Crenshaw celebrates a huge victory over Lakewood.
Photo by Anthony Watson
Anyone else feel like they’re ducking the dominoes that are flying all across the Southland after the Los Angeles City Section’s performance in Zero Week?
Talk about ramifications, the City Section put the Southland on notice that it’s a major player to be contesting the state’s biggest prize, the State Open Division Bowl Championship come December at the Home Depot Center.
Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves because half the teams in the Southland still haven’t played a game, but Los Angeles Crenshaw’s 28-27 victory over Lakewood was big. Really big. Especially if Lakewood does something like goes on to win the Pac-5 title.
“It’s got a lot of people talking,” said Harry Welch, who coached Canyon Country Canyon and San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s to state bowl titles. “You have people talking about high school football in Zero Week. It’s marvelous.”
Crenshaw and Lakewood wasn’t a typical intersectional game between City and Southern section schools.
Crenshaw was the prohibitive favorite to win the City title. Lakewood had at least six Division I college recruits that came into the season as MaxPreps’ highest-ranked Pac-5 Division team (and No. 3 in the state). As we all know, the Pac-5 champion is the Southland’s marquee title.
There’s no underplaying the significance of Crenshaw’s victory, sparked behind junior quarterback Marquis Thompson’s performance on a 70-yard game-winning drive that ended with an eight-yard pass to Geno Hall with 2 minutes 33 seconds remaining. That drive came without star running back DeAnthony Thomas, who had an ankle injury. Talk about a team rising to the occasion.
Coupled with Carson’s 14-2 victory over Santa Ana Mater Dei using a couple of big plays – Dion Willis scored from 51 yards in the first quarter, Jason Alo passed 69 yards to Wayne Peters in the fourth – the City Section was the biggest winner of the opening week of football action. On an undercard, Woodland Hills El Camino Real’s 33-28 victory over Newhall Hart was another feather in the City’s cap.
Crenshaw has very neatly mapped its way to the state’s biggest stage, provided it can take care of business. First, it defeated a Pac-5 power. On Friday it will play host to Norco, a favorite in the Inland Division. If Crenshaw wins that game, it will have beaten two elite teams from two Southern Section divisions that are among its biggest threats to take a bowl berth.
Remember, only section champions get a trip to a bowl.
Perhaps more important in raising the credibility of the City’s programs was Carson’s victory over Mater Dei. Outside of Long Beach Poly, Mater Dei is the program to beat in Southern California if you want recognition. You don’t beat Mater Dei by not being good. Carson is better than good.
With two elite City programs having beaten two elite Southern Section programs, the City will have more leverage than ever when the California Interscholastic Federation selection committee meets to determine the Southern representative for the State Bowl games at the Home Depot Center in Carson.
And if they’re lucky, the CIF will have a bowl game that turns out as good as Crenshaw-Lakewood.
Not wasting any time
Two other teams looking to get into the State Bowl picture will face each other on Friday when Temecula Chaparral plays at Centennial in their openers. Back in 2006, Centennial was unbeaten when it lost to Chaparral in the second round of the playoffs, 42-28. Centennial won the 2007 rematch in the semifinals, 68-14, and the 2008 Inland title game, 23-17.
They also played their opener last season against each other with Centennial winning, 26-16.
Although Centennial has the more distinguished pedigree, it seems to be Chaparral that’s on the spot. After finishing runner-up in the championship twice in the last three years, the Pumas are ranked No. 8 in the state by MaxPreps to Centennial’s No. 14. Chaparral has its leading passer, rusher and receiver returning in Mitchell Glassman, Jonathan Diaz and junior Antoine Arnold, respectively, but no one on the offensive line.
Centennial, which followed up last year’s Inland title victory over Chaparral with a 21-16 win over Concord De La Salle in the Open Division Bowl Championship, is replacing most of its starters and trying to find a quarterback.
If Chaparral can’t get it done, coach Tom Leach says they’ll know exactly where they stand – and they won’t like it.
What do they have to be jealous about?
Maybe it’s because there are no television shows called “The IE” or “Riverside,” and there’s no ocean breeze in Corona, but jealousy definitely exists in the Inland Empire for its neighbors to the west.
According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Orange and Riverside County schools had played each other 16 times in the past two seasons. With Corona Santiago’s impressive 35-3 victory over Anaheim Esperanza behind quarterback Brandon Connette (14 of 24, 213 yards, three TDs) and Derrick Hawkins (181 yards, two TDs), the 909/951 took a 9-8 advantage head-to-head against the 714/949.
It was quite a turnaround under first-year coach Jeff Steinberg to avenge last season’s 12-9 loss. It shouldn’t be any surprise. Steinberg excelled with a wide-open offense at Ridgecrest Burroughs, winning a Division VIII section title in 2005, and Fontana Miller, where that school won its first league title in 2008.
This is another great example that teams in the IE are beginning to follow the lead of Centennial and stepping outside their comfort zone. It is what elite-level programs do. In the past, Inland Empire teams had rarely stepped out of their own backyard; the Redlands teams were a perfect example, yet on Sept. 25, Redlands East Valley is playing Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College.
It’s good for football, and good for the programs involved.
Upcoming IE vs. OC games this season would look pretty good on any schedule: Sept. 18 – Centennial vs. Mater Dei, Mission Viejo at Corona, Fountain Valley at Lake Lake Elsinore Temescal Canyon; Sept. 25 – Redlands East Valley vs. Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College; Oct. 2 – Mission Viejo at Murrieta Valley; Oct. 3 – Anaheim Servite at Temecula Chaparral.
The Santiago Sharks took a bite out of Esperanza in a 35-3 victory.
Photo by John Downey
Lowdown on the showdown
The two best small schools in Southern California the past couple of years will play each other on Sept. 11 when San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s plays host to San Diego Parker, and there’s quite a twist in the storyline.
It features Parker man-child quarterback Deon Randall, who last season passed for 1,523 yards and rushed for 1,575 yards, and St. Margaret’s running back John Murayama (1,300 yards, 28 TDs). On paper, it’s a great game.
When they play Friday, St. Margaret’s is going to be in an unusual position. Twelve seniors accounting for 15 starting positions will be at a retreat in Ojai on Wednesday and Thursday, and won’t return home until late Friday afternoon – a few hours before game time. That’s three days without practicing before facing the toughest opponent in school history.
“When I made the schedule, I didn’t realize this was our retreat week,” Welch said. “It’s foolish to play the No. 1 team in California this week. Makes no sense whatsoever. “
St. Margaret’s, No. 2 in the South Small Schools rankings released by Cal-Hi Sports, has won an Orange County record 44 games in a row. Parker is ranked No. 1.
According to Welch, the seniors aren’t even allowed to work on the playbook during their retreat in Ojai. As for the underclassman, Friday is the third consecutive day of service to the community which, among other things, includes gathering crops in local fields.
Welch, whose Canyon squad once won a section record 46 games and which upset De La Salle in the inaugural State Division I Bowl in 2006, said that the challenge Friday is “at the top, in terms of coaching.”
If he is able to win this game, he might really be a magician.
“(Tuesday) we had an especially long lunch and I was going to meet with my seniors, but the senior adviser called a meeting so I lost them for that hour,” Welch said. “The retreat is a wonderful opportunity for the players and I support it, but the decision to have this game this week is a mistake on my part -- senility.”
St. Margaret’s got the nod over Parker last year for the State Small School Bowl and drilled Hamilton City Hamilton, 59-7. Both teams have plenty returning, although St. Margaret’s, coming off a 68-0 victory over Pasadena Blair, is without graduated quarterback David Mothander.
“Francis Parker has every right to believe they should have been playing in the Small School Bowl Championship,” Welch said. “We both had that right, but they had an awesome year also.”
Regardless of the circumstances, if you fancy watching the real Small School title game, this is it.
Three dots and a cloud of dust
In its 55-0 victory over Inglewood Morningside, six minutes into the game Mission Viejo had run only two offensive plays and scored four touchdowns: a kick return (Jake Marshall, 95 yards), a pass (Joey Branker, 18 yards from Dallin McEwen), a fumble return (Brad Belida, 7 yards) and a punt return (Donny Ruggles, 62 yards). . . . Moorpark and coach Tim Lins get the sportsmanship award of the week for moving the Musketeers’ game against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame to Saturday instead of Friday. Notre Dame played Monday night at the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium and the team didn’t return home until Tuesday. Notre Dame defeated Spring (Texas) Klein Oak, 37-7, behind three touchdowns from RB Kenny Boggs in the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series. . . . Marijon Ancich, who has 344 career victories and returned to the sidelines at Santa Fe Springs St. Paul after a three-year hiatus, was overtaken Friday as the state’s all-time winningest coach. La Mirada came from behind to beat Ancich’s St. Paul, 15-7, while Concord De La Salle scored twice in the second half to beat San Mateo Serra. That victory gave DLS coach Bob Ladouceur 345 victories and the state lead. . . . Lancaster Paraclete kicker Kyle Steffes made field goals of 50 and 48 yards in a 13-3 victory against Phelan Serrano, according to the L.A. Daily News. . . . Al Britt has retired as boys and girls track and field coach at Anaheim Esperanza. He coached 28 years and his girls won 24 league titles and one section title; his boys won 16 league titles and two section titles.
Recruiting news
Cameron Roberson, a running back from Newbury Park, has committed to Notre Dame, according to the Los Angeles Times.
And finally
Harold Strauss of Colton (219 wins) and Terry Henigan of Irvine (212 wins) begin their final seasons this weekend.
The coaching landscape will be poorer without them. Strauss has had success at a couple of schools, and Henigan is an institution at Irvine. I’m more familiar with his situation, and I agree with Steve Fryer of the Orange County Register that the district stadium should be named in his honor.
However, that’s just a chunk of cement and turf. Henigan’s legacy is that he developed a slew of fine young men, won consistently with the talent he had in a program that experienced changing demographics, and avoided controversy at every turn.
In a county that includes John Barnes, Bruce Rollinson, Bob Johnson and any number of other well-known and successful men, Henigan is probably the most respected coach among other coaches, and that may be the most telling thing about him.
Martin Henderson began covering Southland preps in 1993 for the Los Angeles Times. He contributes to the Orange County Register, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and San Bernardino Sun, and offers up motorsports opinions at Racescribe.com. You can reach him at southlandpreps@yahoo.com.
