SCOREBOARD / FACTS, FIGURES AND COMMENTS FROM AREA EVENTS : A SWITCH IN TIME

For Culver City High quarterback Damon Williams, Friday night’s Southern Section Division VII football playoff victory over Azusa was a chance to prove he can catch the ball as well as throw it.

Williams made two sensational catches to give the Centaurs an improbable 14-13 victory in the final minute at Culver City.

Leading, 13-6, with 29 seconds left, Azusa was forced to punt from its 12-yard line. The Aztec punter was tackled in the end zone for a safety.

The Centaurs returned the kickoff to their 49-yard line. Reserve quarterback Rashad Stroops threw a 41-yard pass to Williams with three seconds remaining. Stroops threw an incomplete pass on the next play and the game had apparently ended. But Azusa was called for roughing the passer, setting up another chance for Culver City.

Stroops then looped a pass to Williams, who caught it for a touchdown.

After the safety, Williams asked the Culver City coaches if he could move to receiver. He struggled throughout the game after banging his elbow in the weight room during a pregame meeting.

“We could tell there was something wrong all during the game,” assistant Anthony Thomas said. “At the end he said, ‘If you throw it to me I’ll out-jump anybody for the ball.’ And he’s just got big, strong hands.”

Culver City plays at Arroyo Grande in the second round on Friday.

CUT OFF AT THE PASS

Trailing, 14-6, with two minutes remaining in the first half, Murphy was driving for a touchdown against Cathedral City in a Division X game on Friday.

But quarterback Danny Ragsdale had a pass intercepted and returned for a 30-yard touchdown. Cathedral City went on to win the game, 48-12.

“That (interception) was a back-breaker,” Murphy Coach Greg Dixon said.

Murphy running back Brent Snowden rushed for 72 yards in 10 carries, but was hampered because of a shoulder injury.

“It hurt the running game not having our top back at a 100% for the playoffs,” Dixon said. “And those were tough yards he made.”

Receiver Gibbons St. Paul, who was hampered because of a strained hip, had four catches for 64 yards, but was held without a touchdown reception for only the second time this season.

The Nobles scored on Ryan Scanlan’s 25-yard reception from Ragsdale and Jaime Gutierrez’s 12-yard run.

Because Ragsdale is only a junior, Murphy has high expectations for the 1994 season. Ragsdale passed for 104 completions in 268 attempts for 1,904 yards and 22 touchdowns.

“He ran the offense better than any other player I’ve seen in the 12 years I’ve been at Murphy,” Dixon said.

SECOND TIME AROUND

In a rematch of the season opener, Brentwood plays host to Pasadena Poly in the Eight-Man Large Schools Division playoffs at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Brentwood won the first game, 23-20, and Eagle Coach Pat Brown is worried about the rematch.

“In that first game, they were pretty basic, with dives and off-tackle plays,” he said. “Now they utilize a lot of misdirection plays. They’re playing with confidence.”

The key for Brentwood will be containing quarterback Cameron Murphy, a 6-foot-1, 168-pound senior.

“I have to believe he’s the best quarterback in our division,” Brown said. “They can strike in a hurry with him.”

Brentwood shut out Hesperia Christian, 28-0, to open the playoffs. Brian Messing rushed for 153 yards in 27 carries and scored three touchdowns.

UP TO THE CHALLENGE

In the first round of the City 4-A Division playoffs, Venice defeated Van Nuys, 49-13.

The Gondolier defense was able to neutralize All-City lineman Miguel Romo.

“We went right at him,” Venice co-coach Tony Chretin said. “We usually try to identify their best player and see what he’s got.

Venice senior linebacker Gabe Shaibi forced a fumble and had an interception.

“He was playing like an All-City linebacker,” Chretin said.

Playing fullback, Shaibi rushed for 68 yards and scored two touchdowns.

PEAK PERFORMANCE

University limited North Hollywood to 145 yards in offense in a 40-0 victory in the first round of the 3-A playoffs.

“We just executed well in our pass coverage,” Warrior Coach Marshall Jones said.

Van Nuys quarterback Alvaro Castillo completed only nine passes for 68 yards.

“We had an intense rush and he was constantly under a lot of pressure,” Jones said. “And we kept them off the field with our offense. Our line had exceptional run block and (tailback) Marco Pleas had some good reads and some nice cuts.”

Pleas had 142 yards in 30 carries. Quarterback Lal Knight completed eight of 17 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns.

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Palisades High’s reign as 4-A volleyball champion continued for a fourth consecutive year.

The Dolphins swept Roosevelt, 15-11, 15-7, 15-6, Saturday at Occidental College.

The Dolphins, who have won 18 of the past 20 City titles, displayed their superiority in serving and passing.

Senior Sarah Schroeder and junior Malena Zapata, the younger sister of pro beach volleyball player Tony Zapata, were the team’s setters. Seniors Pam Hathaway and Heidi Morrison played strong at the net.

Schroeder had 13 kills and six serving aces in the championship game.

As much as they dominated the City, the Dolphins have struggled against Southern Section teams in the state playoffs. Tuesday, the Dolphins lost to La Mirada, 15-10, 11-15, 15-6, 15-5, in the Division II playoffs at Palisades. The Dolphins have lost four consecutive times in the first round of the state playoffs.

CROSS-COUNTRY

Hamilton senior Genevieve DeBose won the girls’ City title in 19 minutes 33 seconds Saturday at Pierce College.

DeBose passed pre-race favorite Kirstin Kabo of Kennedy in the final 150 yards to win the race. Hamilton’s Mariba Abiedu finished 14th. DeBose will compete in the state meet on Saturday in Fresno.

SIGNINGS

Former Santa Monica High pitcher Mike Miller, The Times’ 1992 Westside pitcher of the year, has signed a letter of intent to play baseball at California. Miller pitched last season for Harbor College. . . . Crossroads softball pitcher Melissa Schulman signed with Stanford. Schulman had a 21-2 record, including four perfect games, and had 237 strikeouts in 161 innings to lead the Roadrunners to a third consecutive Division V championship.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Perhaps Southwest Coach Henry Washington summed up Santa Monica’s 34-26 victory over the Cougars on Saturday the best.

“I didn’t expect them to run that much,” Washington said.

Neither did Santa Monica.

Santa Monica Coach Owen Hahn said he had no choice after injuries to quarterbacks Jorge Blanco and Todd Davenport.

Blanco sprained his right hand in the first quarter. Davenport replaced Blanco but had to leave later in the first half after straining ligaments in a knee.

Blanco returned only to split a fingernail in his left hand, but remained for the rest of the game.

“We thought the other team would have figured we couldn’t throw, but they didn’t,” Hahn said. “We would have had to go in a shotgun formation and snap it to our tailback.”

Santa Monica (3-6, 1-3-1 in the Western State Conference Southern Division) gained all but 71 yards of its 379 yards on the ground.

Mario Mattison rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns, including a seven-yard run with 10 seconds left to break a 26-26 tie.

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Githa Hampson placed seventh in the state cross-country championships at Woodward Park in Fresno to pace Santa Monica to a ninth-place finish.

Hampson finished the 5,000-meter race in 18 minutes 30 seconds. Genet Gorgis of Trade Tech won the race.

Amare Awetahegen of West L.A. finished 16th in the men’s four-mile race in 20:18 to lead the Oilers to a 16th-place finish in their first appearance in the state meet.