The kickoff for host Lakewood High's CIF Southern Section Pac-5 second-round football playoff game with Bishop Amat has been switched from 7:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Lakewood Athletic Director/Basketball Coach Matt Ruiz just text me.
November 2009 Archives
A typo on my part led me to misspelling Lakewood High standout Justin Utupo's last name in my Lancers-Newport Harbor playoff story in Saturday's Press-Telegram.
Sorry, Justin!
After a 1 a.m. flight from LAX to Dallas/Fort Worth, I'm ready for a quick analysis of Friday night's first-round prep football playoff games.
Ready . . . set . . . go!
PAC-5
The only "upset" (albeit a minor one) was Poly knocking off Los Alamitos, 24-7. Major props are due Jackrabbits' defensive coordinator Jeff Turley and his lads. Quite impressive indeed!
The "best" game in the Pac-5 -- and this was expected -- saw Bishop Amat score late at home to knock off Mater Dei, 28-21.
Every second-round matchup next Friday night is "mildly" to "very" intriguing:
*Dana Hills at top-ranked Edison (probably at Orange Coast College) is a rematch of a third-week contest won by the Chargers, 34-17. I would think a comparable margin (with the Dolphins not having quite as much success, offensively) is a likelihood this time.
*Bishop Amat at Lakewood. I'm sure most pundits will tab this the "Game of the Week" in the division. Lancers vs. Lancers. These programs have a real playoff history, dating to Bishop Amat's victory over Lakewood in a 1970 championship game. These could be high-scoring.
*Servite vs. Poly at Veterans Stadium. Another rematch, this time from an opening week game won handily by the Friars. This should be a much more competitive contest this time around.
*Notre Dame at Mission Viejo. Wilson hung with the Diablos for a half before they cranked it up a couple of notches on the Bruins. Mission should win this one by a 2-3 touchdowns.
Other playoff observations:
*The Dominguez 64-27 Western Division victory over No. 2 seed Culver City was the shocker of shockers Friday night. Props to the Donerson, Willie and Keith, and the Dons who get a "winnable" second-round game at home against Redondo Friday night.
*Undervalued Warren (it should have been a Top 4 seed) blasted West Torrance (51-21) in a game that was expected to be much more competitive. It gets Alemany next and there could be an SGVL rematch (Warren vs. Dominguez) in the semifinals two weeks hence.
*As expected, Suburban League 1-2 finishers La Mirada (44-3 over Santa Ana) and Norwalk (63-8 over Rancho Alamitos) waltzed to first-round Southern Division wins en route to their ultimate championship showdown. Bellflower (41-13 to unbeaten Garden Grove) hung reasonably tough but Mayfair lost a gut-cruncher at Segerstrom (41-35 in OT).
*That was a very nice opening round win for Valley Christian (45-0 over La Canada) in the Mid-Valley Division.
The Lancers haven't been sharp . . . on offense, defense or special teams.
They're leading at half but will have to play a much crisper brand of football in the second half to avert an upset.
Jesse Scroggins scored from a yard out and Austin Rios connected for 35 yards to Kellen Truxton from 35 yards out.
This is a wild one!
The Lakewood sophomore returned a punt 70 yards for a TD ...and Lakewood is up, 14-10, with 9:30 to go in the second quarter.
The Lancers marched 80 yards, Terrence Woods capping it by scoring from a yard out.
Lakewood fumbled on its first play from scrimmage and Daniel Freiberg turned it into a 35-yard field goal.
That was quick . . .literally!
Sophomore Buzzy Yokoyama took the opening kickoff and returned it 96 yards for a TD!
Oh, by the way: I much prefer 7 o'clock kickoffs to 7:30 kickoffs.
Come to think of it: 6 o'clock would be even nicer!
As I mentioned in my blog entry late last night, Newport Harbor is without leading rusher Cedric Whitaker (knee injury)
And on to the lower bracket . . .
No. 3 Servite (9-1) vs. San Clemente (6-4), Cerritos College:
Frank Says: The Tritons may not be as good or Millikan or Wilson . . . but it's moot. Even if they were considerably stronger they would still get punched out. Friars 38, Tritons 10.
No. 6 Los Alamitos (8-2) vs. Poly (5-5):
Frank Says: This figures to be one of the two most competitive first-round games in the division (the other being Mater Dei at Bishop Amat in the upper bracket). There has been a lot of attention paid to Los Alamitos (and former Poly) sophomore quarterback Dylan Lagarde. But if the Griffins pull this one out, it will be because of their defense and the ability of Nick Richardson to run the ball on the Jackrabbits. Griffins 17, Jackrabbits 13.
No. 7 Notre Dame (8-2) vs. Fountain Valley (8-2):
Frank Says: The Knights were dominated by Bishop Amat in their Serra League finale but probably have too much offensive balance for a (relatively) one-dimensional FV offense -- although that one dimension, running back Kyle Middlebrooks, is pretty explosive. Knights 27, Barons 21.
No. 2 Mission Viejo (10-0) vs. Wilson (6-4):
Frank Says: The Bruins are about to discover what 10 other teams have found out this season: This Mission Viejo thumps opponents, whether it's a non-league, South Coast League or playoff game. Diablos 49, Bruins 14.
Here we go . . . my projected Friday night winners in the eight Pac-5 football first-round playoff games, starting with the ...
UPPER BRACKET
No. 1 seed Edison (10-0) vs. Millikan (6-4), Orange Coast College:
Frank Says: The Chargers have been the best team in this division all season -- wins over Pac-5 playoff teams Wilson, Dana Hills, Servite, Mater Dei, Newport Harbor, Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley point to that. It's been a sweet season for the Rams but it ends with this one. Chargers 35, Rams 14.
No. 8 Dana Hills (8-2) vs. Orange Lutheran (6-4):
Frank Says: Most of my O.C. buddies are picking the Dolphins in this one. Orange Lutheran has been injury-plagued most of the season. But I think the Lancers' season ends next Friday night vs. Edison. Lancers 27, Dolphins 21.
No. 5 Bishop Amat (9-1) vs. Mater Dei (6-4):
Frank Says: The Lancers (there are three versions of the Lancers in this field, by the way) handled Notre Dame last week to bag a share of the Serra League title and earn the league's top seed. I'm mildly surprised they weren't the No. 4 seed over Lakewood (based on wins over Notre Dame and St. Bonaventure). But I think the Monarchs are playing very well right and, remember, were the only team in position to beat Edison this season. Monarchs 24, Lancers 21.
No. 4 Lakewood (9-1) vs. Newport Harbor (6-4):
Frank Says: The Sailors got the one at-large bid to the field. But any hopes of stunning the Lancers are probably out the window now that their junior running back, Cedric Whitaker, is apparently sidelined with a knee injury. Unless the Lancers aren't focused, Coach Thadd MacNeal's team should breeze into the second round. Lancers 35, Sailors 13.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish gave Long Beach State's men's basketball team a dose of reality over the final 20 minutes and coasted to an 82-62 victory.
All-America Luke Harangody had 29 points and 12 rebounds for Notre Dame (3-0). Larry Anderson scored only four points after intermission to finish with 20.
The 49ers play at the University of Wisconsin in Green Bay Saturday. They're going to have to play much better than they did tonight in order to come back to Long Beach with a 3-1 record going into next week's 76 Classic in Anaheim.
The 49ers have led by as many as four points and now trail at intermission to host Notre Dame, 37-35.
Larry Anderson has 16 points for Long Beach and All-America Luke Harangody has 12 for Notre Dame.
If you want to get the live feed via Notre Dame, try this link http://channelsurfing.net/watch-notre-dame.html
Here is a website you might want to check out:
http://www.anaheimconventioncenter.com/eventsOpen.cfm?id=1873
I just redeived a Facebook invitation from Legend's, telling me that the Belmont Shorts sports bar and restaurant-deluxe will be showing a satellite feed broadcast of Long Beach State's men's basketball team's game with Notre Dame this afternoon at 4:30 our time.
I'd suggest you get there early . . .
As expected, the Big West Conference will announce later this afternoon that its men's and women's basketball tournaments will relocate from the Anaheim Convention Center to the Honda Center -- just a couple of miles east -- for the 2011 season.
The news met with positive response from Long Beach State men's coach Dan Monson.
"I think it's great,'' he said Tuesday morning. "Our league is making moves to upgrade itself, on and off the court. And the Honda Center is a venue that will enhance our tournament.''
Some details are still to be worked out. But it's expected that the the tournaments will be played in straight bracket formats (unlike the current format in which highest remaining seeds always play lowest remaining seeds, with the top two regular-season finishers getting byes into the semifinals).
The 2010 men's and women's tournaments -- the winners of which get automatic bids to the respective NCAA tournaments -- run March 10-13.
Surprising Centennial (the Pioneer champion) got the No. 8 seed in the Northwest Division while Valley Christian (Olympic champion) was the No. 7 seed in the Mid-Valley Division.
Centennial (7-3) will play host to Harvard-Westlake (7-3 out of the Del Rey League) Friday night. If the Apaches win, they almost assuredly will face top-ranked Oaks Christian (10-0), which is considered by some to be the most gifted team in the state.
Del Rey League champion Serra (10-0) was the No. 2 seed and is hosting Oak Park (4-6).
Valley Christian (8-2) is at home to La Canada (5-4).
This is the "San Gabriel Valley Division", with league champion Warren bagging the No. 6 overall seed . . .
UPPER
No. 1 Mira Costa (8-2/Bay 1) vs. Quartz Hill (6-4/Golden 4)
No. 8 Inglewood (7-3/Ocean 2) vs. Chaminade (6-4/At-large)
No. 5 St. Francis (8-2/Mission 2) vs. Gahr (6-4/SGVL 2)
No. 4 Palmdale (8-2/Golden 1) vs. Santa Monica (4-6/Ocean 3)
LOWER
No. 3 Alemany (7-3/Mission 1) vs. Highland (6-4/Golden 3)
No. 6 Warren (9-1/SGVL 1) vs. West Torrance (7-3/Bay 3)
No. 7 Redondo (8-2/Bay 2) vs. Knight (6-4/Golden 2)
No. 2 Culver City (9-1/Ocean 1) vs. Dominguez (4-5/SGVL 3)
This is the division with the Suburban League teams and there are four of them in this bracket . . .
UPPER
No. 1 Garden Grove (10-0/Garden Grove 1) vs. Bellflower (3-7/Suburban 4)
No. 8 Laguna Beach (5-5/Orange Coast 1) vs. Beckman (6-3-1/Pacific Coast 3)
No. 5 Irvine (7-3/Pacific Coast 2) vs. Westminster (6-4/Golden West 2)
No. 4 Norwalk (9-1/Suburban 1) vs. Rancho Alamitos (6-4/Garden Grove 3)
LOWER
No. 3 Laguna Hills (8-2/Pacific Coast 1) vs. Estancia (6-4/Orange Coast 3)
No. 6 Segerstrom (6-4/Golden West 1) vs. Mayfair (4-6/Suburban 3)
No. 7 Santiago (8-2/Garden Grove 2) vs. Costa Mesa (6-4/Orange Coast 2)
No. 2 La Mirada (9-1/Suburban 1) vs. Santa Ana (7-3/Golden West 3)
OK, it's official: It's Los Alamitos vs. Poly in a first-round playoff game Friday night at Veterans Stadium.
Both programs just Vets as their home field but the Griffins were the designated home team in one of eight Pac-5 first-round games.
Here's is the complete bracket:
UPPER
No. 1 Edison (10-0/Sunset 1) vs. Millikan (6-4/Moore 4)
No. 8 Dana Hills (8-2/South Coast 2) vs. Orange Lutheran (6-4/Trinity 2)
No. 5 Bishop Amat (9-1/Serra 1) vs. Mater Dei (6-4/Trinity 3)
No. 4 Lakewood (9-1/Moore 1) vs. Newport Harbor (6-4/At-large)
LOWER
No. 3 Servite (9-1/Trinity 1) vs. San Clemente (6-4/South Coast 3)
No. 6 Los Alamitos (8-2/Sunset 2) vs. Poly (5-5/Moore 2)
No. 7 Notre Dame (8-2/Serra 2) vs. Fountain Valley (8-2/Sunset 3)
No. 2 Mission Viejo (10-0/South Coast 1) vs. Wilson (6-4/Moore 3)
As I anticipated, Newport Harbor (6-4), which played in three-way tie for second in the Sunset League but lost a Friday night coin flip, got the one at-large bid to the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 football playoffs that get under way on Friday night.
Lynwood (5-5) of the San Gabriel Valley League was an at-large candidate in the Western Division but it went to Chaminade (6-4) of the Mission League.
The Pac-5 pairings will be unveiled at about 11 a.m.
Check my earlier blogs for my projections and let's see how close I came.
. . . and on to the lower bracket
No. 3 Servite (Trinity No. 1/only loss was to Edison) vs. San Clemente (South Coast No. 3)
No. 6 Los Alamitos (Sunset No. 2/benefited from Friday night coin flip) vs. Poly (Moore No. 2/Some might call this "The Dylan Lagarde Bowl")
No. 7 Notre Dame (Serra No. 2/but shared league title) vs. Fountain Valley (Sunset No. 3/started 8-0, then lost to Edison and Los Alamitos)
No. 2 Mission Viejo (South Coast No. 1/Is this the division's best team?) vs. Wilson (Moore No. 3)
The "real" bracket will be unveiled at the CIF Southern Section office in Los Alamitos Sunday morning at 11 o'clock.
Ready or not . . .
UPPER BRACKET
No. 1 Edison (Sunset No. 1/unbeaten, swept Sunset League with non-league wins over Wilson, Dana Hills, Servite and Mater Dei; any questions?) vs. Millikan (Moore No. 4)
No. 8 Orange Lutheran (Trinity No. 2/most impressive win . . . . over Mater Dei) vs. Dana Hills (South Coast No. 2/Played Edison very tough in non-league and Mission Viejo not-so-very-tough in a South Coast finale Friday night).
No. 5 Lakewood (9-1, Moore No. 1; will relative lack strength of league and non-league schedules prevent Lancers from being 4 seed?) vs. Mater Dei (6-4/Trinity League . . . easily the hottest No. 3 seed right now!).
No. 4 Bishop Amat (9-1/Serra League champion after ripping Notre Dame; do wins over St. Bonaventure and Notre Dame give these Lancers the 4 seed over the Lakewood version?) vs. Newport Harbor (Sunset No. 4/gets at large bid over Loyola and St. John Bosco) . . .
Next up . . . the lower portion of the bracket!
I know you're waiting with baited breath or on pins and needles -- or something like that -- so here we go:
Welcome to Frankie B's projected Pac-5 Football Playoff bracket, 2009 version!
Before I get started, these notes:
*I'm awarding Newport Harbor (6-4), the candidate from the Sunset League, with the division's one at-large bid over Loyola (4-6) from the Serra League and St. John Bosco (5-5) from the Trinity League.
Newport's record is better than each of those other teams, and the Sailors have a non-league win over Loyola while Loyola counters with a non-league win against the Braves.
So Newport it is . . .
*Newport's at-large inclusion means there are four Sunset League teams in the bracket. And no teams from the same league can meet before the semifinals, so there must be a Sunset League team in each "pod" of four teams, which will keeping the bracketing from being done on a "true" seeding basis.
*The Moore League also has four entries (albeit, as a whole, not as strong as those the Sunset is represented by), so the above rules apply to it, as well.
Are you all stretched, loose and ready to go?
OK . . . check my next blog entry for the upper bracket projections in the Pac-5!
. . . in lovely Laguna Niguel after returning from Bellflower where I watched Mater Dei bounce host St. John Bosco, 42-14, in a battle for the Trinity League's third spot in the 16-team Pac-5 Division playoff bracket.
As for the Braves . . . 5-5 and fourth place puts them as the league's at-large candidate. But that solo at-large bid almost assured is headed the Sunset League's way (via 6-4 Newport Harbor, which holds a win over Loyola, the WC candidate for the Serra League).
Mater Dei was very impressive and is capable of knocking off a league champion/No. 1 seed in the first round?
Which team will that be? Stay tuned for my projected Pac-5 playoff brackets . . . .
The Monarchs tagged the host Braves for four second-quarter touchdowns.
Mater Dei's offense looks very good . . . assuming no second-half collapse, the Monarchs will go into the Pac-5 playoffs as the Trinity League's No. 3 seed. I'm not sure there will a better No. 3 seed in the field.
Mater Dei vs. the Braves for the third playoff spot from the Trinity League.
CIF Southern Section Commissioner Jim Staunton is here . . .
High school games aren't usually this good . . . and everyone associated with the Los Alamitos High Griffins would have extra reason to agree with that assessment.
The Griffins, trailing by a point after a stunning 57-yard punt return and touchdown by Fountain Valley's Kyle Middlebrooks, got a 35-yard field goal by Dan Boyer and interceptions by Traveeon Bennett and Josh Barut to pull out a 31-22 Sunset League victory in a regular-season finale at Veterans Stadium a few minutes ago.
The win leaves the Griffins 8-2 overall and 3-2 but doesn't guarantee them a slot in the Pac-5 playoffs that begin a week tonight.
An upset by Esperanza over Newport Harbor tonight would do that (leaving those teams at 2-3 in league and leaving the Griffins and Fountain Valley tied for second and third).
But if Newport wins, it leaves the Sailors, the Griffins and Barons all tied at 3-2 . . . meaning a coin clip would be used to send one team to the at-large pool with head-to-head comp (Los Alamitos has beaten Fountain Valley but lost to Newport; the Barons beat Newport but lost to the Griffins) designating the second and third seeds.
Dan Boyer kicks a 35-yard field goal . . . and the Griffins are back in front, 24-22, with 1:47 remaining!
Kyle Middlebrooks has scored twice (the second of those on a 57-yard punt return) and Fountain Valley is back up, 22-21, with 3:55 to go!
They just went on a 91-yard touchdown drive and now lead, 21-10, with 7:32 remaining . . .
. . . on a 4-yard scoring run by Nick Richardson with 7:42 to go in the third quarter.
. . . and the Fountain Valley Barons hold a 10-7 advantage over the Los Alamitos Griffins in a game that, in reality, John Barnes' team needs to win very, very badly.
Sophomore quarterback Dylan LaGarde, on fourth and goal, connected with Shaquille Richardson for an 18-yard TD with 7:42 to go in the first half for Los Alamitos. It's 10-7.
Christian Rodriguez used a little kicking magic to boot a 24-yard FG and put FV up, 10-0.
Speedy Kyle Middlesbrooks demonstrated why I just called him speedy by going 58 yards on Fountain Valley's first play from scrimmage. 7-0 Barons . . .
And Fountain Valley is about to kick off to Los Alamitos in a Sunset League biggie!
The Leuzinger High boys basketball program will play host to six pretty good "week before practice starts" games on Sunday.
At 1 o'clock, L.A. City teams Birmingham and Washington hook up.
There are Southern Section vs. L.A. City tussles in the next two games when West Torrance plays Fremont at 2 and L.B. Jordan takes on Dorsey at 3.
Pasadena and Campbell play at 4 o'clock, with Leuzinger facing Cleveland at 5.
And, in what could be the day's best matchup, Ocean View plays Taft at 6.
Leuzinger is located at 4118 Rosecrans Ave. in Lawndale.
The Press-Telegram's 31st Best in the West basketball team will be published Sunday but can be perused Saturday night (approximately 9 to 9:30) at www.presstelegram.com/biw
Look for all of the BIW charts (first, second and third teams, plus honorable mention and a list of the names of every player who received a vote), a BIW ''news" story; a BIW column and a BIW notebook.
I think you'll find it informative.
I was at the Warren-Gahr SGVL clash at Rants Stadium and it went about as expected ... high scoring and tight, with Warren's defense playing just well enough down the stretch to hang on nad clinch (after Downey's loss to Lynwood, as it turned out) the SGVL championship, outright.
Gahr, Downey, Lynwood and Dominguez -- all at 2-2 -- are all in contention for the final two playoff spots going into the final week of regular season play.
Norwalk vs. Mayfair will determine second- and third-place in the Suburban League.
The Moore League playoff representation is relatively clear cut:
If Lakewood beats Wilson, the Lancers finish unbeaten and the No. 1 seed in the league.
Couple that scenario with a Poly win at Compton (no gimme, considering the Jackrabbits' struggles most of the league play) and Lakewood is the top seed, Poly No. 3, Wilson No. 3 and Millikan No. 4 when the Pac-5 bracket is unveiled on Nov. 15.
In the Sunset League, Los Alamitos will need a win over Fountain Valley at Veterans Stadium next Friday night to finish 3-2 --- which would likely set up a three-way tie for second (and third and fourth). Coin flips would break the ties and designate the No. 2 and 3 seeds (behind top seed Edison) in that scenario. Fountain Valley (would be 8-2) and Los Alamitos (would be 8-2) would have a better shot at the at-large bid in eventuality than would Newport Harbor (6-4).
As for St. John Bosco (2-2), a win over Mater Dei at home Friday night would gives the Braves outright possession of third place in the Trinity League and give the Braves a spot in the Pac-5 playoffs as the league's No. 3 representative.
As expected, there has been offense galore at Rants Stadium in this SGVL showdown, which the visiting Bears lead, 28-14, at intermission.
Jesse Callier has scored all four of Warren's TDs, carrying 26 times for 187 yards.
Casey Nielsen has tossed two TD passes for Gahr, completing 15 of 26 passes for 206 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
