Noah Perkins

The Eastern New Mexico — FLOYD – Persistent troubles from the free throw line have followed Floyd boys basketball throughout the season. Coach Gabe Montoya has a name for it – "the dreaded free throws."

The Coast News — Déjà vu struck on New Year’s Eve for Helix High alum Keionte Scott. Scott, a San Diego native and cornerback at the University of Miami, intercepted Ohio State quarterback, Heisman Trophy finalist and Carlsbad alum Julian Sayin in the second quarter and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown, fueling No. 10 Miami’s 24-14 underdog win over No. 2 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl. The play mirrored Scott’s pick-six of Sayin’s older brother, Aidan, in the 2019 CIF Open Division finals — a game Carlsbad went on to lose.

The Coast News — VISTA — Three days a week, two tall men carpool from North County to downtown San Diego, each at a different point in their basketball journey — neither at a school they likely imagined themselves at. The slightly shorter and much older of the two, Rusty Smith of Carlsbad, is a Hall of Fame coach with more than 300 wins over 18 years at College of the Sequoias, now serving as an assistant at San Diego City College under head coach Mitch Charlens.

The Eastern New Mexico — Lady Bronchos split five-setters – Five sets up, five sets down. Grady split a pair of marathon matches last week, edging Fort Sumner 25-23, 16-25, 25-9, 18-25, 15-9 at home before falling 25-21, 25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12 at Logan. "Going five sets is tough – mentally and physically," Grady coach Olivia West said. "We challenge the girls in practice to be able to go the distance, but it's such a mental game. In that fifth set, you've prepared for 25 points all match, and suddenly it's just 15 – it goes by so fast."

The Eastern New Mexico — ALBUQUERQUE – A stubborn respiratory illness swept through Clovis High’s cross country team, but the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats refused to let it slow them down in Saturday’s Class 5A state competition. The Lady Cats scored 129 points for fifth place – their best team finish since 2012. They trailed Eldorado (50), Rio Rancho Cleveland (56), Rio Rancho (105) and La Cueva (108) in the 14-team field. “Once they got moving, they were able to make up a lot of ground,” coach Liz Ledezma said of her squad. “Unfortunately, stuff like that happens at the worst times, but I’m happy with them. This is the best my team – both girls and boys – have performed. It’s the highest I’ve seen for the girls. For me, that’s a pretty big achievement, getting fifth place this year.”

The Eastern New Mexico — MELROSE – Heading into the final week of the regular season, Melrose volleyball coach Casey Jackson believes his squad is hitting its stride. "They just keep making steady progress each game," Jackson said. "We're just getting a little bit sharper at the smaller details and they're starting to really come together. "We want to be playing our best at the state tournament. I think we're headed that direction."

The Eastern New Mexico — Cold and windy conditions didn’t slow Portales High senior Miriam Caudillo in Saturday’s District 4-4A meet at Lovington as she ran a personal-best time of 22:11 to take the girls’ individual title. “It’s a long season, and she’s been grinding away,” PHS coach Melissa Lee said. “She’s also a two-sport athlete, playing both soccer and cross country, which is impressive. Anytime you have a kid that’s dedicated like her, it’s a huge asset. “She has an incredible work ethic, and it really showed at districts. Artesia came loaded, but she was ready – and she set a personal record by a whole minute. That’s exactly what the training was for, and it paid off. I’m very proud of her.”

The Coast News — OCEANSIDE — Fog rolled into Herb Meyer Stadium the night before Halloween just in time for kickoff and thickened as the night went on. By the fourth quarter, visibility was down to a milky haze. While El Camino struggled in the air, completing just 8 of 20 passes, it was perfect ground-and-pound weather for Oceanside’s stout rushing attack. The Pirates took full advantage, blanking their crosstown rivals 22-0 on Oct. 30 to win the Battle of Oceanside for the first time since 2018. The victory gave Pirates head coach Fale Poumele his first win over the Wildcats as a coach, capped a 6-4 regular season, and secured Oceanside an Avocado East League title with a perfect 4-0 record in league play.

The Eastern New Mexico — ORTALES – Running on legs still heavy from patrolling the midfield in her final soccer match of the season, Portales High senior Miriam Caudillo powered to a third-place finish in Friday’s Portales Invitational, crossing the finish line in an even 2

The Eastern New Mexico — CLOVIS – This past week was a lighter one for Clovis High volleyball. Two weeks ago, the Lady Wildcats endured a taxing stretch – a pair of five-set matches in three days that meant late nights and early mornings.

The Eastern New Mexico — ALBUQUERQUE – Eighth-grader Lillian Strebeck placed eighth individually and helped Clovis High’s girls to a sixth-place team finish in the Class 5A portion of Saturday’s Albuquerque Academy Extravaganza cross country race. Strebeck notched a 5-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 48.70 seconds, while junior Brooke Newcomer was 10th in 19:56.75 and sophomore Roselia Morales 13th in 20:33.03. The Lady Wildcats tallied 201 points in an 18-team field, trailing Rio Rancho Cleveland (63), Eldorado (71), La Cueva (105), Rio Rancho (115) and Volcano Vista (149). About 100 schools competed in a warmup for state competition on the same course in early November.

The Eastern New Mexico — TEXICO – A high ankle sprain to Texico senior outside hitter Kinzee Crow, the team's key playmaker, coincided with a rough stretch in which the Lady Wolverines dropped four straight games. "I hate blaming injuries," Texico coach Gabe Jones said. "But the issues were there even before she got hurt. Her absence just made them more glaring. "We've been struggling with our offense. When you can't score points in spurts, it gives the other team free opportunities. Errors add to that, and suddenly they're getting points they didn't have to earn. We were scared to swing, tipping a lot of balls."

The Eastern New Mexico — ROSWELL – A six-match goalless streak ended on Tuesday night for the Portales High girls soccer team when junior midfielder Abigail Nunez knocked in the contest’s first goal – a first-half corner kick assisted by senior midfielder Myra Lucero – in a 7-1 District 4-4A loss to Roswell Goddard that dropped the Lady Rams to 5-12 (0-5 district) for the season. “We were doing what we were supposed to,” PHS girls coach Vito Monteblanco said. “It was a beautiful corner kick – she got the first touch, passed it to a teammate, who passed it back, and she just knocked it in tight in the box. “It was pretty crowded in there, but we had been pounding on their goal the whole first part of the half. I told them to go out there, play their game, and keep pressure, pressure, pressure. They did, and it showed.”

The Eastern New Mexico — ELIDA – It was déjà vu on Thursday night in a rematch of last year's Class 1A playoffs, as Melrose once again outlasted Elida in a five-set showdown of District 4-1A powers 16-25, 25-19, 25-17, 24-26, 15-12. The win moved the Lady Buffaloes to 11-2 (2-0 district) and handed the previously unbeaten Lady Tigers their first loss of the season at 15-1 (2-1). In last year's 1A state quarterfinals, Melrose rallied to eliminate Elida 16-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-10. "It was real competitive," Melrose coach Casey Jackson said. "Elida is a great team, and our kids just battled. It's always tough to go on the road and win, because they play so well at home. It wasn't perfect, but our kids fought through every point and just kept battling.

The Eastern New Mexico — FLOYD - After a standout 2019 season in which Floyd volleyball went 17-7 and captured two playoff wins, the Lady Broncos have endured an arduous stretch. Entering this season, the team had just eight wins against 77 losses over their previous 85 matches - a record that left little to celebrate.

The Coast News — A sluggish start to the season for El Camino football deepened Friday night, as the Wildcats fell 52-28 to Poway at Herb Meyer Stadium during homecoming, dropping to 2-4 on the year. The box score, though, according to the team, doesn’t tell the whole story of the season.

The Eastern New Mexico News — PORTALES – Portales High reached the finals in its Peyton Chavez Invitational volleyball tournament over the weekend before losing to Roswell Goddard 25-21, 25-15, 25-23 in Saturday's finale at the Ram Athletic Center. PHS (10-2) earned a spot in the title match after sweeping Moriarty 27-25, 25-12, 25-8 on Friday in the quarterfinals before topping Texico 25-22, 25-17. 26-24 in Saturday's semis.

The Eastern New Mexico News — TEXICO – It was a strong week for the Texico Lady Wolverines, as the defending Class 2A champions posted home sweeps over Santa Rosa 25-18, 25-19, 25-12 on Sept. 16 and Fort Sumner 25-14, 25-11, 25-14 to improve to 5-2 for the season.

The Eastern New Mexico News — ROSWELL – Portales High volleyball coach Bailey Greenwalt recently described her Lady Rams as talented but inexperienced, with only one returning player - senior outside hitter Skyler Massey – having logged meaningful varsity minutes last season. "There are a lot of things I'm criticizing right now as we work to get more refined, but the volleyball skill is there," Greenwalt said. "What we're missing is varsity-level experience, and that takes time. "They're learning how to handle each set from start to finish, to understand their roles, and to recognize they're the ones in charge of making the plays and scoring points. There have been highs and lows, but overall, they're doing well - I just want to see more consistency." Greenwalt's critiques are pointed, but the Lady Rams have delivered on the court, improving to 5-1 on the season with a come-from-behind, four-set triumph over Roswell High on Sept. 9, winning 18-25, 26-24, 25-11, 25-20.

The Eastern New Mexico News — MORIARTY – Texico earned a fourth-place finish in the Moriarty Invitational volleyball tournament over the weekend Meantime, Portales High posted a pair of victories on Saturday to claim fifth place in the 16-team tourney while Clovis High, playing out of the consolation bracket after finishing third in its four-team pool on Friday, topped East Mountain 25-16, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23 on Friday night before beating Thoreau 22-25, 25-14, 21-25, 25-9, 15-8 and losing to Sandia Prep 25-11, 25-21, 25-11 on Saturday for 10th place. Defending Class 2A state champion Texico (2-2) fields a roster of seasoned veterans. The Lady Wolverines are anchored by seven seniors — Gabby Delarosa, Kailie Wieland, Averi McKelvain, Jasmine Hernandez, Kirra Fontanilla, Kaydence Lucero and Kinzee Crow. Texico, which opened the season with a 3-0 sweep of Cloudcroft on August 23, won its quarterfinal match on Friday night in three sets over West Las Vegas before falling on Saturday to Albuquerque Academy, 25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20 in the championship semifinals and Cobre 19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-19 in the third-place tilt.

The Eastern New Mexico News — MAGDALENA – Logan captured the Gold bracket at the Magdalena volleyball tournament on Saturday with victories over Lordsburg and the host Lady Steers. Logan's Desta Rose and Mylee Stone each were named to the all-tournament team. After pool play and bracket seedings Friday, Logan started Saturday with a 25-10, 25-23, 25-14 victory over Lordsburg in the semifinals. The Lady Mavericks ended the weekend 2-2.

The Coast News — For Santa Fe Christian alum and Solana Beach native Hayden Gray, the NBA 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas brings a new jersey, but plenty of familiar faces. On his off-day, July 15, Gray was back at the Thomas & Mack Center watching former UC San Diego teammate Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones suit up for the Toronto Raptors. The two had already hung out twice during their five days in Vegas.

The Coast News — Capturing the perfect landscape photo, Barry Alman says, takes the same instincts he once used to referee basketball: anticipation, positioning, and timing. Alman, who served as a golf marshal at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad from 2012 through 2018, made his living for decades as a basketball referee across San Diego County, officiating recreational, youth and collegiate games. He also founded BOSS Officials, a referee training and staffing company that he sold in 2004.

The Coast News — ENCINITAS — In the runup to the CIF San Diego Section Division II boys lacrosse championship on May 17, San Dieguito Academy understood the assignment. Cut down on forced passes, back up their shots and move the ball more freely to break through the Westview defense that had stifled them in an earlier regular-season overtime loss. Repetitious film study and team-wide self-assessment were key.