HS FOOT: Local teams cope with heat

It's midsummer with temperatures well over 100 degrees, and high school football teams are sweating through conditioning drills, weight-lifting and seven-and-seven tournaments.

"This week has been brutal," Antelope Valley coach Brett Pape said. "We were playing seven-on-seven at Antelope Valley College on the artificial turf, and it had to be 130 degrees on that turf. Just brutal. The heat makes it a lot tougher."

Like many schools, Antelope Valley has already taken its mandatory three-week break. There is a lot to get done, too, as the Antelopes have two quarterbacks competing - junior Daniel Jaegers and freshman Noa Matthews.

Jaegers is 5-foot-8 and Matthews is 6-3, but they both weigh just 150 pounds.

"Matthews is a skinny kid but he has a heck of an arm," Pape said.

Travion Tucker was the starting quarterback last year but has switched to receiver, and the 6-3, 180-pounder has proved to be natural in seven-on-seven matchups, Pape said.

"Once we moved Travion to receiver, he started taking over games," Pape said. "In a game against Birmingham, he scored four touchdowns. He's played well against Westlake, Hart, all of these schools."

Montclair Prep of Panorama City is also enduring the heat.

"We have (artificial) turf on our field, too," first-year coach John Greaves said.

Montclair Prep was hurt when several top returning players transferred to Chaminade of West Hills this past winter, but the Mounties have welcomed a group of incoming transfers, too, including Valencia seniors Wyatt Hixon (linebacker) and Stephen Rawls (defensive tackle) and junior Jordan Riley (linebacker), along with running back Blair Stone, who played in Texas.

Hixon totaled 23 tackles last season, and he is also a kickoff specialist. Rawls also had 23 tackles, plus three sacks. As for Stone, the junior has stood out in practice, Greaves said.

"I think he's going to be really good. You can tell, he looks like a player," Greaves said.

Meanwhile, at Alemany in Mission Hills, the Warriors are begin a three-week break next week - just in time to dodge the heat.

"So far, the summer hasn't been too bad," Alemany coach Dean Herrington said.

In the championship game of the L.A. Valley tournament Saturday, Alemany tied Hart of Newhall, coached by Herrington's older brother, Mike - and that was fine with both coaches.

"We had already been out there 8 ½ hours, and we didn't want the kids to play another
overtime," Herrington said. "We were tied, but I have no idea what the score was."

-- Gerry Gittelson