Big Games : Pasadena Poly at Brentwood

This game at 1 p.m. Saturday is for the championship of the Southern Section 8-Man Large Division, and Brentwood Coach Pat Brown hopes that his team will continue avenging its defeats.

Last week the Eagles (9-1) defeated Rio Hondo Prep, 29-22, in a playoff semifinal game, thus squaring matters with the only team to beat them this season (41-26).

Last year Poly (10-0) defeated the Eagles, 29-14, ousting them from the playoffs in the first round. And Brown would like to turn that score around. Brentwood running back Jay Langan, who had rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 9 games, kept picking them up and putting them down against Rio Hondo last week. He gained 285 yards on 35 carries and scored 3 touchdowns.

Pasadena Poly led the division in defense, allowing a stingy 5.2 points a game, and Brown said the Panthers’ defense “is similar to ours with a lot of quick people.”

“One thing they have that we don’t is a big, big linebacker,” Brown said, adding that Poly linebacker-fullback Dierk Esslyn “gave us problems last year. As a runner, he has deceptive speed and can break the long one. He is also a good blocker.” The Panthers’ leading rusher is tailback Mike Franke.

Beverly Hills vs. Palmdale

Beverly Hills (8-3) pulled the biggest upset of the year in Southern Section Division II by defeating previously unbeaten and top-seeded Santa Barbara, 29-21, in a playoff opener on the road.

And the Normans won even though the Dons snuffed the fuse of wide receiver Michael Moore, who has been the biggest gun for Beverly Hills this season. Going into the game, Moore had gained more than 1,000 yards on pass receptions, but Santa Barbara gave him double coverage all night and he didn’t catch a pass.

With Moore stymied, Beverly Hills quarterback John Johnson went to his other receivers: Damon Greene (4 receptions for 46 yards), John Song (3 catches, 49 yards, 1 touchdown) and Darren Smith (1 reception, 34 yards, 1 touchdown). Smith also had a 50-yard interception return for a score. Johnson completed 16 of 21 passes for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Bill Stansbury said that Palmdale (8-3) is “a pretty well balanced crew” that runs about half the time. He said that Falcon quarterback Mark Speer is “very, very good.” Speer has 97 completions in 195 attempts for 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns. His favorite receiver is Shannon Culver, who has 37 receptions for 575 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Last week the Falcons, who finished third in the Golden League, defeated Channel Islands, 28-14, in a playoff opener. Earlier, Palmdale lost to league champion Canyon Country Canyon, 10-7; to second-place Antelope Valley, 19-6, and to Crespi, 33-14.

The quarterfinal playoff game will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Santa Monica College.