A WIN IS A WIN

Westchester (6-0) crossed the halfway point in its bid for a second consecutive undefeated regular season. In 1992, the Comets went 9-0-1 before losing to Van Nuys, 28-27, in a City 4-A Division first-round playoff game.

On Friday, the Comets hung on for a 14-12 victory over Fairfax in a Coastal Conference game at Westchester on Friday.

“Last year, we were as good as we were going to get after the first game and glided the rest of the way,” Westchester Coach Larry Wein said. “This year, we’ve been a little lucky. We haven’t been winning easily. We’re a younger team. We’re still shifting our lineup and trying to get our timing down. It’s a learning experience every time out.”

Westchester played without three starters against Fairfax, including kicker William Reed and holder Courtney Brown. Reed missed the game because of a shoulder injury and Brown had the flu. Junior kicker Jaime Carcamo, filling in for Reed and playing in his first organized football game, kicked the extra points.

“In September, he had no idea how to kick the ball,” Wein said about Carcamo. “He had a good week at practice and we figured he deserved a chance. He had never kicked the ball under pressure before. He’s a real success story.”

WHERE’S THE BEEF?

Fairfax started the season with 26 players, but the number has dwindled to 18. Fairfax Coach Terrel Ray had been suiting up about eight players from his sophomore team to make his varsity team appear larger. But Ray stopped the practice Friday against Westchester.

“It makes the guys feel better to have others on the sidelines to motivate them, but being on the varsity should be a privilege.” Ray said. “When we took the field, it looked like Westchester had a million kids on their team.”

Trailing 14-6, Fairfax quarterback Az-Zahir Hakim scored his second touchdown of the game on a five-yard run with less than three minutes to play, but the Lions were stopped on the two-point conversion attempt. Hakim also scored on a 48-yard run in the first quarter.

“They have some really terrific athletes,” Wein said. “We were lucky they didn’t have that many.”

CUT OFF AT THE PASS

The Venice defensive backfield had a season-high five interceptions, with Tony Gomez getting three and Robert Hayes and Danny Garcia adding one each, in an 18-0 victory over Palisades.

Dolphin quarterback Chris Kasteler had only four completions.

“We knew what to expect since he picked us apart last year,” Venice co-coach Tony Chretin said. “We put on a lot of pressure this time and he had a lot of hurries.”

Chretin knows Friday’s game with University will pose bigger problems because of the Warriors’ balanced attack, which is led by quarterback Lal Knight and running back Marco Pleas.

“Pleas is a dangerous weapon and Knight makes them go,” Chretin said. “We have to make sure the perimeter is shut down. Their offense is not easy to defend.”

NUMBER THEORY

Palisades (1-5) is in the midst of a two-game losing streak. Dolphin Coach Russ Howard thinks the 18-0 loss to Venice was closer than its 21-9 loss to University on Oct. 8.

“We really weren’t blown out,” Howard said. “We wasted some chances to score. On defense, they made some nice open-field tackles and that’s the mark of a good team. They hit the seam in our secondary and had some breakaways.”

ACCEPT NO IMITATIONS

Hamilton running back Rasheed Phillips rushed for only four yards in two carries in the Yankees’ 29-12 victory against Los Angeles in a Metro League opener at home Friday, but Hamilton Coach John Ausbon said Phillips contributions’ were crucial to the Yankees’ victory.

Los Angeles keyed on Phillips in Hamilton’s wishbone offense, allowing six other Hamilton ballcarriers to combine for 107 yards and six first downs.

“We were using (Phillips) as a decoy,” Ausbon said. “We were giving the ball to one of the backs and getting a chunk of yards. Then giving it to another.”

PAINFUL LOSS

A young Beverly Hills team may develop into a contender in 1994, but for now it has been a painful learning experience.

Injuries and losses continue to pile up for the Normans, who lost to Redondo, 30-22. It was Beverly Hills’ fourth consecutive loss.

Defensive back Steve Kang was the latest Norman to get hurt, injuring his neck against Redondo. He was taken to South Bay Hospital, where he was treated and released.

The Normans already had four starters out because of injuries. Receiver Taylor Humphries and linebacker Arash Binafard have missed three games because of shoulder injuries.

Running backs Dennis Kim (strained right knee) and Naoki Echigo (dislocated hip) have been out because of leg injuries.

TOO OFFENSIVE

For two years, St. Monica Coach Norm Lacy was getting flak because his team was shut out in its first four games. Now the Mariners are winning by lopsided margins and Lacy is being accused of running up the score.

The Mariners have outscored their opponents, 354-61.

“It’s a different kind of pressure,” Lacy said. “I have a number of quality athletes who want to prove themselves.”

In Friday’s 48-7 win over Pius X, Kenny Jackson scored four touchdowns in only 14 carries. Quarterback Oscar Casillas passed for two more scores in 17 attempts.

FINE-TUNING

Brentwood (6-0) is the defending Southern Section Eight-Man Large Division champion, but Coach Pat Brown says his team has plenty to work on this week after Rio Hondo canceled Saturday’s game against the Eagles.

“We’ve had some easy games lately,” said Brown, whose team beat Capistrano Valley Christian, 34-6, last week. “And we’ve gotten into some bad habits.

“We’re not staying with blockers and we’re getting sloppy handoffs. You can win even with some bad fundamentals and think it’s OK, but it’s not. It can bite you in the end, especially against a solid team.”

The Eagle running attack has been bolstered the past two games by sophomore Scott Fagan.

“He hits the hole in a hurry and keeps driving,” Brown said. “He’s getting a load and he gives us some depth.”

EQUILIBRIUM

In its 35-6 victory over Morningside, Culver City had 202 yards rushing, including scoring runs by Chris Ellison, Aki Wilson and Jeff Hiserodt. The Centaurs also had two touchdowns on receptions by Jasiri Rodell from Damon Williams.

Coach Robert Moore thinks the team, on a two-game winning streak, is getting into sync.

“From Day One, I knew we had to get that balance,” he said. “We only had two long gains brought back because of penalties. We have to work on cutting that out. After that, we’re steam-rolling.”

Culver City will play host to Redondo Friday for first place in the Ocean League.

PERIMETER WEAKNESS

Murphy shut out Bell-Jeff in the final three quarters in a 27-7 victory in its Santa Fe League opener.

The Nobles also limited the Guards to 37 yards passing, but Coach Greg Dixon was concerned that the team gave up 200 yards rushing.

“We’re getting beat to the outside,” he said. “That’s hurting us.”

SEASON LOSS

Santa Monica, which has scored only three touchdowns in its last 16 quarters during its four-game losing streak, will play undefeated Peninsula on Friday without its leading receiver.

Dionte Thompson, who also plays safety and returns kicks, tore ligaments in a thumb during the fourth quarter of Friday’s loss to Hawthorne and is out for the season. The junior, who averaged 13.5 yards on 11 receptions, will have surgery this week.

Senior Randy Brown and junior Cody Smith are expected to rotate as Thompson’s replacement on offense.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Santa Monica Coach Owen Hahn says there’s no quarterback controversy.

Hahn used three quarterbacks in a 30-15 loss to Harbor on Saturday. The defeat snapped a two-game winning streak for Santa Monica (2-3).

Santa Monica starting quarterback Jorge Blanco was two of 16 for 30 yards and had four passes intercepted. Reserves Larry Elmer and Todd Davenport did not fare any better, combining to complete two of 11 passes for 42 yards.

Blanco had replaced Elmer in the second quarter of an Oct. 2 game against Glendale and guided the Corsairs to a 28-20 victory.

In his first start against Santa Barbara on Oct. 9, Blanco passed for 367 yards and was named the J.C. Athletic Bureau’s player of the week after Santa Monica rolled up a school-record 607 yards offense in a 31-21 victory.

Hahn said Blanco will start Saturday against Valley (5-0) in a Western State Conference Southern Division opener at home.

“I don’t regard three quarterbacks as a problem,” Hahn said. “It’s a nice luxury knowing you have three you can go to.”

West L.A. freshman running back Michael Black will try to rush for more than 100 yards for his fifth consecutive game Saturday against visiting L.A. Southwest (1-3-1).

Black, who ranks fifth in the state, has rushed for 556 yards in four games and averaged 7.9 yards a carry for the Oilers (2-3). He had 148 yards in 30 carries in West L.A.’s 28-14 loss against Santa Barbara.

CROSS-COUNTRY

The Beverly Hills girls’ cross-country team, led by sophomore Lyad Gozal, finished a fifth place in the Moreau Catholic Invitational at Garin State Park in Hayward.

Gozal finished the 2.9-mile hilly course in 18 minutes 12 seconds to win the girls’ division.

Clayton Valley of Concord took first place in the team division with 40 points, followed by Carondelet of Concord with 43. Oakland Bishop O’Dowd was third with 62, Hesperia fourth with 132, and Beverly Hills fifth with 136.

Clayton Valley, Carondelet and Bishop O’Dowd are ranked among the top 10 in State Division III. Beverly Hills is unranked.

“This was Lyad’s most complete race,” Coach Howard Edelman said. “She hasn’t lost a dual meet. But in invitationals, she usually runs hard and finishes where she can. This time, she was more focused and wanted to win.”