By Joe Snyder
Gardena High’s football team moves on the rigid Marine League at 6-0 after topping Jurupa Hills High from Fontana 22-12 in the Panthers’ homecoming game last Friday night.
Gardena, which is currently ranked seventh in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section by MaxPreps, used some big play offense to surge out to a 22-0 halftime lead.
The scoring started at 1:41 into the game when quarterback Isaiah Kim connected wide receiver Sincere Williams for a 53-yard scoring play.
Later in the first quarter, running back Xavier Grant sprinted 56 yards for a touchdown giving the Panthers a 13-0 lead with 3:23 left.
Running back Andrew Aldana gave Gardena a 19-0 advantage with a 24-yard TD run with 9:25 remaining in the second period.
The Panthers’ final score was on a 37-yard field goal by kicker Omar Villareal.
In the second half, Gardena had several chances to add on to its commanding lead but a rash of penalties stopped several Panther drives.
Even though, Gardena had the game well in hand, things got a bit scary late in the contest. The Spartans, who are 1-5, got on the scoreboard on a 3-yard scoring run by Tony Razo. On the onside kick, Jurupa Hills beat out the Panthers on the recovery and added its second touchdown on a 10-yard quarterback keeper from sophomore Ja’khai Johnson.
Gardena opens league at home against Banning High from Wilmington Friday at 4 p.m. The Pilots are 4-3 after an intentional forfeit loss to Narbonne last Friday, due to the other four Marine foes, including the Panthers who are expected to host the Gauchos on Oct. 25, planning to forfeit their games to Narbonne, due to various past and present violations and claimed illegal recruiting over the past decade (separate article on the issues). Among Banning’s wins was a 14-7 home upset of CIF-Southern Section Bay League power Palos Verdes in its homecoming game on Sept. 20. The Pilots are led by all-purpose player Steve Perez.
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Serra rallies to whip Loyola in Mission opener
Serra High’s football team rallied from a 35-14 deficit by exploding for 28 points, while holding host Loyola High scoreless to pull off a 42-35 victory over the Cubs last Friday in Los Angeles.
The Cavaliers scored the eventual winning touchdown when quarterback Jimmy Butler scored on a 10-yard keeper with 20 seconds left in the game.
Jayshawn Edwards scored the previous two Serra TDs on a pair of 2-yard runs that tied the game at 35 for the Cavaliers with approximately one minute remaining. Serra recovered the onside kick leading to Butler’s winning score.
Serra, which improved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in league, plays its fifth consecutive road game against Chaminade High in West Hills Friday at 7 p.m.
North Torrance (4-1, 1-0) began the Pioneer League with a 21-14 win over host Santa Monica High last Friday at Santa Monica City College.
The Viking defense did everything they could to hold down the brother passing duo of quarterback Boogie and Kingston Anetema but they finally succeeded with 46 seconds to go in the game on a 13-yard pass completion that proved to be the winning touchdown.
Running back Will Pineda rushed for 118 yards and one TD on a 15-yard run.
The win sets a Pioneer showdown at Redondo High today at 7 p.m. The Sea Hawks started league in a big fashion by pulling away for a 35-7 win over previously undefeated Torrance last Friday at Zamperini Field.
The Tartar defense held the Sea Hawks to a 7-7 halftime tie and held down standout junior quarterback Cole Leinart, as well.
In the second half, Redondo (5-1, 1-0) outscored Torrance 28-0 behind the running of Ethan Maleman, who rushed for 105 yards and three touchdowns. Leinart managed a 72-yard scoring pass to Bo Ausmus, one of his five completions in nine attempts for 144 yards.
Malikai Johnson scored the Tartars’ only TD on a 14-yard run in the first quarter. Jake Silverman had five receptions for 46 yards.
Torrance visits Peninsula High in Rolling Hills Estates Friday at 3:30 p.m. The Panthers began Pioneer action by shutting out host South Torrance 35-0. Peninsula has a very experience team featuring 32 seniors.
In the Camino Real League, Bishop Montgomery blanked host Bosco Tech 49-0 Friday in Rosemead. In Marine action, San Pedro won a key league opener over Carson 31-20. In the Ocean League, host West Torrance crushed Inglewood Morningside 54-0.
The Knights visit rival St. Bernard in Playa del Rey Friday at 7 p.m. The Colts have a bye before their home showdown against Gardena, which is 6-0 after a 22-12 home win over Jurupa Hills in a non-league finale last Friday at Gardena, on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. The Warriors visit Hawthorne Friday at 7 p.m. in Ocean play.
In community college play last Saturday at El Camino College, the host Warriors held on for a 27-26 win over rival Bakersfield College.
ECC once led 24-7 in the contest.
The Warriors (3-2) have a bye before visiting College of Canyons in Valencia on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m.
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GHS and three other Marine L. teams to forfeits to Narbonne
Gardena High’s football team is among four Marine League teams announcing that they will forfeit their league games to Narbonne, due to claim rash of violations over the past decade.
Last Friday afternoon, four head coaches, including Panther mentor Monte Gilbreath, signed a letter to CIF-Los Angeles City Section commissioner Vicky Lagos concerning numerous violations in the past and even some this season, where the Gauchos are under head coach Malcolm Manuel. Manuel replaced the controversial head mentor Manual Douglas in 2020 after Narbonne was forced to forfeit all 2019 wins due to numerous recruiting violations.
Reports in the letter indicate that players were being flown in from out of state to join in an already stacked roster reinforcing the belief that this is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader strategy. The four other league coaches stated in the letter, “We believe Narbonne’s practices undermine the level playing field that athletics are supposed to offer, and if allowed to continue, these actions will create lasting damage to the reputation and integrity of our league.”
Added: “Therefore, until action is taken, we will not schedule or participate against any football games against Narbonne. Our programs deserve an even playing field; we believe that these steps are necessary to restore the principles of fairness, safety, and competition within our league.”
The letter was sent to Lagos on Twitter on Friday afternoon.
“Until something is uncovered or they provide documents of something, they’re saying that someone committed a crime without going through the proper channels,” Lagos said to the Los Angeles Times.
Narbonne’s football program was banned from postseason play in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, due to many violations, as well as vacating its 2018 CIF-L.A. City Section championship. The Gauchos were forced to forfeit all 2019 wins including their 55-7 L.A. City championship win over East L.A. Garfield, which was awarded the City Section champion. Also forfeited was Narbonne’s 56-6 win over Gardena, which was winless in the Marine but came back to capture L.A. City Section Division III and Southern California regional Division VIIA crowns five years ago.
In the beginning of the letter by the Marine coaches, they stated, “As you are aware, there have been persistent concerns for roughly a decade regarding Narbonne’s recruitment practices, especially related to financial incentives and housing arrangements, with allegations that athletes are being offered tens of thousands of dollars to play for their team.”
The coaches are encouraging the CIF-L.A. City Section to expel Narbonne from the Marine League or, alternately, allow our schools to break off and form a new league or join a different league where fairness and integrity are prioritized.
In non-league play, the Gauchos (currently 5-2 overall) finished at 4-2 with wins over Garfield, Venice, Cathedral and King-Drew Medical Magnet High and losses to Southern Section teams Los Alamitos and Culver City. Narbonne, reportedly, has several transfers including University of Oklahoma-bound junior quarterback Jaden O’ Neill from Newport Harbor. On top of that, the Gauchos returned a large majority of players from last season. Narbonne was scheduled to play in league at San Pedro on Friday, but the Pirates already forfeited. Gardena is slated to host the Gauchos on Oct. 25. Interestingly at Newport Harbor, O’ Neill played with Cole Leinart, who is the junior quarterback at Redondo High and the son of former University of Southern California and National Football League quarterback Matt Leinart.
