PREP FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT / FACTS, FIGURES AND COMMENTS FROM LAST WEEK’S GAMES : LOSING THE HANDLE

Don’t look now, but Carson is slowly sinking from the ranks of Southern California’s elite teams.

At least that’s the way it appeared Friday night at Granada Hills, where the Colts fumbled and stumbled their way to a 29-18 loss a week after suffering a 30-18 defeat to Morse of San Diego.

It marked the first time Carson had lost back-to-back games since 1976, when it opened the season by falling to Clark of Las Vegas, 13-9, and Long Beach Wilson, 18-15.

What has happened to the once-mighty Colts? For starters, they can’t seem to take care of the ball. They entered Friday’s game with seven turnovers in two games and nearly doubled it with six turnovers (four fumbles, two interceptions) against Granada Hills.

Three of the turnovers led directly to Granada Hills touchdowns.

Carson co-coach Marty Blankenship said the defending City Section 4-A Division champions can’t afford to rest on their laurels any longer.

“I think with the recognition that Carson has had, our guys must feel that all they have to do is show up,” Blankenship said. “But right now we’re just an average football team.”

Adding to Carson’s troubles Friday were 120 yards in penalties. Perhaps the most damaging penalty occurred in the third quarter with Granada Hills leading 14-6 and preparing to punt from midfield. A low snap caused the punter to go to a knee, which would have given Carson the ball at about the Granada Hills’ 35. However, the Colts were cited for having 12 men on the field and Granada Hills was given a first down.

Carson running back Theron Hill, who rushed for 164 yards in 19 carries, stepped forward during a postgame meeting and told his teammates it was time to turn things around.

“‘The only thing I can say is it’s a must that we get it together right now,” Hill said. “If we don’t, that’s the season. But I think we’ll get better. We just have to regroup.”

NUMBERS GAME

For the second consecutive week, Carson outgained its opponent but lost. The Colts finished with 408 total yards compared to 211 for Granada Hills.

DROUGHT ENDS

Who would have guessed that on the same day Carson lost back-to-back games for the first time in 15 years, Narbonne would get a victory for the first time in three years?

The Gauchos defeated host Fairfax, 25-14, to snap a 19-game losing streak dating to the 1989 season. It was only their second victory in 44 games.

Running back Orlandes Fletcher led Narbonne with three touchdown runs, helping stake the Gauchos to a 25-0 halftime lead.

Narbonne will try to make it two in a row Friday against Carson. Good luck.

CRYING FOUL

Redondo Coach Chris Hyduke said he didn’t blame his team’s 42-22 loss to Peninsula on the officiating, but . . .

“That’s the worst officiating I’ve ever seen in my life,” Hyduke said. “I don’t want to cry about it. That’s all I have to say.”

OK, Chris. So what about . . .

“We had more penalties on us today than we had all of last year. But I don’t want to make a big deal about that. I’m just blowing off a little steam right now.”

Fine. So what did you think about . . .

“I really think the officiating today was poor, and I usually don’t cry about it. (Peninsula) deserved to win the game today, I’ll give them that. They played hard. They played well. But I’m just upset about the officiating. There was no continuity in their calls whatsoever. When you come up here (to Peninsula), you expect some kind of consistency.

“Even if we had won the game today, I would have been heated about the officiating.”

Peninsula Coach Gary Kimbrell had a different view of the officiating, which did seem to be heavy-handed at times.

“It sort of balanced out,” Kimbrell said of the calls. “(The officials) weren’t going to let anything happen. They were calling all the minute things, but that’s fine. It keeps things under control.”

FOR EVERYMAN

Matt Cheeseman, getting a chance to play nearly an entire game, turned in the most impressive performance thus far by a Peninsula quarterback, completing four of eight passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns and running for another score.

So, Coach Gary Kimbrell must be sold on Cheeseman as his starter, right? Not exactly.

Kimbrell said he still intends to give Steve Cooper and Scott Gordon significant playing time, continuing the team’s pattern of quarterback by committee.

“My plan is to give Cooper and Gordon a shot at a game Cheeseman had,” Kimbrell said. “Cheeseman got to play almost the whole game, so I want to see how things go. I haven’t made any decision. I just go week to week. I think people make a little bit too much about that. Maybe we’ll alternate quarterbacks. It’s just another position, especially in our offense.”

He has a point. After all, the main duty of the Peninsula quarterback is to hand off to running backs Brian Durbin and Guy Pisani, who combined for 199 yards rushing against Redondo.

HAWTHORNE’S HEART

You can talk all day about the athletic abilities of Hawthorne tailback Morell Ollis and quarterback Ronnie Morrissette, who combined to help the visiting Cougars defeat West Torrance, 28-20, Friday night.

But first-year Coach Dan Robbins says it is more than speed and strength that set his two standouts apart from most players.

“You can say they’re great athletes because they have these big muscles and long strides,” Robbins said. “But what they have is a huge heart.

“You saw (Ollis). It takes six people to get a solid shot on the man and bring him down. When you have a player who’s running like a man among high school players, it pays off.”

Ollis, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior, accounted for 270 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against West. Morrissette, a 6-3, 215-pound junior, rushed for 83 yards in only nine carries and completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ollis.

Fullback/middle linebacker Tevita Moala (5-11, 165) also played an inspired game for the Cougars. Pound for pound, the junior has to be one of the toughest players in the area.

PEOPLE MOVERS

Serra Coach Jon Dimalante said one of the keys to his team scoring 101 points in its last two games--the Cavaliers defeated Basic of Las Vegas, 41-20, Friday night--has been the play of the offensive line.

The work of tackles Dwayne Meriweather and Marlon Anderson, guards Corey and Chris Long and center Joey Hodges helped Serra rush for four touchdowns and score another on a screen pass against Basic.

AIR SICKNESS

In a matchup of two of the South Bay’s top quarterbacks, Jason Kendall of Torrance passed for more yards (371), but Stais Boseman of Morningside made a more lasting impression Friday night at Coleman Field in Inglewood.

Boseman, who had the flu, passed for 80 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 124 yards and another TD to lead the Monarchs to a 55-30 nonleague victory. With Boseman at the controls, Morningside amassed 531 total yards, 422 on the ground.

The Monarchs blew the game open in the second half after leading, 14-10, at halftime.

“I was kind of shaky with the flu, but I just had to suck it up in the second half,” Boseman said.

Running backs Jesse Swayze and Montres Gordes each rushed for 146 yards and combined for three touchdowns for Morningside, which travels to play Peninsula on Friday in a battle of unbeaten teams.

“I didn’t think we’d be this far along at this stage,” Boseman said. “We have a lot of sophomores and juniors, and although we were a little tired in the second half, we picked it up a bit.”

GETTING DEFENSIVE

* San Pedro defensive back Andres Hidrogo had two unassisted tackles, three assists, a forced fumble and a pass interception late in the game to help the Pirates hold on for a 21-19 victory over Venice.

* Hawthorne defensive back Joe Latu intercepted a fourth-and-eight pass at the Cougar 25-yard-line with 1:48 left to preserve a 28-20 victory over West Torrance.

* Peninsula linebacker Travis Gannam’s interception and short return to the Redondo five-yard line late in the first quarter set up the Panthers’ go-ahead touchdown en route to a 42-22 victory.

* Leuzinger recorded its second consecutive shutout in a 14-0 victory over Mira Costa.

STREAKS

* Granada Hills beat Carson, 29-18, to give the Colts back-to-back losses for the first time since 1976.

* Narbonne beat Fairfax, 25-14, to snap a 19-game losing streak dating to 1989.

IN QUOTES

Redondo Coach Chris Hyduke on his team’s 42-22 loss to Peninsula: “I just think we wore down . . . I don’t want to play them again because they have too many people. I’ve got 30 guys, they’ve got 97 guys. It’s not much fun.”

West Coach Kerry Crabb on his team’s 28-20 loss to Hawthorne: “I’ll be perfectly honest, we should have come out of here with a victory. There’s no doubt in my mind that we should have won that game.”

Leuzinger Coach Tom Jessee on his team’s 14-0 victory over Mira Costa, its second in a row after losing to Carson, 45-6, in its opener: “We get better because the coaches get better. The mistakes against Carson were coaching errors. We get better as the coaching staff gets better. By the same token, if we lose one, it’s got to be the coaching, too.”

Morningside Coach Ron Tatum on his team gaining 531 total yards in a 55-30 victory over Torrance: “We really worked hard on the running game this week, but I didn’t think we’d have the results we did.”

Carson co-coach Marty Blankenship, blaming a poor week of practice for Carson’s shoddy play in a 29-18 loss to Granada Hills: “The kids have got to learn that they have to work hard every day in practice. If you don’t get enough repetitions during practice time, it carries over to the game.”

INJURIES

* Peninsula linebacker Taso Papadakis, the team leader in tackles, did not play against Redondo because of a hamstring injury.

* Running back Miguel Garcia, Mira Costa’s leading rusher, did not play against Leuzinger because of a sprained ankle and is expected to miss Friday’s game against Santa Monica.