Random thoughts from the last two weeks of competition:

-- What a breakthrough for Robert D. Edgren football. Not just coming back from a 14-0 hole to beat Nile C. Kinnick, but to do it on the road -- coach Chris Waite's first away victory in his two seasons as coach. That Class A football championship on Nov. 3 is going to be a goodie.

-- Kadena's Brant Casteel remains unbeaten on the Okinawa Activities Council cross-country circuit, with his 17:02 in last Wednesday's meet the best among Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Pacific runners. His girls counterpart, Chasity Cordova, also sports an unblemished record. Watch out for Kubasaki's boys, though. With David Krievs and Jacob Hess posting top-five finishes most of the campaign, the Dragons have split the season series thus far with the Panthers.

-- Speaking of Panthers, senior Helen Schrock's return to the Kadena volleyball lineup sure did wonders. Try the Panthers' first OAC victory over Kubasaki since 2004. Kadena went 2-0 last week, thanks in large measure to Schrock's 18 kills and Aja' Walker's 10 block points.

-- Observers of Guam High's football team, which has lost two straight after opening with a school-best 2-1 mark, say all that's keeping the Panthers from blossoming is execution in the offensive line. The skills positions players -- quarterback Paul Craimins, two-way threat Chris Brown and others -- are there. "Once the line starts blocking for them, there'll be no stopping them," one observer said.

-- Korea's athletic slate has been noticeably silent since Sept. 22. That's due to the Chu Sok holiday period, the Korean Thanksgiving, when millions hit the highway causing gridlock from one end of the Kyungbu Expressway to the other. Action resumes Wednesday.