The Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc., a national youth football and cheerleading organization, has just announced nation-wide winners of scholastics awards for 2008, including five Coastside Cougars Pop Warner players. 

The highest scholastic honor given by Pop Warner is the National First Team, which includes the top 35 football players and top 35 cheerleaders from each grade level.  Fewer than ten players from the 6000-member Bay Area Peninsula Pop Warner League achieve this recognition each year.  Joseph Lowman received this prestigious award for 2008.  Sean McCaffrey, Nathan Seaton, Neal Seaton, and Ryan Segervall were named to National Second Team. 

To achieve this recognition, players had to accomplish outstanding academic performance in school as well as demonstrate excellence in non-athletic activities and responsibilities such as honors classes and school awards, after-school classes, community service, and special projects.  Second Team includes the top 1,000 scholar-athletes from each grade level from approximately 360,000 Pop Warner participants across the United States.

The Coastside Cougars Pop Warner teams will be recruiting for the 2008 season now until practice begins on August 1.  More information is available at http://www.coastsidefootball.org/

The entire Coastside community is invited to lace up their skates and join us on Saturday afternoon, May 3, for a gala “Rock the Rink” grand opening celebration of the new roller hockey rink at Half Moon Bay High School.

Hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of the Coastside and the North Coast Hockey League, the event will feature live music (with local band “Flagged Down"), food, raffles, prizes for all kids, skills competitions, a Squirt exhibition game, and more! (And, since it’s the first Saturday in May, we’ll have a special Kentucky Roller Derby race!) It promises to be a totally fun afternoon for the entire community.

And if you enjoy Rock the Rink, kids 5-18 can always sign up for the 2008 NCHL roller hockey season, which begins Sunday, June 1 and runs through Aug. 3. You can sign up  ONLINE at http://www.coastsiderollerhockey.com http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?EVENT_ID=1553360&CHECKSSO=0 or you can click on this link for the 2008 Registration Form. http://www.coastsiderollerhockey.com/2008_NCHL_RegForm4.pdf (Or signup in person on Saturday, April 19 & 26 at Cameron’s, from 11am-2pm.)

Coastside Academy of Fencing’s Clarissa Perez and Elizabeth Jug both earned gold medals at the Super Youth Circuit fencing tournament held March 29 & 30 in San Jose. Fencers from all over the country crowded the San Jose Convention Center to fight for medals and national points last weekend. Coastside fencers, coached by Maestro Anthony Joslin, who also won medals include:

Stirling Johnson – 7th womens’ youth 10
Andrew Gleeson – 8th mens’ youth 12
Lotus Lum – 6th womens’ youth 10

The top forty percent of fencers in each category received national points. Aside from the prestige of being ranked nationally, national points help position a fencer better in future tournaments.

Gleeson, Perez and Jug, as well as Julia Garcia all earned national points.
The Coastside Academy of fencing trains athletes from age 7 to adult in the competitive sport of fencing, pairing rigorous athleticism with high standards of sportsmanship.

If you are interested in learning more about the Coastside Academy of Fencing contact Maestro Anthony Joslin at 650-219-5335 or email .

Friday’s football game at Half Moon Bay High versus Sequoia High School was marked by a number of ugly incidents that led to police escorting the beleaguered visitors out of the school as a group, reports the Daily Journal.

Sequoia High School left Half Moon Bay victorious Friday night, beating the Cougars 20-17. But the victory wasn’t so sweet with accusations of Cougar players using racial and homophobic slurs at Sequoia players; four naked youth storming the field; and eggs thrown at Cherokee cheerleaders and fans. Police had to escort Sequoia parents, players and fans from the game.

Sequoia parents and officials were not amused and there is some discussion of asking that the remaining game to be cancelled and for the two schools not to play each other again.
...
Near the end of game, after police officers walked away from the visitors side, eggs were thrown from outside the stadium at Sequoia cheerleaders and fans in the final minutes of the game, said one Sequoia parent who preferred not to be named. Parents and cheerleaders were hit with eggs.
...
Sequoia Teacher Ron Gordon attended his son’s water polo game earlier this year to hear vulgar words and homophobic phrases used by Half Moon Bay students and players. The coach dealt with the situation, [Half Moon Bay High athletic director Matt] Ballard said.

A Sequoia coach claims in the story that rocks were thrown on the Sequoia team’s bus once the team was aboard.

By Sue Lockyer

Fencers from as far away as Sonoma and Sacramento came to Half Moon Bay for the Bay Cup Fencing competition. Fencers participated in Junior mens, Y14 girls, and Y10 mixed sabre events on Saturday, and D and higher, and D and lower events on Sunday in San Francisco. As expected, local fencers took home a fair share of medals, including gold in the women’s Y14 sabre category for Elizabeth Jug.

Other medalists in that category included Clarissa Perez who tied with Carrie Gilchrist for the bronze. Miranda Guerrerro, Jenna Fontaine and Julia Garcia placed 6th, 7th and 14th respectively in a field of twenty one competitors.

In a younger category, Y10 womens sabre, Stirling Johnson took home the bronze medal. Brian Austria placed fifth after winning all of his pool bouts, and Lotus Lum placed 10th out of eighteen fencers.

The Junior Mens Sabre category saw Bennett Smooker win the gold, with Tomi Weissenberger taking fifth. Weissenberger also earned his “C” classification this weekend.

The Bay Cup organizes tournaments for clubs and fencers in the San Francisco Bay Area from as far north as Sonoma, south to San Jose and east as far as Sacramento.  These are the local training grounds for fencers of all ages, including many who compete nationally.

If you are interested in learning more about the Coastside Academy of Fencing contact Maestro Anthony Joslin at 650-219-5335 or email

Posted by Sue Lockyer of the Coastside Academy of Fencing.

Coastside Academy student Elizabeth Jug made the top 8 in Cadet Women’s Saber, earning her first national medal in Tucson, at the Division II, Division III, and Cadet national competitions. Check out the results of all of our fencers on the usfencing website.

Elizabeth fenced strongly in her pool, (5-1) her only loss was to Celina Merza. But she beat Tringa, Hee, and Major to name a few.

Coastside Cougar Midgets Bust Bayside Broncos
 
Fantastic fall weather kept the sun shining on the Cougar Midgets as they remain undefeated, beating the Bayside Broncos 27 to 0 at last Sunday’s game. 

Just minutes into the first quarter defensive end Sergio Covarrubias tackled the Bronco’s running back deep on their 4 yard line.  The Cougars took control with less than 16 yards to score.  Quarterback Nate Seaton scored on a sneak and the sure foot of kicker Chewy Huerta Jr. gave the Cougars an early lead of 8-0.  Defender Austin Krieger made a deep tackle on the kickoff, forcing the Broncos 1st down at the 24 yard line. 

The Broncos couldn’t get traction and tried a pass on the 4th down.  The pass was complete except they weren’t expecting the lightning speed tackle of Cougar cornerback Timma Cruz who knocked the ball out of the receivers hands on the tackle, forcing the Broncos to punt it away.  The Cougar Midgets Offense quarterback Nate Seaton, running backs Chewy Huerta Jr. and Blake Kastl, center Dalton James, tight ends Taylor James and Joey Erdie, guards Neal Seaton and Jose Uribe, and tackles Sean McCaffrey, Will Smith, and Matt Young precisely carried out two sweep plays resulting in the second touchdown with the PAT. 

Broncos tried hard but were jammed by the Cougar Defense.  Marshall Egger and Joseph Lowman made very aggressive tackles turning over the ball to the Cougars in just four plays.  With less than a minute left in the first quarter quarterback Joey Erdie got instructions from Offensive Coach Dave Gibbs to do the boot leg.  Erdie hid the ball on this right hip and carried 45 yards to score the third touchdown with the PAT combination bringing the score to Cougars 24, Broncos 0. 

The second quarter was highlighted by some greats blocks by Taylor James, Sean McCaffrey, Patrick Meyers, Austin Krieger and Jacob Spaeth, allowing running backs Joseph Lowman and Irving Segura to make some nice up the middle running plays.  A short pitch by quarterback Nate Seaton to running back Chewy Huerta Jr. gave the Cougars about 15 yards and put the Cougars close, but short. 

The third quarter brought out more great tackles by Palmer Kennedy, Neal Seaton, Manny Arellanes, Jose Uribe, Erik Procopio and Joseph Lowman.  In almost a repeat play of the first quarter, defender Sergio Covarrubias sacked the Bronco quarterback turning over the ball at the 15 yard line.  Joseph Lowman then carried the ball to well within kicking range, making it a breeze for Cougar kicker Chewy Huerta Jr. to kick the ball through the uprights for a final score of 27 to 0.

Fencers from the Coastside Academy of Fencing brought home two bronze medals from the Bay Cup Tournaments held over the past two weekends in Rancho Cordova and Carmichael.

Elizabeth Jug, 15 years old from El Granada, placed third in the highly competitive field of the Junior Women’s Sabre to take home a bronze medal. This category included twenty one fencers aged nineteen or younger.  She narrowly lost in the semi-finals to Emily Cheng 13-15.  Emily is an A-rated fencer and national medalist.

Andrew Gleeson, 11 years old from Montara, fought his way to third place in the Youth 12 Mixed Sabre, a field consisting of both girls and boys 12 years and under.

Clarissa Perez, a 12 year old from San Bruno, placed fifth in the same category.  Clarissa was number one seed after the round of pools and Andrew was second seed going into the direct elimination round.

Jeffrey Dalli from First Place Fencing Club, Y-10 gold medalist at the Summer Nationals, won gold in the above event, and Kalan Miurelle from NFC took home the silver.  Nicolette Stoddart from First Place also earned a bronze.

The Bay Cup organizes tournaments for clubs and fencers in the San Francisco Bay Area from as far north as Sonoma, south to San Jose and east as far as Sacramento.  These are the local training grounds for fencers of all ages, including many who compete nationally.

If you are interested in learning more about the Coastside Academy of Fencing contact Maestro Anthony Joslin at 650-219-5335 or email

Saturday September 22, 2007—Proving once again barking dogs seldom bite, the # 1 Coastside Cougar Midgets swiftly beat the #4 San Mateo Bulldogs 22-0 at last Saturday night’s game under the lights at John Francis Field.  The teams were evenly matched—a rarity for Coastside. 

The overall strategy of Head Coach Mike Seaton prevailed.  He runs a tight ship, his players play clean but tough and are led by running backs Chewy Huerta Jr. and Blake Kastl and quarterbacks Nate Seaton and Joey Erdie, all smart on the field and off. 

The game kickoff by the Bulldogs was a great example of speed and smarts.  Blake Kastl recovered the attempted on side kick, carrying the ball over 30 yards for a Cougar first down.  The Cougar offense drove hard, but didn’t score until the end of the quarter when the Bulldog quarterback threw a deep pass which was intercepted by cornerback Timma Cruz near the 5 yard line.  Blocking by guardsmen Austin Krieger, Neal Seaton, center Dalton James and tackle Jose Uribe, allowed the Cougars to run it up the middle for the first touchdown.  Chewy Huerta Jr. kicked for the PAT, putting the Cougars at 8, Bulldogs 0 by the end of the first quarter. 

The start of the second quarter sent the Bulldogs whimpering back to their crate.  If the primary job of defensive linemen is to gain penetration past the line of scrimmage and disrupt offensive plays, Coastside Cougar Defensive Coordinator Bobby Ellison’s training is right on the money.  Defensive tackle Erik Procopio made a ferocious QB sack at the Bulldog’s 34 yard line.  The next plays had defensive tackles Will Smith, Matt Young, Jacob Spaeth, and Sean McCaffrey exploding off the line with lots of power and forward drive forcing the Bulldogs to punt on the 50 yard line.  Offensive Coordinator Dave Gibbs is exercising the arms of his quarterbacks, allowing more passing plays, which are always crowd pleasers.  While interceptions are a risk, the Coastside Cougar defensive is ready to pounce.  Cornerback Brian Martinez made a great outside tackle after a Bulldog pass interception, showing good instincts and anticipation--preventing the Bulldogs from getting to a first down. 

On the third play of the third quarter, the Bulldogs tried a sweep.  The Bulldog’s running back was deep in his territory when defensive end Joey Erdie tackled him for a loss of 15 yards, forcing the Bulldogs to punt.  The Cougar Orange offensive guards Kennedy Palmer, Neal Seaton, offensive tackles Manny Arellanes, Marshall Egger and tight end Sergio Covarrubias, blocked for running back Chewy Huerta Jr. like dog catchers picking up strays.  In one play, Sergio Covarrubias made two blocks.  The hard drive didn’t result in a score, but an incredibly deep punt by Chewy Huerta Jr. choked the Bulldogs when running back Timma Cruz with breakaway speed tackled the Bulldog receiver on the 15 yard line.  The Cougar defense kept the Bulldogs in their dog run.  On a fourth and long, the Bulldogs had to punt, but the power of Cougar defensemen Joseph Lowman, Patrick Meyers and Taylor James forced an unnatural punter pass, which was intercepted by safety Blake Kastl on the 3 yard line.  The Coastside Cougars score, but miss the PAT, bringing the Coastside Cougar lead to 14, Bulldogs 0 at the close of the third quarter.

Kicker Chewy Huerta Jr. showed off his strong leg and good kicking mechanics with a deep kickoff which had the Bulldogs down the ball on the 5 yard line.  The Cougar Defense was on fire.  Cornerback Taylor James proved tough to get past and jammed the Bulldog QB.   The very next play had defensive guard Will Smith staying low and firing off the ball, sacking the Bulldog QB behind the goal line, forcing a fumble.  Defensive lineman Sergio Covarrubias was quick to spot the fumble, fetched the ball and turned the play into a touchdown with the PAT.  The final score: Coastside Cougars 22, Bulldogs 0. 

Coastside Cougars rule, while the Bay Cities Bulldogs drool.  1, 2, 3…GO COASTSIDE!

San Lorenzo Valley, Sept 16, 2007 Knowing fundamental tackling skills are one thing—but actually doing them in a game is another.  Neal Seaton and Manny Arellanes’ textbook offensive tackles pushed the tall Pacifica Tigershark defenders into shallow waters allowing running back Blake Kastl a 20 yard run to score early in the first quarter.  The Cougar defensive tackles and guards Austin Krieger, Matt Young, Will Smith and Sean McCaffrey thrashed the Tigershark offense with strength and speed off the line.  The Cougar Midgets closed the first quarter with a healthy 16-0 lead over Pacifica’s Tigershark Midgets. 

A series of Tigershark fumbles recovered by Cougar defensive end Jose Uribe and defensive tackles Sergio Covarrubias and Erik Procopio gave the Cougars most of the control during the 2nd quarter.  Brothers Dalton (center) and Taylor James (tight end) did a great job of pass blocking and QB protection, allowing several successful pass plays.  The final turnover allowed Offensive Coach Dave Gibbs to call a pass play where quarterback Joey Erdie threw a 15 yard pass to wide receiver Timma Cruz who smoothly completed and scored.  The Tigershark offense was completely shut down by quick Cougar defensemen Jacob Spaeth and Nate Seaton.  On a 4th and 13, Cougar Midget Head Coach Mike Seaton called on placekicker Chewy Huerta Jr. to attempt a 30 yard field goal.  Huerta’s soccer style kick sailed between the uprights, bringing the Cougar lead to 27-0 with 2:00 minutes still remaining in the first half.  Mario Kastl said “this game just gets better and better” to fellow water boy Alex Segura, both with big brothers playing for the Cougar Midgets. 

The end of the 2nd quarter and the entire 3rd and 4th quarters were filled with passing plays from both teams.  Cougar safety Joseph Lowman intercepted a pass bringing the Cougars to their 26 yard line.  A fumbled handoff allowed the Tigersharks their only touchdown late in the 4th quarter, but they failed the attempt at the extra point.  Cougar Midgets dominated the game.  Head Coach Mike Seaton should take pride in knowing his practice drills have paid off--the team has the fundamental tackling and blocking skills necessary to succeed –even when they swim with tall sharks. Final score Cougar Midgets 27, Tigersharks 6.