FACTS, FIGURES AND COMMENTS FROM LAST WEEK’S GAMES : PASSING GRADE

In a matchup of two of the state’s premier passing teams, North Torrance came up with more big plays than visiting Artesia to pull away for an impressive 41-27 victory Friday night.

“I didn’t know if we could score that many points,” North Coach Joe Austin said. “I’m proud of the kids . . . They’re going to have a lot of confidence after this.”

North quarterback Frank Ramirez was a picture of efficiency. He completed 13 of 19 passes, with no interceptions, for 255 yards and three touchdowns, including a 66-yard scoring play to Lacy Watkins and a two-point conversion pass late in the third quarter to give the Saxons the lead for good, 28-21.

Artesia made a critical mistake on the next possession when a high snap sailed over the punter and North took over at the Artesia 28-yard line. Three plays later, Ramirez scored on an eight-yard run, beating a defender to the right flag, to make it 34-21 with 10:06 left.

Artesia quarterback Aaron Flowers, who passed for 3,954 yards in 1991 to lead the Pioneers to an 11-1 record, had a good night. He completed 17 of 32 passes, with one interception, for 261 yards and three TDs, but was constantly harassed by North. The Saxons sacked Flowers six times, including four by senior tackle Keith Traylor, who recovered a fumble by Flowers late in the game to set up North’s last touchdown.

“North Torrance is an excellent team,” said Artesia Coach Norm Flowers, whose son is the quarterback. “They’ve got a lot of kids back and I think they’re going to have a big year.”

THINKING IT OVER

Carson Coach Marty Blankenship said he will consider scrapping the veer option in favor of a less risky running attack after the Colts committed five turnovers, three of them fumbles, in a 14-10 loss to Bishop Amat.

“We may have to throw (the veer) out and switch to a more conventional running game,” Blankenship said. “We were doing fine, but those fumbles just killed us.”

Carson quarterback Jamie Sander continued to have trouble with turnovers. The senior, who had 19 interceptions and 19 fumbles last season, had two interceptions and two fumbles against Bishop Amat. The Colts’ other turnover came on a handoff exchange between Sander and running back Robert Johnson.

Bishop Amat converted Sander’s fumbles into two third-quarter touchdowns.

It was the second consecutive week that Carson outgained an opponent but failed to win. The Colts finished with 299 total yards compared to 112 for Bishop Amat.

TROUBLESOME TRICKS

Hawthorne may have pushed its luck by attempting too many trick plays in a 36-25 loss to visiting Loyola.

After executing a catch-and-pitch play and being successful on a fake punt, the Cougars tried the same plays again with disastrous results.

Leading 7-0 in the first quarter, Hawthorne quarterback Kenji Tatum completed a short pass to J.J. Arnett, who pitched the ball to tailback Corey McCoy, who fumbled at the Loyola 16.

After Loyola converted that turnover into a touchdown, Hawthorne’s Kelvin Hunter gave the ball right back by fumbling the kickoff. Loyola scored on the next play to take a 14-7 lead.

Faced with fourth down on its next possession, Hawthorne’s Ronnie Morrisette tried to pass out of a punt formation and fumbled at the Hawthorne 30. Loyola scored a touchdown on the next play to take a 20-7 lead.

Afterward, Hawthorne Coach Dan Robbins defended his play calling.

“We had fun, football’s a fun game,” he said. “There are a lot of (coaches) who are ground-it-out types, and I’m not.”

MAGIC TOUCH

You’ve heard of players who supposedly are capable of scoring every time they touch the ball. Now meet the real thing.

Bryant Thomas, a senior receiver-safety for San Pedro, handled the ball three times in a 34-0 victory over University of West L.A., and each time he wound up in the end zone. Thomas scored on a 37-yard interception return, a 20-yard reverse and a 35-yard pass from quarterback Luis Lopez as the Pirates scored all their points in the first half.

DEAD AIR

In what is becoming an unusual tradition, Peninsula failed to complete a pass Friday against Millikan for the second consecutive season. But it didn’t hurt the Panthers, who parlayed the running of junior tailback James Durroh and an aggressive defensive effort into a 27-0 victory at Peninsula.

Durroh rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns in 25 carries and the Peninsula defense limited Millikan to 85 total yards. The Rams to crossed midfield only once. Millikan lost four fumbles in the second half, including three on successive possessions by quarterback Sheva Branch. Peninsula converted two of Branch’s fumbles into touchdowns--runs of 29 and eight yards by Durroh that gave the Panthers a 20-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Branch, an All-Moore League running back, was filling in for regular quarterback Steve Faupusa, who was benched for missing practice.

Peninsula quarterback Scott Gordon ran for two touchdowns but failed to complete a pass in five attempts. He threw one interception. Last season, Peninsula had no completions in three attempts in a 16-6 victory over Millikan.

“Believe me, that’s not the way we planned it,” Peninsula Coach Gary Kimbrell said. “If we keep that up Jon Arnett is going to write me a letter.”

Kimbrell’s reference was to the former USC running back who wrote a letter to USC critical of Trojan Coach Larry Smith.

BIG CATS

Teams might have trouble contending with Peninsula’s size. The Panthers have 19 players who weigh at least 200 pounds and 10 players who weigh at least 225.

The biggest Panther is 6-foot-5, 265-pound guard Matt Redman, who delivered a crushing block to spring Durroh for a 37-yard run in the second quarter, setting up Peninsula’s first touchdown.

“This is probably the biggest team I’ve been associated with,” Kimbrell said.

TURNING THE TABLES

El Segundo opened the season with a new coach, a new quarterback and a new outcome against old nemesis Mira Costa. The Eagles avenged last season’s 39-7 loss to Mira Costa with a 37-21 victory at El Segundo.

“We played about as good as I would have expected in my wildest dreams,” said first-year Coach Craig Cousins, a former El Segundo assistant. “We made very few errors.”

Senior David Scanlan did a little bit of everything for the Eagles, rushing for 34 yards and one touchdown, catching four passes for 64 yards and one TD and intercepting a pass. He finished with 19 points, including a field goal and four point-after kicks.

Cousins was also pleased with the play of sophomore quarterback Jake Coulter, who replaced Landon Wilson after the returning starter recently moved to Minneapolis. Coulter completed five of nine passes for 72 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown to Scanlan, and rushed for 42 yards in four carries.

“If you’re going to praise somebody, I think you have to praise the sophomore quarterback,” Cousins said. “He had no fumbles, he ran the option well and he made very good decisions on whether to pitch (the ball) or cut up.”

TRIUMPHANT RETURN

After resigning at the end of the 1990 season, Steve Carnes returned to the sideline as Leuzinger’s coach Friday night and happily watched as the Olympians rolled past Bolsa Grande, 43-6, in a nonleague game in Garden Grove.

Leuzinger was never challenged after its first play from scrimmage resulted in an 83-yard touchdown run by senior halfback Thomas Flanagan.

It was a marked improvement over last season’s opener, when the Olympians were beaten by Carson, 45-6, in Tom Jessee’s debut as Leuzinger coach.

Carnes, who guided the Olympians to a 56-22-6 record and one Southern Section conference title from 1984-90, said he wanted to play as many players as possible, a luxury Bolsa Grande was not afforded because of its 22-man roster.

“I enjoyed being out here again,” Carnes said. “Our players are young and they needed experience.

“If the game would have been closer, we probably would have stuck with our (starting) players. Obviously, it’s nice to get a win.”

SPLITTING TIME

Redondo used two quarterbacks in its 43-13 victory over Kern Valley, playing senior Keegan Quigley in the first half and junior Scott Albin in the second.

“We’ve got a little battle going at quarterback,” Coach Chris Hyduke said. “Whoever has the best (nonleague season) will get the job.”

Both quarterbacks were successful in the opener. Keegan, who sat out last season, helped Redondo to a 20-13 halftime lead by completing two of eight passes for 65 yards and one touchdown. Albin, who quarterbacked Redondo’s sophomore team last season, completed four of five passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Joey Brooks.

It might not matter who is at quarterback for the Sea Hawks if they continue to run the ball the way they did against Kern Valley. Running backs Bob Cracknell rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns and Scott Moore gained 70 yards. Moore also kicked a 49-yard field goal.

DEFENSIVE STARS

* Gardena strong safety Kiambu Kelly returned an interception 25 yards to set up the clinching fourth-quarter touchdown in a 14-8 victory over Fairfax. Defensive end Daniel Robledo led the Mohicans with 10 tackles, including four sacks.

* Carson middle linebacker James Pepe had 16 tackles as the Colts limited Bishop Amat to 24 yards rushing in a 14-10 loss.

* El Segundo defensive back ZeAndre Davis had interception returns of 38 and 37 yards for touchdowns in a 37-21 victory over Mira Costa.

* Linebackers Taso Papadakis and Jerry Pilato spearheaded a Peninsula defense that held Millikan to 30 yards rushing in 29 attempts in a 27-0 Panther victory.

* San Pedro linebacker Larry Cannon had five unassisted tackles, eight assists and a sack in a 34-0 shutout over University.

IN QUOTES

Torrance Coach Bill Bynum, after his pass-oriented team rushed for 260 yards and passed for only 80 yards in a 10-8 victory over Verbum Dei: “That’s the first time we rushed for over 200 yards in a couple of years. All the coaches are laughing at me because I hate this kind of stuff. It was ugly football.”

Mira Costa Coach Bill Lysle on his team’s 37-21 loss to El Segundo: “I don’t think we could have done any worse. The immaturity of our team really showed; it’s something we feared.”

North Torrance Coach Joe Austin on quarterback Frank Ramirez, who passed for 255 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another TD in a 41-27 victory over Artesia: “He’s instinctively good. He turns nothing into something.”

Carson Coach Marty Blankenship on his team’s 0-1-1 start after starting the season ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the nation: “All this rating stuff and the hype that comes with it puts pressure on the kids, and not all kids respond well to that. I know the media likes those things and it’s nice to get ranked, but sometimes I wish we weren’t.”

Bishop Montgomery Coach Bob Tompson on his team’s 37-13 victory over Pius X, the team he coached last season: “It was a tough situation. I’m glad it’s over. Pius players were going down left and right. They were definitely out of shape. We smashed-mouthed them; wore them down with physical ball.”

INJURIES

Carson defensive end Lomi Fa’avae, one of the team’s leading players, sat out a 14-10 loss to Bishop Amat because of a strained knee suffered in last week’s 7-7 tie against Mt. Carmel. Fa’avae is expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks.

BY THE NUMBERS

A look at last week’s top performers.

PASSING

Player Comp. Att. Yds. TD Frank Ramirez, North 19 13 255 3 Kenji Tatum, Hawthorne 13 9 156 2 Jamie Sander, Carson 20 7 137 1 Tony Gutierrez, B. Mont. 11 6 126 0 V. Faavi-Tua’au, Banning 11 6 83 1 Ryan Marshall, West 22 8 81 0 Bill Bynum, Torrance 12 6 80 1

RUSHING

Player No. Yards TD Leandrew Childs, Inglewood 17 157 1 James Durroh, Peninsula 25 142 2 Scooter Atkins, Chadwick 19 129 2 Eric Chaney, B. Montgomery 21 117 3 Corey McCoy, Hawthorne 15 115 1 Bob Cracknell, Redondo 15 106 2 Jay Silverman, Torrance 13 91 0 Dano Casillas, North 19 90 1 Thomas Flanagan, Leuzinger 9 85 1 Paul Young, Gardena 19 75 0 Damin Hurst, Banning 14 74 1 Scott Moore, Redondo 15 70 0

RECEIVING

Player No. Yards TD Dean Halverson, North 7 125 1 Marquise Jones, Hawthorne 3 104 2 Shadeed Muhammad, Carson 3 74 0 Eric Bogan, B. Montgomery 1 70 0 David Scanlan, El Segundo 4 64 1 Bob Cracknell, Redondo 1 50 1 Lamar Reed, Morningside 1 50 1 Tony Harvey, Carson 2 47 1 Matt Guerrero, Mira Costa 3 45 2