Eagle Rock Soaring Toward Historic Start

Eagle Rock High has not started a football season with five consecutive victories since 1957.

But the Eagles (4-0) are in position to do that Friday afternoon when they play Huntington Park in a nonleague game at home.

Eagle Rock, under fifth-year Coach Steve Wahl, has intersectional victories over La Canada and Sierra Madre La Salle and City Section victories over Canoga Park and Verdugo Hills.

The fast start is not surprising for a team that has 17 players who started last season, including 10 on offense.

Junior quarterback Torwin Session, senior fullback-linebacker Rhuben Williams and senior receiver-safety Jorge Trejo have led the way for a team that hopes to challenge Franklin for the Northern League title.

“We thought our offense would come out of the gate pretty fast and we did,” Wahl said. “The thing we feel good about is our defense. By the end of the season, we’ll be a fine defensive team, I’m sure.”

Eagle Rock is one of the City Section’s smallest schools with 2,500 high school students. It is the only City Section school with students in grades seven through 12 on campus.

“We have no open permits and there is no busing so we don’t get kids from other areas,” Wahl said. “We try to take advantage of the fact that we’re a community school.”

*

The City Section is exploring the possibility of staging the boys’ and girls’ basketball championship games at the Great Western Forum this season, said Barbara Fiege, commissioner of the section.

Last season, the City finals were played at Pauley Pavilion. The season before, they were played at the Sports Arena.

Fiege said Pauley Pavilion and the Sports Arena are unavailable this season because of scheduling conflicts with UCLA and USC basketball.

She also said that the City Section made preliminary inquiries into the availability of the Staples Center, but was rejected because of use by the Lakers, Clippers, Kings and other events.