Sports

LAST-MINUTE HEROICS

Although La Mirada won the Suburban League title and finished the regular season undefeated to earned the top-seeding in the Southern Section Division VIII playoffs, it didn’t come without a fight from Artesia.

The Matadores needed a seven-yard reception by Wyatt Boatright with 31 seconds left to escape with a 37-35 victory Friday night at home.

La Mirada, which will play host to University High of Irvine (4-5-1) in a first-round playoff game Friday night, improved to 10-0 and 5-0 in league play to go undefeated in the regular season for the first time in 10 years.

The Matadores have outscored their four previous league opponents 158-9 and has allowed just one one touchdown before playing Artesia (7-3, 4-1).

“This was easily the hardest game of the season,” said Boatright, who had seven receptions for 80 yards and two touchdowns. “I thought we might win six or seven games at the beginning of the season, but to be 10-0 is unbelievable.”

Two plays before Boatright’s winning touchdown, quarterback Mike Palumbo connected with Greg Rudiger for a 31-yard completion on fourth down and 16 to keep the drive alive.

“We were just hoping to get the touchdown,” Palumbo said. “Luckily, they were playing prevent defense and it backfired and we got the first down we needed.”

Palumbo passed for 194 yards and four touchdowns, including two scoring passes to running back Hugo Corral, who rushed for 118 yards.

The Matadore victory spoiled a four-touchdown performance by Demond Winston, who rushed for 313 yards in only 12 carries.

Artesia trailed, 21-7, in the second quarter, but scored three second-half touchdowns to take a 35-31 lead on an 85-yard kickoff return by Frank Vann with just over six minutes to play.

SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS

Montebello Coach Doug Rihn earned his 100th career coaching victory two weeks earlier. Victory No. 102 on Friday night was much more satisfying for the 14-year coach.

The Oilers defeated Alhambra, 42-0, and won the Almont League title.

With the road victory, Montebello improved to 9-1 and 5-0 to win its second consecutive league title against Alhambra (9-1, 4-1), the Southern Section’s second-ranked team.

“I thought we were two evenly match teams, but I thought Alhambra had the edge because they were playing at home,” said Rihn, who has a 102-44-1 record and led Montebello to five league titles. “Our field was like a little mud pool because of rain. When we got to Alhambra, the field was nice and we felt really good about playing away.”

Montebello raced to a 35-0 halftime lead and set a school-record with nine sacks en route to its eighth victory in a row. Guillermo Calderon had three sacks and Richard Enriquez, Laird Zwezig and Joe Rouse had two each.

Montebello, which will play host to Ventura (5-5), the third-place team from the Channel League, in a Division III first-round playoff game Friday, rolled up 472 yards of offense against the Moors. Running back Ulises Rios gained 148 yards and Adolph Esqueda rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns.

Quarterback Fred Montiel rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns. He also had nine tackles and an interception on defense.

“We had a great game plan,” Rihn said. “We thought we found some things that would work and played exceptionally. It was one of the finest executed halves of football I have been a part of.”

WIN, LOSE OR DRAW

Long Beach Jordan (7-3), Long Beach Poly (9-1) and Lakewood (6-4) tied for the Moore League title at 4-1, but Jordan won a draw to go as the league’s top-seeded team.

Jordan, which won a share of its third league title in seven seasons, is seeded fourth in the Division I playoffs. The Panthers will play host to Crespi (5-5) in a first-round Friday night.

Here’s a look at other first-round games.

Division I: St. John Bosco (5-5) vs. Los Alamitos (10-0) at Gahr High; Eisenhower (5-5) vs. Long Beach Poly (9-1) at Veterans Stadium; Lakewood (6-4) vs. Loyola (7-2) at Pierce College.

Division II: Hawthorne (7-3) at Paramount (8-2); Dominguez (6-3) at Antelope Valley (7-2); Arcadia (8-2) at Downey (7-3).

Division III: Ventura (5-5) at Montebello (9-1).

Division VI: Chaffey (5-5) vs. Santa Fe (7-3) at Pioneer High; La Serna (7-3) at Damien (6-4); Whittier (5-5) at Walnut (8-2); Cerritos (5-5) at Charter Oak (10-0).

Division VIII: University (4-5-1) at La Mirada (10-0); Bellflower (5-5) at San Marino (8-2); Monrovia (6-4) at Artesia (7-3).

Division X: Kern Valley (5-5) at Valley Christian (8-2).

City Section 4-A Division: San Fernando (5-5) at South Gate (9-1).

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St. Paul (7-3) was among the notable teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs after finishing 2-3 in the rugged Del Rey League.

Bell Gardens (4-6) failed to qualify for postseason play for only the third time in 18 years after forfeiting an Almont League victory to Keppel because of an ineligible player. The Lancers tied with Keppel and Schurr for third place at 2-3, but Keppel advanced to the playoffs by virtue of a coin flip.

El Rancho (3-7) did not advance to postseason play for the first time in 19 seasons.

BARFIELD BACK

Ellis Barfield was reinstated as girls’ basketball coach at Lynwood High by the Lynwood Board of Education.

Barfield, 29, was asked to resign by athletic director Bill Lee last month in the aftermath of a fatal accident involving a player on his summer league team. Barfield, a walk-on coach, refused and said he would fight the decision.

Tracey Myricks, 11, was killed in the July 23 accident near Las Vegas when a van carrying Barfield and 12 players from the Lynwood Running Rebels flipped after Michelle Allen fell asleep while driving. Allen, an assistant at Lynwood who was helping coach the Rebels, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

The trip involving 18 players from the Lynwood Development League, ranging in age from 11 to 17, was not sanctioned by the Lynwood Unified School District or the Southern Section.

Barfield, a graduate of Lynwood High, has guided the Knights to a 62-2 record in two seasons. Lynwood won the State Division I title in 1992-93 and reached the state final last season.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The Long Beach City College football team wore No. 9 on its helmets in memory of linebacker Kasun Charles in its 38-35 victory at Mt. San Antonio College Saturday night in a Mission Conference Northern Division game.

Charles was shot and killed while returning home from a funeral of a slain friend. His funeral Tuesday at Green Hills Mortunary in San Pedro drew 600 mourners. The Long Beach City College Foundation office is collecting donations for the Kasun Charles Funeral Fund.

Neo Aoga threw two touchdown passes against Mt. San Antonio to increase his season total to 21, surpassing the 1968 record of 19 held by Dennis Dummit. It was Aoga’s fifth school record of the season.

Aoga, who completed 23 of 27 passes for 325 yards, and Kevin McKenzie, who had 286 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns, including a 92-yard kickoff return, were named conference players of the week for Long Beach (9-1, 6-0).

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Compton (3-5-1) closes its season Saturday at Bakersfield City College in a Western State Conference Southern Division game.

The Tartars are coming off a 43-6 defeat against Valley. Joe Austin and Victor Johnson rushed for 87 and 53 yards.

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The Long Beach City College water polo team defeated Golden West, 11-9, in the Southern California regional finals to advance to state championships at Belmont Plaza on Friday.

George Hernandez, Jaime Ramirez and Juan Martinez scored three goals each for Long Beach (23-4-1).

NO REGRETS

Current USC basketball players weren’t the only ones keeping a watchful eye on the condition of Coach George Raveling after a near-fatal automobile accident Sept. 25.

Avondre Jones, now playing at Chaffey College, was among the former Trojan players who closely followed Raveling’s battle to overcome injuries.

In June, the 6-foot-11 center from Artesia High was granted a release from his scholarship by Raveling.

Raveling, citing injuries from the accident, announced his retirement Monday. Assistant Charlie Parker was named interim coach.

“I’m sorry about it, but I still feel it was the right decision to (go to Chaffey)” Jones said. “It was a terrible accident and Raveling was under a lot of stress. He was real close to a lot of the guys. I’m sure its going to have a big effect.”

GONE FISHING

Jeff Burroughs, the 1974 American League Player of the Year, has been named manager of the Barracuda, the Long Beach-based franchise of the newly formed eight-team Western Baseball League.

The double-A minor league team, which will play their home games at Cal State Long Beach during a 90-game schedule, begins play in May. The season will end in September.

Burroughs, 43, who attended Long Beach Wilson High and was coach of the Long Beach Little League’s world championship teams in 1992 and 1993, played major league baseball for 15 years with Washington, Texas, Atlanta, Seattle, Oakland and Toronto. He led the league with 118 runs batted in and hit 25 home runs with the Rangers in 1974.