Estancia Hires Fertig as Coach

Craig Fertig, an assistant coach on two national championship teams at USC, has been selected football coach at Costa Mesa Estancia High.

Fertig, 60, a Newport Beach resident, has worked as an analyst on Fox Sports Net’s coverage of USC football since 1992. He has not coached since leaving the head position at Oregon State, where he had an 8-36-1 record from 1976-79.

Fertig played football at USC from 1962-64, starting at quarterback as a senior. He was an assistant at his alma mater under John McKay from 1965-73, when the Trojans won national championships in 1967 and ’72.

A walk-on coach, Fertig replaces Jay Noonan, whose Estancia teams went 1-9 last season and 0-10 in 2001. Noonan resigned for personal reasons in December.

-- Bob Rohwer

Westchester forward Trevor Ariza will find out what it’s like to be LeBron James’ teammate for a day when both play for the West in the EA Sports Roundball Classic on March 31 at the United Center in Chicago.

The UCLA-bound Ariza was the only player from Southern California selected to play in the game.

Oakland Tech forward Leon Powe, who has signed with California, will play for the East. Westchester defeated Oakland Tech, 80-75, last March to win the state Division I title.

Ariza played against James and Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary last week in the Isles Prime Time Shootout in Trenton, N.J. James scored a career-high 52 points as St. Vincent-St. Mary beat Westchester, 78-52. Ariza was limited to 12 points.

-- Ben Bolch

The Van Nuys Grant boys’ soccer team can wrap up the best regular season in the program’s history with victories today at Canoga Park and Friday at Hollywood. But Coach Frank Ortiz is worried the Lancers (15-1-4) might not get the respect they deserve when City Section coaches meet Tuesday to determine playoff brackets.

“That’s my concern,” Ortiz said. “Usually, [many of the other coaches] think of the Sunset Six as a weak league, and we’re not. At least we haven’t been the last two years. We had two teams in the quarterfinals last year.”

Ortiz, who is in his 15th season at Grant, said his team was slighted last year when it was seeded ninth in the 32-team City playoffs after compiling a 13-4-2 regular-season record and winning the Sunset Six League title.

Some coaches argued that Grant’s record had come against a soft schedule, but it will be hard to contend that this season because Grant has beaten high-quality Southern Section teams such as Lawndale Leuzinger and Newhall Hart.

“I feel like we played pretty well in what I consider to be two good tournaments,” Ortiz said of Grant’s runner-up finishes in the San Pedro and Sylmar tournaments. “I’m hoping that will make a difference this year.”

It is increasingly unlikely that midfielder Erik Vogt will play again for the Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula boys’ soccer team.

Vogt was an All-Southern Section Division I selection as a junior but has played in only two games this season because of an injured hamstring.

Coach Jim Lillie hoped Vogt would be able to play this week in the last two games of the regular season, but Vogt sat out Peninsula’s 2-1 loss to Lawndale Leuzinger on Monday and isn’t expected to play in today’s game against Manhattan Beach Mira Costa.

“At this point, we will list him on the playoff roster but do not expect him to play, at least in the early rounds,” assistant Barry Sacks wrote in an e-mail. “Should we advance a few matches to the quarterfinals, there is a glimmer of hope he will be able to dress for that match.”

-- John Ortega