Friday night the place to be was the Blumenthal Sports Complex as the Coronado Islanders Boys Basketball Team battled into overtime to defeat the Clairemont Chieftains 40-38.

The cheerleaders from both teams were into the game, and the stands were full of fans were sweating (literally, in some cases) the outcome. In short, it was a fun night to watch high school sports.

Clairemont, perhaps best known as the real life setting of Cameron Crowes hit teen film "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," arrived for the contest with 2003 Co-Harbor League Player of the Year Kenny Barker and a game plan. The Islanders countered with 2003 Co-Harbor League Player of the YearBrett Milke, the home court advantage, and senior super-sub Julian Cole.

As you can tell from the score, nobody would call this athletic artistry on the hardwood. Instead the game featured two evenly matched teams which played hard. There were a total of seven ties and five lead changes as Clairemont employed a strategy of passing and cutting on offense until the 35-second shot clock was in single digit range. And their plan almost worked.

The Islanders trailed 15-6 and later 17-9 before CHS Head Coach Sandy Dillon unleashed Julian Cole on the visitors. In the final three minutes of the first half, Cole scored on a short jumper on an assist from Jimmy Harrisoncheap hotels in Frankfurt am Main, stole a Clairemont pass and hit a driving lay-up, was fouled and converted on both ends of a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity, and hit another lay-up on a feed from Milke that gave the Islanders their first lead of the game.

Dillon entered the game without starting center Tommy Corcoran, who was on a college recruiting trip and back-up center Gene Pontes, who broke his foot and is out for the balance of the basketball season. With very little size available, Dillon countered with quickness. "Julian really played awfully well, didnt he?" Dillon said. "I told him before the game that he was going to have to play the game of his life for us to win." Cole finished with 13 points and four rebounds. His energy off the bench shook the Islanders out of their early-game doldrums.

Another Islander contributor was senior Tony Moore, who was the teams leading scorer with 14 points. Moore added three rebounds, three assists, two steals and five blocked shots. Two of the blocks came on the same trip down the floor by Clairemont, with the Islanders down by two points, with less than two minutes remaining in regulation time. Moore also blocked the final Chieftain shot that ended the overtime period and the game.

Ironically, Coronados Milke and Clairemonts Barker both had 11 points for their respective teams, in essence canceling each other out on the offensive end of the floor. Milke added a career-high five rebounds to his stat line, along with three assists and a steal. Harrison completed the Islander scoring with a basket and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal.

As is the case with most Dillon-coached clubs, defense is a priority for this years team. In Fridays game, the Chieftains went the last five minutes of regulation time and all of the four-minute overtime period and scored only two points. With a scant two-point Coronado lead, Clairemont with the ball on their end of the floor, and 5.7 seconds remaining on the clock in overtime, the Islanders did a great job of double-teaming the ball on the perimeter and not allowing the Chieftains to get a good look at the basket.

"We played good defense the whole game," Dillon said. "I thought the kids were ready to play. Last year we lost two games like that to Hoover and Madison. Friday we got down 15-7 and we were fighting ourselves a little bit. We didnt give in and I was really pleased with that. Saturday we had one of the best practices weve had this year. The kids were thrilled. I told them last year we lost those ball games and now youve won one of those."

This coming week, the Boys team, which is now 14-5 overall, 1-1 in the Harbor League, hosts Christian in an early-week game and plays at Crawford Friday night.

The good news for Islander basketball fans is that there is help down on the farm for coming years. Junior Varsity Head Coach Robbin Adair has coached his club to a 14-2 record, while Frosh/Soph Head Coach Bob Lindfelts team is 9-1 playing against an upgraded and expanded schedule.

The Islander Girls Basketball game, which opened the Friday night doubleheader, wasnt nearly as exciting as the Boys game. Any excitement regarding this game was generated at the end of the previous week when starting center Alexis Castro broke a bone in her left hand in the Hoover game.

With her hand heavily padded, Castro lit into Clairemont, scoring 16 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, dishing out six assists, committing two steals and blocking three Chieftain shots. And all of that came roughly in one half of the game. Clairemont, in fact few teams in San Diego County, have a player who can hope to contain Castro, who lead Coronado to the 67-40 victory.

Everyone on the Coronado bench, with the exception of the coaching staff and Trainer Sonja Doherty got into the game. Janelle Kuhlow scored 12 points and added nine rebounds, Anne-Marie Strohbeck scored eight points and snared eight rebounds, Amanda Marks had eight points and three boards, and freshman guard Brooke Becky scored seven points and distributed four assists.

This games statistical anomaly was the fact that the Islanders had 52 rebounds in a 32-minute game, with 20 of the caroms coming on the offensive end of the floor. Offensive rebounding is often a reflection of effort and the Islanders showed with that consistent effort that they wanted to add this game to their victory column.

"I just thought we played with great energy early in the game," said Head Coach Toler Goodwin. "We brought a high intensity and a good pace to the game. Everybody who came into the game was able to maintain that level. It was good to see some of our kids get some results. Everybody on the team has been working consistently hard and deserves playing time and respect for what they are doing."

The Girls, now 12-6 and 2-0 in the Harbor League, are at Christian for an early-week game, at Crawford Friday evening, and then host Mira Mesa Saturday evening at 6:30 pm.

The Girls Soccer Team lost their bid for a perfect season in a 2-1 loss to Our Lady of Peace, but was still 1-1 for the week. The loss lowers the Islanders record to 15-1-3, which is outstanding at any level.

Head Coach Miles Ramirez wasnt overly upset about the loss, which was coupled with a 1-0 victory over La Jolla. "For 80 minutes, we dominated the game," said Ramirez. "We played well enough to win. They packed the back (of the field) on us. We were hoping they would run with us and they didnt."

Senior standout Dayna Queisser scored both Islander goals last week, running her total to 15 tallies in 19 games. Queisser had the game winner against La Jolla on a shot from 18 yards out on a combination play with Rhett Chase. She also had the lone goal in the OLP loss. "Dayna is finding her scoring touch again," Ramirez said. "I thought everyone in both games played well for us."

The injury bug has hit the Islanders, as senior Jade Hughes is lost for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. "Jade is one of the better players in the county and one of the most recognizable," according to Ramirez. "She plays outside mid and we used her in marking the other teams better players, because she frustrates them." Also, junior Ashley Copp is forced to wear a sling on her injured arm for the next 6 months. "She can play with it," Ramirez said. "At times in the game it will throw her off balance."

The Islanders march through the Western League continues this week with a game at University City Wednesday, and the big one, the re-match at USDHS on Friday afternoon. "I know its a long drive," said Ramirez. "But we would love to get some support from the student body Friday at USDHS."

The Boys Soccer Team also split on the week and did it in a rather unique style. In their first game of the week, they handed Crawford a 3-2 loss, which was the first Harbor League loss by the Colts in two years. Game No. 2 was a 3-2 home loss to Clairemont.

According to Head Coach Brian Hiatt, the big gun in the victory over Crawford was junior Stuart Gallant with two goals. Sophomore Kelcey Fisher accounted for the other Islander tally. Overall the Islanders are 6-4-3 and 1-1-2 in the Harbor League.

Phil Bonds shot and an "own goal" by the Chieftains accounted for the Islander scoring in the 3-2 loss to Clairemont.

"We have more scoring opportunities than anybody," said Hiatt. "We dont finish teams off. Were always in the attacking third (of the field), but we dont finish. Weve been working on our tactical positioning, but we lose focus sometimes. We have a hard time putting it together for two 40-minute halves."

All of the Islander games are important now, as Division III in the San Diego CIF is particularly tough this year. Basically, the Islanders need to win the Harbor League to make the playoffs. This week the Islanders travel to Christian Tuesday and host Madison Thursday.

The Girls Water Polo Team played six games in just five days last week and in the process managed to run their record to 8-9 overall and 4-4 in the Western League, as well as take second place in their own event, the Americas Finest City Invitational.

The week started with a 13-12 loss to USDHS Tuesday, followed by a 14-13 win over University City Wednesday. Thursday tournament play started with a 13-0 shutout of Steele Canyon. In that contest, Head Coach Dave Throop was able to play 15 girls. Junior goalie Megan Braun started the game and played for three quarters. Freshman keeper Morgan Ronimus finished the game to share the shutout.

The Islanders then took on Vista, which Throop characterized as "a young team which really challenged us early in the game." Coronado emerged with a 12-5 win, with goalie Coral Kubala earning the victory.

Next was a game with Bonita High School, which featured an unusual match-up between Coronados freshman Katie Estrada, who was playing against her senior sister Brittany Estrada, who is the Barons best player. Katie thoughtfully led the Coronado scoring attack and the Estrada Islanders defeated the Estrada Barons 9-5.

All of which led the Islanders to the finals of the tournament, where they found USDHS as their opponent for the second time in 5 days. The Dons prevailed for the third time over the Islanders this season, this time by the score of 8-7.

Elizabeth Hopkins and Mary Lowe were named to the All-Tournament Team for their efforts. Throop noted the improved play of a number of his athletes. "Erin Jones does everything to benefit everybody else. And our center forwards Sydney Van Orden and Katie Estrada are getting better and better. On the defensive end our play has drastically improved. In some of the early tournament games, we were able to get a lot of young girls some quality playing time. In those games we were able to have an eye on the playoffs, while keeping an eye on the future."

This week the team plays Bishops on Tuesday and Friday at 3 pm they play Scripps Ranch at Miramar College.

A final reminder, dont forget the fundraiser dinner and auction for the Coronado High School Sailing Team, which will be held Thursday, Jan. 29 from 5:30-8 pm. Adult dinner tickets are $15 and childs tickets are $5 each. If you would like to donate an auction item, or need more information on the event, please contact Karen Paquin at 435-0643.