Prep Rally: Not all the basketball talent is on the boys’ side
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. The high school basketball season is slowly getting started as schools adopt to testing procedures and enhanced protocols. And there should be growing excitement about girls’ basketball players this season. As good as the boys’ talent has been in recent years, the girls’ game has far more elite players this season.
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Girls’ got game
Much attention has been paid to the talent surge among boys’ high school basketball players helping fuel the rise to success for UCLA, USC and Oregon State. Well, now it’s the girls’ turn, because this year’s group of high school players should one day make a similar impact at the collegiate level.
At Los Angeles Windward, all eyes are on sophomore JuJu Watkins, considered the No. 1 player in the nation for the class of 2023.
“She should just go straight to the WNBA,” Windward coach Vanessa Nygaard said jokingly.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Watkins’ family elected to keep her home training individually rather than traveling to other states for safety reasons.
“It was tough for me mentally,” she said. “I started to feel a little self conscious about coming back and not being ready. For me, it was working on my mental game and practicing and working on the stuff I need to improve from last year.”
During an outside practice session, it was clear the 6-foot Watkins had already improved on one part of her game _ using her left hand. And she had plenty of motivation. She saw a sign during the playoffs last season, “She can’t go left!”
“That lit the fire,” Watkins said.
She’s facing competition from lots of top players this season headed to the likes of Stanford and USC. Brooke Demetre of Santa Ana Mater Dei and Kiki Iriafen of Harvard-Westlake are McDonald’s All-Americans headed to Stanford.
For more, read here.
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Boys’ basketball
Damien played four games in four days and won them all to go to 7-0. USC-bound Malik Thomas is very good, but keep your eye on 6-4 junior RJ Smith. He’s been starting since his freshman year and he appears to have taken advantage of the pandemic break to come back even better.
St. John Bosco would be my early pick for No. 1 in Southern California based on what I saw when the Braves defeated Windward 58-41. Of course, that’s just a first impression. It only means the Braves have lots of potential with many quality players and athletes to build around.
Sierra Canyon hasn’t yet played in a game. Mater Dei finally got started with two victories. Heritage Christian is a team to watch after knocking off Harvard-Westlake. Still waiting on Long Beach Poly and Etiwanda to get their seasons going. The Etiwanda-Damien game scheduled for April 20 is one to put on the calendar.
Corona Centennial opened with a 75-36 win over Great Oak two weeks ago and has a game scheduled with 6-0 Torrey Pines this week.
Times’ football rankings
Here’s a look at the top high school football teams in the Southland:
Rk. SCHOOL (W-L) Last Week | Next game (last week’s rank)
1. MATER DEI (3-0) def. Servite, 24-17 | vs. Santa Margarita (at Santa Ana Stadium), Friday (1)
2. ST. JOHN BOSCO (4-0) def. JSerra, 66-14 | vs. Orange Lutheran, Friday (2)
3. SIERRA CANYON (3-1) def. Bakersfield Garces, 42-0 | at Upland, Friday (4)
4. SERVITE (2-2) lost to Mater Dei, 24-17 | at JSerra, Friday (3)
5. LONG BEACH POLY (3-0) def. Compton, 45-0 | at Long Beach Jordan, Friday (6)
6. GARDENA SERRA (3-1) def. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 29-14 | at Bishop Amat, Friday (7)
7. SAN CLEMENTE (3-0) def. San Juan Hills, 35-7 | at El Toro, Friday (8)
8. LOS ALAMITOS (4-0) def. Huntington Beach, 63-14 | at Fountain Valley (at Huntington Beach), Thursday (9)
9. NORCO (3-0) def. Corona Centennial, 38-36 | vs. King, Thursday (NR)
10. CORONA CENTENNIAL (2-1) lost to Norco, 38-36 | vs. Eastvale Roosevelt, Thursday (5)
Read the rest of the top 25 here.
Football
Freshman Terrell Bradshaw of St. Bernard pulled off the greatest celebration without drawing a penalty. The closest official had his back turned away from the ball, so Bradshaw proceeded to do a round off and backflip in the end zone after scoring a touchdown against Birmingham. Celebrations like that are normally only allowed in the NFL. But hey, he was polite and dropped the football on the ground.
Let the City Section begin
There’s one certainty when the City Section finally launches its four-game spring football season this week. That will be seeing running back Jakob Galloway of Wilmington Banning setting the standard for excellence.
The All-City tailback has beefed up to 225 pounds. In a scrimmage Saturday against Garfield, there was one play in which four Bulldogs got their hands on him, only to see Galloway slip away until a fifth defender finally took him down. Garfield coach Lorenzo Hernandez was joking, “We might need 14 players” to tackle him.
“I’m ready to lay it on the field,” Galloway said before the scrimmage. “They haven’t seen me in a year. They’re going to be surprised. They’re going to see the full me.”
Banning opens against Granada Hills Kennedy.
Upset of the year
Corona Centennial hadn’t been beaten in a Big VIII League football game since 2009. The Huskies had won 57 consecutive league games until Norco defeated the Huskies 38-36.
Norco was under the radar after two easy league victories, but junior quarterback Kyle Crum made some big runs and big passes.
More football news
The Trinity League is headed toward an epic season-ending game when St. John Bosco faces Santa Ana Mater Dei on April 16 at Santa Ana Stadium. Mater Dei got past Servite 24-17 in a strange game that saw the Monarchs commit seven pass interference penalties trying to cover receiver Tetairoa McMillan and finished with 201 yards in penalty yardage.
Using an old-school Wing-T offense, Whittier California coach Louie Zamora is letting junior running back Vance Johnson take advantage of his team’s strong offensive line. Johnson rushed for 383 yards in 26 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 26-13 win over Pico Rivera El Rancho.
“It’s an offense I grew up playing in when I was at El Rancho,” Zamora said.
Loyola improved to 2-0 with a 41-14 win over St. Francis. The stars were out for the Cubs. Former Cub standouts David Long and Myles Bryant, both NFL players, watched the game and took a photo with defensive back Ceyair Wright, a USC signee who also appears in this summer’s LeBron James movie “Space Jam.” Linebacker Josh Long had three sacks.
Culver City quarterback Zevi Eckhaus enjoyed a memory that will last a lifetime. He set the school record for most yards in a career, and his 11-year-old brother, Chaim, was at his side serving as ball boy. He was recruited out of the bleachers at the last minute.
Asked what he thought of his brother, Chaim said, “I think he’s amazing.”
Times’ baseball rankings
Here’s a look at the top high school baseball teams in the Southland.
Rk. SCHOOL (W-L); Comment (last week’s rank)
1. THOUSAND OAKS (7-0); Face SO Notre Dame on Tuesday (4)
2. ORANGE LUTHERAN (5-1); Sophomore Tyler Gordon had four-hit game (5)
3. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (4-2); Freshmen pitchers continue to shine (2)
4. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (6-2); Sophomore Dean West has 11 hits (1)
5. WEST RANCH (7-0); Logan Mandel is batting .600 (6)
6. GAHR (4-2); Long Beach State commit Cristien Banda is hitting .600 (NR)
7. SERVITE (5-1); Pitching has been very good (8)
8. AYALA (5-2); Jacob Badawi is 10 for 20 (3)
9. DANA HILLS (9-1); Pitching depth is coming through (7)
10. SIMI VALLEY (4-0); Big win over Etiwanda (23)
For the complete top 25, click here.
Brotherly love
Jack Johnson, the standout Westlake High senior shortstop who is headed to Baylor, waited and waited for the chance to play on the same team with his freshman twin brothers, Nolan and Nate. The COVID-19 pandemic made it uncertain whether it would happen.
“It’s so cool,” Jack said after a game against Thousand Oaks in which he started at shortstop, Nolan started at third base and Nolan started at catcher.
Jack, at 6 feet 1, is the “little brother.” Nolan is 6-4 and Nate 6-3.
Not since the McLain brothers were starting at Beckman in Irvine has there been a family of baseball brothers with so much promise and potential.
“It’s beyond words,” Jack said of being with his brothers this season. “It’s fun to get to play with them. I didn’t know if it would happen. It’s here and we’re battling.”
The big game of the week is the new No. 1 team, Thousand Oaks, playing at last week’s No. 1 team, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, on Tuesday.
From the archives
June 14, 1982 remains the date of the greatest individual performance I’ve witnessed at a high school sporting event. It happened at Dodger Stadium in the City Section championship baseball game. I was just 23 years old and probably feeling stressed out writing on deadline.
Bret Saberhagen threw the only no-hitter in City championship game history for Cleveland High in a 13-0 win over Palisades. One of the Palisades’ players was Steve Kerr, the future NBA player and coach. Saberhagen retired 21 of 22 players.
I still remember after the game in the parking lot the Saberhagen family arguing who was going to take Bret to KNBC so he could appear live with Stu Nahan on its 11 p.m. telecast.
Saberhagen was so good on the mound that season, though he was briefly injured. Only the Kansas City Royals and scout Guy Hansen were smart enough to draft him in the 19th round of the amateur draft.
He’d go on to win two American League Cy Young Awards and be the MVP three years later in the World Series.
Here’s a column from 2002 looking back on that historic night from 20 years earlier.
Soccer: The Comeback
Watch Anthony Mercado’s return to to soccer field by clicking here.
The first 911 call was received by dispatch at 11:31 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2020, according to a redacted incident report obtained from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Two cars were involved in a collision off Woodley Boulevard near Burbank Boulevard. It’s an area where people jog and walk during daylight. LAFD would dispatch three paramedic ambulances, two fire engines and two Light Force vehicles. The first arrived at 11:40 p.m. LAPD units also were sent.
Anthony Mercado, an 18-year-old senior soccer standout at Birmingham, was standing next to his parked car talking to another person when a car smashed into his car, sending him flying, according to his father. Mercado and the other person would suffer critical brain trauma injuries. The other crash victim would die from her injuries. The driver of the car would be arrested on suspicion of felony DUI.
Mercado spent 15 days in a coma. He had to relearn how to walk and talk. Last month, he returned to soccer practice for the first time. It was an emotional scene, players greeting him with hugs and each grasping his hand.
Senior soccer standout Anthony Miron still remembers the night of the accident.
“I was terrified,” he said. “I was really scared. I grew up playing with him. He’s like a brother. It broke my heart. I texted his phone. I got nothing.”
Here’s a report on the comeback.
Lacrosse
There are few busier athletes in Southern California right now than Agoura’s Jake East, who played in two lacrosse matches this past week, scoring five and four goals, and played football on Saturday night against Thousand Oaks. He leads the football team with 29 tackles, including four sacks.
He has committed to Brown for lacrosse but is open to other offers in football, and they may be coming considering the way he’s been playing.
On playing two sports simultaneously, East said, “It’s really hard but all you have to do is learn to focus up. I just have to keep my body healthy.”
He gained 20 points during time off from the pandemic lifting weights for the first time. He spent hours in his backyard working on agility. And what a personality he has. He says lacrosse is like ice hockey.
“It’s very physical but no fighting. It would be fun,” he said.
On lacrosse, he said, “It’s an amazing game if you’re new to it. It’s so high tempo and you’re always doing something on every play.’’
On Agoura going from 1-9 to 3-1 in football under first-year coach Dustin Croick, he said, “It’s a lot about our guys buying in. Coach Croick is an Agoura guy and understands how kids from here are. He’s brought in an amazing staff.”
On how a defensive back has four sacks, he said, “My coach loves throwing me off the edge. I’m pretty good shredding blocks because that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. It’s awesome.”
On getting good grades, he said, “Everyone in my family has always told me to buy into school because that will give me the most options.”
Despite his athleticism and blond hair, there’s one sport East has not mastered.
“I can’t surf at all,” he said.
Keeping tabs on area grads
Softball and baseball athletes are among the best in the country from Southern California, so it’s no surprise college teams are relying on SoCal natives.
Oklahoma’s softball team entered last week 25-0 and ranked No. 1 behind freshman Tiare Jennings from Long Beach St. Anthony. She was hitting .512 with 15 home runs.
For a look at how other grads are doing, here’s the link.
In baseball, former Loyola catcher Kevin Parada, a freshman, was leading Georgia Tech in hitting with a .410 average and three home runs.
Drew Bowser from Harvard-Westlake is a freshman doing well at Stanford with a .341 average.
Here’s the link for baseball grads from Southern California doing well.
Soccer
Fairfax, playing in its first soccer game of the season, surprised powerful El Camino Real by scoring the first two goals to open a 2-0 lead. That’s when El Camino Real coach Ian Kogan decided enough was enough. He inserted four substitutes, including former Academy League player Jose Coto, and ECR responded with 11 consecutive goals for an 11-2 win. Coto had three goals in his first varsity match.
Capistrano Valley is ranked No. 1 and Cathedral No. 2 in the Southern Section boys’ soccer rankings. Here’s the link.
Harvard-Westlake is ranked No. 1 and Long Beach Wilson No. 1 in the girls’ rankings. Here’s the link.
Softball
If you like home runs in softball, the Westlake vs. Oxnard game had one for the ages. There were eight home runs hit by Westlake (5-0) in a 13-0 victory.
Track
In case you missed it, former Agoura standout Tara Davis now holds the indoor and outdoor collegiate records in the long jump.
She went 23 feet, 5 1/4 inches at the Texas Relays.
Delaney Crawford of Upland turned up the speed during a dual meet. He ran a 10.94 100 meters and 14.89 110 highs. He’s only a junior.
Two-sport standout
Few are better two-sport athletes than Alyssa Thompson of Harvard-Westlake. The sophomore is considered one of the best youth soccer players in the nation. She has 10 goals for the unbeaten Wolverines, ranked No. 1 in Division 1.
In track, she has run a 58.88 400, which last week was the second-best mark in California. She also has run the 200 in 25.44.
Recommendations
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former Harvard-Westlake teammates Lucas Giolito, Jack Flaherty and Max Fried making baseball history by each starting on the mound on opening day.
From the great Bill Plaschke, a column on former Bishop Montgomery basketball standout David Singleton.
From CalHiSports.com, a profile on Santa Ana Mater Dei girls’ basketball standout Brooke Demetre.
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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.
