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When it comes to teams loaded with skill-position players, Rancho Verde from Moreno Valley showed Saturday it can compete with the best, winning the championship of the seven-on-seven Bonita tournament.
Rancho Verde defeated Valencia in the final.
In the San Bernardino tournament, Pasadena Muir defeat Paloma Valley in the final.
-- Eric Sondheimer
Jordan Hamilton scored 31 points to help Dominguez defeat Fairfax, 66-56, Saturday night in a semifinal game of the Fairfax tournament.
It was an impressive victory considering that Fairfax was finally at full strength, with Renardo Sidney and Solomon Hill both playing.
In the championship game Sunday at 5:20 p.m., Dominguez will play the winner of the Santa Monica-Westchester game.
-- Eric Sondheimer
To say that Cleveland feels jinxed when it plays eight-time City Section baseball champion Chatsworth would be an understatement.
The Cavaliers have lost 20 consecutive games since 2002 to the Chancellors. But on Saturday in the Valley Invitational Baseball League, Cleveland defeated Chatsworth, 6-0. It was Chatsworth's first defeat this summer.
It doesn't exactly bring an end to the streak, because it didn't happen during the regular season, but any kind of victory over Chatsworth is good news for the Cavaliers.
-- Eric Sondheimer
Thousand Oaks, led by quarterback Ian Shultis, won the top division championship of the Conejo Valley seven-on-seven passing tournament. The Lancers defeated Palmdale in the final.
Westlake and Riverside J.W. North won the other division championships.
-- Eric Sondheimer
Oaks Christian Coach Bill Redell said Saturday he has selected St. Bonaventure transfer Tony Macarena as the team's starting quarterback.
Macarena beat out five other players. Already, one of the competitors, Anthony Vitto, has decided to transfer, according to Redell.
Oaks Christian went 5-1 on Saturday at the San Bernardino passing tournament, losing only to Diamond Ranch, a team it will play in a nonleague game. One of the victories was over Division I power Corona Centennial. Last week, the Lions defeated Long Beach Poly in the Saugus tournament.
-- Eric Sondheimer
Even though the remnants of Oregon-gate likely will reverberate in the minds of the St. Bonaventure faithful for quite some time, it's good to see that it hasn't affected Xavier Ramos' popularity.
Just weeks after being teased mercilessly with recruiting's version of the bait-and-hook, Ramos picked up a scholarship offer from UC Davis. It's Ramos' second creditable offer, but I'm sure he'll see more recruiters showing an interest once they see him on the field this fall. The monster performance he put up against Saugus in the Northern Division semifinals continues to stand out.
-- Austin Knoblauch
In case you were wondering, Rivals.com came out with its All-State Softball team Friday, and several Southland players cracked the first team. San Pedro teammates Perelini Koria and Taylor Petty, pictured, made the list as did Jessica Spigner of two-time defending Division I champion Valencia. Spigner was the L.A. Times' player of the year and was named Ms. Softball State Player of the Year by Rivals.com earlier this month.
Here's a quick rundown of other Southland players who were first-team selections: Destiny Rodino (Hart), Sam Fischer (Simi Valley), Meredith Hackett (Corona Santiago), Baillie Kirker (Crescenta Valley), Teagan Gerhart (Norco), Delaney Willard (Camarillo), Shawna Wright (Lancaster), Andrea Harrison (Garden Grove Pacifica), Michelle Moses (Paso Robles), Tiffany Messerschmidt (Thousand Oaks), Jamia Reid (La Palma Kennedy), Kamerin May (Corona Santiago).
Of course, if you saw Martin Henderson's All-Star team from a few weeks ago, none of these names will come as a surprise to you.
-- Austin Knoblauch
-- Image by Austin Knoblauch
Shooting guard Eric Lawton from Hemet West Valley has committed to San Diego State. The 6-foot-1 Lawton earned respect for his performance in last season's Southern Section playoffs.
-- Eric Sondheimer
Coming off a 2,000-yard campaign that helped push Saugus into the Northern Division semifinals last year, highly touted running back Ryan Zirbel, pictured, appears to be starting to get his share of recruiting fan mail. According to the Daily News, Jerry Glanville & Co. at Portland State recently handed Zirbel his first scholarship offer.
I'm sure Zirbel will see at least a few more offers come his way once the 2008 season begins, and I'm really looking forward to seeing whether he can mimic the numbers that have made him one of the region's most feared ball carriers.
Along with senior QB Desi Rodriguez, who has four offers on the table, Zirbel will once again make the Centurions a regular visitor to the end zone this fall. I'm just curious to see if their entirely new defensive corps will be up to the task of stopping Hart and the rest of the Foothill League bunch.
-- Austin Knoblauch
-- Image by Austin Knoblauch
As summer basketball games go, they don't get more entertaining than the matchup Friday night between Taft and Dominguez in the quarterfinals of the Fairfax tournament.
Taft led by 10 points in the first half. Dominguez led by nine points with seven minutes left. Taft closed to within three points with three minutes left behind freshman guard Landon Drew. Then Dominguez pulled away for a 69-58 victory, earning a 6:50 p.m. semifinal berth Saturday against Fairfax.
Among the interesting happenings:
Thurman Woods of Dominguez powered his way to 17 points and was the difference in the game.
Jordan Hamilton scored 25 points, but he reverted back to his days at Dorsey by losing his composure several times for Dominguez.
Drew, the brother of All-American Larry Drew Jr., got his most extensive playing time of the summer, and what a performance he gave. He twice made three-point shots and showed that his father was telling the truth when he said he's better as a freshman than Larry Drew Jr. was as a freshman.
Michael Williams had 16 points for Taft, but he fouled out in the final three minutes, and his absence hurt the Toreadors.
The other semifinal Saturday matches Westchester and Santa Monica at 8:10 p.m.
-- Eric Sondheimer
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