Prep Rally: Preview of the unofficial Southern California championship football game

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. The six-week Southern Section spring football season comes to an end this weekend with the long anticipated unofficial Southern California championship game between St. John Bosco (5-0) and Mater Dei (4-0) at Santa Ana Stadium on Saturday night. It will be televised by Bally Sports. Let’s hope it’s as good as the Gonzaga-UCLA Final Four basketball game. Also big news coming this week is whether Southern Section will hold playoffs for spring sports.

Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco

Since 2016, Mater Dei and St. John Bosco have met in every Southern Section Division 1 final, so even though there are no playoffs for spring football, Saturday’s game between the two unbeaten powers serves as the unofficial Division 1 championship game.

As Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson put it in his narrator-like raspy voice, “I think it’s going to be like any other St. John Bosco-Mater Dei game in recent years. It’s going to be a great high school football game.”

How great has the game been? How about the fact that three contenders for the Heisman Trophy in college football this fall played quarterback in the game: Bryce Young of Alabama, DJ Uiagalalei of Clemson and JT Daniels of Georgia. There are so many future college players on both teams that Rollinson and St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro could combine the teams and do pretty well fielding a college program.

“It’s their big men against my big men and their skills against my skills,” Rollinson said.

Yes, the battle in the trenches will be exceptional. The offensive lines are big and powerful. The defensive lines are mobile. The running backs are fast and talented. The secondaries are loaded with aggressive, confident individuals. The quarterbacks are young but gaining experience fast.

There should be a little more than 1,000 spectators allowed at the game. Otherwise, break out the popcorn, turn on the 65-inch TV and enjoy. And when there’s a commercial and TV timeout, just remember which sportswriter will be grumbling about trying to make his 9:30 p.m. deadline.

Here’s a look at the last time they played in their memorable 2019 finale.

Times’ football rankings

A look at the top high school football teams in the Southland:

Rank SCHOOL (W-L) last week | Next game (last week’s rank)

1. MATER DEI (4-0) def. Santa Margarita, 49-13 | vs. St. John Bosco (at Santa Ana Stadium), Saturday (1)

2. ST. JOHN BOSCO (5-0) def. Orange Lutheran, 55-0 | vs. Mater Dei (at Santa Ana Stadium), Saturday (2)

3. SIERRA CANYON (4-1) def. Upland, 37-0 | vs. Paraclete, Friday (3)

4. SERVITE (3-2) def. JSerra, 52-0 | at Santa Margarita (at Santa Ana Stadium), Thursday (4)

5. LONG BEACH POLY (3-0) idle | vs. Millikan (at Long Beach Cabrillo), Friday (5)

6. GARDENA SERRA (4-1) def. Bishop Amat, 38-17 | at Alemany, Friday (6)

7. SAN CLEMENTE (4-0) def. Tesoro, 35-17 | vs. Mission VIejo, Friday (7)

8. LOS ALAMITOS (5-0) def. Fountain Valley, 62-9 | vs. Newport Harbor, Friday (8)

9. NORCO (4-0) def. King, 42-0 | at Eastvale Roosevelt, Thursday (9)

10. CORONA CENTENNIAL (3-1) def. Eastvale Roosevelt, 66-6 | at Corona, Thursday (10)

Read the rest of the top 25 by clicking here.

Special Report: The return of City Section football

Ayomide Olabade of Reseda celebrates two-point conversion catch.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Despite numerous obstacles, City Section football teams returned on Friday for a four-week spring season.

Four reporters went out to observe, talk with coaches, players, parents and administrators and provide a look at the challenges.

Here’s the report.

Here’s my column from the Reseda-Crenshaw game and the sacrifices that are being made to pull off the spring season.

Here’s an interview with Dorsey quarterback Josh Coleman on Friday Night Live.

Rising QB prospect

Quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava of Warren.

(Luca Evans)

This spring season could be known for proving that sophomore quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava Jr. is as good as advertised.

At 6 feet 6, the Warren standout who also excels in volleyball is showing his many athletic traits, along with his arm strength and toughness.

Here’s the link to a profile.

QB who knows adversity

Tennessee native Sam Vaulton finally made his debut at quarterback for Venice High on Friday. He had transferred right when the pandemic began last season and had been waiting and waiting.

Quarterback Sam Vaulton lost half his index finger while trying to fix an ATV in eighth grade.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Vaulton has quite a story to tell. As an eighth-grader, he lost have his index finger on his throwing hand trying to connect a cable on his ATV. No one knew if he’d be able to throw a football accurately again, but he ended up teaching himself to throw using his middle finger.

“Everything my index finger used to do my middle finger does now,” he said. “I had to go with what was left. I used to have my index finger leave the ball first. The middle finger had to do more of the work.”

Here’s the link to profile on Vaulton.

Lt. Manny Berz

Former Citrus Hill kicker Manny Berz being sworn in to the Army.

(Jennifer Brashears)

Manny Berz became the career leader in California history for making field goals during his days at Citrus Hills High. Now he’s about to become Second Lieutenant Berz in the U.S. Army.

He finished his college career at Southern Utah on Saturday. In June, he arrives in Fort Benning, Ga., to begin his career in the Army as an officer.

He’s excited and passionate about his career path. You can read about him here.

Plan B?

The Southern Section will announce Monday whether it will hold playoffs for spring sports. Updated guidelines announced last week by the California Department of Public Health offered a positive development and a plan forward to hold playoffs. It says “inter-team competitions, meets, races, or similar events are permitted to occur only with other teams within the state.” Previously the guidelines allowed schools to only play teams within their county or adjoining counties. Individual county health departments can still have a stricter policy. Basketball can’t hold multi-event showcases.

If the announcement is no playoffs for certain sports, coaches and schools will be on their own to create their own playoffs. And baseball is ready if that happens.

JSerra coach Brett Kay and Orange Lutheran coach Eric Borba are prepared to devise a plan that would feature playoffs similar to college baseball with a regional, super regional and championship matching teams that can play each other.

“100% if Southern Section doesn’t have playoffs,” Kay said. “We will final a regional format. If it’s the Catholic schools and public schools of Orange County, we will do it. If we can do something in June, we’ll do it.”

Expect other sports to figure out a Plan B, too. Lacrosse used to have its own playoffs before it became an official Southern Section sport, so it should be able to form a regional competition. The Arcadia Invitational next month could be similar to a Southern Section track championship.

Basketball could be more difficult but use the regional idea, too. We’ll see what the Southern Section says this week, but it will be up to coaches to devise plans if the decision is no playoffs.

Update: On Monday, the Southern Section announced it will hold playoffs for spring sports teams. Here’s the link.

Volleyball

Mira Costa and Loyola, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in Division 1 volleyball, are gearing up to play two matches during the regular season that would sell out any gym if fans were allowed.

For now, it will be parents only when they meet April 24 at Loyola and May 1 at Mira Costa.

Loyola took care of a good Servite team on Saturday in three sets. The Cubs’ 6-foot-5 Dillon Klein, a junior committed to USC, is on his way to becoming one of the best players in school history. The Cubs also have UCLA-bound Cooper Robinson, who’s the nephew of Hall of Fame beach player Singin Smith. And Loyola has a freshman, Sean Kelly, who will be another big-time college recruit.

Girls’ basketball

Harvard-Westlake (4-0) and Santa Ana Mater Dei (3-0) continue look like the strongest girls’ basketball teams.

The Wolverines have already beaten quality teams in Sierra Canyon and Rosary. Stanford-bound Kiki Iriafen is dominating in the middle.

Mater Dei has cruised to three consecutive victories. Stanford-bound Brooke Demetre is averaging 15.3 points. Senior Alyssa Frescas had 22 points in a win over Glendora.

Camarillo’s Keilani Peralta attracted attention for making six threes in a game, tying the school record.

Going to the WNBA

Windward girls’ basketball coach Vanessa Nygaard is turning over the program to assistant Ebony Hoffman for the rest of this season. Nygaard is joining the Las Vegas Aces to become an assistant coach.

The plan is to return next season, but Nygaard is always highly sought after. Hoffman has been Nygaard’s top assistant and former Windward and USC standout Courtney Jaco has been added as an assistant.

Boys’ basketball

KJ Simpson of Chaminade is getting fan attention because he’s expected to seek release from his letter of intent to Arizona after the firing of Sean Miller.

In perfect timing for when he’s putting himself back on the recruiting market again, he exploded for 30 points in a Mission League game.

Long Beach Poly, led by UCLA signee Peyton Watson, is scheduled to begin its season on Wednesday against Compton at Compton Centennial.

Birmingham will be the first City Section boys’ team to play in a game. The Patriots are scheduled to face unbeaten St. John Bosco on Friday at St. John Bosco.

Track

Simi Valley High pulled off a successful invitational on Saturday that featured record-breaking performances from Paige Sommers of Westlake in the girls’ pole vault and Patrick Ize-Iyamu of Chaminade in the boys’ 100 meters.

Sommers set a meet record by clearing 13 feet, 8 inches in the pole vault.

Junior Patrick Ize-Iyamu of Chaminade ran the state’s fastest 100 meters this season and a personal best of 10.56 at the Simi Valley Invitational.

(Lazurus Jackson)

Ize-Iyamu ran the fastest 100 meters in the state, crossing the finish line in 10.56 seconds. That’s a personal best clocking. His previous best was a wind-aided 10.69. And it was his first race of the season.

“I was thinking I was running 10.7 because I haven’t done any sprint work,” the junior said.

Both are gearing up for next month’s Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High.

Soccer standout Alyssa Thompson of Harvard-Westlake continues to show she can also run. She ran a 12.05 100 meters, the No. 1 time in California. She also has scored 17 goals in soccer for the No. 1 team in Division 1.

Times’ baseball rankings

A look at the top high school baseball teams in the Southland:

Rank SCHOOL (W-L) Comment (last week’s rank)

1. THOUSAND OAKS (8-0) Junior Dylan Jackson is hitting .478 (1)

2. ORANGE LUTHERAN (9-1) Won JSerra tournament (2)

3. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (7-3) 5-0 record at O’Malley Field (3)

4. WEST RANCH (7-0) Ace Scott Bauman is 3-0 (5)

5. DANA HILLS (11-1) Pitching depth has been key (9)

6. AYALA (7-1) Junior Troy McCain has six doubles (8)

7. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (6-3) Mission League play begins (4)

8. FOOTHILL (7-2) Luke Sampson has 12 hits (NR)

9. SERVITE (6-3) Roman Martin hit two home runs vs. Aliso Niguel (7)

10. SIMI VALLEY (7-0) League play begins vs. Camarillo (10)

To read the rest of the top 25, click here.

Baseball

There are some very good pitchers, as usual, in Southern California.

Mason Molina of Trabuco Hills struck out 16 and threwr a no-hitter against Newport Harbor. He’s a Texas Tech signee.

Brandon Downer of Corona Santiago struck out nine in a 1-0 win over Villa Park. He’s headed to Cal Baptist.

Gage Jump of JSerra continues to get into shape and pitch lights out. Double digit strikeouts has become routine for the left-hander who signed with UCLA.

Anthony Joya of Banning struck out 10 in another five-inning stint. He’s headed to Cal State Fullerton.

Sophomore Trevor Hansen of Royal hasn’t given up a run in 20 innings. He had a no-hitter against Ventura and has helped the Highlanders to a 9-0 start.

Orange Lutheran won the JSerra tournament championship with a win over Harvard-Westlake in the final.

Something is happening in Simi Valley. Simi Valley (7-0) and rival Royal (9-0) are unbeaten.

One of the best hitters in the Southland is junior catcher Matt Quintanar of Hart. The Pepperdine commit is hitting .583 with 13 RBIs and eight stolen bases.

Softball

Jillian Kelly of El Camino Real is off to a great start. In her latest outing, she took down Louisville 1-0. She has 48 strikeouts in 33 innings and given up 12 hits.

Oaks Christian is 6-0. Freshman Riley McCoy has 14 hits in 21 at-bats.

Norco is 7-1 with the only loss to No. 1 Los Alamitos.

Villa Park is 7-0 behind pitcher Sydney Somerndike.

From the archives

Dwayne Polee of Manual Arts scored 43 points in the 1981 City championship game.

(Reggie Morris Sr.)

There was no greater performance in City Section basketball history than Dwayne Polee of Manual Arts making 17 of 20 shots and scoring 43 points against Crenshaw before 14,136 fans at the Sports Arena in the City 4-A championship game on March 6, 1981.

“His stats were crazy,” said Manual Arts coach Reggie Morris Sr. “He didn’t miss a shot in the second half. He’s the leading scorer in the state and the first thing he does in the opening minute is take a charge. He was going to do everything to win the game.”

The best part of that game was the atmosphere. People were standing and screaming late at night. It was vintage Manual Arts vs. Crenshaw, and everyone was enthralled with what they were seeing.

“It was electrifying,” Morris said. “I had kids come up to me when they were in junior high. They said, “That was the first basketball game I ever saw. My father took me. That game made me want to play basketball.’ ”

I wrote a look back last spring. Here’s the link.

Golf

Joshua Koo of Cerritos, from the class of 2022, won the two-day Toyota Tour Cup junior golf tournament on Sunday at Palm Desert Resort, firing a stunning 10-under-par 62 to finish the tournament at 13-under par. He had eight birdies and an eagle in his 18-hole domination.

Leo Cheng from Granada Hills High tied for second at 7-under par.

Recommendations

Here’s a story from the Washington Post on states trying to make sure youth sports competitions don’t lead to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Here’s a story from the Los Angeles Daily News on the demise of the Simi Valley Grace Brethren football program.

Here’s a story from the Dallas Morning News on the top girls’ soccer scorer in Texas state history.

Football official offers help on holding calls

Since fans sometimes don’t understand when a holding penalty is called in football, I asked recently retired official David Weinstein to give insight on the call.

“Many fans likely know that for interior line play and drop-back passing, the referee and umpire have primary responsibility for holding. But fans may not know the ‘keys,’ that is whose focus is where.

“Generally, the referee will set up on the side of the passer’s throwing arm; the umpire will be near the center of the line, edging away from the referee’s side. Unless the QB is threatened, the referee will look through the QB to watch for holding by or against the far side OT. The umpire will vary his focus among the guards, snapper and other OT. Depending on the offensive formation, the LJ/HL on referee side may also have responsibility for holding by/against the OT on referee’s side.

“So, as with many keys, the official physically closest to the action may not have responsibility to ‘call it.’ In fact, officials work hard to avoid being too close to action they are responsible for. For example, down field officials will pace themselves to be no closer than 7-10 yards from the action. And at the goal line, officials will back away from the sideline at least a yard or two to avoid narrowing the field of vision.

“Philosophies are guidelines for execution of judgment. True uniformity is nearly impossible of course, but philosophies help to greatly reduce variability. Officials strive for consistency as much as fans, coaches and players want it. Here are a couple of philosophies that pertain to holding.

“The Point of Attack is primary. Grabbing a jersey yards away from the PoA will more likely draw a quiet warning after the play than a flag. On the other hand, a seemingly less extreme grab or hook that actually springs a ball carrier is more likely to be called.

“Take downs in close line play and drop-backs, especially at the PoA, will likely be flagged. Double teams that involve a take down or where the defender breaks the double team and is pulled back will result in OG, as long as it affects the play. When blockers who’ve been beat are in chase mode, it draws attention.

“When a defender beats a blocker, watch for blocking-in-the-back. Here, the jersey number on the defender’s back can be an important guide. Contact/impact at the numbers is likely a penalty while initial contact more to the side is not. Again, actual effect on the play at the PoA impacts judgment.”

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