The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo County Times and is being reprinted with permission.
Janisa Jones woke up to a boom Wednesday morning. A California kid, she said she thought it was an earthquake (big deal) and tried to go back to sleep.
“Then a neighbor came over and said our house was on fire,” Jones said in a release furnished by the College of San Mateo sports information department. “I’m just happy to be alive.”
The plane crash in East Palo Alto Wednesday morning took place right where Jones lives.
“My room was on fire,” Jones said. “I lost a lot of personal things. Half of the plane is in our backyard and the other half across the street.”
The plane came apart in midair after striking high-tension power lines. A wing slammed into the house where Jones was sleeping, a house where Jones’ mother operated a day care center.
As a result, Jones and her family are temporarily homeless.
It would be quite understandable if Jones decided to take a hiatus from her normal daily routine. But instead Jones went out and played for the CSM women’s basketball team Wednesday night. She not only went through the motions, but had 11 points and 12 rebounds along with five assists and three steals to help lead the Bulldogs to a 76-62 win over Las Positas.
“She has a lot of character,” CSM coach Michelle Warner said. “A lot of heart.”
REALIGNMENT QUESTIONS: This is the first year for power divisions in Peninsula Athletic League basketball with Bay, Ocean and Lake divisions replacing the geographic-based North, Central and South. At Saturday’s coaches meeting, a decision had to be made on the divisional makeup for next season.In football, which has had the power division setup for a number of years, the up or down movement is usually fairly predictable: lower-division champions move up, upper-division cellar dwellers move down.
That’s not exactly how it worked Saturday. Boys Bay Division co-champions Mills and Carlmont both opted to move down to the Ocean next season,
Mills coach Rick Hanson pointed to all five of his starters graduating as the reason for his decision to move down. Carlmont coach Dave Low, even with James Testa, one of the top scorers in the league returning, cited an 0-10 frosh-soph team as the reason he felt his team could not be competitive in the Bay next season.
Also, undefeated Ocean champion Hillsdale opted to remain in the Ocean, rather than moving up. Instead, Aragon, South San Francisco and Woodside, who finished in a three-way tie for second in the Ocean, are all moving up to the Bay to join holdovers Burlingame, Menlo-Atherton and El Camino. Lake champion Half Moon Bay is moving up to the Ocean with last-place San Mateo moving down from the Ocean to the Lake.
On the girls side, San Mateo is moving up from the Ocean to the Bay, Carlmont moving down from the Bay to the Ocean, Oceana moving up from the Lake to the Ocean and Jefferson moving down from the Ocean to the Lake. Far less controversy there.
COUNTY SPORTS NOTES: Serra pitcher Dario Bortolotto has signed with Campbellsville University, an NAIA school in Kentucky … Serra ssistant football coach Brian Callahan, the son of former Oakland Raiders coach Bill Callahan, is leaving Serra to accept a position with the Denver Broncos as an offensive staff assistant.
