San Fernando Would Rather Not See the Light of Day

San Fernando Coach Sean Blunt has had his fill of day games.

The Tigers have played twice in daylight this season with less than satisfactory results.

San Fernando nearly blew a large lead against Jefferson before holding on to a 35-29 victory and three weeks ago, the Tigers lost to Grant, a team that hadn’t won since 1994.

On Friday, San Fernando will play another day game when the Tigers travel to El Camino Real, which is playing on its home field for the first time in 15 years.

“Hopefully they’ll play like it’s a practice,” Blunt said. “We need to catch a break.”

Best and worst: Taft defensive lineman Clint Evans played his best game of the season last Friday against Granada Hills. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior had four sacks in the Toreadors’ 49-6 victory.

But the memory will be bittersweet.

Last Tuesday, Evans’ father, Jim, died. Jim Evans was a regular at Taft practices and games. He was at the Toreadors’ practice the day before he died. After missing several practices, Clint Evans returned.

“It’s like losing someone in your family,” Taft Coach Troy Starr said. “It was a really tough week for Clint. We’re trying to help him deal with it.”

Knows the end zone: Kennedy High wide receiver Aaron Lewis had a perfect night against Cleveland on Friday.

Lewis caught five passes, all for scores.

His touchdown receptions covered 43, 40, 51 and 31 yards. He also caught a two-point conversion from Juan Saucillo.

Respectively: Valencia Coach Brian Stiman complained last week his second-year varsity team did not get the recognition it deserved, despite being ranked third in the Southern Section Division II poll.

Now it’s time for Littlerock Coach Jim Bauer to cry “no respect.” Despite a 30-28 victory over Valencia on Friday, the Lobos (5-1) are not ranked. Valencia (4-1) is No. 5.

Hear, hear: When things take a turn for the worse, coaches often wonder if anyone’s listening to them. In Oak Park football coach Dick Billingsley’s case last Friday, nobody was.

Late in the Eagles’ game at Moorpark, Billingsley, in the press box, discovered his sideline assistants could hear only fragments of the plays he called through his headset.

The problem arose on Oak Park’s last two offensive series, and certainly didn’t help an Eagle comeback that fell short in a 21-14 loss.

“The formations were mostly right but the tight end would head the wrong way or the quarterback would fake to the wrong guy,” Billingsley said. “I wondered what in the world was going on.”

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Footnote: Soccer players Gene Lee, Bryan Kaye and Mike Whitaker of Chaminade are not listed on the varsity football roster. But they suit up on Friday nights.

“We use the soccer players as kickers and they kick on their own,” Coach Tim Johnson said. “When the program went to print, I balked at putting their names in because I wasn’t ready to give the nod to any one.”

Instead, a decision is made each Thursday as to which player will kick in that week’s game.

“The kicking coach takes them and they have a ‘kickoff,’ ” Johnson said. “They each have 10 kicks.”