Football: Sherman Oaks Notre Dame back on top

What an interesting sequence for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

First, the Knights had a touchdown run wiped out by a holding call. Then Fountain Valley had an interception in the end zone nullified by a defensive holding call.

That helped set up Notre Dame quarterback Ryan Kasdorf's spinning one-yard touchdown run that gave the Knights a 21-14 lead with 44 seconds left in the second quarter of their Pac-5 Division first-round game.

--Ben Bolch

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

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

The Kate Hansen story continues

Kate Hansen, a 17-year-old from La Canada, is trying to pull off a feat almost as rare as snow falling in Los Angeles --  earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in luge while growing up in sunny Southern California.

While former classmates at La Canada High were taking in the sunshine and temperatures in the 70s on Wednesday, Hansen was in windy, cold Calgary, Canada, preparing to compete for the women's World Cup team that will lead to a December decision on selections for the Olympics.

"I never thought I'd get this far in a million years," Hansen said Wednesday during a conference call.

She tried luge when she was in elementary school and the sport was looking for young volunteers.

"I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but it looked fun," she said.

The rest of her story could be a movie in the making.

"It's a great opportunity to be here," she said. "I love it."

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: It's a smashing debut for Sierra Canyon

In its first season of 11-man football, Sierra Canyon has qualified for the playoffs after finishing the regular season 8-2 with victories over perennial Alpha League powers Campbell Hall and Montclair Prep.

The Trailblazers, who finished tied with Campbell Hall for second place in their league, will play at San Bernardino Aquinas (6-3) in the first round of the East Valley Division playoffs Friday.

Established in 1978 as a lower and middle school, Sierra Canyon welcomed its first ninth-grade class in 2005 and celebrated its first high school graduation earlier this year.

"As a school that runs from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, our athletes truly grow up playing on teams with one another," Athletic Director Rock Pillsbury said. "Many of the same kids who are winning football games for us as juniors and seniors played together on flag football teams back in the sixth grade."

--Ben Bolch