After Making Adjustments, Banning Has Made a Run for Playoffs

Banning football Coach Ed Paculba wanted to use a two-platoon system this season, but his attitude changed after the Pilots blew a fourth-quarter lead and lost to San Pedro, 22-21, on Oct. 16.

“San Pedro was the last straw,” Paculba said. “I realized in that game that we don’t have enough talent to go two platoons.”

Since then, Banning has started six two-way players, and the results have been encouraging. The Pilots rebounded to beat Washington, 26-14, on Oct. 23 and they routed Gardena, 42-8, on Friday, gaining a season-high 463 yards.

Paculba said shoring up the team’s defense was his main objective after Banning lost to San Pedro and fell to 0-2 in the Southern Pacific Conference. The secondary, in particular, was in need of help, despite the presence of preseason All-American Brandon Moore at strong safety.

“We were hurting in the secondary,” Paculba said. “We had kids in there who had never played defense before and they were making mistakes. Now we have better athletes back there.”

Asked to perform double duty were tailback Damin Hurst, quarterback Vaimagalo Faavi-Tua’au, wide receivers Robert Gutierrez and Jason Ping, and offensive linemen Aaron Brice and Marcus Henry.

Since the Washington game, Hurst and Ping have played cornerback in addition to their offensive duties, Gutierrez doubles at free safety, Brice and Henry play on the defensive line and, in what some might consider a risky move, Faavi-Tua’au plays middle linebacker.

Paculba said the changes were needed for the Pilots to compete against more athletic teams such as Carson. The cross-town rivals meet for the 41st time at noon Saturday at Long Beach Veterans Stadium. Carson leads the series, 22-18, but Banning has won the past two games.

“I don’t think the (defensive players) we had in there originally could match up with Carson’s kids,” Paculba said. “The kids we have in there now are ball-hawks. They’re receivers and running backs, so they know how to go after the ball. They’re more aggressive.”

Asked if he worries that his quarterback could be injured playing middle linebacker, Paculba replied that the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Faavi-Tua’au can handle almost any position.

“He’s an athlete,” Paculba said. “I just can’t keep him on the bench when the team needs him. We give him a breather. It all depends on how the game is turning out.”

Against explosive Carson, look for Faavi-Tua’au and several of his Pilot teammates to put in a long day.

Paculba believes Banning must win its last two regular-season games against Carson and Dorsey to assure itself a spot in the City Section 4-A Division playoffs.

Banning (2-2) and Crenshaw (2-2-1) are tied for third place in the Pacific League, behind Carson (4-0) and Dorsey (2-1-1). Only first- and second-place finishers from the six 4-A Division leagues will earn automatic berths in the 16-team playoff field. The four at-large qualifiers will be determined by the division’s coaches at a seeding meeting Tuesday night.

Considering that either Carson or Dorsey has won the past four 4-A titles, and Banning was runner-up last season, it’s almost certain the third-place team from the Pacific League will earn a playoff spot. But a good fourth-place team--Banning, Dorsey or Crenshaw--will probably be left out.

Paculba doesn’t want to leave anything to chance.

“We’re in control of our own destiny,” he said. “We have to win these last two games to make the playoffs and show that we’re a good team.”

Paculba recognizes the difficult task facing Banning, with back-to-back games against Carson and Dorsey.

“It’s like playing Notre Dame and Miami right in a row,” he said.

The Torrance girls’ volleyball team keeps rolling along. The Tartars, ranked fourth in the state, clinched the Pioneer League title Tuesday with a 15-11, 15-5, 15-1 victory over El Segundo.

In fact, since John Radcliffe and Brian Chartier took over coaching duties nearly a month into the season, Torrance has not lost a game. The Tartars have swept all nine of their league matches, a streak of 27 games, and they won 10 consecutive games Oct. 24 to capture the Marlborough Tournament title, beating highly regarded Notre Dame Academy, 15-7, in the final.

“It’s been great,” Radcliffe said. “Brian deserves all the credit as far as coaching goes, and the girls have been super. They’re really working hard because of the great goals they’ve set for themselves.”

With the league title secured, Torrance now sets its sights on the Southern Section Division III title and its ultimate goal, the State Division II title. The Tartars (15-0) will be seeded No. 1 for the Division III playoffs starting next Thursday.

“We’re trying not to look too far ahead because we don’t want the girls to lose their focus,” Radcliffe said. “We want to take it as it comes. But I’ll be disappointed if we don’t get an invitation (to the state playoffs).”

Torrance has been starting a lineup of setter-hitter Suzanne Radcliffe, the coach’s daughter; outside hitters Kim Blankinship, Sunshine Van Wie and Tami Burchard, and middle blockers Tiffany Fujimoto and Vika Malu, a transfer from Gardena who became eligible early in the season. Kim Nuechterlein, a back-row specialist, is the first player off the bench.

Radcliffe, a 5-10 senior bound for Loyola Marymount, became the Tartars’ primary setter after a knee injury sidelined starter Jenny Yokoyama shortly before the start of league play and the Sept. 30 resignation of former coach Pete Field, whose disciplining of Fujimoto at a practice led to allegations of abusive behavior against him.

The top three receivers for USC--Curtis Conway, Johnnie Morton and Travis Hannah--were all members of The Times’ 1987 South Bay All-Star football team. Conway, the former Hawthorne quarterback, was a first-team selection, while Morton (South Torrance) and Hannah (Hawthorne) were second-team choices as wide receivers.

Other notable players on the 1987 all-star team were Serra wide receiver Deon Figures, now a defensive back for Colorado; Banning offensive tackle Bob Whitfield, a former Stanford All-American and first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons; Carson’s George Malauulu, the Arizona quarterback; Banning lineman Titus Tuiasosopo, a USC offensive lineman; Carson linebacker Arnold Ale, the injured UCLA starter; and Bishop Montgomery defensive back Niu Sale, the former El Camino and Missouri standout.

Conway, a junior, was named South Bay back of the year and Whitfield was lineman of the year.

Hitting the skids:

* Since opening the season with three consecutive victories, El Segundo’s football team has lost five in a row and been outscored, 161-30.

* Since winning its first four games, Redondo has lost four in a row and been outscored, 127-42.

* Since ending a 12-game losing streak with a 7-0 victory over Jordan on Oct. 16, Narbonne (1-7) has been outscored, 74-16, in its past two games.

* Since beating Fairfax, 14-8, in its opener, Gardena has lost six in a row and been outscored, 206-34.

* Mary Star (0-8), the South Bay’s only winless team, had its losing streak extended to 14 games Friday by St. Anthony, 28-7.

On the rise:

* Since falling to 1-3 with a 21-3 loss to Leuzinger, Morningside has won three in a row and can win the Ocean League title outright Friday with a victory at Beverly Hills.

* Since falling to 1-3 with a 21-20 loss to Morningside, South Torrance has won four in a row and appears headed for a showdown against North Torrance on Nov. 13 for the Pioneer League title.

* Since being shut out by Carson, 27-0, San Pedro has tied defending 4-A Division champion Dorsey, 20-20, beaten 1991 runner-up Banning, 22-21, and routed Gardena, 35-13, and Verbum Dei, 48-0.

Notes

The Peninsula girls’ basketball team, defending state Division I and mythical national champion, will have a fund-raising garage sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in front of the Peninsula gym. Information: Coach Wendell Yoshida at (310) 318-5491. . . Peninsula’s Mimi McKinney, a 5-foot-9 junior forward, and Morningside’s Tina Thompson, a 6-2 senior center, have been selected among California’s top 13 players by Street and Smith’s magazine. Peninsula is ranked 14th in the state by Cal-Hi Sports newsletter.

North Torrance (8-0) is one of 15 unbeaten and untied football teams remaining in the Southern Section. The Saxons are ranked No. 1 in the Division IX media poll. . . St. Mary’s Academy of Inglewood clinched its first girls’ volleyball league title in 25 years Tuesday with a 15-2, 15-5, 15-8 Camino Real League victory over Serra. Iyesha Sands led the Belles with 11 kills.

South Bay’s Football Top 10

Selected by Times Sportswriters Rank, School, League: Record

1 Hawthorne (Bay): 7-1

2 North Torrance (Pioneer): 8-0

3 Carson (Pacific): 5-2-1

4 San Pedro (Southern): 6-1-1

5 Banning (Pacific): 5-3

6 Serra (Camino Real): 6-2

7 Peninsula (Bay): 6-2

8 South Torrance (Pioneer): 5-3

9 Morningside (Ocean): 4-3

10 West Torrance (Pioneer): 5-3