By Loren Kopff
LA MIRADA-One of the longest winning streaks by one Suburban League team against another one continued as Norwalk dominated city rival John Glenn 59-0 last Thursday night at Goodman Stadium on the La Mirada High campus. It was Norwalk’s 12th straight victory over the Eagles and the fifth straight time the Lancers have scored over 55 points against the school from the east side of town.
The entire second half was played with a running clock, but before that, Norwalk junior Gevon Moore stole the spotlight. He caught passes of six and 61 yards from junior quarterback Ausencio Navarro on the first two plays of the game, the latter going for a touchdown. Moore would also score a pair of second quarter rushing touchdowns (six and 13 yards) and finished with 87 yards on seven carries in the first half. He also caught three passes for 122 yards.
Sophomore running back Carlos Jaurequi added touchdown runs of four and one yard in the first half and finished with 35 yards on six carries. Navarro, who completed four of seven passes for 134 yards, all in the first half, added a 12-yard scoring strike to freshman Daniel Faamatau late in the opening quarter.
Senior safety Remy Harvey added a 26-yard fumble recovery for a score late in the first half as the Lancers (7-2 overall, 5-0 in the Suburban League) built a 49-0 lead by halftime. But it was Norwalk’s defense that continued to shine again.
Glenn managed only 36 yards on the ground in the entire game and had one first down. That came late in the opening stanza when senior quarterback Aaron Conrad picked up 15 yards on a first down play. That would be Glenn’s longest gain of the night as the team got as far as Norwalk’s 35-yard line. Conrad finished with 29 yards on 15 touches as the Eagles (2-7, 0-5) end the regular season tonight at Artesia.
Norwalk got second half points from senior Diego Pineda (36-yard field goal) and freshman running back Ryan Martinez, who scored a short yardage touchdown late. The Lancers will host La Mirada tonight at Goodman Stadium with the Suburban League title at stake. The Matadores are 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the circuit. La Mirada features the league’s top passer in Christian Lara, who has completed 115 passes in 150 attempts for 1,880 yards and 23 touchdowns.
In other area football action, Valley Christian will host Heritage Christian tonight with the winner claiming second place in the Olympic League and an automatic playoff berth. Both teams enter with identical 6-3 overall records and 2-1 league marks. Senior running back Jonathan Nicholson is second in the league with 1,191 rushing yards and tied for second in the league with 96 points scored. He has found the end zone 15 times this season, including three times in a 34-29 win over Village Christian last Friday night.
Gahr allowed 56 points for the second straight week, this time to Dominguez in a 56-19 setback that dropped the Gladiators to 3-6 overall and 0-4 in the San Gabriel Valley League. Gahr hosted Lynwood on Nov. 6 in a battle of winless league teams. Through the first four league games, the Gladiators have allowed 229 points, the most in league action since giving up 208 points in the 2001 league campaign.
Cerritos will wrap up the season when it hosts Mayfair tonight. The Dons enter the game at 1-7 overall and 1-4 in the league after falling to La Mirada 56-0 last Friday night.
VOLLEYBALL
The regular season ended this past Wednesday with four area teams advancing to the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section playoffs. Two of those teams reside in the Suburban League as Cerritos locked up third place and defending league champion Norwalk took fourth place. After knocking off John Glenn in four sets this past Monday, the Lady Dons (11-12 overall, 8-4 in league) were swept by second place Mayfair 25-17, 25-23, 25-14 this past Wednesday.
Norwalk battled league champion La Mirada in the first set but eventually succumbed to the Matadores 25-23, 25-16, 25-16 this past Wednesday to finish 12-11 overall, 6-6 in the circuit. La Mirada won the league for the first time since 2008 and the league saw its champion go 12-0 for the first time since 2012 (Mayfair) and third time since 2009 when Cerritos accomplished that feat. In addition, there has been a different league champion in the past four seasons.
Despite losing to Whittier Christian 25-17, 25-19, 36-34 this past Tuesday, Valley Christian still finished in sole position of second place in the Olympic League for the first time since 2010. The Lady Crusaders went 19-3 overall and 5-3 in league action and ended consecutive seasons of going 4-4. A win in the playoffs will give V.C. its third straight season of at least 20 victories.
TENNIS
Four area teams advanced to the playoffs and after the first round, only Cerritos remains. The co-Suburban League champions had no problems with Oakwood, 15-3, in a Division III first round match this past Wednesday. The Lady Dons will host San Gabriel Valley League champion Warren today in the second round.
The other co-league champion, Norwalk, was doubled up by host Rio Mesa 12-6 in the first round while fourth place John Glenn lost to Downey 14-4 this past Tuesday in a wild card match.
Finally, Academy League third place representative Whitney defeated Corona Centennial 12-6 in a Division II wild card match this past Tuesday but was dominated by top ranked Valencia 16-2 the next day in the first round.
