Now This Was a Phantom Call
There were 33 penalties, 19 against Dorsey, in Taft’s 18-6 victory last Friday night.
But none was more obscure than the infraction against Dorsey at the start of the second half--when the Dons weren’t even in the stadium.
Dorsey was penalized 15 yards at the start of the second half because the team arrived from the locker room after the 12 minutes allotted for halftime.
Maybe they were trying to figure out ways to cut down on the penalties.
Knighthood: While Notre Dame running back Justin Fargas has done nothing to diminish his status by rushing for nearly 800 yards and 11 touchdowns, senior quarterback Dave DeMartinis has emerged for the Knights.
A first-year starter at the position, DeMartinis has taken advantage of opponents’ focus on Fargas to throw for 516 yards and six touchdowns while completing 73% of his passes.
“He’s really impressed me,” Fargas said of DeMartinis. “Before the season I’d ask him, ‘Are you ready to take us where we need to go?’ but he’s been a leader. His expression really doesn’t change if we’re up by 30 or in a close game.”
Feeling rundown: Rio Mesa made a drastic change in its defense before the season, going from an eight-man front to a 4-3 alignment that puts emphasis on speed.
Coach George Contreras and his staff spent a week at Florida State last spring to learn the intricacies of the defense.
The Spartans (2-1) have the requisite speed--every defensive starter runs 4.8 or better in the 40--but a significant problem has cropped up: Rio Mesa can’t stop a power running game.
In last week’s 33-14 loss to Agoura, Rio Mesa was blown away by the Chargers’ large offensive line. Tailback Chris Poling rushed for 201 yards to lead the Chargers’ 295-yard ground attack. John Howe of Camarillo rushed for 243 yards against the Spartans two weeks ago but Rio Mesa escaped with a 28-21 victory.
Channel League play begins this week and most of the teams run better than they pass.
WATER POLO
Deep end: La Canada came into the Calabasas tournament last week with a 9-2 record, second-place finishes in two tournaments, and a No. 2 ranking in Southern Section Division III.
The Spartans’ stock can only rise after they won the tournament without several starters.
Leading scorer Brendan Naeve and goalie Russell Bernstein, one of the region’s top goalies, did not play. Nor did Bran Ahn, the team’s second leading scorer. Starters Donald Kwon and Brandon Goode also took the tournament off.
“The varsity ‘A’ team played 11 games in the span of nine days,” La Canada Coach Larry Naeve said. “[Our] plan was to spend a week in the midst of the 1997 season and allow the juniors and sophomores to take a quick look to the future.”
The varsity ‘B’ team won four games by an average score of 19-5. Despite their impressive performance, the Spartans dropped a spot in the Division III rankings.
Crescenta Valley defeated previously top-ranked Bell Gardens and jumped from No. 7 to No. 1. Bell Gardens fell to No. 2, and La Canada (13-4) dropped to third.
“I’m going to stay out of that one,” Larry Naeve said.
La Canada lost, 9-7, to Bell Gardens earlier this year.
VOLLEYBALL
Name game: Sophomore Cicely Carew has been getting attention because of her play for the Campbell Hall High girls’ team.
Carew, a 5-foot-6 outside hitter, has gained attention for something else . . . her last name.
She and her sister, Lena, a defensive specialist for the Vikings, are cousins of baseball great Rod Carew.
“Everybody is always asking me if we’re related,” said Cicely, who has never met Rod and only knows the basics on him.
“I just know he was in the Hall of Fame and that he played for the Angels,” she said. “That’s basically it.”