Hawthorne Advances to Finals With 14-9 Win : Football: The Cougars will play Bell Gardens in the Division III championship game.

Hawthorne High converted two San Marcos turnovers into touchdowns for a 14-9 semifinal victory Friday night, advancing to the Southern Section Division III championship game Saturday against top-seeded Bell Gardens.

Bell Gardens (12-1) will be the host team because it has had one fewer home game than Hawthorne (11-2) in the playoffs. A site and time will be announced Monday, but the game will probably be played at Cerritos College or Gahr High in Cerritos, a Southern Section official said.

Hawthorne will be playing in its third section final and its first since 1959, when the Cougars lost to Long Beach Poly at the Coliseum. Hawthorne’s only CIF championship came in 1954 under former coach Hal Chauncey when the Cougars defeated Basic, Nev., 39-13, to win the Northern Division title at El Camino College.

Two South Bay teams advanced to City Section finals. Second-seeded Carson routed Van Nuys, 55-0, to advance to the 4-A Division championship game Saturday against top-seeded Sylmar, and second-seeded San Pedro defeated host Palisades, 9-6, to advance to the 3-A final against Taft of Woodland Hills. There is talk of a possible doubleheader Saturday at El Camino College, but City Section Director of Athletics Hal Harkness said sites will be determined Monday.

West Torrance was the only area team to fall Friday night, losing to Bishop Diego of Santa Barbara, 41-26, in the Division IX semifinals.

In 1979, the Pittsburgh Pirates won a World Series with the theme, “We are Family.” Hawthorne has adopted the motto.

The Cougars lost standout tailback Corey McCoy to an ankle injury Nov. 6. The following week, Hawthorne lost its final regular-season game to rival Leuzinger, 28-24, dropping the Cougars into a three-way tie for the Bay League title and costing them the No. 1 seeding in the playoffs.

But after the loss to Leuzinger, Hawthorne Coach Dan Robbins said the players were more upset about learning that McCoy was out for the year.

“The unity this team has (kept it together),” Robbins said. “Even after the Leuzinger game, never before have I seen a game where they stayed so tight. There wasn’t anybody (fighting with) anybody else. That’s it right there--the fact that they are more concerned with their teammates than they are about the bad times.”

Every Thursday, Hawthorne’s team gathers for dinners thrown by the families of Polynesian players. Sometimes the get-togethers turn emotional.

“They come and they cry,” Robbins said of his players. “They cried last Thursday, just in anticipation of this game. It’s just a great group, and a great close family.”

Hawthorne came out prepared Friday night. On the opening kickoff, Hawthorne’s Ronnie Morrissette knocked the ball loose from San Marcos kick returner Brian Ricce. Sophomore Kalisi Moala picked it up and ran 19 yards for his first varsity touchdown, giving the Cougars the lead 10 seconds into the contest.

Another fumble set up Hawthorne’s second TD early in the third quarter. San Marcos fullback Steve Guzman fumbled on his own 19 and Hawthorne’s Tony Rodriguez recovered. Five plays later, quarterback Kenji Tatum hit wide receiver Justin Stallings with a four-yard touchdown pass to give the Cougars a 14-3 lead.

Hawthorne’s defense shut down a San Marcos offense that had averaged 30.6 points a game. The Cougars limited Guzman to 65 yards rushing in 29 carries.

Cougar linebackers Albert Kapu and William Tuivai each had a sack, and linebacker Tevita Moala had 18 tackles to give him a school-record 155 tackles this season, including 46 in three playoff games. Moala also deflected a Daniel La Greca pass on a two-point conversion attempt with 6:06 remaining in the game, keeping the score 14-9.