PREP WRAPUP : Dorsey Credits Running Game, Inspiration for Stunning Upset of Carson

There was a touching moment that went largely unnoticed Friday night as Dorsey High celebrated its stunning 26-15 win over Carson in the L.A. City Section 4-A championship game at El Camino College.

San Pedro assistant coach Paul Bryan, smiling and misty-eyed, found Dorsey co-Coach Paul Knox among the revelers on the field and congratulated him with a hug. Few words were spoken. They weren’t needed.

“I thought it was fitting that they won it after all they’ve been through this season,” Bryan said. “They sure deserve something to go their way.”

Bryan was at Daniels Field in San Pedro on the night of Oct. 6 when Dorsey’s season nearly came to an end. Kevin Copeland, Dorsey’s outstanding wide receiver, collapsed on the sideline in a game against San Pedro and, an hour later, was pronounced dead of a heart attack.

The next day, the Dorsey coaches gave their distraught players the option of calling off the season. They decided to continue playing and dedicate the rest of the season to Copeland.

However, after Friday’s upset, Knox admitted that winning the school’s first 4-A title was beyond his expectations after Copeland’s death.

“Before the season, I felt we had a good team and had a chance to get to the semifinals,” he said. “After October, we had to make a lot of changes. We couldn’t be a passing team anymore. I was a bit leery.”

Instead of a passing attack featuring Copeland, the Dons turned to a pair of running backs--junior Lamont Warren and senior Larry Edmonds.

They were quiet in the first meeting with Carson. The Colts limited Dorsey to two yards rushing Nov. 3 in a 29-8 Pacific League win at Veterans Stadium.

The rematch was a different story. With Dorsey attacking the middle of a Carson defense weakened by injury and the suspension of All-City cornerback Clayvand Thomas, Warren rushed for a game-high 83 yards and one touchdown in 25 carries while Edmonds gained 76 yards in 12 carries and put the game away with a 25-yard scoring run with 2:13 left to play.

“We thought if we ran the ball straight at them we could gain yardage,” Knox said. “Our tailback (Warren) and fullback (Edmonds) just stuck their heads in there and did the job.”

One player who probably felt like hiding his head was Carson quarterback Armin Youngblood. In his worst outing, he completed only seven of 28 passes for 96 yards and was intercepted four times, once for a touchdown. In the two games against Dorsey, he was 23 for 68 with nine interceptions.

A knee injury prevented Youngblood from practicing until Thursday, and he said the layoff might have affected his timing.

“Our defense kept us in the ball game,” he said tearfully. “Basically, I didn’t have the game that I wanted. I didn’t even have an average game. It hurt a lot.”

It was difficult not to feel sorry for Youngblood, who set school passing records of 2,402 yards and 30 touchdowns this season and is as personable a young man as you’ll find.

On the other hand, it was difficult not to feel happy for Dorsey, which staged a remarkable comeback from tragedy.

“I was rooting for Carson,” said San Pedro’s Bryan, who has several friends on the Colt staff. “But it sure didn’t bother me to see Dorsey win.”

Bishop Montgomery basketball Coach Doug Mitchell broke his leg in a motorcycle accident one week before the season, and Friday night he lost his voice during the Knights’ 57-49 win over Leuzinger in the championship game of the El Segundo Tournament.

“Aside from that,” he says, “I’m fine.”

But a case of laryngitis didn’t stop Mitchell from singing the praises of senior point guard Darrell Daniel, who scored a game-high 24 points against Leuzinger and was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

“He has a knack for taking the game over in a critical time,” Mitchell said. “He really seems to turn it on in the second half.”

In leading Bishop Montgomery (5-2) to three tournament wins, Daniel scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half against Chadwick, 24 of his 29 in the second half against El Segundo and 20 after halftime against Leuzinger (2-1).

The Knights also received big efforts from guard Kirk Jones and forward Pete Tolliver, who were both named all-tournament. Jones, a junior who was a reserve on the junior varsity team last season, has been a surprise.

“He’s really emerging,” Mitchell said. “He plays outstanding defense and he handles the ball well. He’s a real competitor.”

The Palos Verdes girls basketball team proved this week that there is life after the Burges.

Playing for the first time in four years without 6-foot-5 twins Heather and Heidi Burge, the Sea Kings won four games and defeated Carson, 69-45, Thursday to capture the championship of the 16-team Artesia Tournament.

“Everybody thought our team was those two,” Coach Wendell Yoshida said. “I think our team is out to prove that it wasn’t just those two. We lost two great players, but we’ve got nine good players back.”

Palos Verdes’ roster was hardly left bare by the graduation of the Burges, now at the University of Virginia. The Sea Kings return three starters from last season’s team that reached the Southern Section 4-A semifinals, and all three played well in the tournament.

Senior guard Lisa Humphries (5-10) scored 24 points in the finals against Carson and was named Most Valuable Player, while forward Mary Maloney (6-0) and point guard Susan Wilhite were both chosen all-tournament. Humphries hit nine three-point shots in the tournament, including four against Carson.

“We’re trying to run a fast-break offense and shoot the three-point shot more this year,” Yoshida said. “The tempo is a little faster.”

The competition will get a little faster for Palos Verdes when it opens the prestigious Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions at 7:15 p.m. Monday against host Santa Barbara. The Sea Kings lost by three points to Santa Barbara in the third-place game last season.

Also entered in the 20-team tournament, featuring teams from Tennessee, Nevada, Oregon and across California, are top-seeded Morningside (5-0) and Fremont of Oakland, last year’s State Division I champion and runner-up.

Morningside suffered its only loss last season to Southern of Louisville, Ky., in the championship game of the Tournament of Champions on its way to a 32-1 season.

Seven South Bay boys basketball teams are entered in the L.A. Invitational Tournament, which begins Monday at Long Beach City College.

Surprising Narbonne, which is off to a 6-1 start after finishing 3-17 last season, heads a local field that includes Carson, Banning, Inglewood, San Pedro, Westchester and Hawthorne. There are 18 teams in the tournament, which concludes with the championship game at 7:30 Friday at Long Beach.

First-round pairings involving area teams are listed in today’s sports calendar.