Dorsey and Crenshaw Play Under the Lights

For the first time since 1989, the Dorsey and Crenshaw football teams will get the opportunity to renew their rivalry under the lights when they play Friday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Games between the schools have been played in the afternoon because of problems off the field. In 1991, in an afternoon game at the stadium, two students were wounded when gunfire erupted during the closing minutes. A week later, a Dorsey student was shot in the head outside the Dorsey athletic field. Both incidents were reportedly gang-related.

The incidents drew national attention when Wilmington Banning accepted a forfeit after refusing to play at the stadium.

The next three games between Dorsey and Crenshaw were played in the afternoon at Crenshaw. In 1995, Dorsey hosted the Cougars in the afternoon without incident.

“To the kids, it’s not a big deal to be playing this game at night,” Dorsey Coach Paul Knox said. “The reason it’s a big game is because it’s Crenshaw and it’s a big rivalry.”

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Unbeaten Roosevelt is the top-seeded team in the girls’ 4-A volleyball playoffs, which begin today.

Roosevelt, which finished second to Westchester last season, hosts Taft tonight at 7. The Roughriders, trying to win their second City title in three years, are led by senior outside hitters Rosa Zuniga and Anabel Tovar and senior setter Marisela Santoyo.

“We’re small, but we go very hard on defense and pick up everything possible,” said Roosevelt Coach Kenji Maki, who has won six City titles in 18 seasons. “We once had a girl who was 6 feet 3, but that kind of height only shows up here maybe once every 10 years.”

Palisades is seeded second, Narbonne third and Venice fourth in the 4-A division.

A superior court judge this week denied a petition by Van Nuys for inclusion in the playoffs. The Wolves were disqualified from last year’s playoffs and were not eligible this year for using an ineligible player last year.

Poly is the top-seeded team in the 3-A division.