AROUND THE LEAGUES : Taft Refuses to Chicken Out Despite a Variety of Problems

They have been kicked out of their own gym. The point guard has the chicken pox. The center is limping with a foot injury. Can there be any good news for the Taft basketball team?

Not today, when the Toreadors visit Cleveland, ranked No. 1 in the Valley by The Times. And not on Friday, when Taft visits Fairfax, ranked No. 8 in the nation by USA Today.

“These games give a coach a lot of anxiety,” Coach Jim Woodard said. “I hope we can be competitive with Cleveland. And Fairfax, oh my, they are unbelievable.”

The scoreboard at Taft is under repair, causing the Cleveland game, originally scheduled at Taft, to be moved to the Cavaliers’ court. “We’re practicing at a junior high,” Woodard said. Point guard Jason Bromberg, a returning starter, has the chicken pox and has been replaced by sophomore Dedan Thomas. And center Quincy Watts, usually the fastest player on the court, will be slowed by a foot injury.

If guard Kevin Franklin, a returning Times’ All-Valley player, shoots well, Taft (2-0) could win either game. The Toreadors beat Fairfax last season behind 31 points by Franklin. Regardless of the outcome, Woodard said the season’s fortunes don’t hinge on this week.

“There is a lot of season left after this week,” he said.

Caaaaaanyonnnnnn: Anyone who has seen Canyon play will recall the Cowboys’ choreographed pregame rituals. The timing and volume of the routine often psych out opposing teams. Before beating Canyon, 22-14, in a Coastal Conference semifinal last week at Glendale High, the Muir Mustangs responded in a strange and effective way. Just when the Canyon players would begin to get noisy, the Mustangs, while continuing their pregame drills, responded in eerie harmony with the long cry, “ Caaaaaanyonnnnnn. “ The stadium seemed to transform into a haunted house as the sound wafted into the air. “It may have been unnerving but it didn’t affect our performance,” Canyon Coach Harry Welch said. . . . Muir’s winning streak has reached 23 games, only half the number Canyon reached before losing to Antelope Valley, 21-20, five weeks ago. The last vestige of a Canyon streak, that of 14 straight playoff wins, was also snapped last week.

J.J. will play: Crespi tailback J.J. Lasley, who hyper-extended his knee in a Big Five Conference semifinal last week, said he’ll play in the championship game Friday at Anaheim Stadium. “I was told by our doctor that I had a 35% chance of playing,” he said. “I feel a lot better than that, though. Emotionally, once I walk into Anaheim Stadium, all the pain will go away. I’ll get in there somewhere, even if it’s on special teams. I have to feel like I contributed.” . . . If it rains in Anaheim on Thursday or Friday, the game between Crespi and St. John Bosco may be moved to Cerritos College. The Los Angeles Rams have a contract with the City of Anaheim that prohibits other teams from using the field when it is wet and can be damaged.

Gimme a “T” for twice: Simi Valley High’s Don MacLean was ejected Saturday from the championship game of the Simi Valley tournament because of unsportsmanlike conduct, which led to two technical fouls against Simi Valley Coach Bob Hawking and six straight points for Glendale. Referee Rick Scott said MacLean used obscene language and ejected him. Does Scott have something against MacLean? “I don’t think there’s any doubt in anyone’s mind that that is the case,” Hawking said. “We’re already talking to the officials assigner and the problem is going to be rectified.” Scott dismissed the idea that he treats any one player differently from another, saying of MacLean’s obscene language, “He said it loud. It’s not the behavior I’ll take from anybody in any game.” MacLean, who admitted making the remark, declined to comment on Scott. . . . On the more wholesome side, Scott, the Hart football coach, may receive the best postgame goodies of any football coach around. After each game, his mother, Gwen, serves him up a batch of homemade cookies on the field. “It started when I was a player,” Scott said. “She likes to come out and give me a kiss, but that would embarrass me.”

Happy Hunters: For Canoga Park Coach Joey Nakasone, the situation seemed too familiar. On Friday, Canoga Park led Grant by five points at halftime, but by the end of the third quarter the score was tied. Nakasone was used to watching games slip away--Canoga Park was 0-19 last season and had lost 20 straight. But this time the Hunters held on and defeated Grant, 58-43. “It felt good to win again,” Nakasone said. “Last season was in the back of my mind, but a lot of the players are new and I don’t think they were aware of it. But the returning guys were real fired up afterward.” . . . This is the third season a sophomore has emerged to make Granada Hills a City Section 3-A power. In 1985, it was center Gary Gray. Last season, it was sixth-man Sean Brown. Coach Bob Johnson believes John Johnson (no relation) will provide the same spark this season. The sophomore point guard moved up from the B team three weeks ago after Amir Hatam, a projected starter, became academically ineligible. In the Highlanders’ first two games, Johnson has shown the ability to score as well as run the offense. “I didn’t expect him to do as much as he’s done,” Bob Johnson said. “He has a knack for being in the right spot, and that’s something you can’t teach.” . . . The L.A. Baptist boys basketball team is undefeated in its first two games, yet it appears the road to success will be a hilly climb for the Knights. L.A. Baptist’s front line players are 6-0, 5-10 and 5-10. “Houston has its twin towers,” L.A. Baptist Coach Maury Neville said. “We’ve got our twin condos. We’re tiny.”

Cross-country: When Bryan Dameworth of Agoura qualified for the national championships by finishing eighth in the Kinney Western Regional meet on Saturday in Fresno, he became the first freshman from the West Region to qualify for the boys national championships.