Despite Losses, Beverly Hills Is Still Winning

Last year, Beverly Hills High School had a very productive season despite a first round, 33-0 playoff loss to Cerritos. With an 8-3 record overall, the Normans finished in a three-way, first-place tie in the Ocean League with Hawthorne and Santa Monica.

This season was supposed to be a down year because of the graduation of many key seniors, including All-League tailback Willie Crawford, now a UCLA safety. However, the Normans are not following the plan because they are off to a surprising 5-0 start.

“This definitely is a surprise,” said Bill Stansbury, who coaches the team along with Dick Billingsley. “But, we still have to improve and execute properly to continue to win. We’re a young team and we’re not as big as most of the teams that we play. We have to rely on team speed and quickness.”

Leading the way for Beverly Hills has been junior running back Danny Edwards, who has scored 6 touchdowns while rushing for 167 yards in 41 carries, and first-year starting quarterback John Johnson, who has passed for 757 yards with 7 touchdowns.

But the key to Beverly Hills early success has been the play of senior wide receiver/defensive back Michael Moore.

Moore, nephew of former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver and NBC commentator Ahmad Rashad, has caught a touchdown pass in every game this season, including a school record 99-yard scoring play against Rolling Hills.

The 6-foot 4-inch, 185-pound Moore, does everything for the Normans. As a wide receiver, he has 18 catches for 500 yards (more than 27 yards per catch) and 7 touchdowns. On defense, Moore has 3 interceptions from his starting defensive back postion and he also is a top punt returner.

“Michael has just been outstanding,” said Stansbury, who has been coaching at Beverly Hills since 1972. “He has things that you just can’t coach, in his size, speed and jumping ability but he has really improved on his hands from last season.”

Moore’s fast start has not come as a surprise to him.

“I always thought that I was capable of this,” Moore said. “But, going into the season with a new quarterback (Johnson) I knew that my success would depend on his development and John has improved every week.

“I know that I can make something happen if I get the ball 4 or 5 times a game. I do not believe that anyone can cover me one on one.”

Moore has a tough decision ahead when he chooses a college to attend because he is also a baseball and basketball standout.

“Michael can be a star on the Division I level as a college wide receiver,” Stansbury said. “But he also is so good in the other sports, that he really can’t lose in making his decision.”

Moore, a California native, said he will probably play football and baseball in college. “I also want to stay on the West Coast,” he said. “The schools that I am looking at are USC, UCLA, Stanford and Cal.”

This season, Beverly Hills has been moved into the Bay League. Their next 3 games against Lawndale Leuzinger, Santa Monica and Hawthorne are pivotal in the Normans’ quest for the league championship.

Said Moore: “So far, we haven’t been tested. We’ll have to respond this week against Leuzinger to see how good we really are.”

Leuzinger is 5-0 after a 33-11 win over Rolling Hills Friday night and will be a big test for the Normans Friday afternoon.

Long Beach Poly continues to make its claim as one of the top teams in Southern California.

The Moore League Jackrabbits have already defeated 3 prominent nonconference teams in City power Banning, Bishop Amat of the Angelus League and highly regarded Fountain Valley of the Sunset League.

In last Friday’s win over Fountain Valley, Poly’s star quarterback Michael Carter watched pregame warmups in sweats because of an injured right knee. But once the game started, Carter was in uniform, leading the Jackrabbits to a 35-20 win.

Carter proved to be the difference in the game, as he accounted for 240 yards in total offense, including a 31-yard touchdown run and a 73-yard touchdown pass play to Stanley Alexander. His bomb to Alexander broke open a 21-20 game, as Poly scored the last 21 points of the game.

The only team ranked ahead of Poly is Loyola, the defending Del Rey League champion. Loyola defeated Santa Ana, 27-0, Saturday night, behind Johann Fuller’s 78 yards rushing and 1 touchdown.

As usual, Loyola Coach Steve Grady has put together a dominating defense. Behind the strong play of tackle Matt Butkus and safety Jim Klein, the Cubs (5-0) have allowed only 21 points this season.

Another key player for Loyola is their all-league kicker Paul Stonehouse. Stonehouse kicked a pair of 42-yard field goals in the Cubs’ win over Santa Ana.

Prep Notes

Los Altos’ tight end/defensive back Jason Martin had a big game in their 23-21 win over Rowland. He caught 3 passes for 41 yards with a touchdown, carried the ball twice for key first downs and on defense, he had 14 tackles. . . . Carpinteria lost to Santa Clara, 28-7, Saturday night, marking the first time since 1983 that they have lost 2 consecutive games. Last week, Carpinteria lost to Santa Ynez, 13-10, which ended a 17-game winning streak.

In City action, Franklin defeated Belmont, 35-0, to improve to 4-0. Running back Lamont Lovett ran for 225 yards in 18 carries with 3 touchdowns. He also scored on a 51-yard touchdown pass play from quarterback Santiago Alvarez, who completed 12 of 17 passes for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns. Receiver Chad Infranca caught 6 passes for 108 yards, with 2 touchdowns.

Franklin’s main threat for the City 3A championship, University, was upset, 20-8, at home by Fairfax. University’s offense was shut down by a big-play Fairfax defense, which scored on Mark Ricks’ 40-yard interception return. Fairfax’s offense was led by Mike Mattison, who rushed for 147 yards in 26 carries and scored a touchdown.

Dorsey improved to 4-0 with a 24-0 win over San Pedro. Shawn Miller scored twice for the Dons and quarterback Roman Foster threw for 2 touchdowns, including a 64-yard play to junior wide receiver Kevin Copeland.

TIMES’ PREP POLLS

Southern Section

No. School, League Record

1. Loyola, Del Rey 5-0-0

2. Long Beach Poly, Moore 4-0-0

3. Servite, Angelus 5-0-0

4. Fontana, Citrus Belt 5-0-0

5. Mission Viejo, South Coast 5-0-0

6. Bishop Amat, Angelus 4-1-0

7. Edison, Sunset 5-0-0

8. Santa Barbara, Channel 5-0-0

9. Eisenhower, Citrus Belt 4-1-0

10. Antelope Valley, Golden 4-1-0

11. Woodbridge, Pacific Coast 5-0-0

12. Rubidoux, Citrus Belt 4-1-0

13. Valencia, Orange 4-0-1

14. Hawthorne, Bay 4-1-0

15. Walnut, Valle Vista 5-0-0

City

No. School, League Record

1. Franklin, NortheastM 4-0-0

2. Carson, Southern 4-1-0

3. Banning, Southern 4-1-0

4. Dorsey, Southern 4-0-0

5. Granada Hills, North Valley 4-1-0

6. South Gate, Central 5-0-0

7. Reseda, Mid Valley 4-0-0

8. San Fernando, North Valley 3-2-0

9. Crenshaw, Southern 3-1-0

10. University, Sunset 3-1-0