By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 1, 2012
Arguably the greatest memory we have of Mike Jorgenson in the Pacific was on Nov. 7, 2009, when he passed 6-for-11 for 111 yards and sneaked for three touchdowns to pace Zama American to its first DODDS Pacific outright Far East boys team title in 30 years. The Trojans beat Daegu High 46-38 in the Far East Division II football title game at Daegu’s Camp Walker.
Following that championship, Jorgenson transferred to Battlefield High in Virginia, where he captained the Bobcats in his senior year, won a Virginia Class 6A state championship in his junior year and was a state semifinalist in his final campaign. He also plays basketball for Battlefield.
Next people will see of Jorgenson will be as a slot receiver in the spread formation employed by Campbell University, an NCAA Division I-AA (Football Championship Subdivision) school in Buies Creek, N.C., part of the Pioneer Football League. Jorgenson signed his national letter of intent on Wednesday, national signing day in the States.
He’ll join a Camels program that went 5-3 in league play and 6-5 overall in the 2011 season.
Jorgenson’s father, Craig, credits a scouting-recruiting outfit called NCSA for placing Mike with Campbell. Like other similar placement sites on the Internet, NCSA lends the sort of exposure to athletes in situations similar to Mike’s, having spent much of his high school life overseas.
“They educate kids on the athletic recruiting process through Web-based and teleconference-based instructional tools,” the elder Jorgenson said. “And maybe most importantly, it gives kids an honest athletic and academic evaluation of where they will succeed at a college.”
Never too early, he says, is it to start the recruiting and placement process. In a way, Craig says, DODDS athletes have something of an advantage because they get exposure to varsity athletics early in their careers, and NCSA only wants varsity film, stats and accomplishments for their evaluations.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 1, 2012
It was the smallest field on record in the 5-year-old “Rumble on the Rock” wrestling tournament. Just three teams, venerable host Kubasaki and its Okinawa archrival Kadena were joined this time around by the event’s first entrant from Guam, Father Duenas Memorial, which finished fourth in Guam’s regular season and postseason tournament two months ago.
For complete results of Friday's dual-meet tournament, click here. For complete results of Saturday's individual-freestyle tournament and the DODDS Japan finals at Yokota, click here.
Might seem like the tournament is on its last legs?
Don’t bet on it, say the events founder and organizer Fred Bales, Kubasaki’s athletics director, and Friars coach Terry Debold.
Debold formed back in October the first of what he hopes to be many Phoenix Open Invitational tournaments, named for Father Duenas Memorial School’s new Phoenix Center in Dededo. He plans to reciprocate Bales’ invitation to the “Rumble” tournament with one of his own to Kadena and Kubasaki for the second edition of the Phoenix.
Debold says he plans to hold the thing over the Christmas break, which would be right after the Guam season and smack in the middle of Kadena’s and Kubasaki’s campaign. Very much like Kubasaki used to do years ago when coaches Jeff Pellaton and Terry Chumley were at the helm, flying the Dragons to the old Eagle Open, staged by Guam wrestling patriarch Neal Kranz and held in late December every year.
But not only that. Debold, in a pre-“Rumble” meet speech on Friday to the masses gathered at Kubasaki’s Dragon Dome, promised Bales and the “Rumble” organizers that he plans to recruit as many Guam teams as he possibly can for next January’s “Rumble” and bring whomever he can with him.
That would be nothing short of marvelous. A win-win for a “Rumble” tournament that very nearly met its extinction this year.
The first three years of “Rumble,” St. Mary’s International, American School In Japan and Christian Academy Japan were regular guests because the door to DODDS Pacific Far East tournaments remained closed to them. That changed last school year, and the three didn’t feel as urgent a need to attend “Rumble.”
DODDS had enough funding last January to be able to fly Seoul American, Daegu High and Osan American to Okinawa for “Rumble.” But that funding dried up, and while Bales sent out a passel of invitations, only one team – Debold’s Friars – accepted.
For Kadena and Kubasaki, a “Rumble” field expanded with Guam teams means plenty of in-season competition against wrestlers they don’t normally see.
Guam wrestlers, especially those planning to attend Far East, where international freestyle rules reign, instead of collegiate folkstyle wrestled on Guam, get a chance to narrow their playbook and get used to employing head-in-arm holds, gut wrenches and leg laces, and leave Granby rolls, guillotines and split scissors on the sideline. Nothing but trouble, those folkstyle moves are, in a freestyle tournament.
It would help Guam return to the days when folks such as Dylan Pablo of Guam High, Tim Becker of Simon Sanchez and so many other past luminaries could have more than half a chance at winning Far East gold again.
And it makes me excited for “Rumble” next year. Not to mention, seeing if there’s a way I can be at the second Phoenix Open, where Kadena and Kubasaki wrestlers must “unlearn” a lot of the freestyle moves they know and delve into the intricate world of collegiate folkstyle wrestling.
***
Best blossoming rivalry: Thomas Cioppa, reigning Far East tournament weight-class champion, of Kadena, and Tristan Wells of Kubasaki.The two sophomores have squared off seven times, with Cioppa winning four, including three straight during "Rumble." While the 180-pound and 135-pound weight classes loom as this year's equivalent to last year's "World War 215," these two will likely go at it, hammer and tongs, during Far East in two weeks.
***
The scoreboard read 25-22 Seoul American. But the official final score was actually 16-9 Daegu High over Seoul American in what had to be one of the most unusual outcomes of a dual meet in DODDS Korea history.
The dual occurred during the penultimate DODDS Korea tri-meet of the season at Daegu’s Camp George, between Osan, Daegu and Seoul.
According to Daegu athletics director Ken Walter and Falcons coach Chris Dickinson, it was discovered after the dual meet that the Falcons wrestlers about mid-way through began hitting the mat out of sequence.
The coaches had been wanting their wrestlers to go against people they’d not wrestled before; but each side’s wrestlers went on against those they thought they were supposed to wrestle, ones they’d wrestled against throughout the season.
“By rule, those matches had to be scratched,” Walter said. “It was a strange chain of events.”
Never again, I hope.
***
It would be nice, one year, for DODDS Japan’s outlying wrestling schools, Robert D. Edgren, E.J. King and fledgling first-year program Matthew C. Perry, to get a shot once more at wrestling in this weekend’s Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools finals. Even as exhibition teams.
That had been the case until 2007-08, the year that the Kanto Plain constitution was rewritten to read that only Kanto schools could compete in league in-season and finals tournaments. This occurred following a controversy in a December 2006 tournament at Yokota, where some international school boys wrestlers refused to go up against a DODDS girl wrestler, sparking a gender-discrimination complaint by a parent.
Rewriting the constitution does maintain the integrity of the Kanto Plain league and its rules. And I know as much as anybody else that league rules are league rules.
But it hurts the outlying schools, which only have three in-season tournaments as Far East preparation, compared to six for the DODDS and international Kanto schools. That’s a rather significant advantage for them and a significant disadvantage for the Cobras, Samurai and Eagles in terms of experience level and preparation. Nothing beats mat time, many a coach will tell you.
***
Eatery of the week – Dragon Inn at Kubasaki High School, you’ve done it again. The pasta and meat sauce dinner served ($5 a pop and WORTH it) during Friday’s dual-meet portion of the “Rumble” hit the spot the way such a meal should hit the spot. Did not sample the taco rice on Saturday; I like taco rice, but it doesn’t like me.
In-the-running-for-next-week’s Eatery of the Week – Coach Ian Harlow of St. Mary’s International, host of Saturday’s Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools wrestling finals, has promised his tournament’s hospitality room will feature an array of delectable international treats to satisfy the taste buds.
In-the-running-for-the-week-after-that’s Eatery of the Week – The indoor version of the Shima Shack at Yokota High’s Capps Gym, host of the DODDS Japan basketball tournament scheduled for Feb. 9-11. Named for Yokota High’s Mr. Everything, Glenn Shimabukuro, the Shima Shack features so much to please the palate. Chicken bowl. Shima cakes. Shima rice. And standards such as hamburgers, hot dogs, cans of Coca-Cola, etc.
Any challengers? *smile*
By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 1, 2012
Is it a sign that Kubasaki's girls basketball team is finding itself at just the right time? Or were the two overtime games they played in a six-day span just an aberration, a blip on the radar screen? Pick a side and sound off! :)
By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 1, 2012
Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer turns the page on the calendar and sees a road map with the name Far East all over it starting mid-month:
Dragons breathing fire – For most of the game, it looked like the same ol’, same ol’ for Kadena’s girls basketball team, seizing a 36-21 lead after three quarters at home in last Friday’s third installment of the Okinawa Activities Council season series.
After all, the Panthers had clawed the Dragons in their previous three meetings by an average 25.4-point margin and a maximum 31-point margin. And Kubasaki had not beaten Kadena since a 51-47 overtime victory Dec. 8, 2009.
So, for certain, Kadena would cruise to a season series-clinching victory, yes?
Balderdash, or words to that effect, said Kubasaki sophomore Sydney Johnson.She and the Dragons then went on a tear, outscoring the Panthers 21-6 to knot the thing at 42-42 in the closing seconds.
And Johnson had a chance to win it in regulation. Her 18-foot jumper from the left side looked like it had a chance. A good chance. And it did everything but go in. Around the rim, around, around and around, then it fell out.
Much to the relief of the uber-anxious Kadena crowd. And the disappointment of the Kubasaki faithful which had trekked from Camp Foster to eyeball the proceedings.
The air sort of exited the Dragons’ balloons from that point, as Kadena outscored Kubasaki 13-3 in the extra session.
But each side’s fans got quite the surprise. This was nothing like anything either had seen in more than two years.
How did this happen?
Rewind to six days earlier, when the Dragons girls took Chatan, a Japanese team rated in the island’s top 10, to double overtime before fading 89-81.
The reaction was mixed on the surface, but unified below it. Guard Nicholle Rentas was all smiles, as if to say she knew they could do this. On Johnson’s face, a cascade of emotion, frustration knowing that the team came oh, so close, but oh, so far.
Now, within six days, the Dragons have gotten within an overtime of victory. But in other respects, they earned victory. This is a vastly different ballclub than began the season in November.
Watch and see how well they do come Feb. 9, when the teams meet again in the fourth and final OAC series installment for the season. And watch and see how they do at Far East Division I, Feb. 20-25 at Yokota. So what if they’re 2-20? It’s all about how you finish, especially where Far East is concerned.
***
Black back, Davis returns – The weekend and the early part of this week saw its share of players returning from short- and long-term injury when the players were needed the most.
Jen Black had been sidelined the last 12 months by a torn knee ACL, suffered during the Far East Division II tournament last February at Camp Walker, South Korea. It also meant she couldn’t play her passion, which is soccer. And as it turned out, much of the season was truncated because of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami (can she be given a medical redshirt?).
But I digress. Back in uniform she was for Robert D. Edgren last Saturday at Sasebo Naval Base, where she led the Eagles to their first win in 10 games this season, 41-30 over E.J. King.
“I was worried I wasn’t going to be of much help to the team,” Black said by telephone Wednesday about her concern that she could take a wrong turn on the court and aggravate the injury.
It marked the first time she and her freshman sister, Vanessa, were on the court at the same time, something Jen said she had dreamed about.
On Tuesday, Yokota welcomed back to the lineup sophomore Trinity Davis, who had been sidelined since December by a knee contusion. She responded with 11 points and eight rebounds as the Panthers won 46-38 at Zama American.
“They’ve markedly improved, night and day from two months ago,” Panthers coach Paul Ettl said, adding that Davis is “not 100 percent yet, but I don’t know that we win that game without her.”
***
A different Mood – Also in attendance at that Yokota game was longtime DODDS educator and administrator Darrell Mood, who was in a quandary about for whom to cheer.
He’s in his fourth year as principal of Yokota High School, but in the last week, he was named acting principal at Zama, where his predecessor, Candice Wojciechowsky, stepped down at the end of the first semester.
“It was hard,” Mood said of watching the game between his current schools. “I saw them (Panthers) off the bus. I tried not to cry. Zama is a great school, it has great kids, great support, great parents. I’ll be home soon.”
***
Stith in the shadows – Sometimes, a player’s contributions, no matter how valuable, can end up being overshadowed by the accomplishments of that player designated the team’s star or featured player.
Nile C. Kinnick freshman guard De’Asia Brown has gotten the lion’s share of attention so far this season for the Red Devils, who’ve gone 19-5 thanks in part to Brown’s averaging 25 points and just under 10 assists per game.
In the shadows, behind the scenes, the work of senior center Emily Stith, more noted for her volleyball prowess, has gone largely unnoticed. But she’s averaged 14 points and 12 rebounds this season, forming a Ms. Inside-Ms. Outside tandem with the more heralded Brown.
But it’s not just Stith’s on-court contributions as it is her leadership off the court. Sort of becoming a coach within the rank and file, a coach on the court, a mentor, a leader among peers who’s involved in so many team things that don’t show up in a scorebook.
I’m sure volleyball coach Al Garrido would be the first to the plate to sing the praises and contributions of Stith to the Red Devils’ Far East D-I Tournament runner-up effort in November at Seoul American. Stith’s work for the basketball team might not be as noted, but it’s no less important.
***
Torres time – Still struggling to find their offensive groove with senior forward Bryant McCray still sidelined with an injury, coach Steve Boyd and Seoul American turned to senior reserve Alex Torres , who dialed up long distance for the Falcons in their 54-24 win Friday at Korea International.
He went 4-for-6 from behind the arc, scoring 17 points off the bench. “He really gave us a spark,” Boyd said. “We needed it.”
The Falcons are just a win over Yongsan International-Seoul on Friday away from completing yet another unbeaten regular season on Boyd’s 11-season watch over Falcon Nation. Torres added nine points and five assists on Saturday as Seoul American beat Seoul Foreign 58-44.
On the girls side, Rae Rae Calloway netted 16 points, Lari Robertson pulled down 13 boards and Sarah Wright recorded eight steals as Daegu High racked up the first unbeaten regular season in school history, downing Seoul International 50-15.
Seoul American boys, Daegu High girls, top seeds in the Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference Division I Tournaments, girls at Seoul American, boys at Seoul Foreign … check.
***
No. 1 seeds, but – One bit of advice I would impart on the Warriors girls and the Falcons boys: Don’t sleep on your opposite numbers. Daegu’s boys and Seoul American’s girls – the reigning two-time Far East Division I Tournament champions – are quite hungry and would love nothing more than to send y’all tumbling off that lofty perch.
So, too, might Edgren’s boys take heed to watch out for hungry Yokota, Matthew C. Perry and Nile C. Kinnick teams that have taken their lumps against the Eagles. And Yokota’s girls should have their hands full dealing with Stith, Brown and Kinnick.
26 days.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 29, 2012
Boys
1 (tie), American School In Japan (11-0) and Seoul American (19-6): Mustangs Idle last week. Alex Torres gave Falcons a spark last Friday off the bench.
2. Kubasaki, Okinawa (13-14): Leapfrogged Kadena thanks to C.J. Crenshaw’s 21-for-24 at the line Friday.
3. Kadena, Okinawa (11-12): Chance to knot Okinawa Activities Council season series comes Feb. 9 at Kubasaki.
4. Morrison Academy, Taiwan (16-1): Off for Lunar New Year break.
5. Faith Academy, Philippines (19-6). Came up just short in Vanguards’ own Hardeman Showcase.
6 (tie). Robert D. Edgren, Japan (11-1) and George Washington, Guam (5-0): Eagles very likely will be seeded No. 1 in DODDS Japan tournament. Geckos showing why they’ve been invited to Far East Division I Tournament.
7, Yokota, Japan (12-6): Solid performance at Iwakuni last weekend.
8. Daegu High, South Korea (11-3): Warriors capped best regular season since 2007-08.
9. Matthew C. Perry, Japan (12-5): Samurai’s shot at top seed likely evaporated last weekend against Yokota.
10. Okkodo, Guam (5-1): Playing very smartly for a relatively new school.
Girls
1. American School In Japan (8-1): Idle last week
2. Yokota, Japan (20-1): Only blemish is that road loss at ASIJ.
3. Daegu High, South Korea (14-0): First unbeaten Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference Division I season in school history.
4. Kadena, Okinawa (15-7): Survived a huge overtime scare against Kubasaki.
5. Nile C. Kinnick, Japan (18-5): Still looking solid after weekend sweep at Sasebo.
6. Faith Academy, Philippines (15-4): Eighth straight win also nets Lady V’s the Hardeman Showcase title..
7. Notre Dame, Guam (season complete).
8. Seoul American (12-5): Falcons on an eight-game regular-season roll as well.
9. Simon Sanchez, Guam (season complete).
10. Seoul Foreign (10-4). Up next, the Asia-Pacific Activities Conference tournament in Beijing.
Think your ratings are more accurate than mine? Shout it out! Be true to your school, and remember: You’ve entered THE “No-Hate Zone.” J
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 26, 2012
Far less discussion this time around than we've had the previous two times we visited this. Guess it's time to stir the ashes and see if we can spark some new debate here in Sports Blog Nation by taking matters into Ornauer's own hands. :)
For those who argue that this list is faulted because it only includes players dating back to 1982, that's the list's whole point: Best players of the past 30 years, from the time Ornauer began covering the Pacific scene.
If this were to include the best of all time, then you'd see names like Tim Griffin of the old Misawa High School (class of 1971), Jackie Creech of Kubasaki (1980), Bruce Young of CAJ (1966) and Todd Hardeman's older brothers, Tom (1980) and T.J. (1978) of Faith Academy, among many, many others.
And yes, that would involve digging back through the archives. And for that matter, anybody seen Don Norton lately? :)
That said ... I will go ahead and update these teams with whom Ornauer feels deserves a spot among these mini-pantheons. Now, you might still find fault with the selections, but face it: That's part of the fun of it.
Here goes. Newcomers in bold:
Matthew C. Perry, boys
Mike Hester, F-G, Class of 1996
Jeremy Eck, C, Class of 2000 (all 6-foot-7 of him)
Justin McCloskey, G, Class of 2000
Nate Albia, G, Class of 2004 (part of the five-player Samurai team in the Class A tournament)
John Ayers, F-G, Class of 2011.
Knocked out: Julio Rodriguez, F, Class of 2007.
Possible newcomers: Sam Cadavos, Class of 2012, Jon Cadavos, Class of 2015, Jerry Bringley, Class of 1996.
Matthew C. Perry, girls
Nikki Blackman, G, Class of 1988
Vicki Foster, C, Class of 1990
Rebekah Harwell, G, Class of 2012
Cortaza Hall, F-G, Class of 2002
Ashley Taylor, F, Class of 2007
Knocked out: Tia Fluellen, G., Class of 2002.
E.J. King, boys
L.A. Brown, G, Class of 1997
Julius Pangilinan, C, Class of 1997
Jason Cleavinger, G-F, Class of 2001
Draonne Johnson, G, Class of 2005
Keith Williams, F, Class of 2008
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 26, 2012
Which team is best and which wrestlers are tops on Okinawa? We'll likely find out this weekend at the 5th "Rumble on the Rock" tournament, featuring the smallest field in its history. And likely the last shot for Kadena and Kubasaki to establish who deserves the title "Kings of the Mat."
So who will win this weekend? Sound off! Be true to your school, but remember: You've entered THE "No-Hate Zone." :)
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 26, 2012
Which DODDS Japan school will rise above the rest? Which 13 wrestlers will stand head-and-shoulders above the crowd? We find out Friday and Saturday during the DODDS Japan wrestling tournament, dual-meet competition on Friday, individual freestyle competition Saturday.
Who do you think will take it all? Shout it out! Be true to your school, but remember: You've entered THE "No-Hate Zone." :)
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 26, 2012
This week's Stripes Pacific Home Team feature focuses on Zama American Trojans junior transfer Chad Wilder, who's made himself a home at 141 pounds on the wrestling team.
With that transfer, he had to make the converstion from wrestling collegiate folkstyle at American Heritage in Broward County, Fla., to international freestyle rules used in the Pacific.
That's mainly because there aren't enough National Federation of State High School Associations-certified referees in all areas of the Pacific, while FILA-certified freestyle referees are far more plentiful.
That has caused lengthy debate among Pacific high school wrestling coaches for many a decade now.
Some feel DODDS Pacific should be mirroring what NFHS does in the States and what DODDS Europe does, which is wrestle folkstyle. It's more about technique than freestyle, which limits the number of moves one can use and is all about throws.
Others feel DODDS Pacific should stick with international freestyle. After all, that's the style used at USA Wrestling's de facto national championship Fargo tournament in North Dakota, at the All-Armed Forces level and in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman.
What are your thoughts? Pick a side and sound off!
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 25, 2012
The last time Kadena’s girls played this big was the last time the Panthers were winning Far East Division I Tournaments, back in 2007-08, with Aja Walker as its inside force.
For story and photos from Day 2 of the Okinawa-American Shootout, click here. For scores and all-tournament selections, click here.
It took the Panthers four years, until last Saturday, which served as the coming-out party for juniors Eisiah Lawson and Deja Caldwell. They combined for 42 points and 28 rebounds as Kadena built a huge first-half lead, then held off a tenacious Naha Shogyo team 55-54 in Sunday’s shootout final at Foster Field House.
So now, you can’t count on Kadena relying on outside shooting of current star guard Maria Vaughan and departed guard Desirae Seals and the inside play of tenacious, but still not-very-tall Anissa Fitz.
Now, the Panthers have a huge inside presence. Focus on the guards, they feed it inside to the Panther Pillars for easy layups. Collapse inside defensively on Caldwell and Lawson, kick it outside to Vaughan and her sister, Alicia, for perimeter shots.
You can take away only so much.
The boys’ side saw equally workmanlike effort on the inside as Kadena finally broke a three-year finals drought and won the Shootout gold for the first time since 2008. Preston Harris, Josh Dyer and Savon Woodie combined for 29 rebounds as the Panthers avenged their tournament-opening loss to 2011 island champion Konan, beating the Shisa 73-67 in a see-saw final.
Two weekends of tournament education, over. Class dismissed. Now, we’ll see if Okinawa has what it takes to challenge perceived Far East Division I Tournament favorites American School In Japan for the boys and girls gold next month.
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