Football: Oaks Christian finds a QB, wins title

Oaks Christian began the week with six quarterbacks vying for the starting spot, but by Saturday night, it was clear senior Tony Macarena had won the position after helping the Lions win the championship of the Saugus seven-on-seven passing tournament.

Oaks Christian defeated Canyon Country Canyon, 32-18, in the final. Even more impressive was a 14-6 victory over Long Beach Poly in the semifinals.

"I think our kids are really starting to compete hard," Coach Bill Redell said.

The Lions don't have the big names of the past, such as Jimmy Clausen or Marc Tyler, but they have lots of talent, particularly on defense with junior linebackers Malcolm Jones and Zack Stout and senior defensive back Brian Owusu. On offense, tight end Chris Coyle was impressive.

For Canyon, senior quarterback Jordan Adamczyk had a productive two days. The Cowboys defeated Westlake in the other semifinal.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: Narbonne wins Beverly Hills tournament

Narbonne, led by All-City quarterback Josh Moten, defeated Roosevelt in the championship game of the Beverly Hills passing tournament.

Moten passed for more than 2,300 yards last season and has a top receiver in UCLA-bound Byron Moore Jr.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Softball: Creps is out as coach at Chatsworth

Jaisa Creps, the softball coach at Chatsworth for one season, will not have her contract renewed as a teacher or coach because of issues involving her teaching credential, athletic director Mike Immken said Saturday.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys' basketball: Avery scores 14 points in Crespi debut

Freshman guard Michael Avery scored 14 points in his varsity debut for Crespi on Friday to help the Celts defeat Servite in an opening game of the Crespi tournament. He'll play two games today at 1:30 p.m. against Beverly Hills and 6 p.m. against Simi Valley.

Other opening-game winners: Campbell Hall defeated Chaminade by eight points; El Camino Real knocked off Calabasas by six points, and Simi Valley defeated Beverly Hills by 20 points.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys' basketball: Dominguez standout to apply for fifth year

The father of Dominguez standout Jordan Hamilton said Saturday he plans to file paperwork with the Southern Section this month seeking a fifth year of eligibility for his son.

Greg Hamilton said he is confident a hardship waiver will be granted. His son did not play basketball as a freshman at Dorsey.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: Keeping up with the Joneses from Oaks Christian

It’s official: I’ve got the football bug. That said, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise to learn I was out at another pigskin practice this afternoon, this time over at Oaks Christian to watch Malcolm Jones go through some drills for about an hour, or so.

Let it be known now, this kid is special, for those who weren’t already aware of the fact. The junior-to-be running back is big, listed at 6-foot and 210 pounds. He’s fast too, having been clocked in the sub 4.6 range in the 40-yard dash. Jones is the real deal.

“Malcolm can do it all,‘’ Lions' coach Bill Redell said. “Put it this way, our quarterback isn’t going to have to win games for us, he just doesn’t have to lose them because Malcolm can carry the load. It’s only a matter of time before he gets more and more recognition.’’

Football: Hart gets top transfer student

Patrick Abbott, a receiver who was promoted to Hart's varsity as a freshman in 2005, then moved to South Carolina, returned to the area on Friday and is ready to join the Indians for his senior year.

He has grown to 6 feet 3 and is also a point guard in basketball. "I know he's pretty good," football Coach Mike Herrington said.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Basketball: Colleges are courting Campbell Hall's Hornbuckle

One of my main reasons for heading out to watch Thursday's summer league match-up between Campbell Hall and Simi Valley was to catch up with Keegan Hornbuckle and see how things were going on the recruiting front for the Vikings' 6-foot-6 senior-to-be. One problem, he wasn't at the game. Just my luck. Go figure.

I did, however, find out that there was a good reason for his absence. Hornbuckle was visiting Penn, one of the numerous Division I programs interested in him. "Keegan has been in contact with a lot of different schools lately,'' Vikings assistant coach Paul Tait said. "He's got his share of options and he's exploring them.''

Boston U, Oregon St., Pepperdine and Santa Clara have scholarship offers pending. Northwestern, SMU and UC Santa Barbara are in the mix as well. Hornbuckle isn't in any rush to make a decision though. Perhaps Tait explained it best: "Keegan could end up anywhere. He just wants to be comfortable.''

Guess we'll have to pay close attention to this developing situation. Stay tuned for updates.

-- Sean Ceglinsky 

Boys' basketball: Avery to make debut for Crespi

Michael Avery, the eighth-grade basketball who committed to Kentucky before deciding on his high school, is set to make his varsity debut for Crespi today and Saturday in the Crespi tournament.

The Celts are playing Servite today at 6 p.m. They face Beverly Hills Saturday at 1:30 and take on Simi Valley at 6. The final is Sunday at 3:30.

"My assessment is he's going to help us a lot," Coach Russell White said. "He's very polished offensively."

-- Eric Sondheimer

Basketball: Southland's best ballers tryout for USA Basketball

About a month ago, this blog surfaced on Varsity Times Insider about the possibility of several players from the Southland being invited to attend tryouts for the USA under-18 national team on July 1-3 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

Turns out, quite a few of our guys will, in fact, have the opportunity to make the squad after the USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee -- chaired by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim -- announced the participants last week.

Malcolm Lee of Riverside North headlines the local contingent. Loyola's Hollis Thompson and brothers David and Travis Wear from Mater Dei will be in attendance as well. It should also be mentioned that UCLA-commits Drew Gordon of San Jose Mitty and Reeves Nelson of Modesto Christian received nods for the trials.