Just Like the Good Old Days, Carson Meets Banning for the Crown Friday

Playing for the L.A. City football championship is nothing new to Carson and Banning. The schools treat the occasion as a private get-together.

Carson is making its 10th appearance in the finals in the last 11 years, while Banning will play in the title game for the 12th time in 14 years. At least one of the schools has played in the final since 1975.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Carson Coach Gene Vollnogle says he felt something was missing last year when Banning was beaten in the first round of the playoffs and Carson, lacking its usual motivation, was upset by Granada Hills in the final.

“It’s more fun to play Banning,” he said. “There’s more enthusiasm . . . the closeness of the two communities . . . the same stuff. I think it’s a little bit like it used to be.”

The good old days will be revisited at 8 p.m. Friday when Carson (11-1) faces Banning (11-2) for the 4-A Division title at the Coliseum. Carson is favored, based on its 24-13 win over the Pilots on Nov. 11, but history has shown that the winner of the regular-season game is at a disadvantage in the postseason rematch.

This will be the eighth time since 1978 that the archrivals meet for the City title. Of the previous seven titles, six were won by the team that lost the regular-season game.

Vollnogle is aware of the no-repeat jinx. Carson has lost four rematches (in 1978, ‘81, ’83 and ‘85) to Banning in the final, while the Colts turned the tables on Banning in 1984 and ’86. Banning swept Carson in both games in 1979 during its 6-year reign (76-81) as City champion.

“Maybe we broke the jinx by beating Dorsey a second time,” Vollnogle said, referring to Carson’s 14-13 semifinal victory last week. “We were hoping to break that (jinx) last year. We had everything going for us, I thought.”

Carson rolled into last year’s final with an 11-0 record, the nation’s No. 2 ranking and the confidence that came from a 42-14 win over Granada Hills in the regular season. However, the no-repeat jinx held up again as Granada Hills scored a stunning 24-14 upset.

Banning Coach Joe Dominguez hopes his team continues the pattern. He says the Pilots are much healthier than in last month’s loss to Carson. Offensive linemen Bob Whitfield and Andy Gonzalez and quarterback John Ma’ae played with sore ankles, and tight end Bryan Proby went out in the second quarter with a strained knee. Dominguez says his starters are 100% for Friday’s game.

“We’re anxious,” he said. “Going into the game a month ago, we had a lot of guys banged up. That’s the reason we’re happy to get another shot at them.

“Plus, we helped them out with turnovers. We gave them 10 points with two turnovers in the first quarter. Penalties also hurt us. We fell behind early and couldn’t do some of the things we normally do because we were injured. I think the key for us is to play a turnover-free game.”

Banning has relied on a punishing ground game featuring two 1,000-yard rushers--sophomore fullback Derek Sparks and senior tailback Keith Mims. Mims leads the Pilots with 1,278 yards and 18 touchdowns on 196 carries, but Sparks has been the team’s top rusher over the last half of the season. He has 1,264 yards and 15 TDs on 151 carries (an 8.4-yard average).

Ma’ae keeps defenses honest with scrambling and passing (1,233 yards, 7 TDs). His main target is All-Pacific League wide receiver Lamont Shedrick.

“We like the balance,” Dominguez said. “It would be nice to see both backs run for over 100 yards and Ma’ae throw a little bit. We have the type of team where we don’t have to change things for other people. We make the other team try to stop us.”

However, Banning is capable of coming up with a trick play. The Pilots beat San Fernando, 36-34, last week on a 7-yard option pass from Mims to Ma’ae with 2:37 left on fourth down.

Vollnogle, going after his seventh City title at Carson, says the Colts are healthy and ready to make up for last year’s disappointment against Granada Hills.

“Losing that one to Granada Hills last year, that bothered me,” he said. “We were the better team and we got beat. That’s harder to take than anything else.”

Errol Sapp, the Colts’ top running back, said the players made a vow after their loss to Bishop Amat, 17-13, in the second game of the season that they would not lose again in 1988. With 10 straight wins, they’ve kept that promise.