NEWS AND NOTES FROM PRESS ROW – Four area girls volleyball teams clinch automatic playoff berths, football into eighth week

October 18, 2024

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

The regular season for girls volleyball ended this past Tuesday with half of the area’s eight schools clinching automatic berths in next week’s CIF-Southern Section divisional playoffs. Girls flag football, in its second season, ended this past Wednesday and playoff brackets for both sports will be released on Saturday.

Artesia High swept last place Pioneer High to end the regular season at 8-9 overall, 5-5 in the 605 League. Coupled with league champion Whitney High sweeping Oxford Academy 25-19, 25-12, 25-22, the Pioneers and Oxford Academy played a third place tiebreaker match this past Wednesday with the winner clinching the final automatic berth. Host Oxford Academy swept the Pioneers 25-22, 25-18, 25-17, denying the team their third trip to the playoffs the past four seasons and fourth time since 2010.

After winning the first 50 matches in the existence of the 605 League, Cerritos High had to settle for second place this season. The Dons swept John Glenn High 25-17, 25-12, 25-13 and will enter the program’s 21^st straight trip to the playoffs with a record of 18-11, 8-2. Head coach David Cuthbert is three wins shy of 200, meaning the Dons would have to get to semifinals for him to achieve that mark in 2024.

In Gateway League action, Norwalk High solidified third place with a 25-15, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17 win over Gahr High. The Lancers are 16-14, 4-4 while the Gladiators finished at 15-20, 0-8.

Glenn finished 12-11, 2-8 and will have to wait to see if it got in as an at-large representative. The Eagles are seeking their second playoff trip in the last three seasons and third since 2009. Glenn also had a winning season for the first time since 2009 and reached 12 victories in a season for the first time since 1999 when that team, coached by Patricia Frazier, went 15-5 and advanced to the second round.

Warren High swept La Mirada High 25-18, 25-23, 25-11, sending the Matadores to a 10-13, 2-6 record. La Mirada finished in fourth place and wrapped up the season at 10-13, 2-6. Two seasons removed from winning the former Mid-Cities League with a 10-0 mark, the Matadores will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Valley Christian High wrapped up the regular season with a 26-24, 25-22, 25-16, 25-18 win over Maranatha High and will enter the playoffs with a 21-5 record, 6-2 in the Olympic League, good for second place.

The surprise team of the area is Whitney, which will go into the playoffs with a mark of 22-7, 10-0. The Wildcats won the 605 League, the program’s first league title since 2000 when they won the Delphic League. The 22 victories are the most in over 27 seasons.

FOOTBALL

605 LEAGUE (games played on Oct. 17)

Artesia (6-1) @ John Glenn (1-5)-As the league season begins, it’s a race for the four teams to win at least two games, which will assure two of the four a playoff berth. Artesia should not have any problems in this contest, even though the Pioneers are coming off a bye. Their last win came on Oct. 4, a 42-7 win over Channel Islands High. It marked the third time Artesia has scored over 40 points and the third time the defense has allowed single digits.

Senior quarterback Charlie Lopez was 11 of 17 for 71 yards and a touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Christopher Razo. Lopez also rushed seven times for 89 yards and found the endzone twice. Three other running backs scored once. For the season, Lopez has accounted for 1,278 and 17 touchdowns while seven players have combined for 14 touchdowns.

It’s been a rough going for second-year head coach Elijhaa Penny and his Glenn program. The Eagles last played on Oct. 4 when they were trounced by Grace High 49-12. Glenn has scored 44 points this season, no more than 12 in any game, and defensively, the Eagles have yielded over 30 points four times.

Artesia has won four straight games in the series and 10 of the last 12.

Prediction: Artesia 45, Glenn 7

Pioneer (4-3) @ Cerritos (5-2)-This might be a closer game than originally thought with Cerritos coming off a 31-24 homecoming win over Don Lugo High last Friday. The Dons trailed twice before taking the lead for good at 14-10 when junior quarterback Justin Sagun tossed a 15-yard pass to senior running back Josiah Ungos. Sagun would later score from a yard out and senior Ruben Castro returned a kickoff 82 yards to make it a 28-17 contest.

Sagun is completing 65 percent of his passes and has 817 yards with seven touchdowns while the rushing game has piled up 1,142 yards with senior running back Dikshanta Adhikari leading the way with 544 yards and seven touchdowns.

While the offense has scored over 30 points four times, the defense has yielded seven points or less three times. Cerritos won last season’s meeting 55-0 for its fourth straight win in the series after losing three straight to the Titans.

Pioneer comes in on a losing note, falling to Rowland High 32-21 last Friday, alternating wins and losses the last four games. The 4-3 start is the best for the Titans since 2019 when they began league play with that record before finishing 5-5. In the four victories, Pioneer has scored 48, 47, 55 and 58 points while in two of the three losses, it reached at least 21 points.

Against Rowland, quarterback Amiri Resendiz completed five passes for 101 yards and a score while five ball carriers combined for 122 yards. For the season, Resendiz has passed for 939 yards and eight touchdowns without an interception. Adrian Lopez leads the ground game with 507 yards and five touchdowns.

Prediction: Cerritos 35, Pioneer 28

GATEWAY LEAGUE

GAME OF THE WEEK

La Mirada (2-5, 1-1) vs. Mayfair High (5-2, 2-0) @ Bellflower High-As rivalries go, this is one of the best in the Southland. La Mirada has lost seven straight games to its longtime rivals, which dates back to the days of the old Suburban League when they would battle for the top spot. Before the current skid, the Matadores had defeated Mayfair seven out of eight meetings. Last season, the Monsoons knocked off La Mirada, but 35-21 and two years ago, a missed field goal was the difference in a 16-14 victory.

The Matadores have been playing better lately, splitting their last four games including a 38-27 win at Dominguez High last Friday. They led the entire way and were up by 14 points three times. Junior running back Jordan Lauago rushed for 200 yards on 31 carries and scored on runs of seven yards in the first quarter, four yards in the second quarter and two yards in the fourth quarter.

The 38 points scored is a season-high, but La Mirada has reached 21 points four other times. The Matadores know they have to keep the scoring going if they are to beat a Mayfair squad that has won five of its last six games, including last Friday’s 27-26 nailbiter at Warren as Jonathan Arreola booted a 20-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game.

Quarterback Jeremiah Calvin was 16 of 21 for 145 yards and a touchdown while Louis Johnson rushed for 157 yards on 22 carries and scored once. They have been the leaders all season with Calvin throwing for 980 yards and 15 touchdowns opposite four interceptions while Johnson has gained 679 yards and seven touchdowns.

Prediction: Mayfair 38, La Mirada 24

MID-CITIES LEAGUE

Gahr (3-4, 1-1) @ Compton Early College (0-7, 0-2)-The roller coaster season continues for Gahr, which dropped a 43-35 contest to Norwalk last Friday. The Gladiators began the season with two losses, then won two straight before a loss, a win and last week’s setback. Junior quarterback Roman Acosta completed 13 passes for 194 yards with senior Markell Slaughter catching seven of those passes for 87 yards. Gahr has scored over 30 points in back to back games and the odds of a third straight game are excellent against a first-year school.

Compton Early College lost to Paramount High 49-7 last Friday and has given up at least 47 points in all seven games.

“They’re a new school and they’re playing like a new school,” said Gahr head coach Greg Marshall. “They’re just trying to put it together. I’ve got to believe we’ll be okay.”

Prediction: Gahr 56, Compton Early College 7

Norwalk (6-1, 2-0) @ Firebaugh High (5-2, 0-2)-Norwalk is playing its best ball, scoring at least 43 points during its four-game winning streak. Its lone loss was to San Diego-based Scripps Ranch High 29-12 in a last minute replacement game on Sept. 6. The 35 points allowed last Friday is a season high.

“We’ve been blessed to have a lot of home games this year,” said Norwalk head coach Ruben Guerrero. “So, we’re only going to travel for the second time this year. We’re going to see Firebaugh; they’re on a little bit of a run, too. We won’t take them lightly. They’re a quality ballclub. It’s a Mid-Cities matchup and I [asked] my guys, ‘do you want to be league champs, or do you want to be league chumps’? So, we’re taking it one week at a time.”

The teams have met twice with the Lancers blowing out the Falcons by scores of 46-0 in 2022 and 54-0 in 2021.

Firebaugh began the season with five straight wins before falling twice in league action, including a 48-13 decision to Lynwood High last Friday. Teams should not sleep on the Falcons, whose five wins are already a program best. In those victories Firebaugh scored 190 points.

Prediction: Norwalk 51, Firebaugh 7

OLYMPIC LEAGUE

Valley Christian High (6-1, 1-1) vs. Village Christian High (3-4, 2-0) @ Glendale Community College-Valley Christian’s six-game winning streak was snapped last Friday as the Defenders were harassed all night by Aquinas High 42-0. The Falcons scored 14 points in each of the first three quarters as sophomore quarterback Liam Sweeney, making his first varsity start, was 14 of 30 for 76 yards and a pair of interceptions. The running game wasn’t much help as the Defenders carried the ball 18 times for eight yards.

Village Christian crushed Capistrano Valley Christian High 64-22 for its second straight win. However, the Crusaders have scored eight more points than given up. Against C.V.C., quarterback Everson Mathis completed 15 of 18 passes for 281 yards and a pair of touchdowns and rushed for three more while D.J. Deranja rushed for 105 yards on a dozen carries and added a touchdown.

Village Christian has won two straight over the Defenders bit has lost 12 of the last 18 meetings.

Prediction: Valley Christian 28, Village Christian 24

Last week’s predictions: 4-0

Season to date: 33-11

CROSS COUNTRY

Cerritos senior Anna Field and Whitney junior Cristian Ishiki repeated as champions in the 605 League’s second cluster meet on Oct. 9 at Ralph B. Clark Park. Field had a time of 18:20, more than a minute faster than Whitney junior Katherine Low, who crossed the line at 19:38. The next two spots were occupied by Cerritos harriers-sophomore Daisy Lee (20:08) and junior Dani Romero (20:21). Three more Cerritos runners would finish in the top 12 with sophomore Kalana Nguyen finishing in seventh (20:44), senior Zillian Liu in 10^th place (22:17) and sophomore Nandini Panchal (12^th, 22:57).

Whitney freshman Madison Lee came in sixth place at 20:38 while eighth and ninth places were taken by Artesia sophomore Genesis Flores (21:31) and her teammate, freshman Nya Crespin (21:52) while the top Glenn girls runner was junior Melanie Patino, who came in 13^th place with a time of 23:03.

In the duel meet scoring, Cerritos defeated Whitney 21-37 for first place and Whitney got past Oxford Academy for second place.

The Whitney boys had five runners finish in the top eight, led by Ishiki time of 15:44. Senior Ethan Choi was fifth with a time of 16:31, followed by juniors Caiden Cortes (sixth, 16:33), Avery Chen (seventh, 16:36) and Jai Sukhadia (eighth, 16:36). The Wildcats defeated Cerritos 23-35.

The Dons had a trio of runners finish in the top nine-freshman Vincent Valenzuela (second, 15:58), senior Howard Lee (fourth, 16:21) and sophomore Allan Woolley (ninth,16:38). Junior Nicholas Melendrez was 13^th with a time of 17:01 while senior Alton Chan came in 16^th place at 17:43 as Cerritos defeated Oxford Academy 22-34 for second place.