SCOREBOARD / FACTS, FIGURES AND COMMENTS FROM AREA EVENTS : PREPS

Margarito Casillas of Hoover will compete in the Kinney West regional cross-country meet this Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Casillas, a senior, won the Division I state championship last Saturday in Fresno, covering the 5-kilometer course at Woodward Park in 15 minutes, 3 seconds. He is undefeated this season.

Carlene Pengra of La Canada finished sixth in the girls’ Division Division III race in 18:54. Pengra also finished sixth in last year’s state championship race.

Ken Gerard of Marshall, who coached the Barristers’ varsity football team for the past eight seasons, announced his retirement from the position after Marshall lost to Garfield, 17-7, in the second round of the City Section 4-A playoffs.

Gerard, who said before the season that this would be his last, coached at Marshall for 18 years.

“I have some good memories,” said Gerard, whose teams won 19 games during the past two seasons. “I think the most positive thing is that we’ve established a winning tradition. I’ve also enjoyed getting the chance to coach my son (Shane) this season. That was a highlight.”

Gerard will assist the Marshall baseball team this spring. He plans to pursue a football coaching position at another school.

“I said before that when my son graduates, I’ll graduate with him,” Gerard said. “I’ve been here a long time. The school needs a change of blood and other people need to get the opportunity.

“There is a good stock of talent here. My gut feeling is that for at least the next two years, the program should be good.”

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The Glendale College football team will play host to Antelope Valley in the Western State Conference Bowl Saturday at Glendale High.

Glendale, the runner-up to Moorpark for the WSC title, finished 8-2 and in second place in the WSC’s Northern Division. Antelope Valley finished 7-2-1 and in second place in the Southern Division.

Glendale is led by running back Pathon Rucker, who gained 225 yards and scored four touchdowns in the Vaqueros’ 49-32 loss to Moorpark two weeks ago.

Antelope Valley features an offensive line that averages 6-7, 290 pounds.

“It’s going to be a matter of whether we can slow down their running game,” Glendale Coach John Cicuto said. “Our offense needs to control the ball and keep their offense off the field. If we don’t do that, we’ll be at a tremendous disadvantage, especially from a size standpoint.”

Glendale’s men’s soccer team was eliminated from the state playoffs last weekend, losing a second-round game to top-seeded East Los Angeles College, 2-1, in overtime.

The Vaqueros, behind 1-0 for most of the first half, tied the score on a goal by Edwin Sinecio about five minutes into the second half. East L.A. won the game on a goal by Harris Garcia.

Glendale defeated Cuyamaca College, 1-0, in the first round.

Glendale’s men’s basketball team is participating this week in the Golden West tournament in Huntington Beach.

The Vaqueros, who entered the week with a 2-4 record, are coming off a 95-91 overtime victory over East Los Angeles College. Glendale won the game despite blowing a 12-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

Kenny Collins led Glendale with 30 points.

COLLEGES

The Occidental College men’s basketball team improved its record to 1-1 with a 63-60 victory over Chapman College last Saturday.

The Tigers overcame 21 turnovers to defeat Chapman, which is in its first season of competition at the Division III level. The Panthers previously competed at Division II.

Tor Myhren led Occidental with 18 points. Blair Slattery added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers, who had lost their season opener to UC San Diego.

Occidental played Life Bible College on Tuesday, with the Tigers winning, XX-XX. The Tigers are idle until Dec. 12, when they will begin a three-game road trip to Oregon. Occidental will play Multnomah Bible, George Fox and Concordia colleges during the trip.

The Occidental women’s basketball team, under new Coach Kathy Connell, opened its season Tuesday against Pt. Loma. Tonight they play at Pacific Christian College in Fullerton.

Stephanie Francis, an all-conference senior forward who averaged 11 points and seven rebounds a game last season, is the top returning player for the Tigers, who finished 12-12 overall and 8-4 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1991-92.

Two Occidental football players were selected to the GTE Academic All-American team for District 8.

Senior wide receiver Mark Krock, who carries a 3.66 grade-point average in biochemistry, and senior running back Gary Little, who carries a 3.49 GPA in exercise science, are also nominees for the national Academic All-American team.

PREP ATHLETE OF WEEK

Margarito Casillas, Hoover--Casillas, who finished second behind Angel Martinez of San Gabriel at the state cross-country meet last year, earned the title this season with an impressive performance at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Casillas, a senior, finished in 15:03, which was 10 seconds faster than anyone at the meet, including Division II champion Ryan Wilson of Agoura, who finished in 15:13.2

COLLEGE ATHLETE OF WEEK

Tor Myrhen, Occidental--Myrhen, a 6-3 junior guard from Denver, Colo., helped the Tigers even their record at 1-1 by scoring 18 points during a 63-60 victory over Chapman College.

MISCELLANY

The city of Glendale had begun sign-ups for tennis lessons that will begin Jan.4 Adult and youth classes are available. Instruction will include eight, 50-minute sessions. Information: (818) 548-3796.

FINAL RANKINGS OF AREA’S TOP PREP FOOTBALL TEAMS Rank, Team, Record Entering Week and Synopsis 1 Crescenta Valley: 11-1; Defeated Hart, 13-7. The Falcons intercepted four passes in their Division II quarterfinal upset. Hart had been averaging 38 points a game, but the Falcons shut down the Indians. Linebacker Victor Huezo had two interceptions for Crescenta Valley, which plays Los Alamitos in the semifinals Friday night at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. 2 Marshall: 9-3; Lost to Garfield, 17-7. The Ken Gerard era at Marshall came to an end in the second round of the City Section 4-A playoffs. Quarterback Shane Gerard, Ken’s son, scored Marshall’s only touchdown on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter. Garfield avenged a regular-season 12-7 defeat by Marshall. 3 Eagle Rock: 4-7; The Eagles won the Northeastern League championship under first-year Coach Gary Kuniyuki, but were eliminated in the first round of the City Section 3-A playoffs by Hamilton. 4 Glendale: 5-5; The Dynamiters started the season fast, but won only one game in the Pacific League and missed the playoffs. 5 Franklin: 5-5; The Panthers got another outstanding season from Eric Jaimes at receiver and defensive back but fell short of advancing to the City Section playoffs and finished the season .500. 6 St. Francis: 3-6; The Golden Knights were hurt by injuries and a schedule that featured Division I quarterfinalists Loyola and Mater Dei. 7 Hoover: 1-9; Quarterback Nathan Dishington was one of the surprises of the Glendale area, engineering a Hoover run-and-shoot attack that was effective against most opponents. 8 La Canada: 3-7; The Spartans were hurt by injuries, making it difficult to perform well consistently. 9 Verdugo Hills: 1-8-1; Armando Gonzalez made more than 90 tackles for the Dons as a linebacker. He also played guard and center on offense. 10 Flintridge Prep: 5-4; The Rebels concluded their season with the defeat by Webb in the first round of the Southern Section Large School Eight-Man division playoffs. 11 Ribet Academy: 7-3; Defeated by Valley Christian Academy, 55-40. The Fighting Frogs’ loss in the second round of the Southern Section Eight-Man Small Schools playoffs ended an impressive season under Coach Fred Lewis. Rankings according to Times Glendale sportswriters’ poll.