Foothills Christian center T.J. Leaf (top) shoots the triple against Buckley. Meanwhile, Knights junior Caleb Hoffman (bottom) drives the paint during Saturday's CIF South Region quarterfinals. (Photos by LuAnn O'Neil)

© East County Sports.com
VAN NUYS (3-10-13/Rev. 3-12-13) — Foothills Christian High junior CALEB HOFFMAN said Saturday’s (Mar. 9) Southern California Regional second round game against Sherman Oaks Buckley at the Birmingham Community Center High School was the loudest he’d ever heard.

“My ears are still ringing,” he said.

Unfortunately those chimes were not from a victory as the Knights (20-15) came up short 50-47 against the Griffins.

Trailing by 6 points with 90 seconds remaining, the Knights used an and-one by T.J. LEAF and a bucket by JEROME SHERMAN to cut the lead to one point.

But that’s as close as the Knights would get down the stretch.

“It was an amazing atmosphere,” Hoffman said. “We had a great, successful season and it’s only going to get better in the future.”

Foothills Christian has won 20 or more games in 6 of the last 7 seasons. That’s a total of 165 wins over 7 seasons.

T.J. Leaf finished the season with 739 points (4th best in school history by surpassing his brother TROY LEAF’s freshman mark of 732). T.J. finished with 384 rebounds (3rd in school history behind JVONTE BROOKS) and finished with 126 blocks (school record, previously held by 86 by AARON HALE).

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 24 (10 reb, 3 ast, 6 blk), Caleb Hoffman 11 (5 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk), Jerome Sherman 8 (4 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl), Luis Salgado 3 (2 reb, 1 ast), Austin Monstrong 1 (5 reb), Loro Tombe (7 reb), Nick Louden (2 ast).

Sherman nailed a 3-pointer and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final eight minutes. For the evening he was 6-for-7 from the floor, including a pair of 3s and missed only 1 of 7 free throws for the game. He also chipped in with 6 assist and 4 steals.

Six-foot-7 freshman T.J. LEAF produced game highs of 21 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 blocks for the Knights (20-14). Leaf scored 5 points in the final four minutes as Foothills Christian held off Rio Hondo.

Foothills Christian came out firing in the 1st quarter, hitting 4 of its 3-pointers in the opening period. LUIS SALGADO hit two from long distance and CALEB HOFFMAN and NICK LOUDEN each hit a trey.

The victory sends Foothills Christian into Saturday’s (Mar. 9) SoCal Regional second round at Sherman Oaks Buckley (25-7) at 7 p.m.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 21 (13 reb, 8 ast, 3 blk), Jerome Sherman 20 (1 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Luis Salgado 10 (2 reb, 1 stl), Caleb Hoffman 9 (5 reb, 5 ast), Nick Louden 3 (3 reb, 1 blk), Loro Tombe 2 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), J.R. Rivera (1 reb).

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
ARCADIA (3-4-13) — Sunset League champion Foothills Christian High, which advanced to the CIF San Diego Section championship game for the seventh straight season (five titles), vwill travel to face Rio Hondo Prep on Wednesday (Mar. 6) for a 7 p.m. tipoff in the Southern California Regionals.

Not surprisingly the Knights (19-14) will look to 6-foot-7 freshman T.J. LEAF, 5-10 junior CALEB HOFFMAN and freshmen sharp-shooters JEROME SHERMAN and LUIS SALGADO-VILLEGAS to keep the season alive.

The main man in Rio Hondo’s (21-7) attack is 6-foot-6 senior center Ryan Wiley who averages 21.8 points and 10.7 rebounds/game.

By Andrew Smith
Special to © East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (3-2-13) — Going from a small, high school gym to a large venue like Viejas Arena at San Diego State University can rattle even the best of shooters. Foothills Christian High came into Friday (Mar. 1) night's San Diego CIF Division V title game for the seventh straight season, but the environment just seemed to overwhelm the youthful Knights.

Foothills Christian has been known around the county as one of the best shooting teams from behind the arc this season – converting 195 three-pointers – but the Panthers put the clamps down with an overall solid defensive effort to take home the hardware with a decisive 52-37 victory.

Freshman sensation T.J. LEAF came into the game averaging 22.7 points and 11.8 rebounds, but was held to a season-low 8 points to go along with 15 boards and 8 assists.

“As soon I got my hands on the ball they had two guys on me and another in help waiting so it was pretty tough,” Leaf diagrammed. “We played really sloppy, but we're young and our future is bright.”

To say it was a poor shooting night for Foothills Christian would be an understatement. The team shot 31.7 percent from the field and was 1-for-12 from downtown.

“We were a little star-struck by the collegiate atmosphere at first,” admitted freshman point guard JEROME SHERMAN after scoring a team-high 9 points. “Once we calmed down our nerves and got into the flow of the game we just couldn't get our shots to fall.”

It also didn't help to commit 17 turnovers, with 6 in the final quarter as the Panthers closed out the game on a 13-3 run and turned a 39-34 lead into a 15 point victory.

“They came out real scrappy and got to all the loose balls that we are usually known for getting,” junior CALEB HOFFMAN said. “Failing to get to those isn't an option if you want to win.”

The two schools have combined to win the last 8 section Division V titles and it's no doubt the Knights will keep that streak going for years to come.

“The whole second half we were playing with 4 freshmen compared to their 8 seniors and that's what made the difference in the end,” Knights head coach BRAD LEAF said. “Our kids make a commitment to play all year round and that's what keeps our program so successful...in the end they are the ones that just make me look good.”

Foothills Christian: Jerome Sherman 9 (3 reb), T.J. Leaf 8 (15 reb, 8 ast, 3 blk), J.R. Rivera 6 (1 reb, 1 blk), Loro Tombe 6 (4 reb, 2 stl), Caleb Hoffman 4 (5 reb), Luis Salgado-Villegas 3 (2 reb, 2 stl), Keith Grant 1, Nick Louden (3 reb), Connor George (1 reb).

The Leaf List CIFSDS Title Game Appearances for Head coach Brad Leaf

Year       School Division Result   Opponent 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Steele Canyon Steele Canyon Steele Canyon Foothills Christian   Foothills Christian   Foothills Christian   Foothills Christian   Foothills Christian   Foothills Christian   Foothills Christian   Div. 3 Div. 3 Div. 2 Div. 5 Div. 5 Div. 5 Div. 5 Div. 5 Div. 5 Div. 5 L 47-62 W 60-52 W 46-43 W 68-64 W 66-55 W 60-56 W 79-57 L 40-62 W 44-36 L 37-52   La Jolla   USDHS   Scripps Ranch   Calvin Christian   Maranatha Christian   Maranatha Christian   Maranatha Christian   Horzon   The Rock   Horizon

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (2-28-13) — For the seventh straight year, Foothills Christian High has qualified for the CIF San Diego Section Division V championship game.

The Knights, who have won 5 of their 6 previous trips to the SDCIF finals, will take on top-seeded Horizon on Saturday (Mar. 2) at 11:07 a.m.

Foothills Christian advanced via Wednesday’s (Feb. 26) 60-48 semifinal victory over The Rock Academy at Mount Miguel.

“We’re excited to be going back,” said Knights coach BRAD LEAF, who took Steele Canyon to three title bouts – winning two – prior to moving over to Foothills Christian eight years ago.

Led by T.J. LEAF’s 29 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, the Knights (19-13) rolled past the Rock (20-8), never trailing by more than a single point.

The Knights shot 48 percent from the field, including 7 of 16 from 3-point range against the Warriors. They also only missed 1 of 8 free throws.

While the 6-foot-7 freshman Leaf was dribbling circles around the Rock’s 6-11 Ali Morovati, freshman guard LUIS SALGADO-VILLEGAS was delivering the long ball. Salgado-Villegas finished with 14 points, the majority coming on 4-for-8 shooting from above the arc.

“I was never really a good player before I got to high school,” said Salgado-Villegas. “I can’t say I’ve always been a 3-point shooter before this year.”

Added T.J. Leaf, “He’s our deep threat. We call him the “Latin Assassin.”

Not only will Foothills Christian being looking for another SDCIF championship, they’ll also be looking for some payback.

When Horizon faced the Knights earlier this month, senior Markel Byrd accepted a halfcourt pass then dribbled past three defenders to ring up a game-winning layup as the final buzzer sounded, giving the Panthers a 60-59 victory over the Knights.

“We haven’t forgotten that,” said T.J. Leaf. “Buzzer beaters always hurt if you’re on the wrong side of them.”

Foothills Christian aims to change its position in the rematch against Horizon. Win or lose, the Knight and the Panthers will both advance to the Southern California Regionals next week. However, the winner of Saturday’s SDCIF championship will get a home game; the loser will hit the road.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 29 (11 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk), Luis Salgado-Villegas 14 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Caleb Hoffman 7 (5 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl), Loro Tombe 6 (4 reb, 1 ast), Jerome Sherman 4 (6 reb, 4 ast), Nick Louden (1 reb, 1 ast).

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (2-24-13) — The Knights of Foothills Christian High are the only East County boys basketball team remaining in the San Diego CIF playoffs.

The No. 2 seeded Knights easily eliminated Maranatha Christian, 101-56, in Saturday’s (Feb. 23) Division V quarterfinals at Mount Miguel High.

Foothills Christian (18-13) will host The Rock Academy (20-7) on Wednesday (Feb. 27) at Mount Miguel in a 7 p.m. semifinal.

T.J. LEAF scored 29 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished 4 assists, recorded 4 steals and blocked 4 shots to pace the Knights. He scored 19 points in the first quarter including a trio of 3-pointers as the Knights took a 29-13 lead.

It was 55-24 by intermission. The Knights broke things open even more in the third quarter as JEROME SHERMAN and CALEB HOFFMAN scored 10 points apiece, expanding the advantage 85-40.

Sherman hit 10 of 14 shots from the floor to finish with 22 points. He also had 10 assists as did Hoffman, who totaled 19 points.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 29 (11 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 3 blk), Jerome Sherman 22 (2 reb, 10 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Caleb Hoffman 19 (6 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl), Luis Salgado-Villegas 13 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), J.R. Rivera 6 (3 reb, 1 blk), Connor George 4, Jonny Van Ommering 3 (2 reb), Loro Tombe 2 (2 reb), Austin Monstrong 2 (1 reb, 1 blk), Nick Louden 1 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-21-13) — Only three East County teams survived the first round of Wednesday’s (Feb. 20) San Diego CIF playoffs.

Mount Miguel demoted Del Norte 74-53, Steele Canyon avenged an earlier loss to Mt. Carmel 49-43, and Foothills Christian registered a school scoring record with a 108-51 conquest of San Pasqual Academy. Thus, all three will advance to Saturday’s (Feb. 23) quarterfinals.

A fourth school could emerge Thursday, when Christian travels to Imperial for a game rescheduled due to road and weather problems which have hampered all playoff brackets.

MOUNT MIGUEL 74, DEL NORTE 53 – IZZY WAGNER went wild, as usual, knocking down 44 points including 5 treys and 5-for-5 free throw shooting as the visiting Matadors shut the lights out on the host Nighthawks in Division III.

“It’s playoff time and the idea is to move to the right (in the bracket), one game at a time,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT.

Rowlett was proud of his team for rebounding from a season-ending loss to El Cajon Valley that cost them a share of the Grossmont Valley League title on Friday (Feb. 15).

“We let that one get away from us, but we bounced back in the playoffs,” Rowlett added. “At this point of the season that’s all that matters.”

MIKE TAYLOR added 11 points including a trio of treys, which served to take some of the pressure off Wagner.

“I think our team has played well the whole month of February,” Rowlett said.

Mount Miguel will play at St. Augustine on Saturday (Feb. 23) at 7 p.m.

Mount Miguel : Izzy Wagner 44 (7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Mike Taylor 11 (2 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Tony Wills 9 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Donnell Payne 4 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Austin Smith 4 (1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 2 (8 reb, 4 ast, 2 st).

STEELE CANYON 49, MT. CARMEL 43 – After falling behind 13-1 in the first quarter, the Cougars took command by running the table on host Mt. Carmel over the final three periods of Wednesday’s (Feb. 20) San Diego CIF Division II playoffs.

It was a balanced attack for Steele Canyon as four of their five starters reached double figures, led by DYLAN HAMLETT’s 12 points.

“We were pretty tentative at the beginning but we finally pulled it together,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “Our guys have been resilient all year so I wasn’t stunned when we fell behind – I knew we could come back.”

Earlier in the regular season Mt. Carmel curbed the Cougars 40-34.

“We’re a lot better team now than we were then,” Stephens said. “We owned the paint. That’s where most of our points came from.”

The Cougars (17-11) inflated their advantage to as much as 12 points in the final quarter.

Now Steele Canyon faces its biggest hurdle, which has almost become an annual event – a quarterfinal round encounter at Hoover on Saturday (Feb. 23) at 7 p.m.

“It seems like we meet them in the playoffs every year,” said Stephens. “It’ll be a challenge but I think we’re up to it.”

Steele Canyon: Dylan Hamlett 12, Casey Balikian 11, Daniel King 11, Zach Kissel 10, Donovan Habib 5.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 108, SAN PASQUAL ACADEMY 51 – Foothills Christian registered a school record for total points, leading 36-10 in the first quarter en route to a lopsided victory in the first round of the San Diego CIF Division V playoffs.

The Knights previous scoring record was 104, accomplished twice (104-42 over Steele Canyon on 12-9-09; and 104-27 over Chula Vista-Calvary Christian on 2-10-09).

T.J. LEAF rolled a triple-double in the Knights’ latest conquest with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists. JEROME SHERMAN had a double-double of 16 points and 10 assists in the blowout.

CALEB HOFFMAN led all scorers with 25 points, while LORO TOMBE poured in 13 and LUIS SALGADO-VILLEGAS added 11.

Foothills Christian: Caleb Hoffman 25 (6 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), T.J. Leaf 20 (12 reb, 13 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Jerome Sherman 16 (5 reb, 10 ast, 5 stl), Loro Tombe 13 (3 reb), Luis Salgado-Villegas 11 (5 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Nick Louden 9 (2 reb, 3 ast), Austin Monstrong 8 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), J.R. Rivera 6 (2 reb), Connor George (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Keith Grant (1 reb).

ESCONDIDO 76, HELIX 67 (2 OT) – Grossmont Hills League tri-champion Helix made a rare first round exit on Wednesday (Feb. 20) by falling to visiting Escondido in the opening round of the San Diego CIF Division I playoffs.

But it took the Cougars two overtime periods to hand the Highlanders (18-10) their fifth loss in their last nine games.

“We had numerous chances to win this game, but like much of our season, we just couldn’t get it done,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “I will say this about this team. We competed, just didn’t win the game.”

It was a bizarre game indeed as Helix hit nine 3-pointers, but only 4 of 9 free throws.

Singer also pointed out that the Highlanders scored only six second-chance points off of offensive rebounds.

Senior KAELEN MITCHELL, Helix’s most manic defender, led the team with 23 points.

“He’s our best player,” noted Singer of Mitchell. “He can do it all.

TITUS YOUNG added 12 points and ROMARIO WILSON turned in a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds.

JORDAN VELASCO dished a career high 10 assists and DERRICK CHANDLER grabbed 10 rebounds for the Highlanders.

Helix: Kaelen Mitchell 23 (5 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Titus Young 12 (2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Romario Wilson 11 (12 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Xavier Jones 8 (1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Derrick Chandler 4 (10 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Will Mildenhall 4 (4 reb), Jordan Velasco 3 (2 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl), Ernesto Martinez 2 (2 reb, 1 stl).

CARLSBAD 52, GROSSMONT 43 – The visiting Foothillers could not maintain a 15-11 first quarter lead as they succumbed to host Carlsbad in Wednesday’s (Feb. 20) San Diego CIF Division I first round playoff game.

Steady BILAL RAHIM paced the Foothillers with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while J.T. BARNES poured in 10 points and TOMMY RUTHERFORD grabbed 11 boards.

“It was close – 24-22 at the half,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “It was a 5-point game at the end of the third quarter. We missed our last five 3s. We had to foul them and they made their free throws. It was a good game.”

Grossmont: Bilal Rahim 14 (12 reb), J.T. Barnes 10 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Austin Swisher 7 (4 reb), Tommy Rutherford 5 (11 reb), Jake Herrod 4 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Lawrence 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

SAN MARCOS 76, VALHALLA 64 – The Norsemen fell behind 13-0 in Wednesday’s (Feb. 20) first round of the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs at San Marcos .

“It was like the popcorn wasn’t even done and we were that far behind,” lamented Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON, whose team finished 14-13.

Valhalla, led by SPENCER HAVIRD’s 19 points and 11 rebounds, battled back to cut the lead to five points with 4 ½ minutes left in the first half. But that’s where the Norsemen’s come back halted.

“This was really a great group of kids who worked hard,” said Jackson . “I wish we could keep going because I like these guys so much – even practice was fun.”

ANDREW LOZOYA and GEORGE FAKHOURY each poured in 11 points for Valhalla .

Valhalla: Spencer Havird 19 (11 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 6 stl), Andrew Lozoya 11 (2 reb), George Fakhoury 11 (2 ast, 2 stl), Kevin Mills 8 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Hammett 6 (4 reb, 1 ast), David Gazale 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Jordan Qsar 3 (6 reb, 1 blk), Yousif Kagy 2 (1 stl), Cody Gladu (2 reb).

PATRICK HENRY 78, GRANITE HILLS 56 – The visiting Eagles trailed only 34-31 at halftime in Wednesday’s (Feb. 20) first round of the San Diego CIf Division I opener.

But they collapsed in the third quarter as No. 4 seed Patrick Henry claimed a 25-7 advantage in the eight minute period.

“We couldn’t get a stop in the second half,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “That, and they killed us on the boards (38-24).”

Senior JOEY GRUBB scored 16 points, dished 4 assists and made 4 steals to lead the Eagles (13-14).

“I’m proud of our kids,” said Anderson . “We battled all year and finished strong (winning three of their last four).”

“I thought Joey had a nice finish to his senior year,” Anderson added.

Granite Hills: Joey Grubb 16 (2 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), Wes Wehrman 9 (1 reb, 1 ast), D.J. Palomera 8 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Koltin Higgins 8 (5 reb, 1 ast), Trevor Sperry 5 (3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Andrew Manning 5 (1 reb, 1 stl), Codie Simmons 3 (5 reb, 2 ast), Alonzo Beepath 2 (1 reb), Seth Collins (3 reb, 1 ast), Brayan Turner (1 reb, 1 stl), Danny Smith (1 reb, 1 ast).

SAN YSIDRO 82, WEST HILLS 65 – The Wolf Pack couldn’t throw up a defense stout enough to shut down No. 9 ranked San Ysidro in Wednesday’s (Feb. 20) first round San Diego CIF Division II opener.

MARTIN PANAYOTOV scored 20 points for West Hills and JONNY PRESTON pitched in 14 as the Pack led 31-30 at halftime. JERON SATTERFIELD cranked in 10 points for the Pack in the losing effort.

“It was a tough loss,” said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “We outscored our opponents in three of the four quarters. We played a great first half.
The third quarter really hurt us, 33-12. Turnovers led to fast break points for them.”

“It was a great season for our kids.”

West Hills: Martin Panayotov 20 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Jonny Preston 14 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jeron Satterfield 10 (3 reb, 1 ast), D.J. Lewis 7 (2 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Chase Parsons 6 (2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Brent Wilder 4 (1 reb, 1 ast), Will Llamas 2 (3 reb, 1 blk), Spencer Moyer 2 (1 reb, 1 stl), Elias Totah (1 reb), Issa Ghandour (1 stl).

VALLEY CENTER 51, MONTE VISTA 28 – Although the Monarchs did not return a single starter, they finished the season 15-13 and tied for second place in the Grossmont Valley League.

“That’s an achievement we can all be proud of,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL.

The Monarchs magic was not apparent in Wednesday’s (Feb. 20) first round of the San Diego CIF Division III playoffs. In fact Monte Vista trailed No. 4 seed and host Valley Center 20-2 after one quarter and 34-6 at halftime.

“We missed a ton of layups,” Carroll said. “I was told by the Valley Center statistician that we shot 13 percent from the field in the first half, and Valley Center shot just under 75 percent.

“But oddly enough we were able to outscore them in the second half,” he added. “We were able to crash the boards and play the game that we normally play, but we never got closer than 15 points.”

Monte Vista : Jahzdion Taylor 9 (10 reb), Brendan Harris 6, Justin Brandy 6, Adam Wallace 5, Jesse Rivas 2.