Sports : FOOTBALL AWARDS

Culver City High quarterback Damon Williams, Westchester tight end Tony Griffin and St. Monica Coach Norm Lacy were award winners Sunday at The Times’ Westside All-Star prep football brunch at the Guest Quarters Suite Hotel in Santa Monica.

Williams, who led the Centaurs to their fourth consecutive Ocean League championship, was named the back of the year.

Griffin, who caught 27 passes for 721 yards and 14 touchdowns, was selected the lineman of the year. Lacy, who has led the Mariners to three consecutive winning records after a 1-8-1 record in his first season as coach, was selected coach of the year.

Williams and Griffin were among 23 players honored during the brunch, which is given annually by The Times.

El Camino College Coach John Featherstone was the guest speaker.

Williams, a three-sport standout, set single-season school records for most passing yards (2,168) and most touchdown passes (19). His two-year total of 4,154 yards was also a school record. He completed 110 of 202 passes and also rushed 50 times for 236 yards and seven touchdowns. Defensively, he had two interceptions as a free safety. As a punter, he averaged 39.5 yards a kick. Among the schools recruiting Williams are Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Stanford, UCLA and USC.

Griffin, who played only his third season of organized football, was an outstanding blocker on offense and one of the City Section’s best coverage men as a free safety. He recently returned from a recruiting trip to Arizona State and is also being recruited by Colorado, Cal and USC, but staying close to home would appear to be his choice.

“I’ve been a lifelong Trojan fan,” Griffin said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play in front of my family and friends.”

Griffin is one of the top sprinters in the City. He finished fourth in the 100 meters at the City championships last spring.

Lacy, who began his coaching career as an assistant at Santa Monica High in 1977, guided the Mariners to a 6-5 record and a share of the Camino League championship in 1992, an 8-3 record and a share of the Camino League title in 1993, and a 7-3 record and second-place league finish this past season.

Lacy’s senior class included quarterback Steven Pulley, receivers Jason Jones and Dwight Carter, linebacker Mike Bailey, tight end Carlos Casillas and two-way lineman Adrian Klemm.

“I had high expectations for those players when they started with me as freshmen,” Lacy said. “My biggest job was to get the kids to commit to long-range goals and try to attain them. It was tough in the beginning because we lost so many games.”

BIG GAME

It was billed as a game matching the talents of Westchester guards Danny Walker and Ben Sanders against Inglewood standout Paul Pierce. Three of the area’s best basketball players showing off their talents in a battle for neighborhood bragging rights.

And although Pierce, Walker and Sanders were impressive, the game was decided by a Westchester reserve guard.

Lamar Talton made a jump shot as time expired in the second overtime to give Westchester a 76-75 victory Friday night at Westchester.

Talton took the ball with six seconds left, dribbled up the court and made a twisting shot from the free-throw line.

Talton’s shot overshadowed Pierce’s 33-point, 11-rebound effort.

Walker had 20 points, Jason Hart added 16 and Sanders 14 for the Comets.

“It was a really good game, especially since we won,” Westchester Coach Ed Azzam said. “It was a rivalry of sorts since most of the kids live next door to each other or know each other well.”

Azzam was impressed with Pierce, who moved from small forward to point guard in the Sentinels’ season-opening game.

“Paul Pierce is an outstanding player who handles the ball well for a big man,” Azzam said. “He distributes the ball well and doesn’t turn it over very often.”

The Comets continue a difficult nonleague schedule this week in the Tournament of Champions at Ocean View High. They beat Servite of Anaheim, 58-47, Monday and Manual Arts, 95-49, Tuesday.

The Comets will try to defend their title in the Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic beginning Sunday. Last season, the Comets beat East Anchorage and its standout player, Trajan Langdon, who is attending Duke.

Westchester plays Sparks of Reed, Nev., to open the tournament.

It may be a recruiting trip of sorts for Sanders, who is leaning toward signing with Nevada Las Vegas.

NOTABLES

* The Palisades girls’ basketball team has been bolstered by the addition of former Hamilton starting guards Kelly Peden and Miata Rice. The two transfers and returning standout Nicole Codd have helped the Dolphins to a 6-1 start. “I did not recruit them,” Palisades Coach Joi Tanita said. “They were admitted through open enrollment.” The Dolphins have moved to the 4-A Western League this season.

* The Venice girls’ basketball team suffered a big loss when junior guard Erin Shishido tore a ligament in her right leg. Shishido was the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 15.5 points a game. Yuriko Jung, a returning Times’ Westside All-Star, has picked up the offensive load and is averaging 30 points a game the past three games. “We’re going to miss Erin the most on defense,” Coach Debbie Dreier said.

* Fairfax point guard Duane Davis had seven assists and no turnovers in the Lions’ 74-39 win over Carson. Lion Coach Harvey Kitani said it was the first time one his guards went a game without a turnover.

* Another date to mark on the calendar is Jan. 21, when Westchester meets Compton Dominguez in a game matching two of the state’s top five teams. The game, scheduled for Cal Sate Long Beach’s Pyramid, will be moved. Azzam is hopeful the new site will be Pauley Pavilion.

The Comets, meanwhile, received their home uniforms, which were ordered in the preseason, on Friday.

* Palisades forward Lamar Tillman, who tore ligaments in his left knee during the summer, is averaging 11 rebounds a game for the Dolphins. He had 17 rebounds in a second-round win over Fremont in the Beverly Hills tournament.

* Olympic volleyball gold medalist Chris Marlowe and former Duke standout Chip Engelland are scheduled to compete for a Palisades alumni team that will play the varsity at 7 p.m. Friday.

* Former USC and Iowa standout Gerry Wright, in his first season as girls’ coach at Santa Monica, explaining his team’s 3-4 record: “I can teach them all the plays. I can teach them how to play, but I can’t teach them how to show up and be ready to play. They seem to make up their minds before the start of the game.

“If they think they will have trouble winning, they play unbelievably well. But if they’re not scared by the other team, they just show up and those teams tend to beat us.”