Crenshaw Makes Point in 3-A

The week before the start of the high school football season, Crenshaw Co-Coach Robert Garrett was upset because the Cougars had been moved down from the City Section’s 4-A Division to 3-A.

He complained that because Crenshaw still competed against 4-A Wilmington Banning, Dorsey and Carson in the Southern Pacific Conference, the Cougars should remain in the tougher division.

His complaint made no difference. Crenshaw was demoted and told that if the Cougars wanted to compete with the City’s best, they had to make an impact in 3-A.

That is exactly what they have done.

After opening the season with losses to Manual Arts and Inglewood, Crenshaw rebounded with an upset victory on the road over highly regarded Granada Hills Kennedy, but then lost its next two games to Dorsey and Banning.

With a 1-4 record, a championship season seemed out of reach for the Cougars. Then, Garrett and Co-Coach Terrell Ray changed their approach.

“When you lose, your attitude changes and it’s negative,” Garrett said. “There is friction and confusion. . . . We realized that the teaching part was just not there.”

Over the next five games, the Cougars did not allow an offensive touchdown in defeating San Pedro, Gardena, Washington, Harbor City Narbonne and Carson, Crenshaw’s first victory over the Colts.

With that five-game winning streak, Crenshaw marched into the 3-A playoffs last week as the top-seeded team. And in its first-round game against Hamilton last Thursday, Crenshaw crushed the Yankees, 39-6.

The leader on defense for Crenshaw has been outside linebacker Kaleon Green, who has 16 sacks and 94 tackles. Defensive end Floyd Adams, who scored against Hamilton on a 64-yard run with a fumble recovery, also has played well, as has strong safety Demetrius Henderson.

On offense, Crenshaw has used two quarterbacks, seniors Whitney Jones and Enos Powell. James Dye has been the key to the rushing attack, and Gerald Lacy has been the main receiving threat.

Since the school opened in 1968, Crenshaw has never won a City title. In 1982, the Cougars reached the final but lost to Carson, and in 1989 the Colts defeated Crenshaw in the semifinals.

The Cougars have had to overcome many problems this season, from lack of coaches on staff to lack of equipment. Despite that, Crenshaw has always considered itself among the elite.

“We’re still upset about being put down (to the 3-A Division),” Garrett said. “Just because we had one bad season, we get moved. We feel that we can compete with anybody because we do have the athletes.”

Crenshaw will play Reseda Wednesday night at Gardena High in the quarterfinals.

Leo Brouhard is a high school tailback’s dream coach.

Over the years, Brouhard has gained a reputation for producing record-breaking running backs, and David Dotson of Valley View in Moreno Valley is his latest product.

In the 1970s, Brouhard coached Colton’s Marvin Williams, who gained 4,553 yards in his prep career. In the 1980s, he coached Riverside Rubidoux’s Ryan Knight, who set a state single-season rushing record of 2,620 yards.

This year, Dotson has set a single-season mark with 3,523 yards and is also the state record-holder for career yardage with 7,246.

Last Saturday night against West Torrance in a Southern Section Division VIII playoff game, Dotson reinjured his left hamstring and was replaced by Kareem Booker, who had rushed for only 264 yards this season.

All Booker did in Brouhard’s power offense was gain 229 yards in 23 carries and lead Valley View to a 42-20 victory.

Prep Notes

The annual East Los Angeles Classic between Garfield and Roosevelt may be moved from East Los Angeles College to the Rose Bowl next season. Game officials have cited rising costs at East Los Angeles College for the move. The game draws a capacity crowd every year. Last month, an estimated 21,000 watched Garfield defeat Roosevelt, 7-0. One problem the game might have if it is moved to the 105,000-seat Rose Bowl, is the loss of the excitement felt at East Los Angeles. Some point out that 20,000-plus spectators will be lost in the Rose Bowl.

Dorsey, the City’s top-seeded 4-A team, won its first-round playoff game over Westchester on Friday, 21-6, without starting quarterback Damon Williams. Williams, who injured his ankle in the regular-season finale against Gardena, is expected to miss Wednesday’s quarterfinal game against Locke at Jackie Robinson Stadium. His backup is junior Antonio Carrion, who usually starts at wide receiver. Also helping take up the slack is running back Sharmon Shah, who gained 235 yards and scored two touchdowns against Westchester.

The Southern Section team tennis tournament will be played today at the Claremont Club. The Southern Section water polo championships are set for Wednesday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. . . . The State cross-country run will be held Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. . . . The State volleyball tournament opens tonight and concludes with the title games in five divisions on Dec. 7 at Cal State Fullerton.

The basketball season opened Monday for City schools and starts next Monday for the Southern Section.