If the runners competing in Saturday's state cross country championshps at Woodward Park in Fresno needed added incentive to run quickly, here it is: There was a possible mountain lion sighting at the park earlier this week.
-- Eric Sondheimer
When teams play each other during zero week and then meet again in week 12, it's the perfect opportunity to see which team has improved the most.
"We're going to find out," Long Beach Poly Coach Raul Lara said two hours before his team was scheduled to take on Anaheim Servite in a Pac-5 Division quarterfinal playoff game.
Servite defeated Poly, 30-7, in the season opener, but Poly has made lots of changes, none more important than moving Kaelin Clay from receiver to running back.
"He's an athlete," Lara said. "You have to give him the ball."
The speedy Clay will be the key to the Jackrabbits coming out victorious. If he can run the ball effectively and keep Servite's offense off the field, an upset is possible.
-- Eric Sondheimer
I'll be offering live blogs from tonight's Pac-5 Division quarterfinal playoff game between Anaheim Servite and Long Beach Poly. The hitting is going to be fierce and the intensity will be sky high.
Poly has made it to the upper-division semifinals 13 times in the last 14 years, and the only team to stop the Jackrabbits has been Servite.
It was Servite that beat Poly, 30-7, in the season opener. Poly wasn't ready to play at a high level then. The Jackrabbits have gotten their act together, but Servite has a weapon Poly could have trouble dealing with _ senior quarterback Cody Fajardo.
Game time is 7 p.m. We'll also have live blogging from Lakewood-Bishop Amat.
-- Eric Sondheimer
Dorsey is not going to lack for confidence in its rematch against Crenshaw in a City Section Division I semifinal even though the Dons were held to 18 yards and three first downs earlier this month during a 44-7 loss against their Coliseum League rival.
Asked if he wanted a rematch with the Cougars last week following his team's victory over San Pedro in the opening round of the City Sectin playoffs, Dorsey defensive back Jabri Proby said, "Yes. Big-time."
What happened in the first meeting? "We were real pumped in the beginning," Proby said. "We were just feeling ourselves too much. I think we got a little bit into the crowd too much, worrying about the crowd. And a little bit of play-calling. But if we get a rematch, I promise you we're going to win. I promise you that."
I wonder if that quote is going to make its way onto a few bulletin boards at Crenshaw.
--Ben Bolch
Photo: Crenshaw senior linebacker Jabari Henley bowls over a Westchester player during the Cougars' 55-0 victory over the Comets in a City Section Division I quarterfinal Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Robert Helfman.
It was an emotional final few minutes on the Venice sideline tonight. Players were crying. A few slammed their helmets against the ground.
As Gondoliers Coach Angelo Gasca prepared to line his team up for the postgame handshake line following a 48-32 loss to Narbonne in a City Section Division I quarterfinal playoff game, Gauchos running back Melvin Davis began making taunting gestures and pointing at the scoreboard.
That was enough for Gasca to decide not to let his players go through the handshake line, and it was the right call. Several Gondoliers were extremely emotional and appeared ready to fight. Even as players walked off the field, several had to be restrained from going after their counterparts.
Coaches from both teams also jawed at each other, and Narbonne Coach Manuel Douglas said a Venice player had uttered a racial epithet at him late in the game.
Who's to blame? There's plenty to go around. But an emotional situation that could have resulted in an all-out melee was defused by Gasca's decision to keep his players away from the Gauchos. Douglas said "we should have gotten them together and quashed it," but that wasn't likely to happen with tensions running so high.
Douglas said Davis would be appropriately dealt with for his gestures.
--Ben Bolch
It was close to an hour after Crenshaw's 55-0 victory over Westchester. All of the Cougars' players were long gone except for one player helping carry an ice chest. It was De'Anthony Thomas, a junior player so talented that Pete Carroll or Rick Neuheisel would do somersaults if he went to their school.
His character is as impressive as his speed. Now I know why all the youth players flock to Thomas, whose nickname is Black Mamba, one of Africa's most dangerous snakes. Thomas is a hero in the Crenshaw community, someone who works hard, plays hard and sets a great example for those who want to be recognized on and off the field.
Whether playing free safety or running back, Thomas creates positive moments on the field. But what I see from him off the field and the way he treats people is far more revealing of where he's headed in life.
-- Eric Sondheimer
CITY
DIVISION I
Wednesday's quarterfinals
Crenshaw 55, Westchester 0
Dorsey 24, Taft 20
Narbonne 48, Venice 32
Carson 31, Locke 7
DIVISION II
Wednesday's quarterfinals
Fairfax 24, Los Angeles Roosevelt 7
Los Angeles Hamilton 26, Franklin 15
El Camino Real 31, Sun Valley Poly 18
Arleta 30, Cleveland 23
EIGHT-MAN
Wednesday's semifinals
View Park 52, Annenberg 6
Fulton 40, Animo Robinson 20
= = = =
DIVISION I
Semifinals, Dec. 4, 7 p.m.
#12 Dorsey (9-3) at #1 Crenshaw (12-0)
#11 Narbonne (7-5) at #2 Carson (10-2)
DIVISION II
Semifinals, Dec. 4, 7 p.m.
#8 Fairfax (7-5) at #4 Los Angeles Hamilton (9-3)
#3 El Camino Real (11-1) at #2 Arleta (11-1)
Note: Division I championship, Dec. 12, 1 p.m. at Los
Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Division II championship, Dec. 11, 7 p.m. at East
Los Angeles College.
EIGHT-MAN
Championship, Dec. 3, 7 p.m. at Contreras
#1 View Park (12-0) vs. #2 Fulton (9-3)
Things got ugly when Venice Coach Angelo Gasca prevented his team from going through the handshake line following the Gondoliers' 48-32 loss to Narbonne in a City Section Division I quarterfinal.
Gasca, realizing his players were upset following the defeat and some scoreboard-pointing by Gauchos running back Melvin Davis, decided it would be better if the teams didn't interact afterward because fights might break out.
"I just didn't think it was a good idea to shake at the end," Gasca said.
Several Venice players had to be restrained as they walked off the field and coaches from both teams exchanged verbal jabs. Narbonne coach Manuel Douglas said a Venice player shouted a racial epithet at him late in the game.
"We should have gotten them together and quashed it," Douglas said of the postgame tensions.
--Ben Bolch
It didn't quite get its second shutout of the playoffs, but Carson will gladly settle for a 31-7 quarterfinal victory over Locke and a berth in the City Section Division I semifinals.
Sean Parker did his thing, intercepting a pass and returning it 70 yards for a touchdown to lead Narbonne to a 48-24 lead over Venice with 3:40 left in the game.
It's going to be an all-Marine League semifinal between Narbonne and Carson next week.
--Ben Bolch
Crenshaw improved to 12-0 with a 55-0 victory over Westchester. The real Crenshaw team showed up in the third quarter with a 21-0 outburst, featuring a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown by Geno Hall and two touchdowns by DeAnthony Thomas.
-- Eric Sondheimer
Venice has frittered away any chance of winning this game by fumbling a kickoff and giving the ball back to Narbonne, which scored five plays later on Sean Parker's one-yard run to take a 41-24 lead over the Gondoliers with 5:20 left in the game.
Venice would need three scores to win the game.
--Ben Bolch
Locke is finally on the board in its City Section Division I quarterfinal against No. 2-seeded Carson.
Dorsey defeats Woodland Hills Taft 24-20 and will advance to play Crenshaw next week. Look for more coverage later at latimes.com/sports.
--Mark Medina
Narbonne needed only one play to respond to Venice's field goal, scoring on Chad Dashnaw's screen pass to C.J. Wiley that turned into a 52-yard touchdown.
The Gauchos lead, 34-24, with 7:50 left in the game.
--Ben Bolch
A 27-yard field goal by Connor Gil has trimmed Narbonne's lead over Venice to 27-24 with 8:11 left in the game.
--Ben Bolch
Dion Willis plunged over the goal line from 1 yard out to give host Carson a 31-0 lead over Locke with 5:02 remaining in tonight's City Section Division I quarterfinal.
Venice keeps hanging around against Narbonne, with quarterback Alfonso Medina connecting with Teondray Caldwell on a 22-yard touchdown pass to pull the Gondoliers within 27-21 of Narbonne late in the third quarter.
The game has now moved into the fourth quarter.
--Ben Bolch
Woodland Hills Taft and Dorsey each only had one drive in the third quarter.
Luckily for the Dons, theirs ended in a touchdown. Dorsey junior quarterback Joseph Gray ran in for a one-yard touchdown and was successful on the two-point conversion to give Dorsey a 22-14 lead with 3.1 seconds remaining.
The touchdown run capped off a 13-play, 79-yard drive that started at the 8:02 mark. The drive was highlighted by a 42-yard pass from Gray to senior wide receiver Robert Herron that brought the Dons to Taft's 16-yard line.
--Mark Medina
Narbonne might have gotten a game-breaking touchdown catch from Melvin Davis, who caught a screen pass from quarterback Chad Dashnaw and ran 63 yards for a touchdown that gave the Gauchos a 27-14 lead over Venice with 3:31 left in the third quarter.
Dashnaw has played a part in every Narbonne touchdown, running for three scores and passing for another.
--Ben Bolch
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