Posted Tuesday, February 12, 2008 by Bruce Reisman

While many of the local South County varsity teams prepare for CIF playoffs, the Freshmen Boy?s basketball team can look back with pride on a well-played season and look forward with anticipation with what next year will bring. The Stallions of San Juan Hills High School finished their inaugural season with a 22-2 record, frequently facing the sophomore and JV teams of their opponents.

Their final game exemplified their season as they faced El Toro High School. SJH had beaten the El Toro freshmen squad in the championship of its own holiday tournament in December. Now the Stallions had to face the sophomore team from this highly-regarded program whose varsity team finished first in the SeaView league and is the #3 seed in the CIF Division 1-A playoffs.

The Stallions broke out to an early lead, paced by Payton Reisman off the bench. He had scored 9 points by early in the 2nd quarter as SJH built a commanding lead by the half, 30-11.

The lopsided score allowed the entire squad of 12 to see action in the 2nd half.
The Stallions were never challenged as they won, 51-34, culminating a nearly perfect debut season for Coach Brian Carmer. Team Captains Will Acromite and Michael Perryman led scoring with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

With their first season wrapped up, many at San Juan Hills High School have been discussing what next year will bring. This year, the team completed a free-lance schedule under the auspices of Coach Carmer and Athletic Director Mark Miller. Next year?s options include competition as a Junior Varsity team, either in another free-lance schedule or against other local high schools, including those from their soon-to-be home division, the Pacific Coast League. Another possibility would be for this talented team to compete at the varsity level in the Pacific Coast League.

Whatever the decision by the Coach Carmer and A.D. Miller, one thing is for certain--fans can look forward to ongoing excitement as this team grows and matures.