Flight-Wary Falcons Wing a Commercial

The Crescenta Valley High basketball team will be featured in a television commercial for General Electric that is scheduled to air later this month.

According to Coach John Goffredo, Crescenta Valley was chosen over a handful of other Southern California schools to participate in what will amount to a five-second cameo.

Filmed in November, the Falcons are featured running through a crowded airport terminal in their warm-up suits, trying to catch a plane.

Poor casting. After last season’s brush with disaster on a plane bound for Las Vegas, that’s probably the last thing any member of Goffredo’s gang would care to do.

En route to a December tournament, the team’s plane nearly crashed upon landing because of severe winds and was forced to return to Los Angeles.

“The only reason we did it is because we didn’t actually have to get on a plane,” Goffredo said.

HUSTLE OR BUST?

Simi Valley has not relied on talent alone this basketball season. A key to the Pioneers’ success is their tenacious defense and hustle.

But when Simi Valley (11-3, 2-1 in Marmonte League play) hesitates, the Pioneers sometimes run into trouble, as they did in a 66-62 loss to Thousand Oaks last Wednesday.

“As we found out, if we’re not playing at a level of intensity that we need to play at, we’re a very mediocre team,” Simi Valley Coach Dean Bradshaw said. “We played with a little more intensity and enthusiasm in the second half, but we didn’t play defense when we had to.”

That was evident with 1 minute 38 seconds remaining and Simi Valley nursing a 62-60 lead. Although Simi Valley called a timeout to set up a defense, Thousand Oaks needed only 13 seconds to get the ball to Paul Foster for an easy three-foot basket.

NO SOPHOMORE JINX

Simi Valley sophomore Nathan Simmons already has shown he is a player who bears recognition in scouting reports.

Simmons, a 6-foot-3 forward, is only 15 years old and went from Valley View Junior High to Simi Valley’s starting lineup in less than a year. In his first start, Simmons had 13 points and seven rebounds in Simi Valley’s 57-56 upset of Fremont in the Simi Valley tournament.

Simmons, who was named to the all-tournament team, has set four team fitness records for sophomores. He holds the overall team record in the 440-yard run (54.18 seconds), an event in which he won the state championship as an eighth-grader two years ago.

“He is going to be a very good player because of his athleticism,” Bradshaw said. “He is a very, very gifted athlete who has been talked about in this community for several years.”

And will be, quite likely, for years to come.

FOUR SCORE

Every time Chris Nikchevich sees the paltry number he rolls his eyes. Crespi, presented with an opportunity to roll into first place in the Mission League basketball standings last Friday with a victory over St. Bernard, rolled over instead.

After leading by two points entering the final eight minutes, Crespi scored four points in the fourth quarter of a 67-60 loss.

“With the offense we have, for us to score that many points in a quarter we really have to work at it,” said Nikchevich, the second-year Crespi coach.

Or hardly work at all. It marked the second time this season that Crespi has been held to four points in a quarter.

Senior starters Rob Leff, Randy Coleman and Matt Carpenter combined for 54 points against St. Bernard, but the remainder of the starting lineup contributed a mere four points and the bench added just one basket.

The Celts (7-6, 2-1 in league play) have not won a league title since 1985-86.

REJUVENATED

Although Westlake’s Tim Kirksey was hampered by injury during the football season, he has managed to avoid the same on the basketball court and was a key factor as the Warriors (6-6, 2-1) won two of three Marmonte League games last week.

Kirksey, a 6-2 senior guard, came off the bench and averaged 11.3 points and 4.6 steals.

“He is a great spark for us off the bench,” Coach Gary Grayson said. “When we need something to pick us up, he’s guaranteed to do something either offensively or defensively.”

KEEPING THE FAITH

Camarillo’s woes continued last week when it lost its first three Marmonte League basketball games, including a 54-53 heartbreaker to Agoura on Friday in which the Scorpions missed two free throws with three seconds left.

Although Camarillo fell to 2-9, Coach Mike Prewitt said the players remain optimistic.

“Life goes on,” he said before practice Monday. “The kids called me this weekend wanting to practice.”

BOARD GAME

One reason Santa Clara has won 61 consecutive Frontier League basketball games is its strong rebounding. Case in point: Even without 6-6 senior Pat Lampson, the Saints dominated host Santa Paula and 6-8 center Terry Bell on the boards in a 48-45 victory Friday.

“That’s where they’ll beat you,” Cardinal Coach Tom Donahue said.

Lampson suffered a collapsed lung during practice recently and it is not certain how long he will be sidelined.

Until Lampson returns, 6-4 guard Chris Cole, 6-4 forward Stevie Amar and 6-3 center Isaiah Mustafa will provide the Saints with muscle underneath. “The only thing is,” Coach Lou Cvijanovich said, “if we lose anyone else, we’re in trouble.”

CONVINCING EFFORT

Faith Baptist forward Etienne Moore (6-5, 180) entered the season as an unknown quantity. Moore, a transfer from Reseda, did not play basketball last season, but that has not limited his effectiveness.

After his first few games, a startling statistical trend started to develop: Moore was averaging close to 20 rebounds a game. Yet the verdict still was not in, at least in the eyes of Coach Stuart Mason.

“I knew he had a real high average,” Mason said. “But I figured I’d wait and see how he did (in an upcoming tournament game) against North Hollywood to make up my mind.”

Moore took 18 rebounds against the Huskies--currently ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times--and is averaging 18.9 a game to lead all area players.

REFS REVISITED

If this were show-biz, it would be called Stripes II. It was a year ago last weekend that Campbell Hall experienced one of the most frustrating losses in its history, largely because of questionable officiating.

With the score tied and four seconds remaining, Campbell Hall inbounded the ball from the far baseline with a high, 60-foot lob down the court. The scoreboard operator started the clock when the ball left the passer’s hands, however, and time expired before the Vikings could attempt a shot.

A protracted argument failed to rectify the oversight, and Campbell Hall lost in overtime to league-rival Crossroads at Santa Monica High.

Last Saturday, 365 days or so later, things came 360 degrees. Same site, same foe, same general result. A total of 55 free throws were attempted in a 76-71 loss to Crossroads at Santa Monica, 41 by Crossroads.

What’s more, last season’s game ended with an official being chased out of the Santa Monica gym by a Campbell Hall assistant. This year’s version concluded with one official sprinting into the locker room.

The foul calls were so consistently poor that Crossroads Coach Darryl Roper turned to a Campbell Hall fan after a charging call had gone in his team’s favor and said, “You’re right. That was bad. Really bad.”

Campbell Hall, which first admitted boys in 1983-84, has never beaten Crossroads in boys’ basketball.

EIGHT IS (BARELY) ENOUGH

Through 13 games, no Burroughs basketball player has fouled out of a game. Not coincidentally, the Indians have only eight players in uniform for every game.

Said Coach Art Sullivan: “With our number of players, we can’t afford too many fouls.”

BOMBED SQUAD

Fillmore has had difficulty assembling its entire team.

Leading scorer Danny Ocegueda, a 6-2 senior point guard who also can play the post, suffered a broken nose during the second quarter of a 67-48 loss to Moorpark on Friday. The break was on the upper part of Ocegueda’s nose, necessitating a visit to a nose specialist. He was not expected to play Tuesday night against Santa Paula and his status after that is questionable.

Mike Meza, a 6-6 senior center, twisted an ankle Dec. 27 and was scheduled to practice for the first time this week.

“It’s a big day for him,” Coach John Wilber said. “He hasn’t given it a good test because we’re trying to get it to heal up.”

Rudy Alcantar, a 6-3 junior forward, was held out for disciplinary reasons last week. In a 75-51 loss to L.A. Baptist last week he did not play at all. He did not start Friday and played only sparingly. Wilber, who would not comment on the nature of the violation, said, “He was a big scorer early in the year. He just hasn’t been on track lately.”

GONE SKIING

Returning to St. Genevieve this week is Alex Muller, a 6-2 sophomore who has not played since Dec. 27 when he took a skiing trip. “He told me he was going,” first-year Coach Dan Donovan said, “and I suggested he not go. It was his decision and he had to suffer the consequence.”

Before the season, Donovan said Muller would develop into one of the league’s best players.

BLOWING IN THE WIND

One of the prerequisites for coaching soccer in Simi Valley is knowing how to adapt to the gusty winds that frequently blow through town. With 30-m.p.h. winds breezing around Simi Valley High on Saturday night, Royal Coach Kevin Corley made the proper adjustments and the Highlanders beat Simi Valley, 1-0, on a Ryan Campbell goal in overtime.

Corley instructed his team to use long vertical passes to get the ball from the defensive end to the attack zone.

“We usually don’t like to play that way,” he said. “We normally like to play with more control. But we wanted to see if we could force their defense into mistakes.”

Simi Valley had several lapses in overtime, but Royal could not convert until Campbell broke free for a run up the right wing and chipped a shot over Simi Valley goalie Mike Jones for the match winner with 2 minutes 36 seconds left in overtime.

Simi Valley Coach Andy Silva would rather prepare strategy for other weather conditions. “I hate the wind. I’d rather play in the rain than the wind,” he said.

QUOTEBOOK

Villanova Prep Coach Ted Cotti to Providence Coach Paul Sutton midway through Providence’s 115-51 nonleague victory last week: “You guys tired out yet?”

GIVING BACK

As a player, Lalo Alvarado became a starting fullback for Real Santa Barbara in the American Professional Soccer League. Alvarado has returned to his alma mater Santa Paula this season as a volunteer assistant boys’ coach.

“Lalo is a perfect resource for me,” Coach Joe Magdaleno said. “He has a lot of ideas from his college and professional days.”

Alvarado played for Magdaleno for three seasons and was an All-Southern Section selection as a senior center-halfback in 1983. That Santa Paula team reached the 1-A Division semifinals. Alvarado went on to captain his Cal State Los Angeles team and played for Real Santa Barbara in 1989-90.

In Santa Barbara, Alvarado learned some of the finer points of soccer from former Soviet junior national Coach Valery Volostnykh. Volostnykh, a Soviet national team performer from 1967-69, played sweeper and stopper against such soccer legends as Brazil’s Pele and the Netherland’s Johann Cruyff.

“Some of the stuff I learned from Valery, I’m using now,” Alvarado said.

Alvarado is setting his sights on coaching at the college level, but he is content with his role at Santa Paula for now. “It’s great to be back. I see myself in a lot of these kids,” he said.

David Coulson, Vince Kowalick and staff writers Steve Elling, T.C. Porter and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.