Green Is Money for Notre Dame

With his face and arms covered in mud, quarterback Garrett Green of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame looked like a teenager in football heaven as he accepted congratulations from excited teammates Friday night.

“I love it,” he said.

Green, a sophomore, ran for 91 yards, passed for 105 yards, didn’t fumble and didn’t throw an interception as Notre Dame defeated Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, 21-13, in a Southern Section Division III semifinal.

Mira Costa (12-1) closed to within 14-13 in the third quarter on a 37-yard field goal by Joe Houston. Then Brandon Clayton, who rushed for 92 yards in 14 carries, broke off a 31-yard touchdown run for Notre Dame (11-2) with 5:10 left in the third quarter, his second touchdown of the night.

Mira Costa’s offense sputtered without the services of a healthy Tyler Pringle, who entered the game with 1,858 yards rushing. Pringle suffered a thigh bruise in the first quarter and finished with 23 yards in six carries.

Eric Sondheimer

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Hacienda Los Altos 32, Lakewood Mayfair 20 -- Mayfair was driving for a potential go-ahead score midway through the fourth quarter when the top-seeded Conquerors intercepted a pass to swing the momentum.

Los Altos (13-0) will try to win a second consecutive Division VI title and extend its winning streak to 20 games at on Dec. 13 at the Home Depot Center, where they will meet the winner of tonight’s game between Orange Lutheran and Hacienda Heights Wilson.

Mayfair (9-4) had a first down at the Los Altos 14-yard line midway through the fourth quarter when running back Dereik Driscoll slipped while running a pass pattern inside the 10. Defensive back Chapelle Brown stepped up and intercepted quarterback Kevin Dehaas’ pass.

Driscoll gained 200 yards and scored twice in 28 carries for Mayfair, which led at halftime, 14-12.

Ben Bolch

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Anaheim Western 34, Fountain Valley Los Amigos 20 -- DeVonte Merrifield rushed for three touchdowns and A.J. Trillo threw for two more as the Pioneers advance to the Division IX title game on Friday against the winner of tonight’s game between Freeway League rivals Fullerton and La Habra.

Western’s defense held Anthony Matagi to 107 yards and one touchdown. Matagi, who fumbled twice, was averaging 197 yards for top-seeded Los Amigos (10-3) coming into the game at Garden Grove High.

Merrifield, who rushed for 214 yards in 39 carries, scored twice on runs of one yard and another of 17 yards for Western (11-2), which led at halftime, 21-7. Trillo connected with Will Price for a 25-yard score and later hit Brian Williams on an eight-yard score.

Melanie Neff

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Inglewood Morningside 20, Santa Maria St. Joseph 17 -- The running game had carried them this far, but it was two timely defensive plays that propelled the Monarchs (12-1) into the Division X finals next Friday, when they will meet the winner of tonight’s game between Lompoc and Gardena Serra.

Trailing, 7-0, in the second quarter, Morningside linebacker Maurice Payne picked up a fumble and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. With less than one minute to play, cornerback Brandon McCullen intercepted a pass inside the Morningside 10-yard line to ensure the victory.

St. Joseph (9-4) was able to contain Morningside’s ground game but Monarch quarterback Sunaki Mateaki completed nine of 14 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown, a 61-yarder to Demerious Thomas.

Elia Powers

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Westlake Village Oaks Christian 33, Ojai Nordhoff 14 -- Aaron Ware rushed 17 times for 199 yards and two touchdowns and the host Lions avenged a Tri-Valley Leauge loss to the top-seeded Rangers in advancing to their first football section final. Oaks Christian will meet the winner of tonight’s Carpinteria-Oak Park semifinal in the Division XI title game on Dec. 13.

Mark Richardson scored on a 16-yard pass from freshman Jimmy Clausen with one minute left in the second quarter to give Oaks Christian (11-2) a 21-14 lead.

Marc Tyler ran nine times for 100 yards and one touchdown as the Lions out-gained Nordhoff (10-3), 440-266 yards.

-- Mayar Zokaei