By Joe Snyder
It has been a month since the 2023-24 high school sports year ended with some top performances but some with surprises.
Of course, it began with football and Gardena, North Torrance and Serra had very good seasons.
Perhaps the surprise team was from the Panthers who won their first Marine League football championship since 1974 that included a stunning 27-7 home win over a powerful Carson team on Oct. 20, 2023. Gardena tied the Colts for the league crown but with the Panthers’ win, they were declared league champions and Gardena had the experience of playing in the prestigious CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division, winning the quarterfinals at home against Western League champion Palisades before falling in the semifinals to host and second seed Garfield High 42-6 in East L.A. The Bulldogs fell to Birmingham in the finals.
With quarterback Trevor Lagarde and several top players graduated, North Torrance was expecting a rebuilding year but the Saxons surprised observers with the outstanding freshman quarterback-wide receiver brother combination of Boogie and Kingston Anetema as it won the Pioneer League crown, even over powerhouse Lawndale, which was young and riddled with injuries. Unfortunately, the Saxons lost in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division VIII first round to Covina Charter Oak 21-14 in overtime but North will be looking forward to this fall as they return as sophomores but it might be tougher with former Bay League schools, Redondo, Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula and Santa Monica moving in as Lawndale leaves for the rigid Bay. The Sea Hawks recently picked up a big transfer in quarterback Cole Leinart, the son of former Santa Ana Mater Dei High, University of Southern California, and National Football League quarterback Matt Leinart, which will be a huge challenge for other Pioneer squads.
Serra placed second, behind Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, in the Mission League and have several key returning athletes including quarterback Jimmy Butler and wide receiver Otis “Tre” Harrison, along with transfer quarterback Boogie Johnson from Sierra Canyon. Last Saturday, the Cavaliers stunned United States national power and host St. John Bosco 22-7 to win the prestigious St. John Bosco Passing Football Tournament in Bellflower.
El Camino College’s football team finished its season at 7-4 after winning the Beach Bowl over host Golden West 22-19 in Huntington Beach.
Local teams also excelled in boys’ and girls’ basketball. In the boys, Serra made the CIF-Southern Section Division IIIAA semifinals before falling to Ventura St. Bonaventure 67-64, then lost head coach Bernard McCrumby, who stepped down and took the head mentor job at his alma mater, Playa del Rey St. Bernard. Two weeks ago, the Cavaliers picked up a successful head coach in Derrick Taylor but he will be faced with some rebuilding with losses of top players Maximo Adams and Kaleb Kearse, who transferred to St. Bernard and Downey St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy, in order.
North Torrance ended up tri-Pioneer League champion with El Segundo and El Segundo Wiseburn-Da Vinci. The Saxons made the CIF-Southern Section quarterfinals before falling to Irvine Woodbridge.
Gardena won its second consecutive Marine League crown but was eliminated in the CIF-L.A. City Section Division I quarterfinals by Fairfax.
The Lady Panthers finished third in the Marine League and made the L.A. City Section Division IV playoffs. They took advantage of it and won, going away, the crown by crushing South L.A. Fremont 54-12. Gardena returns a large majority of its top players as it hopes for bigger success in a higher division for 2024-25.
North Torrance won the Pioneer in a runaway. The Lady Saxons were seeded fourth in CIF-Southern Section Division I but saw their season end with a quarterfinal loss to Corona Santiago.
Serra’s girls moved down to the Camino Real League, taking third after one of their worst seasons from a year earlier losing every game in the Del Rey League. The Lady Cavaliers lost in the first round to host Oakwood Academy in North Hollywood in Division IVAA.
In college, Cal State Dominguez Hills’ boys made the NCAA Division II playoffs only to lose in the first round to Central Washington 110-90 in the first round on March 15 at Cal State Los Angeles. The Toros were led by former Serra High standout sophomore guard Jeremy Dent-Smith.
The spring was highlighted by Serra High’s always vaunted track and field program with its best showing by senior sprinter Mia Flowers, who won the CIF-Southern Section Division IV championships in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the Masters in the 100 and placed second in the 100 and third in the 200 at the CIF-State Championships on May 25 at Buchanan High in Clovis. She has personal best times of 11.41 in the 100 and 23.73 in the 200.
Harrison was the Southern Section Division IV champion in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles at 37.73.
Both Serra boys and girls finished third in Division IV.
El Camino College said good bye to retiring head coach Dean Lofgren with a pair of California State Individual track and field champions in Sequoia Gonzales (10,000-meter run, 36:22.19) and Anthony Taylor (110-meter-high hurdles, 14.12). Lofgren is retiring from track and field after 33 seasons with the Warriors. He will finish out his coaching on the cross-country teams in the fall before completely calling it quits, giving way to younger coaches.
El Camino College’s softball team made the Super Regionals of the state playoffs before losing to South Coast Conference rival Mt. San Antonio College but managed to win 31 games, the most in five seasons.
The Warrior baseball team made the playoffs but, under first-year head coach Grant Palmer and youth, ECC was quickly eliminated by Santa Ana College in the first round.
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Serra stuns SJB in passing tournament
Serra High head football coach Scott Altenberg has a lot to smile about and is looking forward to this fall for the Cavaliers’ success.
That is because the Cavaliers captured the prestigious St. John Bosco Tournament by topping the always powerful Braves 22-7 in the final last Saturday in Bellflower.
Serra used two quarterbacks in returning senior Jimmy Butler and Boogie Johnson, a junior transfer from Chatsworth Sierra Canyon as they threw touchdown passes to Jayden Robinson, Duvay Williams and Malachi Robinson in its win over St. John Bosco, which won several United States national championships over the decades, including its last in 2022.
Also, behind Williams and incoming sophomore Westley Ace, the Cavaliers added four interceptions, which in passing football, are worth two points apiece.
“The boys worked hard,” Serra assistant coach Marvin Pollard said. “Serra has always had skilled players. That’s the tradition.”
Before them, Serra defeated CIF-San Diego Section power Carlsbad 21-9 in the semifinals. In pool play, the Cavaliers had wins over El Monte Arroyo, Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro, and Santa Maria Righetti. Jaydin Robinson had six TDs in the five games.
It is Serra’s final tournament as it, three weeks ago, won the Colony High Tournament in Ontario before going 2-1-1 in the Chargers Classic two weeks ago at their preseason training facility in Costa Mesa.
The Cavaliers take off this Independence Day Week before some passing games at home over the next two weeks. They have two dead weeks before officially beginning their practice on July 29, preparing for their season opener at home against Orange Lutheran on Aug. 23. Serra will have a tough non-league schedule that also includes Downey Warren, Los Alamitos, Long Beach Poly on Sept. 7 in the Honor Bowl at Cathedral Catholic High in San Diego, and Westlake Village Oaks Christian. Serra is in the Mission with L.A. Loyola, West Hills Chaminade, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, La Puente Bishop Amat and Sierra Canyon.
