Peñaloza: CdM unites for Simco’s brother
For the past nine seasons, Jason Simco’s seat at every Corona del Mar High boys’ basketball game was right next to Coach Ryan Schachter.
On Monday, during a CdM scrimmage at home against Mission Viejo, that changed for Simco. He sat in the stands, not on the bench in his usual spot as an assistant coach.
“It was definitely tough seeing the guys that I’ve coached since they were young kids with the [Newport] Lightning [Basketball Club] program play without me coaching them,” Simco said. “I wanted to be there for them because we’re family.”
The Sea Kings understand why Simco is away from the program this season. Simco’s older brother, Wes Kahkosko, is battling stage four colon cancer, and Simco wants to be there for him and his family.
The CdM basketball family put together an alumni basketball game on Wednesday to raise funds for Kahkosko’s medical expenses. The event is one Simco said his family is truly thankful for because Kahkosko, 38, isn’t working and he has a wife and two kids to support.
There is also a GoFundMe.com account set up for Kahkosko, under “Team Wes Fight Fund.” The goal is to raise $10,000.
“The news hit me rough,” said Schachter, who has gotten to know Kahkosko well the last nine years through Simco. “Wes is a year older than me and he has kids, [Kaiden, 11, and Presley, 4], that are about the same age as my kids.
“Wes would come to our games to support Simco and our program. We’re now rooting for him to beat this.”
Schachter had T-shirts made for the alumni game. The front of the shirt has “TEAM WES” on the top, the number “1” in the middle, and “TOGETHER WE FIGHT” at the bottom. On the back of the shirt, it read “#COMPETE4WES.”
Kahkosko, like Simco, is quite the competitor.
The two played basketball at Estancia, Kahkosko graduated in 1995 and Simco in 2000. Simco said it was Kahkosko who inspired him to pursue basketball as a player and later as a coach.
“My brother loves basketball,” Simco said. “After his second round of chemotherapy on Monday, he was asking me how some of the players like Sam [Kobrine] and Matt [Ctvrtlik] did in the scrimmage against Mission Viejo. I told him those guys and the rest of the program asked about him, and they’re supporting him in his fight.
“Then when he found out about the alumni basketball game Schachter put together for him, it brought my brother to tears.”
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•No local high school football team is practicing on Thanksgiving for the second straight year.
Only one had a shot because only one of the five teams in the area qualified for the CIF Southern Section playoffs this year.
Corona del Mar’s postseason run ended last week. The Sea Kings exited the Southwest Division playoffs for the second time in a row, losing at Buena Park, 35-17.
From 2010-13, CdM reached at least the semifinals. Those four years, the Sea Kings played in the Southern Division, back then it was the equivalent to Division 9, winning the championship three times.
In 2014, CdM moved up to the Southwest Division, which is Division 4, and it has bowed out each time on the road in the quarterfinals. The Sea Kings, who have an enrollment of 1,675, have struggled against bigger schools in quarterfinal matchups against Trabuco Hills (3,081 students) and Buena Park (1,940).
The Sea Kings did get revenge on Trabuco Hills in the first round this year, beating the Mustangs, 42-17, at Jim Scott Stadium. The next round saw them put up 17 points, 18 below the Sea Kings’ season average. The 17 points were the second-lowest total of the season for CdM.
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•Below are the final stats for the top quarterback, running back and wide receiver in the area:
CdM junior quarterback Chase Garbers completed 226 of 329 passes for 2,715 yards and 33 touchdowns, with only three interceptions.
Newport Harbor junior running back Cole Kinder rushed 224 times for 1,252 yards and nine touchdowns.
CdM senior receiver Peter Bush caught 62 passes for 915 yards and 15 touchdowns.
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•Sage Hill School, which is coming off its best boys’ soccer season in school history, is the lone area team ranked in the CIF Southern Section preseason polls.
Sage Hill is No. 5 in Division 6. The top team is Monrovia, followed by La Cañada, South Pasadena and Moreno Valley Vista del Lago.
Last year, Sage Hill experienced many firsts. The program reached the CIF Southern California Regional Division IV playoffs, losing in the opening round at Coronado, 7-0. Sage Hill also claimed an undefeated Academy League title, and then made a run in the CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs, falling at South Pasadena, 2-0.
