PREP FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT / FACTS, FIGURES AND COMMENTS FROM LAST WEEK’S GAMES : FIT TO BE TIED

It wasn’t hard to tell who was happier with a 21-21 tie after Torrance and North Torrance met in a Pioneer League game Friday night at North.

“We feel like we won this game,” North Coach Joe Austin said.

Austin’s feelings are understandable, although North would have won had it not missed all three of its point-after kicks, including two in the final four minutes.

Despite that, Austin was wearing a smile after the game. Thanks largely to two trick plays he called in the final minutes, North erased a 21-9 fourth-quarter deficit and avoided defeat when Torrance’s Scott Hagerman missed a 34-yard field goal attempt with 17 seconds left.

Hagerman had lined up for a 28-yard field goal try, but Austin wanted to make the senior think about the kick. After calling two consecutive timeouts, Austin instructed his players to jump up and down and yell at the line of scrimmage. The tactic worked, as Torrance was called for illegal procedure while Hagerman’s kick sailed through the uprights.

Forced to kick again from six yards longer, Hagerman kicked a line drive that fell short of the goalposts.

“I didn’t have my mind into it,” said Hagerman, who has kicked a 45-yard field goal this season. “I was too worried about the crowd, the win. I was worried about the kick.”

Minutes earlier, North started its game-tying touchdown drive after recovering an onside kick. As North’s kickoff team shifted to the right, drawing Torrance’s players to that side of the field, Frank Ramirez kicked the ball to the left, where Dean Halverson had lined up on the sideline. Halverson recovered the ball at the Torrance 48-yard line, and four plays later running back Dano Casillas scored on a seven-yard run with 2:50 left to make it 21-21.

“It was the old fakearoonie,” Austin said of the onside kick. “That worked nice.”

Torrance Coach Bill Bynum was upset that his team did not see Halverson.

“That was mental paralysis,” he said. “You never know how they’re going to react in that situation. We work on that a couple of times a week. That was as pretty as they come.”

Bynum was also disappointed with Torrance’s defensive effort. The Tartars gave up 217 yards rushing to North, which dominated the line of scrimmage.

“If I was playing us, that’s what I’d do,” he said. “All day.”

Torrance (3-5-1 overall, 2-0-1 in league play) will play host to West Torrance (3-6, 2-1) Friday night with the Pioneer title on the line. In the league’s other big finale, North (4-4-1, 1-1-1) plays at South Torrance (5-4, 2-1). It will be Austin’s first return to South since he left as coach in 1988.

KICKING THEMSELVES

North, which missed all three of its PATs, nonetheless managed to score three points from its kicking game when Jared Myer made a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter.

But problems with the PAT team continued for the Saxons.

“You’d think that would be the simplest part of the football game, the PAT, and it’s the hardest part for us,” Austin said. “We’ve had three different kickers, three different holders. A different line in there.

“I thought we were doing pretty good. (Myer) kicked 10 out of 10 (Thursday). We were pretty confident. Thank God he got the field goal.”

Despite the kicking failures, Austin was pleased to end a two-game losing streak.

“This is good for the kids,” he said. “As long as they didn’t lose. It was very important that we didn’t lose because we just lost two in a row. We’ve got to get some confidence back, so this really helps.”

FALL FROM GRACE

Two weeks ago, Morningside was 6-0, ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section Division VIII poll and seemingly a lock for the Ocean League title.

So much for great beginnings.

Today, the Monarchs find themselves in fourth place in the five-team league after losing to Beverly Hills, 17-13, Friday night at Coleman Field in Inglewood.

The demoralizing effect of Morningside’s second consecutive defeat was apparent on the face of quarterback Stais Boseman, who slumped by the goalpost after the game and stared out at the field for several minutes. The junior was held to 67 yards rushing in 13 carries and completed only six of 17 passes for 61 yards. More telling was his nine yards in kick and punt returns.

Beverly Hills’ defense keyed on Boseman. His longest run of the night came on a 23-yard scramble after he was chased from the pocket. Until a desperation last-minute drive, Boseman had completed only three of 11 passes for three yards.

“It took a lot of effort this week (to contain Boseman),” Beverly Hills Coach Carter Paysinger said. “We noticed on film certain tendencies they had on their long runs.”

Morningside Coach Ron Tatum credited Beverly Hills for holding his team to a season-low point total. The Monarchs, whose previous low was 27 points against Inglewood, fell to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in league play.

“(Beverly Hills) played great defense,” Tatum said. “This was probably for the league title. We played poor offense. Our offensive line wasn’t getting off the ball.

“We have to go home and tighten the belt. We’re not that far off. Early in the year we made mistakes defensively.”

Morningside, which had been averaging 472 yards a game, finished with 242.

A STAR IS BORN

Peninsula tailback Jim Durroh made a smooth transition from the sophomore team to the varsity Friday, rushing for a game-high 275 yards and three touchdowns in 19 carries to lead the Panthers over visiting West Torrance, 21-15, in a nonleague game.

The 5-foot-8, 170-pound Durroh had carried the ball only once previously in a varsity game. However, because of injuries to starting tailback Brian Durbin (broken collarbone) and backup Danny Sarner (knee injury), Coach Gary Kimbrell thought it was time to give the 10th grader a chance.

“He did a great job,” Kimbrell said. “He did a good job of reading his blocks inside and breaking to the outside. He has pretty good speed.”

After carrying the ball only four times for 17 yards in the first half, Durroh ended a scoreless tie with a 55-yard scoring run on the fourth play of the third quarter. His other touchdown runs covered five and 45 yards, and he also had runs of 50 and 20 yards.

BACK IN ACTION

South Torrance tailback Ryan Brady made up for lost time Friday night after missing last week’s game against Leuzinger because of disciplinary reasons.

Brady, who was suspended along with two teammates for skipping practice after making a weekend trip to Oakland to attend a Grateful Dead concert, returned to the lineup and rushed for 286 yards and three touchdowns in 36 carries as South defeated host Centennial, 49-30. Brady also scored on a 20-yard screen pass from quarterback Alan Hook.

“He played with a lot of heart,” a South coach said of Brady. “He was in good spirits.”

GETTING DEFENSIVE

* El Segundo safety Jeff Lord scored on a 30-yard interception return in a 56-26 victory over Bell-Jeff, giving the Eagles seven defensive touchdowns this season.

* San Pedro middle linebacker Chris Lopez had four sacks and 14 tackles (eight unassisted) in a 21-7 victory over Narbonne.

* Carson middle linebacker Eran Taulua had 12 tackles in a 16-16 tie with Dorsey, which finished with only 165 total yards.

* Banning outside linebacker Jason Grayson had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery in a 35-8 victory over Gardena.

* Redondo’s Scott Moore and Chris Curtis combined for three defensive touchdowns in a 46-12 victory over St. Monica. Moore scored on a 55-yard interception return and a 20-yard fumble return and Curtis scored on a 40-yard interception return.

* North Torrance defensive back Dean Halverson did a good job on Torrance receiver Ralph Martinez in a 21-21 tie, limiting the area’s leading receiver to five catches for 46 yards.

* Hawthorne free safety Anthony Ward and cornerback Kenny Henderson each had interceptions in a 64-25 victory over Inglewood.

CHAIN LIGHTNING

Serra scored 22 points in a span of 47 seconds in the fourth quarter of its 62-0 Camino Real League victory over visiting St. Anthony of Long Beach.

Running back Chauncy McClain scored on a two-yard run with 3:53 left to play, linebacker Corey Long scored on a 20-yard fumble return with 3:44 left and Damion Andrews scored on a 30-yard fumble return with 3:06 left.

STREAKS

* Bishop Montgomery defeated Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, 13-9, to improve to 6-3, marking the first time since 1983 that the Knights have won at least six games in a season.

* El Segundo defeated Bell-Jeff, 56-26, to extend its winning streak to six games, the longest in the South Bay.

* Narbonne fell to San Pedro, 21-7, to extend its losing streak to six games.

IN QUOTES

Torrance Coach Bill Bynum on a 21-21 tie with North Torrance, in which the Tartars squandered a 21-9 lead in the fourth quarter: “I’m not disappointed. We ran into a real good ballclub tonight. I can’t say enough about them. Oh, hell, I am disappointed. It’s a heartbreaker.”

Serra Coach Jon Dimalante on a 62-0 victory over St. Anthony: “The line was blocking, the defense was swarming, the backs were running the football. We’re playing Cavalier football.”

Mira Costa Coach Bill Lysle on a 51-22 loss to Culver City, the Mustangs’ third consecutive setback in the Ocean League: “We’re just so beat up. (Running back) Miguel Garcia is literally on one leg. Tuesday at practice he pulled his quadriceps (muscle). We have no depth at all. I’m not singing the blues, but it’s hard for us to put 11 healthy football players on the field.”

Peninsula Coach Gary Kimbrell after a 21-15 victory over West Torrance, in which West quarterback Steve Sarkisian passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns: “In spite of the yards, I thought our defense played well. We gave up some things underneath (the coverage) on the passing.”

North Torrance Coach Joe Austin on Torrance quarterback Jason Kendall, who passed for 317 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-21 tie: “He saved them.”