High School Notebook: St. Paul’s Holly Shafer signs with Ave Maria University

St. Paul High School basketball player Holly Shafer, seated next to her mother, Tammy, signs her national letter of intent Thursday with Ave Maria University in Florida. (Keith Durflinger / Staff Photographer)

By Eric Terrazas, SGVN
twitter.com/WhittierPreps

SANTA FE SPRINGS – St. Paul High School girls basketball player Holly Shafer has chosen her college destination.

Shafer signed her national letter of intent Thursday with Ave Maria University, which is located in Florida.

“I like the team and the atmosphere,” Shafer said of Ave Maria. “It’s a really new school and I get to be a part of something that is growing.

“I really like the school. There’s only 900 students on campus so it will be easy for me to adjust. It’s 30 minutes outside of Miami. It will still have that big city feel even though I’ll be in a small school.”

Shafer said she would like to major in biochemistry.

“I want to be a forensic scientist,” said Shafer, whose favorite television shows include “CSI” and “NCIS.”

Shafer, who plays power forward, averaged 14 points and eight rebounds last season in helping the Swordsmen reach the CIF-Southern Section Division 4A semifinals. She expressed high hopes about the team’s prospects for this season.

“I’m pretty excited,” Shafer said. “We have the same team we had last year. Our chemistry is getting stronger.”

St. Paul is playing in the Leon Davis Classic Tournament, which is being hosted by Whittier Christian. The Swordsmen are scheduled to face the host Heralds at 7:30 p.m. today.

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High School Basketball: La Mirada boys open season on winning note

La Mirada’s Taelin Webb, left, steals the ball from La Serna’s Ted Teyechea during Wednesday’s game. La Mirada won, 72-44. (Leo Jarzomb / Staff Photographer)

By Eric Terrazas, SGVN
twitter.com/WhittierPreps

WHITTIER – La Mirada High School opened its boys basketball season in superb fashion Wednesday by defeating La Serna 72-44 in a nonleague game.

Taelin Webb scored 30 points to pace the visiting Matadores (1-0), who held the lead from start to finish.

“We’re excited about this season,” La Mirada coach Bryce Jones said. “We return a lot of guys who can play. We’re very deep.

“We just want to play faster than we did last year but be tough to score on. It’s a good start for us. If we could rebound and play fast, we’ll beat a lot of teams. I thought we were the more aggressive team (on Wednesday).”

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High School Boys Basketball: Quarterfinals set for Sierra Vista/Baldwin Park tournament

By Fred J. Robledo, SGVN
twiiter.com/sgvnsports

The quarterfinals of the third annual Sierra Vista/Baldwin Park boys basketball tournament are set with area heavyweights Damien and Keppel squaring off today at 6 p.m. at Sierra Vista High School.

The other quarterfinal at Sierra Vista matches California, which knocked off Glendora 52-49 in round-robin play, against Claremont at 7:30 p.m. The winners meet in Friday’s semifinals.

Other quarterfinals tonight at Baldwin Park including Rowland against CIF-Southern Section power Thousand Oaks at 6 p.m. and Colony facing Troy at 7:30 p.m.

Damien, which defeated Azusa 89-21 and Diamond Ranch 63-51, is hoping to use the tournament to build confidence after graduating big man Chris Reyes.

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High School Football: Santa Fe had plenty to be proud of

By Eric Terrazas, SGVN
twitter.com/WhittierPreps

Santa Fe High School put together a solid 2012 season under first-year head coach David Pierson.Pierson, who took over for longtime coach Jack Mahlstede, guided the Chiefs to an 8-5 record and a CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division semifinal berth.After posting a second-place 4-1 record in the Del Rio League, the Chiefs staged an impressive postseason run by winning two games before falling to Downey 35-3 in last week’s semifinal. Downey will face La Serna in Saturday’s Southeast Division final that is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton.

“It came to a screeching halt last week,” Pierson said. “The kids and the coaching staff were disappointed. I take my hat off to Downey and I wish them the best of luck. It will also be nice to see La Serna represent the Del Rio League on Saturday.”

The Chiefs started their playoff journey with a first-round, 11-10 win over Bonita and then went on to stun top-seeded La Mirada 27-26 in the second round.

“It was a great experience,” Pierson said of this season. “We had a good time with the players and we had a lot of memorable moments. I’m very proud of our team.”

Santa Fe sophomore quarterback Christian Lara emerged as the Chiefs’ main offensive weapon by passing for 1,068 yards and seven touchdowns while completing 84 of 165 attempts.

Lara also led the Chiefs’ ground attack with 935 yards and nine scores on 171 carries.

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Palmer leads La Serna to CIF-SS title game

La Serna High quarterback Frankie Palmer has helped lead the Lancers to the upcoming CIF-SS Southeast Division Championship game against Downey High. He is pictured at the Whittier campus on Nov. 27. (Leo Jarzomb/Staff Photographer)

By Eric Terrazas, SGVN
twitter.com/WhittierPreps
La Serna High School junior quarterback Frankie Palmer is already putting together quite a resume.

Since taking over the starting duties as a sophomore last season, Palmer has guided the Lancers to two consecutive CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division championship-game appearances.

Palmer and the Lancers (12-1) are preparing for Saturday’s CIF-SS Southeast Division final against Downey (10-3), which is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton. A victory would give the Lancers their first CIF-SS football crown since 1967.

“It feels great,” Palmer said of the Lancers’ achievement. “Our team has worked really hard for this and we deserve it.

“We have put in numerous hours of time. Our coaches have put great game plans together. We have a great group of guys who have helped us reach the final the last two years – from the seniors we had last year to the guys we have this year.

“It feels great but the task is not over. Downey is a great team and we will have a tough game on Saturday.”

Heading into the Lancers’ 35-17 semifinal triumph last week against West Covina, Palmer had thrown for 1,925 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 60.6 percent of his attempts. Palmer has also done a good job taking care of the football, throwing only three interceptions.

Palmer has also contributed to the Lancers’ ground attack, rushing for 257 yards and two scores on 79 carries.

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