dj uiagalelei

Thanks so much for running the article on Eric Sondheimer. As a longtime SoCal resident who moved to Dallas two years ago, I still subscribe to The Times online to follow the Rams, Lakers, Angels and Dodgers. But I also follow high school sports and am glad to see Eric get the recognition he deserves for covering high school sports for 50 years. Congrats, Eric!

Bob Ring
Dallas

The Times sports section once again hit the jackpot with Bill Plaschke’s column on Eric Sondheimer coupled with Sondheimer’s own column on his 50 top memories of his 50 years of reporting high school sports. To me, an important part about sports is the memories that continue for so long after the events, and these two columns by two terrific writers truly brought that home.

Bill Francis
Pasadena

I have had the privilege over the years of having met and talked with Mr. Sondheimer at various games. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge on high school sports, and his ideas about keeping this level of competition moving in the right direction is unmatched. Why he does not have the role of commissioner is something I have often thought about over the years, but then I would miss reading his columns.

Mark Kaiserman
Santa Monica

Thank you, Eric, for being here, there and everywhere over the last 50 years. Your stories are a great reminder of what sports teaches high school students about life.

Jeff Perkins
Huntington Beach

Congratulations to Eric Sondheimer on his 50 years of dedication and professionalism covering high school sports. Bill Plaschke did an excellent job paying tribute to Eric for all that he has done in telling stories that captured our interest for these many years. Eric has never shied away from expressing his opinions on the state of high school sports and how they can be improved. I always respected him for doing so. Well done, Eric!

Rob Wigod
Seal Beach

About half of Sondheimer’s career ago, I reached out to Eric as a first-year middle school basketball coach with “a story you might want to tell.” It was about a legally blind player who made our team, legitimately earning his spot over some sighted players and also scoring in a game. Eric came to our gym, interviewed players about what an incredible teammate he was and wrote a fantastic story. Twenty-six years later, I’m still coaching, and that remains one of the great memories of my career. The term GOAT gets thrown around too easily these days. Not here. He’s undisputed.

Richard Brisacher
Mar Vista

After an ugly loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week, Jim Harbaugh wanted to see a better showing from his team in its final preseason test.

The third-year coach had his wish somewhat granted, as the Chargers presented several encouraging performances in a 20-18 loss to the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Thursday.

“It was important football being played,” Harbaugh said. “Many good things. Lot of good. … “I liked the response from the entire team from Week 2 to Week 3 of the preseason.”

Here are five takeaways from the Chargers’ final tune-up before 53-man rosters must be finalized Sunday:

Starters show up

The Chargers’ starters on defense, without safety Derwin James Jr. and outside linebacker Khalil Mack, did its part against the Rams’ second-stringers.

Chris O’Leary’s unit forced a punt on its first drive. And despite the Rams’ second drive starting at the Chargers’ 14-yard line, the defense limited the damage to three points.

“I just felt the energy,” outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu said. “That’s what I felt from [our] defense.”

Mike McDaniel’s bunch, meanwhile, started on the wrong foot. Quarterback Justin Herbert fumbled a handoff to running back Omarion Hampton on the Chargers’ second play from scrimmage, leading to a Rams field goal.

Herbert and the starting offense, though, made sure they left something pleasing on film. On the second play of the Chargers’ second possession, Herbert connected with wide receiver Quentin Johnston over the middle on a sensational 65-yard touchdown pass.

“I knew it was a touchdown,” said wideout Ladd McConkey. “I looked up [and] saw Q running free, so I knew he was going to make a play.”

Herbert’s pass traveled 57.6 air yards, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

“Double wow,” Harbaugh said.

DJ Uiagalelei outduels Trey Lance

Lance, the incumbent backup quarterback, used his legs well and earned 22 yards on four rushes. Uiagalelei, however, looked like he could become the Chargers’ new backup signal-caller.

Uiagalelei made some nice, quick reads and completed 11 of 18 passes for 141 yards. He lost a fumble to seal the loss, though, after being strip-sacked by Rams outside linebacker Darryl Peterson.

“I felt solid out there,” Uiagalelei said. “I mean, I wish we would’ve won, man. … I’m pretty frustrated, pretty upset. … Just tough to go out like that on a fumble.”

Lance, who’s more familiar with McDaniel’s system from their shared time in San Francisco, looked rushed on most of his snaps and didn’t connect on his two throws, one of which was a drop by Derius Davis.

There hasn’t been much separation between Lance and Uiagalelei throughout training camp, but the St. John Bosco product was better on Thursday.

Rookies Rodney Shelley, Greg Desrosiers Jr. make strong cases

Shelley, an undrafted cornerback, and Desrosiers, an undrafted running back, are on the bubble of making the Chargers’ 53-man roster.

Even with an unnecessary roughness penalty in the fourth, Shelley made his reps count, making five tackles and breaking up a deep pass from Rams quarterback Ty Simpson intended for Tyler Scott.

Desrosiers erupted for 118 yards on nine rushes, including a 34-yard touchdown run in the fourth.

“I kind of just put in my heart to go out there and ball,” Desrosiers said. “I feel like I did everything I needed to do to kind of put all the teams on notice [and] put the front office here on notice. And hopefully I’ve made it hard for them to make the decision.”

Left guard race still going?

Kayode Awosika is the favorite to win the Chargers’ starting left guard job, and he played there during the first two series.

But when Lance and the second-stringers replaced the starters, Awosika moved to right guard. Trever Penning replaced Awosika at left guard.

“The entire preseason, with the offensive line, we like the way it’s coming together,” Harbaugh said.

Maybe Trey Pipkins III, who McDaniel said remained in the left guard competition, still has a shot. He played left tackle with the starters Thursday. Another candidate, Logan Taylor, started at right tackle.

Special teams not sharp

Cameron Dicker missed an extra-point attempt in the Chargers’ preseason win over the Houston Texans. Scott made unfavorable headlines against the 49ers after an abysmal tackling effort during Jacob Cowing’s 83-yard punt return for a touchdown.

On Thursday, Dicker missed a 49-yard field goal to end the first half, a distance he’s usually sharp from. And Scott, although he didn’t have to make any tackles, shanked a punt 20 yards down the right sideline from the Chargers’ 9-yard line, setting up a 29-yard Rams touchdown drive.

Dicker was spotted going into the sideline medical tent early in the game for an undisclosed reason. But Harbaugh said it’s nothing to worry about.

“He’s the most accurate kicker in NFL history,” Harbaugh said. “That’s not something I’m worried about.”

HOUSTON — Amar Johnson saw a flicker of playing time at running back for the Chargers last season.

Thursday, he made a case for a bit more.

Johnson scored two touchdowns in the preseason opener at Houston and turned a short pass into a 55-yard gain.

It’s easy to put too much stock in a preseason performance, seeing as most starters are watching from the sidelines, but Johnson made the most of his opportunity in a 27-7 victory over the Texans.

Chargers running back Amar Johnson runs past Houston Texans cornerback Brandon Codrington after a catch during a preseason game on Thursday.

(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

He scored on a seven-yard run in the first half and from a yard out in the second. The short touchdown was set up by his quick catch and dash down the sideline, when he was caught from behind just before he could cross the goal line.

The Chargers, who used a first-round pick on running back Omarion Hampton last year, have not had a 1,000-yard rusher since Melvin Gordon in 2017.

Hampton, who like most starters didn’t play Thursday, showed flashes of promise last season but also battled injuries.

Running backs Jaret Patterson and Greg Desrosiers Jr. also turned in solid performances for the Chargers.

Passing grades

Chargers quarterback Trey Lance passes against the Texans on Thursday.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

There’s some jostling over the job of backing up quarterback Justin Herbert, featuring a replay of last summer’s competition between Trey Lance and DJ Uiagalelei.

“Both have really acquitted themselves well, and the next piece is in the games and how they play,” coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters this week. “That’s something we’ll all see. I imagine, from what I’ve seen in practice, it’s going to be pretty close. They’re both good.”

Lance got the start and played deep into the third quarter, completing 12 of 20 passes for 164 yards with an interception. He ran for 27 yards in three carries.

Uiagalelei, who played at St. John Bosco High, entered with three minutes to play in the third quarter and completed six of nine passes for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Front and center

Around this time last year, the Chargers were reeling along the offensive line, having lost left tackle Rashawn Slater to a season-ending knee injury. Early in the season, they also lost bookend tackle Joe Alt. In short, the offensive line was a mess.

Now those players are back, and it’s all about making smaller tweaks along a solid line. The question mark is at left guard, with five candidates in the mix: Kayode Awosika, Branson Taylor, Jake Slaughter, Trey Pipkins III and Trevor Penning.

Slaughter, a rookie second-round pick, started at center Thursday and moved to left guard and appeared to play well. That he can play center in addition to guard is particularly valuable, as he can provide reliable depth behind starting center Tyler Biadasz.

Drop-portunity

Chargers wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith had four catches in the first half Thursday but couldn’t pull in this pass against Texans cornerback Collin Wright.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

KeAndre Lambert-Smith had four of the Chargers’ nine receptions in the first half, but a fifth would have been really impressive.

He got a two-step lead on rookie corner Collin Wright on a long pass from Lance, yet couldn’t cash in. Wright mistimed his jump, and the ball hit Lambert-Smith square in the hands before falling to the turf. The top three receiver spots are locked down by Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Tre’ Harris, but there’s room for another wideout and maybe two. A rookie to watch is the speedy Brenen Thompson, who doubles as a returner.

Double vanilla

Teams are always circumspect about doing anything too exotic during the preseason, lest they give regular-season opponents something to study. That goes double for the Chargers, seeing as all three of their preseason opponents — Houston, San Francisco and the Rams — will face them again. It’s a bit of a balancing act, though, because it’s got to be tempting to get a look at the offense of coordinator Mike McDaniel outside the structure of a practice.

Regardless, look for the Chargers to be bland, bland, bland as they evaluate the back end of their roster and decide who to keep and who to cut.