Prep Football Spotlight : Facts, Figures and Comments from Last Weeks’s Games : KNIGHT TO REMEMBER

Bishop Montgomery Coach Steve Carroll said he could not recall being involved in a more exciting game than the Knights’ 19-18 victory Friday night over host Pius X of Downey.

Bishop Montgomery, which was out of timeouts, won as time expired on an eight-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Neil Tinoco to running back Koury Clark.

“It was like five, four, three, two, and at one (second) we snapped the ball,” Carroll said. “Then comes the TD. It was a very nice way to start the season.”

The Knights drove 80 yards in the final 1:30 for their winning score. The key play was a 50-yard pass from Tinoco to wide receiver Nacio Jennings to the Pius X 20-yard line.

Bishop Montgomery had trailed, 18-6, with seven minutes remaining. Fullback Tony Snowden scored on a four-yard run to make it 18-13 and, after Pius X drove to the Knight 20, outside linebacker Tony Gutierrez caused a fumble on fourth down to set up the winning march.

“Hopefully it’s a preview of things to come,” Carroll said.

FRIDAY THE 13TH

Talk about an opening-night flop. Leuzinger, playing its first game under new Coach Tom Jessee, did few things right and plenty wrong in a 45-6 loss to visiting Carson.

Among the Olympians’ more prominent sins:

* Allowing Carson to recover a kickoff that went untouched by Leuzinger players.

* Allowing Carson to recover a punt that bounced off the leg of a return man.

* Having a punt partially blocked.

* Losing a fumble on its own 14-yard line.

* Having a pass intercepted at midfield.

* Shanking a punt directly out of bounds at its own 23-yard line.

And that only covers the first half. Not surprisingly, Carson was in command by halftime with a 45-0 lead. Officials kept running time for most of the second half.

“I think basically it was just our inexperience,” Jessee said. “All the new young kids, the new staff. There are just a lot of things to cover. We did certain things pretty well.

“I think we are better than what we showed.”

TOP OF THE HILL

It didn’t take long for Theron Hill, Carson’s preseason All-American, to make a splash this season. The senior wingback tied a school record by rushing for four touchdowns against Leuzinger. Those sharing the record with Hill are Alvin Goree (1986 vs. Granada Hills) and Isaac Cooper (1974 vs. Narbonne).

FIVE-YEAR PLAN

Perhaps the biggest surprise of Friday night’s game at Leuzinger was seeing John Cotton start at quarterback for the Olympians. Cotton played quarterback and receiver at Morningside last season, when he was listed as a senior.

How, then, could he still be eligible?

Al Brandenburg, Leuzinger’s assistant principal in charge of athletics, explained that Cotton petitioned the CIF-Southern Section and was granted a fifth year of eligibility after claiming a hardship. Brandenburg said the decision was based on several factors, one of them being that Cotton, 17, missed most of his freshman year with a severed Achilles’ tendon.

Brandenburg said Leuzinger had declared Cotton ineligible when he transferred to the school in the spring, but the student’s parents filed an appeal with the Southern Section. Commissioner Stan Thomas granted the hardship Thursday.

Cotton played the first three quarters against Carson. Gary Mumin, who was Leuzinger’s quarterback last season, played the fourth quarter and scored the Olympians’ only touchdown on a 32-yard scramble.

FRIENDLY RIVALS

Fights during an Inglewood-Morningside junior varsity game in 1988 caused administrators to suspend the varsity series, but there were no problems Friday night as the teams resumed their rivalry after a three-year hiatus.

Morningside’s 27-12 victory before 6,000 at El Camino College included a total of 18 penalties, but there were no fights and good sportsmanship was generally the rule.

“I’m really glad we were able to meet and have this so-called rivalry to let the ballclubs play,” Morningside Coach Ron Tatum said. “I thought it went real well on both sides. I thought (Inglewood Coach Angelo Jackson) prepared them well.”

Jackson, who coached at St. Monica the past three seasons, said he couldn’t complain about the way the Sentinels played. Inglewood opened a 12-6 halftime lead, but succumbed to Morningside and its talented quarterback, Stais Boseman, in the second half. The Sentinels gained only 65 total yards in the second half.

One of those who watched the Monarchs’ comeback from the sideline was Laker forward Elden Campbell, a Morningside alumnus.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

* Carson tackle Eric Taulua, who was ineligible to play varsity football last season after transferring from El Segundo, made up for lost time against Leuzinger. The 6-foot, 260-pound senior had 14 tackles (six primary), including three behind the line for minus-33 yards. His twin brother, Eran, didn’t do too bad either, contributing six tackles at middle linebacker.

* West Torrance outside linebacker Steve Kim was named his team’s player of the game after recording four sacks in a 36-22 victory over Verbum Dei. Also a tight end, Kim caught five passes, including two for touchdowns.

* San Pedro defensive back Bryant Thomas, a junior, returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown and led the defense with six unassisted tackles and three assists in a 24-14 victory over University High of West L.A.

* Sophomore defensive back Lacy Wadkins had two interceptions in his first varsity game to help North Torrance defeat visiting San Clemente, 39-22. “It was super, a great performance,” said Saxon Coach Joe Austin, whose team limited San Clemente to 19 yards rushing.

FAST START

Playing its first-ever game, Peninsula High recovered a Millikan fumble on the first play from scrimmage and scored on a seven-yard run by tailback Brian Durbin on the school’s first offensive play en route to a 16-7 victory.

“It’s tough to top that one,” Coach Gary Kimbrell said. “You wonder if that’s good because sometimes when things come easy you have a tendency to let up.”

Kimbrell speaks from experience. His Miraleste team in 1980 gave up an 80-yard touchdown to Mira Costa on the first play of the season but rebounded to win the game decisively.

DOING IT ALL

Two area players scored all of their teams’ points in season openers.

Durbin, the Peninsula tailback and kicker, accounted for all 16 of the Panthers’ points against Millikan with touchdown runs of seven and one yards, a 30-yard field goal and a point-after kick.

Scott Hagerman of Torrance, another running back/kicker, had an eight-yard touchdown reception and field goals of 30 and 20 yards in a 16-12 loss to Santa Barbara.

Although he didn’t score all of his team’s points, quarterback Ronnie Morrissette was a one-man gang for Hawthorne in its 19-17 come-from-behind victory over Antelope Valley. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior passed for 132 yards, including touchdowns of 72 and 33 yards to wide receiver John Garrett; ran for a two-yard TD and recovered a fumble.

ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Crespi senior Dereck Williams, who attended Serra as a freshman, helped beat his old school Friday night by returning a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in the Celts’ 42-18 victory at Serra.

And he loved every minute of it.

“They (Serra) were my main focus,” Williams said. “They were talking a lot of trash and telling me how they were going to try to hurt me.”

Guess who’s hurting now.

STREAKS

* Narbonne fell to Kennedy of Granada Hills, 43-0, extending its losing streak to 18 games. The Gauchos have lost 41 of 42 games.

* Serra fell to Crespi, 42-18, to suffer its first regular-season loss since 1988. It was only the Cavaliers’ second defeat in 26 games.

* Carson defeated Leuzinger, 45-6, to extend its winning streak to 11 games.

IN QUOTES

Mira Costa Coach Bill Lysle on the play of his offensive line (Joe Regan, Shaman Houpt, Mark Earnest, Jason Barnes and Trevor Knowlton) in a 39-7 victory over El Segundo: “It was very positive. They didn’t make any big mistakes. Our plan was to try to keep it simple and get the kids to play smart, basic football.”

Carson co-coach Marty Blankenship on the Colts being penalized 12 times for 125 yards in a 45-6 victory over Leuzinger: “It’s just outrageous. Even though both sides were guilty of it, we’re just going to have to go back and start all over and teach them the rules of the game and about etiquette on the field. We were really upset about that.”

Carson quarterback Jamie Sander on opening the game with seven consecutive completions en route to a 12-for-17, 176-yard passing performance in his varsity debut: “I thought it would be harder than that.”

Redondo Coach Chris Hyduke on quarterback Ted Silva, who passed for 182 yards and a touchdown in a 31-6 victory over Mary Star: “If we can keep him healthy, I think he’ll be one of the best passers in the area. He has a nice touch.”

Torrance Coach Bill Bynum on several squandered scoring opportunities in a 16-12 loss to Santa Barbara: “We have no one to blame but ourselves. We should have scored six touchdowns. It won’t happen again.”

Gardena Coach Mike Sakurai on defending Jefferson’s touted running backs, Tony Thomas and Thomas Cooley, in a 13-6 victory: “We were definitely concerned. We thought they’d pound the ball against us, but our kids were tough. Fortunately we were able to keep them contained.”

West Torrance Coach Kerry Crabb on running back Rafael Alarcon, who rushed for 169 yards in a 39-22 victory over Verbum Dei despite having to periodically leave the game because of leg cramps: “He makes things happen. He adds a new dimension to the offense. He’s a real good one.”

INJURIES

* Leuzinger fullback Otto Aholelei suffered a knee injury on his first carry against Carson and sat out the rest of the game.

* Carson outside linebacker Aaron Jackson, who played impressively in the first half with six tackles, a blocked punt and a forced fumble, missed the second half after injuring his shoulder.