Betiku looks to lead Serra to state Open Division title
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
Two years ago, Serra High football standout defensive end Oluwole Betiku immigrated to the United States from Nigeria not even looking to play football.
As a sophomore in the 2013-14 school year, Betiku moved to Maryland where he attended Bishop McNamera High. He, then, moved to the Los Angeles area where he went to Serra last year. He ended up playing football and learned the sport fast.
Betiku looks to lead Serra to state Open Division title
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
Two years ago, Serra High football standout defensive end Oluwole Betiku immigrated to the United States from Nigeria not even looking to play football.
As a sophomore in the 2013-14 school year, Betiku moved to Maryland where he attended Bishop McNamera High. He, then, moved to the Los Angeles area where he went to Serra last year. He ended up playing football and learned the sport fast.
“When I came to America, I was looking to play basketball,” Betiku said. “I broke my wrist. I decided to give football a try.”
That was when Betiku, coming from a nation more known for soccer what is the same throughout most of the rest of the world, decided to try out for the Cavalier football team. He took up the sport and learned real fast.
During last year, that saw Serra tie with La Puente Bishop Amat and Encino Crespi for the Mission League championship before losing a wild 68-64 game to eventual champion Corona Centennial in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section PAC Five playoffs in the first round, Betiku recorded 59 tackles, 24 of those for losses, and 11.5 quarterback sacks that saw him receive all-CIF Southern Section PAC Five and all-California State honors. He was also first team all-Mission League. He became an NCAA five-star recruit.
“I never thought I would be a good football player,” Betiku said. “I wanted to get a scholarship. I worked hard.”
“In Nigeria, I played a lot of basketball and soccer (known as football in that country, as well as most of the nations throughout the world) for fun.”
“He made a lot of progress on the defensive line,” Serra line coach Steve Placoms said. “At this point, he’s one of the most technical guys on the west coast. I was building him the last two years. He’s natural and got on to it.”
He became virtually an instant Major NCAA Division I prospect and, two weeks ago, committed to playing for head coach Jim Mora and UCLA.
Betiku enjoys the Serra High football program, head coached by Scott Altenberg.
“I feel this is the best program,” Betiku said of the Cavaliers. “The coaches help you get better.”
Betiku feels that Serra’s loss was a disappointment. In that game, the Cavaliers had some key players out due to various injuries.
I feel that if everyone did their job, we would have won,” Betiku said.
On Sept. 5, the Cavaliers will, again, test themselves against Centennial in the Honor Bowl at Oceanside High. Game time is 8 p.m.
“We already know that we’re going to win,” Betiku said of Serra playing the Huskies. “This year, we’re more together. We’re looking at a state championship.”
Betiku saw the UCLA football program best fit for him. “I like UCLA and the coaches over there,” Betiku said. “It’s a better fit for me and the school is outstanding academically.”
Betiku and the rest of the Serra team begin their season at Lakewood High on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.
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Rays hold off Brewers for Gardena Pee Wee title
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
The Freeman Park Rays completed their magical season by hanging on for a 7-6 win over their park rival Brewers in the Gardena Parks and Recreation Pee Wee Baseball Championship game last Thursday at Freeman Park.
The Rays began quickly taking a 7-0 lead but,. from there, were shut out the rest of the game while the Brewers had a few key run-scoring hits to get within one run.
Adrian Altagrano was the starting pitcher, but finished the game receiving both the win and save. After a strong start, he was not quite as effective in the game but managed to close out by striking out two batters as the Rays celebrated their championship.
Eddie Morales added a two-run double.
Tyler Harvey, who pitched two innings between the two stints of Altagrano, would have had a three-run home run but it was wiped out due to throwing a bat toward the Brewers catcher after hitting the ball, due to a newly effective rule by the Gardena Parks and Recreation program.
He managed another hit and scored a run.
“It was a great win,” Rays manager Raul Ornellos said. “We lost to the Brewers twice in the regular season.”
Issac Wright had a two-run triple and finished the game with four runs batted in for the Brewers.
For manager Bert Hornback and his Brewers, it was their first trip to the final.
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Sports Scoop
Southern Section agrees to next step toward new football playoff format
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
Over the past several months, CIF-Southern Section officials were eyeing to make the football playoffs more like that already put in boys’ and girls’ basketball where it would go by the individual schools, instead of leagues.
Last week, the Southern Section Executive Committee got that one step further toward reality as they agreed to make it that way.
Unlike basketball, maybe with the exception of the top division, which is currently the PAC Five but could be changed to the Open or Super Division, enrollment will not be considered. It will be based on competitiveness and talent. For instance, the Southern Section will place the top 16 playoff teams, overall, in the top division.
Competiveness, power rankings and strength of schedules will be considered.
All 13 divisions will continue to have 16 teams in the playoffs. Most leagues will be expected to have the top three teams, plus possible at-large squads, in their division playoffs.
A meeting will be held at the Southern Section office in Los Alamitos on Oct. 6. The board hopes to vote on it by January and, if approved, could begin in the 2016 season.
Some playoff predictions: Serra definitely appears to be in the top 16 overall ratings for football, this season, and should continue to be so for next year, as well, if the players stay and are healthy.
The Cavaliers should definitely be favored to play in the top division.
The Moore League, which is usually dominated by Long Beach Poly, will, most likely, have schools in various divisions. The Jackrabbits will be expected to be in the Super Division, with Lakewood playing in the West Valley Division, considered as Division II. The Lancers usually finish second behind the Jackrabbits in that league.
The Moore’s third and, maybe, fourth place squad could find itself playing in the Western Division. That division currently includes three South Bay public school leagues, the Bay, Ocean and Pioneer. Outside of Poly, the other Moore teams would be out the first round of the PAC Five. This new format should benefit them.
Most playoff teams from those South Bay leagues will probably continue to play in that division. Last year, it appeared that the Torrance school studded Pioneer was the most competitive but it was Bay League champion Palos Verdes that captured the Western Division crown by topping a very good Ventura High squad 32-24. In the semifinals, the Sea Kings knocked off West Torrance 28-16. The Warriors won the Pioneer and were the top seed entering the contest with P.V.
Format should include more sports: The CIF-Los Angeles City Section has a playoff format usually allowing the better teams in a league to play in Division I and others playing in lower divisions.
Gardena, for instance, will finally move down to Division II in the City football playoffs. This should boost Panther playoff hopes, even if they have a losing record.
The Panthers already have an Invitational championship, which is equivalent to the current Division II, from 2000.
Top Marine League teams, Narbonne, Carson and San Pedro, will continue to play in Division I. It appears that Banning will stay in Division I.
Something like this might be good for other CIF-Southern Section sports, such as baseball, softball, soccer and volleyball.
In most sports, the Bay League has four teams that can excel but two inner city high schools, Inglewood and its cross town rival Morningside, don’t have the talent as the squads that include Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula and Redondo.
It might be good to put Inglewood and Morningside in a lower division for playoffs in sports such as baseball, softball and volleyball, and make a spot for one of those schools in that division. It could give them a second shot at excelling and, possibly, a championship.
Inglewood and Morningside competed well in football and boys’ basketball, but struggled in the other sports.
It is also the same in the Pioneer League, in which the four Torrance schools (North, South, Torrance and West) dominate, while Lawndale Leuzinger and Compton Centennial struggle.
Much is contributed to top schools that have players going year round on traveling teams that can cost a\lot of money, while schools that finish in the lower part of the standings usually have households that can’t afford those.
Sources are also that, in recent times, top inner city high school athletes are increasingly choosing top private school programs, such as Serra and Santa Ana Mater Dei, and they usually get financial help to attend and compete in the sports of those schools.
Sources are that there could even be divisions for private and public schools, since the private schools have the advantage of no district boundary and they get athletes from all over. The public schools usually have to stay in their district, although the easier transfer rule allows those who want to go to a school of their choice. Several states already have those divisions.
There were a few moments where there was a South Bay Athletic Association where, during the 1970’s and 1980’s and again from several years ago, had top teams play in the Bay League, the next best in the Ocean and the weakest in the Pioneer.
Many feel it should be by the ability format to make leagues more even and competitive, but a large majority of local athletic directors don’t want it.
They want to have leagues based on neighborhoods, in which they have a very good point. We still would like to see the rivalries such as the Torrance schools, Redondo-Mira Costa, Palos Verdes-Peninsula, and Serra-Bishop Montgomery-Playa del Rey St. Bernard.
The local Catholic leagues, though, seem to have more of an ability format. Serra, for instance, is in the Southern Section PAC Five Mission with other top programs, Bishop Amat, Crespi, West Hills Chaminade, Los Angeles Loyola and Mission Hills Alemany, for football, the Del Rey for boys’ and girls’ basketball and baseball, the Camino Real for boys’ soccer, and the Santa Fe for girls’ softball and soccer. It might just be the best for the public schools, although do the best to keep the neighborhood rivalries.
