Sports

REMATCH

La Mirada had little trouble defeating Duarte for the second time in its 56-12 victory Friday night at home. The Southern Section Division VIII quarterfinal playoff game was a rematch of a nonleague game won by La Mirada, 48-6, in the third week of the season.

“You hate to play a team you’ve blown out already a second time,” La Mirada Coach John Mele said about Duarte (6-5-1), which came into the game riding a five-game winning streak.

“Sometimes the other team has the advantage because it fires their kids up.”

That was not the case Friday night.

La Mirada (12-0) scored 22 consecutive second-quarter points to open a 29-12 halftime lead. Mike Palumbo passed for three touchdowns, including two to Wyatt Boatright. Running backs Hugo Corral and Damon Cox also scored two touchdowns each.

Top-seeded La Mirada turns its attention to another familiar opponent, Notre Vista, in a semifinal game Friday at Valley View High. Norte Vista (8-4) knocked the Matadores out of the playoffs with a 25-20 first-round victory last year.

“Norte Vista is playing well but when you get this far, you’re going to play a good team no matter who you play,” Mele said. “Some of our kids are back and remember that loss.”

BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR

Long Beach Jordan won its first playoff game since 1947 with its victory over Crespi in the first round. But the Panthers will have to wait until next season to win another postseason game after a 35-8 defeat to Trabuco Hills in a Division I quarterfinal game Friday at home.

“You are never satisfied until you get the big prize, a (Southern Section) title,” Jordan Coach Mike Ono said. “But when you sit down and evaluate it, we have never gone to this level.”

It’s also been a long time since Jordan, which won a share of its first Moore League title since 1990, played past Thanksgiving. Two Jordan players missed the game because of holiday vacations and eight showed up late for the team’s pregame meal.

Ahmad Jackson rushed for 100 yards in 14 carries and LeJuan Gibbons had 91 yards in nine carries for Jordan (8-4), which had 390 yards of offense.

The Panthers failed to score three times inside the Mustangs’ 10 yard line. Jordan had four turnovers, including three fumbles, and was penalized 11 times for 126 yards.

Trabuco Hills (10-2) built a 35-0 lead before Jordan scored on a 44-yard pass from Ortege Jenkins to Joe Hughes with 4 minutes, 27 seconds to play. The players also connected on the two-point conversion.

“No one expected to go past Thanksgiving. It’s a new thing for us,” Ono said. “We weren’t mentally prepared and had some mental breakdowns.”

CHANCES WERE HURT

Montebello quarterback Fred Montiel did not play in the Oilers’ 31-14 loss to Ayala Friday night in a Division III playoff game. The senior, who also plays outside linebacker and punts, injured his knee in Montebello’s first-round victory over Ventura.

Montebello Coach Doug Rihn doesn’t know if the presence of Montiel, the Almont League’s Most Valuable Player, would have made a difference against fourth-seeded Ayala (11-1).

“We could have made the game closer if we executed in some situations,” Rihn said. “We would have had to play a flawless game without turning the ball over once to have any chance to win.”

Montebello (10-2) had four turnovers Friday night. Junior Jonathan Sandoval, playing in place of Montiel, completed 13 of 24 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Adolph Esqueda had six catches for 56 yards and Ulises Rios, who rushed for 43 yards in nine carries, had four receptions for 44 yards.

“Jonathan did a really good job under the circumstances,” Rihn said. “We saw Ayala play earlier in the year and we thought, ‘We don’t want to play them down the road.’ They have a good chance to win it all.”

RUNNING UP THE SCORE

Artesia quarterback Jua Jackson rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns in 10 carries against Bloomington on Friday night. He also completed eight of 19 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns as the Pioneers piled up 556 yards and 62 points in the Division VIII quarterfinal game at Artesia.

Artesia, though, still lost, 82-62. The Pioneers (9-3) set a state record for most points scored by a losing team, breaking the old record of 49 points by San Pasqual of Escondido in 1991.

The 144 combined points is the most for a California high school 11-man game. The old record was 141 set in 1924 by Santa Rosa and St. Helena in a game Santa Rosa won, 141-0.

The teams combined for 1,106 yards and scored on 11 consecutive possessions in the second half after Bloomington (12-0) opened a 44-16 halftime lead.

WET AND WILD

The Long Beach Wilson water polo team won its first Southern Section title since 1981, defeating top-seeded Corona del Mar, 10-9, in the Division I final at Belmont Plaza.

The score was tied nine times, but Keith Feldman’s second goal of the match gave the third-seeded Bruins a 10-9 lead with five minutes to play. The teams split four previous matches and three of the games were decided by a goal.

Pat Cochran scored three goals and Adam Wright had three goals and four assists. Matt Armato also had six steals for Wilson (24-4).

RUNAWAYS

LaKeisha Backus of Long Beach Wilson and Michael Granville of Bell Gardens High have been selected to the Track & Field News magazine high school All-American team.

Backus, the state 200-meter champion, ran 23.21 seconds in the event for the nation’s fastest high school mark. She also finished second in the World Junior championships in Lisbon, Portugal, in a wind-aided 22.86--the fourth fastest time by a high school runner under any conditions.

The Wilson 400-meter relay team of Backus, Kinshasha Davis, Michelle Nelson and Mary Harris also were selected to the All-American team. The four, who timed a season-best 46.15, combined to win the event at the state meet in June.

Granville was selected to the All-American team in the 800 meters. He led the nation with a sophomore record 1:48.98. Granville also won the event at the state meet to become Bell Gardens’ first state champion in any sport.

BEACH FRONT

Nichelle Burton and Brian Gimmillaro of Cal State Long Beach have been chosen as Big West Conference player and coach of the year.

Burton, a 5-foot-10 senior outside hitter, averaged 4.45 kills a game, third best in the conference. She was also seventh in hitting percentage at .334 and fifth in digs with 336.

Gimmillaro, who has a record of 268-77 in 10 seasons and led Long Beach (25-5) to its fourth consecutive conference title, was selected as coach of the year for the third time in four seasons.