By Joe Snyder
As the 2022-23 school year ended, so did all the athletic events as well. Like others, there have been success and failures among the athletes and teams.
This past sports year began in August with the fall sports, led by football but even a new sport for the girls: flag football.
In boys tackle football, Serra was hoping to lean on good success having one of the fastest, if not the fastest, players in the United States in all-purpose Roderick Pleasant. Pleasant did what observers expected him to do as he was first-team all-CIF Southern Section Division II as a defensive back but was evenly as effective as a wide receiver and running back on offense. Pleasant used talents in all areas, including offense, defense, and special teams to score seven touchdowns in keying the Cavaliers to a good season but not what they would want. Serra was 8-4 overall and 4-2 in the highly competitive Mission League. Despite the second-place finish in Mission play, behind champion Chatsworth Sierra Canyon which was a newcomer in the Mission, the Cavaliers entered the CIF-Southern Section Division II playoffs as the top seed while the Trailblazers were seeded eighth. Sierra Canyon already defeated host Serra 35-21 in league. That was because of going by MaxPreps rankings where the Cavaliers were rated higher than the Trailblazers.
Serra began the playoffs by defeating Norco 28-14 in the first round at home, then hosted Sierra Canyon, which won a thriller over Downey Warren. Pleasant got things started well as he scored a TD to give the Cavaliers the lead but, from there, the Trailblazers proved why they won the Mission over Serra with a dominating 42-16 quarterfinal victory. Sierra Canyon went on to capture the Division II title with a 23-7 victory over Inglewood but ended its season in the Southern California Regional Championship Bowl game losing to eventual CIF-State Division IAA champion San Diego Lincoln Prep. All-purpose senior Kai Honda and junior running back Cincere Rhaney also had a fine season for Serra.
The Lady Cavaliers’ first flag football season was a big success. They finished with an unbeaten 11-0 record by capturing the League of Champions title over rival Long Beach Poly 20-18 in the finals on Jan. 15 at Redondo High. Serra had already unseeded defending league champion Redondo at the end of the regular season. The Sea Hawks lost in the semifinals to Poly 14-13 but still finished third with a win over Crenshaw.
During this school year, it be- gan with both the CIF-Southern and Los Angeles City Sections to get girls’ flag football in and, a few months ago, it was approved by the State CIF. Serra is expected to be in a league, with its name yet to be decided, that will also include Long Beach Poly, Wilson, Lakewood St. Joseph and a few other high schools. The team is head coached by Monique Ad- ams, who is also head mentor for a professional women’s tackle football team, the L.A. Legends, of the Women’s National Football Conference. Last spring, Adams guided the Legends to a 2-4 record but a season ending 8-6 win over the Las Vegas Silver Stars on May 13 at Serra High.
Gardena High’s football team also started well at 6-0 but continued to see the Marine League too much as it finished 0-4. The Panthers lost in the first round of the CIF-L.A. City Section Division I playoffs to host Mervyn Dymally 30-14 in South L.A.
North Torrance had a stellar season behind fourth year starting quarterback Trevor Lagarde. The Saxons ended their season at 8-3 with a 29-12 loss to host Oak Park. The Saxons placed second behind champion and powerhouse Lawn- dale in the Pioneer League. Lagarde finished his four-year prep career with 102 passing touchdowns. Lagarde continues his football career at NCAA Division II Liberty University in Virginia.
El Camino College may have been 5-6 overall but enjoyed a school-record setting year by former Serra High standout linebacker Lando Brown, who recorded a two-year career 25 quarterback sacks.
In boys’ basketball, North Torrance High went from 7-19 in 2021-22 to 26-7 and winning the Pioneer League crown for the first time since 2012. The Saxons also enjoyed their best season since the late 1960’s as they advanced to the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division VAA playoffs and the Southern California Regional quarterfinals before being eliminated by eventual CIF-State Division V champion Lynwood.
North was guided by head coach Wai Sett, who was the Daily Breeze South Bay Coach of the Year. He had big help from assistant Ed Azzam, a long-time head mentor at Westchester High, where he guided the Comets to five CIF-State championships and 15 L.A. City crowns in his 42 seasons there. The former Gardena High boys’ basketball standout (Class of 1972) retired after the 2021 season.
Gardena, led by senior Chase Williams, finished third in the Marine League but was ousted in the first round of the CIF-L.A. City Section Division I playoffs by Los Angeles Center of Enriched Studies (LACES) 42-40.
Serra’s boys and girls faced rare moments where they missed the Southern Section playoffs.
North Torrance’s girls’ basketball team finished in a tie for first place in Pioneer play with West Torrance. The Lady Saxons lost in the second round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs to host Rosary High in Fullerton.
Gardena High’s girls’ basketball took fifth in the Marine League. It made it to the L.A. City Section Division III quarterfinals where it lost to Washington.
The Panthers, however, enjoyed success with their girls’ soccer team. They placed second, behind San Pedro, in Marine action and advanced to the finals of the L.A. City Section Division III playoffs before falling to GALA 3-0 in heavy rain in late February at L.A. Valley College in Van Nuys.
