By Joe Snyder
After winning back-to-back Pioneer League championships, North Torrance High’s football team received a blow when premiere incoming junior quarterback Boogie Anetema and his brother, Kingston, opted to transfer to nearby Bishop Montgomery High.
The Anetemas are among an estimated 16 transfers that the Knights, under a new coaching staff, received that included even a few from Harbor City Narbonne, which was stripped of its CIF-Los Angeles City championship for the second time in six seasons due to recruiting violations. The Gauchos also received a three-year postseason suspension for the infractions. Bishop Montgomery also has several transfers from recent power Inglewood, which won the Bay League last season and made it to the CIF-Southern Section Division I quarterfinals.
The Saxons still have good experience with several very good seniors. Expected to start at quarterback senior Ethan Edwards, who, last season, started at wide receiver and defensive back. He will have two returning starting senior wide receivers in King Shelton and Cole Mataele. Another returning starter, junior running back Jayden Andrade, is also expected to be a key player. “He (Andrade) will be the main guy who will carry the ball for us,” North head coach Todd Croce said.
On the line include offensive lineman Nick Taueu and defensive lineman Anthony Macias, who was the 2024 Pioneer Defensive Player of the Year.
Last Saturday, North played in the Redondo Passing and Fundamental Skills Classic going 1-3, and Edwards was mostly used at quarterback.
The Saxons plan to play in the Culver City Classic on July 12 before their dead period begins. North begins practice for the 2025 season on July 28.
Redondo and Torrance, along with North, appear to be top contenders for this year’s league crown.
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Another prep sports year ends with success
The 2024-25 prep sports year has ended several weeks ago and more success will be remembered.
Serra High’s football team was looking to have a shot at capturing the CIF-Southern Section Division II title after a close second-place finish, again behind champion Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, in the Mission League. The Cavaliers ended up being stunningly ousted in the quarterfinals by Yorba Linda in an overtime loss.
With the return of some premiere players that include Ohio State University-commit defensive back Khary Wilder, the Cavaliers continue to seek to maybe move up to the prestigious Division I and possibly even win the Southern Section and CIF-State championships this fall.
With some top players back from last season, Gardena started its season well by winning all six non-league games but lost three of four Marine League contests. The Panthers were invited into the prestigious CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division where they were eliminated by Birmingham in Lake Balboa.
With a rash of transfers but troubled Narbonne went on to top the Patriots and went on to win the L.A. City crown with a 75-31 blowout of Marine League foe San Pedro but L.A. City Section officials finally discovered the bizarre infractions by the Gauchos, who had to forfeit seven wins and had their championship stripped. The title was vacated, although the Pirates wished they would have received the crown. Narbonne will be banned from postseason play for the next three seasons. The Gauchos also had a large amount of returning players leave the school with Torrance Bishop Montgomery, Redondo and Torrance receiving some. University of Oklahoma-bound quarterback O’Neil (first name unavailable) already moved to Oklahoma and will finish his prep stint at Mustang High in Oklahoma.
North Torrance, behind sophomore quarterback Boogie Anetema and wide receiver Kingston Anetema, won its third straight Pioneer League crown but the Saxons lost both of those brothers who are among an estimated 16 transfers received by Bishop Montgomery. The Saxons were placed in the CIF-Southern Section Division III and had to face eventual champion Edison High in Huntington Beach. North was shut out by the Chargers 24-0.
For the first time, girls’ flag football was in the CIF-Southern Section. Torrance won the Pioneer League and made the CIF-Southern Section Division II quarterfinals. North Torrance finished second in Pioneer action and was eliminated in the first round of Division II. Serra finished second, behind champion Lakewood St. Joseph, in the Camino Real League. The Lady Cavaliers lost in the first round to Windward.
In boys’ basketball, North Torrance won the Pioneer League crown. The Saxons fell in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division IIA playoffs to Hacienda Heights Los Altos 83-51. Gardena finished third in the Marine League and lost in the quarterfinals to top-seed and eventual champion Granada Hills Charter in the CIF-L.A. City Section Division I playoffs. Faced with rebuilding due to two coaching changes over a two-month period, Serra had a rough season and placed last in the Del Rey League.
For girls’ basketball, North Torrance and Serra reached the CIF-Southern Section finals. The Lady Saxons, who were co-Bay League champions with Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, lost in the Division IIAA finals to Oak Park, 68-57. Serra, which was third in the Camino Real League, fell to Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro 59-46. Both lost in the first round of the CIF-Southern California Regionals with North losing to host Windward 62-49 in Division I and the Cavaliers falling short of host Santa Ynez 44-40. Both return several key players as they seek improvement for 2025-26.
Spring was highlighted by track and field led by Serra’s boys tying for the CIF-Southern Section Division IV crown with Calabasas Viewpoint, behind Otis “Tre” Harrison who won his second straight 300-meter intermediate hurdles title. Harrison, who made the state finals last season, found himself eliminated in the Southern Section Masters Championships with a disappointing time of 38.69 for a 14th-place overall finish. The team was head coached by third-year mentor Princeton Williams, who was selected as the Daily Breeze South Bay Coach of the Year. He also has several young sprinters who hope to make a splash for the Cavaliers next season and beyond.
The only state qualifier was girls triple jumper Raelyn Pleasant, who is a cousin of former Serra High premiere sprinter and football standout Roderick Pleasant (recently transferred from University of Oregon to UCLA). She only made the prelims as she performed a subpar 36 feet, six inches. Among those that Pleasant was competing against was controversial transgender A.B. Hernandez of Jurupa Valley in the Riverside area, who won the event, along with the high jump. She was second in the long jump.
Torrance High’s Nicolas Obimbga recorded a 10.2 100-meter dash in the CIF-State Prelims on May 30 and was fifth in the finals at 10.63.
Serra baseball continued to compete in the highly competitive Del Rey League, settling for only a fourth-place finish in the five-team league at 4-8 but finished 19-9 overall after a Southern Section Division III first-round loss to host Yucaipa. The Cavaliers, though, have three premiere players in C.J. Hughes, Amari Hackett, and Marc Emmerman, who could be awaiting to see if they get drafted in next week’s Major League Baseball draft. Hughes and Hackett were already invited to the draft baseball combine. Hughes and Hackett made the Daily Breeze all-South Bay first-team, while Emmerman was second-team.
Neither North Torrance nor Gardena made the playoffs as they struggled in league.
North Torrance High’s boys’ volleyball team, however, was a surprise by winning the Pioneer League with an unbeaten 8-0 record and making the CIF-Southern Section Division III semifinals before falling to top-seed and eventual champion Tesoro in three sets.
In the colleges, El Camino’s football team won the National North Conference and advanced to the Southern California Regional semifinals. The Warriors started well, but lost to host Mt. San Antonio College 42-24. The Mounties from Walnut were the top seed.
The Warrior baseball team had a fine year making the California state super regionals before losing out to Glendale.
ECC’s softball team had their best season in several years with 31 wins and advancing to the California State super regionals.
