Friday afternoon, Mike and I loaded up into the old Chrysler LHS to drive 160 miles north to Morro Bay, California to watch former Catania Elephant DB Riccardo Conticello's Cabrillo H.S. Conquistadores (1-7) play the Morro Bay H.S. Pirates (4-4).
Riccardo on crutches
Riccardo sent me this picture from two weeks ago. He is #15 in the middle on crutches nursing some ligament damage in his foot.
Pre-Game Warm-up nearest to us at CB
Fortunately, Riccardo was back in limited action this week on Special Teams only.
Pre-Game Hug
Pre-Game Chat
His accent is still enchanting but his English has REALLY improved!
We talked with Scott and Shari Brooks and their daughter Jenna and son Cody, all part of Riccardo's host family and they all said that Riccardo is doing a great job socially and academically. He is even on time a lot now, definitely not a Sicilian trait!!!
Opening Kick-Off
#15 in the program, #1 in our hearts!
Riccardo is the second player in from the bottom of this picture.
Kick-Off Coverage
Punt Team Gunner
High School Football,
California Central Coast Style!
Dirt Track Markings
We are so spoiled in Ventura County with almost everyone having all-weather tracks.
At Morro Bay, it is still a dirt track around the football field with these markers permanently attached to the cement curb to tell workers where and how to line the track come meet day. That's A LOT of work!
The Central Coast IS Cowboy Country
Bend Your Knees!
Covering another Kick-Off
Punt Return
Post Game
He got a little dirty out there
The Conqs Helmet
Riccardo was proudest of his number decal
The Map of the World
This map dominates the Morro Bay quad. Sicily and Sweden don't seem that far apart to me.
Meanwhile down south, the Rio Mesa JVs improved to 9-0 with a 50-16 victory over Oxnard. The Spartan varsity lost to Oxard 21-6 to drop to 5-4 and 2-2 in the Pacific View League.
Now it was time to drive home another 160 miles!
1 comment:
Speaking as a sportswriter who has to deal with such things all too often, the person who ordered Cabrillo's white jerseys with yellow numbers deserves to be staked down on a mound of fire ants.
Post a Comment