Football report card has Keith Price, Anthony Barr among leaders

October 13, 2008

It's time for a midseason report card on who's performing at the highest level in high school football:

Recent columns

• Football recruiters will flock to Serra High

  October 11, 2008

  There's no need to inspect the expense accounts of USC Coach Pete Carroll or UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel to figure out the epicenter of their recruiting battle over the next two years.

• An endless supply of defense for Long Beach Poly's football team

  October 10, 2008

  When it comes to causing havoc during a football game, Long Beach Poly defensive end Iuta Tepa never lets his coaches down.

• Competitive equity issues on section's meeting agenda

  October 8, 2008

  In an effort to deal with competitive equity issues between public and private school athletic programs, a public/private school committee has put forth three proposals for a first reading at the Southern Section Council meeting Oct. 23.

• Mr. Chairman is at top of the board at Cal Cup Classic

  October 6, 2008

  On a day featuring $1.3 million in purses and 10 stakes for Cal-breds at Santa Anita, the big star of Oak Tree's California Cup was an 18-year-old horse who resides at Old English Rancho in Sanger, Calif., just outside of Fresno.

• More controversy for the Marmonte League

  October 6, 2008

  Always count on the Ventura County-based Marmonte League to offer the best in off-the-field drama.

• Long Beach Poly leans on its rushing for now

  October 4, 2008

  In this era of spread offenses, shotgun formations and the belief that passing the ball is required to win a championship, Long Beach Poly is boldly challenging, if not mocking, the so-called trendsetters in high school football.

• Nobody's perfect? Don't tell Arleta's Jeff Engilman

  October 3, 2008

  What you get with Jeff Engilman Jeff Engilman coaching high school football is what you see: a man whose face turns purple whenever a player makes a mistake.

• Elijah Asante has Jordan High on the right track

  September 29, 2008

  Riding on the Los Angeles Jordan team bus from Watts to Santa Ana on Thursday night for its game against Mater Dei, I made the mistake of asking a stupid question of Coach Elijah Asante.

• Zenyatta runs like a star at Santa Anita

  September 28, 2008

  When thoroughbred racing fans break out into spontaneous applause in the middle of a race, it's a sign of respect, recognition and star quality.

• Grade I races at Oak Tree

  September 28, 2008

  $250,000 Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship.

• Patrick Hall leads St. Bonaventure's 31-14 victory

  September 27, 2008

  If USC Coach Pete Carroll wants something to cheer him up after his team's upset loss to Oregon State, all he needs to do is watch the highlight tape of the 82-yard touchdown run Friday night by his future Trojan player, Patrick Hall of Ventura St. Bonaventure.

• Zenyatta figures to be center of attention Saturday at Santa Anita

  September 27, 2008

  The best race horse not named Curlin or Big Brown might be Zenyatta, a gigantic 4-year-old filly who has not been beaten in her seven starts and will get to show her talent during Saturday's unprecedented running of six Grade I stakes at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting.

• Quarterback Keith Price's light shines bright

  September 26, 2008

  BLESSED with what his coach calls a "million-dollar smile," quarterback Keith Price of Bellflower St. John Bosco moves around a football field generating positive energy like few others.

• City Section football records can be deceiving

  September 22, 2008

  There's an illusion in City Section football that a shift in power has taken place three weeks into the season.

• De La Salle stuns Loyola, 27-21

  September 21, 2008

  There was disbelief, if not shock, from Los Angeles Loyola players as they left the field Saturday night trying to figure out how Concord De La Salle was able to rally for a 27-21 victory at Glendale High.

• A high school football thriller in Santa Ana

  September 20, 2008

  It was exhausting and exhilarating sitting in the press box at Santa Ana Stadium on Friday night trying to keep track of every touchdown and every game-changing moment of another high school football classic involving Santa Ana Mater Dei and Corona Centennial.

• Anthony Denham is a receiver on the rise

  September 19, 2008

  Anthony Denham is, at 17, 6 feet 4 1/2 , 190 pounds, and can palm a basketball and glide through the air as if he were a stunt double for Michael Jordan.

• St. Bonaventure defeats Jordan, 38-20

  September 19, 2008

  It's going to take more time before Los Angeles Jordan football Coach Elijah Asante learns whether his ambitious plan to have the Bulldogs take on Southern Section powers Anaheim Esperanza, Ventura St. Bonaventure and Santa Ana Mater Dei in consecutive games helps or hurts the Bulldogs' hopes of challenging for a City Section title.

• Concord De La Salle is the definition of excellence

  September 15, 2008

  It's hard to imagine any high school sports team going 12 seasons without a defeat, let alone doing it in football.

• Malcolm Jones steps it up for Oaks Christian

  September 13, 2008

  For 19 years and 278 games, Clay Matthews played linebacker in the NFL. Four times he made the Pro Bowl for the Cleveland Browns. If anyone knows what qualities are needed to succeed at the position, it's Matthews.

• Croson family walks a fine line at Lake Balboa Birmingham

  September 12, 2008

  Every day, Lake Balboa Birmingham Coach Ed Croson Ed Croson is learning how to proceed on a sensitive subject: Being both the father and coach to his football team's starting quarterback, his son, Morey.

• Transfers take toll on high school basketball

  September 8, 2008

  It's time to wave the white flag of surrender when it comes to trying to control the proliferation of transfers in high school boys' basketball.

• Corona Santiago's Brandon Connette shows composure

  September 6, 2008

  If all goes according to plan, 6-foot-3 junior Brandon Connette of Corona Santiago will become the next top quarterback prospect from Southern California. It's just going to take time.

• Ten reasons to be excited about the 2008 high school football season

  September 5, 2008

  High school football shifts into high gear tonight with nearly a full load of games. There's no better place in the country to see tomorrow's college and NFL stars play today, with Santa Ana Mater Dei quarterback Matt Barkley, the reigning Gatorade national player of the year, being only one example. And the chance to see great up-and-coming prospects is only one reason to keep an eye on our local fields this fall. Here are 10 reasons to be excited about the 2008 season:

• Garfield High's football team stuns Birmingham, 29-28

  September 5, 2008

  Garfield High football fans are among the most loyal and dedicated in the Southland, and they especially enjoy victories over their arch rival, Roosevelt.

• Mater Dei beats Carson, 46-43, in triple overtime

  September 4, 2008

  It took three overtimes and lots of nerve-racking moments, but fourth-ranked Santa Ana Mater Dei finally emerged with a 46-43 victory over Carson on Wednesday night when Derek Campbell caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Matt Barkley in the nationally televised football game at Long Beach Veterans Stadium.

• Brea Olinda's Michael Frisina among top kickers

  September 2, 2008

  How many teenagers are not embarrassed to admit they still use a toy bought for them when they were in fifth grade?

• Narbonne's Byron Moore plays in lockdown mode

  September 1, 2008

  Eighth in a series previewing top high school players:

• Bishop Amat's Isaiah Bowens is on a collision course with stardom

  August 31, 2008

  Seventh in a series previewing top high school players:

• Football player Ben Loth ends up a good fit at Crespi High

  August 30, 2008

  Once a month, Ben Loth, a 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive tackle, defies conventional wisdom by attending mass at Encino Crespi High.

• Kirifi Taula gets a new start at Servite

  August 30, 2008

  Sixth in a series previewing top high school players:

• Agoura's Kevin Graf can size up the competition

  August 29, 2008

  Fifth in a series previewing top high school players:

• Carson's Morrell Presley is new breed of tight end

  August 28, 2008

  Fourth in a series previewing top high school players.

• Gardena Serra High's Robert Woods plays football with a purpose

  August 26, 2008

  As if 16-year-old Robert Woods of Gardena Serra isn't impressive enough with his 33-inch vertical leap and 4.4 seconds 40-yard speed, his high school football coach, Scott Altenberg, raves about his maturity and mental toughness.

• Gomez wins big on Go Between

  August 25, 2008

  DEL MAR -- Another day, another million-dollar ride by Eclipse Award-winning jockey Garrett Gomez.

• Los Osos' Richard Brehaut, a UCLA quarterback recruit, emerges

  August 25, 2008

  First in a series previewing top high school players.

• Mast Track looks to do it again

  August 24, 2008

  Nearly $2 million will be up for grabs and four automatic berths into the Breeders' Cup on the line today at Del Mar, where four graded stakes highlight an 11-race card that includes the lucrative Pacific Classic.

• Birmingham-Crespi football season opener to be televised

  August 20, 2008

  The Sept. 12 matchup featuring San Fernando Valley football powers Lake Balboa Birmingham and Encino Crespi will lead off FSN Prime Ticket's 10-week schedule of high school regular-season football games.

• Prep football forecast has Matt Barkley on the radar

  August 1, 2008

  After two months of observing and evaluating, here are some final thoughts about the summer seven-on-seven passing season -- with an eye on what could happen in high school football this fall:

• For many prep basketball players, Las Vegas is a losing proposition

  July 29, 2008

  Do college athletic directors know how much time and money was just wasted by their basketball coaches? And do parents understand that playing for one of the 900 or so club teams who descended on Las Vegas last week doesn't guarantee their son exposure to college recruiters?

• High school basketball talent, college staffs swarm Vegas

  July 22, 2008

  Las Vegas is a city known for making and breaking dreams, and that's where hundreds of high school basketball players have converged this week hoping to lock up college scholarships.

• Matt Barkley of Mater Dei named national high school athlete of year

  July 17, 2008

  Matt Barkley, a guitar-playing, spiral-throwing quar- terback from Santa Ana Mater Dei, was selected Wednesday as the Gatorade male high school athlete of the year during a celebrity-filled ceremony at the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles.

• Being a backup quarterback isn't part of plan anymore

  July 15, 2008

  What happened to the days of backup high school quarterbacks waiting their turn for the chance to start instead of bailing out faster than Wile E. Coyote?

• Valencia High's Zach Tartabull has hands, speed and genes

  July 13, 2008

  There should be no doubt that 16-year-old junior Zach Tartabull of Valencia belongs in any discussion about who ranks among the top receivers in the Southland this fall.

• At Oaks Christian High, they've got name

  July 11, 2008

  It isn't every high school football team whose quarterback is the son of a Hall of Famer. What sets Oaks Christian apart is that, starting this fall, it will have two.

• Richard Brehaut and Josh Nunes have fans buzzing

  June 29, 2008

  Quarterbacks Richard Brehaut of Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos and Josh Nunes of Upland are throwing passes with so much power and accuracy this summer that some UCLA and Tennessee fans probably wish they'd skip their senior years and enroll immediately at their future colleges.

• Oregon deserves hit in credibility department

  June 22, 2008

  The sweltering heat that has affected Southern California this week could be the sign of a long, hot summer ahead for high school athletes, and I'm not only referring to what's happening on the field.

• A break in the fencing

  June 19, 2008

  Sweat drips from Brennan Louie's face as the 16-year-old twists and turns in a series of acrobatic break dance movements that produce both pleasure and pain.

• Malibu's Williams has plenty of class

  April 25, 2008

  Autographs can become very valuable. Just ask someone who got reclusive Dodger Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax to sign a baseball.

• This track is not completely meter made

  April 23, 2008

  Call it the "Incredible Shrinking Track."

• Demands of some club soccer coaches test high school ethics

  April 19, 2008

  If Mario Ledezma had his way, he would have become invisible at the conclusion of a tension-filled City Section semifinal soccer playoff game on the last day of February.

• Southland is brimming with top baseball prospects

  April 16, 2008

  Anthony Gose of Bellflower is a left-handed pitcher who can throw a fastball 95 mph. There are major league teams that have paid million-dollar signing bonuses to teenagers with similar skills.

• Taft hurdler D.J. Morgan has a jumping-off point

  April 11, 2008

  When sophomore track standout D.J. Morgan of Woodland Hills Taft was 5, he tried to leap over a thorn bush in the frontyard of his parents' house in Pacoima while his older brothers watched in amusement.

• Parent-coaches must find the right balance

  April 4, 2008

  Whenever a parent decides to coach his son or daughter on a sports team, their relationship faces potential risks as well as possible rewards.

• Newhall Hart pitcher Trevor Bauer keeps head in game

  March 21, 2008

  Last July, while many teenagers were hanging out at the beach on their summer vacations, Trevor Bauer of Newhall Hart was spending three weeks in 95-degree temperatures and 85% humidity at a baseball camp in Texas.

• Blind swimmer is true inspiration

  March 19, 2008

  A loud beep tells the six swimmers standing on starting blocks to dive into the pool. Andrew Luk of Diamond Bar, wearing goggles, pushes off from the wall as his competitors splash and dart ahead in the 500-yard freestyle race.

• UCLA-bound Holiday soars to new heights

  March 14, 2008

  Standing at the entrance to the gymnasium at North Hollywood Campbell Hall and wearing a Disneyland hat with the name "Grumpy" emblazoned on its front, a smiling and playful Jrue Holiday hardly fit the profile of an All-American high school basketball player who, in a couple of years, could be playing with or against Kobe Bryant.

• Shooting death of his father drives Riverside King's Leonard

  March 8, 2008

  The last time Riverside King and Compton Dominguez played in a high school basketball game was Jan. 19 at Pauley Pavilion, and Kawhi Leonard was grieving.

• Separate playoff divisions isn't the answer

  March 5, 2008

  A leap of faith is necessary to support the idea that creating separate public and private school playoff divisions in the Southern Section would be good for Southern California's high school sports.

• Open enrollment is a magnet for Taft success

  February 29, 2008

  If Woodland Hills Taft wins the City Championship Division boys' basketball title Saturday night at the Sports Arena, give some of the credit to the state legislature for passing the open enrollment law that went into effect in the fall of 1994.

• Orange Lutheran's Cole is a pitcher with options

  February 27, 2008

  Long before Gerrit Cole's junior baseball season, UCLA Coach John Savage identified the Orange Lutheran right-hander as having one of the better pitching arms in the Southland. Savage got an early commitment from Cole and started to make plans for when Cole would arrive for the 2009 college season.

• Villanueva's journey has him back at Roosevelt

  February 24, 2008

  There are spider webs not nearly as entangled or twisted as the strange odyssey involving left-handed pitcher Martin Villanueva of Los Angeles Roosevelt.

• Harris wins over a tough crowd

  February 20, 2008

  On Sundays in the Mojave Desert town of Twentynine Palms, home to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, 17-year-old Montreal Harris likes to travel to a gym on base to test himself against some former athletes who offer him no sympathy.

• Sophomore takes her best shot at Olympic glory

  January 11, 2008

  Marisa Berger, a 15-year-old sophomore at North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, would have no problem toting a .44 Magnum while spouting, "Go ahead, make my day."

• Showing their Wares

  January 9, 2008

  Those who followed City Section boys' basketball in the late 1970s know that it was a time of oohing and aahing over the magnificent displays of athletic talent.

• After Serna is switched to QB, St. Bonaventure lights it up

  December 14, 2007

  While munching on a carne asada taco at a coaches' barbecue, Ventura St. Bonaventure's youthful first-year football coach, Todd Therrien, made a decision that proved to be a decisive moment in helping the Seraphs (13-1) earn an invitation to Saturday's CIF state Division III championship bowl game.

• Corona Centennial has quite the spread

  December 12, 2007

  There can't be anything more frightening for a high school football coach these days than trying to figure out how to stop Corona Centennial's seemingly unstoppable spread offense.

• Pain never slows Dorsey's Franklin

  November 30, 2007

  It was Thanksgiving morning, and running back Johnathan Franklin of Los Angeles Dorsey woke up feeling the pain of a hard night's work.

• She's got a ticket to ride

  November 28, 2007

  If Ryan Sheckler, the skateboarding MTV heartthrob from San Clemente, ever needs a companion with X Games-like fearlessness, 15-year-old Kate Hansen of La Cañada could be the perfect match.

• Crespi defense creates a buzz

  November 22, 2007

  Defensive coordinator Joe McLaughlin expects his Encino Crespi players to act like a bunch of crazed bees.

• Olmos makes family proud

  November 21, 2007

  With temperatures in the 90s, Jesus Olmos spent last Wednesday building a fence. Almost every hour, while sweating and full of dirt, he thought about his son, Edgar.

• Fairfax center Sidney brings complete set of skills

  November 14, 2007

  At 6 feet 10, 235 pounds, with the ability to dribble like a point guard, dunk as if he were Shaquille O'Neal and shoot three-pointers with relative ease, Renardo Sidney is no ordinary high school basketball player.

• Top Southland boys' basketball players like it hot

  November 14, 2007

  The rumors started on the Internet and spread to the gyms around Southern California. DeMar DeRozan of Compton was transferring to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill to join Brandon Jennings. Then he was going to New York Lincoln, where Lance Stephenson holds court.

• Ward, Jakubiec learn from best

  November 9, 2007

  Two giant 16-year-old sophomores who didn't play tackle football until they reached high school have discovered that smashing their smaller opponents to the turf can be fun and rewarding.

• Notre Dame's Crist is defined by more than football

  November 7, 2007

  Coach Kevin Rooney held a meeting with his Sherman Oaks Notre Dame football team on Halloween, and he found that keeping a straight face was extremely difficult. Linebacker Anthony McDonald showed up as Dog the Bounty Hunter. A teammate was Scooby-Doo and another was dressed as Superman.

• Beverly Hills senior still growing

  November 2, 2007

  Shaquille O'Neal is 7 feet 1 and wears size 23 shoes. UCLA freshman Kevin Love is 6-10 and wears size 19 shoes.

• Taking a new stance on football

  October 31, 2007

  In fall 2004, Datone Jones was a freshman at Compton High, dreaming of becoming a basketball standout. He ignored the repeated pleas of his P.E. teacher, Calvin Bryant, to try football.

• Gretzky living baseball dream through son

  October 27, 2007

  The greatest ice hockey player in history, Wayne Gretzky, a nine-time NHL most valuable player and 10-time scoring champion, had a pen in his hand Wednesday night and was signing jerseys, hockey sticks and wine bottles in such rapid fashion that it seemed as if he might develop carpal tunnel syndrome before the night was over.

• Baca goes from zero to hero at Ayala

  October 24, 2007

  Matt Baca of Chino Hills Ayala has already mastered one of the most important skills necessary to becoming a top athlete: blocking out miserable memories.

• Barkley stands tall for Mater Dei

  October 19, 2007

  At midseason, it's time to look at who's doing well, who's exceeding expectations and who's come out of nowhere to make an impact on the 2007 high school football season.

• El Segundo's Bundy has the right (and left) stuff

  October 17, 2007

  As a 747 jumbo jet began its full-throttle climb from Los Angeles International Airport, far below stood left-handed quarterback Michael Bundy on the football field at El Segundo High, lofting one 20-yard spiral after another.

• A little variety doesn't hurt

  October 12, 2007

  There's an urgent need to restore the concept of cross-training to the vocabulary of high school coaches, athletes and parents.

• Hart's Ewart on a mission after being injured in fire

  October 10, 2007

  Five days before Christmas 2005, Mike Ewart was jolted awake in the early morning by the piercing screams of his younger brother.

• It's a family thing for Garfield standout

  October 3, 2007

  For 26 years, Maria and Jesus Lopez have lived in a two-bedroom house in City Terrace, sending seven sons to Garfield High, where each learned to play football and gained an appreciation for the difference between right and wrong.

• UCLA becomes a detour choice for Ivy League son

  September 28, 2007

  If anyone seemed destined to become an Ivy Leaguer, it was Jonathan Martin. After all, his father went to Harvard. His mother went to Harvard and her parents went to Harvard. Even his mother's cousin went to Harvard.

• A standout stays close to home

  September 26, 2007

  The start of school each September can be cruel for any high school basketball coach waiting to learn if rumors of summer transfers out of his program turn out to be true.

• Old-school style for new school

  September 21, 2007

  Julio Segura had never played tackle football until he came out for spring practice at the urging of a couple of football coaches who saw him play basketball as a sophomore at South East, a new high school in South Gate.

• Big Bear's Kriss Proctor thrives under pressure

  September 19, 2007

  Nestled in the mountains of the San Bernardino National Forest is Big Bear, hometown of Kriss Proctor, a 17-year-old senior quarterback whose life tales are filled with enthralling moments.

• Evans has the right attitude on and off the field

  September 14, 2007

  When a teenager loves to play football, his attitude can become contagious, inspiring teammates and even coaches.

• They're off and running with the shotgun formation

  September 12, 2007

  It took 25 years of coaching high school football at the varsity level before a skeptical Kevin Rooney of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame finally embraced the shotgun formation in 2004.

• Mascarenas corners the market on big plays

  September 7, 2007

  Something special seems to happen every time cornerback Alex Mascarenas of Mission Viejo is on the football field.

• Loyola's Thompson is answering the call

  September 5, 2007

  There's an interesting way to determine whether a high school athlete has attained big-time status in the college recruiting world.

• Mater Dei's Barkley figures to stay on course

  August 30, 2007

  When the final story is written years from now, chronicling the football achievements of quarterback Matt Barkley, don't let anyone downplay the significance of what happened in the fall of 2005.