FOOTBALL WRAP-UP : Home-Field Advantage Timely for Hawthorne

The expressions of disbelief worn by El Modena’s football players told the story on Friday night at Hawthorne High.

The visitors from Orange had just witnessed a dramatic and controversial comeback by Hawthorne, which pulled out a 14-12 win in the first round of the CIF Southern Conference playoffs on Eddie Korn’s 24-yard field goal with three seconds left.

At the heart of the controversy was the scoreboard. With about 15 seconds left and the clock running out on the Cougars, who had squandered all of their timeouts, the scoreboard lit up with what looked like hieroglyphics.

Hawthorne coaches blamed the malfunction on a loose wire. El Modena blamed Hawthorne for pulling the plug on its season.

“You guys took it away from us!” screamed an El Modena assistant following the game.

El Modena Coach Bill Backstrom kept a cooler head, but it was obvious he was upset as well.

“Talk to the guy running the clock,” he said. “It was unbelieveable. When the clock went nuts, the officials didn’t know what to do.”

Hawthorne Coach Goy Casillas identified the scorekeeper as “a local minister who has been doing it for years.” The scoreboard also malfunctioned once in the third quarter.

The chaotic ending came after Hawthorne quarterback Curtis Conway had driven his team 67 yards in the final three minutes and 21 seconds. The winning march followed a three-yard touchdown dive by tailback Pat Leborio on fourth-and-goal that put El Modena on top, 12-11.

Conway’s 51-yard pass to speedy wide receiver Travis Hannah on third and 14 gave Hawthorne a first down at the El Modena 10-yard line. On the next play, Conway was tackled after a three-yard scramble with about 22 seconds left.

The Cougars could not stop the clock and Conway, who was playing with a fever and congested lungs, stayed on the ground for several seconds before trying to line the team up for a no-huddle play. Then the clock went out.

It was about this time that a fight broke out between several Hawthorne players on the sideline. “A couple of kids got a little overemotional,” Casillas explained.

Hawthorne officials said when the scoreboard went haywire, they had to unplug it. When the clock was reset, it showed 25 seconds left. The El Modena coaches protested and the officials had the time reduced to 10 seconds. Hawthorne then set up the winning field goal.

“In football, you have to realize you get some breaks and you lose some,” Casillas said. “We had two touchdowns called back (because of penalties).

“We kept our heads. I don’t know what happened with the scoreboard. Even if it didn’t go out, we were out there. They can make excuses and we can make excuses.”

Regardless, Hawthorne (9-1-1) is heading to the quarterfinals Friday to meet No. 4-seeded El Toro (9-2), a 24-7 winner Saturday night over Esperanza. The home team will be determined by a coin flip.

A CIF spokesman said Saturday that El Modena had not filed a protest.

For a team that was picked by the coaches to finish last in the Pioneer League, El Segundo has done extremely well this season.

The Eagles finished second to Leuzinger, earning their first playoff berth in five years. They achieved another milestone Friday night with a 20-8 win over host Lompoc in an opening-round Northwestern Conference game.

It was El Segundo’s first playoff win since 1970. The Eagles (8-3) will play another surprising team, Monrovia (5-6), in the quarterfinals Friday. Monrovia won a coin flip Saturday to earn the home game.

“We were very physical,” said El Segundo Coach Steve Newell. “The defense controlled the game.”

The Eagles, who have given up a total of 28 points in the last five games, received another big effort from safety Dan Brown.

The senior intercepted two passes and caught a long pass from quarterback Joe Montanez early in the fourth quarter to set up the go-ahead touchdown.

“I would call that the play of the game,” Newell said.

Serra’s season came to a stunning end when a disputed penalty nullified a touchdown with eight seconds left and allowed Monrovia to escape with a 16-14 win over the No. 3-seeded Cavaliers at Serra.

Although Serra had run two consecutive plays with a no-huddle offense, Steven Danzy was called for not lining up within 15 yards of the huddle preceding Deon Figures’ one-yard TD catch from quarterback Eric Hamilton.

The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty--officials said Danzy was a hidden player--forced Serra to try a field goal. Hamilton missed a 33-yard attempt as Serra finished with a 9-2 record.

“It’s just a call that’s out of the ordinary,” Serra Coach Dale Washburn said of the penalty. “You hate to see the officials have to take it away from the kids. It’s unjustifiable.

“On film it shows that Danzy was within 15 yards (of the huddle). You can see the defensive back guarding Danzy.”

It was a bitter way for Washburn to end his career at Serra. He has announced this will be his last year of coaching at the Gardena school.

Monrovia, meanwhile, heads to the quarterfinals after earning a playoff spot only because South Pasadena was forced to forfeit its Rio Hondo League win over the Wildcats.

For the second straight year, South Torrance was the only Bay League team to survive the opening round of the Coastal Conference playoffs.

Despite a number of injuries, the visiting Spartans managed to defeat No. 4-seeded Hueneme, 21-14, behind impressive performances by tailback Mike Wyrick (139 yards, one touchdown rushing) and quarterback Zak Krislock (186 yards, one TD passing).

South Torrance (9-2) will play host to Channel Islands (9-2), a 27-19 playoff winner over Quartz Hill, in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Spartans beat Channel Islands in the first round last season at Hueneme.

Palos Verdes proved no match for Antelope Valley, losing 41-14 at Torrance High. The Sea Kings (6-5) lost star tailback Matt Seaburn in the first quarter because of a hip pointer and then gave up 21 unanswered points going against a strong wind in the second period as Antelope Valley opened a 27-7 lead.

North Torrance, the other Bay League tri-champion, fell behind 21-0 and made the 21-13 final score respectable with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Saxons finished at 5-6.

Gardena might feel a sense of deja vu on Monday. In a repeat of last season, the Mohicans will face Crenshaw in a 16-play tiebreaker to settle the fourth and final L. A. City 4-A playoff berth from the Pacific League.

The tiebreaker is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. at Hamilton High, the site of last year’s tiebreaker, won by Gardena.

Gardena and Crenshaw both finished with 2-3 league records. The Mohicans won the previous meeting last month, 33-15.

Carson (9-0) put the finishing touches on an undefeated regular season by beating Crenshaw, 35-7. The Colts, who have outscored their opponents, 355-34, will open the 4-A playoffs in two weeks as the top seed.

Banning (6-3) also sewed up a playoff berth with a dominating performance in a 63-7 win over Fremont. The Pilots and Dorsey tied for second in the Pacific League, both at 3-2.

Leuzinger (9-1-1), the fourth-seeded team in the CIF Northwestern Conference playoffs and one of four South Bay teams still alive in the Southern Section, will make a long trip for its quarterfinal-round game Friday.

The Olympians lost a coin flip and must travel to meet Arroyo Grande, located north of Santa Maria. Leuzinger advanced by holding off San Gabriel, 14-7, in a playoff opener at home.