It was a forgettable week for Monterey Trail. Per typical of his post-game interview, head coach Ken Manfredi paced back and forth, answering questions with identical passion that he shows while coaching during a game. He speaks freely with his hands and gestures almost as if he’s in a defensive position. There’s no reason to believe Manfredi isn’t the most athletic of all the Delta coaches and could probably play 10-15 minutes per game if need be. His gregarious and polite personality is also contagious. But his frustrations were obvious after a third consecutive loss. The latest came after blowing a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter of a 68-66 loss to Edison of Stockton in the second of eight games at Monday’s Hoops for the Homeless Families Classic at Capital Christian High School.

Monterey Trail had lost back-to-back Delta River League games last week, suffering its worst loss since December 2006 with a 71-47 rout to Sheldon and also succumbing to Folsom 53-50 despite a seven-point lead at the end of third quarter. “It’s been a hard week for us,” said Manfredi, moments after Edison outscored Monterey Trail by 16 points in the fourth quarter to escape with a shocking two-point win. “It’s time for all of us, players and coaches, to roll up our sleeves and get back to playing Monterey Trail basketball. We need to get it figured it out.” The string of losses and lack of execution and leadership in the fourth quarter forced Manfredi to schedule an impromptu practice for about an hour-and-a-half immediately following the loss to Edison.

The itinerary consisted of light drills and a viewing of Edison’s game film. Manfredi is mostly concerned with the way his team has handled adversity in the last week. Monterey Trail scored just six points in the fourth quarter and was outscored by 10 in the loss to Folsom. Conversely, Sheldon dribbled effortlessly through Monterey Trail’s vaunted press contributing to layups and uncontested baskets for a 21-9 lead. Monterey Trail never trailed by single digits the rest of the way in a humbling home loss. “Adversity has hit us in the face and I don’t like how we stepped up to the challenge,” said Manfredi. “It means nothing if you’re unable to step up mentally and physically and execute in the end.”

Monterey Trail resembled the team that had preseason wins over Oak Ridge and Galena, a defending state champion from Nevada, in the first half, using its reckless style to lead by 15 over Edison at the half. But Edison, which studied but did not play the Mustangs at the Monterey Trail-hosted inaugural Mark Macres Tournament in December, regrouped in the fourth quarter after Monterey Trail failed to elevate its double-digit lead in the third despite sloppy ball-handling by Edison. “I thought we were lucky to be up that much,” said Manfredi of the third-quarter margin. “I felt we played poorly in the third quarter. I felt that the table had turned.

“We were trying to refocus. As we say, trying to tighten the screws,” he added. “The tide had definitely turned and we didn’t step up to the challenge.” Edison scored eight consecutive points to trim its deficit to 64-59 with 1:24 left, then used a steal and layup from Lamontay Hall and a layup by William Williams to get to within one, 64-63.

Monterey Trail committed an unforced turnover on its next possession trying to break backcourt pressure, and Edison capitalized with its first lead of the second half on Williams’ layup with 44 seconds left.

Monterey Trail’s Naashon Allen answered 12 seconds later with jumper just inside the three-point line to regain the lead at 66-65. Williams, who finished with a game-high 26 points, converted his third layup of the final minute for a 67-66 lead with 2.7 seconds left. The nightmarish collapse snowballed. After Williams’ basket, Monterey Trail called a timeout without any available for a technical foul at 0.6 seconds. Hall made one of two free throws for a two-point lead, and Edison just had to inbound the ball to run off the final second. “I thought our second half we were much more aggressive,” said Edison head coach Richard Lynch. “We really got on our guys to be more aggressive. I thought we did a good job of finding the open man and knocking down some shots.” Despite the disheartening loss, Manfredi expressed his desire to play in next year’s Hoops for the Homeless Families Classic. Monterey Trail was one of four teams making its first-ever appearance at the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday event. “This is more than just a Monterey Trail basketball game,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be invited to do whatever we can to help out. As hard as this loss is, we definitely want to be back here.” top

You'd think after ending an 18-game losing streak, a jubilant celebration would follow. Maybe a group of players dropped a barrel of Gatorade over the head of Monterey Trail High School football coach T.J. Ewing. Or another group of players high-fived and piled on top of each other as if they won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title. The Mustangs did none of the sort after defeating host Fairfield 53-30 last week. "The only thing we talked about was how to improve before we play Elk Grove (The Bee's fourth-ranked team) Friday," Ewing said.

School athletic director Rick Arcuri said the players came back to school with a little more bounce in their step this week. But that was the extent of the celebration. "The players want to win more than one game," Arcuri said. "If anything, the kids were more relieved that they got the win, happy to get that monkey off their backs. The win, especially for the seniors, was a sign of something different than what they're used to."

The Mustangs' last victory was Sept. 16, 2005. They beat Rosemont 54-14 in a battle of relatively new programs. Ewing, however, never complained about his situation. He played perennial powers along the way, losing to the likes of Del Oro, Elk Grove and Jesuit.

"The schedule was killer," he said. "But it was no need to cry over spilt milk. Nobody likes to lose. But playing those teams made us stronger and helped us to get better."

The Mustangs jumped out to a 34-14 lead last week and maintained control. Marcos Nevarez highlighted the victory with an 87-yard kickoff return and Gerome Johnson caught a 61-yard touchdown pass from Justin Gates. "We're a humble group," Ewing said. "There was no need to do a big celebration. We still have more to prove." Declined to play -- Del Oro freshman Aly Duffin and Oak Ridge sophomore Brittney Larsen declined to compete in the California Beach Volleyball Association 16-and-under National Beach Volleyball Championships on Sept. 2 in Manhattan Beach, fearing they would jeopardize their high school eligibility.

The 14-year-olds, who represent the Sacramento Beach Volleyball Club, had qualified for the nationals by winning the Northern California Championships on Aug. 11 in Santa Cruz. Duffin and Larsen had to play in a higher age bracket because Larsen's birth date just missed the under-14 cutoff. "It's a big achievement to win any beach tournament," said Tim Hill, director of the Sacramento Beach Volleyball Club. "They have the size, quickness and experience to play with anybody." According to Larsen's father, Marty, the families did not inquire at the Sac-Joaquin Section office to determine whether the girls could compete.

Under the section bylaws, Article 6, Outside Competition: "A student on a high school team becomes ineligible if the student competes in a contest on an outside team, in the same sport, during the student's high school season of sport. The following exceptions apply: If the outside team has half or more of the team members as stated in the National Federation Rules Book for that sport, it shall be considered the same sport. Examples: Three-on-three basketball -- outside team competition prohibited; two-on-two volleyball -- outside team competition permitted." By rule, the girls could have played. Woodard gives verbal -- Christian Brothers two-sport athlete Brittany Woodard has given a verbal commitment to play basketball at Nevada. Woodard, an All-Metro selection in both basketball and volleyball last year, said there is a chance she could play volleyball, too. "They told me for my first year to focus on basketball only and then look at adding volleyball my second year," she said. top