After Rising to No. 1, Carson Falls Quickly With Vollnogle Gone

It is too early to count out Carson High, the City 4-A defending champion, but with the Colts at 3-3, things don’t look promising.

After reaching the City championship game for 10 consecutive seasons under now retired coach Gene Vollnogle, Carson is struggling to stay above .500 after losing to Washington, 30-27, last week. This is the first time since 1980 that the Colts have lost three games.

Since ‘80, when they were 8-3, Carson hasn’t missed the City final. The Colts lost in the second round of the ’80 playoffs to Wilmington Banning, 26-0, the last time they were shut out.

This season, under first-year co-coaches Jim D’Amore and Marty Blankenship, Carson has been plagued by turnovers.

“We don’t like (losing) but we’re holding up,” Blankenship said. “We need to re-evaluate our personnel to get our best players into the game all of the time. In the past, we have had the luxury of two-platoon lineups, but we do not have the numbers anymore. We need to get some ballplayers who can go both ways and play them.

“We are all frustrated, from the players to the coaches to the school and community. But this stage is going to pass. Once we get into the playoffs, we’ll be a formidable team.”

Replacing Carson as the best in the City is neighborhood rival Banning.

Banning, which has not won a City title since 1985, is 6-0 after defeating Harbor City Narbonne, 49-7, last week. The Pilots built a 42-0 halftime lead and finished with 446 total yards. Larry Rayford and Shayzar Hawkins combined for 231 yards in 23 carries and three touchdowns.

The Pilots have won 13 of their last 14 games, losing to Carson in the final last year.

“I think that we are deserving of the top ranking,” Coach Joe Dominguez said. “We are certainly going in the right direction. But, we still haven’t accomplished much because people at Banning expect a lot.”

Beverly Hills’ game at Redondo Friday night was called off by the referees midway through the fourth quarter after tempers began to flare.

Seven players were ejected, including the starting quarterbacks for both schools.

Redondo defeated Beverly Hills, 30-0, in the Ocean League opener. It was Beverly Hills’ second consecutive loss after being 4-0 and ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section Division VIII media poll two weeks ago.

“The normal perception is to say our players are frustrated and got out of hand,” Beverly Hills Athletic Director Jack Dyck said. “But I don’t really think that is the case. I’ve watched the game film, and I didn’t see one punch thrown. You just had your typical high school football pushing and shoving. I’m not really quite sure why the game was called.”

Dyck said the school has no plans to suspend any players. School reports and an officials’ report will be filed with the Southern Section office this week.

After Valley View’s David Dotson rushed for a CIF State record 507 yards last week, Coach Leo Brouhard said he was surprised Rim of the World Coach Richard Manzo did not shake his hand.

Manzo said Monday that he congratulated Dotson and talked to a few Valley View assistants, but he had trouble finding Brouhard.

“Everyone who knows me, knows that I am not a poor sport,” said Manzo, in his sixth year at Rim of the World. “I’m not at all bothered that David broke the record against us. He’s a great running back, and he deserves all the credit he gets. He’s even better than he was last year. I wish him all the best.”

Prep Notes

Santa Ana Coach Dick Hill became Orange County’s winningest high school football coach Thursday night, when his team defeated Fountain Valley, 17-7. Hill improved his 25-year career record to 192-86-3, surpassing former Anaheim Loara coach Herb Hill, who was 191-114-11 in 31 seasons.

For the second year in a row, Quartz Hill defeated Golden League rival Canyon Country Canyon. Trailing, 14-7, Canyon mounted a late 74-yard drive. Mike Torres scored on a one-yard run with four seconds left, and Canyon Coach Harry Welch elected to go for the tie, but was foiled by a bad snap on the point-after-touchdown attempt. . . . Welch had one victory this weekend, however. Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas had scheduled an open hearing Wednesday to hear evidence of possible wrongdoing at Canyon. But San Fernando Superior Court judge Haig Kehiayan forbade the hearing because he said the Southern Section lost jurisdiction in the case when he granted a preliminary injunction last August staying a suspension of Welch.

Times’ Prep Polls

CITY SECTION

No. School Div. Record LW 1. Banning 4-A 6-0 1 2. Dorsey 4-A 4-1 2 3. San Fernando 4-A 6-0 3 4. Washington 3-A 5-1 4 5. Kennedy 4-A 5-1 7 6. Granada Hills 4-A 3-2 5 7. Carson 4-A 3-3 6 8. Poly 4-A 5-1 8 9. Sylmar 4-A 4-1 9 10. Locke 4-A 5-1 10

SOUTHERN SECTION

No. School Div. Record LW 1. Eisenhower I 6-0 1 2. Fontana I 6-0 2 3. Mater Dei I 7-0 3 4. Bishop Amat I 6-0 5 5. Esperanza III 6-0 4 6. Tustin VI 6-0 7 7. Dominguez II 6-0 8 8. Loyola I 4-2 6 9. Thousand Oaks II 5-1 13 10. Glendora IV 6-0 11 11. Royal II 6-0 14 12. Valencia VI 6-0 NR 13. Quartz Hill I 4-2 NR 14. Morningside VIII 5-0 NR 15. El Modena III 6-0 NR