Ventura Feels Sorrow Over Loss of Strobel

Ventura High is mourning the death of junior Jesse Strobel, 17, who was fatally stabbed Friday night near campus while walking home from his job as a pizza delivery person.

Among the most saddened are members of the football team. Strobel, a defensive end, outside linebacker and special teams player, was among the most likable players on the team, Coach Phil McCune said.

“The thing is, this kid was just a great kid,” McCune said. “There’s just a myriad of emotions. Some kids are devastated. Some are hurt.”

Strobel missed five games last season because of broken ribs before returning for the final two games. He probably would have been a starter next season, McCune said.

Strobel was found on the front porch of a house a few blocks north of the school at about 11 p.m., Ventura police said. He was taken to Ventura County Medical Center where he died at 1:15 a.m., according to the county coroner’s office. John Strobel said his son had recently been threatened by gang members, but police said they have no evidence that the stabbing was gang-related.

“I’ll tell you this,” McCune said. “Jesse was not a gang guy.”

WHISTLE STOP

By the time he realized he’d made a huge mistake, it was too late. P.C. Shaw, a 1987 graduate of Montclair Prep and an assistant baseball coach at Cal State Northridge, attends dozens of high school basketball games each year. Sometimes, he helps out at his alma mater.

Last week, during Montclair Prep’s nonleague game against former Alpha League archrival Village Christian, Shaw volunteered to keep the score book.

In the first quarter, after a foul was charged to a Montclair Prep player, Shaw mumbled, “That’s terrible.”

The official, within earshot, instantly hit Montclair Prep with a technical foul. Scorekeepers are supposed to be seen and not heard, and preferably, unbiased.

Village Christian converted one of two free throws. Shaw was on pins and needles the rest of the game, which was up for grabs. “I hope we don’t lose this by one point,” said Shaw more than once.

They didn’t, but Shaw felt sick nonetheless. Montclair Prep, which entered the week ranked second in the state in Division V, was upset in overtime, 81-79.

SHOW STOPPER

You just can’t give Jason Hartman that shot.

As the final seconds of the first quarter ticked away Friday night at Newbury Park, Hartman, a 6-foot-6 junior forward for Thousand Oaks, grabbed an inbounds pass and heaved a one-handed, 84-foot shot that banked into the basket as the buzzer sounded.

“I got the ball and just threw it,” Hartman said.

The entire scene was captured on videotape by a team assistant who gave it to Hartman. The tape’s next destination is the office of KNBC sportscaster Fred Roggin, who occasionally includes such improbable shots in his segment.

Early reviews are good. “It’s a beautiful shot,” Thousand Oaks Coach Ed Chevalier said. “The guy who shot it caught the ball in flight and then he panned back to Jason. The crowd actually started chanting ‘Hart-man! Hart-man!’ ”

The three-point basket gave the Lancers a four-point lead en route to their 10th Marmonte League victory in as many games.

MONEY MATTERS

This week, Reseda’s basketball team will play crucial North Valley League games on the road against San Fernando and El Camino Real. The Regents practiced Monday and Tuesday on the road as well.

Shrewd strategy by Coach Jeff Halpern? Not exactly.

Reseda’s gymnasium was used Monday and Tuesday for filming of the ABC television series, “The Wonder Years.” Reseda received $3,000 from the network, which also gave $3,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District. Alas, players and coaches received no payoff. No free lunches, no royal treatment, no limos.

Reseda practiced Monday and Tuesday at Portola Junior High, and players rode from Reseda to the school in Halpern’s car. Not real convenient.

“It’s all about the money,” Halpern said. “I understand that.”

MARMONTE MADNESS

This soccer season has been anything but run-of-the-mill for the Marmonte League. The league’s school principals voted Jan. 19 to cancel half the league season because of heavy rains in January, cutting the number of each team’s league matches from 14 to seven.

The decision drew criticism from league coaches. “I thought they panicked,” Simi Valley High boys’ Coach Andy Silva said.

The decision also meant that the league season will be over by Friday, two weeks before the Southern Section playoffs begin.

Some teams are planning to schedule practice matches next week to keep sharp for the playoffs. “We’re going to try and schedule Buena and Thousand Oaks,” Royal boys’ Coach Kevin Corley said. “Otherwise we end up with two weeks of doing nothing before the playoffs and that’s too long.”

League-leading Royal and second-place Simi Valley will play today in a match that probably will determine the league champion.

Four girls’ teams--Royal, Simi Valley, Westlake and Agoura--are within one game of one another, and all four play two of the other three this week to close out the season.

“All four teams are in the running,” Royal Coach Monte Berna said. “This is the deciding week.”

Kennedy Cosgrove and staff writers Steve Elling and Vince Kowalick contributed to this notebook.