Late Scheduling, Unusual Bond

Football coaches do not generally phone the next day’s opponent to openly share specific information about strengths, weaknesses, injuries, schemes and tendencies.

But last week’s tragic events in New York and Washington D.C., changed matters of convention.

With many school districts and individual schools canceling football games, teams that were allowed to play scrambled to find new opponents.

La Quinta High in La Quinta, the defending Southern Section Division VIII champion, went searching after Murrieta Valley bowed out.

Wildomar Elsinore, last season’s runner-up in Division V, also sought a new opponent when Moreno Valley Canyon Springs could not play.

On Friday, the same day they agreed to play each other a little more than 24 hours later, La Quinta Coach Dan Armstrong and Elsinore Coach Steve Silberman did not exchange game film. Instead, they talked at length about their teams and what to expect.

“We were very frank and very honest about the offenses and defenses we run,” Armstrong said. “There were not a whole lot of surprises.”

La Quinta won, 20-7, Saturday at Elsinore. The schools split the gate receipts and are considering a two-year contract to begin next season.

“Under the circumstances, with all that everyone in the nation has gone through, there was kind of a special bonding that resulted between the teams,” Armstrong said.

Westlake and Canyon Country Canyon also split the gate from their last-minute matchup played on Saturday and won by Westlake, 44-7.

Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross, Westlake Coach Jim Benkert said.

Moving on: The long-awaited matchup between three-time defending Division III champion Newhall Hart and two-time defending Division XI champion Ventura St. Bonaventure was one of the marquee games canceled.

St. Bonaventure, featuring senior running back Lorenzo Booker, has a 30-game winning streak and was pining for the opportunity to earn the respect of upper-division teams.

Before the season, Booker told The Times: “I have reason to believe that even after we do beat Hart, [critics] are still not going to give us our respect.”

Hart quarterback Matt Moore said the game would have provided a measuring stick for both teams.

“It was huge for us too,” he said. “There were guys on our team, especially our defense, who heard everything that [Booker] said. Only the game could really settle it.”

More Moore: Despite the cancellation of his team’s game, the Hart quarterback still made news by verbally committing to UCLA on Friday after watching practice and meeting with Bruin Coach Bob Toledo.

“I was considering Arizona State and Oregon, but UCLA is where I’ve always wanted to go,” Moore said. “On the drive down to watch practice, my Dad and I were talking about, ‘What if?’ as in ‘What if they offer?’

“I didn’t want to wait. That’s where I wanted to go.”

Going fast: Joe Carlson, athletic director at Long Beach Poly, said Sunday that 6,000 general-admission tickets remain for the Jackrabbits’ game against Concord De La Salle on Oct. 6 at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

De La Salle, which had a bye last weekend, has won a national-record 114 consecutive games.

Carlson said about 3,500 tickets were sold in four hours Saturday at Poly’s cafeteria.

Tickets will be sold in the cafeteria again on Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, and Sept. 26 from 4 to 6 p.m. as long as they remain available.

The final day to purchase tickets in advance is Sept. 29 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Veterans Stadium ticket booth.

General admission tickets are $10 and available by cash only, Carlson said.

Unlikely star: The spotlight was supposed to be on Chauncey Washington after the South Torrance junior began the season with a 306-yard rushing performance against Beverly Hills.

But West Torrance running back Eugene Tuzkov was the unlikely star Saturday night with a Washington-type performance in the Warriors’ 41-6 victory.

Tuzkov, a senior who had never scored more than two touchdowns in a game, scored on runs of 68 and 67 yards in his first two carries and also had a three-yard touchdown run to give the Warriors a 21-0 first-quarter lead. Tuzkov added a 29-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to increase the lead to 38-0.

“The coaches told me every time I touch the ball to think about the end zone, so that’s what I did, but I didn’t expect to get there two times in a row like that,” Tuzkov said. “With all the stuff that was going on around the world, it just fired me up. I knew I had to get it done.”

Cherish the moment: Mission Viejo’s 28-14 victory over Santa Ana Mater Dei was the Diablos’ first in the series since 1990.

Bob Johnson, Mission Viejo’s coach, recognized the dual significance of the victory.

“This was a great win for our school,” Johnson said, nodding at the players and other students celebrating around him. “Just look at them. For a minute or two, they forget about the week, maybe.”

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Staff writer Martin Henderson contributed to this report .