No Regrets at Palmdale

Jeff Williams changed his mind so quickly five years ago that members of the Palmdale High football team didn’t have a chance to say good-bye.

Williams accepted the head coaching position at Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley on a Saturday morning in January 1999. Only a few hours later, he was having second thoughts about leaving a community his family had grown to adore. He decided to quit his new job that night.

“I haven’t looked back since,” said Williams, in his 16th season at Palmdale. “It was just a good decision on my part, for my family and myself.”

And for the Palmdale football program.

The Falcons (12-1) will play Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (11-2) in the Southern Section Division III final at noon on Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

It is Palmdale’s first appearance in a section title game, but it’s the fourth time in the last three years the teams have met.

Palmdale defeated Notre Dame in a Division III quarterfinal in 2001, then lost to the Knights in the semifinals last season. In a nonleague game on Sept. 26, Notre Dame won, 35-21.

Notre Dame Coach Kevin Rooney “runs a class program, that’s why we scheduled them,” said Williams. “Their kids play with a lot of class and a lot of composure. That’s good for our kids and makes for a good rivalry.”

Since its loss to the Knights, Palmdale’s defense has been strong. The Falcons have four of their five shutouts and have allowed only 19 points in their last seven games.

The defense did not allow a touchdown and scored one of its own in a 14-6 semifinal victory over Santa Fe Springs St. Paul. The Swordsmen were having some success running the ball with 245-pound fullback Matt Parent but ran out of timeouts shortly after recovering an on-side kick with just over three minute to play and were forced to throw. St. Paul drove to the Palmdale 16, where the Falcons’ secondary stiffened and forced a turnover on downs.

“They had to pass the ball into the teeth of the tiger,” Williams said. “We have some great defensive backs.’

Palmdale’s secondary has 15 interceptions this season -- four by T.J. McKay and three each by Justin Shaw and Javonte Holmes.

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Coach Toby Howell finally accomplished something his father never did during 17 years as football coach at Anaheim Western High. Advance to a Southern Section championship game.

The Pioneers play defending champion La Habra in the Division IX final Friday night at Cal State Fullerton. It’s the first football title game in school history.

Howell took over the Western program in 1996 after his father, Jim, retired. Both coached teams at Western that were expected to reach the final, but they always came up short. Jim Howell’s teams were knocked out in the semifinals in two of his last three years at the helm.

Jim Howell has since retired to Colorado, Toby said, but returns each fall about midway through league play and stays until the end of the season. The last two postseasons, the Pioneers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

“He would give us a hard time because we had to send him back to the snow early,” Toby Howell said. “This year, he has been able to enjoy the Southern California weather a little more.”

The younger Howell previously relied on high-scoring offenses to advance deep into the playoffs, but this year the Pioneers are winning games on defense.

In the semifinal victory over top-seeded Fountain Valley Los Amigos, Western held running back Anthony Matagi to 107 rushing yards and one touchdown. Matagi entered the game averaging 197 yards and three touchdowns.

Linebacker Will Price, who has committed to UCLA, is the most well-known player on defense, but free safety Brian Williams leads the team with 10 interceptions and 80 tackles.

“It’s not the most talented team I’ve had,” Howell said, “but they’ve probably worked harder. The difference about this team is our defense.”

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Oak Park has good size on the lines, a fast quarterback and one of the most admired play-callers in the world.

That’s right, in the world.

Casey Webb, a senior tight end, outperformed 5,000 others in a popular video game in January to win an all-expenses paid, four-day trip to the Caribbean to participate in the Madden Bowl.

Webb, the second youngest of the 10 finalists, hasn’t let his knowledge go to waste.

Earlier this week, as the Eagles prepared for their Division XI final Saturday against Westlake Village Oaks Christian at Simi Valley Royal High, Webb suggested to Oak Park co-Coach Dick Billingsley a pass that he learned from a video game. Billingsley said he liked the play enough to add it to the game plan.

“He has a lot of good ideas,” Billingsley said. “And he’s a very gifted athlete.”

Oak Park (12-1), which defeated Oaks Christian (11-2) four weeks ago in the Tri-League’s season finale, 27-24, is playing in its first section championship.