Gibford Has Sixth Sense At Chatsworth

Looking for a sleeper team in the City Section 3-A Division? Take a look at history and the answer is obvious--this is the year for Chatsworth High.

In 1979, Myron Gibford’s first season as coach, the Chancellors went 12-0 and won the only section football title in school history with a victory in the 3-A title game.

In 1985, Chatsworth shook off a slow start and advanced to the 3-A final, losing to Fairfax.

In 1991, The Chancellors used an upset over Sylmar early in the season as a springboard to another 3-A title-game appearance, losing to Crenshaw.

Success every six years means 1997 should be kind to Gibford, who will retire following the season.

So far, so good. Chatsworth beat Reseda, 20-6, last week and plays Sylmar tonight.

Falcon quest: Palmdale High expects to begin its search for a new baseball coach in two weeks, Athletic Director Tim Azevedo said.

Coach Randy Lintemoot, who resigned during the summer, led the Falcons to a share of the Golden League championship and a 19-6 record in 1997. He won two league titles and compiled a 49-27 mark in three seasons.

Honored: Four former high school players from the area were named to Volleyball magazine’s Fab 50 list for the 1997 season: Trevor Julian (Harvard-Westlake High), Nick Marbach (Hoover), John Baxter (Royal) and Matt Prosser (Buena).

Julian is now at USC, Marbach at San Diego State, Baxter at Cal State Northridge and Prosser at Long Beach State.

Don Killian (Loyola) and Matt Boice (Mira Costa), now at Pepperdine, were also named to the list, in the September issue.

Oops: Chaminade had a forgettable opener, committing 11 penalties and six turnovers, including an interception that thwarted a last-ditch comeback effort in a 6-3 loss to Crespi.

“It definitely wasn’t what we practiced, but you can’t chuck the whole season because of it,” Chaminade Coach Tim Johnson said. “We need to get better in a hurry.”

On Friday, Chaminade plays host to El Camino Real, a 51-0 winner over North Hollywood.

Channel changing: Buena’s 20-19 upset over Westlake last Friday was one of four victories by Channel League teams over those from the Marmonte League, perhaps indicating a transfer of power in Ventura County.

Only second-half comebacks by Agoura over Hueneme and Royal over San Marcos prevented a Channel sweep.

Behind several top quarterbacks, the Marmonte dominated Channel teams last season. But Oxnard, Ventura and Rio Mesa--all winners last Friday--are very good. And Hueneme, 1-9 last year, appears vastly improved based on the fact it gained 450 yards against Agoura before faltering in the fourth quarter of a 27-22 loss.

You can go home: First-year Hoover Coach Jeff Chi, a graduate of South Pasadena High and a coach at the school from 1988-96, will play host to his alma mater tonight in a nonleague game. Chi’s Tornadoes (0-1) are attempting to end an eight-game losing streak.

Optioned out: Ron Hilton, Saugus’ first-year football coach, is shouldering the blame for the Centurions’ defensive collapse in the second half of a 44-35 loss to Santa Barbara.

Hilton said Saugus simply couldn’t stop Santa Barbara’s option.

“I’ve seen Nebraska make some pretty good teams look foolish with it,” Hilton said of the option. “As coaches we did a poor job of getting ready to defend it.”

Saugus led, 28-13, at the half, but the Centurions turned the ball over on their first three possessions of the third quarter.

Nick Dominelli, Santa Barbara’s backup quarterback, ran for 138 of his team’s 403 rushing yards.