tired of telling reporters his team’s not that good, he purposely drew up an inferior game plan just to get them off his back.

--Mission Viejo. The unranked Diablos beat second-ranked Irvine, 14-0, Friday. This should surprise no one.

When Irvine won this meeting last year, Vaquero players and coaches hopped and danced across the field like water drops on a red-hot skillet. Did they think Mission Viejo would forget such a scene?

Even though these teams no longer play each other in the South Coast League (Irvine has moved to the Sea View), stakes remain sky high. The game is, after all, the Master Planned Community Showdown. If nothing else, property values are at stake.

--Santa Ana Valley. So you look at the Falcons’ 24-0 loss to Esperanza Friday and think, uh, nothing special. Think again.

Valley, which until last week had a 13-game losing streak, outplayed third-ranked Esperanza--at least during the first half.

Compare that to last year’s meeting, when Valley not only lost the game, but also five starters for the season.

--Pat Barnes. Trabuco Hills’ much-heralded quarterback is probably as tired as everyone else of hearing how great he is. Especially those who have seen him suffer through his last two not-so-stunning games.

But we know he’s better than that, so we won’t bring it up.

--Pole vaulting. Not to change the subject, but the Southern Section voted last week to permit girls to pole vault beginning in the 1992-93 school year.

We hail this advance in equality, as do, we’re sure, the majority of insurance companies now envisioning a boost in liability policies.

--Bit o’ History: In 1937, Newport Harbor Principal Sidney Davidson joined Sailor football Coach Ralph Reed in clearing a bean field to build what is now Davidson Field.

Years later, on that same field, officials called time during a game while players from both sides got down on their hands and knees and searched for a Newport player’s glass eye.

--Alta Laguna Park. The home course for Laguna Beach’s cross-country teams, has been renamed the Eric Hulst Memorial Cross-Country Course.

Hulst, one of the world’s top junior distance runners at Laguna Beach in the mid-1970s, died this year of brain cancer.

The course, one of the county’s toughest, is a fitting location to reflect on Hulst’s career. It’s located in Laguna Beach just off Temple Hills Drive, a tortuous two-mile climb that Hulst favored during morning workouts.

--Carrie Garritson. The junior running phenom has transferred again, this time from Sunny Hills to Buena Park.

Coach/father Mike Garritson suggested that the latest move had to do with the fact that by staying at Sunny Hills--one of inland Orange County’s more affluent areas--his children were subject to gang influence.

A year ago, he said he moved from Rim of the World--where Carrie spent her freshman year--because the surrounding area wasn’t conducive to his children’s training.

His complaint? A lack of swimming pools for proper cross-training.

--Oops Award: You hear all sorts of officiating complaints when you’re in the stands. Most go unnoticed.

But during last week’s Pacifica-Woodbridge game, one comment was hard to ignore--it boomed a couple thousand decibels above the rest:

“HEY! GET THAT FLAG OUT OF YOUR POCKET!”

Pacifica’s public address announcer, apparently miffed about a non-call by the referees, forgot to turn off his microphone.

No word on whether the referees yelled back.