PREP NOTES : Torrance Keeps Dropping Games They Could Win

Torrance High football Coach Rich Busia didn’t feel like talking Friday, but it didn’t matter. The look of disappointment on his face said it all.

For the fourth straight week, Busia watched his team lose a game it could have won, perhaps should have won. Palos Verdes rallied from a 21-10 deficit in the last four minutes to pull out a 23-21 victory on a 28-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left.

It was the latest frustration for a team that has endured more than its share of hard luck this year. The Tartars are 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the Bay League, but they easily could be unbeaten. They have either squandered a sizable lead or failed to capitalize on a potential game-winning scoring opportunity in each of their four losses to West Torrance, Santa Monica, Hawthorne and Palos Verdes.

Torrance’s tales of woe:

Despite dominating the statistics, the Tartars fell to West, 14-8, in their final non-league game Sept. 23 when the Warriors’ Josh Moore intercepted a pass by quarterback Rich Camou in the end zone with 44 seconds left after Torrance had driven to the West 21.

Torrance built a 15-0 lead in a Bay League opener Sept. 28 against Santa Monica, but was shut out in the second half as the Vikings rallied for a 20-15 victory. “We played well enough to win,” Busia said afterward. “That’s the sad part.”

The Tartars scored two touchdowns in the final 1:48 to pull within one point of Hawthorne on Oct. 7. Busia tried for a two-point conversion, but Hawthorne’s Kalvein Latu intercepted Antone Williamson’s pass at the goal line with 11 seconds left to preserve a 13-12 win.

Torrance built a 21-10 lead with 4:28 left to play last week against Palos Verdes only to watch the Sea Kings score two touchdowns in the final two minutes and escape with an improbable victory.

Palos Verdes Coach Bill Judy expressed his sympathy to Torrance after his team’s dramatic comeback.

“You have to feel for their coaches,” he said. “They’re good guys. It’s tough to lose like that.”

But behind every cloud is a silver lining. In Torrance’s case, it arrives Friday night in the form of Inglewood’s football team. The Sentinels are 0-5 and have been outscored 189-20.

Palos Verdes’ come-from-behind victory in the closing seconds against Torrance was the latest in a series of miracle wins the Sea Kings have pulled off on their home field in the 1980s.

Leuzinger Coach Steve Carnes, whose team visits Palos Verdes for a Bay League game Friday afternoon, is aware of the mystique.

The last time the Olympians played at Palos Verdes, in 1986, Matt Seaburn returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the final minute to give the Sea Kings an 18-13 victory.

How is Leuzinger preparing for Friday’s game?

“We’ve sent a lot of our players to church this week,” Carnes quipped. “We’ll have the Hail Mary on our side.”

Rolling Hills senior Steve Clover, a 6-foot-4 guard and one of the South Bay’s most heavily recruited basketball players, has narrowed his list of prospective colleges to Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, USC and St. Mary’s, according to Rolling Hills Coach Cliff Warren.

Warren said Clover will most likely sign a letter of intent during the early one-week signing period beginning Nov. 8.

In his third year as a varsity starter, Clover averaged 18 points a game last season in helping Rolling Hills capture its third consecutive Bay League title and reach the quarterfinals of the Southern Section 3-A playoffs. He is considered one of the area’s top outside shooters, making him especially attractive to colleges that utilize the three-point shot.

Warren said Clover is the most sought-after player he’s had in five years at Rolling Hills.

Former St. Bernard basketball standout David Whitmore hit the first basket of Tulane’s midnight scrimmage Sunday, signaling the return of the sport at the New Orleans university.

Tulane suspended its basketball program after the 1985 season because of point-shaving allegations and other improprieties.

In that regard, it was somewhat fitting that Whitmore scored the opening basket. The 6-5 junior guard must sit out this season after transferring from Georgia Tech.

PREP NOTES--Carson’s basketball team has been selected to play the Korean Junior Olympic Team in an exhibition Nov. 2 at Carson. The L.A. City Section is allowing the Colts to begin practice a few weeks early to prepare for the game, which will be played under high school rules instead of international rules . . . For the second consecutive week, four Bay League football teams are ranked in the Southern Section Division II poll. Hawthorne is ranked second behind Thousand Oaks, Leuzinger is third, Rolling Hills is eighth and Palos Verdes is ninth . . . Beverly Hills will forfeit all of its athletic contests, except in water polo, until the district’s teachers strike is settled. The Normans, who are tied with Palos Verdes for third place in the Bay League football race, are scheduled to meet Santa Monica on Friday. A win will be awarded to Santa Monica if Beverly Hills does not show up . . . The Chadwick girls volleyball team, ranked second in the Southern Section Small School Division coaches poll, improved to 9-0 Tuesday in the Prep League with a 15-5, 15-2, 8-15, 15-4 win over Rio Hondo Prep. Shannon Davenport led the Dolphins with 19 kills.