Beverly Hills Meets St. Paul in Division III Playoff Game

Beverly Hills High (6-5), the only Westside survivor in the CIF-Southern Section football playoffs, will meet Mission League champion St. Paul (5-3-2) in a Division III second-round game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at El Segundo High.

Last week the Normans, who finished fourth in the Bay League, upset Foothill League champion Montebello Schurr, 29-28, on quarterback Ziv Gottlieb’s 18-yard run and a two-point conversion. St. Paul, unbeaten in league play this season but tied by Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, is coming off a 21-8 first-round playoff victory over Orange.

Beverly Hills trailed Schurr, 28-21, with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game. Gottlieb was supposed to have passed on the game-winning play, but he saw an opening to the outside and sprinted for the touchdown that made the score 28-27. Wide receiver Darren Smith then ran in the two-point conversion that won the game.

Gottlieb completed 21 of 33 passes for 341 yards and a touchdown, a 63-yarder to Smith. Smith had five catches for 175 yards and teammate David Saraf had 10 receptions for 124 yards.

Gottlieb has been one of the Southern Section’s top passers this year, having completed 156 of 301 passes for 2,512 yards and 20 touchdowns. For the season, Smith has 38 receptions for 881 yards and five touchdowns, and Saraf has 49 catches for 897 yards and nine touchdowns.

Greg Holmes, who has rushed for 884 yards in 178 carries and 13 touchdowns, is the leading runner for the Normans. He has also caught 42 passes for 389 yards and four touchdowns.

St. Paul Coach Miguel Olmedo said that Beverly Hills has “a knack for the big play. They can get things accomplished. Gottlieb throws the ball up, and one of those guys comes down with it. They also pass block real well.”

Beverly Hills Coach Carter Paysinger said that the Swordsmen “win games on defense and don’t score a bunch of points. (That) will make for a real exciting game because offense is our strength.”