Fall Notebook / Sam Farmer : Reilly Learns to Grow in Defeat

While the Olympic boxers slug it out in Seoul, Pepe Reilly continues to out-jab his local opponents.

Reilly, 17, narrowly missed making the U.S. team, losing to Michael Carbajal in the 106-pound class of the Olympic Boxing Trials in July. But don’t be surprised if Carbajal, 21, doesn’t recognize Reilly the next time the two meet--the Hoover High junior has grown like a weed. He weighs 119 and plans to fight as a bantamweight.

Reilly did, however, make a brief stopover in the 112-pound flyweight class. He stayed long enough to win a 4 1/2-foot tall champions trophy by beating Ismal Becera in a second-round TKO at the National Blue & Gold Invitational Tournament. The event was held at the Veterans Memorial Park Gymnasium in the City of Commerce earlier this month.

“Becera wasn’t too good,” Reilly said. “I made him tired with body shots and then I saw my chance to stop him.”

But punching power isn’t Reilly’s strong suit. He wins fights with his evasive style and ring savvy.

“He’s not a bull,” said Fred (Felini) Reilly, Pepe’s father and trainer. “He’s more like a matador.”

Maybe that’s why Reilly, who has a record of 141-10, has never even had a bloody nose. He will fight next at the Nov. 7-10 Diamond Belt Tournament in Lynwood.

Fast start: The last time Glendale High started the football season 3-0 was 1982. “We’re getting very nice crowds. The campus is excited about having a winning team,” said Coach Don Shoemaker, who struggled through a 2-8 season last year. “And of course, I’m excited, too.”

And why not? Glendale has established a formidable offensive triple-threat: quarterback Rick Callister, tailback Corey White and fullback Rafik Thorossian.

Callister has completed 25 of 35 passes for 384 yards and 5 touchdowns. White has gained 355 yards in 46 carries, caught 2 passes for 20 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. Thorossian has caught 8 balls for 115 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns in 30 carries.

Fumblemania: Hoover has fumbled away each of its first three games by coughing up the ball deep in its own territory.

“That’s what beats you. You can’t give up the ball on your own 20 to a decent football team,” Hughes said. “It’s not too hard to score from there.”

Costly Win: The Glendale College football team, which is tied with Dixie College for the No. 20 national ranking by JC Gridwire, crushed West L.A. College, 51-0, Saturday.

But the Vaqueros’ victory had a huge price tag: preseason All-American running back James Bledsoe went down with a knee injury which could keep him out for the rest of the season.

Bledsoe, a sophomore, was the only returning starter in the Vaqueros’ backfield. Freshmen Doug Dragomer and Sean Hampton will share time in place of Bledsoe.

Staff writer Chris J. Parker contributed to this notebook.