"I just want everyone to know that I'm not transferring for football reasons. Notre Dame has always been good to me," Fauria said. "I was supposed to be the No. 2 tight end, which means I wasn't going to be the starter, but I was still going to play a lot."
Fauria, a 6-foot-7, 245-pounder who was among the nation's top recruits prior to last season, admitted he was being punished for a disciplinary infraction several months ago but did not elaborate.
"I don't want to go into great detail, but the truth was I was mistreated. The punishment did not fit the crime," Fauria said. "Anyone who knows me knows I'm a funloving guy. ... I'm going to miss my teammates and my friends. I worked hard and I battled (alongside) those guys."
As a freshman, Fauria played sparingly, appearing in three games without catching a pass.
In Notre Dame's annual spring scrimmage this past April, he caught two passes for 17 yards.
Fauria, who said he has a 3.0 grade-point average, is hoping to land at a Pacific-10 university, but nothing is certain.
"I don't know where I'm going to end up," he said.
One thing for sure is Fauria has strong bloodlines. His uncle, Christian, played 13 NFL seasons. Two other uncles, Lance and Quinn, played college football, and his mother, Julie, was a top women's basketball player at College of the Canyons.
At Crespi, Fauria caught 35 passes for 518 yards and five touchdowns and recorded five sacks as a senior. He was also standout in basketball, volleyball and track.
-- Gerry Gittelson
]]>Sunday June 28
4:30 p.m. Notre Dame vs. Sierra Canyon
5:30 p.m. Dorsey vs. Pasadena
6:30 p.m. Birmingham vs. Reseda
7:30 p.m. Van Nuys vs. Sylmar
8:30 p.m. Cleveland vs. Chatsworth
Monday June 29
4 p.m. El Camino Real vs. La Canada
5 p.m. L.A.C.E.S. vs. Verdugo Hills
6 p.m. Birmingham vs. La Canada
7 p.m. Taft vs. Community Charter
8 p.m. Reseda vs. Cleveland
9 p.m. Pasadena vs. Chatsworth
Tuesday June 30
4:30 p.m. Notre Dame vs. Birmingham
5:30 p.m. El Camino Real vs. L.A.C.E.S.
6:30 p.m. Dorsey vs. Verdugo Hills
7:30 p.m. La Canada vs. L.A.C.E.S.
8:30 p.m. Chatsworth vs. Sylmar
Wednesday July 1
4 p.m. La Canada vs. Verdugo Hills
5 p.m. El Camino Real vs. Van Nuys
6 p.m. Dorsey vs. Cleveland
7 p.m. Taft vs. Reseda
8 p.m. Sylmar vs. Community Charter
9 p.m. Taft vs. Pasadena
Higgins could be named coach as early as Monday or Tuesday next week.
]]>Taft vs. St. Francis, 4 p.m.
Campbell Hall vs. Loyola, 5:30 p.m
Westchester vs. Leuzinger, 7 p.m. (championship semifinal)
Mater Dei vs. Serra, 8:30 p.m. (championship semifinal)
Friday June 26
Harvard-Westlake vs. La Canada, 4 p.m.
Crespi vs. Dorsey, 5:30 p.m.
Fairfax vs. Santa Monica, 7 p.m.
Long Beach Poly vs. Orange Lutheran, 8:30 p.m.
Stanton told me he is taking a trip to Arizona next week and lists Arizona, Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Boise St. as his top five. He also said UNLV is in the mix.
Stay tuned............
]]>-- Gerry Gittelson
]]>The leage will now have seven teams as will the East Valley League and newly named Mission League, formerly the Valley Mission League.
It seems quite odd to put Van Nuys, which hasn't exactly dominated the East Valley into the West Valley with Taft of Woodland Hills, Chatsworth and El Camino Real of Woodland Hills.
Van Nuys certainly can't comepete in football or baseball.
I am sure there will be more to come of this situation. Stay tuned...
]]>The Gorillas, coached by longtime Calabasas resident Lee Garson, finished fourth last year and are seeded 11th for this years event.
Garson said the team is led by Marcellus Johnson, Parker Cartwright and Jeremy Lieberman.
Johnson is a 6'5 center, who attends Pinecrest of Van Nuys and is the younger brother of Campbell Hall forward James Johnson.
Cartwright is one of the best point guards in the country for his age group according to Garson, attends Sierra Canyon middle school and is the younger brother of Loyola guard Miles Cartwright.
Lieberman is a great shooter and could be headed to Calabasas for high school.
As for Garson, he has been coaching what seems like forever and is the father of current UCLA assistant Scott Garson, who played at Harvrad-Westlake of North hollywood from 1992-1994.
]]>But that wasn't the whole story.
Sierra Canyon was led by Derrick Newton, a 6'5 forward, who just completed the eighth grade is still only 13 years old.
Newton scored a game high 17 points and showed great poise and finesse for a such a young player.
Newton will definitely be one to watch in the next four years.
]]>12 pm Ripon vs. Moorpark
1 pm Canoga Park vs. Northridge Academy
2 pm Alemany vs. Knight
3 pm Buckley vs. Grant
Championship Quarterfinals
4 pm Taft vs. Dorsey
5 pm Pasadena vs. Birmingham
6 pm Campbell Hall vs. Crescenta Valley
7 pm The Rock Academy vs. Oxnard
Games at El Camino Real
2 pm Reseda vs. Paraclete
3 pm Calabasas vs. Westlake
4 pm Van Nuys vs. Montclair Prep
5 pm Washington Prep vs. Sylmar
6 pm Notre Dame vs. Chaminade
7 pm Lincoln-San Diego vs. Golden Valley
8 pm El camino Real vs. Cleveland
9 pm Sierra Canyon vs. Saugus
-- Gerry Gittelson
]]>The teams lined up to play include:
Taft
Buena
Sheldon (Sacramento)
Thousand Oaks
Oaks Christian
Sierra Canyon
Granada Hills
Moorpark
Westlake
Agoura
Camarillo
Hanford
Santa Clara
Palisades
Alemany
Edison (Fresno)
The school will be hosting a very competitive boys basketball tournament scheduled for Dec. 26-30.
The teams scheduled to participate are:
Dominguez
Etiwanda
Loyola
Pasadena
Colony
Thousand Oaks
Santa Monica
Cleveland
Salesian (Richmond)
Sacramento
Edison (Fresno)
Sheldon (Sacramento)
El Camino Real
Alemany
Sierra Canyon
Oaks Christian
Khia Jones, a part time starter at Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth has transferred in, adding to a deep, talented Guards roster.
Jones will be a sophomore in September, joining forces with Margeaux Gupilan, Julia Tani and Rishonda Napier.
"It is not surprising because I think Bell-Jeff was her first choice after junior high," Sierra Canyon coach T.J. Knox said.
]]>-- Gerry Gittelson
]]>