Gittelson's expanded PREP FOOTBALL stuff

BY GERRY GITTELSON
Staff Writer

DAILY NEWS PREP FOOTBALL TOP 20
1.Birmingham (4-1) – Would be a shock if Patriots lose another game
2. Hart (4-0) – Starters called it a night early in 2nd quarter vs. Claremont
3. Crespi (3-1) – Deeply talented Celts appear to have no weaknesses
4. Notre Dame (3-1) – Showed heart in comeback win over Saugus
5. Oaks Christian (2-2) – Talented but must keep intensity for whole game
6. Saugus (3-1) – No opposing RB has surpassed 100 yards
7. Chaminade (4-0) – Why play overmatched ECR this week?
8. Newbury Park (4-0) – Key Marmonte League showdown vs. Westlake
9. Palmdale (3-1) – Should not lose another regular-season game
10. Westlake (2-2) – Registered two safeties in win over Calabasas
11. Valencia (2-2) – Last year’s two-win season a distant memory
12. Alemany (3-1) – But can the Warriors defeat a good team?
13. St. Francis (3-1) – On a roll after third victory in a row
14. Canyon (1-3) – Cowboys need to wake up or it could be a long year
15. Oak Park (3-1) – Another step-up game vs. Camarillo this week
16. Thousand Oaks (2-2) – Lancers on comeback trail with two wins in row
17. Harvard Westlake (3-1) – Loss to City power Carson should evoke toughness
18. Loyola (2-2) – No shame in loss to powerful Dominguez
19. Simi Valley (3-1) – Yet to allow more than two TDs in one game
20. Moorpark (2-2) – A hard team to gauge after up-and-down first month

POINTS AFTER TOUCHDOWN

BY GERRY GITTELSON
Columnist

Saturday mornings are a lively time when you cover high school football, and this week the first call came from Poly of Sun Valley coach Scott Faer, still awake from the night before and quite livid about the officiating in a 42-38 loss at Verdugo Hills.
“I’ve never been so homered in my life. It was the worst officiating crew I’ve ever seen,” Faer said. “I’ve lost sleep over it. They wouldn’t even let me ask them questions, instead just screaming at us to let them do their job. We had about 140 yards in penalties, and I’m telling you, it was not a fair win. But it’s the books. I just hope we see this Verdugo team again in the playoffs.”
Meantime, Poly has three home games in row, beginning with a nonleague game against Salesian of L.A.
The next one I talked to, Granada Hills’ coach Straun Joseph, also wasn’t too happy about the officiating from the night before. But at least his team won 48-10 over Palisades.
It all started when I asked about running back Anthony Dawkins, who rushed for 256 yards and three touchdowns.
“He should have had 400 but three 60-yard runs were called back,” Joseph said. “I’ll tell you the truth. There were some questionable calls.”
-- Who would have thought a month into the season you’d look at the Foothill League standings and see Golden Valley 2-2 and Canyon 1-3?
Didn’t eventual CIF State Div. I champion Canyon defeat Golden Valley 90-0 last year?
OK, the level of opposing competition is a bit skewed, but still.
“The kids are playing hard, they’re doing a good job -- and we’re having a lot more fun,” Golden Valley coach Steve Pinkston said. “Our defense has given up just one touchdown in the second half, so they’ve really stepped up.
“The nice thing is the success is spreading throughout the campus, so that’s a lot of fun. And you know what? With a few breaks, this team could very easily be 3-1 or 4-0.”
-- Speaking of Canyon, former coach Harry Welch has moved on as coach at one of the section’s Southernmost schools, St. Margaret’s of San Juan Capistrano, but the 62-year-old keeps popping back into the local news.
St. Margaret’s defeated Campbell Hall of North Hollywood 49-10 on Friday, and it turns out Steve Kaplan, the father of Campbell Hall quarterback Zach Kaplan, is a longtime friend of Welch, though the two had lost touch.
“I couldn’t believe it was the same Steve Kaplan – we were volleyball partners on the beach every day when we both lived in Marina del Rey from 1978 to 1981,” Welch said. “I hadn’t heard from him in 20 years.”
== Grace Brethren of Simi Valley is 3-1, but don’t blame the Lancers for continuing to wonder just how good they are. All three victories have come against teams with a current 0-5 record.
== When it was suggested in these pages last week that it’s time for Oaks Christian to start a new streak after falling for the first time in 48 games, we didn’t mean a LOSING streak. But here stand the mighty Lions, a four-time section champion, with two consecutive losses after a 41-35 defeat to Venice preceding by a 41-33 loss to St. Bonaventure of Ventura.
“We played very well in the first half and not so well in the second half, and we let them back in,” coach Bill Redell said. “Venice is a good team, and you can’t let a good team like that back in the game.”
Oaks Christian (2-2), reeling from the graduation of 10 NCAA Division I signees (including All-Americans Jimmy Clausen and Marc Tyler), has allowed 82 points over the past two games heading into Thursday’s nonleague matchup against Diamond Ranch (3-1) of Pomona.
“We’ll be ready,” Redell said.
Oaks Christian is 78-7-1 since 2001 and has never lost more than two games in one season.
-- After a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the season, Crespi of Encino’s touted quarterback, Kevin Prince, said UCLA has promised to keep a scholarship open for him once Prince returns from a planned two-year Mormon mission.
Meantime, Price has fallen into his role as sophomore Bryan Bennett’s quarterback tutor, helping the replacement along, as the Celts (3-1) forge through a difficult nonleague schedule that continues Thursday against two-time Northern Division champion Canyon.
“I’ve leaned that sometimes you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone,” Prince said. “You shouldn’t take anything for granted. But I’m trying to help Bryan become as good as he possibly can be, and he’s improved a lot.”
Bennett was never better during a 25-9 victory Friday over national power St. Bonaventure. He completed 12 of 21 for 227 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown.
-- Add Crespi: Cardinal Roger Mahoney was on hand, watching from the sideline. Daily News photog Tom Mendoza even caught a shot of him talking on his cell phone during the game.
gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com
(661) 257-5218
Gerry Gittelson’s column appears in the Daily News twice a week.
HE SAID

“The coffin door was shut, the nails were in place, but we dropped the hammer.”
-- Saugus coach Jason Bornn, on a last-second 38-35 loss to Notre Dame

UNSUNG HEROES
Joseph Figueroa, LB, Golden Valley and Trevon Smith, LB, Golden Valley
After going winless in 2006, Figueroa and Smith have helped Golden Valley to a 2-2 record, including a 16-6 victory Friday over Kilpatrick of Malibu.
Figueroa, a sophomore, is just 5-7 and 155 pounds but isn’t afraid to mix it up with blockers 100 pounds heavier.
“He’s really leading our defense,” coach Steve Pinkston said. “He’s really stepping and playing big, especially for a sophomore.”
Trevon Smith, a converted quarterback who returned two years ago after a brief transfer to Crespi of Encino, is 5-9, 260 – one of the Southland’s stockiest linebackers.
“He’s huge and strong and a wide load,” Pinkston said. “Trevon Smith brings new meaning to plugging the hole.”

LAST WEEK’S TOP PERFORMANCES
Delano Howell, RB, Hart – Who knows how many yards and touchdowns Howell might have accumulated had he remained in the game instead of calling it a night with nine minutes remaining in the second quarter of a 50-10 victory at Claremont? As things were, he rushed for 231 yards and three TDs – including a 94-yarder – on just seven carries, and he caught three passes for 95 yards. He also had a 55-yard punt return TD called back on a penalty.
Cornell McTier, OL, Granada – McTier, a 6-3, 250-pound junior, came through with several pancake blocks to help spring running back Anthony Dawkins, who rushed for 256 yards and three TDs in a 48-10 victory over Palisades.
“We ran a lot of dives right over him. Cornell played a heck of a game,” coach Straun Joseph said.
Dayne Crist, QB, Notre Dame – With just over one minute remaining, Crist engineered an 80-yard scoring drive, pulling out a 38-35 comeback victory over Saugus with a 5-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to Jeff Dickmann with 5 seconds left. Crist finished 20 of 30 for 313 yards and three TDs, and he also scored a TD.

BIG GAMES
Crespi (3-1) at Canyon (1-3), Thursday 7 p.m. – Two teams going in opposite directions, but both command respect. Crespi is coming off an impressive 25-9 victory over state power St. Bonaventure of Ventura, while two-time Northern Division champion Canyon fell 24-21 to Chaminade of West Hills on a last-minute field goal.

Servite (4-0) at Notre Dame (3-1), Friday 7:30 p.m.– A very tough game for Notre Dame against one of Orange County’s top programs, as former Crespi head coach Troy Thomas returns to the San Fernando Valley. Notre Dame, led by QB Dayne Crist, DL Wes Horton and LB Anthony McDonald, should have plenty of momentum after a last-second comeback victory over Saugus..

Hart (4-0) vs. Loyola (2-2) at College of the Canyons, Friday 7 p.m. -- These rivals have had a lot of close, dramatic showdowns through the years, but Hart should have a strong edge, as the Indians, led by QB B.R. Holbrook, RB Delano Howell, OL Derek Bickford and LB Patrick Larimore, have scored 28 points or more every game this season.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com