NOTEBOOK : Garfield, Belmont Stars Join Forces to Lead West to Fiesta Bowl Victory

Quarterback David Guerra helped Garfield to the Southeastern Conference title while Belmont running back Ramon Archie led the Sentinels to the Northern Conference championship last fall.

The players in combination proved just as potent as they were on opposing schools in the Fiesta Bowl All-Star Classic as the West team scored a 19-17 victory over the East on July 2.

Guerra completed three of seven passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, and Archie rushed for 95 yards in six carries in the game matching graduating seniors from East L.A. (West) against players from the West San Gabriel Valley (East) at Wilson High.

Guerra was named the outstanding player for the West, and Gavin Peries of South Pasadena, who gained 85 yards in seven carries, was selected the East squad’s outstanding player.

Augustin Lopez of Roosevelt opened the scoring with a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter. Bell’s Danny Morales and Garfield’s Leon Houston then combined on a 39-yard touchdown on a flea-flicker in the first quarter, and Guerra connected with Carlos Ortiz of Marshall on an 85-yard scoring pass for a 16-0 second-quarter lead of the West.

Lopez’s 33-yard field goal in the third quarter gave the West a 19-3 lead.

The East, coached by Jerry Scott of Salesian and Jack Aguilar of Pius X, scored 14 consecutive points in an 11-minute span on two touchdowns and a safety by Salesian’s Augie Moran to make the score 19-17 with 5:23 left. The East twice missed two-point conversions.

The rally came up short when the East lost a fumble on the West 31 with 10 seconds left.

The West, which leads the series 2-1-1, was coached by Pablo Cano, an assistant at Marshall.

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Armando Figueroa of Garfield, who gained 38 yards in seven carries for the West in the Fiesta Bowl, has decided to attend a junior college in the fall rather than play for San Jose State.

Figueroa has been accepted to San Jose State and surpassed the NCAA-mandated score of 700 points on the Scholastic Aptitude Test for freshman eligibility, but he was not offered a scholarship.

The 5-foot-7, 170-pound running back, though, said he will attend East Los Angeles College this fall despite its lack of a football program and hope for a scholarship the next year.

An All-City Section 4-A selection, Figueroa rushed for a City-leading 1,669 yards and 16 touchdowns last fall and gained a City-record 4,548 yards and 38 touchdowns in three seasons.

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A team of students from Evans Adult School will play in the SoccerFest at the Convention Center. The downtown school, whose purpose is to develop English skills for students of all ages, will play two exhibition matches against community groups Tuesday.

SoccerFest, which will run through July 17, is an international soccer festival and interactive theme park produced by World Cup USA 1994.

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Michael Granville of Bell Gardens has been selected as the Cal-Hi Sports Magazine Track Athlete of the Year. The State 800-meter champion was also chosen as the publication’s Sophomore of the Year. . . . Catcher Ted Stevens of Cal State Los Angeles has been invited for a 10-day tryout with the Montreal Expos. . . . La Var Ball, a Cal State L.A. basketball player, has signed a free-agent football contract with the New York Jets. . . . Tracy Lynn Ferrier of Crenshaw and Rosendo Ruiz and Tran Dang of Garfield were among recipients of scholarships awarded by the Watts Summer Games committee for academic achievement. . . . Outfielder Irene Torres of Bell Gardens was chosen to the Almont League second team.