Former County Receivers Square Off

Two of the county’s top prep wide receivers from the late 1990s had a chance to compete against each other Sept. 2 when Oregon defeated Nevada, 36-7.

Keenan Howry, a 1998 Times’ All-Orange County first-team selection from Los Alamitos, caught three passes for 66 yards against the Wolf Pack. He also passed for 53 yards on an end-around play.

In two games Howry has eight receptions for 124 yards, but he has yet to get into the end zone. Oregon (1-1) hosts Idaho Saturday.

Nevada wideout Mike Crawford, a transfer from Texas Christian who was a 1996 Times all-county second-team pick from Orange Lutheran, caught three passes for 30 yards against the Ducks. But in Nevada’s 41-7 loss to TCU last week, Crawford accounted for nearly half of the Wolf Pack’s offense. He made several diving catches and finished with nine receptions for 121 yards. He also rushed once for seven yards.

Another former all-county first-team wide receiver, Aaron Carter of Fountain Valley High, is battling for playing time at Nevada. He has three receptions for 31 yards.

Nevada kicker Mike Phillips, formerly of Los Alamitos High, had a 29-yard field goal and a point-after-touchdown in the loss to TCU. A senior, Phillips has made 12 of 21 field-goal attempts in his career and 54 of 62 point-after attempts. Nevada (0-2) is idle this week.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh quarterback David Priestley, who played at Brethren Christian, has completed 18 of 30 passes for 297 yards in two games this season. Priestley was 10 of 15 for 114 yards with a 47-yard touchdown pass in last weekend’s 34-16 victory over Bowling Green. Priestley has been sharing time at quarterback with senior John Turman. Pitt plays Penn State Saturday.

SOCCER STANDOUTS

Sophomore Ali Fennell (Mater Dei) scored twice and added an assist Sunday to lead the 12th-ranked USC women’s soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Vanderbilt. Senior Andrea Warner (Dana Hills) and freshman Megan Abbamonto (Capistrano Valley) picked up assists. The Trojans’ 5-0 start is the best in school history.

San Francisco’s Heidi Prestegard (Edison) took a shot from 35 yards out in the 58th minute of a 2-1 victory over Long Beach State last week and slipped it past 49er goalie Jihan Elgazzar (Kennedy).

Elgazzar, a sophomore, came back to earn her eighth career shutout with a 2-0 victory against Cal State Northridge.

NOTABLE

Former Irvine High guard Chris Ferguson has withdrawn from UC San Diego and has enrolled at Irvine Valley College, where he is expected to play for the men’s basketball team. . .Former Laguna Hills High standout Tayyiba Haneef returned to the Long Beach State women’s volleyball lineup at Brigham Young last weekend after recovering from a strained muscle in her abdomen. She had a career-high 10 digs and 16 kills in a five-game loss. . . Former Esperanza High goalkeeper Tracy Sharp has 29 shutouts for the women’s soccer team at Loyola Marymount. The West Coast Conference record is 30.5. Sharp has not allowed a goal in her last 315 minutes of play.

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Staff writer Lon Eubanks contributed to this report.

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