PREP WRAPUP : West Torrance Beats South, Leads League

John Black, co-coach of West Torrance High’s football team, rejected the idea Friday night that the Warriors are in the driver’s seat for the Ocean League title.

But how else would you describe it?

After the Warriors’ 16-3 win over South Torrance, they clearly have the smoothest road to the championship.

West moved into sole possession of first place and secured a spot in the Southern Section Division VII playoffs with a performance punctuated by the dominating play of its defense and the multiple talents of Josh Moore.

It was the seventh consecutive win for the Warriors (7-1 overall, 5-0 in league play), who lead South (4-4, 4-1) by one game with two to play.

“I wouldn’t say we’re in the driver’s seat, but we’re happy,” Black said. “We had to have this one. We didn’t want to back into (the championship). We wanted to win this by ourselves.”

The victory at South’s homecoming was satisfying for another reason. After two straight losing seasons, West can clinch its first league title since 1986 with a split in its last two games against North Torrance and Culver City.

“It’s been a long haul for us the last few years,” Black said. “You have to give credit to the seniors. They’ve worked hard.”

Some of the hardest workers Friday night were West’s defensive players. They shut down South’s option attack and tackled quarterback Kevin Fitzpatrick nine times for losses, including a safety by outside linebacker Matt Vincent in the second quarter.

“We made a challenge to our down linemen this week,” Black said. “Having to face a good option quarterback (Fitzpatrick), we told them they had to play their best game in order for us to win.”

Defensive tackles Cedric Lee, Mark Gehley and Jake Nilges responded with big efforts, helping the Warriors limit South to a second-quarter field goal by Brian Hannah.

“Their defense took us out of what we wanted to do,” said South Coach Don Morrow, whose team finished with 106 yards rushing.

South did manage to drive into West territory three times in the fourth quarter. On each occasion, though, the Warriors held their ground.

Inside linebacker Jae Kim sacked Fitzpatrick on two consecutive plays after South had driven to the West 22 to end a scoring threat early in the fourth quarter. Kim added a third sack on South’s next possession, which fizzled at the West 48.

Offensively, West needed little more than the exploits of Moore. The senior running back-defensive back-kick returner broke loose for a 34-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, and he returned a free kick 77 yards for a score after Vincent’s safety to make it 16-0 with 10:23 left in the first half.

Last week, Moore had a 91-yard kickoff return for a TD against Redondo.

“It’s not like we do anything special,” Black said. “With a player like that, he makes us look good. Our special teams have kept us in games. We have the personnel for it.”

While West moved a step closer to the title and South remained in good position to make the playoffs, the next five teams in the Ocean League find themselves in a logjam.

A half-game separates the teams, all of which are fighting to remain in playoff contention. Redondo and Culver City (both 2-2-1) are tied for third following their 14-14 tie Friday night, while Mira Costa, Morningside and North Torrance each have 2-3 records.

Since South has not clinched a playoff spot, that means there are six teams contesting for two guaranteed berths in the Division VII playoffs. That should make for some interesting games in the next two weeks.

Next Friday, South visits Morningside, a team that suddenly has rediscovered how to win after losing its first six games. The Monarchs, last year’s league champions, defeated Mira Costa, 13-10, Friday night for their second straight victory.

Other teams facing must-win games next week are Mira Costa, which plays host to Culver City, and North, which plays at West.

It’s tough to be satisfied with a tie, but Redondo Coach Les Congelliere made the right decision by going for a one-point conversion after his team scored a touchdown with no time remaining against host Culver City.

The Sea Hawks scored on a 25-yard pass from quarterback Brian Davison to running back Antoine Humble to pull within 14-13.

By going for a one-point conversion and a tie, Congelliere put Redondo in position to make the playoffs heading into their last two Ocean League games with Centennial and Mira Costa.

If the Sea Hawks had failed on a two-point try, their season would have been over.

A blocked field goal by senior lineman Dan Beck prevented Rolling Hills from falling out of playoff contention in the Bay League.

Beck’s block on a 21-yard attempt by Santa Monica’s Sheldon Phillip-Guide with 55 seconds left preserved a 22-20 victory for the Titans, who jumped from sixth to fourth in the standings.

Although only the league’s top three teams are assured spots in the Division II playoffs, Rolling Hills (6-2-1 overall, 2-2-1 in the Bay League) presently has the best shot of gaining the division’s wild-card berth, which will go to the fourth-place team with the best overall record from the five leagues within Division II.

However, Coach Gary Kimbrell doesn’t want to look any farther ahead than next Friday’s game with Torrance.

“Right now we can’t worry about what’s going to happen to other teams,” he said. “We have to worry about ourselves. We’ve got to win next week, and Torrance is (tough as) nails.”

In a see-saw game featuring strong running attacks, Rolling Hills scored the game-winning touchdown on a 32-yard pass from quarterback Greg Schwartz to wide receiver Terry Rose on third-and-23 with 3:39 left in the third quarter.

Santa Monica, behind the running of tailback Sean Smith (135 yards, three touchdowns on 30 carries), drove to the Rolling Hills 3-yard line on its last possession. But on third and goal, cornerback Mike Lemons came up to stop Smith in his tracks and force the Vikings into a field-goal try.

Schwartz enjoyed his finest day at quarterback for the Titans. He rushed 15 times for 62 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown and two-point conversion in the second quarter, and he passed for 71 yards and one TD.

Rolling Hills tailback Robert Coulter, the area’s leading rusher, led his team with 118 yards on 23 carries and scored on a five-yard run in the first quarter. The Titans are 6-0-1 when Coulter has reached 100 yards.

Kimbrell was asked about Coulter’s problem with fumbling, which seems to happen when the junior fails to tuck the ball away. The transfer from Texas lost a fumble on Rolling Hills’ first play of the second half.

“It’s just a bad habit,” Kimbrell said. “He must have picked it up in Texas. I’ve got to blame it on something.

“I’ve got a bad habit from Texas too--Dwaine Lyon.”

Lyon, who was raised in the Lone Star state, is Rolling Hills’ offensive coordinator and one of Kimbrell’s closest friends.

Miraleste gave unbeaten Valley Christian a scare Friday night in a key Olympic League football game, but a turnover in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach for the Marauders.

Trailing 22-14, Miraleste fumbled on a punt return with seven minutes to play, and Valley Christian converted it into a touchdown to improve to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in league play. Miraleste dropped to 5-3 and 3-2.

“We had a breakdown on special teams, and that was the ball game,” said Miraleste Coach Todd DeAngelis.

The Marauders, who played without leading rusher Dan Sarner because of a broken thumb he suffered in practice this week, got a big game from another sophomore running back. Dan Crofton carried the ball 13 times for 122 yards, most of them coming on an 80-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Revenge was sweet for the Palos Verdes girls tennis team Wednesday, as the Sea Kings defeated rival Miraleste, 11-7, in a non-league match at Miraleste.

Miraleste beat Palos Verdes by the same score earlier this year.

“I was ticked off when we lost to Miraleste last time,” Palos Verdes Coach Kathy Ross said. “I really wanted to beat them.”

A third meeting between the South Bay’s top teams could occur in the Southern Section 4-A playoffs. Miraleste entered last week ranked No. 2 in the division and Palos Verdes was No. 3, so it’s likely they could be headed for a date in the semifinals.

Miraleste, which has won four CIF titles in the last eight years, also lost to top-ranked Corona del Mar, 13-5, on Monday.

“It’s the first time we’ve lost two matches in one week since I’ve been here,” said Miraleste Coach Jim Hanson, who is in his sixth year. “(Palos Verdes) wanted it more than us this time. They came out more determined.”

Palos Verdes has clinched its ninth Bay League title in 10 years. The doubles team of Lorren Lotesta and Paully Hackathorn has lost only two sets this season.

Banning’s football team, which landed in Coach Joe Dominguez’s doghouse last week after an uninspired 14-0 win over Washington, got back on track Friday night with a 42-14 Southern-Pacific Conference win over Gardena.

Quarterback John Ma’ae passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third, and tailback Travis Davis rushed for two scores as the Pilots improved to 6-0-1 overall heading into their Pacific League opener Friday against Crenshaw.