Football: Second meeting in City Section playoffs can produce different results
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Sean Pollard, the football coach at Van Nuys, doesn’t need to be reminded that trying to defeat a team for the second time in the same season isn’t easy.
When he was an assistant coach at Taft, the Toreadors twice beat Birmingham during the regular season, only to lose to the Patriots in the playoffs.
Now he has Van Nuys taking on Canoga Park in a City Section Division II quarterfinal on Friday at Van Nuys, and he knows the dangers lurking. The Wolves defeated Canoga Park, 24-14, earlier in the season.
Canoga Park Coach Ivan Moreno said, ‘We’re a better team.’
Running back Semaj Miller didn’t play in the first meeting while serving a team suspension. The versatile Khyree Morgan is ready to go for the Hunters.
Meanwhile, Van Nuys, the No. 3 seed, is banged up. Running back Kyle Jean played only a quarter last week against North Hollywood while resting an injury.
The good news for Van Nuys is that Venice proved teams can win twice over an opponent. Venice defeated Sylmar last week for the second time this season.
-- Eric Sondheimer