FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK : Verdugo Hills Was Simply Unstoppable

It’s not the way that Bill Novikoff likes to win, but he’ll take it. Novikoff’s Verdugo Hills High team defeated Hollywood last Friday, 61-14. Verdugo Hills scored on every possession.

“They played very poorly,” Novikoff said. “We played 50-some kids in that game. It was homecoming and we suited up every kid on the squad.”

Even in that jumble of players, it was hard to ignore quarterback Darren Fitzgerald. The 6-2, 205-pound senior completed 9 of 13 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown in 2 1/2 quarters. Fitzgerald has thrown for more than 1,200 yards this season, the third season in which he has exceeded the 1,000 yard mark.

And Verdugo Hills does not have any returning players on the offensive line.

Bowl bid?: Glendale College clinched at least a share of the Western State Conference title Saturday with a 30-20 victory over Bakersfield. Glendale (5-4, 5-1) will win the conference title if Bakersfield (5-4, 4-1) loses to Ventura this weekend.

But Glendale’s chance of securing a bowl bid could be hampered by its 0-4 start. After losing its conference opener to Santa Monica, 22-16, Glendale is 5-0.

“I just hope they look at what we did in the last half of the season,” Coach Jim Sartoris said. “After Santa Monica we knew we couldn’t lose again. We’ve been playing with the pressure all the time.”

Changing times: Occidental College has had trouble keeping a starting running back this season. Mike Sandlin, who missed the Claremont game because of illness, ran four times for three yards in Occidental’s, 20-14, win over Pomona-Pitzer last Saturday. However, Tim Carlson rushed 33 times for 110 yards. Carlson also had 132 yards against Claremont. George Conahey, who missed part of the season because of a sprained ankle, had 13 yards on 2 carries. Kevin Vegas, who had started two games in midseason, suffered a season-ending knee injury against Azusa Pacific.

And quarterback Mark Krajnik last week made his first start since his ribs were cracked three weeks ago. Krajnik, who has completed 58 of 100 passes for 660 yards and 3 touchdowns, was 4 of 6 for 47 yards against Pomona.

Record changes: Because of the use of an ineligible player, South Pasadena and Burbank highs each forfeited six games this week. Glendale-area teams receiving a forfeit victory with their revised records are: Hoover (4-5, 2-2 in the Pacific League), Glendale (1-6-2, 0-3-1 in the Pacific), Crescenta Valley (3-6, 1-3 in the Pacific) and La Canada (1-7-1, 2-1-1 in the Rio Hondo League).