Sports

NEW COACH

Thomas Paredes, offensive coordinator at Cantwell-Sacred Heart, will be the new football coach at St. Bernard, Athletic Director Jim McClune said Wednesday.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for me to help build a program at St. Bernard,” Paredes said. “It’s a tough league and the division is equally tough. I hope to be competitive with a good mix of kids. It’s a great area to coach.”

Paredes, 37, is the younger brother of Mark Paredes, longtime coach at Bishop Amat and current coach at J.W. North in Riverside.

Paredes has been an assistant for eight seasons. He worked under Jim Patricio and his brother Mark at Bishop Amat. He also served two seasons under Patricio at Walnut.

Paredes came to Cantwell-Sacred Heart in 1991 and has been offensive coordinator for the past three seasons.

“The thing that stands out about Coach Paredes is that he has coached and seen what it takes to win at the Division I level,” McClune said.

He replaces interim coaches Bob Yarnall and Tom Burgess, who filled in after the resignation of Mike Noonan before St. Bernard’s opening game against Culver City.

Paredes was chosen over three St. Bernard assistants who were among the finalists.

“I think the principal felt the need to get some new blood,” McClune said. “Paredes has been exposed to other areas and we hope that kind of experience rubs off on our program.”

RECRUITING NEWS

Although the national letter of intent signing date is nearly two weeks away, several of the area’s top prep football players have already made a decision on their college futures. Many others have narrowed their choices as Feb. 1, the first day players can sign binding letters, nears.

On Monday, Westchester tight end Tony Griffin made an unwritten commitment to USC. Griffin, The Times’ 1994 Westside lineman of the year, had 27 receptions for 721 yards and 14 touchdowns. Griffin, who is 6 foot 2 and 195 pounds, also considered Cal, Colorado, Oregon, and UCLA.

UCLA will receive a visit this weekend from Westchester’s Travor Turner. Turner, a 6-6, 198-pound defensive end, had 78 tackles, including 38 solo tackles, and 18 1/2 sacks as a senior. If he signs with the Bruins, it will be a major disappointment for defending Pacific 10 Conference champion Oregon, which was hoping for a commitment from Turner this week.

USC also signed West L.A. College receiver Chris Miller (5-11, 180), who rejoins his cousin and former teammate at Dorsey High and West L.A., receiver Keyshawn Johnson.

The Bruins dropped out of the running for Culver City quarterback Damon Williams, The Times’ 1994 Westside back of the year, after getting a commitment from quarterback Cade McNown (6-2, 205) of West Linn, Ore. The Bruins also received a commitment from quarterback Ryan Roques of Moreno Valley Canyon Springs, who is expected to move to receiver.

Williams, who passed for 2,168 yards and 19 touchdowns, has already visited Nevada Las Vegas and will visit Colorado State this weekend.

Culver City receiver Jasiri Rodell (6-2, 190), who recently scored a 700 on the Scholastic Assessment Test, will visit Colorado State this weekend with Williams and has scheduled a Jan. 27 visit to UNLV. He also plans visits to USC, Arizona and Arizona State.

“I’m looking to play early,” Rodell said. “I don’t mind playing for a school with a balanced attack, but I pretty much want to play for a passing school.”

Rodell, who was named to the Cal-Hi Sports magazine first team, caught 55 passes for 1,380 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Andrew Kline, a Beverly Hills offensive tackle, made a commitment Thursday to San Diego State, although he still has trips planned to Colorado State and Fresno State.

Kline, a 6-foot-3, 278-pound senior, was a two-time selection to The Times’ Westside all-star team, to the Southern Section Division VII team and to the Ocean League first team.

Adrian Klemm, a 6-5, 250-pound St. Monica lineman, recently returned from a trip to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and will visit Hawaii Jan. 28. Klemm is thought to be leaning toward signing with the Rainbows.

Other Mariners who are being recruited include receivers Jason Jones, who recently received a home visit from San Jose State, and Dwight Carter, who returned last weekend from a trip to St. Mary’s in Moraga, Calif.

Comet running back Kaaron Conwright (5-8, 160), receiver Courtney Brown (6-3, 210), and defensive back Louis Henderson (6-2, 200) are expected to sign. Brown visited San Jose State last weekend, and Cal Poly SLO has shown interest in Conwright and Henderson, who is also being pursued by Hawaii.

GETTING RESPECT

Before the Brentwood-Crossroads game on Friday, Roadrunner Coach Daryl Roper commented: “I think Teddy Miller and the gang should worry about stopping us.”

For three quarters, Roper was right as the Roadrunners turned an eight-point deficit into a 11-point lead.

But then it was Miller Time.

The 6-3 senior scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Eagles rallied for a 62-59 upset of Crossroads at Santa Monica College.

After Crossroads made a costly turnover, Eagle guard Gerry Washington made two free throws with two seconds left to secure the victory.

“I will say our kids are not too concerned about that stuff,” Brentwood Coach Bob Ingram said, referring to Roper’s comments. “We have a pretty good group of kids and we went out to play hard.”

The Eagles appeared to be in trouble after falling behind, 41-30, with about a minute left in the third quarter.

Brentwood’s Sebastien Saylor, a 6-7 senior, went to the bench with three fouls and Ingram went to a small lineup spearheaded by 6-foot Kevin Balak.

“We were playing good defense, but our shots weren’t going through the (basket),” Ingram said. “But our guys responded. We didn’t fold or quit. We hung in there.”

YANKEE LOYALTY

When basketball practice began in the fall, Hamilton Coach Dave Uyeshima had to check his roster to make sure no one was missing. He was surprised to find talented players such as Darnai Thomas, Alex Carcamo and Bobby Kassaie on the team.

“We’re lucky to get some of these basketball players without people recruiting them out of here,” Uyeshima said. “I spoke with one kid who went to Palms and asked him why he didn’t come here and he said ‘because we didn’t recruit him.’ ”

The Yankees were supposed to be overmatched Friday in their Coastal Conference opener against Westchester. The Comets have been nationally ranked and feature two outstanding Division I prospects in Ben Sanders and Danny Walker.

The Yankees, however, pulled off the upset when Khalid Morris made a short jump shot with less than 30 seconds left to beat Westchester, 66-65.

“Westchester keyed on Bobby, Darnai and Alex because they were scoring the most for us,” Uyeshima said. “But the guy who stepped up for us was Khalid.”

Morris, who has been averaging nine points a game, scored a game-high 23.

The victory was Hamilton’s first over Westchester since 1985. It was the Comets’ first home loss since the 1991-92 season.

INSIDE TRACK

Palisades’ Peter Gilmore, who won the City Section cross-country title last fall, is among the Westside area athletes scheduled to compete in the high school portion of the Sunkist Invitational indoor track and field meet Feb. 11 at the Sports Arena.

Gilmore, who has run 4 minutes, 17.42 seconds for 1,600 meters, will run the mile against a field that includes Barstow’s Ricardo Etheridge, the sixth-place finisher in the state 1,600 meters with a best of 4:13.71 seconds, and Thousand Oaks’ Kevin Marsden, who ran on the Lancers’ state championship cross-country team.

Other area athletes who are scheduled to participate are Kaaron Conwright of Westchester (50 meters), Regina Carruthers of St. Bernard (440 yards), Erik Larsen of Palisades (880 yards) and Jason Lewis of Fairfax (50-meter hurdles).

The boys’ teams from University and Westchester are entered in the 640-yard relay. The St. Bernard girls will run in the 640 relay and will join Beverly Hills in the mile relay.

HOLIDAY CHALLENGE

The inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Challenge is scheduled Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.

The three-game tournament, organized for the Belmont Shore Basketball Club, originally was scheduled to be played at the Long Beach State Pyramid but was moved because the college prohibits off-campus groups from using the facility.

Long Beach Millikan will play Rowland in the opening game at 5:20 p.m.

Inglewood, featuring Paul Pierce, will play Peninsula at 7 with Westchester and Dominguez battling at 8:40.