Los Padres League winter sports outlook

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A fellow compatriot out in the blogosphere wrote that tonight’s much-anticipated Los Padres League boys’ basketball game between Morro Bay and Templeton has been postponed because of a ‘problem with the Templeton gym.’ My guess is tonight’s rainstorm has something to do with it.

However, a little water isn’t going to stop me from blogging my thoughts on how things will go in the Los Padres League this winter.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL -- If you haven’t figured it out by now, Morro Bay and Templeton are the teams that’ll be duking it out for the title. Templeton is led by 6-foot-1 guard Michael Hatter, who’s averaging a phenomenal 32.7 ppg (third most in the nation, according to MaxPreps.com!). He also scored a season-high 50 points (which I believe is the second most in the region this season) in the championship game of the Atascadero tournament on Saturday. However, Morro Bay has got its own draining expert in Dylan Royer, who’s averaging 24.3 ppg. The Pirates also have a deeper squad than Templeton thanks to the talents of Wenlong Wu, Justin Clapp and Taylor Bussberg -- and that’s why I think Morro Bay will win the league title.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL -- I blogged earlier this week that St. Joseph is a lock for the league title, but what about everybody else? Well, Morro Bay looks good for second place thanks to the play of Natellie Saia and Caroline Nash. Jozza Ray, who’s averaging a league-best 17.9 ppg, and teammate Denee Lane should lead Lompoc past Roxanne Rentschler and the rest of Cabrillo for third place.

BOYS’ SOCCER -- Defending champion Santa Maria is off to a fast start and the Saints are my pick to win another league title. They also won the competitive 12-team Buena New’s Year Tournament last week, beating Calabasas, 1-0, in the final. Of course, Lompoc and Cabrillo have looked good, at times, in the preseason and could possibly challenge the Saints for league supremacy.

GIRLS’ SOCCER -- The play of Andrea Zimkowski and Sara Epps is one of the reasons I think St. Joseph will take the title, but let’s not forget about talented teams from Santa Ynez and Lompoc Cabrillo. Aolani Rueff leads Santa Ynez with eight goals and 19 points.

-- Austin Knoblauch

-- Image from www.pacificahotels.com