Get ready for a final high school football binge on Saturday

If you're already experiencing high school football withdrawals (like me), don't panic because you'll get a few more chances to see some of the best players in the nation square off on the gridiron.

The first Under Armour All-America football game -- featuring 80 of the best prep football players from across the nation -- will be broadcast live at 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC. Southern California will be represented by eight players:

• Orange Lutheran -- TE Blake Ayles (USC)
• Edison -- QB Nick Crissman (UCLA)
• St. Bonaventure -- OL Vaughn Dotsy (undecided)
• Corona Stantiago -- DB Anthony Dye (UCLA)
• Mater Dei -- OL Khaled Holmes (USC)
• Leuzinger -- LB Uona Kaveinga (UCLA)
• Corona -- OL Max Tuioti-Mariner (Colorado)
• Crespi -- DB E.J. Woods (UCLA)

Girls' softball: Westlake's Sobczak heading to SLO

Westlake senior shortstop Nora Sobczak, a three-year varsity starter, has signed with defending Big West Conference champions Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Sobczak batted .329 and had a .421 on-base percentage as a junior. She's also a two-time All-Marmonte League selection. Tesoro senior third baseman Nicole Lund and El Toro senior shortstop Kendal Hennings have also signed national letters of intent with the Mustangs.

-- Austin Knoblauch

- Image from http://www.gopoly.com

Bruins emerge as favorite for St. Bonaventure's Dotsy

Vaughn Dotsy is one of the most sought after recruits in the nation. In fact, nearly every major NCAA Division I program has expressed interest in the senior offensive lineman from St. Bonaventure, including Florida, LSU and Michigan.

The lure to play for an out-of-state powerhouse is tempting, to be sure. However, it appears as if the 6-foot-4, 364-pound man-child is leaning toward staying closer to home. And that bodes well for UCLA, which appears to be a front-runner in the Dotsy sweepstakes all of a sudden.

Chevalier: Chatsworth fighting inconsistency

The 11-4 record owned by the Chatsworth girls' basketball team, following Monday's win over Canyon Country Canyon in the Ayala Best of the Weset tournament, is not a mirage. But that doesn't mean everything is fine.

Coach Michelle Chevalier said the Chancellors, who are off until facing Cleveland on Jan. 9, have not yet found a level of consistency they need to challenge for the City Section championship.

"We need to work on fundamental things," Chevalier said. "Boxing out on rebounds, the rotations on our full-court pressure ... those are the biggest areas we need to improve to compete at the high level we want to compete in.

"I'm still seeing inconsistency. At times it looks like we're coming together and showing signs of greatness. Then other times I see lackluster intensity and a sense of contentment. To get to the championship, you must compete for 32 minutes."

-- Mike Terry

-- Image by:  www.chatsworthhs.org/library/

Local recruits need more assurances from Neuheisel

Birmingham's Milton Knox, pictured left, and Dorsey's Johnathan Franklin are two of the recruits UCLA is counting on to revive the football program under newly hired coach Rich Neuheisel.

But both players say they want to meet and talk with Neuheisel before those verbal commitments are set in stone.

"I'm assuming [Neuheisel] is a cool person," said Knox, who took a recruiting trip to Florida during the holiday break and is considering a trip to Notre Dame. "I hope to meet with him next week. I've not made up my mind; I'm still leaving my options open."

Franklin also wants a face-to-face chat.

"I want to see how the team and coaches will be, how the philosophy will change. So I am neutral right now," Franklin said. "As long as he wants to win, I have no problem with that."

-- Mike Terry

- Image by: Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times

One more girls' basketball tournament rundown

With league play just a year away, let's have a look a some of the big tournament games from the past week. Oddly, there were a lot of tourney blowouts this week.

AVALON: Blog blowout No. 1 comes courtesy of the gals over at Bishop Diego, who outscored their last two opponents by an average of more than 26 points to claim the tournament championship. Of course, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the Cardinals beat their islander hosts, 53-25. After all, tournament MVP Larissa Gonzales (14.6 ppg) is a force in the paint and the Cardinals have gone 11-2 in nonleague play. I just hope they can keep things competitive when they play Oaks Christian in a Tri-Valley League showdown Jan. 8.

COSTA MESA: Valencia has already proven it'll be a team to watch in Foothill League play and it cemented that reputation with a 56-37 third-place victory over Tustin on Saturday. The Vikings' "big three" of Chelsey Hastigan, Lindsey Hill and Starla Wright have been instrumenal in pushing Valencia to a healthy 10-5 start and I wouldn't be completely floored if this team challenges Hart and Saugus for the league title.

Fairfax ready for a break

Normally coaches might be leery of having a 13-day break between games, which is the amount of time Fairfax (11-2) has before resuming action against Western League rival Palisades on Jan. 11.

But Lions Coach Harvey Kitani said he and his players are embracing the idle time.

"We've played a lot of tournament games," Kitani said. "We've been going at it pretty hard. So [the coaches] will give them a couple days off, then work on conditioning. Then we'll get ready for Palisades."

One Fairfax player who can definitely use the free time is sophomore guard Donte McFrazier, who sustained a stress fracture in his foot during the Pacific Shores tournament in early December. Kitani said he hoped to have McFrazier back for the Palisades game.

-- Mike Terry

Image by: www.greatdreams.com/cats/liondrms.htm

Another boys' basketball tournament rundown

Here's a quick catch-up on some of the big-name regional holiday tournaments:

CHAMINADE: I was impressed with Chaminade's gutsy performance against Lancaster in the semifinals, but I wasn't so thrilled with how it surrendered a late-game lead in its 54-52 tourney championship loss to Gardena Serra on Saturday. However, the Eagles illustrated this week they can be a Mission League playoff contender thanks to having a couple of talented players -- Alex Piner and Craig Kisylia. And Thursday's game against Crespi will offer a great chance at redemption.

HART: It must be nice to have a guy like Michael Montgomery on your side. The Indians' best two-sport star had his biggest game of the season Saturday night as Hart won its own tournament for the first time since 2001 with a 62-54 victory over Crescenta Valley. Montgomery finished with a jaw-dropping 36 points and 16 rebounds, and he did it while jumping around on a slightly sprained ankle and a sore knee. I'm sure Jim Ozella is thrilled.

It's tough being the 'other' team, but they manage

When you share the same gym with a national powerhouse it's easy to be overlooked.  At Mater Dei, most of the attention this basketball season has focused on the Division II state champion boys' squad -- and deservedly so. After all, it is undefeated, ranked third in the state and ranked 13th in the nation by maxpreps.com.

However, that "other" team on campus is also pretty good and if the girls' squad continues its high level of play the Santa Ana school might be celebrating two Southern Section championships at season's end.

Under new Coach Kevin Kiernan, the girls have won 13 of 14 games this season, and that should come as no surprise to hoops followers in Orange County. Kiernan previously coached at Troy, where he led the Warriors to six section titles, three state titles and 11 consecutive league titles.

Paced by Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis' 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists and fellow freshman Alexyz Vaioletama's 10 points and nine rebounds, the Monarchs routed Sacramento Kennedy, 66-43, in a Diamond Division semifinal of the West Coast Jamboree on Saturday in Antioch. Mater Dei plays Fremont Washington, a 44-42 winner over Harvard-Westlake, in Monday's championship game.

-- Steve Galluzzo, guest blogger

- Image from www.topendsports.com/clipart/pics/basketball

Loyola soccer has lofty goal

Most teams would be perfectly satisfied winning 25 games and earning a share of the Southern Section Division I boys' soccer title. Elite programs like Loyola, however, don't like to share the goods.

The Cubs began this season intent on winning the championship outright and so far they are on course to reach their fifth consecutive Southern Section Division I final. Loyola tied Santa Margarita, 1-1, in March for its second section title in three years, capping a campaign in which 19 opponents were held scoreless.

So far this season the Cubs, ranked seventh in Division I in the Southern California Coaches Assn.'s preseason poll, have six victories -- all shutouts -- including three against ranked teams.

- Image from www.loyolahs.edu