NOTES AND QUOTES for a Saturday in the Napa Valley:

Napa golfer John Lawson qualified for the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships, which start on Monday at the Mesquite (Nev.) Sports and Event Complex.

Lawson, a Napa resident who played three years of golf for UC Davis and won Napa City Golf Championships in 2001 and 2002, advanced from a local qualifier at the Pleasanton Golf Center in Alameda County and a western regional at Centennial Golf Club in Medford, Ore. The 2000 Napa High School graduate is entered in the open division for players 44 years of age and younger. There are 144 qualifiers, with the event continuing through Oct. 30.

“I’m hitting it really well right now,” said Lawson, who uses a 6-degree, 50-inch driver made by Alpha Golf. It’s his fourth trip to the nationals in five years, with his best finish 26th place in 2006.

“I’m anxious to see what happens,” said Lawson, a three-time All-Monticello Empire League player for Napa.

Lawson was fifth in a field of 42 players, qualifying with a drive of 375 yards in Medford. He had an earlier drive of 398 yards and advanced through nine rounds.

He had a long drive of 380 yards in Pleasanton.

The event measures the distance that a drive travels inside a grid that is only 60 yards wide.

He is working with Jim Fleming of the Napa Valley Golf Academy.

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The Napa Junior Girls Softball League’s fall ball Halloween Bash Tournament is today and Sunday at the league’s complex, located at Napa Valley Language Academy, next to the Napa Premium Outlets.

Today’s games are at 9 and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Each team is playing two games today, after which they will be seeded into Sunday’s single-elimination format.

The girls will be playing in costume today and will be participating in a team costume contest and an individual softball decorating contest.

League officials will raffle off a bat donated by Replay Sports.

Sunday’s games begin at 9 a.m. Championship games are at 1 p.m.

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John Boyett of Napa is listed as the starter at free safety on the University of Oregon’s depth chart going into today’s Pacific-10 Conference game against Washington at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

“He does the right stuff, no question,” Oregon secondary coach John Neal told the Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard. “He practices that way, he watches film that way, and he performs at a high level. And we got him for 3 1/2 more years.”

Boyett, a redshirt freshman who was honored as an All-American and the State Player of the Year by maxpreps.com at Napa High, is tied for second on the Oregon defense with 37 total tackles through six games. He also has two interceptions for the Ducks (5-1 overall, 3-0 Pac-10).

Boyett was pressed into duty when T.J. Ward was injured in the season opener.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t know he’d be a factor,” said Neal. “(But) John is one of the great competitors in football. He competes every day. He competes every drill. He’s an extremely natural football player.”

Today’s game, which has a 12:36 p.m. kickoff, will be televised by ABC.

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Carlos Diaz scored two goals within three minutes, leading W Connection of Trinidad to a 3-2 TT Pro League win over Honduras champion CD Real Espana Wednesday at Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, Trinidad.

The win moved W Connecton to second in Group D and increased its chances of reaching the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

Diaz, a striker from Napa who also played soccer at Vintage High and St. Mary’s College in Moraga, scored in the sixth minute on a long-range shot into the bottom right corner of the net. He scored his second goal from close range.

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Isabella Heidenreich of Napa had success in the Broadstone 14 & 12 Junior Excellence, a Northern California U.S. Tennis Association junior event last week.

Heidenreich beat Kalyani Narayan of Saratoga in the quarterfinals of the girls 14 singles, 6-3, 6-1.

Heidenreich and Natalie Spievack of San Mateo beat Daphne De Chatellus of Tiburon and Sophia Hooper of Greenbrae in the quarterfinals of girls 14 doubles, 6-3, 6-3.

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The Vintage High Athletic Booster Club is selling Big Game wrist bands in advance of the Nov. 13 game. The text on the wrist band reads, “Big Game 2009 Crush Napa.”

The wrist bands cost $5 each and are available by contacting Teresa Peterson, the club’s president, at 812-0397 or skipeters@aol.com.

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Vanessa Jordan of Napa had assists in the last two games for the Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah) women’s soccer team.

Jordan, a sophomore midfielder, had an assist in a 4-1 win over Holy Names University in Oakland Sunday and an assist in a 2-1 loss to Rocky Mountain College Thursday in Billings, Mont.

Jordan attended Vintage High and played soccer for the Crushers.

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KVON-1440 AM will carry the Oct. 29 Napa-Vintage freshman football game from Napa Memorial Stadium. Air time is 5:45 p.m.

E-mail Executive Sports Editor Marty James at mjames @napanews.com or call 256-2223.