Who would have expected Vic Thompson to be the first ex-Cabrillo Conquistador to pull in a Division I college football touchdown pass? Thompson ahead of Lydell Sargeant at Penn State?

Thompson, a reserve wide receiver at the Air Force Academy, pulled in an 18-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter of Saturday/s contest at BYU. It was his first varsity TD.

&#8220It felt great,C the junior said Monday. &#8220I/ve been wanting that forever, for three years.

He beat his defender soundly Thompson said. &#8220It was a post corner route. I was already in the end zone.

&#8220I/ve been the blocking receiver all year,C he added. &#8220It/s kind of like earning your stripes. We/re not primarily a passing team.C The Falcons run an option attack, but Thompson hopes now he may see more passes coming his way. &#8220I told everybody I was playing Division I football. I/m living a dream right now.C

Thompson has played in all nine games. He has three catches for 29 yards. He played his senior year at Cabrillo in 2001 under former coach Patt Foster.

Sargeant played in Penn State/s 33-15 victory over Purdue but had no measureable stats.

North County Round Table

Athletes of the Week as adjudged by the North County Athletic Round Table are cross country standouts Liza Truax of Santa Ynez High and Michael Coe of Cabrillo High.

Truax was the top North County finisher on the girls side of the Santa Barbara County meet last Friday in Lompoc.

Coe beat all competitors as he ran a 14:27 to lead the Conquistadores to a team victory.

&#8220I wasn/t expecting to run that time,C Coe said. &#8220We went out really quick thanks to my teammates.C

Coe was not expecting that particular time, but he was indeed looking to set a record, he said later.

&#8220Last year I got second by one second,C he remembered as if the race were stencilled into his cerebrum.

&#8220Joaquin Gomez of Carpinteria ran 14:54 and I was 14:55. So I kind of had an incentive. It/s my PR by far for three miles.C Coe/s early season goal was simply to get down to 14:40.

His remaining goals including a No. 1 finish in the state meet both for himself and for his team.

That is realistic considering he is currently ranked No. 1 and his team, second last year, is far ahead of where it was then.

The county record &#8220is a good indicator,C Coe said assuredly.

Cabrillo High

Coe presented teammate Colin Hacker to the assembled diners. &#8220Our 1-2-3 punch is better than we could have ever imagined,C Coe said. Hacker runs No. 2, sophomore surprise Miguel Ortiz No. 3.

Girls cross country coach Katie Wallace introduced Laura Monteleone and Charlie Rich to the crowd. They helped the Conq girls finish second at the county meet and come in fourth at Mt. SAC.

Football coach Don Cross, fresh off a 52-7 trouncing of Nipomo, presented sophomore tackle Mike Riewaldt despite the youngster &#8220asking me too many complicated questions,C tight end Jeremy Pohlman who goes unsung but is a key blocker for tailback Vai Taua (Cwhen you rush for 400 yards you/re doing something good,C said Cross), and utility man Jared Allen who normally plays left guard and long snapper but Friday night filled in at linebacker and accounted for a whopping 16 tackles.

Lompoc High

Athletic Director Dick Barrett introduced cross country runner Lexie Warrick who finished sixth at the county meet. Barrett predicted the Brave girls would do better in this week/s league finals than the third place they took at midseason with Ariana Fabing and Audrey Barrett returning from injury and illness.

From the football team he also presented &#8220unknownC Joey Baratto who has come into his own as a defensive end after starting the season at guard, and &#8220No. 4 in your program, No. 1 in your heartC Sam Ruiz whom he likened to a pinball machine.

Ruiz tabbed the Brave defense as the key to the onesided outcome at St. Joseph (47-0). &#8220The ends kept it contained so they couldn/t get outside,C he said. The ends were Baratto and Frankie Osegueda.

Both Ruiz and Baratto pointed to Santa Maria surprising Morro Bay last week to illustrate why Lompoc must take the Saints seriously Friday night. &#8220We can/t underestimate them,C said Baratto. &#8220That/s what Morro Bay did.C

Hancock College soccer

Coach Al Garcia made special note of goalkeeper Omar Pimental and midfielder Matt McDonald of Lompoc. McDonald was credited with the only goal in an AHC victory over Mission last Friday.

Elsewhere

Besides Thompson/s TD, two more firsts took place Saturday.

Mike Marchione tallied his first goal of the year for Cal Poly/s mens soccer team. Saturday night against UC Irvine he got off two shots and connected on one despite a 4-2 defeat.

In Dickinson, North Dakota, Donny English was in the starting lineup as the Dickinson State Blue Hawk basketball team opened the season with an 87-75 loss to Carroll. English scored eight points in 22 minutes on 4-for-9 shooting. He dished out four assists and snagged two rebounds.

In women/s water polo Davia Montoya ranks as the second leading scorer at Cuesta College with 42 goals. Christine Rowlett ranks third with 33. In Cuesta soccer Bonnie Calhoun has one goal and three assists…. At Oxnard the Lompoc Tecolotes ran their record to 3-0 in the Central Coast Soccer League Sunday night with a 1-0 victory over Juniors of Oxnard…. Roy Howell/s Baseball School can be reached at 556-0110. Howell will teach at sites throughout the Central Coast….

Whoops

Katie Wallace/s predecessor as Cabrillo cross country coach was Maurie Sipes, who was not suspended as inadvertently stated herein several weeks ago. Sorry, Maurie.

John McReynolds can be reached at 737-1055, or jmcreynolds@lompocrecord.com

November 1, 2005