Sports

PICKING UP THE PIECES

Three weeks ago, the Carson High basketball team was playing at a high level. The Colts were 12-4 and tied for the Southern League lead at 3-0.

But that was before the season was interrupted by the Jan. 17 earthquake. After a two-week layoff, what type of basketball should we expect from City Section teams?

“Probably very ugly,” Carson Coach Richard Masson said.

Masson’s prediction is understandable. Most City teams were scheduled to resume play Wednesday after not having games since Jan. 14. Naturally, the long layoff is bound to affect everyone to some degree.

“Although we’ve been practicing since (Jan. 25), it has been ragged,” Masson said. “You lose an edge conditioning-wise, and you lose an edge in executing the little things you went through the whole preseason to get to.”

Carson was scheduled to play at Dorsey on Wednesday, the first of seven games the Colts will play in three weeks in order to complete the regular season by Feb. 18. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin Feb. 18, but have been pushed back to Feb. 23.

“That’s a lot of games in three weeks,” Masson said. “For teams with a lot of talent, it probably won’t make a huge difference. But for everybody else, it will have an effect.”

Masson said Carson is in a difficult position because its first three post-earthquake games are on the road, the result of adding make-up games to the schedule. The Colts play at Washington on Friday and at Banning on Monday before playing host to powerful Crenshaw on Wednesday.

PLAYOFF CHANGES

The City basketball playoffs will be seeded and played under a different format this season.

A seven-member committee headed by first-year athletics Commissioner Barbara Fiege will conduct a seeding meeting Feb. 19 to determine the 16-team draws for the 4-A and 3-A division playoffs. This breaks from the tradition of having coaches in charge of the meeting, a free-for-all process that led some to argue that coaches who yelled the loudest often received the most favorable draws.

The other notable change is that higher-seeded teams will no longer be awarded home games throughout the playoffs. After the first round, the team having the fewest number of home games will be designated as the home team. When both teams have had an equal number of home games, a coin flip will decide the home team. This is the way the Southern Section conducts its playoffs.

“L.A. City has been a laughingstock for quite a while,” said Carson’s Masson, a member of the section’s basketball advisory committee. “I think these are ways to make (the playoffs) more equitable.”

BOMBS AWAY

Chadwick, led by the sharpshooting duo of Neil Thakur and Todd Ammons, is closing in on the Southern Section record for most three-point field goals in a season.

The Dolphins entered Wednesday’s Prep League game against Flintridge Prep with 216 three-point baskets. The section record is 234, set by Rolling Hills in 1989-90. Chadwick has already passed the 1988-89 Rolling Hills team (203) for second place on the all-time list.

Coach Tom Maier said the Dolphins rely on three-point baskets out of necessity. Their tallest player, Ammons, is 6-foot-2.

A lack of height didn’t hurt Chadwick in a 78-60 nonleague victory over Brethren Christian on Saturday. The Dolphins made 15 of 28 three-point shots, eight by Ammons, who scored 33 points, and six by Thakur, who scored 32.

Thakur, a senior guard, leads the team with a 25-point average. Ammons, a junior forward, averages 21 points. Chadwick entered the week 14-7.

MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

Is there anything Phil Fonua can’t do?

Last fall, the 6-2, 265-pound junior was a dominating force at fullback and nose tackle, helping Mira Costa win the Southern Section Division VII football title, the school’s first.

Now Fonua has turned his attention to basketball, with similar results.

Matched against one of the area’s top centers, Fonua scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Friday to lead Mira Costa over host Beverly Hills, 52-45, in an important Ocean League game.

Fonua outplayed Beverly Hills’ Luke Buffum, a highly regarded 6-7 senior. Buffum scored 10 points, well below his average.

The victory gave Mira Costa (17-5, 5-0 in league play) a two-game lead over Beverly Hills with three to play. The Mustangs can clinch the Ocean title Friday night at home by beating Culver City.

Fonua’s talents don’t end with football and basketball. He is scheduled to compete in the shotput at the Sunkist Invitational track meet Feb. 19 at the Sports Arena, but he might withdraw if Mira Costa is still competing in the playoffs. His best mark in the shotput is 55 feet 6 1/2 inches.

RECRUITING NEWS

Two Leuzinger standouts joined a lengthy list of area football players who plan to sign letters of intent with four-year colleges. The monthlong signing period for prep seniors began Wednesday.

Leuzinger Coach Fred Boehm said wide receiver Jason Sharp will sign with California and defensive back Jason Simmons will sign with Arizona State. Simmons, who played quarterback for the Olympians, was also recruited by UCLA.

The following is a list of other area players who were expected to sign. Most have already given unwritten commitments:

Offensive linemen John Welbourn of Peninsula and Tate McCallister of Mira Costa (California), Peninsula offensive lineman Matt Redman (Iowa), Hawthorne receiver-defensive back Justin Stallings (Washington State), Carson offensive lineman Damien Howard (Nevada Las Vegas), Carson defensive back Daks Blanks (Northern Arizona), and three players bound for Utah State--defensive back London McBride and running back Melvin Blue of Banning and defensive back Ukeje Agu of South Bay Lutheran.

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Peninsula All-American Mimi McKinney, one of the Southland’s top girls’ basketball players, made her first recruiting trip last weekend to Virginia. Her hostess was former Peninsula center Jeffra Gausepohl, a Cavalier sophomore. McKinney has visits planned to Arizona and Auburn.

SOUTH BAY CLASSIC

Harbor College, ranked eighth nationally and third in the state, will open the baseball season Friday as co-host of the inaugural South Bay Classic with El Camino.

In 2 p.m. home openers, Harbor plays L.A. Valley and El Camino meets Mt. San Jacinto. Rounding out the eight-team field are East L.A., Rancho Santiago, Oxnard and Mission.

Harbor, winner of three state titles and eight consecutive conference championships, expects to have one of its better teams. The Seahawks return seven starters from last season’s 30-13 team.

Key returners for Coach Tony Bloomfield’s squad include infielder Grant Hohman (St. Bernard High), catcher Jeff Poor (El Segundo), shortstop Jay Uhlman (Redondo), infielder Ryan Shannon (Torrance), outfielder David Mauney (Carson) and pitcher Mark Chavez (Banning). One of the top newcomers is outfielder Chris Feeny (El Segundo), a transfer from the University of San Diego.

PLAY BALL

The Loyola Marymount baseball team opens the season with two home games against National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics schools, playing Concordia University at 2 p.m. Friday and Biola College at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Lions’ first game against a Division I opponent is at 2 p.m. Tuesday when they visit Cal State Fullerton.

Third-year Loyola Coach Jody Robinson welcomes back 15 lettermen, including seven starters from last season’s 23-33 team. Leading the way is junior third baseman Jesse Ibarra, a preseason All-American who batted .299 and hit 17 home runs last season.

The Lions’ roster also includes several South Bay products, including junior pitcher Brian Fitzgerald (West Torrance High), junior first baseman John Mastandrea (Loyola High, Rancho Palos Verdes resident), sophomore infielder Paul Lemire (Miraleste), junior third baseman Brian Shackelford (St. Bernard, Inglewood resident) and freshman pitcher Vince DiLeva (Mary Star).

BASEBALL REUNION

El Segundo High will have its annual baseball alumni game and reunion Saturday at Recreation Park. Batting practice begins at 10 a.m., followed by a home run derby at 12:45 p.m., introductions at 1 and the game at 1:05.

All former Eagle varsity baseball players from 1927 to 1989 are invited to play in the game, matching odd-year graduates against even-year graduates.

Autographed baseballs by former El Segundo standout George Brett will be on sale for $35. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children.