Change Is Great for Pomona

When the Southern Section realigned divisions for football, moving some schools to different leagues, no one was happier than the players at Pomona High.

Certainly, Coach John Capraro recognized the significance.

“We were thinking that we weren’t going to have to play [Covina] Charter Oak and [Hacienda Heights] Los Altos anymore,” said Capraro, whose Red Devils were moved from the Miramonte League to the Valle Vista League, which is in Division IX.

“The Miramonte League has consistently been the best league in Division VII, and this year, in Division VI,” Capraro said. “You throw in [Hacienda Heights] Wilson and [Pomona] Garey, who are physical, and you have to be well-prepared each week to play the whole Miramonte League schedule.

“That’s not to say you don’t have to be in the Valle Vista League, but five of the last six years, a Miramonte League team has won the championship.”

Pomona is 7-1, 3-0 in its new league -- the same record as Covina Northview, which it plays Friday at Ganesha High. Northview is ranked second in the division in the section’s poll; Pomona is ninth.

“It was almost unfair for those guys,” Northview Coach Bill Zernickow said of Pomona. “When you’re in a league that’s so tough, it’s hard to get a positive image of yourself and your team. They’re better this year, and they’re having a revival because they’ve had some success.”

That success comes from a united effort and solid leadership from seniors Husain Abdullah, a wide receiver and safety, and two-way linemen Faleolo Toia and Desmond Maxwell.

“We have a bunch of guys who, when they play as a unit, are sound,” Capraro said. “No one kid is a team for us.”

Running back Paul Thomas, a junior, has rushed for more than 800 yards, and senior quarterback Josh Huerta doesn’t make many mistakes.

“We always felt if we had a chance to get to the playoffs in Division VII, we could do some things,” Capraro said. “We did that last year by upsetting [Gardena] Serra. [But] every year, we knew the first two playoff spots were going to Los Altos and Charter Oak.

“We figure we’re playing schools [in Division IX] more like us, competition-wise, skill-wise, size-wise.”

Capraro, whose teams haven’t won a league championship in his eight seasons, is cautiously approaching what could be a watershed season.

“We haven’t played anybody,” Capraro said. “We’ll find out how good we are Friday night because Northview is a heck of a football team.

“What people have to understand is, we’re not doing anything different from what we did the last eight years.”

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Long Beach Millikan Coach Kirk Diego wasn’t even sure the Stanford band could have helped his team Friday against Compton.

The Rams trailed, 15-14, after Compton scored with one second left in the Moore League game. All Compton had to do was kick off, make a tackle, then celebrate a rare league victory.

However ...

Compton was penalized for excessive celebration after its touchdown, forcing the Tarbabes to kick from their 25-yard line rather than the 40.

Compton attempted an on-side kick to reduce the chances of Millikan returning it for a touchdown, like California did in 1982, when it used five laterals and made its way through the bewildered Stanford band for the winning touchdown.

However ...

A Compton player illegally touched the ball before it traveled 10 yards, giving the Rams possession at the Compton 31 with still one second left.

Diego initially called for a pass into the end zone, but after receiving input from his assistants, decided to send out Tom Peale, who routinely makes field goals from 50-plus yards during practice. Peale was short on the 48-yard attempt.

However ...

Compton was off-sides on the play, allowing Peale another chance from 43 yards. This one sailed through the uprights, giving the Rams a 17-15 victory.

“That was pretty amazing,” said Diego, in his second year at Millikan. “Four plays and three penalties, all in one second.”

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Foothill running back Mike Liti, a senior, has tried to pay homage to his Tongan heritage by asking newspapers to refer to him as Maikolo, a derivative of his father’s name, Kolo, who was born in Tonga.

And how is he referred to by his teammates?

“The kids at school,” his father said, “call him Mike.”

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Brandon Laborde rushed 44 times for a school-record 304 yards, including touchdown runs of 24, 15, 33, eight and two yards in Lebec Frazier Mountain’s 35-19 High Desert League victory over Rosamond.

He broke the record of 215 yards he set a week earlier against Bishop, which had broken the record of 165 he set the week before against Lake Isabella Kern Valley.

“The old record was something like 148 yards -- nothing real special,” Coach Jason Fayter said. “He had his three best games of the year since missing two games with a neck stinger.”

For the season, Laborde has 915 yards and 12 touchdowns.

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Kyle Salter, a two-way senior starter at Westlake Village Oaks Christian, returned home Saturday after an eight-day hospital stay for head injuries he suffered after falling asleep at the wheel of the family SUV and hitting a tree at more than 60 mph on Oct. 25.

Salter, a 6-foot-3, 190-pounder who played defensive end and wide receiver, was wearing a seat belt, and the air bags deployed in the SUV he was driving the night his team played Carpinteria, according to Coach Bill Redell.

“I don’t think he’ll come back to school full time until after Thanksgiving,” Redell said. “I talked to him [Tuesday]. He’s in great spirits, but he’s disappointed he won’t be able to play football the rest of the year.”

Players from nearby Oak Park High sent a get-well card to Salter.

“It was a classy thing,” Redell said. “They’re our rival, but one of their players brought a card to our practice to give him. It shows there are a few more important things than football.”

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Thousand Oaks senior Jesse Ainsworth twice exceeded the school record for longest field goal in a 30-7 victory over Simi Valley Royal.

Ainsworth, also a 6-3, 200-pound defensive lineman, had field goals of 41, 55 and 56 yards, breaking the 51-yard standard set by Jack Wilson in 1995.

Ainsworth will attend Arizona State next year.

“His 55-yarder was really strong,” Coach Mike Sanders said. “I’ve seen Jesse kick 60 yards before without any problem. I’m worried about the protection and the snap, I’m not really worried about the kick.”

Ainsworth, who kicks off a one-inch tee instead of the high school-standard two-inch tee for field goals to prepare himself for college, has made 10 of 11 attempts this season.

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Staff writer Dan Arritt contributed to this report.