Streaks and stuff

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Sports and steaks go together like, well, like Concord De La Salle and victories, right?

So let’s talk about some that are going on in the Westside/South Bay/Long Beach areas.

None are anywhere near as impressive as De La Salle’s national-record streak of 151 victories between 1992 and 2003, but hey, we’ve got to start somewhere.

How about at so-far unsung Long Beach Millikan? The Rams have quietly gone about the business of winning, beating Huntington Beach, Bellflower and Downey in their first three games.

And, and if you didn’t know that, it’s my fault. I’ve been paying a lot of attention to that other perennially strong -- but unlike Millikan, not unbeaten -- team in Long Beach. Hopefully, I’m now expanding my vistas, even though, according to MaxPreps.com, the Jackrabbits are ranked seventh in the state.

Now, I’m relying on statistics here, not personal experience, at least until I can talk to Coach Kirk Diego or get out to see the Rams myself, but Millikan has used a balanced attack that features junior quarterback Jake Holtz and an array of receivers led by junior Kierre Beverly, along with a couple of different rushers, to lay the groundwork for a successful season that could get better Friday with another victory at Long Beach Wilson (1-3). The Bruins have dropped three in a row since beating Inglewood, 39-26, in their opener.

So now that the Rams have gotten at least a little of their due, let’s move on to West Torrance, which has jumped into the last spot in The Times’ top 25 rankings this week on the heels of its third consecutive shutout.

The Warriors (3-0) have senior running back Brian Baucham to thank for much of their success, but the team around him has been solid and playing well, too. West will need similar performances from all involved Friday if the Warriors are to shut out South Torrance because the Spartans (3-0) are on a season-long roll themselves.

South Torrance is averaging close to 38 points a game and has outscored its opponents, 113-43. That’s by an average of 37.6-14.3. And South Torrance tied West, 14-14, last year.

So far this year, the teams are even. We’ll see if they still are after this week.

Moving on, Culver City (3-0) is moving closer to consideration for The Times’ top 25 after winning its first three games. Next up for the Centaurs is an intersectional game Friday against visiting Crenshaw.

Compton, already in The Times’ rankings at No. 15, has yet to score fewer than 54 points, or allow more than eight, in a game, and is riding a four-game winning streak going into its nonleague matchup Friday against visiting Long Beach Cabrillo.

Speaking of Cabrillo, what were the Jaguars (1-3) thinking by playing Mater Dei (3-0) last week? The Monarchs are top-ranked in the region by The Times and are ranked No. 7 nationally by USA Today.

I realize they were looking to test themselves by taking on good competition, but the Monarchs proved too good, beating Cabrillo, 48-8. The Jaguars won their opener against Beverly Hills, 6-2, but have struggled in three consecutive losses since. Unfortunately, things may not improve against Compton.

Hawthorne, even more than Cabrillo, realizes that streaks aren’t necessarily all good.

The Cougars (0-4) are winless in their last 16 games, at least on the field. Although they did pick up a forfeit from Compton last season because of the Tarbabes’ use of an ineligible player, Hawthorne’s last victory was a 44-26 decision over Inglewood on Oct. 28, 2005.

We’ll need a couple days to find out which streaks end and which survive.

- Lauren Peterson