Herrington brothers’ teams stay alive in high school playoffs

It’s like old times for the Herrington brothers. Mike, 55; Rick, 53; and Dean, 49, won Southern Section football titles coaching together in 1995, ‘98, ’99 and 2000 at Newhall Hart.

Dean took over at Mission Hills Alemany as head coach in 2006 and brought in Rick in 2008. Now both Hart, still coached by Mike Herrington, and Alemany have advanced to section semifinals.

“We had some great success when we were together through the years,” Mike Herrington said. “Almost every week, after both of our games, we meet at a local restaurant having pizza. There were a lot of smiles on the faces of Alemany and Hart assistant coaches last night.”

Hart (10-2) received 284 yards rushing from Connor Wingenroth and four touchdown passes from Brady White in a 33-12 upset victory over top-seeded Palos Verdes in the Northern Division playoffs on Friday night.

Alemany (10-2) held off Anaheim Servite, 21-19, in a Pac-5 Division quarterfinal behind quarterback Alif Grayes, who passed for 170 yards and ran for 73 yards.

“It’s just nice to keep playing,” Dean said. “You get to practice on Thanksgiving and being in the semifinals in the Pac-5 is a big accomplishment.”

Hart will meet West Torrance in its semifinal. Alemany will be a heavy underdog against top-seeded Bellflower St. John Bosco in its semifinal.

“St. John Bosco should be in the Pac-12, not the Pac-5,” Dean said.

Western semifinalists

Gardena Serra (12-0) and West Hills Chaminade (10-2) are seeded Nos. 1 and 2 in the Western Division, and both will have to survive competitive semifinal games.

Serra will get a rematch against Mission League rival La Cañada St. Francis (10-2). Chaminade will play Lompoc (11-1), which got 131 yards rushing from Derrick Portis and 126 yards rushing from A.J. Florez in a 42-10 rout of Santa Monica.

The biggest challenge for Chaminade will be trying to block one of the best defensive linemen in the state, Lompoc’s 280-pound Ainuu Taua.

“You mean what three guys are going to block him?” said Chaminade Coach Ed Croson.

No. 1 falls

Quarterback Cole Norris passed for 474 yards and five touchdowns to help Newport Harbor defeat No. 1-seeded La Habra, 49-48, in a Southeast Division quarterfinal. He completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Quest Truxton with 50 seconds left.

Chatsworth star

Justin Santos, a junior running back, has rushed for 211, 254 and 271 yards in his last three games to help Chatsworth advance to a City Section Division II semifinal even though the Chancellors were 2-7 late in the season.

Serious injury

Jordan Walker, a junior linebacker at Corona Santiago, suffered a spinal injury in an Inland Division playoff game against Upland, Coach Jeff Steinberg said. Walker was listed in critical condition Saturday at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com