Maiden: 1997 Had a Special Ring to It

Jared Maiden of El Camino Real High is running out of fingers to put rings on. In 1997, he has played on City championship teams in wrestling, baseball and football.

In El Camino Real’s 42-0 victory over Carson in the City 3-A championship game Friday night at the Coliseum, Maiden caught a pass from Aaron Fredette that went 42 yards for a touchdown and had a 48-yard punt from the one-yard line that got the Conquistadors out of the hole in the second quarter.

“You’re the most valuable player I’ve ever coached,” a teary-eyed assistant coach Terry Fischer told Maiden afterward.

Maiden said he hopes to show all his championship rings “to my kids” some day.

“Hopefully, I’ll get two more in ‘98,” he said.

El Camino Real (10-4) turned its season around after an embarrassing loss to Cleveland in the eighth week.

“That was the low point of the season,” Maiden said. “We were all over each other. I think we basically got rid of all the ‘I’ stuff and started playing as a team.”

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DeAngelo Nedd had a choice of schools when he moved from Long Beach to West Hills this year. Either way, he would have ended up at the Coliseum.

Nedd, a junior fullback a El Camino Real, chose the Conquistadores over Taft.

Nedd got El Camino Real’s offense going with a 31-yard run midway through the second quarter and later scored on a 56-yard run that gave the Conquistadores a 28-0 lead.

“I only knew a little about [Taft and El Camino Real] when I moved,” Nedd said. “I’m very happy to be where I am right now.”

Nedd finished with 103 yards in six carries. He could be the replacement for Quincy Wright next season at tailback.

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Former San Fernando High and USC tailback Anthony Davis served as the honorary team captain for Friday night’s games at the Coliseum.

“For some, it will be the only time to play in this place,” Davis said. “There’s a lot of history here.”

Davis should know. He scored six touchdowns against Notre Dame for USC in a 1972 game at the Coliseum.

“I need some glasses--too many shots in the head,” Davis said.

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Starr will be sitting in front of his TV set today watching his alma mater, Mount Union of Alliance, Ohio, play for the NCAA Division III football championship on ESPN.

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Dan Cey, who played baseball at El Camino Real and is in the Minnesota Twins’ organization, was on the sideline cheering for the Conquistadores.

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There’s no doubt El Camino Real was the best in the 3-A division.

The Conquistadores outscored their four playoff opponents, 173-12.

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Staff writers Michael Lazarus, Paige A. Leech and Eric Sondheimer contributed to this notebook.