By Joe Snyder
North Torrance High’s football team did everything it could to keep its hopes at a guaranteed CIF-Southern Section playoff spot in last Thursday’s Pioneer League finale at unbeaten Torrance.
The Saxons got off to a good start in taking a 14-7 first quarter lead and remained tied with the Tartars at 21-21 until 5:32 left in the game when junior running back Vaughn Reinart scored his fourth and decisive touchdown on an 8-yard run.
From there, North ran out of gas as the Tartars held on for a 28-21 victory to finish their regular season unbeaten at 10-0 and going 5-0 in league.
Reinart and Torrance started off well as he caught a screen pass from quarterback Gibson Turner and was off to the races for a 38-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.
The Saxons, though, regrouped and caught fire with 14 unanswered points. They tied the game at seven with 3:01 left in the first quarter on a 12-yard quarterback keeper by Ethan Edwards. On the kickoff, the Tartars fumbled away the ball to North. The Saxons took advantage of the Torrance miscue and went on to take a 14-7 lead when Edwards tossed a 5-yard TD pass to wide receiver Vincent Aleman.
The Tartars tied the game at 14 as Reinart scored from 25 yards out with 5:32 remaining in the second period. The score remained tied at 14 at halftime.
Torrance took a 21-14 advantage with just seven seconds into the second half on a 38-yard touchdown run by Reinart.
North fought back to knot the game at 21 on a one-yard plunge by Jaydan Andrade with 11:01 to go in the game before Reinart’s fourth and final score that proved to be the difference.
“Reinart is a stud,” Torrance head coach Raymond Carter said. “He’s been doing this all year.”
“Mistakes really took a toll on us,” North head coach Todd Croce said.
For the Tartars, this is their first league title since 2011. Despite finishing only third in the Pioneer two years ago, Torrance won its first ever CIF-Southern Section with a win over West Covina in the Division X final. This year, Torrance enters the Division V playoffs as the top seed as they host Pioneer runner-up Redondo in the first round Friday at 7 p.m. The Sea Hawks lost to the Tartars 34-24 in their league opener on Oct. 3 at Redondo but were without a few key players due to injuries and have just returned standout all-around player Bo Ausmus and a few key players, including wide receiver Tyler Harper, who became eligible after the 30-day sit out period. Since then, the Sea Hawks went on to win their final four games convincingly including last Thursday’s regular season ending 58-21 victory over host South Torrance. Redondo is 6-4 overall after going 4-1 in Pioneer action.
North, which is also 6-4 overall and 2-3 in league, received an at-large berth in the Division VII playoffs as it visits No. 3 seed Apple Valley in the first round Friday at 7 p.m.
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Bishop Amat knocks Serra out of CIF football playoff contention
After picking up its first Mission League football victory over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on Oct. 24 at L.A. Southwest College, Serra High’s football team knew it had to defeat host Bishop Amat to keep its playoff hopes alive last Friday in La Puente.
Playing without premiere players, running back-linebacker DeVohn Moutra and wide receiver Duvay Williams, the Cavaliers were shorthanded and had their hands full against the always tough Lancers.
Serra’s defense held Bishop Amat scoreless for most of the first half but, from there, the Lancers proved too much for the Cavaliers in a 24-7 victory putting them into the playoffs and leaving Serra out for the first time since 2004. With the loss, the Cavaliers ended their season at 4-6 overall and 1-4 in Mission play.
Bishop Amat’s first touchdown came with 4:01 left in the first half on a 29-yard pass from quarterback Domenico Doran to wide receiver Devin Roberts.
On the Cavaliers’ pursuing drive, they were pinned at their own one-yard line. On the first play, running back Daylawn Reed was tackled in the end zone for a safety increasing the Lancers’ lead to 9-0.
Bishop Amat continued to pull away in the second half. At the Lancer 23-yard line, Doran rolled to his right and found receiver Raymond Castro to complete a 77-yard scoring play. Bishop Amat added a two-point conversion increasing its lead to 17-0.
Serra got on the scoreboard with 7:45 remaining in the game when quarterback Nicolas Johnson completed a 12-yard TD pass to wide receiver Ikeem Crawford.
Ryan Saucedo helped the Lancers finish off the Cavaliers scoring their final touchdown on a 6-yard run with 2:24 to go.
Bishop Amat is 6-4 overall and took third in league at 3-2 headed into this Friday’s CIF-Southern Section Division IV playoffs.
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ECC rallies to edge RCC for first time in 16 years
Last Saturday night was not just a big one for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who captured their second straight World Series championship with a come-from-behind 11-inning 5-4 victory over the host Toronto Bluejays, but also for the El Camino College football team.
The Warriors improved to 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the National Southern Conference by rallying from 21 points down to slip past Riverside City College 44-42 at Murdock Stadium.
It was ECC’s first win over the powerful Tigers since 2009 when they rolled over Riverside 41-16 at the old Murdock Stadium, which was demolished in 2014. Since then, the Tigers reeled off 13 straight wins over the Warriors until last Saturday.
El Camino once trailed 28-7 midway in the second quarter on an 8-yard touchdown run by Kyet Tyler before the Warriors reeled off 14 unanswered points on TDs by running back Jaden Moore (3-yard run) and Nazarus Williams (9-yard run).
The second half continued as a back-and-forth contest as the Tigers continued to lead by either seven or 14 points before the Warriors’ fourth quarter rally. Down 42-35, Williams cut Riverside’s lead to one point on a 36-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Andrew Maushard to Williams. A potential tying point-after-touchdown attempt by Christian Miran failed, but on the next ECC drive, they drove to the Riverside 9 where Miran was successful on a 26-yard field goal try giving the Warriors their first lead.
Maushard had a strong passing game going 18-for-34 with 324 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted twice. Moore rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. Leading the Warriors’ receiving was Brandon Jones who caught five passes for 130 yards and one TD, that on a 70-yarder from Maushard that cut the Tigers’ lead to 35-28 in the third period.
El Camino closes regular season play seeking an unbeaten conference championship as it visits Saddleback College in Mission Viejo Saturday at 1 p.m. Saddleback is also unbeaten in conference and tied with the Warriors.
In high school football, Carson clinched the Marine League title with a 4-0 record after rolling over host San Pedro 41-21 last Thursday.
Quarterback Chris Fields III accounted for five touchdowns, three passing and two running, in leading the Colts to their first outright league title since 2010.
The win also gave Carson the top seed in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section playoffs where it opens on Nov. 14 at home against King-Drew Medical Magnet High, beginning at 7 p.m. The Pirates are seeded third as they host Crenshaw High at the same time.
Gardena ended its season on Oct. 24 where it lost a home game to league runner-up San Pedro 49-14. The Panthers are in the L.A. City Section Division I as the seventh seed as they open at home against No. 10 Hamilton from the L.A.-Palms District Friday at 7 p.m. The Panthers had a bye last week. They finished third in the five-team league at 2-2 and are 4-5 overall.
West Torrance High’s football team won its second consecutive Ocean League crown with a 31-28 win over host El Segundo in their league showdown last Thursday.
The Warriors, who were CIF-Southern Section Division VII semifinalists last season, are in Division X as they open at Liberty High in Riverside Friday at 7 p.m.
