Teammate’s Dad Saves Day for Hurt Player

Zeke Sanchez, the father of Mt. Carmel High baseball shortstop Armando Sanchez, earned a save last week while watching the Sundevils lose to Fallbrook, 11-3.

With Fallbrook leading 11-2 and batting in the sixth inning, Jabe Marsh hit a grounder to first baseman Andy Owen. Pitcher Todd Voigt ran to cover the bag and Owen tried to beat the runner to first. Voigt and Owen collided at full speed, Owen hitting his head on Voigt’s shoulder.

“He landed 10 feet from the point of collision,” Fallbrook Coach Bill Waite said. “He just flew through the air.”

Owen was knocked unconscious, either by Voigt’s shoulder or by contact with the ground.

The Mt. Carmel coaching staff and several players ran to the scene.

“His eyes were glazed and he was breathing funny,” Mt. Carmel Coach Steve Edwards said.

Added Waite: “He was definitely choking on something. The saving grace was that (Armando Sanchez’s) dad was there. His dad took charge immediately, very professionally, and handled the situation extremely well.”

Zeke Sanchez, an emergency medical technician for the San Diego Fire Dept., was in the stands. At the moment of impact, Armando Sanchez ran over to first base and yelled for his father to come to the field.

“I don’t think Armando was aware of how serious it was at the time, but it was just a natural instinct to call for his dad when he saw Andy go down,” Edwards said.

Owen’s tongue had partially obstructed his air passage. Zeke Sanchez, with Edwards, extended Owen’s jaw by tilting his head back and creating an unobstructed flow of air.

The game was delayed about 25 minutes and Owen was transported by ambulance to Fallbrook Hospital. Waite offered to stop the game.

“I said, ‘Let me ask the team,’ ” Edwards said. “I explained that Andy was OK and they said they wanted to continue.”

Mt. Carmel added another run but lost their second in a row.

“Fortunately, it wasn’t quite as serious (as it looked),” Waite said, “but it was real frightening for everyone, really.

Owen was released from the hospital a few hours later.

Trivia time: Only once in the past 17 years has Santana High’s gymnastics team failed to win either a San Diego Section title or finish second--when?

A little public relations never hurt: Immediately after the 1990 San Diego Section eight-man football championship, La Jolla Country Day’s Rashaan Salaam couldn’t wait to receive his championship patch from section Commissioner Kendall Webb.

A few weeks before, Salaam, a junior, had been told by Webb that he probably would not be eligible for competition during his senior season.

Salaam had already completed eight semesters of school beyond the eighth grade--two at Bell Junior High and six at LJCD--making him ineligible under CIF rules.

Salaam, however, said he had a legitimate appeal because he had played only 1 1/2 years of varsity football, and he was 16 years old.

So what did Salaam do?

“I tried to butter him up a little bit,” Salaam said. “I gave him a big hug and a wink.”

Three weeks ago, Webb waived the two semesters Salaam spent in the ninth grade at Bell, making him eligible for all sports next season.

Reason behind the hire: Terry Calen was named San Dieguito High School’s athletic director to replace Dave LaBorde, who is leaving at the end of the school year to take a principal’s position in Fond du Lac, Wis. That had to disappoint Marty Albert, the school’s football coach whose teaching position is, at the moment, eliminated at the end of this school year. But LaBorde said it was Calen’s status, not Albert’s, that influenced the decision.

“He’s been at San Dieguito for 15 years and has coached such a wide variety of sports (volleyball, track and three levels of football), he brings a good background into the job,” LaBorde said.

Calen, the chair of the science department, did not coach any sports this year.

Considering the options: Bob Davis, who resigned his job as head football coach at Torrey Pines because he had no teaching contract, said he is going to lay low until later in the month.

“I’m really interested in doing what’s best for Chad at this point,” Davis said.

Davis’ son Chad has passed for 6,941 yards in three years, an average of 2,313, and needs 2,241 yards to surpass Todd Marinovich as the national record-holder in career passing yardage. The elder Davis said he has a number of options for him and his son, including local ones, but probably won’t make his decision until later this month.

Trivia answer: In 1989, Torrey Pines won the section gymnastics title and San Pasqual finished second. Santana has won 10 titles, finished second six times and finished third in 1989.