PREPS

St. Paul High beat Santa Fe, 28-0, Friday to remain unbeaten against its cross-town rival since the football teams’ first meeting in 1975.

St. Paul quarterback Gerry Ceballos, however, took the first hit from Santa Fe nose guard Jorge Figueroa two days before the opening kickoff, police say. Ceballos and Figueroa reportedly became involved in a scuffle at a Jack-In-The-Box restaurant in Santa Fe Springs.

The fight apparently erupted after Ceballos, 16, and Figueroa, 17, exchanged words outside the fast-food restaurant on Telegraph Road.

Figueroa said he punched Ceballos, possibly once or twice in the face, after the St. Paul quarterback repeatedly insulted the Santa Fe football team, according to a report taken by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies.

Earlier in the afternoon, Figueroa said Ceballos drove by Santa Fe High during practice and flashed a sarcastic smile, according to the report.

Ceballos filed assault charges against Figueroa and St. Paul Athletic Director Robert Oviedo requested Figueroa be held out of Friday’s game. Both players played in the nonleague game at Pioneer High. Ceballos completed five of 10 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.

An investigation is pending, but Sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Campbell, who plans to question Ceballos and Figueroa, said charges are unlikely to be filed.

“It’s just a matter of two guys jawing off at each other,” Campbell said.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Corey Kelley and Jeff McNeal of Cerritos College and Blaze Austin of Compton were state player-of-the-week selections by the J.C. Athletic Bureau for their performances in Cerritos’ 35-20 victory over Riverside and Compton’s 24-16 win over Pierce.

Kelley gained 300 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns, including 171 yards in rushing and 173 in returns. McNeal had eight tackles, four quarterback hurries and a sack for Cerritos (3-0). The Falcons, ranked third in the state, will play host to Fullerton Saturday.

Austin intercepted two passes, made three tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown to help Compton improve to 3-0. The Tartars, who finished 2-8 last season, play host Saturday to Hancock.

Long Beach (3-1) dropped from third to 14th in the state rankings after a 50-27 loss to Rancho Santiago. The Vikings hope to rebound in their Mission Conference Northern Division opener Saturday against San Diego Mesa at Veterans Stadium.

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Former El Rancho High quarterback Jim Arellanes, now playing at Valley College, completed 21 of 40 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the Monarchs’ 36-25 victory over Hancock. The sophomore transfer from Northern Arizona has passed for 1,147 yards and eight touchdowns for Valley (4-0).

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Patricia Gasso, the softball coach at Long Beach City College since 1989, has accepted a job at the University of Oklahoma. Gasso, who previously coached four years at La Mirada High, had a record of 178-57 at Long Beach.

RUN AROUND

Grace Padilla won the 35th annual Biola cross-country invitational Saturday. The former South Gate High runner covered the 5,000-meter course at La Mirada Park in 18 minutes, 9 seconds to lead Asics Track West to the team title.

Lesley Noll-Mayne (18:14), Chris Morgan (18:16) and Mary Kenney (18:36) were second, third and fourth for Asics, which had seven runners among the top nine.

Claremont and USC finished second and third, respectively. Rio Hondo College was 11th. Weber State won the men’s race, followed by UC Riverside and Asics. Rio Hondo finished 14th.

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The Long Beach City College cross-country teams will compete Friday in the Irvine invitational.

Katy Donahue and Blanca Gandarilla were sixth and 14th, respectively, in 20:29 and 21:07 to lead the Viking women to third place in the Bakersfield invitational Friday. Citrus won the meet and Mt. San Antonio College was second.

PRICE IS RIGHT

Long Beach State volleyball player Stephanie Streeks recently won nearly $38,000 in prizes on the game show “The Price is Right.” Streeks, 19, won a 1995 Buick station wagon, a boat, a trip for two to Lake Tahoe and tennis equipment. The episode will air in December.

VOLLEYBALL

Cerritos College reached the semifinals and Long Beach City advanced to the quarterfinals of the San Diego Mesa tournament. Both teams were eliminated by tournament champion Yavapai, Ariz.

Yavapai, which defeated San Diego Mesa in the final, defeated Long Beach, 15-7, 15-12, 15-1, in the quarterfinals and Cerritos, 15-13, 15-12, in the semifinals.

Lesli Chowen and Christi Phillips averaged 3.2 kills a game and Jen Cruz averaged 11.5 assists for Long Beach during the two-day tournament.

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Bell Gardens High defeated Cantwell Sacred-Heart, 15-4, in the third-place match of the Whittier tournament. Lisa Valenzuela, Georgina Juarez and Diane Cordoso of Bell Gardens were selected to the all-tournament team.

Veronica and Monica Quezada and Letty Heredia of Cantwell Sacred-Heart, along with Lindsay Velianoff of Whittier, were all-tournament selections.

MISCELLANY

Long Beach State Coach Seth Greenberg will be among the featured speakers at the Cerritos College basketball clinic Oct. 23.

Pete Cassidy of Cal State Northridge, Brad Holland of the University of San Diego, Pat Douglass of Cal State Bakersfield and Jack Bogdanovich of Cerritos College are other coaches scheduled to speak.

The cost is $35. Information: (310) 860-2451, Ext. 2875.