Disparity of play in City Section football continues
It was a Friday night of routs in City Section football, with 12 games decided by 35 or more points, requiring running clocks in the fourth quarter or earlier.
From Crenshaw defeating View Park Prep 79-6 to Garfield beating Huntington Park 61-0 in a game that ended at 8:48 p.m., the City Section has issues.
“There is a disparity in the level of teams,” said Eagle Rock coach Andy Moran, chairman of the City Section football coaches advisory committee.
Unbeaten San Pedro, ranked No. 2 in the City Section, lost to Narbonne 53-0. In Eagle Rock’s 49-7 win over Marshall, the officials decided to switch to a running clock after halftime.
Moran said schools need administrative support to have strong athletic teams. Coaches can only do so much.
“It’s not a priority in some places,” he said. “It’s kind of rich getting richer, poor getting poorer right now.”
Private schools have been luring away LAUSD athletes while the growth of charter schools has dropped enrollment and reduced team rosters and depth. A building expansion by LAUSD left schools battling each other for students, lowering the pool of available athletes for each school, according to Garfield coach Lorenzo Hernandez.
High school football scores from Friday, Oct. 4.
There’s also a disparity in coaching pay, according to Moran.
“Do you know how much a coaching stipend is in New York City?” Moran asked. “It’s $13,000. Ours is $2,811. We’re behind the times in how much they pay coaches and the amount of coaches they choose to pay.”
Banning power: In Wilmington Banning’s 51-6 win over Gardena, Jakob Gallow rushed for 216 yards in 13 carries and scored three touchdowns while Jake Otto completed 13 of 15 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
Stadium honor: The Charter Oak Unified School District voted this week to rename the Charter Oak High School football stadium in honor of football coach Lou Farrar, who has been coaching for 38 years at the Covina school with more than 300 victories. Farrar has been sidelined this season while battling multiple myeloma leukemia.
Korey Foreman healing: Standout defensive end Korey Foreman of Corona Centennial is getting close to returning to the field. He could be back in two weeks. He has been sidelined since spraining a knee ligament on Sept. 6 against San Diego Cathedral Catholic.
6-0 start: Newport Harbor (6-0) opened Sunset League play with a 38-24 win over Fountain Valley. Justin McCoy rushed for 192 yards and scored four touchdowns while sophomore quarterback Nick Kim completed 25 of 33 passes for 300 yards.
Big game Casey: Quarterback Jaden Casey of Calabasas passed for 229 yards and five touchdowns in the Coyotes’ 54-35 Marmonte League win over Westlake Village Westlake. If the Coyotes (5-2) win out, they could be in contention to be one of the eight teams in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
A look at The Times’ top 25 high school football teams in the Southland.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
