Croson: Patriots must take care of the ball against Crenshaw

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Birmingham Coach Ed Croson, like others, is impressed with the offensive skill players on Crenshaw. ‘They will be be the fastest team we’ve played,’ Croson said. ‘Their speed is like the speed at Crespi and Long Beach Poly.’

If it rains during Friday’s City championship semifinal between the Patriots (11-1) and Cougars (8-4) at Birmingham, that could neutralize any speed advantage for either team. But that will bring into play another aspect of the Cougar’s game -- creating turnovers, like the eight errors Crenshaw forced Narbonne into last week.

‘When it’s a close match physically between Crenshaw and their opponent, they’ve had a great turnover ratio,’ Croson said. ‘And they’re not just taking the ball away, they’re capitalizing. So we’ve been working hard on ball security in practice this week.’

Birmingham had one big turnover game this season, against Crespi in the season opener back in August. ‘We had four or five that game,’ Croson said. And that’s the only game Birmingham has lost.

-- Mike Terry