By Joe Snyder
Gardena High’s football team lost its third straight Marine League game to Narbonne but did show progress in its 47-32 defeat last Thursday at Los Angeles Harbor College.
In its previous five games, the Panthers, who are 0-7 overall, lost by a total of 254-14 that included three shutout losses to Compton (63-0), Cerritos Gahr (36-0) and Carson (57-0).
Kevin McKinney ended Gardena’s scoreless string of the previous two games against Gahr and its league opener against defending CIF-L.A. City Section Open Division Carson with a 4-yard run that got the Panthers trailing 7-6 midway in the first quarter after the point after touchdown was missed.
The Gauchos, who improved to 3-4 overall and evened their Marine record to 1-1, came back as Kyle Ficklin scored his first of three touchdowns but McKinney came back with his second TD on a 15-yard run as it trailed 14-12 after a failed two-point conversion.
Narbonne began the second period scoring 21 unanswered points on a 60-yard run by Ficklin just 30 seconds into the quarter, a 3-yard scoring run from Jeremiah Vessell, and an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Xavier Collins to Vessell to take a 35-12 lead with 1:18 left before halftime.
Just 18 seconds later, Chace Johnson sped for a 62-yard TD run as Gardena went into halftime trailing 35-18.
The Gauchos responded with a 7-yard scoring run from Vessell to build their lead back to 41-18 before running back Norrell Parks scored the Panthers’ fourth touchdown on a 7-yard run.
Collins scored Narbonne’s final TD on a 21-yard run before Johnson completed the game’s scoring with a 50-yard run to the end zone. Gardena was finally successful on the conversion as Parks ran for the two-pointer.
“Chace is one of those athletes that can do anything,” Gardena head coach Terrence Sullivan said. “He can play wide receiver, running back and quarterback. We’re looking forward for San Pedro next week. (The Panthers visit the Pirates Friday at 7:30 p.m.) This is a young group of guys. A lot are playing football for the first time. We want to keep getting better as the weeks go on.”
San Pedro is one of the top contenders for the Marine crown, along with Carson. The Pirates had a bye last week after winning the L.A. Harbor Cup over rival Wilmington Banning 49-17 a week earlier. San Pedro is 5-1 overall.
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S. Canyon overwhelms shorthanded Serra
Serra High’s football team played its final regular season game in its partially rebuilt stadium due to a March 2025 fire that destroyed a segment and the press box, but the Cavaliers would certainly like to forget the result in an embarrassing 58-0 loss to a premiere Sierra Canyon team from Chatsworth in a key Mission League game last Friday.
Prior to the game, things already did not look very good, playing without leading running back A.J. McBean, who suffered a hamstring injury in the Cavaliers 27-26 homecoming loss to Bishop Amat on Oct. 2. Serra was also without original starting quarterback Malik Tunai and defensive back Wesley Ace. To go with that, the Cavaliers lost their other top running back James Robinson, who was injured in the second quarter. Robinson had to replace McBean and had a few good runs before going down.
The Trailblazers, who are ranked No. 2 in California (behind last year’s CIF-Southern Section Division I and CIF-State Open Division champion Santa Margarita) and sixth in the United States, played virtually perfect, except for one miscue at the start of the game. They fumbled away a kickoff as Serra recovered the ball at the Sierra Canyon 30-yard line. Serra drove to the 17 but kicker Jovany Barragan had his 34-yard attempt blocked.
From there, the Trailblazers had no trouble. They led 7-0 after the first quarter when quarterback Demarco Hernandez tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Micah Slade but it was the second period where Sierra Canyon did everything right and the Cavaliers wrong. After a short drive, the Trailblazers scored on the first play of the second quarter on reserve quarterback Myles Baker’s 2-yard run that started Sierra Canyon’s 37-point onslaught in the period for a 44-0 halftime lead.
After Serra failed on the drive, it had its punt blocked. It took just a few plays before running back Jaxsen Stokes made it 21-0 on a 2-yard run with 8:59 left before halftime. Serra had its next possession quickly end when a pass from freshman quarterback Hassir Houston was deflected and picked off by Trailblazer defensive back Lance Brown. Hernandez scored on a 28-yard keeper for a 28-0 lead with 7:15 remaining in the quarter. Less than a minute later, Fletcher Taylor scored on a 5-yard run. With 3:34 to go before intermission, Sierra Canyon added a safety after a botched snap on a punt attempt saw the ball roll out of the end zone. The final Trailblazer touchdown of the period was scored on a 31-yard pass from Hernandez to wide receiver Davide Morales.
Serra’s miseries continued when Houston had his deflected pass intercepted by Baker who returned the ball 35 yards for a TD giving Sierra Canyon a 51-0 bulge with 9:22 remaining in the third quarter and the rest of the game went into a running clock.
Playing the rest of the game with predominantly reserves, the Trailblazers finished the scoring on a 27-yard run by junior running back Jibri Abdullah II with 1:36 left.
Serra had a scoring chance late in the fourth period, driving to the Sierra Canyon one but was not able to make the end zone as it turned over the ball on downs.
The Cavaliers, who missed the CIF-Southern Section playoffs for the first time in 21 years last season, hope to regroup as, for the second straight year, face Loyola High at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood Friday at 5 p.m. Last Friday, the Cubs lost to host Notre Dame High 49-21 in Sherman Oaks. Both Serra and Loyola are 0-2 in league. Last year, the Cubs slipped past the Cavaliers 13-10 at SoFi. It will be a Loyola home game after Serra hosted the 2025 contest. The Cavaliers are 3-4 overall.
According to sources, Serra is expected to return McBean, who has 884 yards and 12 touchdowns in its first six games.
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North bounces back in shutout win over SM
After a thrilling 43-40 Pioneer League opening loss to cross town rival West Torrance on Oct. 1 at North, the North Torrance High football team evened its league record to 1-1 by shutting out Santa Monica High 12-0 last Friday at North.
Saxon quarterback Ezra Siitia completed nine of 15 passes for 103 yards and one touchdown. That scoring pass went to wide receiver Robby Hines. Jayden Castro ran for 53 yards and one TD on 17 carries.
North scored one touchdown each in the first and second quarters as the second half was scoreless.
The Saxons will visit Culver City, which improved to 2-0 in Pioneer play after routing host West 51-12 last Friday in a game that was expected to be a very good quarterback match-up, Friday at 7 p.m. The Centaurs are 4-3 overall.
In one of the South Bay’s most traditional rivalries, Carson continued to dominate host Banning 41-3 last Friday in Wilmington.
Returning CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division Player of the Year Chris Fields, III proved dominant as he scored three touchdowns and passed for two more.
He scored on runs of 10, 80 and 23 yards, both in the first half that saw the Colts build a 28-3 halftime lead. He had his TD passes to Nick Sandoval of 25 yards and Nathen Williams from 12 yards.
It was the Colts’ fourth straight win over the Pilots.
Carson will visit Narbonne in Harbor City Friday at 7 p.m. The Gauchos are coming off a 47-32 win over host Gardena last Thursday at L.A. Harbor College.
Torrance improved to 2-0 in Pioneer play with a 46-13 rout of El Segundo Friday at Zamperini Field.
The Tartars had a fine game by quarterback-defensive back Gibson Turner who completed 11 of 14 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns, ran for one.
Vaughn Reinart rushed for 179 yards and two TDs on 14 carries and had an interception.
Torrance will visit cross town rival West Torrance Friday at 7 p.m. The Warriors lost their first league game and ended their five-game winning streak by falling to Culver City 51-12 last Friday. The Centaurs and Tartars are tied for the league lead at 2-0 and will show down at Torrance on Oct. 23.
Bishop Montgomery of Torrance is still winless at 0-7 after getting routed by host Paraclete 58-0 in Angelus League play last Friday in Lancaster.
The Knights will host Cathedral High from Los Angeles in another league game Friday at 7 p.m. Bishop Montgomery is 0-2 in Angelus play.
In a National Central Conference community college game last Thursday at El Camino College, the host Warriors took a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter before seeing San Diego Mesa College erupt for 45 unanswered points enroute to a 52-27 win.
ECC visits Palomar College in San Marcos (North San Diego County) Saturday at 6 p.m.
