PREP NOTES / ROB FERNAS : Carnes Beginning to Think This Might Be Leuzinger’s Year

When reached Wednesday morning, Leuzinger High football Coach Steve Carnes was resting at home in Fountain Valley.

“I’m a little bit under the weather,” he said. “I’ve been staying at home during the day and then going to practice.”

Some might speculate Carnes is feeling queasy because Leuzinger plays host to Esperanza in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section playoffs Friday night. The Anaheim school is 11-0 and ranked No. 1 in Division III.

But Carnes is anything but in awe of Esperanza. Not after the rugged schedule Leuzinger has played. And certainly not after the Olympians rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit Saturday night to defeat Crespi, 20-16, in a playoff opener at Pierce College.

“It’s like I told our kids,” Carnes said. “I feel we’re not going to face anybody better than the teams we’ve already played. Esperanza is a really good football team, but I definitely feel we have a shot at them.”

Leuzinger’s three losses have come against teams still alive in the playoffs and sporting a combined record of 30-3: Paramount (11-0), Canyon of Canyon Country (10-1) and Hawthorne (9-2). And Crespi, which finished 8-3, was no slouch.

Carnes’ confidence was fueled Saturday by the tenacity his team displayed after a near-disastrous start.

“We did everything we could to give the game to (Crespi),” he said. “But I’m pretty proud of our players. Even though we made many, many mistakes in the first half, the kids really came back.”

Carnes said one of the keys to Saturday’s victory was the fine defensive effort turned in by linebacker Manny Gonzalez, who played despite a sprained ankle suffered two weeks ago in a game against Inglewood.

“Manny played a great game,” Carnes said. “He could barely run all week, but we taped him up and he played. We feel Manny on one leg is better than a lot of kids on two legs.”

Carnes said Gonzalez reinjured his ankle in the third quarter against Crespi, but still managed to play and contribute to a goal-line stand early in the fourth quarter that preserved a 20-16 lead.

On third-and-goal from the Leuzinger one, Gonzalez broke through the line and stopped a Crespi running back for a four-yard loss. Crespi went for a touchdown on fourth down, but the pass was incomplete.

“I had just commented that we had to get (Gonzalez) out because of his ankle,” Carnes said. “But he sucked it up and stunted through the line to make the tackle. It was very inspiring for our team and coaches.”

Carnes said he expects Gonzalez to play Friday night.

Mira Costa advanced to the quarterfinals of the state Division I girls’ volleyball tournament by outlasting North Bakersfield, 15-12, 15-13, 15-17, 10-15, 15-10, Tuesday night in a first-round match in Bakersfield.

Outside hitter Cindy DeGarceau led the Mustangs with 27 kills, followed by Shannon Parke with 19 and Jennifer Smith with 15. The team had a total of 21 serving aces, led by setter Robin Ortgiesen with seven.

Mira Costa (21-2), the Southern Section 5-A runner-up, will travel to play Torrey Pines of La Jolla, the San Diego Section champion, at 7:30 Saturday night. If the Mustangs win, they’ll most likely meet St. Francis of San Jose, the No. 1 team in Northern California, in a road match Tuesday night.

When Corona del Mar defeated Mira Costa for the CIF-Southern Section 5-A girls’ volleyball title Saturday night, at least one person in the South Bay was pleased.

Corona del Mar has been coached this season by former South Bay Volleyball Club Coach Dale Flickinger, who took over on an interim basis after Corona del Mar Coach Charlie Brande was fired in August for allegedly violating CIF rules pertaining to club coaching.

Coaches are prohibited from working with players--except during the summer and regular high school season--when those players have eligibility remaining. Brande, coach of the Orange County Volleyball Club, allegedly broke this rule during a club tournament in Santa Barbara.

He is under investigation by the Southern Section, which has a hearing on the matter scheduled for Dec. 4.

Flickinger, who drives from his job in Torrance every day to coach Corona del Mar, contends that Brande cleared his participation in the tournament in Santa Barbara ahead of time.

“Charlie went up to the commissioner of the region and the tournament director before the match and said, ‘I need your opinion. Do you think I’ll be violating a CIF rule here if I coach this match?’ ” Flickinger said. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think a lot of coaches would do that. That’s why I drive 40 miles to support this guy.”

Corona del Mar has dedicated its season to Brande and presented him with the championship plaque Saturday after the Sea Kings beat Mira Costa, 15-12, 15-9, 15-8, at Cerritos College.

It’s possible the teams could meet again for the state Division I title Dec. 1 at Cal Poly Pomona.

When the football season started, North Torrance senior quarterback Brian Jurado appeared to have a good shot at becoming the leading passer in South Bay history.

Jurado, after passing for more than 1,500 yards in both his sophomore and junior seasons, entered the year needing 1,194 yards to surpass Bryan Bero, who passed for 4,645 yards for Bishop Montgomery from 1981-83.

But operating in a run-oriented offense, Jurado fell short of the mark. He finished the season with 1,001 passing yards to give him 4,452 for his career, unofficially the third-best mark in South Bay history.

As it turned out, it wouldn’t have mattered if Jurado passed up Bero.

The new South Bay career passing leader is John Walsh of Carson. Combining his totals from this season (3,449) and last year with West Torrance (1,700), Walsh is the first area quarterback to reach 5,000 yards.

Notes

The South Bay will be represented by three teams and four individuals Saturday at the state cross-country championships at Woodward Park in Fresno. Teams competing include the Palos Verdes boys and girls, and the San Pedro girls. The Palos Verdes boys captured the Southern Section Division III title last weekend. Individuals competing include Israel Pose of Torrance and Joe Reinisch of Bishop Montgomery, Steve Gonzales of Carson and Kala Parker of Chadwick. Gonzales was runner-up at the L.A. City finals, while Pose placed second in the Southern Section Division II finals. . . . Top-seeded Carson has lost five players to academic eligibility for the L.A. City 4-A football playoffs, but none are starters. . . . Carson wingback Abdul Muhammad tied a school career record with his fourth kickoff return for a touchdown last week in a 56-12 victory over Washington.

Times staff writer Barbie Ludovise contributed to this column.

South Bay’s Football Top 10

Selected by Times Sportswriters

Rank, School, League: Record

1 Serra (Camino Real): 9-0

2 Carson (Pacific): 9-1

3 Banning (Pacific): 7-3

4 Hawthorne (Bay): 9-2

5 Morningside (Ocean): 9-2

6 Leuzinger (Bay): 8-3

7 Torrance (Pioneer): 8-3

8 West Torrance (Pioneer): 9-2

9 Mira Costa (Ocean: 6-4-1

10 Palos Verdes (Ocean): 6-5