This summer, Coach Hines and his strong team of football players worked and trained to refine their plays and technique for their upcoming season. With year-round strength training and conditioning, the Islanders showed their commitment and renewed their purpose for Coach Hines’ second year.
Compared to last year’s record of 3-7, the team this year has already collected two wins against Maranatha Christian School and against El Cajon Valley High School. Two Fridays ago, Maranatha went head-to-head against Coronado; the Islanders were barely leading 14-13 at the end of the first half. To secure the win, the offensive lineup stayed strong in the third quarter to score one more touchdown. Our defense held in the fourth quarter, and the final score read 21-13.
The following Friday, the varsity team rallied against El Cajon Valley, who were running low on players. The first quarter proved the most successful for the Islanders, as they led 41-0. By the end of the second quarter, El Cajon Valley struggled to score a touchdown, and Coronado led 55-0. The Islanders’ newest quarterback, Colter Maldonado, rushed the ball a total of 99 yards and completed nine passes. “Colter offers a balance and knows how to control the ball very well,” comments Coach Hines. In terms of defense, senior Bryce Alexander had a total of twelve tackles. Being six-foot-four, Alexander “attacks the ball well and is one of this year’s starting linebackers.”
Unfortunately for El Cajon Valley, they were not able to score any points, and the final score was 76-0—Coronado’s second win of the season. After the game, there was some criticism of the game, suggesting that Coach Hines allowed his team to “run up the score.” Coach responded via a public facebook video, below, in which he says it was an “unfortunate 76-0 win. No one likes those games. They’re fun for the first 10 minutes, then you realize it’s getting out of hand and you try to figure out, ‘How can I manage this?’.” There are CIF rules in place to keep the game safer, which place restrictions on playing time which resulted in limited availability for who could sub in and play due to a JV game earlier in the day.
As both the returning and incoming players become familiar with their new coach, there are high expectations for this season’s outcomes. “Our goal is to win the conference and, hopefully, make it to CIF playoffs,” says Coach Hines.
We wish them the best of luck at Castle Park High School next Friday.
Stay strong, Islanders!
Upcoming Game: Friday, August 31 vs. Castle Park High School @ 6:30 PM (Away)
Photos by Ana de la Lama
Related: Get to Know New Islander Head Football Coach Kurt Hines
