A lot of talent in A Little Night Music

Photo: Martin Bell as Fredrik and Alison Ewing as Desiree. Courtesy of 42nd Street Moon.

By the time he wrote A Little Night Music, Stephen Sondheim was eight musicals deep into his career and comfortable making things difficult for his companies.

A Little Night Music is chock full of counterpoints, multipart asynchronous harmonies, and hits notes that make it a favorite not just got classical theatre groups, but also for regional opera companies. It’s a demanding show for its performers.

When American Conservatory Theatre presented the musical in 2015, it did an admirable, if workmanlike job in its large Geary Street Theatre. If the star company of San Francisco theatre could barely pull it off, how would a smaller company in a smaller theater do?

Quite well, actually. 42nd Street Moon’s production of A Little Night Music opened this past weekend at the Gateway Theatre and succeeds by matching the proper talent to Sondheim’s spectacle. The show plays Wednesday through Sunday until Nov. 21.

A musical comedy about infidelity, regret, and ultimately finding what you want, A Little Night Music starts out with exposition-heavy introspective singing — you wanted complicated Sondheim with counterpoint? Look no further than the early-on "Soon/Later/Now," where three different songs are sung at once before converging into one. The musical evolves into a whimsical farce, complete with light scheming and fun repartee. The cast, which reflects the Bay Area’s theatrical heritage, if not necessarily that of early 1900s Sweden (where the musical is set), is fully up to the task — as is the costuming and set design.

A Little Night Music is very much a female-led show, and the women in charge of this production shine. Samantha Rose Cardenas’ Anne may not at first strike one as the 18-year-old trophy wife she plays, but has both the vocal range and alternatively flighty, fearful, and loving personality to own the role.

Any performer playing Desiree in a production of A Little Night Music better nail “Send in the Clowns,” and Alison Ewing does just that, presenting the necessary regret in Sondheim’s song — but also the self-reproach needed elsewhere in the role of a theatre actress that has seen better days and made spotty decisions.

There’s not a dud in the whole cast, and while one might have fleeting initial thoughts about chemistry between performers, they’re gone by the end. Katrina Lauren McGraw’s Charlotte is excellent in a role that is pivotal, if smaller than the leads. Trixie Aballa (Petra) and Martin Bell (Fredrik) also have their times to shine, vocally.

The Gateway is a smaller theater, in both stage and audience size, but director Brandon Jackson uses every bit of it well, both to simulate various parts of a sprawling turn-of-century Swedish estate and to accommodate Allison Paraiso-Silicani’s choreography. From the opening number, and especially in the first-act closing “A Weekend in the Country,” no space is wasted. Yet private moments between two characters, such as the preceding “"Every Day a Little Death” and the musical’s most-famous number, “Send in the Clowns,” still feel intimate.

The facility has been completely refurbished since the last time I saw a show there (2018’s revival of “Pricilla, Queen of the Desert” by Theatre Rhinoceros) and is easy to access by both car and public transportation from South San Francisco.

What: A Little Night Music, by Stephen Sondheim. Where: Gateway Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco (nearest BART Station: Embarcadero). When: Through Nov. 21. Tickets ($35-$70) & Showtimes: https://42ndstmoon.org/

Disclaimer: Everything South City provided me with a ticket, which had been provided complimentary by the production company, in exchange for this review. The observations and reactions in this review are the author's own and have not been dictated or directed by any other party.

El Camino wins COVID-19 delayed Bell Game, 49-12

South City quarterback Elijah Avegalio (left) looks for an opening as the El Camino defense, including Jovaughn William (4), looks to pull him down in the Bell Game, April 17, 2021. Photo by John Baker.

What was either the longest high school football season in modern times or the shortest, depending on your definition, came to an end on Saturday as El Camino defeated South San Francisco High 49-12 in the 59th edition of the local rivalry known as the Bell Game.

With both schools only playing their fourth contest because of a truncated schedule (and one mutual opponent dropping its team), the number of games played was the fewest since at least the 1960s. But considering the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the 2020 football season to spring 2021 and these teams had started practicing in February 2020, the 14 months together meant these playing units have had more time together than most.

“Everybody’s just happy the seniors had a season,” said El Camino coach Archie Junio. “It was definitely tougher this year. We lost a lot of people to COVID, with people not wanting to come out. Mentally it was one of the toughest years, but as far as appreciation, it’s probably one of the best we've had.”

Saturday’s win was the Colts’ third straight Bell Game triumph, although the Warriors still lead the all-time series, 47-12. Prior to 2018, South San Francisco had won 14 straight.

South City’s last win overall remains a one-point squeaker in the 2017 Bell Game, and the Warriors have lost 24 in a row. But first-year South City Coach Dion Evans, who said he only had 15 players suited up on Saturday, said seeds have been planted to grow success on B Street.

“There’s a wave of players, because I’m coming back, I’m not going to abandon them,” said Evans, the Warriors’ fourth coach in as many seasons. “As a man and a football coach, this is very tough to deal with.”

The outcome of the game was never much in doubt. South City started with the ball, but the second play from scrimmage resulted in El Camino’s Elijah Vazquez picking off an errant pass at the 32-yard line and running it back left to put the Colts up 7-0 after the extra point.

“I was supposed to read the second guy on the right, I peek over … I looked back at the QB, and the ball was right in my face,” Vasquez said. “I took the ball and hauled ass to the end zone.”

South City punted on its next possession, then the Colts scored on theirs with a four-yard Jared Turcios run. The Warriors punted again on their next turn, but Toby Woodworth took the punt back 91 yards on the right to put El Camino up 21-0 after a quarter.

“It started the Bell Game off right,” Vasquez said. “We were tired of losing after all those (14 straight) years and wanted our respect.”

South City (0-4) looked to make a game of it on the next possession, when Elijah Avegalio hooked up with Carlos Marquez on a 28-yard touchdown pass on the left side.

But El Camino (2-2) got three more touchdowns in the second quarter: a nine-yard Jovaughn Williams run, a 40-plus-yard fumble recovery by Joey Pierotti, and an 18-yard pass reception from quarterback Vasquez to Woodworth. The Colts led 42-6 going into the break.

“We tried not to pass as much as we could have,” Junio said. “I know they’re our rival, but I still wanted to be classy. I respect them as a group and I respect coach Dion for what he’s doing.”

With a running clock in the entire second half, both sides only got one score: Noel Valdez scored on a seven-yard run five minutes into the third quarter for El Camino and Carlos Garcia ran the ball in three yards for a South City touchdown with 8:38 left in the game.

In total, the Warriors tallied only 127 yards of net offense, 65 on the ground (led by Avegalio’s 43 net rushing yards, which were offset by about another 40 fumble yards) and 62 in the air. The Colts tallied 208 yards on the ground, paced by 121 yards from Williams, and 40 via the pass.

“We knew that El Camino was a better team right now,” Evan said. “We told (the Warriors) that El Camino was a better team right now, but they could fight and score.”

Practice for the fall season starts in about six weeks, pandemic permitting.

El Camino dominates Bell Game, 39-0

El Camino and South City players line up for a second half snap in the Bell Game on Nov. 9, 2019. The Colts beat the Warriors, 39-0 for their second straight win in the series.

After time ran out on more than a decade of frustrations ended for El Camino in last year’s rivalry against South City, the Colts made time move even faster on Saturday by dominating the Warriors, 39-0, in the first ever Bell Game featuring a running clock.

It was the Colts’ second straight Bell Game triumph, although the Warriors still lead the all-time series, 47-11. Prior to 2018, South San Francisco had won 14 straight.

“Every El Camino program before us, this is revenge for them,” said El Camino senior Javion Tarusan, who had five touchdowns last year and two on Saturday. “Even though the season was hard, this is a good group of fellas and we worked really hard as a team.”

South City finishes 0-10 for the second straight year and was shut out for the seventh time this season.

“The energy was there, I’m not going to blame it on a lack of experience,” said first-year South City head coach Taulaga Elisaia. “They’re all athletes, they know how to get out there and compete.”

El Camino (2-8) received the kickoff and scored on its first possession on a 7-yard run from sophomore Sonnie Terreros. But the Colts were only in position to score after Noel Valdez converted a fourth-down quarterback sneak at midfield a half-dozen plays earlier. Tarusan caught a PAT pass to put El Camino up 8-0 with 5:27 left in the first quarter.

“We ran a pitch to the left,” Terreros said. “I saw the corner go out, so I cut in and the safety was already beat.”

South City (0-10 for the second-straight season) just couldn’t get it going offensively, tallying only 78 yards on the day, 70 of them on the ground. The Warriors were paced by Elijah Avegalio’s 29 yards on six carries, followed up by Christopher Garcia Magallon’s 27 yards on nine carries.

The lack of offense also indirectly contributed to the Colts’ second touchdown, when Tarusan received a South City punt exactly at midfield and ran it 50 yards, right up the middle, to put El Camino up 16-0 after the PAT midway through the second quarter.

“My blocks helped me out. That was it,” Tarusan said.

Tarusan added a second touchdown – his seventh career Bell Game TD – with 1:06 left in the half, on a 57-yard rush up the right side. Valdez again passed for a two-point conversion, making it 24-0 going into the break.

El Camino kicked off the second half with a bullet into the South City frontline, but the Warriors frontmen muffed the kickoff and the Colts had the ball on the South City 45 to start the second half. A couple plays later, El Camino’s Thomas Haysbert pulled down a 44-yard Valdez airstrike to put the Colts up 32-0 after a fourth two-point conversion pass.

The Colts scored one final time four seconds into the fourth quarter on a one-yard Elijah Vasquez run, and for the first time ever, the Bell Game went to a running clock.

The closest the Warriors came to the end zone was on their very first drive when South City got to the El Camino 23, but turned over on downs. It was a disappointment for the all-alumni South City coaching staff, of whom only the head coach is over age 23.

“We have to be consistent,” Elisaia said. “We were not able to keep up the momentum.”

Valdez completed 5 of 6 passes for 107 total yards for El Camino, while Ferdinand Galang completed 2 of 9 for 8 net yards for South City. The Colts tallied 274 total yards to South City’s 78. There were no turnovers.

Terreros, who rushed for 62 yards on nine carries, transferred from Hillsdale to El Camino for his sophomore season, but said he already could feel the rivalry.

“Even in the locker room and walking up, you could feel the pressure, you could feel the hate on the field,” he said. “During the season, it was bad; we were stressing over the record. But today we feel like a whole new team.”

Colts and Warriors shake hands following the completion of the Bell Game.

A school board position comes with great power; it must also come with great responsibility

SSF City Clerk Rosa Govea Acosta (left) swears me in for my first full term as a Trustee for the South San Francisco Unified School District Board on Dec. 13, 2018.

On Nov. 6, voters re-elected me to a new term on the South San Francisco Unified School District's Board of Trustees after I had spent the previous 2.5 years filling out the term of the late Rick Ochsenhirt. I had been elected to a two-year term in 2016 after being appointed earlier that year, and this election netted me a full four-year term -- as well as the most votes among eight candidates (thanks everyone!).

Last month, former Trustee (and current South San Francisco City Clerk) Rosa Govea Acosta ceremoniously swore me in (above) and I got down to work with my new colleagues. They honored me with their votes and elected me to the presidency of the Board for 2019.

Being president gives one a soapbox, and in my Dec. 13 inaugural address, after a page of thanking voters, my colleagues, and my family, I drew upon the inspiration of the recently-departed Stan Lee, and reminded my colleagues on the Board that while student learning is our primary responsibility, we can’t other ignore situations in which we can help, because the costs down the line of not doing so will be great:

I enter this new role, and I’m sure trustees Flores and Richardson enter their new positions with similar feelings, mindful of the words of a great author who recently left us: “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.”

When Stan Lee wrote those words in 1962, he may not have had school boards on his mind, but the lessons apply to them just as well – there is possibly no greater power in our society than that of those who shape the minds of our next generation, and certainly there is no greater responsibility than that next generation’s care and safety.

Think of what happened in that famous issue of Amazing Fantasy where the phrase was first used and think how it applies to our role: Peter Parker, high on his own hubris after gaining great power and focusing on his own wants, refuses to help a security guard stop a robber despite being in a prime position to do so. That decision later results in tragedy for Peter’s family, as that robber later killed Peter’s uncle Ben.

So it is with the school board. We must not revel in our roles and become insensible to the needs of others. Our authority is narrow, but influential. We need to be aware of what our staff, our families, and, above all, our students, require, and we need to work together as a team to get it to them.

We all enter this position with our own expertise, passions, and ideas for the future. But ultimately, we as a Board must work as a unit, with our guiding principles directed by our LCAP, which was put together in consultation with our community, and is continues to be updated in consultation with all our stakeholders.

As a District and Board, we have made great strides over the years, but there remain challenges. For example, we have a teacher shortage. We have an achievement gap. We have seen complaints in the community about test scores at certain schools. But what do those test scores really measure? They don’t necessarily measure a teacher’s ability to teach or a student’s ability to learn. But test scores are  good measures of poverty and socio-economics -- especially in a District such as ours that is de facto segregated by income.

If you measure our students to like students in similar districts, however, the South San Francisco Unified School District acquits itself very well. As Dr. Moore wrote in the San Mateo Daily Journal yesterday, we are committed to offer the support students need to achieve equal outcomes, and that’s why our Board’s key focus has been – and must continue to be – equity, not necessarily equality. We need to get the most help to those students who most need it, and, as this District transitions to a neighborhood-based election system, we need to ensure equity remains a concrete part of our District’s culture going forward.

Our challenges are exacerbated by the high costs of housing in our region, which affects everything in our District: teachers and classified staff, who find it difficult to stay in our District or sometimes even in education as a profession altogether with what we can pay; Our students, who sometime have parents who can’t help with homework because they work multiple jobs and are either out working or too fatigues, and; families worried about housing security, resulting in instability that affects their students’ performance.

Our job is to educate those kids, but I think it is also our imperative as a District and a Board to advocate for our families. And by that, I mean both the families of our students and the families of our teachers and staff – two groups, by the way, that are often one and the same.

Unlike Peter Parker, who refused to stop the robber because it was “not his job,” we can’t ignore situations in which we can help, because the costs down the line of not doing so will be great. So, I challenge our cabinet and my fellow Board members: remember that while student learning is our priority, we must be able to help our families if we have the means to do so.

Some examples of what we can do:

•        We can discover what additional financial resources we can offer to help those we employ, funded by school finance reform measures such as efforts to close commercial loopholes in Prop. 13.
•        We can advocate for our school families before local planning officials to convince them to allow sufficient affordable units in northern San Mateo County in order to blunt rent prices.
•        We can continue and expand parent education programs, such as English classes for parents at Los Cerritos
•        We can expand after-school care options at our high-demand campuses

Finally, whatever one's opinion is on the development in our community, everyone agrees that the schools need to be ready for a changing, growing population. This means we need to ensure we have the capacity, both in terms of staff and structures to accommodate those new students.

If we can implement strategies such as those I just mentioned, more parents can help with homework, fewer students will feel insecure, and more teachers will stay with our district and become even more effective in the profession. Those positives will result in better outcomes for our students.

Because when you come down to it, this job comes down to doing what is right for Ian, Charlotte, and the more than 8,000 other students in our District.

We have the great power, now let’s show that great responsibility.

For video of the meeting, click here.

El Camino wins Bell, snaps South City's streak at 14

If history proves a kind judge, the 57th Bell Game on Saturday will not be remembered by HOW it ended, but by WHAT it ended.

For the first time since 2003, El Camino defeated South City High in the annual rivalry, buoyed to a 41-15 margin by five Javion Tarusan touchdowns. The win ended a 14-game losing streak by El Camino, which has freshmen on campus that had not been born the last time the Colts won a Bell Game.

But, as sometimes happens in rivalry game, emotions ran high -- a little too high. Officials ended the game early, expressing their dismay with seven fourth-quarter personal fouls by symbolically walking off the field with 2:36 left on the clock. It was an anti-climatic finish to a game that the Warriors had led at the half.

“I’ve never seen it,” said El Camino coach Archimedes Junio. “It’s a rivalry game and there were a lot of personal fouls, but a seven-man crew walking off the field because of a taunting penalty is pretty outrageous. The last thing they did was they pointed at the scoreboard and walked off.”

Tarusan was the hero in El Camino’s win, scoring two touchdowns on kick returns, two on interception returns, and one receiving.

“Amazing. I don’t remember anything like that,” Junio said. “He’s been doing that all year, leading us in touchdowns, leading us in interceptions, everything.”

Tarusan, a junior captain, said the win would hopefully start a new streak.

“We’ve just got to keep it there (at EC) for years, just like South City had it,” he said. “For the next 14 years, the next 30 years, we’ve just got to keep it.”

The final score did not reflect the back-and-forth nature of the first half. The Warriors got on the scoreboard first, with a 43-yard field goal by Nelson Ramirez capping an eight-play opening drive, which was the only score of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Tarusan worked the first of his magic: first fumbling, then picking up a South City punt and taking it through the approaching Warriors line 60 yards to put the Colts up 7-3 after the extra point.

“It was my blocking,” Tarusan said. “I saw a hole and i just ran through and I ended up with a touchdown.”

After a trade of punts, South City got a big play when Frank House, well… took it to the house, taking a Demetrius Gutu pass 75 yards up the left for a touchdown with 5 minutes left in the second quarter.

How long did it take El Camino to respond? About the 14 seconds it took Tarusan to pull the ensuing kickoff down at the six and run 94 yards up right for another Colts touchdown. EC led 14-9 with 4:46 before halftime.

Two minutes later, Noel Elasia burst through the middle for a 21-yard touchdown run for the Warriors. Although South City could not convert the two-point PAT try, its defense did have a three-play goal-line stand on EC’s next drive and led 15-14 going into the half. When El Camino running back Jonas Junio was injured early in the second half, there was some trepidation on the Colts sideline.

“I was nervous, but I knew that with the adjustments we were going to make, we’d be OK,” Junio, the coach, said regarding the feeling he had when Junio, the player (and coach’s nephew), went down.

There indeed was no real need to worry, as El Camino scored four unanswered touchdowns after the break. The first came on the same series Jonas Junio was hurt on, as Tarusan pulled down a 24-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Noel Valdez and carried it 24 yards for a touchdown. The Colts, or rather, Tarusan stopped South City’s next drive with a 90-yard interception return when the Warriors threatened the red zone.

Senior running back Ivan Pineda scored on a three-yard rush midway through the fourth quarter to cap a long El Camino drive, then Tarusan stopped the Warriors’ next drive with a 51-yard pick-six interception.

“Right before that play, this guy targeted me and it just fired me up,” Tarusan said. “I had to go out a play, I came back in and got the pick-six. It was just destined.”

The loss capped a tough year for South City, which finishes 0-10 under first-year coach Jerome Lee. The Warriors tallied 195 yards on the ground, led by Elasia, who had 16 carries for 102 yards. Romeo Alapati added 67 yards on 12 carries. Gutu completed 7 of 19 yards for 149 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.

El Camino finishes 4-6 under first-year coach Archie Junio. The Colts tallied 102 yards on the ground, paced by 60 yards on 13 carries by Jonas Junio prior to his injury. Valdez completed 9 of 11 passes for 105 yards.

“This is amazing,” coach Junio said, savoring the win. “We’re trying to change the culture of this whole rivalry and we’re trying to do the right things. I’m just so glad it happened on my first year here.”

Below: Halftime entertainment from the South City Spirit Squad and the teams shake hands at the end of the game.

In defense of high-density housing near SSF BART

(There are proposals to build housing on a vacant lot down the trail from South San Francisco BART station. The fact that some alternatives promoted by potential developers are up to 15 stories tall has upset many residents. Here, resident John Baker makes a plea for more housing on the location.)


South San Francisco is an older city, and I’m not talking about the fact it recently celebrated its 107th anniversary.

What I mean is that it is a community where the median age of a resident has risen from 26.8 in 1970 to 38.1 in 2010 as home-owning adults aged in place and younger people moved away to start families in more-affordable locales. In fact, South San Francisco has almost 3,500 fewer school-aged kids than it did when I was born, despite the city’s population increasing by more than 20,000 in that time. (Note, I’m talking the physical existence of children, not just enrollment in our public schools.) Families increasingly cannot afford to stay in this city.

That’s why meaningful housing construction, like the proposals for homes on the former SFPUC location just south of the South San Francisco BART station, are important for South City’s future.

I recently completed a seven-year stint as a commissioner on the South San Francisco Public Housing Authority. I’ve seen the damage done to families by a housing supply that is far short of demand: runaway rents, soaring housing costs, and an influx of money that is both directly and indirectly leading to displacement of some of our most vulnerable. The waiting list for our Public Housing is so long that the Authority won’t even quote wait times. The waiting list for a Section 8 voucher is long as well, and good luck finding a landlord that will accept one.

We have a profound need to increase housing supply. I think many people in South City agree on that. However, some people say, “I support more housing, but this is not the right place.” To me, this location is the absolute best place to build housing on the Peninsula: Hundreds of units, up to 160 of them affordable, literally right next to a BART station and a heavily used bicycle/pedestrian path, right next to the Peninsula’s longest street, and within blocks of schools and grocery stores. It will be adjacent to what will soon be the newest, most advanced-technology library in San Mateo County. This is the place.

There’s reasonable discussion to be had as to how tall these buildings need to be. I’m guessing we initially had proposals of up to 15 stories because developers realize they will likely be trimmed down to seven (which is how tall the tallest new proposals appear to be). They didn’t ask for seven, because then it would be trimmed down to four. Personally, I think we need far more publicly subsidized housing – not just BMR housing. But anything a project in this location can do to help our supply is appreciated.

I’ve heard or read many of my neighbors says something to the effect of “No one asked for this,” Well… (raises hand) … I’m asking for this.

• I’m asking for this because I don’t want wetlands and farms in the Central Valley turned into blacktop.
• I’m asking for this because I do not want any more homes on San Bruno Mountain. Or on landfill in the Bay.
• I’m asking for this because helping people get homes, or at least having homes for newcomers so those current renters are less likely to be displaced, is the right thing to do.

The single-most meaningful challenge for our younger generations will be climate change. Building high-density infill housing near transit is an impactful way to meet our state’s ambitious climate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent of their 1990 levels. The days of the super-commute have to end. And, I would suggest, if cities want to ensure people in such buildings actually take mass transit, reduce or eliminate parking minimums for such projects.

I’ve read residents online complaining that “The Hillsboroughs of the world aren’t building their share of housing, so why should we?” To me, that’s like asking why I have to sort my recycling from the trash if my neighbors don’t. We should make sure there’s more housing, even if some of our neighbors don’t because we’re more ethical than them. We’re more environmentally conscious than them.

And finally, the leadership of this city is more responsible for the mess than them. The predecessors of the current city council promoted policies that created thousands more jobs than housing units between 2000 and 2010. And you know what? Downtown South San Francisco is more active, our streets are a little cleaner, and extra policing has made our gang problem less acute. But — and I’m not saying this is unique to South City by any means — we have fallen behind on our responsibilities to keep housing supply and demand balanced.

So I am asking the City to build this. The more units, the better. Please.

John Baker is a former chair of the South San Francisco Public Housing Authority and current trustee for the South San Francisco Unified School District. This essay is his own opinion as an individual and not necessarily representative of any organization of which he is a part.

South City wins 14th straight Bell Game, 36-6

Spencer Eugenio scores on a five-yard second quarter run for South City High in the Bell Game, on Nov. 4, 2017.

For the 14^th straight season, the Bell tolls for South San Francisco High School.

With no end to the streak in sight, the Warriors topped El Camino, 36-6, on Saturday in the 56^th annual matchup of the crosstown rivals.

“It’s not that difficult (to keep the intensity up), it’s the Bell Game” South City coach Jay Oca said. “These guys are neighbors, they’ve know each other since they were in elementary school. Both teams are going to fight, crawl and scratch to get into the end zone.”

South City’s Spencer Eugenio was the unofficial player of the game, tallying the majority of the Warriors’ offensive yards by rushing for 235 yards on 30 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

“He’s an explosive athlete,” Oca said. “He does everything; he runs the ball, he passes, he catches, he kicks the ball — he does whatever you want him to do.”

El Camino started with the football, but fumbled it away four plays into the game. In a preview of the impact he would have later, Eugenio picked it up for the Warriors. Twelve plays later, Eugenio capped a 58-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run with 5:29 left in the first quarter, after which he also took in the two-point conversion.

The fumble set a bad tone for El Camino, according to Colts coach Eric Jacobson.

“I felt really good on that first drive and then we put the ball on the ground,” he said. “You can’t have these little things happen in a big game; they multiply.”

Oca agreed.

“That was huge,” he said. “They we kind of driving on us they were eating up yardage, and real quickly that (recovery) emotionally turned us around.”

Eugenio scored again 7:35 before halftime on a five-yard run. Kalvin Pua also scored a touchdown 1:36 before the break to put South City up 24-0 after two quarters (the Warriors tallied a two-point conversion after all three touchdowns).

“I felt it was good to be quick and out, and come out with a boom,” Eugenio said. “Having a hard week of practice went well for us and everything our coaches did prepared us for this.”

While El Camino (3-6) held South San Francisco (also 3-6) scoreless in the third quarter, Pua — who had 122 yards on 25 carries — scored his second touchdown of the game with 6:23 remaining on an eight-yard run. Quarterback Tyson Alapati scored with 2:41 left on a five-yard keeper.

“We just didn’t make plays,” Jacobson said. “They came to play and we didn’t. I think you can tell that by the way they were running the ball.”

El Camino’s only score came with just 28 seconds left in the game, when quarterback Jonas Junio hit Ian Dugas on the right side for a 30-yard scoring pass.

Emilio Urrutia had 38 yards on seven rushes to pace the Colts’ ground game. Junio completed four of 13 passes for 65 yards. South City’s Demetrius Gutu caught the only pass Alapati attempted for a 12-yard gain. In all, South City outgained El Camino with 400 total yards of offense to the Colts’ 173.

“What kept us moving was wanting to run the ball as hard as we can in the last Bell Game for our seniors,” Eugenio said. “There’s a lot of pressure on it, but I feel that us being a team keeps us focused.”
The Colts' last win in the series remains a 35-19 upset in 2003. Jacobson’s disappointment was apparent.

“I thought we had them really well prepared, especially after Capuchino, but another year has gone by,” he said. “Sometimes I hate Novembers. I’ve hated the last 15 Novembers for sure.”
Both teams do get a rare bounce-back week after the Bell Game next Thursday, making up for games that were postponed because of poor air quality caused by last month’s wildfires. El Camino will host Jefferson at 7:30 p.m., while South San Francisco will travel to Woodside.

South City defeats El Camino, 28-27, in new Bell Game classic

El Camino's Ian Dugas (No. 3, right) runs away on a 60-yard scoring pass in the first quarter of Saturday's 55th Bell Game at South San Francisco High. Click to enlarge.

What defines a classic?

Art? Universal appeal? Something that stands the test of time and influences what comes after it?

If those are the definitions, then Saturday’s 55th edition of the Bell Game between South San Francisco and El Camino highs was truly a classic.

The game featured art in the skillful execution of trick plays. It featured universal appeal in the grit of its competitors grinding it out in the face of shifting odds. Finally, its back and forth nature will stick forever with those who played in it, teaching lessons that will influence major decisions in their lives about dealing with pressure and not taking things for granted.

So, it that regard, South City’s 28-27 victory over El Camino at Clifford Field will go down as a classic.

“I’ve been at every Bell Game since 1983,” said El Camino head coach Eric Jacobson. “I’ve seen scoreboards blow up, streakers, a couple nice wins by El Camino, but this was a heart-breaker.”

The game wasn’t decided until time expired and a tackle was made on El Camino’s last-gasp pass play at midfield. The fact that the Colts had even gotten to that point was an achievement.

South City had taken a 28-14 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the game on Jeremiah Lupe’s third touchdown of the game, a 42-yard run up the left side.

“It feels great man, we finally showed up and did our thing,” Lupe said. “I want to give credit to my line. Without them, I wouldn’t have had those touchdowns — they opened some big gaps.”

Lupe’s score had seemed initially to take the wind out of El Camino’s sails. In fact, the Colts looked done after a fourth down passing pass went incomplete at midfield with 8:55 left in the game. But as EC quarterback Jimmy Bakshi got back up on his feet after being knocked down, he was happily surprised to be the beneficiary of a roughing the passer penalty. El Camino then capitalized a few plays later when Bakshi stretched over the goal line on a one-yard keeper to get the Colts within a touchdown with 5:12 left.

Then a little art: El Camino dribbled the ensuing kickoff just a few yards upfield and masterfully recovered. A handful of plays later, Bakshi connected with Ian Dugas for the latter’s third receiving touchdown of the day — a 25-yard lob into a crowd in the right side of the end zone. The Colts were within a point.

At that point the Colts lined up for two. Bakshi rolled left on the snap and threw a line drive. South City linebacker David Alapati burst through the line, however, and intercepted the PAT try, all but giving the Warriors the victory.

“I knew I had to go and get that interception,” Alapati said. “My eyes went hella big when I saw him roll (my way).”

Jacobson said he decided to put everything on the line and go for two under the assumption that El Camino would never have as good a chance.

“I was always going to go for two,” Jacobson said. “We know there’s overtime, but I didn’t like our chances going in there because we were getting beaten up on the defensive side of the ball. When you get a chance to win the Bell, you’re going to take that shot.”

With the win, South City finishes the season 3-7, while El Camino finishes 1-9. The Colts' last win in the series remains a 35-19 upset in 2003.

The game’s first score came about five minutes into the contest on a 38-yard left run by Lupe. Just two plays later, a wide-open Dugas scored his first touchdown on a 60-yard pass from Bakshi. After a quarter, it was 7-7.

Dugas (four receptions for 161 yards) put El Camino up 14-7 34 seconds before halftime with a 49-yard score set up by a successful fake punt. Lupe tied the game on a 40-yard run with 3:47 left in the third quarter, then quarterback Tyson Alapati scored on a one-yard keeper with 14 seconds left in the third, setting up the momentous fourth.

“Ian made some incredible catches today,” Jacobson said. “He singlehandedly kept us in the game today.”

Lupe led all rushers with 186 yards on 13 carries, followed by teammate Kolson Pua, who carried 20 times for 90 yards. The Warriors generated 349 combined yards of offense.

El Camino was led by Bakshi, who completed seven of 12 passes for 161 yards. El Camino only tallied 61 yards total on the ground, spread amongst seven rushers. The Colts tallied exactly 100 fewer total yards than South City.

Defensively, RJ Aquino tallied a fumble recovery and an interception for El Camino. For South City David Alapati had another interception beyond the one on the PAT, and Jacob Martinez recovered a fumble.

“There was a lot of pressure,” Lupe said. “Both teams came out to play. We played to our fullest potential and I have to give props to El Camino — they really came out.”

In other words, it was a classic.

Fourth quarter action during the Bell Game, Nov. 5, 2016. South San Francisco High beat El Camino, 28-27.

Victorious South City players perform a haka-like ceremonial dance after their victory.

The Foundation

In clockwise order: My father, grandfather, me and my son. San Diego, 2008.

In honor of my father, Robert M. Baker Jr., who died on March 6, 2016. I gave the following eulogy on March 15, 2016, at La Cañada Presbyterian Church in honor of his passing:
__________


You see it on the news every so often. Some sort of disaster — a hurricane, wildfire, or a earthquake — hits a community. We see the images of devastation. "The wave knocked houses off of their foundations." "The home burned down to its foundation."

Foundation. We know things went south when "foundation" is mentioned.

But sometimes, "foundation" is a word of hope. Those washed-away homes? If the foundation survived, it's the place from which you start rebuilding. What's the first thing layed down when a new home is built? The foundation.

Over the past few weeks a storm afflicted our family. It blew us around, caused casualties, and — metaphorically — knocked down the comfortable homes we lived in. It was a hard few weeks.

And despite that, while I can’t speak for everyone, I will rebuild as strong as before. Why? Because my foundation is intact.

And that’s partly due to my father, who helped lay it.

My father and I had dissimilar personalities in many, many ways. Our politics, our social attitudes, our tastes in entertainment — all quite different. But there are so many things that are, well, me, that I can trace directly from him.

My first memory was of him playing blocks and airplanes with me in Glendale. I still like to build things.

The first memory to which I can put an approximate date was him and I sitting on top of a brick wall outside a supermarket around the time of the Bicentennial. He was cutting up watermelon slices for us with his car keys. I still appreciate a low-tech, low-cost solution to problems.

My father would take me out to the Tehachapi Loop to watch the trains. I think that's one reason I came to love all things transportation.

My father lent me his books, particularly those on World War II and early 20th Century America. Inspired by my early reading, I eventually got a history degree and even now, the majority of my reading is in history.

My love of geography arose when he would drive us all over — not just California, but Canada, Florida, the east coast — and point out what he saw as interesting (even if us kids found it less so).

Those are just a few examples.

I didn’t know it at the time, and sometimes didn’t appreciate it, but he was laying a foundation. Many of the attitudes that shape how I live my life, how I treat my children, how I react to the world, arose because of my father’s influence.

And these attitudes survived in the later years, when I rarely saw my father. I didn’t get new examples from him, but the foundation he helped lay was there. Therefore, at every crossroad during my life, when I decided what to do (or sometimes what NOT to do), he was there.

This has been a hard few weeks. A lot of feelings and memories, both good and bad, that were long submerged came to the surface. But I will recover — we as a family will recover — because the man whose life we’re here to honor, Robert “Bob” Baker — my father, laid a good foundation for me.

Like his father laid for him. Like I am laying for my children, and they for theirs.

Every parent lays a foundation for their children, and mine is strong. Regardless of any other feelings, I will always be grateful to my father for giving me that strong foundation.

Thank you for coming and for honoring my father.

Kamelamela leads South City to 12th-straight Bell Game victory, 53-22

South City quarterback Kolson Pua rolls out on a six-yard run in the second quarter of the Bell Game, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015. Photo by John Baker.

It’s now an even dozen in a row for South San Francisco High, which won its 12th straight Bell Game on Saturday against rival El Camino, 53-22, in the 55th edition of the rivalry.

One of the reasons South City now has a dozen straight Bells was the play of senior running back Eric Kamelamela, who tallied 223 yards on 33 carries, and scored four touchdowns.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Kamelamela said. “(The Bell) is staying at South City — for many years to come, also.”

Kamelamela’s efforts were a key part of a Warriors attack that compiled an impressive 483 total yards of offense (330 on the ground and 153 passing), compared to a net total of just 68 total yards for El Camino.

South City finishes the season 4-6, while El Camino finishes 1-8. The Colts' last win in the series remains a 35-19 upset in 2003.

"We gave it a good shot, but they were too much for us,” said El Camino coach Eric Jacobson. “The one thing I can say about the kids on this team is that they’re very good kids. I really had a good time with all of them.”

After the Colts stopped South City on their first two drives, the Warriors finally broke through on their third try. Tavaimanu’uliletiuoali’I Tuitasi capped a long South San Francisco drive with a one-yard barrel across the goal line to put the Warriors up by six with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.

South City scored again four minutes into the second quarter when Juan Borrego pulled down a 44-yard pass from quarterback Kolson Pua.

El Camino got on the board on a defensive play 2:05 before halftime when CJ Bautista picked up a loose ball on a South City lateral attempt and ran it back nearly 80 yards for the Colts’ first touchdown.

“It was like 3-and-18, so we had to do something,” said South City coach Jay Oca on the lateral attempt. “They had picked us off on one of our deep balls and that play is usually money for us.”

It was the fourth week in a row SSF had given up a touchdown on an offensive fumble or turnover.

The teams exchanged touchdowns in the final 1:13 before the break, with David Miller scoring for South City on a 60-yard pass from Pua just two scrimmage plays after EC’s score, and the Colts’ Armin Webb throwing up a halfback option that receiver Efrain Ramon pulled down for a 21-yard score right before the break.

In the second half, Kamelamela stepped up, gaining the majority of his yards and scoring all four of his touchdowns (on runs of 3, 37, 20, and 46, respectively). Oca said Kamelamela “got stronger as he went on,” but Kamelamela said he just played smarter.

“Throughout the game, I learned what they were doing,” he said. “I saw what they were doing on different plays, reacted to that and did my thing.”

In the third quarter, El Camino briefly got within a touchdown on Jordan Ebalo’s 9-yard TD pass reception and a 2-point conversion (also from Ebalo), but Kamelamela helped extend South City’s lead from there.

Besides Kamelamela’s scores, the Warriors also got a 23-yard field goal from Angel Nevarez in the second half.

“In the first half, a lot of penalties brought us back; We had to do a lot of things to try to get first downs,” Oca said. “Once we settled down, we were able to run our offense and pound the ball, which was our game plan.”

Lua completed five of 13 passes for 124 yards for South City, which also got 55 yards on 11 carries from running back Peter Lopez and an interception from David Alapati.

El Camino tallied only seven yards rushing, but made some progress through the air. Junior quarterback Heinay Keller completed six of 11 passes for 40 yards, and Webb both made his single pass attempt, but also picked off a South City pass.

Jacobson takes some solace in the fact that the junior varsity won their game 41-7.

“One thing we have going for us is that we’re very junior oriented and our JV team is very talented,” Jacobson said. “They won a big one today, so the future looks bright.”

It will look even brighter next fall, with permanent lights installed at Colts Field. Ground-breaking for the lights’ installation is scheduled for April.

Click arrows below to scroll through a slideshow with photos from the game:

Katrina disaster exacerbated by governmental provincialism

Ten years ago tonight, the National Weather Service issued a dire warning: a major hurricane was bearing down on New Orleans and "devastating damage" was expected. Hurricane Katrina ended up being the deadliest hurricane to hit the United States in more than 75 years and became the costliest hurricane in history, in terms of monetary damage. The effects — both physical and social — of the storm are still being felt today. 

But as deadly as the storm was, many deaths and much suffering occurred in the days after landfall as a near-total breakdown of public safety happened because officials, in various cases, either deferred making decisions about who was in charge or took charge without considering they were the best ones to take such actions.

Summary: When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans a decade ago, a significant breakdown in intergovernmental cooperation contributed to a humanitarian disaster. The most-vulnerable part of New Orleans’ population suffered a failure of the most-basic social services or even death because they relied on an unprepared local government to preserve their well-being. A simple pre-existing arrangement to defer traditional municipal responsibilities to those best suited to implement them might have mitigated the City of New Orleans’ 2005 failures and may be key to preventing their recurrence in a similar disaster.