John Murphy

REV seizes Smudge Pot, preps for mighty Cajon Senior quarterback Isaac Vitela led Redlands East Valley High to a record-setting 69–28 win over rival Redlands in the annual Smudge Pot game Friday night, throwing for five touchdowns and rushing for...

Redlands East Valley High quarterback Isaac Vitela led the Wildcats to a Smudge Pot record number of points in a 69-28 win against rival Redlands. Vitela threw for
305 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 185 yards and two scores.
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Doin’ work

Shoveling pea gravel isn't all it's made out to be. By John Murphy Saturday I watched a livestream of a high school football game from San Francisco. That’s how exciting my life is. Then I drove to Redlands where the remodel of my house is in full swing. Guilty at my lack of…

Greg Jones still a winner

Photo courtesy of UCLA South San Francisco High grad Greg Jones (43) was a three-time All-Pac 8 player for UCLA in the late 1960s. By John Murphy The other day I wrote about my first experience watching high school football, as a pre-teen in the Bay Area. My dad taught at…

My first football love Courtesy photo The Bell Game between South San Francisco and El Camino high schools at Clifford Field, with Sign Hill in the background, was always a hard-hitting affair. By John Murphy Sixty years…

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Another one bites the dust The Crescent City Harbor, as seen from the Battery Point Lighthouse. By John Murphy Yesterday I was surprised to learn the Del Norte Triplicate newspaper in Crescent City has closed. The Triplicate…

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Sunday spooktacular A hearst driven by a skeleton on your front lawn? Yes, in Smiley Park. By John Murphy September is a transitional month. Summer ends and fall begins. Leaves fall and get crushed underfoot. Like UCL…

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Thrifting my life away Santa Clara University, which no longer plays football, never played Army (as in West Point) in football, but did play a West Coast Army-base team. This poster advertised the contest. By John Murph…

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Palm readings, coffee cake, and the newspaper that became a museum A creek that runs along the ESRI campus out to Tennessee Street is picturesque. By John Murphy Highland is not the most walkable city, so I often cross the wash into Redlands and hit the pavement. …

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Burlingame daze with Mike “Chubby” Ciardella, Daddy Wags, Carl Reyna et al Swanky Sacred Heart Prep (pictured) was apparently so eager for some athletic glory in the early 1990s that it hired a character from Daly City, Mike “Chubby” Ciardella, to run its girl…

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Goin’ downtown The Downtown Redlands Station is a beauty. By John Murphy Friday morning I grabbed our dog, Mia, and headed out for a walk. Destination uncertain. Soon I found myself headed for downtown Redlands, …

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Bringing Bruno back A photo from the mid-1970s with some of the rec rats, including rec leader Paul Accinelli (far left), yours truly next to Accinelli, the late Joe Krumm with the long hair, my BFF Keith Larsen, rec …

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Walking and rolling, hitchhiking, and Patty Hearst This kid is better looking than I was, he’s tatted up and he would not have passed the Serra High dress code. Otherwise, a perfect match. By John Murphy Today is National Walk and Roll to Sch…

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Morning rush A row of palm trees — low-hanging fruit for an amateur photographer. By John Murphy I got four hours of sleep Thursday night, so I feel like a million dollars. Or at least half a mil. I got u…

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R.I.P. Carlos By John Murphy Recently I’ve been remodeling my house on the north side of Redlands. More accurately, I’ve hired companies and handymen to do it. I only remodel sentences.    There are alleys…

There is a shrine to him now. “R.I.P. Carlos” it says. Pink rosary beads decorate a wood cross. Candles are lit. His walker is off to the side.
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Chaddick is a coaching, subbing, studying, reporting, officiating, dieting, dad deluxe who still finds time to ‘house tacos.’ Sport notebook

ICYMI: Never a dull moment for multi-tasking, former head football coach Chris Chaddick.
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REV water polo player Jackson Kane survives Paradise’s deadly Camp Fire, then finds a home in Redlands REDLANDS – Redlands East Valley High water polo player Jackson Kane receives a pass and elevates his 6-foot-3, 190-pound body out of the water. He shoots and the ball disappears into the goal. The pr...

Redlands East Valley High water polo standout Jackson Kane almost rode "The Lost Bus" of Matthew McConaughey movie fame but escaped deadly Camp Fire to thrive in Redlands.
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3 a.m. blues By John Murphy Have you seen the classic horror film, “The Amityville Horror”? Every morning George Lutz played by James Brolin bolts awake at 3:15 a.m. There is a meaning to this. Several years ea…

Every morning I wake up at 3 a.m. It didn't work so well for James Brolin in "The Amityville Horror," but it kind of fits my lifestyle. I get stuff done, and there's no green slime oozing out of my walls.
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Monday, Monday. Startin' it off right in Redlands.

Banning football team rallies in second half to beat Rialto Jacob Anzaldua threw for 365 yards and five touchdowns to help the Broncos erase a double-digit halftime deficit.

Down by 23 points in the first half? No problem. The Banning High football team rallies for 41-37 victory against previously unbeaten Rialto.
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Thursday on my mind.

Redlands edges Beaumont volleyball in five sets; REV flag football falls to Cajon BEAUMONT – Redlands and Beaumont high schools met to open the Citrus Belt League girls’ volleyball season on Tuesday, and the showdown did not disappoint. The rollercoaster match went five sets, with...

The Redlands High girls volleyball team took the fifth on Tuesday night in a Citrus Belt League showdown against Beaumont.
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See you around campus The University of Redlands campus — as pretty as a postcard. By John Murphy Tuesday before my prep events, I headed to the University of Redlands for a stroll. I did not have our dog Mia, the…

When it comes to beautiful campuses, it is tough to beat the University of Redlands.
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Orange Blossom tale Pink flowers grow between remnants of the old Kite-Shaped Track from the early 1900s. The rails were forged in Germany. By John Murphy Monday afternoon I left Highland, crossed the wash, and wound …

Here is my latest, about the Orange Blossom Trail in Redlands which bisects the city and boasts remnants of an old railroad and an ancient waterway.
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