The NSL is working closely with each of the coaches and kids at the schools in an effort to teach the importance of community and other core values that are critical to youth at the high school level. The Game, being a team driven format, creates an atmosphere of camaraderie, teamwork, sportsmanship and self pride while adding even more pressure to the heart of competitive surfing than the man on man format. “Traditional High School sports have a moral skeleton that teaches kids key life values and how to work with others”, comments NSL President Jeff Cutler. “It is the goal of the High School Cup to let the athletes experience not only something new, but something that is in line with what High School sports are all about.”

The excitement seen on the participants faces in Game one of he High School Cup was something rarely seen in other surf events. In addition to a bringing a fun competitive atmosphere based on long time rivalries, the NSL’s High School Cup is supported by some of the world’s best professional surfers. Pat OConnell, Brett Simpson, Yadin Nichol, Austin Ware, Sean Marceron, Jeremy Heit, Jason Bennett, Shea Yates and Jeremy Sherwin were some of the names that played integral roles in the event. Whether on the bench with the kids, assistant coaching, judging or playing the role of the referee, these pro surfers were on the beach getting involved with the project. When asked why he has shown his support to the NSL High School Cup and the Game format, Pro Surfer and San Diego Sea Lion team member Jeremy Sherwin comments “I feel The Game is a competition medium that has the potential to give surfing recognition as a true ‘sport’ in our school’s. Many of these surf teams are merely clubs that utilize athelete’s from particular schools and do not have the formal support or acknowledgement from these scholastic establishments.” Sherwin continues “I think this format gives an opportunity for the educational administrator’s and other higher up’s to see that surfing is not just a past time or a hobby, but a sport analogous to football or baseball.” As the season rolls into it’s second Game, the momentum and excitement will build with help from these pro surfers.

The National Surf League and Red Bull invite you to come see the cross town San Diego rivalry between Torrey Pines and Carlsbad High Schools at 3:30pm this Friday at Ponto Jetty’s.

Orange County’s traveling team roster included X Games veteran and world ranked surfer Shane Beschen, Chris Ward, Timmy Reyes and Pat O’Connell, amongst a solid group of beachbreak specialists. The San Diego Sea Lions decided to have OC surf first, breaking the trend seen in Game 1 through to Game 3 of the Sea Lions Game week. Shane Beschen’s 7.0 score in the opening quarter saw the tall veteran surfer boost a clean front side air, earning him the most radical maneuver of the day award.

OC’s first quarter only amassed a score of 18.5 allowing San Diego’s first quarter group led by Taylor Knox, Che Stang and Daryl Goodrum to create the gap necessary to distance themselves from their arch rival. "First heat felt really good, I got loose on a couple", said Daryl Goodrum after scoring a 6.0. San Diego’s first quarter of 24.25 set the precedent with a 5.75 lead and three quarters left.

In the second quarter, OC sent out Ward, Reyes, Losness and Mike Hoisington, pushing the OC quarter score of 23.5 to a cumulative score of 42. Mike Losness’ 7.25 score showed the goofyfooter’s ferocious backside assault that included 4 radical maneuvers. Losness would eventually earn the Game MVP.

In the last two games, San Diego Sea Lions’ Rob Machado experienced a few low scores but today delivered solid scores in the SD second quarter with a 7.0. San Diego’s earlier lead narrowed to 3.75 points with a half time score of SD: 45.75 – OC: 42. "At half time we were staring at the scoreboard and we all knew we needed a major comeback" said OC’s Timmy Reyes.

By the bottom of the 3rd quarter, the Octopus upped the ante with a strong 25.5 quarter while the Sea Lions were only able to score a 21 quarter score, giving a .75 of a point lead to OC before the final quarter. OC’s Nate Yeomans’ amazing display of power and flow on a righthander wave scored a 7.25 while teammate Pat O’Connell also brought in the same score. The Sea Lions led by Che Stang and veteran surfer Taylor Knox could not post anything higher than Stang’s 6.75, creating the perfect situation for OC to turn on the heat for the fourth quarter.

The weather conditions continued to decline in the fourth quarter but it would prove to be one of the most successful of quarters for the Orange County Octopus in Game 4 of the Sea Lions Series. Initially, the OC fourth quarter looked like it would be a low scoring quarter as the group struggled with weak scores before lighting up the ocean with Reyes’ 7.5, Losness’ 8.5 and Ward’s eventual 6.5. Hoisington scored a 5.0 adding to the explosive 4th quarter score of 27.5 with just over 4 minutes left.

Quick calculations dealt a blow to the San Diego team dugout as the Sea Lions now needed a 28.25 fourth quarter to tie the game. Rob Machado and Austin Ware led the group’s journey towards the 28.25 benchmark only to fall considerably short of a possible tie game outcome with a quarter score of 20.25 and a cumulative
score of 87 to OC’s 95 points.

Orange County Octopus assistant coach Garth Tarlow said, "It didn’t look like it was going to happen, we started off slow and they were ahead at half time then at the 3rd quarter it turned around for us".

The 2005 Quiksilver California Cup features 5 teams from 5 counties in California with 100 of the top surfers in California competing for local pride. Today’s Game 4 marked the finale of the San Diego Sea Lions Game Week at Oceanside Pier. The Sea Lions continued their winning streak after defeating the Santa Cruz Stormriders at Steamer Lane, Los Angeles Arc Angels at Leo Carillo followed by three wins at home which included a close win over the talent stacked Ventura Pelicanos. Despite today’s loss against the Orange County Octopus, the Sea Lions continue their lead in the 2005 Quiksilver California Cup series. The Cup continues to Ventura’s C-street for yet another exciting battle in stop number 4, The Ventura Pelicanos Game Week series. The action begins May 4th through to May 8th.

Timmy Curran, Ventura Pelicanos

Subsequently the opportunity was knocking loudly in the LA dugout as Coach Lamm and Wasilewski instructed over water radios to first quarter group Jordan Tappis, Brendan Hearne, Steven Lippman and Pascal Stansfield to go all out. Stansfield kept tight in the pocket of the wave with 5 impressive backside snaps scoring a 6.75 for his first wave while Tappis, Hearne and Lippman struggled to post anything over 3.5. Colin Giles substituted Lippman improving the score to a 3.75. Jim O'Brien, who had sat for most of the Arc Angel series on the bench, took over for Giles as a sub to score a 5.5. Tappis' later scored a 7.75 after three wave attempts with tweaked floater followed by a big fin free off the top while emerging out of the whitewater. LA's first quarter of 25.75 took advantage of Ventura's low first quarter score of 19.25, with a leading margin of 6.5 points. In the second quarter, Ventura's power-broker group included Tom Curren, Keoni Cuccia, Sean Hayes and Jeremy Ryan. Curren's first three waves were all under 5.5 but it was on his fourth wave of 8.75 where all those years surfing right points shined through with amazing rhythm and precision on each turn. Not only was the Pelicanos bench cheering and applauding, but the LA bench was equally as stoked to witness the master surf.  Announcer Sal Masekela humored the crowd as Curren acknowledged Masekela's encouragement to pull an aerial, only to fall after each valiant attempt. Former head coach of Ventura, Sean Hayes was substituted by Kellen Ellison who did not improve on Hayes' score. The group struggled as a whole to post the numbers, however the Pelicanos were able to get in the 20 point range with a quarter score of 21.25 and a cumulative running score of 40.5.

Tom Curren, Ventura Pelicanos

The LA Arc Angels set out on the bottom of the 2nd quarter wide eyed as the damage inflicted to Ventura could continue from the 1st quarter with a successful score. Shaun Burrell immediately put the heat on with a 6.5 followed by an improvement of 7.0 score. Alex Grey also pushed hard with a 6.25 while Justin Swartz substituted for Greg Browning posting a 4.25 along with Yves Bright's 5.25 prior to be substituted by Bron Heussenstamm. The Arc Angels' second quarter amounted to a 23 quarter score and a 48.75 cumulative running score, an incredible 8.25 lead over Ventura. During halftime, Ventura Coach Smith pumped up the Pelicanos' 3rd quarter group to stay focused and wait for the right waves. Tim Curran immediately attacked all opportunities that came his way, scoring 6.5 onward to a stellar 8.0 score clearing a 30 yard section on the biggest set of the day. Adam Virs substituted Blake Howard and came through with a strong 6.75 while Hank Mills pulled a 6.25 and Musio came through with a 5.25. Ventura's 3rd quarter 26.25 sent a message to LA that the Arc Angels were not guaranteed a win on Sunday. LA's bottom of the 3rd quarter had a flurry of waves with scores no less than 5.5 for each surfer. Jim O'Brien found the golden nugget with an explosive 7.25 score that showcased the South bay local's 2 big cutbacks followed by a massive floater and aggressive lip smack. Pascal Stansfield's 8.0 had the entire crowd raise their arms with two huge vertical hits on the outside and four well linked hits on the inside. "I had a 3.0 and then I heard Sal [Masekela] just rousting me and when I got up, I said to myself I can't fall", explained Stansfield. LA again continued their domination over Ventura with a 3rd quarter score of 26.50 cumulative score of 75.25 and an 8.5 lead over the Pelicanos.

Pascal Stansfield, LA Arc Angels

With all cylinders firing, the Pelicanos went all out in the first 4 minutes of the 4th quarter with Tom Curren scoring an exceptional 8.25, Cuccia's incredibly drawn-out bottom turns for a 7.0 and rookie Kellen Ellison's impressive 7.5. With 12:22 remaining and the first of 2 time outs called, the focus was placed on Jeremy Ryan to put a score on the board. Ryan would eventually score a 4.25 and dig deep for a wave that would give him an opportunity to score anything over a 7.0, however Ryan was not able to improve his score. At the end of the 4th quarter, the Pelicanos put in solid effort for a quarter score of 27 and a cumulative score of 93.75. The Los Angeles Arc Angels needed only an 18.75 to win the game as they entered the bottom of the 4th quarter. Throughout the LA Arc Angels Game series, LA had consistently scored over the 20-point mark, however anything can happen in The Game. The local fans at this point had their fingers crossed for their hometown boys. Alex Grey immediately came out of the gates with a 7.0, followed by an 8.0 and later an unheard of 9.25 best wave score, replacing the previous strong scores in the quarter. At 6:31, Bron Heussenstamm sat on a 4.0 with a broken fin, while Burrell was also sitting on a low score of 3. In a miraculous set, arguably of the entire game week, both Burrell and Heussenstamm caught waves scoring 7.5 and 6.5 respectfully pushing the Los Angeles Arc Angels over the 18.75 benchmark to defeat the Ventura Pelicanos with a final score of 103 (Q: 27.75) to VC's 93.75.

Bron Heussenstamm, LA Arc Angels

In the Los Angeles dug out, Coach Mike Lamm was raised on the shoulders of the team and let out a roar of elation. Arc Angels assistant coach Strider Wasilewski said, "I'm just psyched, we wanted it all week, we knew we could get one if we decided to put it together, we thought we were going to get a win against OC and we didn't get it and it's so great to get it on the last day of the LA series with the support of the LA fans". Thoughts from Greg Browning after being substituted, "The guys were leaning on me to perform and I was probably the biggest let down, yet probably the most proud guy on this team right now. We have a chance and this win helps out with the morale, Coach Lamm and Strider did an amazing job leading us". Heavy scorer, Shaun Burrell said, "All week I really felt we had it in us to win, just a lot of emotion and coming through under pressure and something that I strive to be excellent at and those are the situations that I enjoy." Final Score: LA 103 def. VC's 93.75

California Cup Final – Part 4: Watch Orange County and San Diego battle from Huntington Beach.  Video from LAT34.com

California Cup Final – Part 3: Watch Orange County and San Diego battle from Huntington Beach. Plus, Highlights from the regular season.  Video from LAT34.com

Santa Cruz Fans

Grovel

SAN DIEGO DEFEATS SANTA CRUZ IN LAST FIVE MINUTES 

Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz - After a waveless 2nd quarter for visiting team San Diego on Friday, day one of the Billabong Game Weekend continued today as both teams vied for their first win in the series with Santa Cruz losing by a mere 4.5 points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, SD: 164.25 to SC: 159.75.

Wave conditions at 6 a.m. Saturday morning were equally unfavorable as Friday afternoon, forcing another delay as the game continued where Friday left off at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Conditions today were waist to shoulder high waves on a dropping tide with long periods in between sets. Santa Cruz entered today’s second quarter with a lead of 7 points over San Diego, (SC: 49- SD:42). Santa Cruz’s Adam Replogle, Kieran Horn and Taylor Fox led SC with double digit combined best wave scores over 10 points. With dire wave conditions, quarter times were lengthened to 30 minutes to accommodate the long lulls allowing SC to unweight themselves with a solid 40.5 2nd quarter score. Already at a deficit, San Diego led by lightweight goofy footer Rob Machado, began the bottom of the 2nd quarter with Machado’s inside right hander close to the rocks. Dane Johnson immediately followed, knowing he had to capitalize on any wave that was coming his way as he tried to generate speed to finesse his way through the dense kelp beneath the surface of the water. Rob Machado positioned himself deeper inside in front of the rocks as onlookers overhead watched as Machado slingshoted himself into a huge backside snap back into the foam, taking him further on the inside as he threw a frenzy of more snaps and a stylish cutback. Machado’s wave scored a 6.0 as teammate Dane Johnson scored a best wave of 6.25 ending the San Diego heat with a combined total of 39.75 points and trailing behind Santa Cruz by 7.75 points overall.

Randy Bonds, Santa Cruz

 Santa Cruz’s Josh Loya responded in the 3rd quarter with one of the longest rides of the day, starting deep inside and powering through as local Santa Cruz fans clad in red, cheered loudly. Loya scored a 5.75 as Jason ‘Ratboy’ Collins took off on a slow wave cruising down the line until busting out a magnificent light footed front side 360 air reverse. Ratboy’s wave would only score a 4.75, but he would earn the most radical maneuver award for the game. With no waves in sight, SC coach Alistair Craft called a strategic timeout lasting the full five minutes. As soon as the horn signaled the end of the timeout, a full set rolled through with powerhouse surfer Randy Bonds flaring up off the bottom turn followed by a calculated cutback. Josh Loya followed with a low compact profile into a smooth turn through a hook. Meanwhile out the back, Josh Mulcoy was able to improve his score to a 3.75 with a solid slash. However the low wave opportunities garnered only a 33.25 quarter score for Santa Cruz. Hoping that San Diego would experience similar unluckiness, SC watched closely as SD set out with the crew of Jeremy Sherwin, Che Stang, Layne Harrison and Dean Randazzo. Immediately into the grace time period, Dean Randazzo began the heat with a massive fan of spray as Layne Harrison snapped off the lip on the second wave of the set. Randazzo’s first wave would be later wiped out as he threw 2 powerful turns rendering him a 5.0 score. Jeremy Sherwin would catch another solid wave but would lose his board to the white water as many of the surfers opted for no leashes to better navigate the dense kelp. As Sherwin began swimming in from the inside, the SC dugout went into cheers as this would be a favorable SD error to Santa Cruz’s benefit. However it was teammate and small wave specialist Che Stang who would contribute the highest combined wave score (12.75) as Stang wrapped around to the inside and threw powerful spray as he snapped off the lip using the foam to propel him past the rock section near the outline of the cliff. With Randazzo’s 7.5 second best wave and Layne Harrison’s score, the SD team overshadowed their opponents with a third quarter score of 43 to SC’s 33.25 and an overall lead of only 2 points for San Diego.

Che Stang, San Diego 

With Santa Cruz’s exuberant local crowd supporting the ‘Red Rage’ as announcer Sal Masekela coined, the new name would best describe SC’s 4th quarter push to win at home. Adam Replogle would start the heat with a slash on the inside and milking the wave for all it was worth with several snaps while trimming all the way to the end of the wave. Taylor Fox would unleash an angry slash while maintaining a smooth fluid style through the inside section. A long lull quickly engulfed the group, as SC called a timeout. During this timeout, Santa Cruz’s guerilla mascot emerged with several beautiful women clad in red SC shirts and hats. To much of the crowd’s delight, the real omen of support was perhaps aided indirectly by their mascot as one of the biggest sets of 3 waves arrived with the timeout ending. Kieran Horn took off with a deep agitated bottom turn fully railed followed by a spectacular vertical snap off the lip, exposing full fins. Taylor Fox sped through the line and generated 2 huge turns on the outside. Substitute Taylor Smith got bogged down but was able to capitalize on the opportunity in these dire wave conditions. Santa Cruz would finish their final quarter with combined total of 37 points and overall score of 159.75 points. SD would need a score over 35 points for the bottom of the forth quarter to defeat Santa Cruz. To much of the SC’s dismay, San Diego would enter the water with a flurry of waves after long flat spells experienced by Santa Cruz. Superstar Rob Machado performed a perfectly calculated backside 360 reverse and scored a 7.0. Unlike a normal contest, the game format would pull the best out of the SD crew as they helped each other to best maximize another long lull. Coach David Barr would call a solid time out with Dane Johnson throwing a stylish roundhouse scoring a 5.25. Austin Ware and Kyle Knox would contribute to an SD push that would have both announcers Sal Masekela and Brad Gerlach reporting that Santa Cruz was only leading by .75 points (SC: 159.75 to SD: 159) with 8 minutes to go. As several minutes passed, the 6 minute mark saw a set roll through providing key waves for Dane Johnson, Kyle Knox and Austin Ware. Rob Machado would score another 7.0 granting him the game MVP with the highest combined game score of 25.75 points. This miraculous window of opportunity gave San Diego a 4th quarter score of 39.5 to SC’s 37 score, defeating Santa Cruz by 4.5 overall points,

Final Score:

San Diego: 164.25

Def.

Santa Cruz: 159.75.

Dane Reynolds, Stoked on the 3-game sweep for Ventura

Overtime

Ventura takes Orange County in sudden death overtime in day 3 of Quiksilver game week

Ventura Seaside Park/C Street, May 11th, 2004 – In one of the most anticipated games in the 2004 California Cup series, Ventura defeats Orange County in the first ever sudden death overtime match in the history of the National Surf League at the Quiksilver Game Week. With a packed crowd of local Ventura fans skipping work and school, supporters witnessed their home team shutting down Orange County 176.5 to 172 while completing the Quiksilver Game Week with an exciting full sweep.

Redemption from Ventura’s last meeting with OC filled the minds of the Green Machine today, after OC defeated Ventura earlier by a small margin in Huntington Beach Pier on May 1st. Friendly taunts were exchanged prior to team introductions as local Ventura supporters made their way in large groups over to the north side of the Ventura team dugout area. OC’s roster came stacked despite the notable absence of Pat O’Connell, however marquee surfer Chris Ward, Timmy Reyes, Brett Simpson and Mike Losness and the remainder of the OC crew would give Ventura a definite run for their money.

Tim Reyes, Orange County

OC began the first quarter with an incredible 46 point total score with Timmy Reyes exploding on head high to overhead rights. His speed and rail control followed by calculated roundhouses back into the foam gave Timmy long rides for a total game high score of 15.5 and eventual Game MVP. OC Assistant coach Garth Tarlow, filling in the rank for head coach Mike Parsons, had seen stats from the last two days and knew right away that OC had to shock Ventura immediately with above average scores. Aerial specialist, Chris Ward searched for launch ramps to boost his infamous and deadly airs, but found it challenging as wave conditions were hard to predict. While teammates scored waves, Chris Drummy was slow in catching any decent rides. However, late in the quarter, Drummy was positioned by water coaches and team mates to catch solid rights showcasing his powerhouse surfing with beautiful fans of water as Drummy pummeled the top of the lip busting full fins. Not knowing if his team’s scores would equate to a slap across Ventura’s face, Coach Tarlow stood nervously as the quarter score came in. A 46 score for OC in the first quarter elicited cheers and gestures towards the Ventura dugout. Ventura sent out their arsenal led by living legend Tom Curren, Adam Virs and rising sixteen year old star, Nick Rosza. Power combo Keoni Cuccia and late substitution Jeremy Ryan kept Ventura close to OC with a quarter score of 43.5. Tom Curren’s incredible 8.0 ride from the mid section peak had the entire beach cheering wildly and the OC dugout literally bowing down as no one on the opposing team could jeer Curren’s classic roundhouses and snaps.

Legend Tom Curren, Ventura County

The second quarter proved to be the most difficult scoring quarter as wave sets dwindled and winds picked up. OC’s Coach Tarlow quickly spread out his group in order to maximize anything that would form a rideable wave. In what was looking like a sub 30 point quarter score, coach Tarlow nervously called a time out in hopes of one last major set. As the time out began to run out, sets out the back could be seen with one minute left in regulation time. Within moments, all four OC surfers, Todd, Hoisington, Simpson and Simmons were surfing four separate waves salvaging the OC quarter heat with a 32.5. What was dismal in wave opportunities for OC, proved that the ocean does not discriminate, as Ventura experienced an equally challenging quarter with blown out wave conditions. Unlike the previous two days, the lefts did not provide the steep walls Bobby Martinez had ripped, forcing the young talented goofy footer to go right. Ventura’s young superstar Dane Reynolds, scored the only double digit score of the entire quarter with his tight bottom turns and vertical surfing coupled with a sizeable frontside air into the foam that was partially completed.

Bobby Martinez, Ventura County

In the third quarter, OC edged out Ventura by 3.5 points (Q3: OC: 40.5, VC: 37) with solid 6.0 points plus individual best wave score performances from Timmy Reyes, Mike Losness and Chris Drummy. Substitution combo, Jeremy Ryan for Keoni Cuccia proved to be a good choice by Ventura Coach Sean Hayes, rendering an 11.0 quarter score. Wave conditions continued to prove challenging, as Ventura focused on positioning the crew in the mid section peaks. By the end of the third quarter, OC had a lead of 5 points over Ventura, for an overall score of 119 to Ventura’s 114.

With a low scoring fourth quarter, OC’s final quarter score of 33 matched closely with their dismal second quarter score. Ventura had only to score a 39 to defeat their adversaries and bring out the broom for a game week sweep as Danny Nichols of OC had done in Huntington Beach. Dane Reynolds again wowed the crowd as he powered through closed out sections on a righthander blowing spray in a mind numbing visual display above the lip while Reynolds maintained speed by utilizing foam sections for another huge vertical snap. Goofy footed Hank Mills had opted throughout the Quiksilver Game Week for rights, as he unleashed a series of 5 backside snaps and scoring a solid 6.0. The Green Machine and their fans waited nervously for the final scores, a symptom that has become a staple in Ventura’s consistent record of narrow margin victories and single upset to OC on May 1st. "It’s a tie, we’re going into overtime!", shouted NSL founder and game referee, Brad Gerlach. Ventura had scored a 38 to match Orange county for a tie score of 152 points, the first ever occurrence in the history of the National Surf League’s Game competition format. Back in the OC dugout, all of the OC surfers had changed out of their wetsuits expecting either a win or lose decision, but were perplexed coupled with wide eyed anticipation by the prospect of an overtime scenario.

Mike Hosington, Orange County

The teams huddled and were briefed by Brad Gerlach that the overtime quarter would be nine minutes, half the time of a regular quarter, and only one best wave score from each surfer would be needed instead of two. The teams would be allocated one time out of three minutes, the same as regulation rules, and the grace period for positioning prior to the clock starting would remain 4 minutes. OC’s Coach Tarlow explained explicitly to his group of Timmy Reyes, Mike Todd, Chris Ward and Mike Hosington to kick out of any waves that did not look like scoring material. Ventura started the overtime with a killer group of Tom Curren, Nathaniel Curran, Dane Reynolds and Bobby Martinez. "I can’t tell you how nervous I was paddling out for the overtime" said Nathaniel Curran, "Bobby and I were positioned for a perfect A-Frame and we both yelled at each other, who’s going where? Bobby screamed, ‘I’ll go left and you go right’ and I complied." In a spectacular display of communication and positioning, both Curran and Martinez attacked the right and left respectively with huge simultaneous snaps off the lip to a raucous cheer from the crowd and jumping team mates from the Green Machine dugout.

Both Curran and Martinez received 6.0 scores and their performances were compounded further with a magnificent show stopper from Dane Reynolds as he boosted an insane air reverse on a left hander. Surprising many who had watched him select right handers throughout the Quiksilver Game Week, the crowd stood on their feet for a standing ovation. Teammates and coaches ran to the edge of the beach and greeted their crew who had collectively scored a combined overtime score of 24.5 points, pushing Ventura to an overall game score of 176.5.

Dane Reynolds

OC assembled their overtime ‘special teams’ with Coach Tarlow working diligently with water coaches Jeff Hurley and Danny Nichols, to position the team and substitutions as effectively as possible. "Guys, we did not drive all the way up here to lose, we came here to win, stay focused!" explained Coach Tarlow over walkie talkies. With wave opportunities dwindling further, Chris Ward was able to find a launch ramp as he boosted to an awe inspiring no handed frontside air and stomping the landing. His heroics earned him the award for most radical maneuver. Although Chris Ward’s maneuver was commendable, his wave score was given a 6.0 as he completed only a few turns. Coach Tarlow quickly calculated that OC needed at least 6′s to make a dent into Ventura’s score. With time running out and the ocean not so forgiving, OC was only able to score a combined overtime score of 20 points, losing to a jubilant Ventura by 4.5 points, VC: 176.5 to OC: 172.

The Quiksilver Game Week at Ventura’s Seaside park/C street ends a phenomenal weekend of surfing with home break heroes, Ventura walking away with a clean sweep. The Quiksilver Game Week marks the completion of the second stop of the National Surf League’s 2004 California Cup series where four teams from Santa Cruz, San Diego, Orange County and Ventura will travel to Santa Cruz’s Steamer Lane May 14th to 16th for the third stop of the series. The NSL would like to thank Quiksilver, Olas Mex Grill and the fantastic people of Ventura County.

Final Score

VC: 176.5

def. (overtime)

OC: 172

Ventura’s Dane Reynolds

Close Call

Ventura narrowly defeats a determined Santa Cruz in first day of Quiksilver Game Week 

May 9th,  2004, Ventura Seaside Park/C street ‘Pipes’ – In yet another exciting and close game, a renewed Santa Cruz team challenged Team Ventura on home turf at the Quiksilver Game Week, losing to Ventura in the last two minutes by 3 points, VC: 171.5 to SC: 168.5.

The first day of the Quiksilver Game Week attracted a strong local crowd including many families on this mother’s day.  After both teams were defeated in last week’s Orange County three day sweep, Santa Cruz arrived in Ventura’s Seaside Park at C Street with a strong desire and refined focus to defeat Ventura.  After the traditional coin toss, Ventura opted for Santa Cruz to open the first quarter with long rides from Josh Loya, Josh Mulcoy and Jason ‘Ratboy’ Collins who posted double digit scores respectively.  The Ventura team responded with explosive surfing from Hank Mills snapping turns off of head high right hander waves while team mates Adam Virs, Keoni Cuccia and Nathaniel Curran attacked all wave opportunities with Nathaniel pulling powerful turns on clean lefts, which ‘Pipes’ provided.   At the end of the first quarter, Ventura leaded Santa Cruz by a small margin of 4.5 points (Q1: VC: 45 to SC: 40.5).

Ventura’s Bobby Martinez

Santa Cruz focused on keeping the momentum in the second quarter, as they pushed on to gain ground on Ventura.  Solid wave performances by SC’s right hand waves by Sean Peterson and Tyler Fox propelled SC to a 3.5 overall lead for Santa Cruz over Ventura (Q2: SC: 43.5, VC: 35.5).  Tyler Fox’s consistent flow and drive down the line rendered him a strong combined wave score for the quarter score of 12.  Meanwhile, the Ventura team, stacked with heavyweights Dane Reynolds and Bobby Martinez were unable to match Santa Cruz’s 2nd quarter consistency. 

Third quarter action saw Santa Cruz continue with their push to widen a gap between themselves and their adversaries with a 9.5 point overall lead.  Kieran Horn posted the game’s highest combined score of 15 and a best wave of 8, which had the crowd witness the 5 foot 11 surfer bust four huge powerful fans of spray.  Santa Cruz’s Josh Mulcoy’s top to bottom power turns matched Horn’s best wave for a solid 8.  Ventura responded with crowd cheering performances from Nathaniel Curran’s air reverse on a lefthander wave and Adam Virs’ 180 stall to reverse on a sizeable right hand wave.  Ventura’s strategy and local knowledge showed a pattern of positioning on more northern sections as the swell began to build with the rising tide. 

Santa Cruz’s Jason "RatBoy" Collins

With a sizeable lead, Santa Cruz could feel an impending win over Ventura while they played out their strategy and time outs effectively.  However, the sets were limited and the SC 4th quarter group was only able to post a 36.5 for the quarter for a combined overall game score of 168.5.  While SC hoped that their earlier momentum would provide a safety blanket from the Ventura offensive, the Ventura team pulled out another last quarter extravaganza previously seen last Saturday in Huntington Beach, when Ventura narrowly lost to OC by 5 points after an intense 4th quarter rally.  As the Ventura group paddled out, chatter in the SC team dugout were of quick calculations that their opponents needed to post a final quarter score of 46 points, a score that had yet to be seen in any of the three previous quarters by Ventura.  The local crowd, many who have seen the Ventura team surfers grow up in their community, cheered wildly with both fingers crossed.  Coach Sean Hayes’ excellent timing for a time out allowed heavy hitters, Dane Reynolds, Bobby Martinez, Josh Curren and Dylan Slater to anticipate one of the most powerful sets to hit all day.  Dane Reynolds caught several waves showcasing some of the most awe inspiring surfing seen in the California cup as he boosted a full throttle 360 air into the foam and emerging fully on the launch pad.  Meanwhile, team mate Bobby Martinez, who previously unleashed distinctly stylish hooks off of lefthanders, continued to wow the crowd and his teammates on the beach with powerful maneuvers, landing Bobby with the game’s MVP.  When everyone thought Dane Reynolds had pulled all the rabbits out of the bag, the beach went into hysteria as Dane pulled the most radical maneuver of the game with a mammoth frontside rip gouge carve.  Combined with Ventura’s late substitution of Nick Rosza for Dylan Slater, Rosza’s strong score of 12.5 combined with Josh Curren’s 9.5 generated a 4th quarter score of 49 points, narrowly surpassing the minimum to win the game by 3 points in the last 2 minutes of the game. Today’s win for Ventura, (VC: 171.5 to SC: 168.5) marks the first victory for the Ventura team in the California Cup series, in front of friends, family and a strong community who hold surfing close to their hearts. 

The Quiksilver Game Week features three home games for Team Ventura as visiting teams San Diego and Orange County challenge Ventura on Monday, May 10th and Tuesday, May 11th respectively at 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m, Seaside Park/C Street.  The Quiksilver Game Week is the second of four stops on the 2004 California Cup series, as four teams representing Ventura, San Diego, Orange County and Santa Cruz compete for the Championship Cup.  Many thanks to Quiksilver, Olas Mex Grill and the Ventura community for their support in Surfing’s revolution

Final Score:

Ventura County – 171.5

def.

Santa Cruz County – 168.5