VANISHING ACTNow you see him, now you...

VANISHING ACT

Now you see him, now you don’t.

Opposing defenders would like to know what happened to the Fairfax football player nicknamed “Oz.”

In last week’s 21-0 victory over Cleveland, Fairfax scored its final touchdown when Az-Zahir Hakim turned a short pass from Myron Terry into a 56-yard scoring play.

Hakim left several Cavaliers searching their empty arms for answers.

“He’s the wizard,” Fairfax Coach Terrel Ray said, casting another nickname for his star player. “He does things on the field that are unreal. When you think you have him, you don’t. He will disappear in the end zone.”

The previous week Hakim scored three touchdowns and passed for another as Fairfax beat Gardena, 44-0.

Hakim may play the entire game at quarterback when the Lions play host to Dorsey tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Terry injured his left shoulder in last week’s game.

“Hakim is more dangerous as quarterback,” Ray said. “They better not let him run.”

The Lions have become the surprise team in the Coastal Conference.

“Fairfax may have the best skill players in the league,” Palisades Coach Russ Howard said.

BANKING ON THE FUTURE

Despite a 25-20 loss to South Torrance, Culver City Coach Robert Moore remains pleased with Aki Wilson. The 5-foot-7, 150-pound junior tailback scored touchdowns on a 90-yard kickoff return and a 60-yard run. “He reminds me of Glyn Milburn when he was at Santa Monica,” Moore said. “Aki has great instincts for finding holes and using blockers. I’m predicting that next year as a senior he’ll be right up there where Milburn was.”

In 1987, Milburn rushed for 2,713 yards and 38 touchdowns at Santa Monica. He now plays for the Denver Broncos.

DAY WATCH

Excuse Beverly Hills Coach Carter Paysinger for counting the days.

Paysinger cannot wait until Saturday when strong tackle Alex Kouslin celebrates his 15th birthday.

Kouslin will then be eligible to play football at the varsity level.

“He’s going to be one of our best linemen,” Paysinger said.

Paysinger said his offensive line has not been consistent even though the Normans’ passing game prospered last week.

In Saturday’s 31-14 victory over Inglewood, quarterback Chris Wallace competed 11 of 17 passes for 187 yards and four touchdowns, and Taylor Humphries caught seven passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns.

It was an impressive offensive showing, but the Normans will have to do better Friday at North Torrance.

The Normans lost starting tailback Naoki Echigo, who will be out seven to eight weeks with a dislocated hip. Echigo suffered the injury on the first play of the second half.

Aaron Kogan, a 6-0, 190-pound sophomore, will start at tailback. Kogan was the Normans’ freshman player of the year.

SIMPLY PERFECT

St. Bernard discovered it could do more scoring by running a less complicated offense.

New coach Mike Noonan simplified the Vikings’ offense and the line’s blocking schemes. The result was a 37-3 runaway victory over Pius X.

Tailback Carlos Meeks ran 15 times for 170 yards and scored two touchdowns, and James Diosomito carried nine times for 58 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Vikings (1-1).

Noonan predicted that Friday’s game against Redondo will be a battle of tailbacks. The Sea Hawks are led by Nigel Greer, who had 148 yards and three touchdowns in 20 carries last week.

“If we stop their tailback and get ours going, we’ll win,” he said.

SIGN LANGUAGE

Murphy receiver Gibbons St. Paul and quarterback Danny Ragsdale have set up their own communication system that rivals telephone companies. The pair have averaged 16.3 yards a catch and have hooked up for touchdowns in their first two games.

“When I’m on the line and Danny has to change the play, we have hand signs no one knows but us,” St. Paul said. “He knows where I’m going. We read each other well.”

IN THE NECK OF TIME

After being hospitalized briefly the previous week with a neck injury, utility back Michael Jackson of Santa Monica got off to a shaky start in Friday’s victory against Pasadena by turning the ball over on the first play from scrimmage. He got on track later, scoring touchdowns on an 18-yard reception and on runs of three and nine yards. “He didn’t show any stiffness,” Coach Danny Escalera said.

SPECIAL ATTACK

St. Monica Coach Norm Lacy spends nearly as much time with his special teams as he does with his offense. The extra time paid off as St. Monica beat Santa Clara, 28-12, for its first nonleague victory Saturday.

Jason Jones returned one kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. The Mariners also had 45 yards on two punt returns.

“We spend a lot of time on special teams,” Lacy said. “If you add our return yards to our total offense, we had a good night. We always had good field position.”

Quarterback Oscar Casillas completed seven of 19 passes for 78 yards and three touchdowns.

Although Jones did not catch a pass, he did have a 20-yard interception in addition to his 90-yard kickoff return.

“Any time he gets his hands on the ball, he is electrifying,” Lacy said.

PAYING DUES

Palisades quarterback Chris Kasteler missed two quarters with an injured right shoulder, but returned in the third quarter to lead Palisades’ comeback effort. Narbonne beat the Dolphins, 24-20, but Coach Russ Howard was impressed that Kasteler came back to play.

“He is the captain of a young and inexperienced team,” Howard said. “His personal goals have to be adjusted for the good of the team. We kept battling and fighting.”

Kasteler, who hurt his right shoulder in the first quarter, returned with four minutes left in the third quarter. He led the Dolphins to a 63-yard scoring drive with M’wshari Scott scoring on a 14-yard pass. Kasteler completed seven of 12 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Scott caught four passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Howard said his receivers need to run better pass routes and the blocking needs to improve if Kasteler is going to post the same numbers he had last season.

“There is no reason why we can’t start winning in the near future,” Howard said.

FINE-TUNING

Despite opening the season with two victories, Westchester Coach Larry Wein thinks the Comets will improve after a full week of practice. Last week, the Comets held on for a 22-20 win over San Fernando in a game that was decided in the final minutes. Wein said the two teams were evenly matched but played a sloppy game.

“You notice a lack of execution with good teams,” Wein said. “It may sound kind of strange, but I believe better athletes and better teams need more practice than weaker teams. They need to remain sharp and have their timing. A dropped pass is a dropped pass no matter how good your quarterback and receivers are.”

And the Comets had their fair share of dropped passes. Comet quarterback Seka Edwards, the Coastal Conference player of the year, completed nine of 17 for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

CORNERING THE TALENT

Venice Co-Coach Tony Chretin is looking forward to tonight’s game against San Pedro. Last year, the Gondoliers lost to the eventual City Section 3-A champions, 25-0, in a nonleague game. In that game, the Venice defense was scored on only once and the personnel in this year’s team, especially in the secondary, could be even better, according to the coach. They have standout Larry Atkins and junior Anthony Gomez at safety and Robert Hayes and sophomore Demetrius Posey at cornerback. “We have a mix of experience and good young talent there and we’re looking to gel,” Chretin said. “But I’d put San Pedro in the top three or four in the city. We’ll have to play error-free football.”

ADDED WOES

Injuries have continued to decimate the Murphy offensive line. Emanuel Faatagi is still waiting for medical clearance after passing out on the sideline during the season opener. Faatagi’s replacement, Eli Nicholas, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound senior, hurt his knee during the 32-6 loss to Serra on Friday. “We were down to the fifth string at tackle,” Coach Greg Dixon said.

Inside linebacker Chris Miller, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound junior who suffered a broken fibula last year, re-injured his leg in the first half and was to be X-rayed this week.

MAKING ‘EM COUNT

Brentwood junior quarterback Chris Malcolm completed only two passes but both were for touchdowns in the Eagles’ 42-21 win over Flintridge Prep.

Top-ranked Brentwood plays at No. 3 Faith Baptist today at 2:30, the teams’ first meeting since 1990.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Santa Monica (0-1) had plenty of time to prepare for Saturday’s game against Moorpark, ranked ninth in the state by J.C. Grid-Wire. The Corsairs had a bye last week after a season-opening loss to Saddleback Sept. 11.

Santa Monica Coach Owen Hahn would have preferred to meet the Raiders without a layoff, but scheduling conflicts resulted in order to accommodate the game with Saddleback.

“I would have rather played all the games in a row,” Hahn said. “We’ve practiced enough, we just need to get out and play.”

Moorpark (0-1) lost to College of the Desert on the final play of the game Saturday. Desert quarterback David Harris connected with wide receiver James Guillermo on a 75-yard touchdown as time expired.

West L.A. (0-1) plays at Compton Saturday.