Prep Wrapup : Leuzinger and Hawthorne Fit to Be Tied--Again

What is it about the Leuzinger-Hawthorne football rivalry that produces such evenly matched games?

For the second straight year and the third time in the last four seasons, the Centinela Valley Union district high schools played to a tie Friday night at Leuzinger.

“I’m speechless,” said Leuzinger Coach Steve Carnes, trying to come up with an answer for the 13-13 Bay League deadlock. “It’s weird how it works.”

Weird is definitely the key word. Aside from matching each other on the scoreboard, Hawthorne and Leuzinger each committed 3 turnovers, both teams failed to convert fourth-down plays in a scoreless third quarter and both kickers missed an extra point.

Both teams were also guilty of playing conservatively in the final minutes. Leuzinger did not pass the ball on its final drive, which ended near midfield with a punt, and Hawthorne was content to let the clock run out after taking possession at its own 8-yard line.

“We played it conservatively because I was afraid to lose,” Carnes said. “You don’t want to give it to them.”

Hawthorne Coach Goy Casillas, whose team fumbled away a go-ahead scoring opportunity when quarterback Curtis Conway mishandled a snap at the Leuzinger 16 with 5:13 left, felt the same way.

“We didn’t want to cough up the ball,” he said. “We didn’t want to give them a cheap one, especially after fumbling the snap down there.”

Despite the anti-climactic ending, the game for the most part was exciting and intensely played. An overflow crowd added to the electric atmosphere.

Carnes, however, complained that Leuzinger was too high at the start. The Olympians fell behind, 7-0, midway through the first quarter on a 58-yard touchdown run by Conway and did not catch up until quarterback Zak Odom scored on a 1-yard sneak and Angel Andrade added a PAT with 7:42 left.

“The kids were so high before the game that all the emotion was drained out of us,” he said. “By the end of the first quarter, we had guys sucking gas. It was like they had never been conditioned.”

The tie sets the stage for a Bay League title showdown between Leuzinger and Santa Monica at 7:30 Thursday night at Leuzinger.

Because of Veterans Day on Friday, many of the South Bay’s prep football teams will play on Thursday.

Leuzinger (8-0-1, 5-0-1 in league play) leads Santa Monica (6-2, 5-1) by half a game heading into the last week of the regular season. Both teams have already clinched CIF Division II playoff berths, but the result of Thursday’s game will determine the postseason draw for both teams.

Third-place Hawthorne (6-2-1, 5-1-1) is assured of at least the league’s No. 3 spot in the playoffs, but the Cougars could move up to No. 2 depending on the Leuzinger-Santa Monica outcome.

Beverly Hills, the fourth-place team in the Bay League, appears to have a good chance of gaining an at-large berth in the playoffs after its 38-23 win over visiting Palos Verdes.

One fourth-place team from the five leagues in Division II will be granted a playoff spot to fill out a 16-team bracket, and Beverly Hills’ 6-3 overall record gives the Normans the best shot. A win over Torrance this week would clinch it for them.

Palos Verdes, meanwhile, might be the South Bay’s best team not going to the playoffs. The Sea Kings (6-3, 3-3) need to beat Rolling Hills and Torrance needs to upset Beverly Hills or they’re out in the cold.

“It’s kind of a bummer,” Palos Verdes Coach Bill Judy said after Friday’s loss. “That pretty much does it for our playoff hopes. Beverly Hills is in the driver’s seat.

“I feel sorry for our kids. I felt this was the best mix we’ve had since I’ve been head coach. I thought we played up to the rest of the league, but things kind of caught up to us today.”

Hampered by injuries that limited the mobility of quarterback David Walsh and kept leading rusher Donny Curry on the sidelines, Palos Verdes could not stop the pass-catch combination of Beverly Hills quarterback John Johnson and wide receiver Michael Moore.

Johnson completed 8 passes for 178 yards to the 6-4 Moore, including a 70-yard touchdown in the third quarter that made it 35-7.

“We just couldn’t get any pressure on the quarterback,” Judy said. “We sent our linebackers, but they weren’t getting through.”

Walsh, who was ejected late in the game for a flagrant personal foul, wore a brace on his right knee after suffering an injury in practice this week. He did not play on defense, where he normally starts at end. Curry did not play because of a deep thigh bruise suffered last week against Inglewood.

Carson and Banning tuned up for their annual tussle with Southern League wins. Carson scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions in the second half en route to a 35-20 win over Dorsey at Jackie Robinson Stadium, while Banning overcame the loss of quarterback John Ma’ae for a 34-14 victory at Crenshaw.

The Harbor area rivals will meet for the 34th time at 8 p.m. Friday at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. Carson leads the series, 17-16.

Banning (8-1, 2-0 in league play) lost Ma’ae to an ankle injury in the second quarter but rallied behind sophomore fullback Derek Sparks, who rushed for 198 yards and 4 touchdowns. Coach Joe Dominguez said Saturday that he did not know if Ma’ae’s injury would prevent the quarterback from playing next week.

While Banning was losing a quarterback, Carson (8-1, 2-0) was getting one back. Perry Klein returned to the lineup after missing most of two games with a sprained ankle and completed 4 of 7 passes for 17 yards and 1 touchdown.

Fred Gatlin, the Colts’ other quarterback, connected on 6 of 11 passes for 142 yards and 2 TDs. Wide receiver Marquis Owens caught all three of Carson’s TD passes to tie a school record, and strong safety Greg Lindsey intercepted 2 passes to give him 5 this season.

It was no surprise that Morningside beat South Torrance in their Ocean League showdown, but the 44-0 score had to raise a few eyebrows.

Morningside (6-2, 6-0 in league play) clinched at least a tie for the championship and will enter the CIF Division VII playoffs in two weeks as the league’s No. 1 representative.

Quarterback Ernesto Carmicle scored 3 touchdowns, and the Monarchs did a good job of containing John Morton, South’s outstanding wide receiver. Morton, who had scored 13 TDs in seven games, was held to 5 catches for 69 yards.

South (5-4, 4-2) slipped into a third-place tie with Redondo after losing for the first time in five games.

El Segundo finally gave up a point in Santa Fe League play, breaking a string of five straight shutouts, but Erik Evans and the Eagle offense more than made up for it in a 47-16 win over visiting Salesian.

Evans rushed for 125 yards and 3 touchdowns and returned a punt for another score as El Segundo (9-0, 6-0 in league play) tuned up for Friday night’s Santa Fe title showdown against St. Monica at Palisades High.

Evans, with 4 touchdowns and 1 PAT, increased his South Bay scoring lead to 158 points.