HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TODAY

Banning vs. San Fernando

At East Los Angeles College 7:30 p.m.

Banning High has played in the City championship game in nine of the last 10 years. Five times the Pilots have ousted San Fernando from the playoffs, losing to the Tigers only once, 20-8, in the 1975 title game. Banning (7-3) has won 20 straight games and 32 of 33 against teams from the Valley since losing to San Fernando. Of those 20 consecutive wins, six have been by shutout. Its last loss was 24-14, to John Elway and Granada Hills in 1978. The Pilots started this season with a 2-3 record, but have won five straight. Quarterback Eddie Kapu is at the controls of Banning’s powerful option offense. When he makes the correct decisions, the Pilots are close to unstopable, but he has had several poor games and the team has struggled. Earl Saunders, an All-City linebacker, switched to tailback after the third game of the season--a 27-11 loss to Edison--and responded with seven touchdowns in the next six games. Eric Sharp is Banning’s other top rusher. The Pilot defense is led by junior linebacker Calvin Spears, who leads the team in tackles. Banning has allowed only 26 points in its last six games. The Pilots shut out Kennedy, 14-0, in the first round of the playoffs. San Fernando (8-2), champion of the Valley 4-A League, has won seven in a row. The Tigers are led on offense by tailback Lance Harper, who has 482 yards in the last three games. He rushed for 118 yards and scored the winning touchdown with 1:24 left in San Fernando’s 13-10 win over Gardena in the first round of the playoffs. The Tigers’ defense, one of the Valley area’s best, has allowed an average of only 150 yards a game this season. During its winning streak, San Fernando has outscored its opposition, 198-36. The winner of the game will probably meet Carson, the City Section’s No. 1 team, for the 4-A Division championship next week. Carson plays Dorsey in the other semifinal game.

Hart vs. West Torrance

At West Torrance High 7:30 p.m.

West Torrance and Hart both started slowly this season, but rebounded to win league championships. West Torrance (8-2-2) started 1-2, but is unbeaten since. The Warriors’ two wins in the playoffs have both been by one point--10-9 over Oxnard and 3-2 over Simi Valley last week. West Torrance won the Coastal Conference championship three years ago, and is noted for its strong running game. Kevin Maher, the Bay League Back of the Year, rushed for more than 1,100 yards in the eight regular season games he played. He missed two games with a deep thigh bruise. Maher has been joined by Kaiser Noa during the playoffs. Noa had been academically ineligible. Hart started the season with a heart-breaking, 6-3, loss to Canyon, then lost to Santa Barbara and Alemany, and was tied, 0-0, by a Saugus team that won only one game this season. But the Indians went undefeated in Foothill League play and have won eight in a row. Hart is led on offense by quarterback Jim Bonds, who has passed for 2,035 yards and run for seven touchdowns. Bonds scored the game-winning touchdown on a two-yard run with 40 seconds left in Hart’s 24-17 win over Santa Barbara last week. Tailback Chris Hite is the team’s leading rusher with 610 yards and is also the top receiver with 52 catches for 608 yards. The Indians’ designated touchdown scorer is fullback Brian Baie, who has 15 of Hart’s 22 rushing touchdowns.

Montclair Prep vs. Paraclete

At Antelope Valley College 7:30 p.m.

Montclair Prep (9-3) is coming off of a 35-0, mud-slinging rout of favored Ontario Christian in which Riche Swinton ran for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns before the end of the first half. Swinton has rushed for 1,873 yards and 23 touchdowns this season. He has four in this season’s playoffs. The win was Montclair Prep’s sixth shutout of the season and second of the playoffs. The Mounties defeated Bishop Union, 14-0, in the first round. Quarterback Reggie Smith engineers the Mounties’ offense, which has outscored its last eight opponents, 291-9. Ontario Christian was 10-1 before losing to Montclair Prep. Since it dropped its opening game, 19-18, to St. Bonaventure, Paraclete has beat its last 11 opponents. Last week, it held on to beat Orange Lutheran, 14-6. “Montclair Prep is going to be the best team we face all year,” Paraclete Coach Joe Watts said. “We certainly don’t match them in size--they’re one of the biggest high school teams I’ve seen--but we have good overall quickness.” Paraclete went 5-0 to win the Desert Inyo League.

Notre Dame (Riverside) vs. Harvard

At Valley College 7:30 p.m.

Harvard (7-5) pulled off the upset of the playoffs last week, defeating Santa Clara, 16-12, in the quarterfinals. Santa Clara had been the top-ranked team in the Desert-Mountain Conference. The Saracens opened the playoffs with a 23-3 win over Yucaipa. Harvard was 1-4 at one point this season, but went 4-1 in the Pioneer League to finish second. Said Harvard Coach Gary Thran: “I think when people look at our record, they may under estimate us a bit. We played a real tough preseason schedule. Our five losses were either against playoff teams or teams of higher caliber than we were.” From the beginning of the season, Thran has been thinking about a Southern Section championship. “When we were 1-4, we were not really too sure of ourselves,” he said. “We are now realizing that our team was very young, and they just didn’t come along quite as quickly as we thought they would. I kind of had some second thoughts there for a while, but we kept improving, and I hope we keep improving.” The Saracens will be helped this week by the return of running back Andy Bell, who has missed the last two games because of an appendectomy. Notre Dame (10-2) finished third in the Sunkist League, dropping league games to Elsinore (7-6) and to Yucaipa (9-3). The Titans have 30 interceptions on the season, led by J.J. Celestine with 11. Notre Dame’s quarterback, Tony Nordbec, has thrown eight touchdowns in the two playoff games.

Canyon vs. Lompoc

At Lompoc High 7:30 p.m.

Entering the Northwestern Conference semifinals, Canyon has given up 45 points in 12 games. “When it plays well, it’s the best defense I’ve ever been around at the high school level,” Canyon Coach Harry Welch said. While Canyon’s defense has been overpowering, its offense has been just as noteworthy. The Cowboys have scored 387 points, an average of more than 32 a game. In their two playoff wins, the Cowboys have rolled up 88 points. That’s especially impressive since Canyon is going with its second-string quarterback, Ken Sollom. The starter, John Watkins, broke his wrist in the regular season’s last game. “Ken doesn’t have the experience, so he’ll misread coverages once in a while,” Welch said. “And he executes the run offense with a little less confidence than John did. But Ken can throw some darts that very few other people can.” In the two playoff wins, Sollom has thrown four touchdowns. Canyon (12-0) has won 36 consecutive games and is the two-time defending conference champion. Lompoc (10-2) entered the playoffs seeded No. 4 in the conference, while Canyon was No. 1. The Braves won the Northern League with a 4-0 record and own playoff victories over St. Anthony (42-14) and North Torrance (31-14). Lompoc is led by running back Sheldon Canley, a 5-8, 165-pound senior. Canley has rushed for more than 1,400 yards and has scored 19 touchdowns. He also has another 300 yards in pass receptions. Additionally, he returns punts and kickoffs. “We are very excited to be playing a very good football team,” Lompoc Coach Dave Reynolds said. “It’s not often you get to play the No. 1 team in your own backyard.”

Hamilton vs. Chatsworth

At Chatsworth High 7:30 p.m.

Chatsworth faces Hamilton for the fourth time in two years. The Chancellors beat Hamilton earlier this season, 14-3. They also won, 30-14, in the playoffs last year. “Anything could happen in this game,” Hamilton Coach Dave Lertzman said. “We play good defense, so does Chatsworth. It’ll be a real hard game. The kids know if they lose, they aren’t going anywhere.” Hamilton’s record is 4-6. “Some people told me we didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs, that our record wasn’t good enough,” the coach said. “But the teams that beat us had combined records of 29-6-1, so we weren’t playing chopped liver. Every team we lost to went to the playoffs.” Two weeks ago, Lertzman’s team beat San Pedro, 8-6. “We are the first Hamilton team to go to the semifinals--ever,” Lertzman said. Chatsworth, like Hamilton, started slow this season and came on strong. The Chancellors (7-2-1) lost their first two games and haven’t lost since. They beat Palisades, 14-0, in the first round of the playoffs. “Our defense is our strength,” said Chatsworth Coach Myron Gibford. “And it’s still improving every week. From what we know, Hamilton has improved. They’ve got some tools. I just hope we play consistent and don’t beat ourselves. I’m very nervous.”

St. Genevieve vs. Leuzinger

At Leuzinger High 7:30 p.m.

St. Genevieve (10-2) enters the Desert-Mountain Conference semifinals perhaps stronger than ever. Running back Jeff De La Cruz, who averaged 109 yards per game during the regular season, has been sidelined with a sprained ankle and has rushed only five times in the playoffs. He is healthy and listed as a probable starter. Quarterback Andy Sherman has thrown for 563 yards and five touchdowns in two playoff games. Leuzinger (10-1-1), co-champion of the Pioneer League, is led by senior quarterback Mike Reddington. He has passed for more than 1,600 yards and 22 touchdowns. He has also rushed for more than 700 yards and six scores. Receiver Sean Smith has been his favorite target. He has 600 yards in pass receptions and scored 11 touchdowns. Leuzinger Coach Steve Carnes believes the Olympians may have problems at the line. “We average about 170 pounds across our defensive line,” he said. “St. Genevieve averages about 220 on their offensive line. If we can’t get past them and put pressure on their quarterback, we may have some real problems, because he has looked real strong in the playoffs.”