Downhill slant

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Millikan, which staged a nice fourth-quarter comeback against Compton before falling short, 34-28, in a Moore Leage game Friday night, is one of several teams in the Long Beach/South Bay/Westside areas that started out the season so well, only to see things take a turn for the worse.

‘We’re disappointed,’ Millikan Coach Kirk Diego said. ‘I would’ve loved to have come all the way back.’

Now, the Rams (5-3, 2-3) must try to rebound from a three-game losing streak, which started after they opened the season with five consecutive victories.

The Rams, however, aren’t the only ones who will be trying to rebound in Week 9.

West Torrance, which played without standout running back Brian Baucham because of a shin problem that has bothered him the last three games, and without quarterback Marc Oslund because of a recurring knee injury, might as well have been playing without its heart and soul.

West Torrance (5-2-1, 0-2-1) is still looking for its first Bay League victory after falling, 35-7, to Palos Verdes in a game that ended in anger for the Warriors. Read an interesting rundown in the Daily Breeze.

Baucham and Oslund, a dynamic duo in terms of play and personality, no doubt were missed. Both are athletic players and charismatic personalities around which a team can be built, and the Warriors were.

That much has shown since West, like Millikan, opened the season with five consecutive victories.

Leuzinger (5-3, 1-2) won five of its first six games but, after a 17-3 loss to Redondo on Friday, has dropped two in a row.

South Torrance (4-4, 1-2) began the season with three victories in a row, but has lost four of its last five games.

There’s little doubt we’re in the meat of the season. These teams just have to avoid being ground up.

-- Lauren Peterson

-- Image from www.concurringopinions.com