Professional
VINCENT JACKSON (Football, Chargers): Clearly one of the go-to wide receivers for the Chargers, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound fifth year player was omnipresent for the month, catching TD passes in two of three games. Jackson finished with 13 catches for 244 yards (18.7 yards per grab). He posted a season-high 142 yards on five catches in a victory over Kansas City. Although it came on Nov. 1, Jackson followed up with an eight-catch game in a victory over the Oakland Raiders.
JIMMIE JOHNSON (Motor sports, El Cajon): Captured the Pepsi 500 at Fontana by 1.603 seconds over Chevrolet teammate Jeff Gordon to move into the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Johnson is seeking an unprecedented fourth straight Sprint Cup title.
MEB KEFLEZIGHI (Running, San Diego): Set an American record for 20-kilometers en route to winning the San Jose Rock ‘n Roll Half-Marathon. Keflezighi, a graduate of San Diego High and the 2004 Olympic silver medalist, sped to a time of 57-minutes, 52 seconds to shave two seconds off the previous 20K record set by Ryan Hall in 2006. He went on to win the San Jose race by 25 seconds in 1:01.00. One day into November he captured the New York City Marathon.
Amateur
RYAN LINDLEY (Football, SDSU/El Capitan High): In a program whose reputation was built on the pass, the Aztec sophomore stepped in among the elite. The El Capitan High grad completed 55 percent of his passes (57-for-103) for 880 yards and 10 TDs to only two interceptions in three games. He led SDSU to a come-from-behind win over Colorado State with 459 yards and six TDs. The six TDs are the most by an Aztec since 1969.
J.T. ROGAN (Football, USD/Coronado High): A rare sixth-year senior, the Toreros team captain set school records for career touchdowns and points scored. With his fifth rushing TD of the year against Jacksonville, Rogan upped his career to 52 six-pointers and 314 points, adding those marks to the school career rushing record which improved to 3,449 yards. Rogan missed the entire 2008 season after injuring his knee in the season opener.
BEN MURRAY (Golf, USD): Just a junior, Murray tied for third in the Kauai Collegiate Invite (Puakea Golf Club, Par 72) with an 8-under 208, leading the Toreros to their second straight team title. His 1-under 215 at The Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta, Murray’s home town, resulted in an individual eighth place finish and a sixth for USD. He also finished 17th in the Wolf Pack Classic where the Toreros placed second in the 13-team field.
CHRISTINE WONG (Golf, San Diego State): By firing a 10-under par 206, Wong won the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational in Las Cruces, N.M. by four strokes. She fired rounds of 69-68-69 over the par-73, 6319-yard New Mexico State course, including 10 birdies and 40 pars. She became the first Aztec to win the event since 2003 and led SDSU to a third place finish as a team.
PATRICK WALLEN (Soccer, USD): A 6-foot-2 freshman from Sweden, Wallen made an immediate impact as he was named WCC Player of the Month while leading the Toreros to a 7-1 overall record. Wallen had four goals and three assists, collecting game-winning goals with a back-to-the goal header against USF and a more conventional header that sailed into the corner of the net against Saint Mary’s.
AUBREE SOUTHWICK (Soccer, SDSU): As the Aztecs compiled a 5-0-3 record in October, the Danville junior keeper was almost perfect, allowing a miniscule 0.58 goals against average. In the eight games, Southwick played every minute, recording four shutouts and 30 saves. During the month, Southwick set the school career saves record and figures to put it out of reach for years to come before she plays her final game.
High School
RACHEL MORRIS (Golf, Carlsbad): The three-time defending section champion fired a six-under par 30 over Shadowridge’s par 36 course. The round included birdies on 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and was very close to a 27 as she missed a hole in one by inches and lipped out a birdie putt. The USC commit also captured the Ping Invitational in Oklahoma featuring the best high school golfers in the nation.
MEGAN MORGAN (Cross country, Torrey Pines): Often running in the shadow of Rancho Bernardo’s Molly Grabill, Morgan showed her ability when she captured the Mt. SAC Invitational Team Sweepstakes race and led the Falcons to a second place finish. Morgan, a senior, attacked the ultra-hilly 2.95-mile course, clocking a winning time of 16:59 to capture the race by 39 seconds.
KENNY STILLS (Football, La Costa Canyon): The son of former NFL player Kenny Stills Sr., the younger Stills led the Mavericks to a 4-0 record in October and a lofty state ranking. For the month, Stills, who has 4.3 40 speed, caught 23 passes for 447 yards and three TDs, tossed one for a 29-yard TD, and ran for 26 yards on four carries on offense while picking off one pass and recovering a fumble on defense in addition to rolling up 320 yards in kick returns.
DEON RANDALL (Football, Francis Parker): Whether by land or air, Randall was unstoppable as the Lancers went 4-0. Randall carried the ball 47 times for 482 yards and seven TDs. That’s better than a first down per carry. The senior QB also passed for 382 yards, completing 27-of-33 passes for six touchdowns and zero interceptions.
KELLEN BLUMBERG (Cross country, Patrick Henry): Although he wasn’t expected to finish that high, Blumberg showed he was ready to compete as he capped a successful month by finishing sixth in the Mt. SAC Invitational Individual Sweepstakes, clocking a 14-minute, 42-second time, just seven seconds behind the winner and 44 seconds quicker than what he ran in 2008.
LAUREN BIRKS (Volleyball, La Jolla Country Day): En route to a glittering 27-1 season record, Birks, an outside hitter, was credited with a team-leading 287 kills on 478 attempts—a .594 percentage. Showing her all-around ability, Birks was also credited with 230 digs and 39 service aces on a .946 serving percentage.
Posted on November 9, 2009 by Christian Deleon
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