February 2011 Archives

Above: Rio Hondo Prep's Charles Quintero deals with the tough loss to Valley Torah in the Division 6AA semifinals Monday night.

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY FROM MONDAY'S RIO HONDO PREP SEMIFINALS

By Nathan Cambridge, Staff Writer

EL MONTE - Rio Hondo Prep gave the top-seeded Valley Torah boys basketball team all it could handle Monday night until the Kares' offense collapsed.

The second-half offensive woes resulted in the Wolfpack's 44-30 victory over the Kares in the CIF-Southern Section Division 6AA semifinals at Arroyo High.

"I thought we played really hard," Rio Hondo Prep coach Ken Drain said. "We played the kind of game I wanted to. We just didn't shoot well enough to win the game. We just couldn't put the ball in the basket."

The teams were deadlocked 26-26 at halftime before the Wolfpack (22-4) outscored Rio Hondo Prep 18-4 in the second half.

All four of the Kares' points came in the third quarter while the Wolfpack managed just five of their own as Rio Hondo escaped trailing by one, 31-30, after three quarters.

Valley Torah then blanked the Kares the rest of the way, winning the final quarter 13-0.

"That's what we pride ourselves on is being the best defensive team, and I think we proved that tonight," Valley Torah coach Robert Icart said.

Thirteenth-seeded Rio Hondo Prep (10-16) had 12 field goal attempts blocked by Valley Torah center Aaron Liberman. The senior, listed at 6-foot-9, gave the center a significant size advantage he used to dominate at the rim and on the boards at both ends.

"(Liberman) has a great work ethic," Icart said. "He really wanted it tonight."

The Wolfpack's big man had seven first-quarter blocks, including three of the first four Kares field goal tries, on the way to 10 in the first half. Liberman had two more blocks in the fourth quarter, including one from behind the rim after the Kares' Alex Tayco who looked sure to score after a steal left him an open path to the basket.

"(Liberman) was making a huge difference," Drain said. "We couldn't get him in foul trouble so we tried to switch it and get him away from the basket, but he recovered really fast and it was really hard to score."

Liberman also scored 11 points, with the final two coming on an emphatic two-handed dunk from the left baseline in the fourth quarter that drew a technical foul for hanging on the rim.

Emblematic of Rio Hondo's second-half struggles, the Kares' Jake Holguin missed both of the resulting free throws. In the final quarter, Rio Hondo Prep was 0 of 5 from the free throw line.

The Kares were led in scoring by sophomore Ryan Wiley, who finished with eight points - all in the first half. Three Kares scored six points as Dave Drain and Christian Torrico both made two first-half 3s.

Jake Holguin scored four of his six points in the third quarter, accounting for all his team's second-half points. The sophomore's coast-to-coast drive for a layup with 3:15 left in the quarter turned out to be Rio Hondo Prep's final points of the night.

"We came into the playoffs a 7-15 team, so any win was good for us, and we played really well," Drain said of the Kares' run to the semifinals.

Nice and spread out ...

Boys basketball
Thursday
Division 3AA
At Anaheim Convention Center
La Canada vs. Price, 4:45 p.m.
Saturday
Division 5AA
At Mater Dei HS
Muir vs. Flintridge Prep, 6 p.m.

Girls basketball
Thursday
Division 6AA
At Anaheim Convention Center
Mesa Grande Academy vs. Rio Hondo Prep, 3 p.m.
Saturday
Division 5A
At Mater Dei HS
Pasadena Poly vs. Chadwick, 2 p.m.

Muir won another close game to punch its championship game ticket.

Boys basketball
Semifinals
Friday's scores
Division 3AA
La Canada 61, Palm Springs 60
Division 4A
Buckley 56, Maranatha 53
Division 5AA
Muir 66, Santa Clara of Oxnard 62
Flintridge Prep beats Mission Prep (NEED FINAL)

Quarterfinals
Division 1
Flintridge Sacred Heart 3, Tesoro 1
Division 3
Ayala 3, Flintridge Prep 1
Division 6
Ocean View 1, San Marino 1 (Ocean View wins 4-2 in PKs)
Division 7
Marshall 0, Citrus Valley 0 (Marshall wins 5-4 in PKs)

Girls Hoops
Tonight's quarterfinals
All games at 7 p.m.
Division 2A
Keppel 44, Mayfair 36
Division 3AA
Serra at Muir
Division 4A
Cerritos Valley Christian 54, Duarte 45
St. Anthony at La Salle
Division 5AA
Flintridge Sacred Heart at St. Bernard
Division 5A
Pasadena Poly 61, Linfield Christian 42
Division 6AA
Mesa Grande at Mayfield
Lone Pine 58, AGBU Pasadena 54
Rio Hondo Prep 50, California Lutheran 39

CIF-SS playoffs
Boys Soccer second round results
Division 1
St. Francis 2, Ventura 0
Division 5
La Canada 2, Whittier Christian 2; La Canada advances on PKs, 5-4
Victor Valley 3, Monrovia 1
Division 6
Marshall def. Coast Union in penalty shootout (that's all I have).
Division 7
West Shores at Bosco Tech, 3 p.m.

By Keith Lair
The Muir High School boys basketball team figured out how to knock out pesky Bosco Tech, 58-54, in the CIF-Southern Section Division 5AA quarterfinals Tuesday night. All the Mustangs had to do was work the ball inside to Jelani Mitchell. Trailing 52-47 with 4:30 to play, the Mustangs outscored the Tigers 11-2 down the stretch. (To continue click thread)

Muir celebrates narrow win over Bosco Tech.

La Canada survives in double overtime: La Canada High School needed two overtimes to close out visiting Bishop Montgomery, 72-68, in a CIF-Southern Section Division 3AA boys basketball quarterfinal on Tuesday night.

Flint Prep crushes Blair: The top-seeded Flintridge Prep boys basketball team used a dominant second quarter to defeat visiting and ninth- seeded Blair, 79-57, in their CIF-Southern Section Division 5AA quarterfinal Tuesday night in the Crawford Family Gymnasium.

Hoops Roundup: Maranatha, Pasadena Poly and Rio Hondo Prep all advances; La Salle goes down.

Boys Hoops
Tuesday's quarterfinals
Division 3AA
La Canada 72, Bishop Montgomery 68, 2 OT
Division 4A
Buckley 64, La Salle 57, OT
Maranatha 67, Ontario Christian 49
Division 5AA
Flintridge Prep 79, Blair 57
Muir 58, Bosco Tech 54
Division 5A
Pasadena Poly 55, Renaissance Academy 51
Division 6AA
Rio Hondo Prep 76, AGBU Pasadena 73

Thursday's quarterfinals set
Division 1
Flintridge Sacred Heart at Tesoro, 3 p.m.
Division 3
Flintridge Prep at Ayala, 3 p.m.
Division 4
Ramona Convent at Don Lugo, 3 p.m.
Division 6
South Pasadena at St. Margaret's, 3 p.m.
Ocean View at San Marino, 3 p.m.
Division 7
Citrus Valley at Marshall, 3 p.m.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
The better the opponent, the more Maribel Duran feels she rises to the occasion. Just from her body language and the way she was fighting defenders on fifty-fifty balls, the junior wasn't going to leave anything for chance, delivering a dominating performance with a hat-trick against fourth-seed Alverno in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 girls soccer playoffs on Thursday. Not only did Maribel Duran score three goals, her freshman sister Daisy Duran scored the other, leading the Saints to a 4-1 victory and into the quarterfinals on Thursday, where the Saints (18-2-2) will be on the road against the Tahquitz-La Canada winner. (To continue reading click thread)

Girls Soccer
Tuesday's second round results
Division 1
Flintridge Sacred Heart 0, Aliso Niguel 0, FSHA advances on Pks, 4-3
Division 3
Flintridge Prep 2, Cypress 1
Division 4
Ramona Convent 2, Santa Monica 1
Division 6
South Pasadena 1, Beaumont 0
San Marino 1, Sierra Vista 0
San Dimas 4, Alverno 0
Tahquitz 1, La Canada 1, Tahquitz advances on PKs, 4-3
Division 7
Marshall 2, St. Genevieve 1

By Aram Tolegian
Staff Writer

Maranatha High School named Whittier Christian defensive coordinator Pete Karavedas as its next head varsity football coach on Tuesday afternoon.

Karavedas spent the past four seasons at Whittier Christian, the last three as defensive coordinator, where he was part of a very successful run, that culminated with the Heralds finish last season 12-2 and reach the championship game of the Mid-Valley Division.

He replaces Joel Murphy, who resigned in January after compiling a 47-16 record in five seasons at the school.

"What I'm looking to do is take everything I've learned at Whittier Christian and bring it to Maranatha," Karavedas said. "My goal has always been to become a head coach and when this opportunity came up, my eyes got wide because I knew it would be a good place to begin my career."

Karavedas, 26, inherits a program on the rise thanks to the return of quarterback Andrew Elffers, who was dazzling as a sophomore and figures to become one of the top quarterback recruits on the West Coast over the next two seasons.

Elfers threw for 3,328 yards and 37 touchdowns as Maranatha finished 8-4 and reached the second round of the Mid-Valley Division playoffs.

"As a new head coach, it's nice to be able to walk into a situation where you have the No. 1 sophomore quarterback in Southern California," Karavedas said. "I got to coach against him last season, so I know. He passed for 330 yards against us. We're going to build our offense around him for the next two years."

Karavedas was a finalist for the Temple City job last season before pulling out toward the end of the process to remain at Whittier Christian.

Maranatha had contact earlier this month with South Hills coach Steve Bogan about the position before Bogan opted to remain at South Hills.

Aram's take: Like it! Coach K was definitely ready for a head job and it looks like he's stepping into a great situation for himself and the school, given his experience at a Christian school.

The Westside is busy tonight and here is how we're going to handle it. Keith Lair is covering what we feel is the biggest game of the night, Bosco Tech at Muir (which feels kind of strange, normally this is PHS hoops time of year, but times are changing). Tyler Drohen, one of our best up-and-coming correspondents, will be at La Canada and Nathan "have you seen him in those commercials" Cambridge will cover the Blair-Flintridge Prep special. Aram Tolegian will be busy working the phones to bring you results of Buckley at La Salle, Ontario Christian at Maranatha, Poly at Renaissance and RH Prep at Agbu so that we can have something written on all teams in Wednesday's paper. Aram also will update scores on this thread tonight. Good luck all.

Boys Hoops pregame advance: After a disastrous travel situation last Friday night before winning its second-round playoff game on a last-second shot, the Muir High School boys basketball team will be very happy to be in its home gym tonight as the CIF-Southern Section Division 5AA playoffs continue. The Mustangs had to scramble to secure travel arrangements for their game last Friday at Western Christian in Ontario and made it to the gym a minute before tip-off and 11 minutes before the game would have been a forfeit.

Boys Hoops
Tuesday's quarterfinals, 7 p.m.Division 3AA
Bishop Montgomery at La Canada
Division 4A
Buckley at La Salle
Ontario Christian at Maranatha
Division 5AA
Blair at Flintridge Prep
Don Bosco Tech at Muir
Division 5A
Pasadena Poly at Renaissance Academy
Division 6AA
Rio Hondo Prep at AGBU Pasadena

Your prep editor is on vacation this week, but don't blame him, all of us have to take at set amount of vacation or furlough by the end of March, and it was Miguel's turn. So, I will do my best to keep up with my blog and this one for the rest of the week, so bare with me. Aram also will help out when he can posting scores and providing updates, so wake-up, it's Monday morning and I'm ready to go ... Really quick, if the FSHA girls soccer team doesn't win CIF, I'm going to be extremely disappointed, because I think they're the best team in Southern California, and that was based on what I saw last year ... Hey, would love to watch a Maranatha-La Salle boys hoops semifinal, the Minutemen showed me a lot of heart in Friday's win over Covina. Will have plenty more later.....Let's start with your playoff schedule...

Hoops note: I forgot how many small schools advance each year, and there are some good ones, Blair at Flint Prep, RH Prep at AGBU, Pasadena Poly at Renaissance and Don Bosco Tech at Muir ... BTW, don't hate us if we can't cover all of them, we will do the best we can. Aram will be in the office taking calls for games we can't cover, our way of covering the most that we can with a short staff.
Boys Hoops
Tuesday's quarterfinals, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Bishop Montgomery at La Canada
Division 4A
Buckley at La Salle
Ontario Christian at Maranatha
Division 5AA
Blair at Flintridge Prep
Don Bosco Tech at Muir
Division 5A
Pasadena Poly at Renaissance Academy
Division 6AA
Rio Hondo Prep at AGBU Pasadena

Girls soccer Note: Like I said, FSHA is something special, though I still think the Arcadia teams earlier this decade were just as good if not better, you know the ones with Brittany Klein and Co.. In any case, I'm covering Alverno at San Dimas tomorrow, and Keith Lair will be at Sierra Vista at San Marino.
Girls Soccer
Tuesday's second round
All games at 3 p.m.
Division 1
Flintridge Sacred Heart at Aliso Niguel
Division 3
Cypress at Flintridge Prep
Division 6
Beaumont at South Pasadena
Sierra Vista at San Marino
Alverno at San Dimas
La Canada at Tahquitz
Division 7
ST. Genevieve at Marshall

Girls hoops note: Would love to see Muir win and face Diamond Ranch from our area on Saturday, provided the Ranch wins also. Keppel, what can you say, they're always in the mix, and as usual, a handful of small area Pasadena schools are alive in the lower divisions.
Girls Hoops
Wednesday's quarterfinals
All games at 7 p.m.
Division 2A
Mayfair at Keppel
Division 3AA
Serra at Muir
Division 4A
Duarte at Cerritos Valley Christian
St. Anthony at La Salle
Division 5AA
Flintridge Sacred Heart at St. Bernard
Division 5A
Pasadena Poly at Lifield Christian
Division 6AA
Mesa Grande at Mayfield
AGBU Pasadena at Lone Pine
Rio Hondo Prep at California Lutheran

Boys soccer note: Kind of surprised there are only a handful left this early in the second round. St. Francis is usually always the best, but La Canada from what I hear is the best this year. Lucky for them Mountain View was knocked out of the tournament. In any case, expect the Spartans to go deep, deep in the postseason.
Boys Soccer
Wednesday's second round
all games at 3 p.m.
Division 1
St. Francis at Ventura
Division 5
Whittier Christian at La Canada
Victor Valley at Monrovia
Division 7
West Shores at Bosco Tech

Note: How silly is it that two San Gabriel Valley based teams have to go to Irvine to play a semifinal at 5 p.m.? They should call CIF and say thanks, but no thanks, we'll do it right here at PCC where we can play in front of big home crowds, right? Well, I tried anyway. FYI, sorry South Pas, this St. Lucy's team is gonna roll...
Girls Water Polo
Wednesday's semifinals
Division 3
St. Lucy's vs. South Pasadena at William Woollett Aquatic Center, Irvine, 5 p.m.

P.S., see you all on Tuesday, will have more....

Here's what you'll see in Sunday's paper:
Coverage of Workman-Flintridge Sacred Heart; 29 Palms-La Salle; and St. Anthony's at South Pasadena. Be a pal, post your scores!

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS
SECOND ROUND SCORES
DIVISION 1A
Arcadia at Edison
DIVISION 2A
Cypress at San Gabriel
Keppel at Sunny Hills
DIVISION 3AA
Sonora 47, Pasadena 30
Muir at Righetti
DIVISOIN 3A
Monrovia at Antelope Valley
DIVISION 4AA
Yorba Linda 56, Maranatha 49
La Canada at Bishop Montgomery
DIVISION 4A
Duarte 60, Estancia 48
29 Palms at La Salle
St. Anthony 66, South Pasadena 45
DIVISION 5AA
Flintridge Sacred Heart 77, Workman 50
DIVISION 5A
North City Christian at Pasadena Poly, 4 p.m.
DIVISION 6AA
Calvary Chapel at Mayfield
AGBU/Pasadena 55, Hesperia Christian 54
Temecula Prep at Rio Hondo Prep

CLICK HERE FOR THE MARANATHA GAME STORY BY FRED J. ROBLEDO

MARANATHA FANS: MAKE SURE TO BUY SATURDAY'S PAPER, YOU'LL LOVE THE PHOTO THAT GOES ALONG WITH THE STORY. OUR KEITH BIRMINGHAM SHOT IT. A TRUE PRO.

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY FROM FRIDAY'S COVINA-MARANATHA GAME

Here's what you'll see in Saturday's paper:
Coverage of Maranatha at Covina; Northview at St. Francis; Pasadena at Upland; and Paraclete at La Salle. Be a pal, post your scores! If you have my cell number, feel free to text me your final score.

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS
SECOND ROUND SCORES
DIVISION 1AA
Upland 56, Pasadena 51
DIVISION 2A
Segerstrom 53, Keppel 51
DIVISION 3AA
La Canada 48, Pacific Hills 38
DIVISION 4AA
Orange Lutheran 83, Gabrielino 45
Northview 66, St. Francis 54
DIVISION 4A
La Salle 61, Paraclete 44
Maranatha 54, Covina 52
DIVISION 5AA
Flintridge Prep 75, Whitney 46
Blair 73, Crossroads 65
Muir 55, Western Christian 54
Bosco Tech 55, Fairmont Prep 54
DIVISION 5A
Renaissance Academy 56, Mary Star 40
Pasadena Poly 64, Saddleback Valley Christian 61
DIVISION 6AA
AGBU/Pasadena 65, Pacific Christian 61
Rio Hondo Prep 70, Rolling Hills Prep 49

Click here for a photo gallery from Thursday's Monrovia-La Mirada game

Click here to read the La Cañada-St. Lucy's story.

Click here for a photo gallery from Thursday's La Cañada-St. Lucy's game

By Miguel A. Melendez Staff Writer

MONROVIA -- It's not often teams can flip a switch and shift into third gear.

But that's exactly what the Monrovia High School girls basketball team did, taking off in the second quarter and never looking back for a 55-32 win over La Mirada in the opening round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3A playoffs Thursday night.

La Mirada (9-15) seemingly looked to be in complete control after opening the first quarter on an impressive 10-2 run.

Monrovia (17-6) by then had had enough, building its own 11-2 run to turn the tables on the talented but still young Matadores.

Monrovia will be on the road Saturday against the Notre Dame-Antelope Valley winner in the second round. Click on thread to continue reading.

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS
FIRST ROUND
THURSDAY'S SCORES
DIVISION 1A
Arcadia 58, Santa Fe 49
DIVISION 2A
San Gabriel 44, Culver City 41
Keppel 53, Whittier Christian 42
DIVISION 3AA
Pasadena 45, Godinez 24
Peninsula 59, Rosemead 19
Muir 52, Arlington 46
DIVISION 3A
Monrovia 55, La Mirada 32
DIVISION 4AA
Paso Robles 42, Flintridge Prep 32
Maranatha 59, Gabrielino 32
La Cañada 52, St. Lucy's 40
DIVISION 4A
Burroughs 72, Blair 65
La Salle 42, Notre Dame Academy 37
Duarte 64, El Segundo 41
San Marino 58, Santa Ynez 49, OT
South Pasadena 78, Costa Mesa 38
DIVISION 5AA
Flintridge Sacred Heart 57, Alverno 32
DIVISION 5A
Pasadena Poly, bye
DIVISION 6AA
Mayfield 68, San Jacinto Valley Academy 47
AGBU/Pasadena 64, Newbury Park Adventist 39
Rio Hondo Prep 43, Capistrano Valley Christian 18

UPDATE: The police department will host a community meeting Thursday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. about the department's response to recent incidents of violence in Pasadena and Altadena, including the slaying of 18-year-old Brandon Jackson. Officials announced the event Wednesday via a press release posted on Facebook.

The event will be in the gymnasium at Robinson Park, 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave. Pasadena police Chief Phillip Sanchez and other department staff will discuss the incidents and answer questions from the community, the press release issued by City spokeswoman Ann Erdman said.

The meeting is free and open to the public. Spanish interpretation services will be provided.

For more information contact Lt. Jari Faulkner at 626-744-6485.

=====

By Brian Charles, Staff Writer

ALTADENA - Los Angeles County Sheriff's homicide investigators had no leads Tuesday in the investigation into the slaying of Brandon Jackson, an 18-year-old John Muir High School student, officials said.

Jackson was shot and killed on Saturday in the 300 block of West Palm Street as he was walking home from a friend's party. A source close to the investigation said the shooting likely was gang related.

With no leads coming in during the first three days of the investigation, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Luis Castro said the case will proceed slowly for the rest of the week.

"If it happened on the 12th and there are no updates yet there probably won't be one for the rest of the week," Castro said. Multiple shots - all to the abdomen - killed Jackson, according to the autopsy conducted by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

The report doesn't indicate the exact number of gunshots, or whether the bullets that struck Jackson killed him instantly, said Lt. Fred Corral of County Coroner's Office.

Friend and relatives of Jackson set up a sidewalk memorial for the victim on West Palm Street on Monday and the Muir football booster club held an emergency meeting Monday night to talk about how to help the Jackson family with funeral costs.

A memorial for Jackson has yet to have been planned, Muir football coach Ken Howard said Tuesday.

Those close to Jackson said the student-athlete had turned himself from a troubled student to one with relative success in the classroom and on the football field. Jackson brought his grade point average up to 2.7, Howard said.

The 5-foot, 11-inch, 175-pound football player scored a touchdown in November's Turkey Tussle game between Muir and Pasadena High School. Muir won, 63-6.

BOYS BASKETBALL
FIRST ROUND SCORES
DIVISION 1AA
Pasadena 63, Trabuco Hills 34

DIVISION 1A
Highland 77, Arcadia 71

DIVISION 2A
Keppel 61, Hawthorne 55

DIVISION 3AA
La Canada 55, West Torrance 47

DIVISION 3A
Bonita 81, Temple City 38

DIVISION 4AA
Gabrielino 86, South Pasadena 81 (OT)
St. Francis 62, Sierra Vista 55
Alemany 77, Monrovia 65

DIVISION 4A
JSerra 89, Marshall 58
La Salle 55, Lompoc Cabrillo 15
Maranatha 69, Barstow 66

DIVISION 5AA
Flintridge Prep 77, St. Paul 41
Blair 91, Excelsior 40
Muir 66, Oxford Academy 38
Bosco Tech 71, Milken 57

DIVISION 5A
Renaissance Academy 57, Downey Calvary Chapel 37
Pasadena Poly 70, Villanova Prep 40

DIVISION 6AA
Pasadena AGBU 59, Capistrano Valley Christian 54
Rio Hondo Prep 72, Public Safety Academy 45

NOTE: Those wishing to make donations can contact Deanna Howard at dhoward746@pusd.us

By Miguel A. Melendez, Staff Writer

ALTADENA - Coronor's officials Monday identified a man shot and killed in a drive-by shooting this past weekend as 18-year-old John Muir High School football standout Brandon Jackson.

Jackson, who played fullback/linebacker for the Muir Mustangs, was gunned down at about 10 p.m. Saturday in the 300 block of West Palm Street as he was walking home from a friend's party.

Neighbors said someone pulled up in a car, then called Jackson over and opened fire. He died later at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.

Coroner Chief Ed Winters said Jackson suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen. An autopsy was expected to be performed today or Wednesday, he said.

Sheriff's Detective Adan Torres said investigators had no motive or suspects. He said no witnesses had come forward to offer any clues.

But a source close to the investigation said the shooting likely was gang related. A shooting Sunday night in Pasadena that left a 44-year-old man wounded might have been done in retaliation to Jackson's slaying, the source said.

Muir Principal Sheryl Orange said Monday she requested a stronger police presence at the school.

"I asked them to watch the perimeters," Orange said.

On West Palm Street on Monday, friends and relatives of Jackson set up a sidewalk memorial to the victim.

People who knew him said Jackson was in the process of turning his school career around. The 5-foot, 11-inch, 175-pound football player scored a touch down in last year's Turkey Tussle game between Muir and Pasadena High School in which Muir won, 63-6.

"This kid was off and running in the classroom, bringing his GPA to a 2.7," Muir football coach Ken Howard said Monday. "He was all about becoming successful, keeping a positive attitude."

Howard held a team meeting where the mood was somber as players consoled each other.

Jackson was described as a "good kid" and "respectful," a starting fullback who was expected to shoulder more offensive responsibility next season.

As a sophomore Jackson forced a key fumble that helped the Mustangs tie and nearly knock off the defending CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division champions.

Adrienne Lett, vice president of the football booster's club, said the club held an emergency meeting Monday night to talk about how to help Jackson's family with funeral costs.

Also, grief counselors and counselors from Child Welfare and Attendance and the Mentoring and Partnership for Youth Development were at Muir on Monday speaking to students.

Muir senior wide receiver Karl Holmes Jr. remembered Jackson's ambition to improve his personal life.

"He would say, `I just want to get a job and help my sister,' because his mom had passed away when he was in the seventh grade," Holmes said. "He had said he just wanted to help his family and he wanted to be the man of the family, and I respected him for that."

Holmes and Jackson were among a group of Muir High students who as sophomores went to Washington, D.C., to witness President Barack Obama's historic inauguration.

"He was crying when it all happened," Holmes recalled.

The two had known each since they were both 12 years old, Holmes said.

"He was more than a teammate - he was like a brother. The sad thing is, I can't remember the last thing I said to him."

Howard pressed his players to keep Jackson's memory alive.

"I told them, `If you have Brandon's phone number, keep it and don't delete it,"' Howard said. "That if they have his picture, don't delete it - keep it."

Michael Burnes, a sophomore who had known Jackson since both played Pop Warner football as 11-year-olds, was still trying to comprehend the death of his childhood friend.

"It's just a sad day," he said. "Known him since we were kids."

Dennis Vaughn, a senior linebacker, said he recognized Jackson's leadership skills early on.

"He was only a sophomore and he was on the sidelines telling us to keep our heads up," Vaughn recalled. "He always had a positive attitude. There was definitely no gang involvement. That's not what he was about. He was about getting his work done and moving on."

Staff Writer Beige Luciano-Adams contributed to this report.

There's no other crowd like Flintridge Prep, check that, student section like Flintridge Prep, unless you want to count the Cameron Crazies. If you've been to a high school boys basketball game this season, or the last few years for that matter, you'll notice a boisterous student section sitting, err, standing in the far corner of each section. I went to the Rebels game last week against Pasadena Poly. The entrance was crowded, and soon I realized there was no seating for the late-arriving crowd. In a sense, I'm glad it was so crowded, because to tell you the truth, I was illegally parked outside. I was afraid of getting my car towed, again. Anytime a student section chants "fascism", "communism" and "Mussolini" you know you have a pretty unique and creative section. If you've ever been to a Prep game, you'll hear another chant: "You can't do that!". That's when the Rebels' favorite player is fouled intentionally, as is usually the case when there's a 6-foot-8, 270-pound center ready to go on a fastbreak. At home or on the road, you'll have a hard time finding a seat in either section, and it's why, I feel, the Flintridge Prep student section is the best student section in the West San Gabriel Valley. Here are the others:

1. Flintridge Prep: Read above.

2. Maranatha: Jeremy Major, a sophomore guard, alone draws a crowd.

3. Pasadena Poly: Worth the drive just to catch a Poly student drenched with orange paint.

4. La Canada: When they win, they always draw a near-sellout.

5. Pasadena*: The asterisk is there because they usually only draw a crowd when they play Muir.

Pasadena (19-6, 13-0) clinched its 10th consecutive Pacific League title earlier this week. But with one game left in the regular season, don't expect the Bulldogs to hold back.

Pasadena hosts crosstown rival Muir (14-9, 7-6) today at 5 p.m. That's reason enough for the Bulldogs to get fired up as they await the Division 1AA playoff pairings.

But there's more on the line for Pasadena.

"We have to win this game because we need to keep our position in 1AA," said coach Tim Tucker, whose Bulldogs are ranked No. 7 in the division coaches poll. "We can't afford to drop in that division. I'd like to go into the playoffs with a 14-game winning streak as opposed to coming off a loss."

Tucker knows Muir will be clawing for a better league placement in hopes of keeping its No. 2 spot in the Division 5AA poll.

"Muir is fighting for third place and to keep their position in the division that they're in," Tucker said. "So they're coming in here needing to win.

"When it comes to the Muir-PHS game, you never look at who's playing for what, records and what it looks like on paper. It's about who laces them up and is ready to play."

Muir, in the first meeting, raced to a 16-point lead before falling, 54-51.

Tucker knows the feeling of losing an impact player, and such has been the case for Muir.

News about the dismissal of Deshawn Hayes (18.2 points, 7.5 rebounds) from Muir's team because of repeated team violations is something Tucker can relate to. He, too, lost his best player in Todd Lewis Jr., but for a much different reason.

"I look at it two ways," Tucker said. "One is you lose a kid like Deshawn and other guys step up. We lost our No. 1 player with a broken foot. He was an All-CIF guy who led his team to the CIF State semifinals, and now we have other guys step up.

"That's what I see with Muir. Other guys will step up. Secondly, often times you have teams that focus more. I don't see that much of a letdown because the rest will come together."

It's hard to imagine the La Salle High School boys basketball team could finish no better than two games above .500, and that's exactly what Lancers coach Steve Goldstein envisioned.

But one needs to take a closer look to understand such a statement.

For starters the Lancers, 13-12 heading into Wednesday's regular-season finale against Bishop Montgomery and 1-6 in Del Rey League play, lost a lot of firepower with several players graduating from last season's team.

Among them was Matt Nolan, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound center who led La Salle to a 20-9 season, a 9-1 record in the Camino Real League and a quarterfinal run in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4A playoffs. Nolan was the Star-News Player of the Year.

The Lancers also moved to the much tougher Del Rey League with the likes of Serra (13-11, 6-1), Bishop Montgomery (15-8, 5-2) and Bishop Amat (18-8, 5-3).

"Any time you lose a star quality player like Matt Nolan and some of the other guys you lose, you're losing a lot of firepower," said Goldstein, in his 21st season at the helm. "It affects you, but we're also in an extremely tough league.

"Honestly, I thought we'd be where we are, record-wise. Before the year, I was hoping we could be 13-12 right now and having a shot at the playoffs, and we do. I'm not upset with how the season's gone. This team has kind of over-achieved, and I know it sounds weird."

La Salle is No. 14 in Division 4A and all league foes play in higher divisions. The Lancers can apply for an at-large entry, and Goldstein said he thinks they have a good shot at getting a playoff berth. If La Salle gets in, Goldstein will have taken the Lancers to the playoffs in 19 of the last 21 seasons. La Salle missed the playoffs three years ago. Before that, there was a 14-year gap when it last happened.

If the Lancers earn an at-large berth when the pairings are announced Sunday, Goldstein believes playing a tough league schedule will more than prepare them come playoff time.

"We wouldn't walk into the game with awe or scared," he said. "I hoped they (the league schedule) would prepare us if we got into the playoffs. We won't see anyone in our division with as much athleticism as we did in our league."

In other words, watch out.

Muir senior Deshawn Hayes, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who was averaging 18.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 assists, has been dismissed from the team.

Muir (14-8, 7-5) is on the verge of making a deep playoff run as the Mustangs are the No. 2 team in CIF-Southern Section Division 5AA. Muir coach Gamal Smalley cited "repeated violations of team rules" but declined to give specific details that led to his dismissal.

"I am very disappointed for Deshawn, as he is one of the most athletic players in our area but he did not do everything he needed to do to be a part of our basketball program," Smalley said.

"Hayes did not comply with our standards on multiple occasions and missed a total of five games, four of which were during league play, this season."

Smalley said Hayes was given numerous chances.

"You never just want to snatch this away from a kid without doing everything possible, but he didn't comply," said Smalley, in his second season at the helm. "We did give him a lot of chances, and unfortunately we had to let him go.

"I talked it over with administration over the weekend and we decided we exhausted all of our chances."

The loss of Hayes will be a big blow on the court. He is an athletic guard who elevates with ease and has a soft-shooting mid-range jump shot. As Muir moves forward, others will have to slip into roles and pick up the scoring slack, among them are junior forward Tevin Polk and junior guard Dion Nelson.

"As a basketball coach and a mentor you can't focus everything on just winning," Smalley said. "There has to be ethical accountability. Character issues come into play and we must follow our code of conduct. Without that what are we really teaching? We hope we can give life lessons that will help the rest of his life."

La Cañada will try to end the regular season undefeated and puts it all on the line at 3:30 today agianst visiting Monrovia (13-6-2, 6-1-1). I know, I know. La Cañada still has Blair on its schedule to officially end the season, but let's be real here, the Spartans' season ends today and begin their quest toward another deep CIF-SS Division V playoff run. La Cañada currently is the No. 1 team in Division 5, as it should be. La Cañada in the first meeting squeezed out a 2-1 win over Monrovia, a game in which Wildcats coach Mike Williams said they were shorthanded. La Cañada coach Barry Ritson wasn't really buying the excuse, saying Monrovia is still a loaded team. If I were a betting man, I have La Cañada winning again. But expect a hard faught battle as the Wildcats hope to avenge a late-goal charge from the first meeting that lifted La Cañada. If you want some more good soccer also in the city of La Cañada, you can check out St. Francis on Wednesday when it hosts Loyola, ranked No. 12 in the nation.

A Prep League fan brought up an interesting point on the blog last weekend regarding the Star-News rankings in boys basketball.

He wrote:

So Flintridge Prep beats Maranatha, Maranatha beats Poly, and then Poly beats Flintridge Prep. \ tie in the Star-News Top Ten poll?

As of last week, Flintridge Prep was No. 3, Pasadena Poly No. 4 and Maranatha No. 6 behind Keppel at No. 5.

Those rankings will play out come Wednesday when the new rankings are published, but the ones that count are the CIF-SS', which determine playoff seeding, and as it turns out, neither play in the same division.

Flintridge Prep (17-5, 6-1 in Prep League) is No. 1 in Division 5AA, Pasadena Poly (19-2, 4-1 in Prep League) is No. 4 in Division 5A, and Maranatha is No. 2 in Division 4A.

Maranatha senior Stephen Van Spronsen anticipated the move.

"I have no doubt in my mind we'll be No. 2 when the new poll comes," said Van Spronsen when asked last week about the Minutemen's chances of moving up in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4A coaches' rankings after beating Olympic League rival Whittier Christian.

The move became official Monday afternoon.

Not only did Maranatha (20-5, 6-1) move up from No. 4, the Minutemen leapfrogged Paraclete (19-1, 7-1 in Delphic League) for the No. 2 spot.

The coaches must have realized the significance of last week's victory. Maranatha coach Tim Godley was surprised when informed of the latest poll.

"Wow," he said, almost speechless for a few seconds. "I think it's a great reward for the kids and the hard work they've put in."

Maranatha ends the regular season when it hosts Village Christian (14-11, 4-2) at 7:30 tonight. Village Christian and Whittier Christian (18-7, 4-2) each have another game left later this week.

A Maranatha loss tonight coupled with two victories each by Village Christian and Whittier Christian would create a three-way tie for first place. All would share the league title, but coin flips would determine league placement for the playoffs, with the first flip determining the No. 1 seed and the next flip determining second and third.

A loss would all but derail the Minutemen's chances of earning the No. 2 seed when the final coaches' poll is released later this week along with the playoff brackets on Sunday.

"Yeah, the kids know the significance of (today's) game," Godley said. "They're fully aware."

Fred Robledo at the Trib has the scoop on Steve Bogan considering the possibility of coaching at Maranatha. At this point it's all it in the early stages, but can you imagine the great Bogan on the westside of the San Gabriel Valley? Wow! You'll see less and less players leaving Pasadena to play elsewhere.

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE SECOND MEETING

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE FIRST MEETING

By Keith Lair, Staff Writer

LA CAÑADA - Daniel Wohl admits that he has not been shooting the ball well of late.

Pasadena Poly coach Brad Hall had a pretty good idea why.

"Daniel had an issue in January," Hall said. "He had a bunch of AP classes, he was editor of the school newspaper and he had a role in a dance recital. He had a very full plate.

"The semester is over, the dance recital is over and the school newspaper is out. He is 100 percent focused on basketball."

Wohl hit a desperation 3-pointer that went through the net with 0.1 seconds to play Friday night, sending the Prep League game against Flintridge Prep into overtime. He made two free throws in the extra period to give the Panthers a four-point lead in a 61-58 victory.

"All season long I've been shooting a lower percentage," said Wohl, who has committed to NCAA Division III Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. "Tonight they were falling and it feels good to win the game."

The victory, a typical Poly-Prep matchup with a vocal, standing-room-only crowd, avenged a 57-49 Rebels victory two weeks ago. It ended Flintridge Prep's 10-game winning streak. With one week left in the regular season, it's likely the two teams will tie for the league title.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SIGNING DAY GALLERY

We know how special signing day is for players and their families and we do our best to make it special for them. In tomorrow's paper, we've got a special spread we think everyone is going to enjoy, full of pictures and recognition for all the athletes that signed in football and other sports. In football, I'd like to share what we did in preparation for today's events. We invited football signees from the Whittier, Pasadena and Tribune coverage areas to the best stadium in all of college football, the Rose Bowl, for pictures and some Q&A. Here is a sneak preview of what we did, and a special thanks to the Rose Bowl for being so gracious with us.

We are shooting non-football athletes signing today at the Star-News TODAY. Want to be part of our group photo? E-mail me ASAP at miguel.melendez@sgvn.com. Here's who we have so far....

Send us your pictures: If you have pictures from today's signings at the school, I will post them if you send them to me at miguel.melendez@sgvn.com

Above: La Salle's Kishon Sanders signs his NLOI to UTEP alongside his mother, La Salle coach Antoine Peterson Sr. and La Salle athletic director John Matheus.

FOOTBALL (Already pictured)
Patrick Carroll (St. Francis) UNLV
Kishon Sanders (La Salle) UTEP

CROSS COUNTRY
Ammar Moussa (Arcadia) Colorado
Catrina McAlister (Arcadia) Colorado
Sam Pons (South Pasadena) Princeton

BOYS SOCCER
Cameron Meeker (La Canada) Sacramento State
Aram Bagramyan (La Canada) Long Island University

GIRLS SOCCER
Samantha Whitehead (La Salle) St. John's
Lori Cuerington (La Salle) Cleveland State
Brooks Elby (Flintridge Prep) North Carolina
Taylor French (Maranatha) Cal State Bakersfield
Natalie Zeenni (Flintridge Sacred Heart) New Mexico
Annie Wenzlau (San Marino) St. Mary's College

CLICK ON THREAD TO READ STORY

Below: A group shot of signees from the Whittier Daily News, Pasadena Star-News and San Gabriel Valley Tribune ciruclation areas. Congrats all.