The Scripps Ranch High School varsity field hockey team is enjoying an incredible undefeated season this year with possibly its strongest team ever.

On Friday, Nov. 2, Scripps Ranch brought its 2018 record to a perfect 20-0 with a 3-1 victory over La Jolla High School. The team's record includes an incredible 13 shut-outs.

The greatest victory by far occurred Oct. 26 in an away game against Serra High School. The Lady Falcons defeated Serra 1-0 in a nail-biting over-time victory. This was the first time a Scripps Ranch High varsity team has defeated Serra since 2012. This was only the second time since 2012 that a Serra varsity field hockey team has been shut-out. Serra was ranked in the top 25 in the entire nation and was number 1 in the state before Scripps Ranch beat them.

Regulation play ended in a scoreless tie. Victoria Mellow was able to score the winning goal for the Lady Falcons within the first few minutes of over-time play.

Scripps Ranch will end its regular season at home with a big re-match against Serra High on Tuesday, Nov. 6, starting at 3:15 p.m.

The Scripps Ranch Pop Warner Junior Pee Wee Falcons defeated Fallbrook 8-0 in a hard-fought championship game at Scripps Ranch High School on Oct. 27.

As expected in a championship game, the teams were evenly matched. No goals were scored until the fourth quarter when Scripps Ranch scored a touchdown on a screen pass. The Falcons’ kick attempt following the TD was blocked. 

Later, Fallbrook had the ball on its own 1-yard line with 1:58 left on the clock. The Scripps Ranch defense came in strong with a quarterback sack in the end zone for a safety, making the score 8-0. That was the final straw as the clock wound down. Scripps Ranch ended the game in victory formation with the quarterback taking a knee.

The crowed enjoyed a halftime performance by the Falcons cheerleaders. The next day, Oct. 28, the cheerleaders attended a regional competition in Escondido and came in second place.

Oct. 26 was the final game of the regular season for the Scripps Ranch High School varsity football team as the Falcons closed out the year with a 48-7 loss to Kearny High School.

The varsity team was out-matched by Kearny’s size and speed on this night, only scoring one touchdown. The highlight of the game was when running back Nicholas Gardinera broke 1,000 yards for the season. Gardinera is a sophomore, and this accomplishment is rare for a high school football player.  

In spite of the score, the Scripps Ranch defense played a strong game. Most of Kearny’s scoring was done by its defense.

The Scripps Ranch varsity team ended the season with a much-improved 6-4 overall record and a 2-3 record in conference play.

Earlier, the Scripps Ranch JVs defeated Kearny’s JV team 49-12, closing the season at 8-2, with a perfect 5-0 record in conference play. With the Falcons football program being rejuvenated this season, this impressive JV record points to positive expectations for the varsity next season as some of the younger players move up.

All those involved in the varsity football program and supporting the program, including band members and cheerleaders, enjoyed this last evening of 2018 pigskin play with a salute to the seniors and their families.

Scripps Ranch Lacrosse Association has some exciting news as it gears up for its upcoming spring season:

Boys grades 1-8
The boys program has a new director, Russ Olsen, a member of the San Diego State University (SDSU) and U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Coach Russ lead the Scripps Boys Grade 5/6 to the championship game in May 2018, which ended in a tie. Russ has more than 35 years of experience playing and coaching lacrosse, including two state championships with two different teams and multiple playoff appearances. Russ set the all-time scorer record as a SDSU player, which still stands today. The Scripps Ranch Lacrosse Association is very excited to have Coach Russ lead its program. 

The Scripps Ranch High School girl’s golf team finished runner-up this week in the CIF San Diego Section Division 1 team golf championships.

Last year, the golf team went undefeated through its regular season, 22-0, making Lady Falcons history. This year the team was 18-1 in the season, and the girls had their sights set on CIF.

Coach Todd Wilson said since last year, the team has improved and gotten stronger.

“We have a close-knit team. They’re all friends, they all hang out, they all push each other,” Wilson said. “They all want to be number one on the team, so they all push each other to be better than they realize they are.”

Wilson said the difference is noticeable in the team during tournaments between this year and last year. 

“We couldn’t all score well on the same day (last year),” Wilson said. “We’d have a couple girls score really well and then we’d have a couple girls score ok, then a couple girls would have kind of a bad rep.”

But the overall improvement had Wilson looking forward to competing at CIF, which was held at Admiral Baker Golf Course. From there, two teams in the San Diego CIF section will move on to regionals.

“It’s exciting now because it seems like they’re all coming around and playing well when it’s playoff time,” Wilson said.

The Lady Falcons were seeded number three in the county, trailing Mater Dei Catholic High School, which was the number one seed in the county, and Rancho Bernardo High School, seeded number two.

According to Wilson, the team was right behind Rancho Bernardo with a 14.42 differential.

“As a team, we’re averaging just three shots behind Rancho Bernardo, so that’s going to be the battle right there,” Wilson said. “I’m setting my girls up. I’m trying to get them pumped up and saying, ‘we need to beat Rancho Bernardo.’”

While Wilson remained hopeful that the whole team will move from CIF to regionals, he expected a couple of the players to move on, at least individually, to regionals.

The players who competed together at CIF were Kathleen Keomahavong, number two in scoring average; Napua Glossner, number three in scoring average; Franchesca Garcia; Zoee Lynch; and Isabella Ranches.

Unfortunately, senior Jolina Bui did not make it to the playoffs, but Wilson said that Bui was instrumental in helping the team out and motivating the players throughout the season.

Tennis is a sport of emotional intelligence and physical strength, and the lessons learned by the Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) women’s tennis team will carry them further than just knowing how to hit a perfect backhand.

Raj Ganti has coached both the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Scripps Ranch High School for the past 5 ½ years. Tennis is one of Ganti’s great passions. He volunteered to coach the teams when his son, now graduated, started Scripps Ranch High School as a freshman. As a former UCLA tennis player, Ganti’s experience and coaching prowess helped to break player’s bad habits.

“The program never had a good coach where there was ever consistent practice. The teams were left without the ability to improve their game. If you don’t have a coach, you learn to do the wrong thing. At some point you have to begin to undo a lot of the learned techniques,” Ganti said.

Under Ganti’s wing, the women’s tennis team at SRHS has done well this season. It was ranked number two going into the final tournament in Division 1. Ganti had a plan for defeating their biggest rivals, Cathedral Catholic.

“We changed our line up a little bit by mixing up the singles and doubles, and we’re going to stack up on doubles. I know we can win a couple singles matches and the doubles will be where we can win consistently,” Ganti said.

The players to watch this season were senior Polina Privorotskiy, junior Richa Singh and sophomore Sanjana Ganti.

Coach Ganti said they are extremely consistent and work hard to hone their skills.

He has seen significant improvement in a number of the players and in the team as a whole since the beginning of the season.

“The team’s greatest strength is perhaps the lifelong friendships, bonding, camaraderie and a love for the game and a passion that perhaps will continue for the rest of their lives,” Ganti said.

The women’s tennis season will come to a close in October. Heading into next season, Ganti is hopeful the talent pool increases as he has seen a notable drop in the number of girls trying out for the team. He is also hoping to work on the team’s winning mentality in which winning as a team is the focus over an individual win.

For parents interested in getting their children involved in tennis, Ganti does not think they will regret the decision.

“Tennis is a wonderful sport that builds a lot of character. It is both physically and mentally demanding. Even when they are losing, their moral compass and mental strength can bring them through it. There are many clubs in Scripps Ranch and many good coaches. I encourage all parents to give tennis a shot,” he said.

The Scripps Ranch High School varsity football team will try to add one more regular season victory to its very respectable 6-3 record Friday night when it hosts Kearny High School in the final contest of the regular season. The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 at Scripps Ranch High School.

Last week, the Falcons varsity team traveled to Mission Bay High School to defeat the Buccaneers 36-26. The game was very physical with several official time outs for injuries on the Mission Bay side. Mission Bay played a good game against Scripps Ranch, staying in the fray until the fourth quarter.

Earlier, the Scripps Ranch High JV team defeated the Mission Bay High JVs 21-7.

The photos on this page show the Falcons varsity team in action against Mission Bay. 

The Scripps Ranch Pop Warner Junior Pee Wee Falcons are in the championship game at home this weekend playing against Fallbrook at 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 27 at Scripps Ranch High School.

Here are the Scripps Ranch Pop Warner Football results for gridiron action from Saturday, Oct. 20:

The Falcons flag team lost their Flag Fest game to the Temecula Fighting Cubs, but ended with a great record of 6-3.
The Falcons Mighty Mites lost to the Carlsbad Battling Lancers 0-36.
The Falcons Junior Pee Wee team won 26-0 over the Valley Center Jaguars in the D3 Semi-final game.
The Falcons Pee Wee team lost a tough game to the Oceanside Battling Pirates 35-8, ending their season with a record of 7-2, with their only two losses coming from out of division games. 

Here are the Scripps Ranch Pop Warner Football results for gridiron action from Saturday, Oct. 13:

The Falcons flag team beat the Vista Little Panthers. 
The Falcons Mighty Mites lost to the Oceanside Blazing Pirates 0-28.
The Falcons Junior Pee Wee team lost 8-32 to the Rancho Bernardo Broncos. 
The Falcons Pee Wee team won 20-14 over the Temecula Battling Bruins. 

The Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) varsity football team goes into the game against the Buccaneers at Mission Bay High School on Friday night, Oct. 19, with a 5-3 record. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

The Falcons battled to gain their latest victory recently in what became a disjointed, two-part game played on two different days due to weather.

The Oct. 12 varsity game at Patrick Henry High School was suspended because of lightning danger at the half, but resumed at SRHS on Oct. 15. The Falcons came away with a 17-7 victory as shown in these photos.

The final game of the regular season will start at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 at home against Kearny High.

The Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) Lady Falcons volleyball team will host a movie night fundraiser featuring “Rise of the Wahine: Champions of Title IX” on Oct. 13.

This is an important documentary about Title IX and is appropriate for age 12 and older. Deitre Collins Parker, San Diego State University head women’s volleyball coach, is in the film. She was at the premier of this inspiring film in Hawaii on Sept 5. 

The SRHS Lady Falcons volleyball team is hosting the first U.S. mainland screening and holding the first fundraiser utilizing this film. 

The documentary is especially important for young athletes and teaches a vital history lesson about the path to equality.

Here is an official description of the movie:
“This is what it was like for women and girls leading up to the incredible social and political transformation that took place in the 1970s in America due to the passage of Title IX, gender equality legislation that radically leveled the playing field in educational institutions, at work, home and in every other area of society. … In the years following the Civil Rights movement and the passage of Title IX in 1972, a headstrong African-American female coach, the first Asian-American U.S. congresswoman, and the team captain of a rag-tag female volleyball team, battled discrimination from the halls of Washington, D.C., to the dusty volleyball courts of the University of Hawaii, fighting for the rights of young women to play sports.”

According to the film’s website, this is a film for “the change-makers and culture-influencers. For athletic teams and the people who coach them. For middle school, high school and college classes and their teachers. For the committed activists striving for racial and gender equality. For the students of women's history and feminist studies. For the people of Hawaii, whose own impacted the nation. For fans of volleyball everywhere, and specifically for the lovers of Hawaii Wahine volleyball. And last but certainly not least, for moms and dads who want to raise their sons to respect, honor, and better understand the hardships of our sisters, mothers, and aunties.”

“‘Rise of the Wahine’ is the Winner of the Hawaii Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary, and is both rich in women’s history and inspiring for all who desire to transform the world around them. It is perfect for families to view together, sports teams or high school/college classes, and for young men to grow in a deeper understanding in their hearts towards the struggles of the women and girls around them.”

The local viewing will be held on Saturday evening, Oct. 13 in the Thurgood Marshall Middle School Theater, 9700 Avenue of Nations.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The movie begins at 7 p.m.

A packed house was on hand for the Scripps Ranch High School varsity Homecoming football game on Oct. 5.

Unfortunately, San Diego High School dominated the game and defeated the Falcons 14-41. It appeared that Scripps Ranch was over-matched and the game was very physical, with several injury time outs.

Earlier in the day, the Falcons JV team won against San Diego High’s JV team 14-13. In the last 2 minutes of the game San Diego scored a touchdown and needed a field goal to tie. But Scripps Ranch blocked the kick. Getting the ball back on the kickoff, the Falcons JVs were able to run down the clock and win the game.

Meanwhile, the Falcons freshman team lost to San Diego High 18-54.

The Scripps Ranch High varsity team will play on the road against Patrick Henry High at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12.