HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK : Torres Joins List of Injured Backs at Canyon but a Starter Returns

After enduring the losses of running back David McDivitt and backups Mark Santos and Craig Reiter to injury, Canyon High suffered another blow when it was learned that fullback-turned-tailback Mike Torres sustained ligament damage to a knee during last week’s win over Antelope Valley and must sit out indefinitely.

“I’m really down,” Canyon Coach Harry Welch said.

The loss of Torres was partially cushioned by the news that McDivitt, Canyon’s first-string tailback who was injured in a Sept. 7 win over Hart, tonight will be making his first start since that game.

McDivitt, who has been sidelined for five weeks because of a deep thigh bruise, should carry the ball 10 to 15 times against Palmdale if all goes well, Welch said.

“He’s gonna start and he’s gonna limp,” Welch said. “He’ll be a shadow of himself but will carry it for us if he doesn’t get injured. He’s gotta stay healthy.”

That seems to be no easy task for Canyon running backs these days.

Opportunist: St. Francis wide receiver Pat Escamilla does not often carry the ball, but he has made the most of his opportunities.

Escamilla has rushed for 164 yards in only six carries--all coming on inside-reverse counter plays. In the first game of the season against Burroughs, Escamilla carried twice and scored on 61- and 26-yard runs.

Last week against El Segundo, he ran 55 yards for a score in his only carry.

“He’s predominantly a strong safety,” St. Francis Coach Bill Garrison said. “And when we do put him in at wide receiver, it’s primarily for blocking. It’s just a freak thing. We’ve had other wide receivers run the same play and they haven’t been able to break it.

“I’m sure that whenever the other team sees No. 29 coming in from now on, they’ll be watching for him.”

Injuries: Chaminade junior Travis Hall, a starting defensive back who also split playing time with Jeff Meyer at quarterback, is out for the season after sustaining a broken collarbone last week. . . . Chaminade all-purpose player Ted Corcoran suffered a broken rib in the Eagles’ 41-7 loss to Alemany on Oct. 12 but that didn’t keep him out of last week’s game against Crespi. Corcoran, the team’s leading scorer with 15 points, has played at kicker, punter, fullback and linebacker, but he will play exclusively on defense for the rest of the season. . . . Monroe’s Fabian Speights, a two-way starter at tight end and linebacker, also will miss the rest of the season. Speights, a senior, suffered a torn knee ligament in the Vikings’ 21-6 loss to Sylmar on Oct. 5.

Staff writers Kirby Lee, Paige A. Leech and Brian Murphy contributed to this notebook.