Muir Girls May Be No. 1 in Nation, but Football Shares the Spotlight

H.D. Woodson of Washington, D.C., the No. 1 girls’ high school basketball team in the country according to USA Today, lost Sunday in New York. That’s good news for Pasadena Muir, the second-ranked team.

Meanwhile, playoff time nears in basketball, soccer and wrestling, and practice for the spring sports will begin in a matter of weeks. Just goes to show that while February is the shortest month, it is also perhaps the busiest.

The thanks for that goes also to football, which ended in December according to the calendar but is able to gain the interest of fans now because of recruiting. With that in mind . . .

The Waiting Game: Linebacker Yul (Pepper) Jenkins of Verbum Dei, one of the top defensive prospects in the state, has become something of an untouchable entity because he took the Scholastic Aptitude Test only recently. He has the grade-point average to get into schools under new NCAA guidelines but is still awaiting the test result.

Who would have thought at the start of the season that Jenkins would not have taken even a single recruiting trip by now?

“I don’t think he’ll go to a four-year school and sit out the first year,” Verbum Dei Coach Lalo Mendoza said. “I think he will try for a good junior college program or a top-line Division II school.”

On the other hand, lineman Ryan McReynolds of Rowland has visited Cal, Arizona and, most recently, Arizona State. But he is waiting to see what interest may develop at UCLA when the Bruins find out about some of their other recruits.

“(Bruin coaches) have been real honest with me about where I stand,” McReynolds said. “Before I knew how the recruiting process worked, I would have been offended or put off. But now I see that it’s a crap-shoot for them as much as us (the players). No one wants to get left out and they are doing their best to get the top guys.

“All the schools have been real honest with me and with their situations, and that’s all I can ask.”

Touching all the bases: UCLA is still in the running for quarterback Jeff George of Indianapolis, considered by some as the nation’s No. 1 prospect, but apparently his desire to play baseball in college isn’t as major an issue as some people have been saying. Neither is the fact that his best friend from high school, Lance Scheib, plays at Purdue.

George has eliminated Iowa from consideration, partly because the Hawkeyes will get Claremont’s Dan McGwire, and may take a trip to Tennessee instead. But for now, he’s down to UCLA, Miami, Illinois and Purdue, in no particular order.

The Bruins are also finalists for outstanding wide receiver Greg McMurtry of Brockton, Mass., and there is a good chance that he may be a first-round pick in the June baseball draft. His coach, Armond Colombo, said that McMurtry will definitely wait until Feb. 12 to pick from among UCLA, Iowa, Michigan, Penn State, Boston College and Notre Dame, where he visited last weekend.

“His preference is to play football, and right now he’s not thinking of anything else,” Colombo said. “But I do know for a fact that some major league baseball teams have been in touch with our baseball coach. One in particular stated that there is a darn good chance that he (McMurtry) would be drafted in the first round if they had a shot at him.”

Here, there and everywhere: Pat O’Hara, a highly regarded quarterback from Santa Monica, has given an oral commitment to USC. . . . Running back Riche Swinton of Montclair Prep in Van Nuys said he will play for Washington State. . . . Westlake quarterback Brad Gossen also announced his intention to sign with the Cougars.

Cleveland Colter, an outstanding defensive back-running back from Tempe McClintock in Arizona, will chose between USC and Arizona State. The Trojans are recruiting him for defense, and the Sun Devils are looking at him to fill a big need at tailback, but neither will have to worry about Brigham Young for either position after Colter’s trip to Utah last weekend.

“It was pretty sorry,” he said. “I didn’t like it. The snowmobiling was pretty fun, but everything else was pretty bad.”

Pomona running back J.J. Flannigan postponed his choice between Colorado and Cal until later in the week. . . . L.A. Banning Coach Chris Ferragamo, who said during the season that running back-defensive back Robert Hicks of Fremont would be a great catch despite his lack of publicity, has found plenty of college coaches who agree. Hicks will decide between Nebraska and Washington this week. . . . Offensive lineman Nigel Clay and tight end Ernie Rogers, both of Fontana, visited Oklahoma last weekend. Both have already gone to USC, but Clay will take a trip to Nevada Las Vegas this weekend and also will see UCLA.

USC had a big weekend with visits from running back Pierre Goode of Towncreek, Ala., center Tom Dabasinskas of Escondido San Pasqual, and lineman Don Gibson of Orange El Modena, among others. The Trojans will also get a mid-week visit from Terry Rodgers of National City Sweetwater--but Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne made an appearance at a Sweetwater banquet Monday night.

Linebacker Brian Tuliau of Long Beach Poly has dropped UCLA from consideration and will decide between Arizona State, which he visited this weekend, and USC. . . . His teammate, defensive back Mark Carrier, went to Notre Dame last weekend. . . . Fontana wide receiver Michael McClellan will chose between Cal and Oregon.

UCLA is no longer in the running for Bernard Hall of Detroit Henry Ford, one of the top quarterback prospects in the country, and he will go to either Oklahoma or Michigan. But the Bruins are very much in the race for linebacker Mark Spencer from Seaholm High in Birmingham, Mich. Spencer will visit Los Angeles this weekend and then chose among UCLA, Michigan State, North Carolina, Michigan and Penn State.

Breaking up is hard to do: UCLA recently lost a potential recruit in Braxston Banks of Hayward Moreau, one of the top running backs in Northern California, but, if it is any consolation, not a friend.

“It’s almost like somebody dies in the family,” his mother, Priscilla, said of the elimination process. “That was the case when we told UCLA that Braxston was not coming there. It was that rough.”

Prep Notes El Segundo will hold its annual alumni baseball game Saturday at the city’s Recreation Park beginning at 10 a.m. George Brett, Ken Brett, Scott McGregor and American League umpire Derryl Cousins are expected to participate. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children, with all proceeds going to the El Segundo baseball program. . . . Franklin football Coach Rick Gamboa has resigned to become an assistant at Cal State Northridge. He will remain at Franklin as a teacher, however. . . . Gregg LeMaster, commissioner of the Northern Section since 1980, died in San Francisco of a stroke Jan. 19.

Times’ Top 10

SOUTHERN SECTION Through Feb. 3 No. School, League Record

1. Mater Dei, Angelus 21-0

2. Capistrano Valley, South Coast 21-2

3. Santa Monica, Bay 17-3

4. Muir, Pacific 19-2

5. Serra, Camino Real 16-4

6. HH Wilson, Sierra 18-3

7. Ocean View, Sunset 17-4

8. Culver City, Ocean 19-2

9. Simi Valley, Marmonte 20-2

10. Riverside North, Ivy 20-1

CITY No. School, League Record

1. Crenshaw, Central 14-2

2. Fairfax, Valley 14-4

3. Carson, Marine 13-5

4. Palisades, Central 14-3

5. Fremont, Central 13-4

6. Cleveland, Valley 11-5

7. Westchester, Central 12-5

8. San Pedro, Marine 11-5

9. Manual Arts, Marine 11-5

10. Dorsey, Central 9-8