Falcons Able to Field Shirts Versus Skins

Clothes are flying off bodies at Crescenta Valley faster than in a cable soap opera. The Falcons defeated Burroughs, 29-17, last Thursday, but still managed to lose the shirts off their backs.

On two occasions, running back Kenny Pritchett had his jersey ripped from his body. Linebacker Chris Oliver and receiver Nate Barber also had their jerseys torn off.

A week earlier, lineman Danny Panduro had his uniform pants cut off by a doctor after suffering a knee injury.

“This is starting to get expensive,” said Coach Alan Eberhart, who hinted he’s considering charging his players for damaged uniforms.

Asked if he would bill Pritchett, who has rushed for 908 yards in five games, Eberhart reconsidered.

“Do I charge him?” Eberhart asked. “The way he’s running, no way. If he gets shut down once, though, then I charge him.”

Common ground: In a sports world full of contract negotiations, here’s one that Santa Clara definitely would like to extend.

The Saints (1-4) ended a 20-game losing streak with a 33-7 victory over St. Genevieve on Sept. 27. The Saints have a year left on a two-year contract with the Valiants (0-5).

“They’re where we are right now,” Santa Clara Coach John Lorenzana said of St. Genevieve. “We were able to coach instead of just trying to get through the game.”

Santa Clara, which lost to Bishop Diego on Friday, 28-0, has only 20 players and often uses trash cans to simulate opposing players in practice.

“We’ve just resolved to ourselves that sometimes we’re going to be down to 12 or 14 [players] and made our practices work around that,” Lorenzana said. “It’s a pleasure when we have 18 at practice.”

I scream, you scream: Bell-Jeff coaches screamed across the field at St. Bonaventure Coach Jon Mack during the fourth quarter of a 56-0 loss three weeks ago. The coaches were upset that St. Bonaventure was passing, never mind that the Seraphs had averaged nearly 10 yards per rushing attempt but less than seven per completed pass.

Last Saturday, Bell-Jeff (1-4, 1-1 in Sante Fe League play) lost, 52-6 to Cathedral, which rushed for 520 yards and did not attempt a pass.

Injury updates: Calabasas fullback Drew Coppola likely will miss Friday’s game against Moorpark after suffering a stinger last week against St. Monica.

Coppola experienced numbness in his arms and has consulted a doctor. He might miss more than the Moorpark game, said Bob Coppola, his father.

Primarily a lead blocker for his brother Robby, Drew has rushed for 297 yards in 30 carries.

Mike Anderson, a senior quarterback who led Ventura to the Channel League championship last season, is expected to return this week after missing four games with an injured knee.

Anderson’s replacement, junior Jason Branch, struggled for several games, throwing seven interceptions, but he completed 11 of 12 for 119 yards in the Cougars’ 26-21 victory over Santa Barbara on Friday night.

“Mike has a lot of experience and he isn’t mistake-prone,” Coach Phil McCune said. “He does a good job running the offense. Jason has a very strong arm and did a good job under the circumstances.”

St. Francis senior running back Darius Brown, whose absence contributed to the Knights’ 17-2 nonleague loss to Bellflower last week, is described as day-to-day by St. Francis Coach Bill Redell. X-rays taken of Brown’s ankle showed only a sprain. Brown previously broke the ankle as a sophomore.