Notebook / Alan Drooz : Carson’s Goree Is a Back in a Hurry, Fleeing Tacklers or Setting Records

It has taken Alvin Goree 2 1/2 seasons to become Carson High’s all-time rushing leader, but it didn’t take him long to break the record last Friday against Crenshaw.

Goree, who entered the game needing 47 yards to break James Vaipou’s 15-year-old record of 1,611, got 11 yards on his first carry, caught a swing pass for 15 yards and another first down, then took a handoff, burst through the right side of the line, cut right and was gone down the sideline 54 yards for a touchdown and the record. All of three minutes had elapsed in the quarter.

Goree, who teams with Calvin Holmes for the explosive Alvin ‘n Calvin backfield, finished with 120 yards for the game and nearly 1,700 for his career. His touchdown gave him eight this season and 30 for his career, another school record. Ron Carver’s total of 29 had stood since 1967.

A rare three-year starter at Carson, Goree is also its all-time scoring leader with 180 points.

This season he has scored five touchdowns rushing, two more receiving and another on a 94-yard kickoff return. He has rushed for 365 yards, an average of seven per carry, caught five passes for 96 yards (a 19.2-yard average) and returned six kickoffs for an average of nearly 25 yards.

How effective has Carson’s backfield been this season? Goree’s per-carry average isn’t even second-best. Holmes is averaging 9.65 yards and backup runner Tyrone Bland, a junior, is averaging 12.3 in 10 tries.

Outside hitters usually get the recognition in volleyball, but good hitters need the right person to set them up, and Loyola Marymount University’s Andrea Fort is gaining recognition as one of the best setters around.

The 5-foot-8 senior earned her second West Coast Athletic Conference player of the week award this season after leading Loyola to three-game sweeps of St. Mary’s College and Nevada-Reno over the weekend. In that series she had 88 assists in 146 chances, an outstanding setting percentage of 60.3. Her totals included 48 assists against Nevada-Reno, though the match went only three games.

Her setting in the two matches helped sophomore outside hitter Leslie Wohlford record 27 kills and junior middle hitter Lori Rodman 23.

“Andrea’s play all season has been nothing short of outstanding,” said Loyola Coach Nancy Fortner. “She’s well respected nationally and certainly within our conference as perhaps the best setter around.”

Fort won the same award in September when she helped lead the Lions to a road sweep of San Francisco and Santa Clara.

Fort won all-WCAC honors as a junior. Her younger sister, Laura, hopes to emulate her success. She is a freshman playing for rival Pepperdine.

David Whitmore, a 6-foot-4 senior forward at St. Bernard High School, and James Moses, a 6-4 junior guard at Serra, are the only South Bay players to receive mention in this year’s Street and Smith Basketball magazine preseason high school All-American team. Whitmore, one of the area’s great leapers, and Moses, who averaged nearly 25 points as a sophomore, received high honorable mention.

Two Southern California players, 6-11 Leron Ellis of Mater Dei and 6-9 Sean Higgins of Fairfax, were placed among the 10 best players in the nation.

Whitmore is also listed as one of the five best players in metropolitan Los Angeles, along with Ellis, Higgins, 6-9 Ricky Butler of Huntington Beach and 6-3 Kevin Williams of Verbum Dei.

Several other Southern Californians received honorable mention and are on teams that will play in the South Bay or against South Bay teams this season, including: forward Don Brotz of Long Beach Wilson, guard Duane Cooper of Lakewood, guard Anthony Jenkins of Downey Pius X, forward Chris Mills of Fairfax, forward Ronnie Coleman of Dominguez, guard Mike Hopkins of Mater Dei, forward Ken Jarvis of Long Beach Millikan, guard Derrick Martin of Long Beach St. Anthony and guard Jason Matthews and center Brian Williams of St. Monica.

The No. 1 preseason prep team is Marion High of Marion, Ind., followed by Flint Hill of Oakton, Va. Marion has two of the top 20 players in the nation in guards Lyndon Jones, 6-3, and Jay Edwards, 6-4, while Flint Hill boasts the nation’s most highly regarded prospect, 6-7 power forward Dennis Scott. One college scout calls him “the best player out of the (Washington) D.C. area since Adrian Dantley.”