Cross country: Loyola's Gedyon wins another title

Elias Gedyon of Los Angeles Loyola had the fastest time of the day in winning the Southern Section Division 2 individual title in 14:31 at the cross country championships Saturday at Mount San Antonio College.

Dana Hills won the Division 1 team title for boys, with Ammar Moussa of Arcadia winning the individual title in 14:32.

In Division 1 girls, Great Oak won the team title and Alaina Alvarez of Dana Hills took the individual title in 17:09.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: Early look at City Section quarterfinals

Here's an early look at the City Section Division I quarterfinal matchups set for next Wednesday, with only one turkey in the bunch. I went a not-so-stellar 5-3 with the first-round picks and am hoping for a bounce-back performance:

No. 12 Dorsey (8-3) at No. 4 Taft (7-4): Dorsey rebounded nicely from back-to-back losses in the first round against San Pedro, with quarterback Joseph Gray and defensive back Jabri Proby coming up big in a convincing 33-17 triumph. Taft has some injury issues with running back D.J. Morgan (knee) and quarterback Bam Goodall (possible concussion), but the Toreadors are overloaded at running back with Lucky Radley and Shaquille Shelton ready to step in. I think Taft has superior speed to San Pedro and matches up well with the Dons. Prediction: Taft 35, Dorsey 21.

No. 11 Narbonne (6-5) at No. 3 Venice (10-1): Narbonne easily handled sixth-seeded L.A. Jordan on the Bulldogs' home field, so why not Venice as well? The Gauchos have so many great athletes--running back Melvin Davis, receiver Sean Parker, quarterback Chad Dashnaw, etc.--that it's hard to see how they lost so many games. Coach Manuel Douglas said "we have flashes where we're really good and then moments when we're not." Venice has steamrolled over a mostly nondescript schedule but will put up a fight against the City's defending co-champions. Prediction: Narbonne 24, Venice 21.

No. 7 L.A. Locke (7-4) at No. 2 Carson (9-2): Locke continues to surprise, knocking off Banning one week after getting past Dorsey to take second place in the Coliseum League. But Carson is on a different level than either of those teams. Prediction: Carson 31, Locke 12.

No. 8 Westchester (8-3) at No. 1 Crenshaw (11-0): The only turkey in the quarterfinal round. Prediction: Crenshaw 49, Westchester 10.

--Ben Bolch

Photo: Crenshaw receiver Geno Hall looks for running room during the Cougars' first-round victory over Birmingham on Thursday. Photo courtesy of Robert Helfman.

Girls' golf: Torrance wins third consecutive state title

Senior Jenny Shin shot a one-under-par 71 on Thursday at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach to help the Torrance girls' golf team win a third consecutive state title with an eight-stroke victory over Torrey Pines.

Shin, the only golfer to finish under par, won her second consecutive individual state title. Freshman Anne Cheng also shot a 76 for the Tartars.

Granada finished third in the team standings, 20 strokes behind Torrance, and Peninsula took fifth by finishing 28 strokes back.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Fulton has comeback of the day

Van Nuys Fulton trailed Los Angeles New Designs, 44-14, at halftime of a City Section eight-man playoff game.

Game over? Hardly.

Fulton rallied for a 76-44 victory, shutting out New Designs in the second half.

The Jaguars (8-3) will play L.A. Animo Robinson (10-1) in a semifinal on Wednesday. Animo Robinson defeated Fulton, 36-34, in September.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Beck is Eastern League player of year

What a year for Los Angeles Jordan's De' Shawn Beck. The running back-quarterback-receiver led the City Section in rushing yards and appears to have his chioce of colleges, with USC and Washington in the mix.

Now the senior has been selected the Eastern League player of the year after a regular season in which he rushed for 1,876 yards, passed for 1,025 yards and had 171 yards receiving.

Beck will lead the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (6-4) against 11th-seeded Narbonne (5-5) at 2 p.m. Thursday in a first-round playoff game at Jordan.

Here is a highlight video of Beck from earlier in the season.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Oliver sets records under the radar

Far removed from the hubbub of the City Section's Division I playoffs, Preston Oliver will likely continue to pile up yards for Los Angeles Marshall on Thursday night.

Oliver, the all-time leading rusher in the history of the Northern League with 5,566 yards, will lead the Barristers (7-3) against host Cleveland (7-3) in a Division II first-round game.

Oliver, a senior being recruited by Division I colleges, has 1,706 rushing yards and 2,119 all-purpose yards this season. He has rushed for 15 touchdowns for the Barristers, who are making a school-record sixth consecutive playoff appearance.

Most of the postseason appearances have been short. Marshall has not advanced out of the first round since making it to the semifinals of the Invitational Division in 2006.

Masrhall and Cleveland have never met in football.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Roosevelt, Garfield going separate ways

Two weeks after Roosevelt defeated Garfield, 28-16, in the East L.A. Classic, the Eastern League rivals are headed their separate ways: The Roughriders are playing in the City Section's Division II playoffs while the Bulldogs are playing in the Division I playoffs.

While Roosevelt garnered the top seeding in Division II and will be favored to win the title, Garfield received only a No. 13 seeding and will be a heavy underdog in its first-round game against fourth-seeded Taft.

Garfield Coach Lorenzo Hernandez said the decision whether to "play up" in Division I ultimately rests with the coach.

"Do you move up to satisfy the critics or do you stay down because you understand the caliber of athletes you have?" he asked. "I did it because everyone thought we should be playing up.

"It's a hard decision as a coach because you can't satisfy everyone. If you win the lower division, people are going to expect you to move up. [But] after how many years do you realize you don't have a D.J. Morgan, a Trajuan Briggs, you don't have the big guys that Carson and these guys do?"

Hernandez said he likes playing in Division I because it brings out the best in him and his players.

"It's just a different atmosphere, everything from knowing that you're playing against Division I-caliber kids that are going to be moving on [to college] to coaching-wise," he said. "I appreciate the fact that you can play against the guys who go play against the Long Beach Polys and [Gardena] Serras.

"We'll stick around here as long as we can."

--Ben Bolch

Football: Four standouts to participate in combine

Long Beach Poly's Corey Waller, Paraclete's Lavonte Barnett and Rancho Verde's Travis Chapman and Ryan Henderson will participate in the U.S. Army National Combine Jan. 7-9 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The Combine showcases the nation's best underclass football talent and is part of the weeklong festivities leading up to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 9. Rancho Verde will be represented in the game by star linebacker Ronald Powell.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Pac-5 first-round playoff predictions

Here are my picks for the first round of the Pac-5 Division playoffs:

Millikan vs. Edison at Orange Coast College: As I wrote in the final version of the rankings, Moore League teams not named Long Beach Poly have gone 6-21 in the playoffs since 2001. Prediction: Edison 42, Millikan 3.

Orange Lutheran at Dana Hills: Orange Lutheran's Mike Markovsky has filled in capably at quarterback for the injured Bobby Wheatley, and as tempting as it is to go with the upstart Dolphins here, I think Lutheran's recent playoff experience makes the difference. Prediction: Orange Lutheran 31, Dana Hills 21.

Mater Dei at Bishop Amat: Bishop Amat Coach Steve Hagerty said Mater Dei receiver Victor Blackwell could "single-handedly" beat the Lancers, but the Monarchs have been inconsistent for most of the season and their signature victory over Corona Centennial came two months ago. Plus, Bishop Amat's defense made Sherman Oaks Notre Dame standout Ryan Kasdorf look like an average high school quarterback last week. That's no small feat. Prediction: Bishop Amat 35, Mater Dei 24.

Newport Harbor at Lakewood: The Southern Section playoff selection committee won't be able to save the Sailors from Jesse Scroggins, Kevin Anderson, etc. Prediction: Lakewood 28, Newport Harbor 17.

San Clemente vs. Servite at Cerritos College: Don't foresee a lot of suspense here. Prediction: Servite 38, San Clemente 10.

Long Beach Poly vs. Los Alamitos at Long Beach Veterans Stadium: Jackrabbits defenders will be keyed up to go against former teammate Dylan Lagarde, who transferred earlier this season to play for Los Alamitos. If Lagarde is off his game, the Griffins can turn to steady running back Nick Richardson, who has been a handful for every defense he has encountered. Predition: Los Alamitos 30, Long Beach Poly 21.

Fountain Valley at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame: The Knights were embarrassed last week, but nothing soothes the soul like playing at home in the first round of the playoffs. Fountain Valley will need someone besides running back Kyle Middlebrooks to step up for the Barons to have a chance. Prediction: Notre Dame 31, Fountain Valley 17.

Long Beach Wilson at Mission Viejo: See note above on the Moore League. It's hard to tell whether this is one of the best Mission Viejo teams ever or just a pretty good one, and we still won't know after this week. Prediction: Mission Viejo 48, Wilson 12.

--Ben Bolch

Football: City Section first-round playoff predictions

Here are my picks for the first round of the City Section playoffs:

No. 16 Birmingham at No. 1 Crenshaw: As tempting as it is to go with the upset special here, there's just no way it's happening. Crenshaw is too fast, too deep and too experienced to let the resurgent Patriots hang with them for more than a quarter. The Cougars take what will be one of their last steps prior to a history-making bowl appearance. Prediction: Crenshaw 56, Birmingham 14.

No. 9 West Adams at No. 8 Westchester: Given who the winner plays in the quarterfinal (Crenshaw), does this game really matter? Of course. Westchester, having played in a stronger league, wins a close one. Prediction: Westchester 28, West Adams 24.

No. 12 Dorsey at No. 5 San Pedro: I don't like the way the Dons are playing right now. They closed the regular season with consecutive losses to Crenshaw and Locke, and I just don't see them rebounding against a smart and efficient team playing at home. Prediction: San Pedro 31, Dorsey 17.

No. 13 Garfield at No. 4 Taft: Give Garfield credit for its hard-nosed defense and bullish running game. But the Bulldogs haven't run up against anything like Taft's running game. And the common opponent theory goes out the window because Garfield beat Birmingham way before it got its act together. Prediction: Taft 35, Garfield 14.

No. 14 Sylmar at No. 3 Venice: The Gondoliers don't meet much resistance here. Prediction: Venice 31, Sylmar 10.

No. 11 Narbonne vs. No. 6 L.A. Jordan: The matchup of the day pits Jordan's "Attack the Weakness" offense against a defense that doesn't have many weaknesses. Both teams have prolific quarterbacks and running games, but I think the home factor pays off in the end for Jordan. Prediction: Jordan 35, Narbonne 34.

No. 10 Wilmington Banning at No. 7 Locke: Locke showed with its victory over Dorsey that it's capable of playing with the big boys. But so is Banning, which upset Narbonne to finish in a three-way tie for second in the Marine League. Prediction: Banning 37, Locke 24.

No. 15 Santee at No. 2 Carson: Unless this game turns into one long 100-yard dash in which Santee sprinter Tevin Carter displays his uncanny speed, the Colts win easily. Prediction: Carson 35, Santee 14.

Photo: Crenshaw quarterback Marquis Thompson looks for running room last week during the Cougars' victory over Jefferson. Photo courtesy of Robert Helfman.

--Ben Bolch