SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Roller Hockey

Monte Vista improved to 2-0-1 with a 2-1 win against Carlsbad on Dec. 2.

Monarch tradition alive and rolling

San Diego County High School Roller Hockey Conference scoreboard

By Phillip Brents

NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 2, 2002 — Senior Kenyon Carroll scored the game-winning goal in the dying minutes of Monday's game against Carlsbad to give the Monte Vista Monarchs roller hockey team a 2-1 victory and an undefeated 2-0-1 start to the team’s eighth season of play in the club-based San Diego County High School Roller Hockey Conference.

Senior center Spike Timmins (at right) scored the Monrachs' first goal while Carlsbad’s Mark Wosk scored in the game played at Skate San Diego in National City.

Monte Vista competes in the 18-team conference’s Southeastern League alongside squads representing West Hills, St, Augustine, La Jolla, Mission Bay and Point Loma high schools. In a key league matchup on Monday, Jeff Umphres scored with 1:06 remaining to lift undefeated St. Augustine (1-0-2) to a 2-1 win against West Hills (0-2-1).

The Monarchs were the conference’s first dynasty, winning championships in the second, third and fourth seasons after finishing runner-up to Valhalla in the ground-breaking circuit’s inaugural campaign. Monte Vista missed the playoffs last season but appears ready to rebound with another solid performance befitting the team’s tradition.

“If we can keep certain people on the team, we’ll be fine,” said senior goaltender Tommy Prewitt, who backstopped the Monarchs to Monday’s victory against Carlsbad, which plays in the conference’s North County League alongside Escondido, Rancho Buena Vista, Vista, Fallbrook and San Marcos.

The Lancers dropped to 1-2-0 on the season.

Teams like Monte Vista that compete at the club level are self-funded and do not receive support in terms of rink time and playing equipment from school districts.

Monte Vista opened the season with a 3-3 tie against Fallbrook and a 13-1 league win against Pt. Loma. Last season’s team was hit hard with a short bench but with 15 players on this season’s squad, that does not appear to be a problem. However, the influx of new players has caused some pleasant problems for head coach Kyle Trelford.

Prewitt said the best could still lie ahead for the team despite its relatively strong start.

“We had a rough time getting people organized. We have a lot of new people,” said Prewitt, who along with teammate Timmins helped the Chula Vista Golden Eagles Bantam Division travel team earn a prestigious runner-up finish in this summer’s North American Roller Hockey Series Championships in Minnesota. “We’re still trying to get comfortable with each other. A lot of the lines are new.”

Both Prewitt and Timmins also play ice hockey. Prewitt comes from a primarily roller hockey background (eight years) as opposed to ice hockey (two years) while Timmins has played ice hockey 10 years, winning two state championship titles.

They reflect the consensus of the team in terms of their motivation to represent their school.

“Playing against these teams, it creates rivalries like football. It gives us a place where we can show our skills,” said Timmins, who is playing his second year with the Monarchs.

Defenseman A.J. Seeger, one of seven seniors on the Monte Vista team, has been playing roller hockey since he was 10 — displaying the experience level rampant throughout the squad. Other returning key players include senior forwards Tony Mauro, Brandon Schaeffer, junior defenseman Mike Beckstrand and sophomore defenseman Kody Carpenter.

This year’s Monarch team features three full lines, plus an alternate line.

Juniors Justin Spears and Matt O’Brien easily rank as two of the squad’s more enthusiastic players.

Spears recalled making the Monte Vista varsity team as a freshman to be among the highlights of his career thus far. “There were a lot for tryouts. It was harder then. I was real proud because the three years before that they had won championships,” said Spears, who plays center on the team.

This is O’Brien’s first year on the varsity team after being sidelined the past two seasons because of a knee injury. He pointed to the large embroidered “MV” on his jersey and smiled. “That’s a big deal,” he said.

Huckleberry, the team’s original rubber chicken mascot that used to hang behind the team’s bench during games at the La Mesa Sports Center, may no longer be in active service but tradition continues to fuel the Monarchs despite their commute to home games this season in National City.

“We’re not supported as much like basketball or football. People don’t want to drive this far out,” O’Brien said. “When it comes to the hockey team, they (students at school) know what we’re talking about. But I think it should be more of a school-supported event.”

Saints, not sinners
With its one-goal win against West Hills, St. Augustine showed itself as an early challenger to Monte Vista for supremacy in the Southeastern League. The Saints are coached by USA InLine national team standout David Brito, who is entering his third year behind the bench with the team. Brito graduated from St. Augustine in 1997. He played for the Saints his junior and senior seasons.

“It feels good to give the guys what I’ve learned from my hockey career. We’ve got a group of guys who want to learn. It’s fun to be around my alma mater,” Brito said.

This season’s St. Augustine team is led by tournament team veterans Umphres, Kevin McPhillips (La Jolla Jaguars Midget A 16-and-under ice hockey) and goaltender Clark Oliver, a gifted sophomore who won a NARCh championship at the Mite Division level with the Kryptonics Comets in 1998 in Atlanta.

Brito is carrying 10 players — nine field players and one goaltender. Senior Joel Schwartz scored the team’s first goal against West Hills.

How good are the Saints? St. Augustine tied last season's defending champion, Rancho Bernardo, 3-3, in its season opener.

“I think we have a solid team all-around. I think we have a chance to do well in this league,” Brito said.

West Hills, which returns everyone except one player from last year’s Parkway Sports Center league championship team (plus three additions), also looks to make some noise in the standings before the season is over. The team is buttressed by tournament team players Casey Peterson (a member of the Chula Vista Gold Eagles’ Pee Wee Division team at the 2002 NARCh Finals), Thomas Blaettler, Derrick Tackett, Matt Bickel, goalie John Walter and ice hockey player John Baxter, a defenseman. Tackett scored the game-tying goal against St. Augustine.

History-makers
La Jolla (1-2-0) won its first-ever roller hockey game by defeating fellow first-year twin Mission Bay, 14-9, behind six goals and three assists by junior Jacob Glover, five goals by sophomore Jamie Huntley and two goals and four assists by senior Paul Schön, who also competes for the Vikings’ wrestling team (two-time City Conference championship finalist).

Chris Alexander and James Carelas each led Mission Bay (0-3-0) with four goals while Chad Starkey scored once and Tommy Rucker contributed three assists.