By Loren Kopff
Legendary Gahr girls volleyball head coach Sonny Okamoto knows his team has little to no chance in knocking off Downey anytime soon. So, in order to stay competitive in the San Gabriel Valley League each season, Warren seems to be that one opponent the Gladiators can steal a victory from here and there.
Gahr and Warren split their two matches in 2005 and in 2007 and the Gladiators were hoping to secure at least another split in 2009 but the Bears got the upper hand 19-25, 25-14, 25-19, 26-24 last Thursday afternoon at Gahr. Coupled with a victory at Paramount this past Tuesday afternoon, the Gladiators entered its Oct. 22 match at Downey with an overall mark of 9-9 and a league record of 3-2, good enough for third place.
The Gladiators led all the way in the first game against the Bears, paced by the hitting of senior outside hitter Tiffany McCray (seven kills) and junior outside hitter Annie Reyes (six kills). Gahr was looking strong in the opening moments of the second game as Reyes added two more kills and junior middle blocker Jillian Tiedeman had a pair of aces. But the Bears and their balanced attack of Heather Adamson, Chelsea Cabrajac, Mallory Hill and Franny Vaaulu rallied back to take an 8-6 lead and when Adamson had four aces plus a kill, Warren was up 15-8. Gahr would post only four kills in the game as it was slightly aided by Warren mistakes.
“We haven’t done anything together as a team this year,” Okamoto said. “That’s the difficult part. We’re starting to get healthy but, I’ll make it real simple. Cerritos is good because they play as a team. I think they play better as a team right now than a lot of teams around here. Valley [Christian] might be the other one that plays well as a team.”
On the strength of three straight aces from senior setter Leeanne Currie, the Gladiators were sitting with a 9-5 lead in the third game. But Adamson countered with three of her own and eventually the Bears opened up a 16-11 lead. Cabrajac, who has been Warren’s leader the past four seasons despite being injured as a sophomore, had five kills and two aces in the third game. She would lead everyone with 16 kills.
“She tried to take over the game and the thing I told my kids was the same thing that happened to them,” Okamoto said. “It takes a team to win the game and when she tried to take it on her own shoulders, it was very difficult for her to do that. It gave us an opportunity. They have weak links just like I have weak links.”
Warren made sure the Gladiators wouldn’t jump out to another early lead as Adamson and Sam Madrid each had a kill and a shared block to help Warren lead 10-4 in the fourth game. Gahr did come back and tied the game four times, the last when Warren was called for a lift violation making it a 24-24 contest. But Hill and Lauren McCaughan ended the last ditch attempt with kills. McCray led the Gladiators with 14 kills while Reyes had a dozen kills along with four aces. Junior middle hitter Chelsea Heyward was next in line with six kills as Gahr is still looking to find that consistent offensive attack.
“I thought Tiffany has played pretty aggressive since she’s been injured,” Okamoto said. “Hopefully her body will hold up the rest of the year. I need her at least for the Paramount games.”
Gahr will participate in the Marlborough Tournament on Saturday, then will host the bottom feeders of the league-Dominguez and Lynwood on Tuesday and Thursday respectively. As for Gahr’s playoff chance this season, it will be determined on the final week of the season when the team goes to Warren, then hosts Paramount. Dating back to 1998, the Gladiators are 20-3 against Paramount but just 7-16 against Warren.
“I think we can [beat Warren],” Okamoto said of the next meeting. “The way they played against us, I think we can. But they beat Downey in our tournament [last month]. If we take care of our business against Paramount, we have a chance.”
Monday, October 26, 2009
Cerritos Spikers Sweep Mayfair, Remain in Total Control of Suburban League
By Loren Kopff
At the rate the Cerritos girls volleyball team is going, the only team that can beat the Lady Dons are the Lady Dons themselves. What was supposed to be a competitive battle between Cerritos and Mayfair, the last two remaining undefeated teams in the Suburban League, turned out to be another low scoring sweep for the Lady Dons this past Tuesday.
For only the fifth time in at least the last 23 meetings, all of which have come since 2005, the Lady Dons knocked off the Monsoons 25-8, 25-12, 25-12 to improve to 10-1 overall and 6-0 in the circuit. Including games played in the Mayfair Tournament, the Lady Dons have lost seven out of 43 games played this season. Cerritos is also the third ranked team in the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division III-A polls.
The last two matches have been against Mayfair and last season’s league champion, La Mirada. But Cerritos allowed 36 points in sweeping the Matadores on the road on Oct. 14. Cerritos has won 10 straight with the last eight coming via a sweep.
“We were expecting the same competition,” said junior middle blocker Jessica Wu. “Last year, we played a good match against them, too. It’s just that this year we have to step up our game if we really want the league title and that’s our goal.”
Mayfair was leading 5-4 in the first game but a serving error gave senior middle blocker Jenny Ho the serve and she promptly reeled off six straight points with a pair of aces, two kills from Wu and two violations from the Monsoons. Following a Kristen Taylor block, the Lady Dons put the game away when senior setter Samantha Adams served nine straight points with Wu collecting three more kills and Adams putting down three aces.
The second game started out promising for the Monsoons again, leading 6-4 but earning half of those points. After Ho tipped her seventh kill of the match, she was subbed out for senior defensive specialist Janice Chung, who served six straight points. Seconds later, Adams propelled her team to the victory with seven consecutive points to make it a 19-7 advantage.
But, all was not clean and crisp by the standards of Cerritos head coach Khanh Vo, who had to call a timeout with his team leading 21-11 to regroup the team.
“We have to work on our mental approach,” Vo said. “I felt at that point, we had a mental lapse and we let a few balls drop that shouldn’t have dropped. I let them know that if they wanted to compete, especially at the higher level, they just have to approach the game mentally stronger.”
Whatever he said immediately worked as senior outside hitter Jackie Trimble had a kill, followed by a Ho block of Dana Brown and a kill from senior middle blocker Jade Garrett. The hosts kept the momentum going in the third game as Wu began with her 10th kill, then Trimble served four straight points, the last two on aces. The lead would grow to 17-5 after an ace from Wu and the defense held on the rest of the way. Mayfair never scored more than three straight points at any time in the match and was limited to 19 kills.
Meanwhile, Ho and Wu each had 12 kills while junior outside hitter Cherise Kam added 10 kills and Adams had eight aces.
“I think every team knows Jenny is the center of our offense,” Vo said. “So I said, ‘go ahead’. I’ll just leave her by herself in the front row and challenge the rest of the league to try to stop her. At this point, she’s playing at a certain level where when she’s on her “A” game, I don’t think she can be stopped.”
“I think we have all stepped up our game,” Wu said. “It’s working pretty well this year.”
The Lady Dons are halfway through what they hope is their third league title since 1995. The team has allowed no more than 37 points in any league match thus far, which was one of the lesser goals set by Vo at the beginning of the season.
“It’s definitely pressure but we set goals for ourselves and we try our best to make them,” Wu said. “If we don’t, then we take our consequences.”
Cerritos, which hosted last place Norwalk this past Wednesday, will visit John Glenn today and will go for the season sweep of Mayfair on Monday. The team will then conclude the road portion of league action on Wednesday at Artesia. However, Vo isn’t quite ready to hoist another league championship on the walls of the Cerritos gymnasium. “It really depends on how we play,” Vo said. “For the most part, it showed today. There were points where we played really well and there were points where we just didn’t play very smart. I expect La Mirada and I expect Mayfair to come back and give us a better match next time.
“My approach to the game is once you get to a certain level, we try to get to the next level,” Vo added. “We’re at a pretty high level right now, I agree. But in order to become championship caliber-to get to that No. 2 or No. 1 ranking, a lot of it is mental. You don’t see championship teams drop balls that we dropped today.”
At the rate the Cerritos girls volleyball team is going, the only team that can beat the Lady Dons are the Lady Dons themselves. What was supposed to be a competitive battle between Cerritos and Mayfair, the last two remaining undefeated teams in the Suburban League, turned out to be another low scoring sweep for the Lady Dons this past Tuesday.
For only the fifth time in at least the last 23 meetings, all of which have come since 2005, the Lady Dons knocked off the Monsoons 25-8, 25-12, 25-12 to improve to 10-1 overall and 6-0 in the circuit. Including games played in the Mayfair Tournament, the Lady Dons have lost seven out of 43 games played this season. Cerritos is also the third ranked team in the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division III-A polls.
The last two matches have been against Mayfair and last season’s league champion, La Mirada. But Cerritos allowed 36 points in sweeping the Matadores on the road on Oct. 14. Cerritos has won 10 straight with the last eight coming via a sweep.
“We were expecting the same competition,” said junior middle blocker Jessica Wu. “Last year, we played a good match against them, too. It’s just that this year we have to step up our game if we really want the league title and that’s our goal.”
Mayfair was leading 5-4 in the first game but a serving error gave senior middle blocker Jenny Ho the serve and she promptly reeled off six straight points with a pair of aces, two kills from Wu and two violations from the Monsoons. Following a Kristen Taylor block, the Lady Dons put the game away when senior setter Samantha Adams served nine straight points with Wu collecting three more kills and Adams putting down three aces.
The second game started out promising for the Monsoons again, leading 6-4 but earning half of those points. After Ho tipped her seventh kill of the match, she was subbed out for senior defensive specialist Janice Chung, who served six straight points. Seconds later, Adams propelled her team to the victory with seven consecutive points to make it a 19-7 advantage.
But, all was not clean and crisp by the standards of Cerritos head coach Khanh Vo, who had to call a timeout with his team leading 21-11 to regroup the team.
“We have to work on our mental approach,” Vo said. “I felt at that point, we had a mental lapse and we let a few balls drop that shouldn’t have dropped. I let them know that if they wanted to compete, especially at the higher level, they just have to approach the game mentally stronger.”
Whatever he said immediately worked as senior outside hitter Jackie Trimble had a kill, followed by a Ho block of Dana Brown and a kill from senior middle blocker Jade Garrett. The hosts kept the momentum going in the third game as Wu began with her 10th kill, then Trimble served four straight points, the last two on aces. The lead would grow to 17-5 after an ace from Wu and the defense held on the rest of the way. Mayfair never scored more than three straight points at any time in the match and was limited to 19 kills.
Meanwhile, Ho and Wu each had 12 kills while junior outside hitter Cherise Kam added 10 kills and Adams had eight aces.
“I think every team knows Jenny is the center of our offense,” Vo said. “So I said, ‘go ahead’. I’ll just leave her by herself in the front row and challenge the rest of the league to try to stop her. At this point, she’s playing at a certain level where when she’s on her “A” game, I don’t think she can be stopped.”
“I think we have all stepped up our game,” Wu said. “It’s working pretty well this year.”
The Lady Dons are halfway through what they hope is their third league title since 1995. The team has allowed no more than 37 points in any league match thus far, which was one of the lesser goals set by Vo at the beginning of the season.
“It’s definitely pressure but we set goals for ourselves and we try our best to make them,” Wu said. “If we don’t, then we take our consequences.”
Cerritos, which hosted last place Norwalk this past Wednesday, will visit John Glenn today and will go for the season sweep of Mayfair on Monday. The team will then conclude the road portion of league action on Wednesday at Artesia. However, Vo isn’t quite ready to hoist another league championship on the walls of the Cerritos gymnasium. “It really depends on how we play,” Vo said. “For the most part, it showed today. There were points where we played really well and there were points where we just didn’t play very smart. I expect La Mirada and I expect Mayfair to come back and give us a better match next time.
“My approach to the game is once you get to a certain level, we try to get to the next level,” Vo added. “We’re at a pretty high level right now, I agree. But in order to become championship caliber-to get to that No. 2 or No. 1 ranking, a lot of it is mental. You don’t see championship teams drop balls that we dropped today.”
Norwalk Bends But Does Not Break, Continues Two Different Streaks
By Loren Kopff
There was a time not too long ago when John Glenn’s football team couldn’t score against Norwalk in the hunt for the Mayor’s Trophy, a.k.a. “The Big Game”. As a result, this rivalry has been heavily dominated by the city’s western high school.
Last Friday night in front of yet another capacity-filled Excelsior Stadium, the home site for both schools, the “visiting” Lancers needed all but one minute of the game to preserve a 42-35 hard fought victory that kept the team undefeated in six games this season. In addition, the top ranked team in the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Southern Division, has won seven straight in the series, the longest such streak in the history of these two city institutions. But wait, there’s more. The 77 combined points are the most ever, as are the 42 points scored by Norwalk and the 35 by Glenn. But, all of those records don’t even come close to easing the pain that is once again filled within everyone associated with John Glenn High School. The Eagles never led but rallied from deficits of 22 and 21 points to keep the game from being a blowout.
“That trophy belongs with us this year,” said John Glenn head coach Anthony Wilson. “We schemed and we exposed them. No one had scored 35 points on them this whole season and we held them to under 50. That’s tough to swallow because this whole week, we had high hopes. We had good feelings about this game because they were overlooking us. We thought we were going to squeak away with one.”
Norwalk began in typical fashion, scoring on its opening play which ended when senior fullback Davion Edwards went up the middle for a 35-yard touchdown run a little over two minutes into the game. It would be the only score of the first quarter; a sign of things to come as far as the Eagles defense was concerned.
After Glenn was stopped on its only possession of the first quarter, the Lancers engineered one of its famous long drives of close to seven minutes, which ended when senior wing back Adrian Gonzales went around the right side for 16 yards. Over three minutes later, Edwards added a one-yard run for his second touchdown of the night and Norwalk was up 22-0.
But on the first play after the kickoff, the Eagles went to the air in grand fashion when senior quarterback Jose Escobar launched an 80-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Dejon Bernard. All of the momentum seemed to be going in Glenn’s way when Norwalk was forced to punt. However, Edwards recovered a fumble and the turnover led to a two-yard score from junior wing back Billy Moore with 3:42 left in the first half.
”It’s a rivalry, so anything is going to happen in a rivalry,” said Norwalk head coach Jesse Ceniceros. “But we were up 28-7 at halftime and to be honest, our kids just were out of shape. I don’t know if it was the humidity and I don’t want to make excuses but we came out [in the second half] and we looked dead out there. We looked tired. They’re a scrappy team and I give them a lot of credit. They have a lot of good athletes there.”
Glenn (3-4 overall, 0-3 in the Suburban league) opened the second half with an eight-play, 65-yard drive which was capped off by a 10-yard run from senior running back Brandon Kelly. Then the first of three fumbles, a rarity for Norwalk’s offense, led to an 11-yard touchdown run from Kelly with 7:05 remaining in the stanza. All of a sudden, it was a 28-21 lead for the Lancers but they promptly got one of the scores back on the ensuing kickoff when Gonzales took it back 55 yards on what appeared to be a trick play gone bad on Glenn’s part.
“They had their returner all the way up in the field and we tried to kick it way over his head and tried to run down and get it,” Wilson said. “But we ended up chipping it right to him. They got away with an easy one.”
“They’re a much improved team but again, we gave them the big opportunities,” Ceniceros said. “We gave them hope. I told the kids, anytime you give any team any hope, no matter what the records are, especially in a rivalry game, anything can happen.”
The Lancers doubled up on its lead early in the fourth quarter when Moore scored from a yard out, then added a two-point conversion. But again, the Eagles had more tricks up their sleeves and 34 seconds later, a wide open Escobar on the left side of the field caught a 39-yard pass from Bernard. After sophomore defensive back Vincent Watkins recovered the second Norwalk fumble on the first play after the Escobar touchdown, Glenn took two minutes off the clock to score again, this time an eight-yard pass from Escobar to senior wide receiver Rhamad Green. With 6:47 left in the game, it was now a one possession game and the Glenn faithful were sensing an upset.
“Basically we were going to make Dejon an athlete,” Wilson said. “He can throw the ball, run the ball…anybody who is going to try to cover #1, when they break out of the huddle, they’re asking where is he at? We were thinking of doing a reverse and no one is going to get Escobar and assume he’s going to go out to get a pass. It was basically the boost for us that we needed.”
“If we would have knocked them out like we should have and we normally do when we’re in shape and we’re on full steam, it could have easily been a 60-7 game,” Ceniceros said. “You have bad games and I’m glad we had our bad game and now we know what we need to work on and we’ll improve.”
Glenn had one more chance to tie the game after senior defensive back Ashtin Simmons recovered the third Norwalk fumble. But Escobar was incomplete on three straight passes and the Lancers took over with 61 seconds remaining in the game. Escobar was 10 of 21 for 211 yards and Green caught half of the completions for 101 yards. Norwalk had not allowed a 200-yard passer this season and the 339 yards in total offense from Glenn was the second highest allowed by the Lancers defense this season.
“You have to keep coming at them,” Wilson said. “They’re not very conditioned as they think. You have to keep smacking them in the mouth. They’re definitely not a number one ranked team.
“We wanted to throw the ball but we obviously wanted them to respect the run,” Wilson added. “They’re very vulnerable to the pass. Anybody that wants to beat [Norwalk], they’re going to throw the ball and that’s what we did.”
The Eagles, who have finished the hard part of their schedule, will host winless Artesia tonight on their homecoming. Glenn is seeking its first playoff berth since 2002 when the team went 4-6-1 overall and finished in a tie for third place in the league.
All of Norwalk’s 462 yards came on the ground, led by Gonzales, who carried the ball 31 times for 238 yards. Edwards added 129 yards on 14 carries and Moore chimed in with 82 yards on 18 touches.
“He’s just a warrior,” Ceniceros said of Gonzales. “You look at him run and he’s 165 pounds and runs like he’s 265 pounds. I can’t say anymore about the guy. Tonight he just really impressed me and showed me and his teammates the way to play football.”
The Lancers visit Cerritos tonight in their final road game of the season.
There was a time not too long ago when John Glenn’s football team couldn’t score against Norwalk in the hunt for the Mayor’s Trophy, a.k.a. “The Big Game”. As a result, this rivalry has been heavily dominated by the city’s western high school.
Last Friday night in front of yet another capacity-filled Excelsior Stadium, the home site for both schools, the “visiting” Lancers needed all but one minute of the game to preserve a 42-35 hard fought victory that kept the team undefeated in six games this season. In addition, the top ranked team in the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Southern Division, has won seven straight in the series, the longest such streak in the history of these two city institutions. But wait, there’s more. The 77 combined points are the most ever, as are the 42 points scored by Norwalk and the 35 by Glenn. But, all of those records don’t even come close to easing the pain that is once again filled within everyone associated with John Glenn High School. The Eagles never led but rallied from deficits of 22 and 21 points to keep the game from being a blowout.
“That trophy belongs with us this year,” said John Glenn head coach Anthony Wilson. “We schemed and we exposed them. No one had scored 35 points on them this whole season and we held them to under 50. That’s tough to swallow because this whole week, we had high hopes. We had good feelings about this game because they were overlooking us. We thought we were going to squeak away with one.”
Norwalk began in typical fashion, scoring on its opening play which ended when senior fullback Davion Edwards went up the middle for a 35-yard touchdown run a little over two minutes into the game. It would be the only score of the first quarter; a sign of things to come as far as the Eagles defense was concerned.
After Glenn was stopped on its only possession of the first quarter, the Lancers engineered one of its famous long drives of close to seven minutes, which ended when senior wing back Adrian Gonzales went around the right side for 16 yards. Over three minutes later, Edwards added a one-yard run for his second touchdown of the night and Norwalk was up 22-0.
But on the first play after the kickoff, the Eagles went to the air in grand fashion when senior quarterback Jose Escobar launched an 80-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Dejon Bernard. All of the momentum seemed to be going in Glenn’s way when Norwalk was forced to punt. However, Edwards recovered a fumble and the turnover led to a two-yard score from junior wing back Billy Moore with 3:42 left in the first half.
”It’s a rivalry, so anything is going to happen in a rivalry,” said Norwalk head coach Jesse Ceniceros. “But we were up 28-7 at halftime and to be honest, our kids just were out of shape. I don’t know if it was the humidity and I don’t want to make excuses but we came out [in the second half] and we looked dead out there. We looked tired. They’re a scrappy team and I give them a lot of credit. They have a lot of good athletes there.”
Glenn (3-4 overall, 0-3 in the Suburban league) opened the second half with an eight-play, 65-yard drive which was capped off by a 10-yard run from senior running back Brandon Kelly. Then the first of three fumbles, a rarity for Norwalk’s offense, led to an 11-yard touchdown run from Kelly with 7:05 remaining in the stanza. All of a sudden, it was a 28-21 lead for the Lancers but they promptly got one of the scores back on the ensuing kickoff when Gonzales took it back 55 yards on what appeared to be a trick play gone bad on Glenn’s part.
“They had their returner all the way up in the field and we tried to kick it way over his head and tried to run down and get it,” Wilson said. “But we ended up chipping it right to him. They got away with an easy one.”
“They’re a much improved team but again, we gave them the big opportunities,” Ceniceros said. “We gave them hope. I told the kids, anytime you give any team any hope, no matter what the records are, especially in a rivalry game, anything can happen.”
The Lancers doubled up on its lead early in the fourth quarter when Moore scored from a yard out, then added a two-point conversion. But again, the Eagles had more tricks up their sleeves and 34 seconds later, a wide open Escobar on the left side of the field caught a 39-yard pass from Bernard. After sophomore defensive back Vincent Watkins recovered the second Norwalk fumble on the first play after the Escobar touchdown, Glenn took two minutes off the clock to score again, this time an eight-yard pass from Escobar to senior wide receiver Rhamad Green. With 6:47 left in the game, it was now a one possession game and the Glenn faithful were sensing an upset.
“Basically we were going to make Dejon an athlete,” Wilson said. “He can throw the ball, run the ball…anybody who is going to try to cover #1, when they break out of the huddle, they’re asking where is he at? We were thinking of doing a reverse and no one is going to get Escobar and assume he’s going to go out to get a pass. It was basically the boost for us that we needed.”
“If we would have knocked them out like we should have and we normally do when we’re in shape and we’re on full steam, it could have easily been a 60-7 game,” Ceniceros said. “You have bad games and I’m glad we had our bad game and now we know what we need to work on and we’ll improve.”
Glenn had one more chance to tie the game after senior defensive back Ashtin Simmons recovered the third Norwalk fumble. But Escobar was incomplete on three straight passes and the Lancers took over with 61 seconds remaining in the game. Escobar was 10 of 21 for 211 yards and Green caught half of the completions for 101 yards. Norwalk had not allowed a 200-yard passer this season and the 339 yards in total offense from Glenn was the second highest allowed by the Lancers defense this season.
“You have to keep coming at them,” Wilson said. “They’re not very conditioned as they think. You have to keep smacking them in the mouth. They’re definitely not a number one ranked team.
“We wanted to throw the ball but we obviously wanted them to respect the run,” Wilson added. “They’re very vulnerable to the pass. Anybody that wants to beat [Norwalk], they’re going to throw the ball and that’s what we did.”
The Eagles, who have finished the hard part of their schedule, will host winless Artesia tonight on their homecoming. Glenn is seeking its first playoff berth since 2002 when the team went 4-6-1 overall and finished in a tie for third place in the league.
All of Norwalk’s 462 yards came on the ground, led by Gonzales, who carried the ball 31 times for 238 yards. Edwards added 129 yards on 14 carries and Moore chimed in with 82 yards on 18 touches.
“He’s just a warrior,” Ceniceros said of Gonzales. “You look at him run and he’s 165 pounds and runs like he’s 265 pounds. I can’t say anymore about the guy. Tonight he just really impressed me and showed me and his teammates the way to play football.”
The Lancers visit Cerritos tonight in their final road game of the season.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Running Gives Valley Christian Both Anniversary, Homecoming Gift in "The Classic"
By Loren Kopff
Crusader Field could have nearly passed for Hollywood Blvd. last Saturday night as stars from today and yesteryear made their way to Valley Christian s homecoming game with longtime rival Ontario Christian. Yes, it was another homecoming game but the game with the Knights also marked the school s year-long remembrance of 75 years as an institution.
Representatives from Valley s 29 California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section championship teams were honored at halftime, including the 1986 and 1995 football teams. Indeed, the stars were aligned on this night as Valley pulled away in the second half and posted a 35-24 victory in what former Crusader coaching legend Mike Wunderley dubbed The Classic . The Crusaders now own a 24-12-1 record against their rivals from the Inland Empire. Up until last season s 21-14 overtime victory, Ontario Christian had won four in a row. But the win was exactly what Valley needed to prevent going 0-3 at home this season.
When I exchanged films with coach [Laing] Stevens last week, I told him that we can both be 0-5 or 5-0, said Valley head coach Erick Streelman. They can be 0-5 and we can be 5-0 or vice versa and it s going to be a close game. It s definitely a classic rivalry. ##m:[more]##
The Crusaders (3-2 overall) scored nearly four minutes into the game as senior quarterback Kevin Running found senior wide receiver Tanner Miller over the middle for a six-yard connection. Then the defense got into the action and held the Knights to eight plays in the quarter thanks to a sack by senior lineman Samuel Phillips of Andrew Lachelt that resulted in a 12-yard loss on fourth and 11, a sack by senior lineman Dane Hunt of Rob Coachman in the end zone and a fumble recovery by senior defensive back John Zipper that led to Running s 14-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Darrell Bush on the last play of the first quarter.
Valley was looking to add to its lead early in the second quarter but Running was sacked for a 13-yard loss on first down and the Knights would take advantage of great field position, plus several penalties. Ontario Christian scored its first touchdown, and then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, which led to another touchdown. Then with 2:33 remaining in the half, Lachelt threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Kloosterman and just like that, the Knights had an 18-16 lead.
We were up 16-0 and we went for the kill shot and ran that trick play and dropped the pitch, Streelman said. That killed us. Then we threw two picks on screen passes, which doesn t happen very often.
The Crusaders, though, refused to give the Knights any more momentum because 75 seconds later, Running found junior wide receiver Tyler Boer for a big 65-yard scoring play and the Knights were unable to do anything offensively until the fourth quarter. The lead would increase to 29-18 late in the third quarter when senior running back Anthony Binford scored from 15 yards out.
After Manual Macias scored on a seven-yard run two plays into the final quarter, Running found Boer in the left corner for a 14-yard connection with 8:20 left in the game. The Knights would waste a 14-play, five minute drive when Lachelt was incomplete on fourth down at the nine-yard line and the game would be sealed with 90 seconds remaining when junior defensive back Chris Binford intercepted a Lachelt pass at the 18-yard line. Running was 13 of 21 for 216 yards with Miller catching four of those passes for 82 yards and Bush another four for 40 yards. But the ground game was stymied by Ontario Christian s defense as the Crusaders picked up 75 yards on 29 carries.
They did a great job at defending our run, Streelman said. We were not getting pushed on their defensive line. We weren t pushing down the field. We have the right front to run the ball. On paper, everything looks greats but it seemed like they beat us physically a little bit run wise.
Defensively, the Crusaders sacked Lachelt five times, two each by Phillips and senior linebacker George Taylor and forced him to end the game with nine straight incompletions. Zipper had four and a half tackles, Anthony Binford four tackles and junior linebacker Tim Walton added three and a half tackles. Valley Christian now has its toughest task of the season when it visits St. Margaret s tonight. The Tartans are the top ranked team in the East Valley Division and sit at 5-1. They have won the divisional championship three straight seasons and had won 44 straight games before losing to San Diego based Francis Parker in the first week of the season.
I told the kids this week that this is a really important game for our season, Streelman said. We go to St. Margaret s [tonight] and you never know what s going to happen there. They re really good. Ontario is always a tough game and we don t want to go into league at 2-4.
Crusader Field could have nearly passed for Hollywood Blvd. last Saturday night as stars from today and yesteryear made their way to Valley Christian s homecoming game with longtime rival Ontario Christian. Yes, it was another homecoming game but the game with the Knights also marked the school s year-long remembrance of 75 years as an institution.
Representatives from Valley s 29 California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section championship teams were honored at halftime, including the 1986 and 1995 football teams. Indeed, the stars were aligned on this night as Valley pulled away in the second half and posted a 35-24 victory in what former Crusader coaching legend Mike Wunderley dubbed The Classic . The Crusaders now own a 24-12-1 record against their rivals from the Inland Empire. Up until last season s 21-14 overtime victory, Ontario Christian had won four in a row. But the win was exactly what Valley needed to prevent going 0-3 at home this season.
When I exchanged films with coach [Laing] Stevens last week, I told him that we can both be 0-5 or 5-0, said Valley head coach Erick Streelman. They can be 0-5 and we can be 5-0 or vice versa and it s going to be a close game. It s definitely a classic rivalry. ##m:[more]##
The Crusaders (3-2 overall) scored nearly four minutes into the game as senior quarterback Kevin Running found senior wide receiver Tanner Miller over the middle for a six-yard connection. Then the defense got into the action and held the Knights to eight plays in the quarter thanks to a sack by senior lineman Samuel Phillips of Andrew Lachelt that resulted in a 12-yard loss on fourth and 11, a sack by senior lineman Dane Hunt of Rob Coachman in the end zone and a fumble recovery by senior defensive back John Zipper that led to Running s 14-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Darrell Bush on the last play of the first quarter.
Valley was looking to add to its lead early in the second quarter but Running was sacked for a 13-yard loss on first down and the Knights would take advantage of great field position, plus several penalties. Ontario Christian scored its first touchdown, and then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, which led to another touchdown. Then with 2:33 remaining in the half, Lachelt threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Kloosterman and just like that, the Knights had an 18-16 lead.
We were up 16-0 and we went for the kill shot and ran that trick play and dropped the pitch, Streelman said. That killed us. Then we threw two picks on screen passes, which doesn t happen very often.
The Crusaders, though, refused to give the Knights any more momentum because 75 seconds later, Running found junior wide receiver Tyler Boer for a big 65-yard scoring play and the Knights were unable to do anything offensively until the fourth quarter. The lead would increase to 29-18 late in the third quarter when senior running back Anthony Binford scored from 15 yards out.
After Manual Macias scored on a seven-yard run two plays into the final quarter, Running found Boer in the left corner for a 14-yard connection with 8:20 left in the game. The Knights would waste a 14-play, five minute drive when Lachelt was incomplete on fourth down at the nine-yard line and the game would be sealed with 90 seconds remaining when junior defensive back Chris Binford intercepted a Lachelt pass at the 18-yard line. Running was 13 of 21 for 216 yards with Miller catching four of those passes for 82 yards and Bush another four for 40 yards. But the ground game was stymied by Ontario Christian s defense as the Crusaders picked up 75 yards on 29 carries.
They did a great job at defending our run, Streelman said. We were not getting pushed on their defensive line. We weren t pushing down the field. We have the right front to run the ball. On paper, everything looks greats but it seemed like they beat us physically a little bit run wise.
Defensively, the Crusaders sacked Lachelt five times, two each by Phillips and senior linebacker George Taylor and forced him to end the game with nine straight incompletions. Zipper had four and a half tackles, Anthony Binford four tackles and junior linebacker Tim Walton added three and a half tackles. Valley Christian now has its toughest task of the season when it visits St. Margaret s tonight. The Tartans are the top ranked team in the East Valley Division and sit at 5-1. They have won the divisional championship three straight seasons and had won 44 straight games before losing to San Diego based Francis Parker in the first week of the season.
I told the kids this week that this is a really important game for our season, Streelman said. We go to St. Margaret s [tonight] and you never know what s going to happen there. They re really good. Ontario is always a tough game and we don t want to go into league at 2-4.
Turnovers, Injuries Cost Artesia First Victory In Battle Of Winless Teams
By Loren Kopff
Not a lot of people knew what to expect last Friday night when Artesia hosted Bellflower in its Suburban League opener. Both teams had a combined 0-9 record with anemic offenses that had produced just 64 points.
The Pioneers were still having their season-long issues with turnovers but on top of that, were without the services of senior quarterback Anthony Johnson and senior linebacker T.J. Taimutuia, arguably the best two players on a struggling team. As a result, Artesia dropped another game, 31-7, and at 0-5, is off to its worst start to a season since losing the first six games of the 2003 campaign.##m:[more]##
Johnson has a bone bruise on his quad and although he practiced when he could last week, interim head coach Joe Veach said he always felt like he could play. But the decision was made moments before kickoff that senior Montez Hunter would assume the quarterbacking duties. Taimutuia, who is being courted by several NCAA institutions including the University of Hawai�i, bruised his right shoulder on the fourth play of the Oct. 2 game against Villa Park. Without Johnson, the Pioneers managed 254 yards but 167 of that came in the second half. However, four interceptions were thrown which is one more than in the previous four games combined. The defense also allowed over 30 points for the fourth time thus far.
�It hurt us a lot when we found out at game time that our quarterback wasn�t going to play,� Veach said. �Anthony is like a coach on the field with everybody that�s out there. Not having him really hurts.
�That�s why we went to a huddle this season,� Veach continued. �Normally we�re a no huddle [offense]. We went to a huddle this season when we switched over to a new offense because we knew Anthony could get into a huddle and tell every single player what they needed to do if they didn�t know what to do. He knows every single read, he knows every single route that needs to be run and he knows where to throw it.�
Early on, the Buccaneers weren�t much better handling the ball as Jeremy Allen was picked off by senior defensive back Travon Payne on the fourth play of the game. When the Bucs got the ball again, Allen fumbled at the Artesia 25-yard line. Bellflower would get on the board first with 7:48 remaining in the first half as Larreon White went in from nine yards out.
Bellflower had a 14-0 halftime lead and when the second half began, senior Earnest Randell took the kickoff 80 yards to the house. But a penalty nullified that touchdown and the Pioneers had to settle for an eight play drive that ended when Hunter scored from a yard out. Despite two more interceptions in the third quarter, the Pioneers were still in the game facing a 21-7 deficit. But with 7:34 left in the game, a 20-yard touchdown pass from Benny Perez to Michael Jasper on a double reverse iced the game for the visitors. The last two Artesia possessions ended on a fumble and an interception.
�Montez is a great athlete but this is his second season playing quarterback and his first one was playing [junior varsity] last year,� Veach said.
Hunter completed seven passes for 98 yards but had a stretch of nine incompletions in 10 attempts from the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the third quarter. Senior running back David Lasisi led the Artesia running game with 104 yards on 12 carries but on defense, the Pioneers allowed over 300 yards on the ground. White led the Buccaneers with 129 yards on 14 carries while Perez added another 99 yards on 10 touches.
�I hate to keep going back to the personnel, but T.J., to me, is the best linebacker in the area,� Veach said. �Not having him there�everybody is shifting around. People start playing out of position. It�s a situation where we have to get people in there that can make some plays.�
Artesia, which has been home the previous three games, will host Cerritos tonight on its homecoming. The Dons, at 0-6, become the second straight winless opponent to face the Pioneers. But, the Dons have scored 89 points while yielding 219 including over 40 points the past four games. Artesia has won the past five meetings with the Dons and have been victorious on homecoming four out of the last five seasons.
�I�ve watched Cerritos three times this year and some of our coaches from last year are over there,� Veach said. �We�re in close contact with the Cerritos guys. Definitely, we need to prepare for them. I got the feeling that some of our kids this week saw a Bellflower team that was 0-5 and thought, �oh, they haven�t won a game yet�. Something we tried to tell them was, �neither have you�. That�s something that we just have to keep driving into them about Cerritos.�
Not a lot of people knew what to expect last Friday night when Artesia hosted Bellflower in its Suburban League opener. Both teams had a combined 0-9 record with anemic offenses that had produced just 64 points.
The Pioneers were still having their season-long issues with turnovers but on top of that, were without the services of senior quarterback Anthony Johnson and senior linebacker T.J. Taimutuia, arguably the best two players on a struggling team. As a result, Artesia dropped another game, 31-7, and at 0-5, is off to its worst start to a season since losing the first six games of the 2003 campaign.##m:[more]##
Johnson has a bone bruise on his quad and although he practiced when he could last week, interim head coach Joe Veach said he always felt like he could play. But the decision was made moments before kickoff that senior Montez Hunter would assume the quarterbacking duties. Taimutuia, who is being courted by several NCAA institutions including the University of Hawai�i, bruised his right shoulder on the fourth play of the Oct. 2 game against Villa Park. Without Johnson, the Pioneers managed 254 yards but 167 of that came in the second half. However, four interceptions were thrown which is one more than in the previous four games combined. The defense also allowed over 30 points for the fourth time thus far.
�It hurt us a lot when we found out at game time that our quarterback wasn�t going to play,� Veach said. �Anthony is like a coach on the field with everybody that�s out there. Not having him really hurts.
�That�s why we went to a huddle this season,� Veach continued. �Normally we�re a no huddle [offense]. We went to a huddle this season when we switched over to a new offense because we knew Anthony could get into a huddle and tell every single player what they needed to do if they didn�t know what to do. He knows every single read, he knows every single route that needs to be run and he knows where to throw it.�
Early on, the Buccaneers weren�t much better handling the ball as Jeremy Allen was picked off by senior defensive back Travon Payne on the fourth play of the game. When the Bucs got the ball again, Allen fumbled at the Artesia 25-yard line. Bellflower would get on the board first with 7:48 remaining in the first half as Larreon White went in from nine yards out.
Bellflower had a 14-0 halftime lead and when the second half began, senior Earnest Randell took the kickoff 80 yards to the house. But a penalty nullified that touchdown and the Pioneers had to settle for an eight play drive that ended when Hunter scored from a yard out. Despite two more interceptions in the third quarter, the Pioneers were still in the game facing a 21-7 deficit. But with 7:34 left in the game, a 20-yard touchdown pass from Benny Perez to Michael Jasper on a double reverse iced the game for the visitors. The last two Artesia possessions ended on a fumble and an interception.
�Montez is a great athlete but this is his second season playing quarterback and his first one was playing [junior varsity] last year,� Veach said.
Hunter completed seven passes for 98 yards but had a stretch of nine incompletions in 10 attempts from the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the third quarter. Senior running back David Lasisi led the Artesia running game with 104 yards on 12 carries but on defense, the Pioneers allowed over 300 yards on the ground. White led the Buccaneers with 129 yards on 14 carries while Perez added another 99 yards on 10 touches.
�I hate to keep going back to the personnel, but T.J., to me, is the best linebacker in the area,� Veach said. �Not having him there�everybody is shifting around. People start playing out of position. It�s a situation where we have to get people in there that can make some plays.�
Artesia, which has been home the previous three games, will host Cerritos tonight on its homecoming. The Dons, at 0-6, become the second straight winless opponent to face the Pioneers. But, the Dons have scored 89 points while yielding 219 including over 40 points the past four games. Artesia has won the past five meetings with the Dons and have been victorious on homecoming four out of the last five seasons.
�I�ve watched Cerritos three times this year and some of our coaches from last year are over there,� Veach said. �We�re in close contact with the Cerritos guys. Definitely, we need to prepare for them. I got the feeling that some of our kids this week saw a Bellflower team that was 0-5 and thought, �oh, they haven�t won a game yet�. Something we tried to tell them was, �neither have you�. That�s something that we just have to keep driving into them about Cerritos.�
Lady Eagles Keep Norwalk Winless In Suburban League With Sweep
By Loren Kopff
Following last Friday�s Suburban League girls volleyball match between city rivals John Glenn and Norwalk, it was clearly evident which team has eyes on a potential playoff berth and which team doesn�t. Both teams ventured into Glenn�s gymnasium 0-3 in the circuit and over an hour later, the visitors had left still winless and having been swept for the fifth straight time in non-tournament action this season.
The Lady Eagles picked up a 29-27, 25-5, 25-15 victory and avenged an upset loss to the Lady Lancers from the end of last season that cost Glenn a trip to the playoffs. Glenn has now won six of the last seven in the series and improved to 5-5 overall this season.##m:[more]##
�I�m impressed with the way we played; the intensity and the fundamentals,� said John Glenn head coach David Cruz. �I�ve been stressing that since the beginning [of the season]. Just playing the fundamentals, just playing the game and not worrying about your opponent. The score will dictate itself at the end.�
Glenn was seemingly in control in the first game, jumping out to leads of 9-2 and 13-6. But the first rally of the match for the Lancers enabled the visitors to take the lead for the first time. Sophomore setter Crystall Martinez had a pair of aces as part of a four-point swing and Norwalk led 17-16. But Glenn senior outside hitter Carla Acuna returned the favor with two aces of her own and Glenn was back in front at 19-17. Both teams would trade points down the stretch with Norwalk stopping Glenn at game point three times. Meanwhile, the Lady Lancers were at game point when senior outside hitter Jessica Hernandez put down her sixth kill off a touch. But senior outside hitter Diana Jimenez closed the game with three straight kills and after that, Norwalk lost any momentum it might have had.
�I was a little concerned in the beginning,� Cruz said. �They came out with a lot of energy. We didn�t play real smart. I wasn�t real pleased with our performance at that point.�
Norwalk (1-7 overall) trailed 5-3 in the second game when senior setter Vanessa Ochoa�s kill gave the Lady Eagles the serve and from there, senior setter Karina Rodriguez reeled off 12 consecutive points which included half a dozen aces, three kills from junior middle blocker Sharae Moten and two more from Acuna. Jimenez would finish the game two rout with three aces along with three more kills from Moten.
�She did a real good job serving,� Cruz said of Rodriguez. �She does have that nice little spin on the ball that caused a lot of problems for them.�
Serving would dominate the third game for Glenn as a slim 14-12 lead turned into a 21-12 advantage after sophomore defensive specialist Kimberly Orozco had three aces as part of her six points she served. Hernandez had a match-high 14 kills for Norwalk while junior outside hitter Jennifer Gomez added eight kills. The Lady Lancers visited Artesia this past Wednesday and will conclude the first round of league action today against defending champion La Mirada. On Monday, Norwalk will host Mayfair, followed by a road meeting with Cerritos on Wednesday.
Glenn spread the offensive wealth around with Jimenez (13 kills), Moten (11 kills), junior middle blocker Arlene Gomez (10 kills) and Acuna (seven kills). The Lady Eagles also had 17 aces as they visited Bellflower this past Wednesday and will welcome Artesia today. On Monday, Glenn will host La Mirada before going to Mayfair on Wednesday.
Following last Friday�s Suburban League girls volleyball match between city rivals John Glenn and Norwalk, it was clearly evident which team has eyes on a potential playoff berth and which team doesn�t. Both teams ventured into Glenn�s gymnasium 0-3 in the circuit and over an hour later, the visitors had left still winless and having been swept for the fifth straight time in non-tournament action this season.
The Lady Eagles picked up a 29-27, 25-5, 25-15 victory and avenged an upset loss to the Lady Lancers from the end of last season that cost Glenn a trip to the playoffs. Glenn has now won six of the last seven in the series and improved to 5-5 overall this season.##m:[more]##
�I�m impressed with the way we played; the intensity and the fundamentals,� said John Glenn head coach David Cruz. �I�ve been stressing that since the beginning [of the season]. Just playing the fundamentals, just playing the game and not worrying about your opponent. The score will dictate itself at the end.�
Glenn was seemingly in control in the first game, jumping out to leads of 9-2 and 13-6. But the first rally of the match for the Lancers enabled the visitors to take the lead for the first time. Sophomore setter Crystall Martinez had a pair of aces as part of a four-point swing and Norwalk led 17-16. But Glenn senior outside hitter Carla Acuna returned the favor with two aces of her own and Glenn was back in front at 19-17. Both teams would trade points down the stretch with Norwalk stopping Glenn at game point three times. Meanwhile, the Lady Lancers were at game point when senior outside hitter Jessica Hernandez put down her sixth kill off a touch. But senior outside hitter Diana Jimenez closed the game with three straight kills and after that, Norwalk lost any momentum it might have had.
�I was a little concerned in the beginning,� Cruz said. �They came out with a lot of energy. We didn�t play real smart. I wasn�t real pleased with our performance at that point.�
Norwalk (1-7 overall) trailed 5-3 in the second game when senior setter Vanessa Ochoa�s kill gave the Lady Eagles the serve and from there, senior setter Karina Rodriguez reeled off 12 consecutive points which included half a dozen aces, three kills from junior middle blocker Sharae Moten and two more from Acuna. Jimenez would finish the game two rout with three aces along with three more kills from Moten.
�She did a real good job serving,� Cruz said of Rodriguez. �She does have that nice little spin on the ball that caused a lot of problems for them.�
Serving would dominate the third game for Glenn as a slim 14-12 lead turned into a 21-12 advantage after sophomore defensive specialist Kimberly Orozco had three aces as part of her six points she served. Hernandez had a match-high 14 kills for Norwalk while junior outside hitter Jennifer Gomez added eight kills. The Lady Lancers visited Artesia this past Wednesday and will conclude the first round of league action today against defending champion La Mirada. On Monday, Norwalk will host Mayfair, followed by a road meeting with Cerritos on Wednesday.
Glenn spread the offensive wealth around with Jimenez (13 kills), Moten (11 kills), junior middle blocker Arlene Gomez (10 kills) and Acuna (seven kills). The Lady Eagles also had 17 aces as they visited Bellflower this past Wednesday and will welcome Artesia today. On Monday, Glenn will host La Mirada before going to Mayfair on Wednesday.
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