NOTEBOOK : Alvarez Leaves Coach Behind the Eight Ball

Eight is enough.

Or is it more than enough?

That was the logical question after Franklin quarterback Santiago Alvarez completed 25 of 40 passes for 328 yards and eight touchdowns during last week’s 57-0 victory over Verdugo Hills.

The eight scores tied a state record shared by five others and was one shy of the national record.

“It’s one thing to have your quarterback in there,” Verdugo Hills assistant Rob Huffman said. “It’s another thing to have him throwing passes like that at the end of the game.”

Franklin Coach Armando Gonzalez said he would have pulled Alvarez if his second-string quarterback, Ralph Ortiz, had not been injured earlier in the game while playing cornerback.

Alvarez has completed 193 of 313 attempts this season for 2,435 yards and 36 touchdowns. The touchdown total ranks Alvarez second in the state behind Ryan Hancock (37) of Monta Vista High in Cupertino. Alvarez’s yardage is also second to Hancock, who has 3,261.

Franklin (7-1 overall, 5-0 in Northern Conference play), which has recorded three consecutive shutouts and allowed just 41 points in eight games, meets Wilson (5-3, 5-0) Thursday night at Wilson.

“They’re somewhat like us,” Gonzalez said. “They throw the ball quite a bit.”

Sharpshooter: Bill Durkin’s first goal of the season could not have come at a better time for the Cal State Northridge soccer team.

Durkin, a senior sweeper who played at St. Francis High, scored with 36:20 left against Cal State Bakersfield last Saturday, setting the stage for a Don Imamura’s penalty kick with 23 seconds left that gave Northridge a 2-1 victory.

With the win, Northridge grabbed it’s sixth consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Assn. championship and qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs that begin Nov. 11.

Durkin was an All-Del Rey League player at St. Francis who transferred to Northridge last season from San Diego State.

Season finale?: Crescenta Valley High (6-3, 2-2), loser of its last two games to Glendale and Muir, will have its playoff future determined Friday night when the Falcons meet Arcadia at Glendale High.

“A win puts us in,” Crescenta Valley Coach Jim Beckenhauer said. “But a loss doesn’t put us out either.”

Arcadia (4-0 in league play) is guaranteed a berth in the playoffs. The second- and third-place bids, however, are still up for grabs.

Muir (3-1) plays Pasadena (2-2) this week while Glendale (1-3) meets Hoover (0-4).