Football: Middlebrooks scores again for Fountain Valley

Any time Kyle Middlebrooks gets into the open field, he's a threat to score.

That's exactly what happened when the Fountain Valley tailback bounced outside and found some running room, scoring on a 57-yard touchdown to pull the Barons into a 14-14 tie against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame midway through the second quarter of their Pac-5 Division first-round playoff game.

Middlebrooks already has 127 yards and two touchdowns in only nine carries.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Sherman Oaks Notre Dame takes 14-7 lead

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has applied a nice counterpunch to Fountain Valley's opening blow, scoring back-to-back touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead over the visiting Barons early in the second quarter of their Pac-5 Division first-round playoff game.

Quarterback Ryan Kasdorf connected with tight end Tyler DiVincenzo for a 21-yard touchdown to put the Knights ahead.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Notre Dame ties Fountain Valley, 7-7

Kenneth Boggs, who was held to four yards last week during Sherman Oaks Notre Dame's 31-14 loss to Bishop Amat, has already run for 63 yards tonight against Fountain Valley, including a one-yard touchdown run that pulled the Knights into a 7-7 tie with 3:51 left in the first quarter.

Looks like an evenly matched game.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Stunning turn of events for Fountain Valley

What an opening 14 seconds for Fountain Valley.

The Barons recovered an onside kick at midfield and then Kyle Middlebrooks ran 50 yards for a touchdown on the next play after it looked like he was going to be stopped after a short gain.

Fountain Valley leads Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 7-0, with 11:46 left in the first quarter.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Fountain Valley, Notre Dame seeking revival

Whichever team digs the deepest after a tough week of practice following defeats to close the regular season will win tonight's Pac 5 Division first-round game between Fountain Valley and host Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

Fountain Valley lost to Los Alamitos--on the heels of an emotional defeat against Edison in the "Battle for the Bell"--and Notre Dame was routed by Bishop Amat, costing the Knights an outright Serra League title.

Notre Dame's Ryan Kasdorf and Kenneth Boggs hardly looked like their prolific selves last week, and I think they'll be up for a playoff game at home. But the crowd is still pretty thin a half-hour before kickoff, with only a handful of fans having made the trek from Orange County.

The winner of this game advances to play the winner of the first-round game between Mission Viejo and Long Beach Wilson. I'll have scoring updates throughout the evening.

--Ben Bolch

Football: He has scoop on Edison, Mission Viejo

If form holds in the Pac-5 Division playoffs, second-seeded Mission Viejo would play top-seeded Edison next month in the championship game at Angel Stadium.

Dana Hills Coach Brent Melbon said that game would be a toss-up, and he should know. Melbon's Dolphins have played both Mission Viejo and Edison. Edison defeated Dana Hills, 34-17, in September and Mission Viejo beat the Dolphins, 49-17, last week.

So who's better?

"It seems to me that Edison has a little more overall team speed," Melbon said, "but we played Edison without [linebacker Jordan] Zumwalt and were able to take advantage of that in the first half before they shored it up at halftime."

Melbon also called Mission Viejo incredibly fast and said he didn't know if anyone could beat the Diablos.

Sounds like the game could be headed for overtime if the Chargers and Diablos hook up.

--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

Girls' golf: Torrance wins SoCal championship

Torrance scored an 11-stroke victory over Torrey Pines today at the Southern California girls' golf championship at the SCGA Golf Course in Murrieta. Michelle Chun shot a 73 to lead the Tartars, who collectively shot a 379 to edge Torrey Pines' score of 390.

Devon Brown of Cathedral Catholic shot a 68 to score a one-stroke victory in the individual competition over Kaitlin Park of Beckman and Hana Lee of Hacienda Heights Wilson, who each shot a 69.

Peninsula, led by Kristin Coleman's round of 72, finished third in the team competition with a score of 393.

Jenny Shin and Rochelle Chan each shot a 74 for Torrance, which also received a round of 75 from Anne Cheng.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Crespi should have been at-large entrant

Sometimes the formulas used by the Southern Section playoff selection committee don't add up. Just look at how Crespi lost out to Newport Harbor in the Pac-5 Division.

The committee determines at-large entrants based on 1) record, 2) strength of schedule, 3) head-to-head results, 4) strength of league and 5) record versus common opponent.

So let's break down Newport Harbor's 3-2 victory over Crespi:

1) Record. Crespi finished 5-5 and Newport Harbor 6-4. One point for Newport Harbor. But consider this: Newport Harbor's four losses came by a combined 81 points. The Sailors suffered a 34-point defeat against Dana Hills and a 28-point setback against Edison. Crespi? The Celts lost five games by 21 points, including a one-point overtime loss to St. Bonaventure and a two-point loss on a late field goal against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. I think the point here really should go to Crespi.

2) Strength of schedule. Crespi's opponents went a combined 58-42 while Newport Harbor's opponents went 57-43. Two points for Crespi even though it was pretty much a push.

3) Head-to-head results. The teams did not play each other. No points for either team.

4) Strength of league. The Football Coaches Advisory Committee ranked the Sunset League ahead of the Serra League (it actually had the Serra ranked third behind the Sunset and Trinity leagues), but for my money I'd take the Serra League. There are no Marinas in the Serra League and the Serra went 20-8 against nonleague opponents versus the Sunset's 22-8 nonleague record. Serra League teams had victories over St. Bonaventure, Alemany and Mira Costa while the Sunset League teams beat Servite, Dana Hills and Mira Costa. Pretty much a push even though Newport Harbor was awarded one point here.

5) Record versus common opponent. This was the killer for Crespi. The Celts lost to Loyola, 41-37, on Friday while Newport Harbor defeated Loyola, 28-14, on Sept. 17. One point for Newport Harbor. But consider the circumstances surrounding each game: Newport Harbor defeated Loyola  at home at a time when the Cubs were six days removed from the season-ending loss of standout running back Anthony Barr. Cubs Coach Jeff Kearin, who would resign only a few weeks after the Newport Harbor game, conceded to The Times' Eric Sondheimer that "I wasn't being as attentive to the program as I should be." Loyola had more than a month to regroup with its new coaching staff and had nothing to lose when it played Crespi in a home game for the Cubs.

My conclusion? Even though it was thisclose, I would have gone with Crespi over Newport Harbor.

--Ben Bolch

Football: Updated final regular-season rankings

Here's an early look at the final regular-season rankings that will be published in Monday's paper (last week's ranking in parentheses):

1. Crenshaw 10-0 (1)

2. Edison 10-0 (2)

3. Oaks Christian 10-0 (3)

4. Servite 9-1 (4)

5. Lakewood 9-1 (5)

6. Mission Viejo 10-0 (6)

7. Gardena Serra 10-0 (7)

8. Redlands East Valley 10-0 (9)

9. Bishop Amat 9-1 (14)

10. St. Bonaventure 9-1 (10)

11. Valencia 10-0 (12)

12. Norco 9-1 (13)

13. Westlake 10-0 (23)

14. Vista Murrieta 10-0 (19)

15. S.O. Notre Dame 8-2 (11)

16. Moorpark 9-1 (8)

17. Carson 8-2 (17)

18. Corona Centennial 8-2 (18)

19. Los Alamitos 8-2 (20)

20. Rancho Verde 10-0 (22)

21. Charter Oak 9-1 (24)

22. Venice 9-1 (25)

23. Fountain Valley 8-2 (16)

24. Dana Hills 8-2 (21)

25. Orange Lutheran 6-4 (NR)

Note: These rankings are updated from an earlier version. The final rankings will not come out until after the bowl games.

--Ben Bolch