After struggling in its first two matches of the Burbank Tournament last weekend, the girls volleyball team from Cantwell-Sacred Heart found its groove and placed first in its bracket.
The Cardinals opened with a two-game loss to Immaculate Heart and a 1-1 split with Quartz Hill, which kept them out of the Gold Bracket and put them into the Silver. But Cantwell-Sacred Heart followed with victories over Bravo, Jurupa Valley, Sylmar and Providence to claim first place.
“It took the girls a little while to get into a rhythm and get going,” Cardinals coach Jessica Bakkers said.
The play of senior co-captains Nada Dragovic and Katelyn Mejia helped push the tired team on. Playing their sixth match of the day, the Cardinals were exhausted but inspired by Dragovic, and outside hitter, and setter Mejia.
“They carried them to the end,” Bakkers said.
Cantwell-Sacred Heart continues nonleague play Tuesday at home against Bishop Conaty-Loretto at 5 p.m.

After improving to 3-0 last week, Santa Fe has moved to No. 2 in this week’s CIF-SS Southeast Division poll.
The Chiefs routed Godinez 49-6 on Thursday and moved up from No. 4 a week ago. Two-time Southeast finalist La Serna (2-1) moved up a spot to No. 5 in the Southeast after beating Schurr 39-8, and La Mirada (0-3) fell for the third consecutive week, from sixth to eighth, following its 38-14 loss to Servite. Norwalk, which will face Whittier this week, is 3-0 and ranked No. 1 in the division.
La Habra (3-0) held its No. 2 ranking in the Southwest Division for the third week in a row following its 41-7 victory over St. Paul. The Highlanders trail only Edison in the division.
A week after falling one place to seventh in the Northwest Division, Whittier Christian regained the No. 6 ranking following its 27-20 victory over Whittier.

Junior quarterback Christian Lara broke a pair of Santa Fe High passing records Thursday that stood for over 30 years.
Lara threw for 446 yards and six touchdowns in the Chiefs’ 49-6 nonleague rout of Godinez at Segerstrom High. That effort eclipsed records set by Jeff Mahlstede in 1980. Mahlstede, while playing for his father Jack, set the previous mark with five TDs in a single game.
Lara completed 20 of 28 passes, and had several short throws converted into long gainers with the help of his receivers. His longest pass of the game went to Andrew Doria, who caught a ball in the flat and then outran the Godinez defense for 78 yards and a score early in the fourth. Lara was 6 for 7 in the second half and left the game following Doria’s TD.
Brandon Takata had four catches for 131 yards and two scores. On his second TD, a 14-yarder in the second quarter, Takata initially bobbled the pass but regained possession as he was falling to the ground in the back of the end zone.
“He performed great,” Lara said of Takata. “His routes were sharp, and he was catching everything.”

High-flying Titans
Pioneer’s wild 55-49 victory over Rancho Alamitos brought its point total to a whopping 99 over the last two games and to 119 for the season.
Quarterback Jonathan Jimenez topped the 300-yard passing plateau and threw five touchdowns for the Titans, who improved to 2-1 with their second consecutive victory. Julio Reynoso added over 100 receiving yards, a receiving TD and two interceptions, and Christian Red ran for 102 yards and two TDs. Coach Chuck Willig estimated his team ran close to 70 offensive plays.
“It was just about as insane as one of those (high-scoring Mid-America Conference) games,” Willig said.
Conversely, Pioneer has allowed 103 points this season and 75 in its last two games.

I’m pretty certain the top-ranked team in the Whittier Daily News’ football poll won’t lose for the third consecutive week.
La Habra, this week’s No. 1 team after losses from then-top ranked La Mirada and La Serna, hosts winless St. Paul on Friday. Sophomore QB Eric Barriere and Co. will improve to 3-0 and stay on the heels of Edison in the CIF-SS Southwest Division poll.
Here’s a closer look at this week’s schedule and my picks in each game.
Thursday
Santa Fe (2-0) vs. Godinez (1-1) at Segerstrom High – Santa Fe
Rancho Alamitos (0-2) vs. Pioneer (1-1) at Cal High – Pioneer
Friday
St. Paul (0-2) at La Habra (2-0) – La Habra
Servite (1-1) at La Mirada (0-2) – Servite
Whittier (2-0) vs. Whittier Christian (2-0) at Whittier College – Whittier Christian
Cal (1-0) vs. Troy (1-0) at Fullerton High – Cal
Bell Gardens (0-1) at El Rancho (1-1) – Bell Gardens
South El Monte (1-0) at Montebello (0-2) – South El Monte
Cantwell-Sacred Heart (0-1) at El Segundo (1-0) – El Segundo

Last week’s picks: 8-2
Season total: 15-5