CARLSBAD \u2014 Nearly two hours before fourth-ranked La Costa Canyon kicked off against No. 7 San Marcos on Friday night, Mavericks coach Sean Sovacool was holding court in the team room.<\/p>\n
Eighty-nine players squeezed inside. The testosterone was off the charts. All eyes were on the screen as Sovacool played and rewound San Marcos video.<\/p>\n
\u201cPursuit has got to be terrific,\u201d said Sovacool. \u201cThey\u2019ve got good skill people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Sovacool\u2019s voice rose, sharply and loudly. The intensity in his face was palpable.<\/p>\n
\u201cGET OFF BLOCKS! BEAT THE DOUBLE TEAM WITH SPEED! DON\u2019T DANCE WITH THE DUDE!\u201d<\/p>\n
LCC suffered a heartbreaking 35-34 loss last week to Mission Hills, scoring with 37 seconds to play, then botching a two-point conversion that would\u2019ve won it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve gotta wash this taste out of our mouth,\u201d said Sovacool. \u201cSpend five minutes with the toothbrush. Clean it up.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SUT-L-prepscene-101109.jpg\")
Former La Costa Canyon player Bruce Schram, a 2015 graduate and honorary team captain, lets out a yell from the sidelines as he and La Costa Canyon players get pumped up just before the starting kickoff against San Marcos at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Hayne Palmour IV \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Bruce Schram, LCC Class of 2015 and a former starting offensive lineman, served as the Mavericks\u2019 honorary captain on Friday. He talked to the team the way you\u2019d think an offensive lineman would.<\/p>\n
\u201cFun is fun\u201d is a popular line by Sovacool.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what\u2019s more fun than fun?\u201d said Schram. \u201cKnocking someone\u2019s (bleeping) teeth out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mavericks pounded tables and stomped their feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a crazy game,\u201d said Schram. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be crazy to play it. It takes heart and it takes belief. If you don\u2019t have those two things, you\u2019re not a winner. But I believe you\u2019re a winner. Your coach believes you\u2019re a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tables rocked. Feet stomped.<\/p>\n
Sovacool talked about how much he loved Schram.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a grown-ass man. I\u2019m proud of you, man,\u201d said Sovacool<\/p>\n
Then he told his players that Schram is an arborist.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have problems with trees,\u201d Sovacool told his players, \u201cyou go to Bruce.\u201d<\/p>\n
At halftime, La Costa Canyon led 21-14.<\/p>\n
![\"La](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SUT-L-prepscene-101106.jpg\")
La Costa Canyon\u2019s Justin Lee and teammates begin their warmup before La Costa Canyon\u2019s football game against San Marcos at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Hayne Palmour IV \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nThespian lineman<\/p>\n
La Costa Canyon starting left offensive tackle Justin Lee sports a 4.67 GPA. He\u2019s considering going to the Air Force Academy and has been accepted at Johns Hopkins and Carnegie Mellon. A senior, Lee has played the lead role in multiple school theater productions.<\/p>\n
He also acts in community theater, prefers musicals and has played Captain Hook in \u201cPeter Pan\u201d and Prince Charming in \u201cCinderella.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has the best voice I\u2019ve ever heard,\u201d said running back Coby Herman. \u201cHe sings like an angel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Penn State coach impressed<\/p>\n
Much was made about Penn State coach James Franklin showing up at the Mission Hills-LCC game last Friday to watch Mission Hills senior quarterback Troy Huhn.<\/p>\n
Franklin also gushed about Herman, who rushed 18 times for 159 yards, caught nine passes for 131 yards and scored three TDs.<\/p>\n
According to Sovacool, Franklin said that Herman \u2014 jersey No. 0 \u2014 was the best running back he\u2019s seen in years, and asked, \u201cHow tall is zero?\u201d<\/p>\n
To which Sovacool\u2019s father, retired Marine Lt. Col. Michael Sovacool said: \u201cHe\u2019s 300 yards of offense tall. Who gives a (bleep)?\u201d<\/p>\n
Smallish O-line<\/p>\n
In his 16 seasons at La Costa Canyon, Sovacool has suffered only three losing seasons.\u00a0\u00a0His career record is 104-67. The Mavericks are noted for producing athletic, quick and creative teams. But to the naked eye, LCC\u2019s offensive lines are usually modest in size by Open and Division 1 standards.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s team is no exception. Average weight of the five starters: 232 pounds. By comparison, No. 1-ranked Lincoln\u2019s O-line averages 283 pounds. Cathedral Catholic and Mission Hills typically feature bigger lines, too.<\/p>\n
Sovacool has a simple explanation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do a weird thing at LCC,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe coach the kids who show up and don\u2019t recruit them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Food review<\/p>\n
Passed on Chick-Fil-A because in favor of a cheeseburger. It was warm, cheese perfectly melted, soft bun. Next time at LCC, bring your own lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles. Four belches on the U-T five-belch meter.<\/p>\n
By the numbers<\/p>\n
0: Herman\u2019s number. His nickname? \u201cAgent Zero.\u201d<\/p>\n
230: Football players at La Costa Canyon, including the varsity, JV and freshman teams. One out of every four boys on campus plays football.<\/p>\n
1,424: All-purpose yards for San Marcos\u2019 Zamar Reese coming Friday\u2019s game, an average of 237 yards per game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CARLSBAD \u2014 Nearly two hours before fourth-ranked La Costa Canyon kicked off against No. 7 San Marcos on…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":293754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,3102,1370,3549,7264,62,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-293753","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-high-school-sports","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-sandiego","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115353673561463022","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}