Montclair Prep Back Sparks Joins Select Group of Touchdown Scorers

Montclair Prep’s Derek Sparks has scored 35 touchdowns, a season total that ranks among the all-time best in the Southern Section.

Heading into Friday’s Division IX playoff semifinal at Tehachapi, Sparks has rushed for 32 touchdowns, tying him for fifth place with Darryl Harris of Garey (1982) and Jim Farrell of Esperanza (1984). Glyn Milburn of Santa Monica (1987) and Russell White of Crespi (1987) are tied for first with 38 touchdown runs. Those two are followed by Mickey Cureton of Centennial (1966) with 36, Steve Grady of Loyola (1962) with 35 and Aaron Emanuel of Quartz Hill (1983) with 33.

Sparks has scored 210 points this season, putting him just seven shy of making the Southern Section’s all-time single-season scoring list. Grady is ninth on the list with 217 points. Cureton leads with 240 points.

Offense: The Valley’s most versatile football player? It would be difficult to overlook Hart’s Howard Blackwell. The senior tailback served as the Indians’ offensive catalyst, rushing for a team-high 1,217 yards and 24 touchdowns in 169 carries. He also caught a team-high 44 passes for 777 yards (17.6 average) and eight touchdowns. Finally, Blackwell returned 15 punts for a total of 252 yards.

Blackwell scored 32 touchdowns and a two-point conversion to account for 194 of Hart’s 372 points. He averaged 16.1 points a game.

Records: If Thousand Oaks wins its final two games, the Lancers would finish the season 13-0-1 and unbeaten for the first time in the program’s 28 years. Thirteen victories also would be a school record. The team’s all-time playoff record is 15-14, including a 7-2 mark over the past four years.

In the past six seasons, Thousand Oaks has averaged 8.7 wins.

After throwing 24 scoring passes as a junior, San Fernando quarterback Michael Wynn needed five touchdown strikes this season to tie Anthony Davis’ school career mark of 29.

Struggling behind an offensive line that had no returning starters from last season, Wynn passed for just 726 yards and four touchdowns, and he threw seven interceptions. He completed 53 of 140 passes (37.9%).

Add records: Westlake quarterback Todd Preston has set or tied 10 school passing records, and he has another season of eligibility left.

The junior holds season records for passing yardage (2,003), passes attempted (324) and passes completed (145). He also holds career records for passing yardage (3,152), passes attempted (500) and passes completed (225).

Among those who benefitted from Preston’s passing were Luke Crawford, whose 37 receptions this season tied a school record, and Seamus Gibbons, whose 10 receptions against Canyon last week set a school record.

Four different Westlake receivers--Erik Holcomb, David Monheim, Gibbons and Crawford--caught at least 30 passes this season.

VALLEY BASKETBALL PRESEASON TOP 10

Selected by sportswriters of The Times

Rk Team League 1988-89 Record 1 Cleveland N. Valley 21-3 2 N. Hollywood Mid-Valley 15-5 3 Granada Hills N. Valley 13-9 4 Camarillo Marmonte 18-7 5 Simi Valley Marmonte 17-9 6 Antelope Val. Golden 17-9 7 Taft N. Valley 16-6 8 Grant East Valley 17-4 9 Burroughs Foothill 17-7 10 Crescenta Val. Pacific 15-9