Carson Carries Momentum Into Dorsey Matchup

Carson High’s road to the City Section’s Championship Division playoffs was not as smooth as planned, but the defending champion Colts could not have rolled into the first round on a higher note.

A Marine League loss to Gardena in Week 9 put Carson in jeopardy of falling into the weaker Invitational Division for the postseason. The Colts, however, responded with their best game of the season. They routed rival Wilmington Banning and were selected as the fourth-seeded team for the Championship playoffs.

Carson’s quest for back-to-back titles begins tonight when the Colts (7-3) play Dorsey (7-3) at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

All first-round games in the Championship and Invitational divisions are tonight. Quarterfinals will be played Wednesday, with semifinals Dec. 1. The championship game will be played Dec. 8 at the Coliseum.

Carson won its 10th City title, its first since 1993, by defeating Crenshaw in last year’s final.

San Pedro, which won championships in 1996 and 1997, is the last City team to repeat as champion. Before San Pedro accomplished the feat, no team had won consecutive major division championships since 1981, when Banning won the last of six in a row.

Dorsey Coach Paul Knox said there is no clear-cut favorite for this year’s title.

“There’s at least three or four teams and maybe even more that can win it,” Knox said.

Top-seeded Crenshaw (10-0), champion of the Coliseum League, opens the playoffs against Eastern League champion South Gate (5-4-1).

“Crenshaw has played a pretty tough schedule and they have beaten everybody, including three or four teams that are in the [playoffs],” Knox said.

Second-seeded Sylmar (10-0), champion of the Valley Mission League, plays Sunset Six League champion Van Nuys Grant (7-3) in the first round.

Third-seeded Westchester (8-2), the champion of the Western League, plays Granada Hills (7-3).

The most intriguing--and competitive--first-round matchup might be the game between San Pedro (7-3) and Jefferson (7-3).

San Pedro tied Carson for the Marine League title but was the league’s second representative because the Pirates lost to Carson, 23-15.

Jefferson finished second in the Coliseum League. The Democrats lost to Crenshaw on a long pass in the final seconds and defeated Dorsey.

Gardena (6-4), which finished fourth in the Marine League, is the top-seeded team in the Invitational division for teams ranked 17-32.