Pointers look for continued wins in higher division

After a highly successful season that saw their offense put up 530 points, Point Loma’s Pointer football team is looking forward to another winning season.

Last season didn’t end until a disappointing loss to league nemesis University City in the CIF Div. III championship game at Southwestern College. And if you look at the 10 games the Pointers won they scored an amazing 48 points per game, giving up just 12 per game.

As a result of their 10-3 season, the Pointers were elevated from Div. III to Div. II in CIF power rankings, placing them among the schools rated 21st to 40th of the section’s 120 teams. And that’s just fine with head coach Joel Allen.

“We are about to experience what it’s like in San Diego after a great year,” Allen said as his 2023 team went through practice last week. “The reward for that is a tough schedule, a tougher league schedule. We’re excited about the season but we know we have a tough road ahead of us and have to prepare even harder.”

A new set of Eastern League opponents will be found on the team’s schedule as well. They include Mira Mesa, Morse, Christian, and La Jolla, which will re-ignite the long-running battle for “The Shoe.”

With former non-league foes Christian and La Jolla becoming league games, the Pointers were forced to schedule six non-league games after many schedules were filled.

“With familiar teams for league games, we thought ‘why not be challenged early while we’re still healthy and see what happens,'” Allen said. And those non-league games look to be a big test for the Pointers.

Two of those opponents are Div. I teams (Madison and Mater Dei Catholic) while Rancho Bernardo is dropping from Div. I to Div. II and former league member University City is moving up from Div. III to Div. II. San Diego and Otay Ranch are Div. III teams.

In addition, the Pointers’ new turf field was due to be completed by now but athletic director Manny Diaz Jr. chose to schedule the first four games on the road to prevent changes in case the field is not ready.

“Our team is a little younger this year and all that means is more teaching,” Allen said about his current roster. “You can’t be physical and fast until you lay out the road map and know where you’re going.”

While the defense will look much the same, Allen plans to use more shotgun formations and perhaps more passing in early games and see how it goes.

“Everyone knows how good some of our early opponents are so our focus now is to be prepared for them,” Allen said. “After that, I think we have a chance to win the league and then make a run in the playoffs so it’ll really be how healthy we can stay and how competitive we can be early on.”

Allen will look for significant contributions from a group of juniors who were starters last season and “finally get to play against others the same age.”

Among those are returning all-league players Nate Terzoli, Brady Allen, Aaron Lee, and Rocket Robinson as well as Ryan Burdine and QB Max Newbegin.

Newbegin picked up seamlessly for the Pointers last year when starter Jackson Emerson suffered a season-ending injury, completing 60% of his throws for 722 yards (16.4 average, 14 TDs) adding 319 yards and five TDs on the ground. A highly motivated athlete, Newbegin attended QB camps over the summer and in his own words “added 50 pounds” of muscle. Allen commented, “My quarterback came in looking like a defensive lineman!”

Seniors on the team will be expected to take on a bigger leadership role with some sophomores on the team and others who saw less playing time now expected to step up.

“The way we treat the players and the way we treat each other is what gets you through the losses,” Allen noted. “The character of a team is really how you handle the obstacles and the losses. It’s real easy to be a coach when you’re winning.”

Let’s hope Allen and his players have many reasons to celebrate this season.

POINT LOMA HIGH FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION

Aug. 18 Madison Madison

Aug. 25 Otay Ranch Otay Ranch

Sept. 1 Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo

Sept. 8 University City University City

Sept. 15 Mater Dei Point Loma

Sept. 22 San Diego Point Loma @

Sept. 29 Christian # at Granite Hills

Oct. 6 La Jolla # Point Loma

Oct. 13 Mira Mesa # Point Loma $