Sophomore tailback Jerry Brown rushed for 153...

Sophomore tailback Jerry Brown rushed for 153 yards last week to become Taft High’s first 1,000-yard back since Kelvin Byrd, who rushed for 1,480 yards as a senior in 1988. Brown, who has 1,140 yards with at least two games remaining, is the third member of his family to top 1,000 yards in a high school season.

Half-brother Charles White did it in 1974 and 1975 at San Fernando, and brother Leonice Brown did it in 1990 at San Fernando. Brother Johnnie Brown could join the company. Johnnie, a senior, has gained 827 yards for Poly.

Football: After reeling off more than 600 rushing yards in a three-week span at midseason, Chatsworth tailback Nestor Davila has rushed for fewer than 100 yards in each of the past three weeks. Moreover, Davila, who had 92 yards against El Camino Real, surrendered the area-City Section rushing lead to Taft’s Brown. Not coincidentally, Chatsworth has lost three consecutive games to fall to 5-4.

Backup tailback Reggie Martin has emerged as a big-play performer for Kennedy. He has returned punts of 76 and 61 yards for touchdowns in successive weeks and has gained 145 yards in 20 carries over that span. Starting tailback Donte Scarbrough has rushed for 704 yards in 173 attempts, an average of 4.1 yards a carry.

Sophomore running back Bryan Wilkins of Littlerock became the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher with 1,083 yards in 152 carries. . . . Ten players carried the ball for Highland against Ridgecrest Burroughs last week.

Game-breaking Hart tailback Deriek Charles, who has 15 touchdowns, has scored more points (90) than the entire Burroughs team (58). Charles also has a chance to accomplish a rarity at any level of football: gaining 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving in a season. Entering the final week of the regular season, Charles has 809 yards rushing and 732 receiving.

In the first three quarters of the Sylmar-Van Nuys game last week, Sylmar ran only 20 plays in six possessions. The Spartans scored on each possession and amassed 397 yards for a whopping 19.9 yards a play.

Littlerock ran 74 plays, Palmdale 40. First downs: Littlerock 16, Palmdale 7. So how did Palmdale beat Littlerock, 33-22? Turnovers: Littlerock 4, Palmdale 0.

Water polo: Royal won its 12th consecutive Marmonte League championship and ran its string of consecutive league wins to 58, trailing only Sunny Hills (120, 1969-91), Crescenta Valley (91, 1969-79) and Riverside Poly (59, 1970-87) on the all-time Southern Section list. . . . In two matches, Royal outscored cross-town rival Simi Valley, 67-0.

Girls’ volleyball: Nordhoff senior outside hitter Allison Kerr piled up 34 kills, with only two hitting errors in 45 attempts, for an attack percentage of .711 in two matches at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. . . . Nordhoff has won three consecutive Frontier League championships and has won 26 consecutive league matches. . . . L.A. Baptist has won 26 consecutive Alpha League matches.