Burris’ Words Ring True With Big Kickoff Return Against Bell

Referees usually make the calls.

But Monroe High’s Kenyatta Burris made a unique call of his own in last Wednesday’s City Section 3-A Division quarterfinal football game against Bell.

Burris was so certain he would burn Bell’s kickoff coverage at the start of the second half, he turned to a referee and predicted it. “I told him to get ready to run,” said Burris, who accentuated his remark by raising his arms in the air.

The referee started laughing.

He was soon huffing and puffing.

Burris took the kickoff down the left sideline, followed a couple of nice blocks and cut toward the middle for an 89-yard touchdown return.

Burris said the referee had some advice. “He said they better not kick it to me anymore.”

Bell didn’t.

But Bell, which won the 3-A title last season, allowed Burris to catch a 16-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left to give Monroe a 25-22 victory.

For the record, Burris did not predict his winning touchdown.

Net result: One half expected a wild celebration from the Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team when it beat Central Connecticut on Saturday night, snapping a 31-game Division I losing streak.

After the game, Coach Michael Abraham kept one eye on the team’s water cooler, hoping it wouldn’t end up getting emptied down his back.

It didn’t. In fact, there was hardly any celebration at all.

“I think I was more excited than [the players] were,” Abraham said.

Abraham celebrated by cutting down the nets used during his first victory as a college head coach.

Uplifting news: The Southern Section cross-country championships Nov. 18 marked the end of a disappointing season for Agoura High Coach Bill Duley, whose boys’ and girls’ teams failed to qualify for the State championships for the first time since the meet began in 1987.

But Duley got some good news two days later when former Agoura standouts Amy Skieresz (class of 1995) and Ryan Wilson (‘93) finished second and fifth in their respective races in the NCAA championships in Ames, Iowa.

Arizona’s Skieresz, the runner-up in the 3,200 meters in the State track championships in June, timed 16 minutes 55 seconds over the 5,000-meter course to finish four seconds behind Oklahoma State senior Kathy Butler.

Wilson, the 1992 State Division II cross-country champion, clocked 30:57 over the 10,000-meter course in the men’s race to help Arkansas to its fourth title in five years.

Quotebook

“Kids like this make you look like a genius. You tell the girls to do this and they do it, and you tell the boys to do that and they do it.”

-- Nordhoff High cross-country Coach Ken Reeves, after the Rangers swept the Division III titles in Saturday’s State meet at Woodward Park in Fresno.

By the Numbers

The La Reina High girls’ soccer team, whose 1995-96 season begins later this month, has won 44 consecutive Tri-Valley League matches. The Regents need three more victories to set a Southern Section record for consecutive league victories without a loss or a tie. The record currently is held by Westminster La Quinta, which won 46 consecutive Garden Grove League matches from 1983-87. La Reina is 51-1 over the last five Tri-Valley seasons and won the title in each.

With victories in both Division III races of the State cross-country championships Saturday, Nordhoff has won seven titles since the meet began in 1987. McFarland ranks second with five, followed by Carmichael Jesuit and Newport Harbor with four each.

San Fernando quarterback-running back-kick returner Keijuan Douglas returned three kicks for touchdowns this season, tying a school record set in 1959 by Carl Randel and tied three times since. Douglas returned two punts for scores in a game against Chatsworth this season, tying a school record held by Anthony Davis, among others.

Honors

Valley College’s Jim Fenwick has been named football coach of the year, and Valley quarterback Aaron Flowers has been named player of the year in the Western State Conference Southern Division.

Fenwick guided the Monarchs to a 10-0 record during the regular season, and Flowers passed for 2,736 yards and a conference-high 23 touchdowns.

The Monarchs will meet Long Beach (10-0) on Saturday in the Strawberry Bowl at Cerritos College for the mythical national championship.

Cal Lutheran linebacker Chris Peltonen was named Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference defensive player of the year. Eight other Cal Lutheran players were named to the SCIAC first team and five made the second team.

The first team includes defensive lineman Tyler Blackmore, defensive back Chad Valousky, defensive lineman Jeff Cahill, linebacker Justin Monical, running backs Fredrik Nanhed and Anthony Rice, offensive lineman Manuel Cantero and punter Jeff Shea.

Offensive lineman Paul Ferguson, wide receivers Tom Herman and Billy Parra, tight end Dave Harrington and running back Ivan Moreno made the second team.

Contributing: Mike Bresnahan, Fernando Dominguez, Jeff Fletcher, Irene Garcia, Michael Lazarus, John Ortega, Tris Wykes.