By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 30, 2008
Come Friday, expect a new twist to Okinawa Activities Council high school football.
No more split-squad games to prepare for a best-of-three championship series to determine the OAC's representative in the Far East Class AA playoffs.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 30, 2008
Back to the diamond for a minute. The granddaddy of all Pacific interservice Grand Slam softball tournaments, the Typhoon Classic at Okinawa's Torii Station, was canceled when only one -- that's right, one -- team turned in its paperwork and paid its entry fee before the deadline.
Call it a case of bad timing, said new Torii Station fitness and sports director Joe Kumzak. His predecessor, Jim Perry, just transferred to Hawaii and Kumzak is still in-processing after moving from Camp Zama's Yano Fitness Center to Torii.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 29, 2008
How unfortunate that Saturday's Torii Bowl, Yokosuka at Misawa for the U.S. Forces Japan-American Football League title, was postponed due to transportation problems.
Yokosuka's flight from Naval Air Facility Atsugi got diverted due to a schedule change, the Seahawks couldn't secure ground transportation and had no other way of getting to Misawa Air Base this weekend.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 29, 2008
Running back/cornerback/kick returner Johnell Alexander is quickly making people forget Robert D. Edgren's "Fantastic Four" of last year. The senior ran 23 times for 150 yards and three touchdowns and returned a kick 80 yards for a score as the Eagles won 32-13 Friday at Zama American.
As for Yokota's 35-0, lightning-shortened win at Nile C. Kinnick, take your pick of successors to Anthony McNeill.Sophomore Derick "Rookie" Seward with his 153 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown scamper? Or Junior Andy Silva, with his two blocked punts and a touchdown catch?
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 26, 2008
Gad, did summer roll by too quickly or what?
Anyway, same stuff, different year. Time for ORNY to put his best pigskin prognosticator's pod forward and try to discern who'll do what on the gridiron. Without the use of Ouija boards, tea leaves and crystal balls, here it comes again:
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 24, 2008
It wasn't easy, but the Yokosuka Seahawks punched their ticket for a berth in Saturday's U.S. Forces Japan-American Football League Torii Bowl at Misawa.
Special teams and defense did the trick. Two blocked punts set up touchdown runs by Lorenz Piper, while the Seahawks forced five Yokota turnovers and Delrick "Tractor" Traylor recorded 2 1/2 sacks as Yokosuka downed the Warriors 14-6 in Saturday's semifinal at Yokosuka's Berkey-by-the-Bay.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 15, 2008
Kinda poetic, really, that the MVP of the 2008 Marine Corps Far East Regional Men's Softball Tournament was in his first year of varsity ball.
Daniel Alvarez is one of seven Pacific-based Leathernecks headed to All-Marine softball tryout camps for men and women, scheduled for Aug. 25-Sept. 14 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 11, 2008
Make that 23 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines headed to their respective services' softball tryout camps.
The latest: From Camp Foster on Okinawa, Renee Langlois and Lauren LeMay. And from Camp Humphreys in South Korea, Yudelka Lorange, Amber Knickman and Sasamamao Siatuu.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 10, 2008
With Saturday's 26-18 home win over two-time defending champion Yokosuka at Hillside Stadium, the Misawa Jets have a chance to do what no Jets team has done since the 1986 season.
Four quarterbacks took turns tossing the pigskin, with Darone Frierson catching two touchdown passes. Frierson, Darvin Johnson, Andre Rice and Ralph Elliott combined to go 8-for-22 for 151 yards and Prentice Coleman returned an interception 45 yards for a score.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 10, 2008
Once again, the Pacific should be well represented later this month in tryout camps designed to select All-Service teams competing in next month'sAll-Armed Forces softball tournaments at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.
The latest to get the nod is Kevin Petty, a Navy petty officer second class assigned to Fleet Activities Okinawa security. The first basemanfor Club Red and American Legion, which play on Okinawa's open tournament circuit, will attend the All-Navy camp Aug. 22-Sept. 12 at Pensacola.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 10, 2008
Land o' Goshen! Did summer fly by that quickly?
Here we are, just two weeks away from the first day of school, and what I hope will be as competitive a school year in Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Pacific athletics as we've seen in recent years.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: August 10, 2008
Ahh, the sweet sound of two-a-days. From Misawa to Mangilao, they're back, doing the conditioning sprints, learning the basics of the option and 4-3 defense, the competition for starting and backup jobs will soon be in full swing as high school football prepares for the 2008 campaign.
And pretty soon, that'll be accompanied by the thwock! of tennis balls being banged around, the scraping of cross-country running shoes against pavement and the smack! of volleyball spike slamming inside that 10-foot line.
