PREP FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT : FACTS, FIGURES AND COMMENTS FROM LAST WEEK’S GAMES

RISKY BUSINESS

“When it gets real close, you always want to take care of the ball,” Morningside Coach Ron Tatum said.

However, it was hard to believe Tatum practices what he preaches after watching the Monarchs hold off Mira Costa, 20-16, Friday night at Sentinel Field to clinch the Ocean League title.

Morningside nearly let the game slip away in the final minutes because of some risky play calling.

Leading 20-14 with 5:17 remaining, Morningside lined up for a punt at its 25-yard line. But instead of kicking on fourth-and-five, the ball was snapped to the up man, who pitched it back to punter Stais Boseman.

Boseman, the team’s quarterback, ran to his left before he was stopped by Mira Costa at about the 10. A disaster was averted, though, because officials had cited Morningside for delay of game before the snap.

Given a reprieve, the Monarchs punted the ball away.

Afterward, Tatum defended his call. “The kid that the play was going to, nobody covered him,” he said. “Had the play gone, it would have been for a big gain.”

Morningside again flirted with disaster on its final possession. Instead of running into the line or putting a knee down to protect the ball, Boseman lost three yards on an option run and was sacked for a 20-yard loss back to the 12 after lining up in a shotgun formation.

Forced to punt from the end zone, Boseman dropped a high snap and fell on the ball for a safety with 33 seconds left. Had he been standing a few yards farther out, Mira Costa would have taken possession at that point and been in great position to win the game.

No, the safety was not intentional.

“(Boseman) just fell on the damn thing, and it happened to be in their end zone,” Mira Costa Coach Larry Petrill said. “We had a 10-man rush on. We were going for it and we would have gotten it if that didn’t happen. It wasn’t our night, in that sense.”

QB FOR A NIGHT

Boseman, Morningside’s multitalented sophomore, has been splitting time at quarterback with senior John Cotton. But with the league title on the line, Boseman called signals for all but one series against Mira Costa.

It turned out to be a good move. Boseman scored on runs of 42 and 48 yards, the second touchdown coming on a perfectly executed option play that put Morningside ahead for good, 20-14, midway through the third quarter.

“Bose had the momentum going in his favor,” Tatum said. “In a game like this, it probably would have taken John two or three series to get rolling. I decided we didn’t have that kind of time, so I put Boseman back in there.”

Tatum said he still might alternate quarterbacks, though. “Going into the playoffs, we’ll revamp everything,” he said.

SPEAK NO EVIL

Palos Verdes Coach Bill Judy was angered by reported comments made by Redondo Coach Chris Hyduke after Redondo’s 27-8 Ocean League victory Friday night. The game ended with the teams engaging in a bench-clearing brawl.

Hyduke was quoted in Saturday’s Daily Breeze as saying: “The way PV talked in the locker room, I thought they were going to come out and kill someone. They were fired up.”

Judy disputed the allegation.

“I can’t believe (Hyduke) told the newspaper that,” Judy said. “Our kids didn’t say a word before the game. In fact, as coaches, we asked each other, ‘Are they ready?’ We haven’t been the type of team that yells and screams and hollers.”

When reached Saturday, Hyduke said he referred to Palos Verdes’ behavior at halftime, not before the game.

But Judy said Redondo’s players created a hostile atmosphere by chanting obscenities at halftime. Judy said the locker rooms at Redondo are separated by a wall, making it easy to hear what’s being said on the other side. Redondo led at halftime, 20-0.

“Their kids came in pounding on the walls and chanting ‘(Bleep) you, (bleep) you,’ ” Judy said. “It was deafening. Our kids couldn’t believe it.”

Hyduke said he was unaware of the alleged incident.

“I wasn’t inside the locker room at that time,” he said. “I talk to the officials at halftime. We don’t let that kind of stuff go on.”

According to Redondo assistant Tim Ammentorp, the Sea Hawk players chanted, “Hawks’ house, Hawks’ house.”

COUGAR LEGACY

Hawthorne Coach Goy Casillas, whose team clinched its second consecutive Bay League title Friday night with a 28-9 victory over Culver City, said the 1990 Cougars are comparable to any of the school’s recent champions.

Hawthorne also won league titles in 1983, 1985 and 1987.

“This team ranks up there with any of them,” Casillas said. “We’re more well-balanced than those teams, on offense and defense. In the past, we had to rely on one guy, like Curtis Conway, and we didn’t have an offensive line. We have been beaten in the playoffs by well-balanced teams with good lines.

“In ’87 when we lost to El Toro, we weren’t beaten by (quarterback Bret) Johnson, we were beaten by their line. But now we have a real fine offensive line. I would take our offensive line against anybody’s.”

The line, anchored by 6-foot-5, 260-pound tackle Jared Tuione, helped pave the way for 110 yards rushing by junior tailback Morell Ollis.

PRIVATE PARTY

In an effort to avoid problems from outside influences, ticket sales for Saturday’s Camino Real League game between Serra and Verbum Dei are being restricted to students from those schools and their parents.

“We are willing to take a financial loss in order to insure a quiet afternoon,” Serra Principal James Crowell said. “We want to diffuse any tensions.”

The game, to decide the league title, is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Serra. There will be no ticket sales at the gate, but bonafide credentials will be honored.

Crowell said the game, which is usually played at night, has been marred in the past by fighting in the Gardena neighborhood surrounding Serra. He said the combatants were not affiliated with either school.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

Carson held San Pedro to less than a yard per play Friday night in a 47-0 victory at Daniels Field. San Pedro finished with 41 total yards on 42 plays, according to Carson statistician Tim Finney. Middle linebacker Frank Padilla led the Colt defense, contributing 16 tackles, and cornerback Clayvand Thomas had his best game since returning to action from a knee injury with five tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery.

INJURIES

* Morningside fullback-linebacker Danny Katoa was sidelined with a knee injury in the third quarter of a 20-16 victory over Mira Costa. Coach Ron Tatum said he did not believe the injury was serious and hoped that Katoa would be ready for the start of the playoffs in two weeks.

* Abdul Muhammad, Carson’s reception leader, did not return after injuring his arm in the first half of a 47-0 victory over San Pedro. The injury is not believed to be serious.

STREAKS

* Serra defeated Pius X, 24-6, to extend its winning streak to 21 games and extend Pius X’s losing streak to 28 games.

* Narbonne fell to Dorsey, 37-0, extending its losing streak to 15 games.

* Inglewood fell to Beverly Hills, 37-18, for its 18th consecutive Bay League defeat.

* Carson defeated San Pedro for the ninth consecutive time, 47-0. During that streak, starting in 1974, the Colts have outscored San Pedro, 428-42.

* West Torrance defeated North Torrance, 14-12, to extend its winning streak to six games.

* Hawthorne defeated Culver City, 28-9, to extend its winning streak to six games.

IN QUOTES

Mira Costa Coach Larry Petrill, charging that Morningside did too much talking during its 20-16 victory over the Mustangs: “They’re champions and athletes, but they’ve got a long way to go on their character. I know the coach ( Ron Tatum ) has tried to work on that, but they do a lot of talking. It’s not becoming of a champion.”

Morningside Coach Ron Tatum, on his team winning its third league title in five years, each one a year apart: “We clean house and then bring another group in. They spend one year learning and one year playing.”

North Torrance Coach Joe Austin, on his team’s 14-12 loss to West Torrance: “We can hold our heads high. We never gave up. It was just should haves and could haves.”