Montclair Prep Players Again Denied Entry

Montclair Prep basketball player Jack Pollon envisioned a version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington when he traveled to the Southern Section office in Cerritos on Monday to talk to Commissioner Dean Crowley about the Mounties’ exclusion from the playoffs.

But the reality of the situation was Mr. Pollon Gets Stonewalled.

When Pollon learned Monday that Montclair Prep (15-6) did not receive a playoff berth, he and teammate Aaron Mintz drove to Cerritos to plead their case to Crowley, who didn’t exactly welcome the distraught players with open arms.

“(Crowley) said, ‘Get off the property. I’ll have you arrested for trespassing,’ ” Pollon said. “He did not listen one bit. You know, I’m just a kid trying to get some answers.”

Montclair Prep did not receive a berth because none were allotted to free-lance teams in Division IV-A.

Apparently, Monday was not the day for round-table discussion at the Southern Section office. Section administrators were busy drawing playoff brackets for 10 divisions of girls’ basketball and four divisions each of boys’ and girls’ soccer.

“They came down to plead their case and I don’t blame them at all,” Crowley said. “In all honesty, I would have loved to talk to them. There just wasn’t any time.”

Given the circumstances, Crowley could understand the players’ motivation.

“They were doing what they had to do,” Crowley said. “They were fighting for their program. But yesterday was not the day.”

Pollon, a senior reserve who has played basketball at Montclair Prep since the seventh grade, was overwhelmed with disappointment over the Mounties’ unexpected omission from postseason play.

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Pollon said. “We went out and won 15 games. Emotionally it just tears me apart.

“They’re punishing the kids, which is totally wrong. They’ve got too much power and they are abusing it.”

FOOTHILL LEAGUE

Paradise Is Pebble Beach

Of all the courses, Jack Nicklaus has played, he calls Pebble Beach Golf Links his favorite. The Monterey course is considered among the world’s greatest layouts--not to mention one of the most expensive.

Hart’s golf team plays a match at Pebble Beach in April, making the Indians the envy of high school golfers everywhere.

The match came about two years ago when Hart assistant golf coaches Rick and Dean Herrington went to Carmel Valley High to teach the school’s football staff the intricacies of the run-and-shoot offense. The Herringtons also are assistants for the Hart football team.

Turns out that Carmel Valley football Coach Craig Johnson also handles the school’s golf team. Carmel Valley plays its home golf matches at Pebble Beach.

A deal was struck.

“This match has been about two years in the making,” Hart golf Coach Dennis Ford said.

The match will last nine holes, but Ford predicted the Hart coaches and players might stick around a little bit longer.

“It’s a nine-hole match,” Ford said, “after that we’ll finish with flashlights.”

Hart, perhaps the region’s best team, opens its season March 3 at Vista Valencia Golf Course against Westlake and Littlerock. Westlake also is one of the area’s best.

NORTHWEST VALLEY

Bad Timing

Sometimes, it seems the Cleveland boys’ basketball team just isn’t ready for prime time.

Last week, in a game that decided the West Valley League championship, Cleveland was beaten by Chatsworth, 67-55, continuing a dismal pattern in big games.

The Cavaliers made only 26 of 70 shots from the field (37%), which didn’t come as a huge surprise to Coach Kevin Crider.

Crider said Cleveland (13-7) shot less than 20% in losses to Inglewood and St. Francis in holiday tournament finals.

“I think a little bit is that we’re satisfied to be there (in the final),” Crider said. “And a little is that there just isn’t enough intensity.”

*

Kennedy (7-11) likely won’t qualify for the City 4-A Division playoffs, but it isn’t because swingman Jelani Janisse didn’t give it his all.

Janisse, a 6-foot-1 junior, topped the 20-point plateau in the Golden Cougars’ final five regular-season games and averaged 24.4 points over that stretch. He averaged a team-high 15.3 points overall.

Janisse started the season as a swingman, but was moved to forward at midseason. On a team with no obvious go-to player--All-City guard Joe Wyatt averaged 30 points last season as a senior--Janisse made the most of his anonymity.

“He’s not a great shooter, but we kept getting him shots he could make,” Coach Yutaka Shimizu said. “It’s funny, he’s not a real focal point of the offense, but we got him the ball at the right time and the right place.”

Of the 10 players on the Kennedy roster, Janisse is one of eight who return next season. Then again, things might not be as easy in 1994-95.

“We won’t be sneaking up on anybody,” Shimizu said.

MISSION LEAGUE

Viva Zapata

Introducing: Tom Zapata.

The Notre Dame senior forward had been averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds in relative obscurity because of the Knights’ mediocre record and the fact that he hardly played until this season.

But last week, in three must-win games, Zapata averaged 23.7 points and 10 rebounds. He scored 22 points in the second half against St. Bernard last Monday.

“He’s on fire,” Coach Pete Cassidy said. “He sees the court and understands the game so well, and the rest of the players are just seeing him. It’s not just his offense, it’s his rebounding, steals, passing.”

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Oops

Glendale Coach Bob Davidson thought the Southern Section had informed him the Dynamiters’ first-round playoff game would be Friday, so after his players clinched a share of the league title last Friday, he told them they could take off Monday, a school holiday.

Davidson was shocked Sunday to see his team scheduled to play Tuesday night against Long Beach Jordan in the first round of the Division I-AA playoffs. He hastily organized a practice for Monday afternoon, but he wasn’t able to reach all his players.

Further complicating matters for Davidson, Jordan coaches did not complete the information sheet that coaches submit to their opponents for scouting purposes, Davidson said. To get a scouting report, he had to get a tape from a friend in Orange County.

MARMONTE LEAGUE

Moving On?

Camarillo wrestlers Ronnie and Rick Peterson each must feel a little like the Lone Ranger.

The sophomore twins moved from Sacramento to Camarillo before the school year and were inserted into the varsity lineup at 112 and 119 pounds. The Petersons were instrumental in helping the Scorpions sweep through the Marmonte League undefeated and both claimed Marmonte League individual titles.

But this season will likely be the only one the Petersons spend at Camarillo. The twins come from a military family and expect to be on the move again once their house is sold.

If the twins had a choice, they’d stay.

“We’ve made lots of friends in just a year,” Rick Peterson said. “The wrestling program is great here and we’re happy.”

But for now, Ronnie (31-7) and Rick (29-8) are concerned about heading back to Northern California, at least temporarily. Next month’s state championships are in Stockton.

FRONTIER LEAGUE

Streak Talk

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Santa Clara’s 84-game league winning streak is that the Saints didn’t set a school record until they hit 83. From 1956-65, Santa Clara won 82 league games in a row.

The Saints finished the regular season 8-0 in league play and will enter next season with the unbeaten string at 84, which is the second longest in Southern Section history to Banning’s 98-game streak that ended in 1991.

The Saints haven’t lost in league play since 1985.

The Saints’ 15-7 record doesn’t suggest dominance, but it does provide a clue as to why Lou Cvijanovich’s teams keep winning in the Frontier League. Tough nonleague opponents.

Santa Clara’s defeats include losses to Long Beach Wilson (by five points), Thousand Oaks (by three) and Santa Barbara (by five), which beat Hart (21-1), the Times’ No. 1 Valley team, by 10 points. Santa Clara also defeated Palmdale, Littlerock, Agoura and San Francisco Riordan in nonleague play.

Said Cvijanovich: “It’s no coincidence why we keep winning. I tell the young coaches to load up (on tough nonleague competition). Whether or not they listen is another story.”

TRI-VALLEY LEAGUE

Rising to the Occasion

Oak Park senior Jason Kezelman picked an opportune night to have his biggest game. After the forward handed a bouquet of flowers to his parents on seniors night, Kezelman was given a rare start and responded with a game-high 19 points. He added seven rebounds.

“If he continues to play like that, we could use him in the playoffs,” said Coach Rob Hall after the Eagles (21-2) beat Bishop Diego, 68-50. “He’s a shooter, a good guy to have around.”

Kezelman hit five three-point shots in the game. His scoring average entering the game was 2.5 points.

*

One of Oak Park’s two defeats this season came against Frontier League champion Santa Clara, 58-48. If the Eagles are longing for a rematch, it could come in the final of the Division IV-A playoffs.

The Saints (15-7) are the third-seeded team and Oak Park (21-2) is No. 4.

EAST VALLEY LEAGUE

Head for the Perimeter

When Grant shut down North Hollywood center Damon Ollie last week in a game to determine the league’s top team, the Huskies responded the best way they knew how. Can’t go inside, have to go out.

Guards Arthur Lee and Fantasia Johnson, who usually dish to Ollie underneath, changed gears and became point leaders. Lee and Johnson combined for 49 points as the Huskies won by two in overtime.

The fabulous three actually combined for 62 of the Huskies’ 65 points.

“The cream rises to the top and those are three of the best players in the City,” North Hollywood Coach Steve Miller said.

WEST VALLEY LEAGUE

Rematch?

City Section girls’ soccer powers Chatsworth and Grant met in the City final last season and are on track to do so again.

“I would say there’s a good chance (of a rematch),” Grant Coach John Robb said.

Chatsworth defeated the Lancers, 2-1, in last year’s final to win its fifth consecutive championship.

This year’s Chancellor team (16-0-1, 7-0 in West Valley League play), has outscored opponents, 85-10, and has upheld the program’s tradition of never having lost a regular-season match in the five seasons since the inception of City girls’ soccer.

Grant (10-3-2, 5-1-2 in East Valley League play) has not been quite as dominant, but has played well. The Lancers narrowly lost to Chatsworth, 2-1, on Dec. 15.

Lancer forward Nicole Bucciarelli has scored 39 goals this season, including six in one match, and dished out 10 assists.

Chatsworth’s sister trio--junior Melinda George, sophomore Debbie and freshman Pam--have combined for 32 goals.

CHANNEL LEAGUE

Unlucky

Lightning has struck the Buena boys’ soccer team--and one family in particular--twice in the past two years.

Last season, All-Southern Section Division II senior striker Juan Melgoza suffered cartilage damage in his knee at the end of the season, though he gamely tried to play his way through the injury.

Early this season, his younger brother, Jose, suffered cartilage and ligament damage in his knee, and the senior striker has been sidelined since December.

“It’s been a very sad loss for us,” Coach Sean Roche said. “It was the same injury his brother had.”

But the Bulldogs have endured and had a fine season, thanks to a stingy defense.

Led by goalie Mark Thompson and defenders Brian Kretschmer, Josh Merman and Jeff Ando, Buena (14-4-3, 10-2-2) allowed only 15 goals in 21 matches--the fewest in Division II this season and a school record.

Around the Leagues . . .

* After playing three games against each league member for two seasons, the Golden League will return next season to a more traditional home-and-away format in all sports that has three rounds.

* Poly clinched a share of the Mid-Valley League boys’ basketball title with three victories last week by a total of 12 points.

* Crescenta Valley has made the playoffs 10 straight years and 19 of the past 21. This is the school’s 30th winning season in 32.

* The West Valley basketball title won last week by Chatsworth marked the third league championship the Chancellors have won or shared in as many seasons under Coach Sandy Greentree.

* Hart’s girls’ basketball team was undefeated (8-0) in Foothill League play for the second consecutive season. Unlike last season, when All-Valley selection Shannon Martin was Hart’s focal point with 17.5 points a game, this season’s Indians (16-6) are balanced. Three players--LaCresha Clark, Melissa Dunkerly and Yvette Williams--average between 8.5 and 9.1 points a game.

* The Moorpark boys’ soccer team, ranked first in Southern Section Division V, outscored opponents, 91-12. Goalie Aaron Linder registered 13 shutouts and forward Pat Russo scored 25 goals in 22 matches.

Kennedy Cosgrove and staff writers Steve Elling, Jeff Fletcher, Dana Haddad and Paige A. Leech contributed to this notebook.

Basketball Top 10

Rankings of Valley-area high schools by sportswriters of The Times:

Rk LW Team League W-L 1 1 Hart Foothill 21-1 2 2 North Hollywood East Valley 15-5 3 3 Palmdale Golden 22-3 4 4 Harvard-Westlake Mission 22-2 5 5 Reseda North Valley 17-1 6 10 Thousand Oaks Marmonte 21-6 7 8 Glendale Pacific 20-7 8 7 Canyon Foothill 20-6 9 6 St. Francis Del Rey 19-6 10 NR Chatsworth West Valley 13-7