Prep Football Games to Watch : San Fernando Tries to End Banning’s Hex on Valley

Banning High School, which has played in the championship game nine of the last 10 years, will try to add to the string Friday night at 7:30 against San Fernando in the City 4-A semifinals at East Los Angeles College.

Banning (7-3) has won 19 straight games against teams from the San Fernando Valley. San Fernando is 8-2 and has won its last seven games, but the Tigers have lost five straight playoff games to Banning.

The game was originally scheduled for San Fernando High, but the recent rain left the natural grass field unusable.

Pasadena Muir (11-1) vs. Pasadena (8-4), Friday night at Glendale High--After finishing in third place in the Pacific League, Pasadena was not expected to go far in the Coastal Conference playoffs. But the Bulldogs have upset Santa Monica and Montebello Schurr to move into the semifinals for the second straight year, setting up what should be an emotional rematch against crosstown rival Muir, which beat Pasadena Nov. 16 at the Rose Bowl, 27-7. Perhaps the biggest reason for Pasadena’s success in the playoffs is its wishbone backfield, which has accounted for virtually all of the team’s offense. The Bulldogs, who have thrown only one pass in the playoffs, are led by running backs Anthony Wallace and W.C. Morrison, and quarterback Ray Murphy. Muir, more of a rushing team in the regular season, has relied on the passing of quarterback James Dunn to wide receiver John Hardy and running back Cary Grant in the playoffs.

Other playoff games to watch:

Fairfax (10-0) vs. Locke (6-4), Friday night at Belmont High--The City 3-A semifinal will be the second meeting of these teams this season. Fairfax won the nonleague game, 27-13, the closest anyone has come to beating the Lions so far. Fairfax quarterback Rodney Dorsett is coming off an excellent game against Manual Arts in the first round, when he completed 11 of 17 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown, and rushed four times for 61 yards and another score. Locke has a potent backfield with quarterback Leon Otis and sophomore tailback Darrin Hagan.

Huntington Beach Marina (8-3-1) vs. Long Beach Poly (10-1), Friday night at Cerritos College--Marina, Sunset League co-champion, is coming off a 33-12 quarterfinal upset of La Puente Bishop Amat, the top-seeded team in the Big Five Conference. Poly, which has shut out six opponents this season, held Fontana to 20 yards rushing last week, and won, 10-9. Each team has a fine defense and relies on a good running back as an offensive catalyst. Leonard Russell has averaged 105 yards a game for Poly, and Marina’s Sean Magula has gained 573 yards and scored 6 touchdowns in the last 4 games.

Claremont (11-1) vs. Norco (10-2), Friday night at Ramona High--This Eastern Conference semifinal will be a matchup of two of the top passing combinations in the Southern Section. Defending conference champion Claremont, which has won 25 of its last 26 games, has been led by prep All-American quarterback Dan McGwire and wide receiver Travis Watkins. McGwire passed for 2,112 yards and 22 touchdowns in the regular season, and Watkins caught 65 passes for 1,087 yards. Norco is led by the tandem of quarterback Chris Kruswicki and wide receiver Dave Kelly, who had a Southern Section high of 78 receptions for 1,299 yards and 7 touchdowns in the regular season.

Panorama City St. Genevieve (10-2) at Lawndale Leuzinger (10-1-1)--Second-seeded St. Genevieve enters the Desert-Mountain Conference semifinals perhaps stronger than ever. Running back Jeff De La Cruz, who averaged 109 yards a game during the regular season but was sidelined with a sprained ankle and rushed only five times in the playoffs, is healthy and listed as a probable starter. Quarterback Andy Sherman has thrown for 563 yards and five touchdowns in the playoffs. Leuzinger, co-champion of the Pioneer League, is led by senior quarterback Mike Reddington, who has passed for 22 touchdowns and more than 1,600 yards. He has also rushed for more than 700 yards and six touchdowns. Receiver Sean Smith has been his No. 1 target, catching passes for 600 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Tehachapi (10-2) at Cerritos Valley Christian (12-0), Friday night--Valley Christian Coach Mike Wunderley figures that his team will be facing “the best competition we’ve had all year,” against Tehachapi in an Inland Conference semifinal game. Although Valley Christian has 10 shutouts this season, tying a State record, the Crusaders allowed two touchdowns in its 34-13 win over San Jacinto last week. Valley Christian has allowed just 20 points this year. Wunderley wasn’t excited by his team’s play last week. “We made mistakes against San Jacinto that have not happened before,” he said.

Westchester (9-1) at Bell (10-0), Friday night--Unbeaten Bell knocked Westchester out of the 2-A playoffs last year and must watch out for a reversal. Bell’s attack features quarterback Eliud Pacheco, the Eastern League Player of the Year, and kicker Waldir Guerra, who not only holds the City soccer scoring record, but has eight field goals this year--four of 42 yards or longer. Bell has been behind in only three games this year. Westchester isn’t a team anyone wants to be behind. The explosive Comets have scored more than 50 points three times, with a high of 60. Steve Kristy directs an offense that has big-play receiver David Brantley and running back Derrick Franklin.

Newhall Hart (8-3-1) at West Torrance (8-2-2), Friday night--This Coastal Conference semifinal pits two late blooming teams. West Torrance started out 1-2 but came on during Bay League play and got one of its best players, Kaiser Noa, back for the playoffs. He had been academically ineligible. The Warriors are basically a running and kicking team, featuring running backs Kevin Maher and Noa. They’ve won both playoff games by one point--10-9 over Oxnard and 3-2 over Simi Valley--on field goals by Dominick Cefalone. Hart lost its first three games and was tied by Saugus, but the Indians haven’t lost since. They have one of the San Fernando Valley’s top quarterbacks in junior Jim Bonds, who has passed for 2,035 yards and scored the winning touchdown with 40 seconds left last week against Santa Barbara. Fullback Brian Baie is difficult to stop inside the five-yard line and has scored 15 touchdowns.