February 2010 Archives

Former NFL player Tim McTyer has been named the new Banning coach to replace the legendary Chris Ferragamo.

McTyer, a former Washington Prep football standout who played at L.A. Southwest College and Brigham Young, played one season with the Indianapolis Colts, two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and two years with the Cleveland Browns. He was a defensive back.

"I want to win the kids over first," McTyer said. "It's big for the guys to see someone who has been through what they're going through and who knows what it takes to succeed."

The 34-year-old McTyer has been a defensive coordinator at Morningside and Gardena and was the defensive backs coach last season at  L.A. Southwest.

McTyer met with some of the Banning players Tuesday and plans to meet the entire team later this week. McTyer also met with Ferragamo on Tuesday.

"I'm very excited, man," McTyer said. "It's huge. It's a historic moment to replace someone like a Ferragamo. It's the same at Florida State right now and it will be the same when Joe Paterno leaves Penn State.

"I can't wait to get started. We're going to have a mentality that we're ready to roll."

Mike Christensen has stepped down from his post at Carson to take the head coaching position at Loyola.

Christensen won three Marine League titles in his four seasons as coach at Carson, advancing to the 2007 L.A. City Section final. He also coached at South Torrance and Lakewood and has qualified for the playoffs in 14 of 16 seasons.

But Christensen couldn't pass up the opportunity to coach at Loyola, where he has a sophomore son in Bryan and an eighth-grade son in Spencer who is expected to enroll at Loyola.

"That was really the only job I was going to leave Carson for," Christensen said. "I wasn't unhappy here. I thought we had the program established and heading in the right direction. I'm leaving because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"It's going to be a lot of fun to be with both my sons during the day. It's a great opportunity for me and my family."

Carson is accepting applications through March 8. Interested applicants should contact either Greg Puccia, the Assistant Principal in charge of athletics, at 310-847-6025 or spring athletic director Richard Masson at 310-847-6053 or by email at rmasson@lausd.net.

If you get a chance, contribute in some way to Chad Munson and his family as he battles cancer. "Chad's Army" is hosting  the "Change for Chad" Flag Football Tournament, which will take place Sunday, Feb. 28, with the opening ceremonies starting at 9 a.m. at West Torrance High's football stadium.
There are multiple ways to have some fun and raise money for Chad Munson and his family. You can enter to play in the co-ed tournament, you can donate a prize or you can  donate money toward the cause. Chad, 28, was a Daily Breeze all-area first-team quarterback as a senior at West High in 1998. He went on to  play football for Compton College, Long Beach City College and  Western Michigan University.
There is a minimum of 10 people per team at $35 per player. All teams receive a "Change for Chad" T-shirt.
For more information, visit changeforchad.org, or call Kristy Sain at 310-756-4345 or Chrissa Belliveau at 310-701-8062.

There is little intrigue left in the Pioneer League boys soccer race going into the last day of the regular season on Thursday. North clinched the league title, El Segundo clinched second place and South Torrance is firmly in third place. All three teams can look forward to the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs.
El Segundo's success is the most surprising after going 0-10 last season in league play.
"A season like last year's is tough for the seniors. It was a terrible way for them to go out," El Segundo coach Alan Kelley said. " I think it was motivation for this year's seniors. The players have had a great attitude this season."

BOYS SOCCER
PIONEER LEAGUE STANDINGS
1. North Torrance 13-5-5, 7-1-1
2. El Segundo 14-5-2, 6-3
3. South Torrance 9-6-5, 4-3-2
4. Centennial 6-6-1, 3-5-1
5. Torrance 8-15-2, 2-5-2
6. Lawndale 4-9-1, 1-8

The Bay League boys soccer title race boils down to one simple fact going into Thursday, the last day of the regular season: If West Torrance beats Redondo, it wins out.
West should be able to take care of Redondo, but it can't relax. Redondo has managed a pair of league wins, and was competitive in a 3-2 loss to Leuzinger on Tuesday.
Mira Costa can win the title with a win over Palos Verdes and a West loss or tie, and can do no worse than second place. Leuzinger can do no better than third place, but can slip down to fourth with a loss combined with a Palos Verdes win.

BOYS SOCCER
BAY LEAGUE STANDINGS
1. West Torrance 17-1-3, 7-1-1
2. Mira Costa      17-2-4, 7-2
3. Leuzinger        14-5-4, 4-3-2
4. Palos Verdes  10-8-4, 3-3-3
5. Redondo          5-11-2, 2-7
6. Peninsula        3-15-2, 1-8

Washington is just about a lock to capture the Marine League title with one game to go against Banning, which is winless in league play. Likewise, second and third place appear settled with Narbonne at 8-2 and Gardena at 6-4. Narbonne needs one win in its last two games against King-Drew and San Pedro to hold off Gardena, and it should be able to get it. The closest teams to Gardena are San Pedro and King-Drew, both of which are 4-6 in league play. Neither team is likely to catch Gardena, which finishes with Carson on Wednesday night and King-Drew on Friday night.

BOYS BASKETBALL
MARINE LEAGUE STANDINGS
1. Washington    17-7, 10-1
2. Narbonne       18-8, 8-2
3. Gardena        15-8, 6-4
4. San Pedro     15-9, 4-6
5. King-Drew      9-15, 4-6
6. Carson           7-16, 4-7
7. Banning         6-21, 0-10

The last week of the regular season is upon us, and the Narbonne boys soccer team could clinch the Marine League title with a win over visiting San Pedro on Wednesday. It would mark the second straight league title for Narbonne.
But if San Pedro wins, it moves into a first-place tie with Narbonne with one game remaining for both teams because in the Marine League, teams are awarded two points for a win and one for a tie. In most leagues, teams get three points for a win and one for a tie.
San Pedro hosts Washington in its regular-season finale on Thursday and Narbonne hosts Gardena. Those two games become very important if San Pedro beats Narbonne on Wednesday. See the standings below.

BOYS SOCCER
MARINE LEAGUE STANDINGS
1. Narbonne    10-5-3, 5-1-2
2. San Pedro   9-5-4, 3-1-4
3. Gardena      6-5-5, 2-2-4
4. Banning       7-3-2, 3-3-1
5. Washington 4-6-4, 1-3-4
6. Carson        6-8-4, 1-5-2

The search for Bishop Montgomery's next football coach is over.

Bishop Montgomery has hired former Avengers coach Ed Hodgkiss, who emerged from a pool of 63 candidates as the choice to turn the Knights' moribund football program around.

Hodgkiss coached the Avengers of the Arena Football League from 2002 through 2008, recording a 57-53 mark, including a 1-5 postseason record. He replaces Arnold Ale, who stepped down in December after eight seasons.

The 39-year-old Hodgkiss is a Manhattan Beach resident who is a member of American Martyrs. He will also be a health teacher for Bishop Montgomery.

Hodgkiss was one of 10 candidates who were given an interview and one of five who received a second interview from an eight-person panel tasked with choosing the next Bishop Montgomery coach.

"With the experience he has had as a head coach, he just seems like he's going to be a really good fit," said Steve Miller, Bishop Montgomery's assistant principal in charge of athletics. "He's down to earth, he has a lot of positive energy about him and he's ready. He's excited."

Due to the heavy rainstorms in the Torrance area, the Daily Breeze suffered a power outage that knocked out electricity and phone service to its building for much of Friday night. The Breeze apologizes to those coaches and scorekeepers who were trying to call in their game scores. We appreciate your patience in this situation. We tried to reach as many of you directly as we could.

Rainouts
Coaches and administrators, if your school had a competition rained out Friday, please inform us about the rescheduled date at sports@dailybreeze.com.

Former Leuzinger football star Mark Rodgers, who played for Virginia Tech the last two seasons, transferred to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Rodgers, a 2007 Leuzinger graduate, signed a financial aid package and will have two years of eligibility remaining with Cal Poly.
Rodgers played in every game for West Virginia the last two seasons as a running back and return specialist. Last season, he returned 27 kickoffs and averaged 22.9 yards per return, with a long of 51 yards against Florida State, but only received seven handoffs.
Rodgers rushed for 4,819 yards and 50 touchdowns in his last two seasons at Leuzinger. As a senior in 2006, Rodgers rushed for 2,319 yards and 19 touchdowns. Rodgers also lettered in track and field and was the fourth-fastest runner in the state in the 100 meters with a time of 10.5 seconds.

Former Carson High standout Gary Patchett was among the 27 non-roster players the Angels invited to spring training on Wednesday.
Patchett, a 1996 Carson High graduate who also played at Harbor College, is a second baseman who signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Reds in 2000 out of San Jose State. Patchett played with Triple-A Salt Lake City for the Angels last season.
Pitchers and catchers report to spring training Feb. 17. Position players report on Feb. 22. The Angels' exhibition schedule opens on March 4 at their home stadium in Tempe against the Chicago White Sox.

L.A. City Section athletics commissioner Barbara Fiege spearheaded a push for a Los Angeles High School Sports Hall of Fame in recent years, and the group has announced the inaugural class (55 people -- 30 living, 25 deceased), including the likes of John Elway, Gail Goodrich, Ozzie Smith, Don Drysdale, Marques Johnson, Bob Waterfield and Mike Garrett, etc.

The two South Bay members of the class are former San Pedro basketball standout Willie Naulls and Gardena football standout Ernie Smith (deceased).

Naulls, a 6-foot-6 power forward/center, was an All-American at UCLA, then played from 1956-66 in the NBA (mostly with the New York Knicks). He averaged 19.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game during his seven years with the Knicks (four All-Star selections). While with the Knicks, Naulls also was the first black player to be named captain of a major professional sports team.

Naulls spent his last three NBA seasons winning championship rings with the Boston Celtics.

Smith was a standout offensive lineman for Coach Howard Jones at USC, where he also handled the place kicking and kickoff duties. He played a prominent role in a pair of Rose Bowl victories, then played for the Green Bay Packers from 1935-39.

He briefly was an assistant coach at USC, served as president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Football Foundation and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970.

The criteria for induction: a candidate must be at least 35 years old and a graduate of an L.A. City high school. Collegiate and professional achievements also were considered by the selection committee comprised of L.A. Unified administrators and experts in sports history.

SOUTH BAY SIGNEES

Pos. Name,  High school, College

WR Noah Ashley, Culver City, Missouri State

DT Sean Bacon, Serra, San Jose State

OL Emanuel Beavers, Banning, San Diego State

WR Bene Benwikere, Serra, San Jose State

LB Victor Burnett, Culver City, Washington

QB Te'Shon Burton, Leuzinger, Jackson State

QB Chad Dashnaw, Narbonne, Portland State

WR Kurt Davis, Centennial, UNLV

RB Melvin Davis,  Narbonne, Washington

RB Jonathan Dewitt, Inglewood, Northern Arizona

K Nick Diaz, Redondo, Utah State

DB Bryan Douglas, Narbonne,  Boise State

RB David Freeman, Inglewood '08, San Jose State

DB Sean Gords, No. Torrance, Montana State           

DB James Grace, Inglewood, New Mexico

LB Unaloto Hamala, BMonty, University of San Diego

DE Marcus Howard,  Inglewood, San Jose State

WR Kyle Nunn, Mira Costa, San Jose State

DB Sean Parker, Narbonne, Washington

WR Paul Richardson, Serra, UCLA

DB Matthew Simmons, BMonty, Washington State

DL Dakota Smith, Westchester, USC

WR Kevin Smith, Centennial, Washington

DB Devan Spann, Serra, Arizona State

DB Brandon Summers, Inglewood , Howard University

DE Brandon Tobias, No. Torrance, Portland State

WR Robert Woods, Serra, USC

OL Wade Yandall, Carson, UCLA

HARBOR COLLEGE SIGNINGS

QB Dominique Blackman, Old Dominion

CB Darryl Feemster, Arkansas State

WR Dwayne Frampton, Arkansas State

CB Prentice Gill, Old Dominion

DL Kyle Sharman, Presbyterian College

EL CAMINO SIGNINGS

RB Kenny Ashley, Ohio University

LB Deonte Brooks, Portland State

DB Alphonso Bruton (from 2008), Memphis

OL Chris DeArmas,  Florida

OL Joey Esposito, Portland State

CB Mike Harris, Florida

DB Octavius Leftwich, Ohio University

OL Kyle McManus, Concordia University, Pa.

QB Bo Napoleon, Univ. of Illinois at Pennsylvania

TE Jamize Olawale, North Texas State

LB Kaimi Sarkissian, Hawaii

QB Matt Simms, Tennessee

OL Aderious Simmons, Arizona State

WR Kenbrell Thompkins,   Tenneessee

RB Isaac Williams,    Baylor

LB Jcourtney Williams, Liberty College

The Serra football team held a special school-wide assembly for its five football players who signed Division I scholarships.

The Cavaliers boasted three Pac-10 players, including USC-bound receiver Robert Woods, UCLA-bound receiver Paul Richardson and Arizona State-bound Devan Spann. Defensive end Sean Bacon and defensive back Bene Benwikere signed with San Jose State.

Basketball players Vaughn Autry (Montana State) and Jordan Mitchell (Cal State Northridge) also took part in the ceremony, which featured highlight videos and introductions by adminstrators.

Then girls track coach Lori Thompson-Smith told the athletes to stand up. Then they signed their letters-of-intent in front of their peers and posed for photos. The players even jokingly exchanged hats, including Woods (USC) and Richardson (UCLA), in a festive atmosphere.

Mira Costa receiver Kyle Nunn, one of the more explosive playmakers in the South Bay this season, has signed with San Jose State.

Nunn was the driving force behind Mira Costa's Bay League and CIF Southern Section Western Division title runs.

Nunn will join Serra DE Sean Bacon, Serra DB Bene Benwikere, Inglewood DE Marcus Howard and 2008 Inglewood running back David Freeman.