Torrey Pines’ Grant Backs Up Talk in Lacrosse Win
BY DON NORCROSSAPRIL 22, 2022 10:44 PM PT
CARLSBAD —
Torrey Pines High senior Griffin Grant didn’t mince words when it came to the Falcons’ looming lacrosse showdown against rival La Costa Canyon.
“I would call it a rivalry, but I wouldn’t call it a competition,” said the attack bound for Notre Dame. “I feel like we take care of them pretty easily.”
Torrey head coach Jono Zissi cringed when he read Grant’s quotes, then delivered a message.
“Hey buddy,” Zissi told Grant. “You better back it up. I don’t want to pull a Bill Belichick and tell you what you can and can’t say to the media.”
No censorship needed. Grant scored four goals and distributed a whopping nine assists as the Falcons walloped the Mustangs 18-6 Friday night at LCC. Torrey Pines is the three-time defending Open Division champions.
The Falcons have won seven straight against LCC.
“Nine goals, four assists. I feel I backed it up pretty well,” said Grant. “I tried my best.”
For 6 minutes, 21 seconds, it was a game. With LCC on a man-up advantage, Beau Hokanson scored with 5:39 to play in the first quarter pulling the hosts to within 3-2. But Torrey closed the period in a rush, scoring three goals in the final 1:56 to take a 7-3 lead.
LCC, the fourth ranked team in the section, cut the deficit to 7-4 on a Carson Craft goal with 10:05 remaining in the second quarter.
The No. 1-ranked Falcons shifted into domination mode, scoring 11 of the next 12 goals.
“They played hard,” Zissi said of his side. “We had a pretty good game plan and sort of stuck to it.”
LCC played a zone, and Torrey responded by attacking from the wings with Grant distributing behind the net.
Junior middie Jacob Mendez scored four goals and had two assists for the Falcons. Blake Washburn scored three goals. Chandler Caster was dominant on faceoffs, winning 20 of 26 draws. Craft scored three goals for LCC.
La Costa Canyon fell to 9-5. Torrey improved to 7-6. While all six losses have been to schools outside of the section, the six losses equaled the Falcons’ total from the last three seasons combined.
“For morale,” said Zissi, “this was important. We needed to stop the bleeding.”
“We knew how important this game was,” said Grant. “We can’t keep on losing.”
Torrey has outscored San Diego Section teams by a combined 113-29.
Said Grant, “I would say that’s domination.”
Norcross is a freelance writer.
Torrey beat LCC in last year’s Open Division title game 10-3
BY DON NORCROSSAPRIL 20, 2022 9:44 PM PT
When Torrey Pines and La Costa Canyon meet in boys basketball and the gym’s rocking and Torrey is taking it to the Mavericks, the Falcons’ student section chants, “Steak for dinner!”
A maverick, besides being a rebel, is also a form of cattle.
When the rivals meet in football, the LCC student section is a sea of white. The Falcons dress in black. At halftime, there’s a “Survivor” competition featuring a male and female athlete from each school battling it out in a part obstacle course, part relay, part entertainment competition.
The trophy that’s on the line: a surfboard.
“It’s a rivalry in every single sport,” said Torrey Pines boys lacrosse coach Jono Zissi.
But the rivalry that’s most intense between schools that share a beach vibe, arguably, is boys lacrosse.
“I think it’s the biggest (lacrosse) rivalry in California,” said LCC attack Luke Sillstrop.
Added Mavericks coach Kevin Cooper, “It’s as big as it gets on the West Coast.”
The teams meet Friday at LCC. Torrey’s record is a deceiving 6-6. All six losses have been to teams out of the section. They’re ranked No. 1 in the section and eighth in the state.
The Falcons have beaten local teams by a combined 95-23.
LCC is 9-4 and ranked fourth in the section.
There are multiple reasons why the rivalry is distinct. Cooper is founder and owner of the Southern California Bulls, a regional club program that draws players from San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange County.
Zissi is the co-director of West Coast Starz, which draws players from every state west of Colorado.
“I don’t think anybody sends kids to more colleges than West Coast Starz,” said Zissi.
The best players from Cooper’s club often feed into Zissi’s program.
“I have a ton of respect for Jono,” said Cooper. “We get along well. He’s been an ambassador for West Coast lacrosse and has done an outstanding job helping kids find a home in college.”
Three players from each team have landed college scholarships. For Torrey, Griffin Grant is bound for Notre Dame, Tayden Bultman will play at North Carolina and Jackson Bishop is off to Drexel. For LCC, Ben Beacham (Penn), Flynn Hogan (Drexel) and Sillstrop (Westminster in Salt Lake City) will play in college.
Many of the LCC and Torrey Pines athletes have played with and against each other on club teams, some dating back to elementary school.
“After the game, we’re friends. It’s a big hug,” said Torrey defender Brycen Monjazeb. “Before the game, it’s all business.”
Monjazeb will miss Friday’s game after suffering a dislocated patella last week.
The final factor in the rivalry: Torrey Pines and La Costa Canyon are usually the two best teams in the section. Since the Open Division started in 2013, Torrey has won four of the eight titles. LCC has won two.
Since lacrosse became a sanctioned sport in 2002, both teams have won eight section titles. They’ve met in championship games eight times.
Player of the Year awards: Falcons eight, Mavericks six.
“It’s the blue bloods,” said Zissi.
Torrey Pines is the bluest of the blue bloods, winning the last three Open Division titles. The Falcons have won the last six meetings between the rivals, moving Grant to provide social media fodder by saying, “I don’t know if I’m talking trash, but it feels like every year we just have better weapons and are more efficient in every aspect of the game.”
Added Grant, “I don’t like to call it a rivalry. A rivalry, to me, is a more even matchup.”
Then Grant pulled a U-turn and said, “I would call it a rivalry. But I wouldn’t call it a competition. I feel like we take care of them pretty easily.”
Torrey beat LCC in last year’s Open Division title game 10-3.
Regarding Grant’s comments, Sillstrop said, “It’s definitely been one-sided the past couple of years, but it’s always a scrap. That game will forever be a rivalry.”
Grant, though, couldn’t resist one final dig before Friday’s showdown. Regarding Zissi saying Beacham’s the county’s best player, Grant said, “When he comes around here, he’s not the big dog anymore.”
LCC is led by Beacham and Sillstrop, who combined have scored 63 goals with 26 assists. Zissi considers Beacham, a junior, the best player in the section.
