By Joe Snyder
Torrance High’s football team ended the competitive Pioneer League in third place, behind champion North Torrance and runner-up Redondo, and entered the CIF-Southern Section Division V playoffs on the road against Summit High last Friday in Fontana.
The Tartars were unable to handle Summit’s running game as the Skyhawks rushed for 319 yards and had the ball in 36 of the game’s 48 minutes in Summit’s 37-7 first round win.
Leading the way for Summit was running back Daniel Bonilla with 130 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. Mark Mitchell added 117 yards and one TD on 24 carries and Evan Ramos ran for 49 yards and one score on 12 carries.
Torrance, which finished its season at 8-3 after going 3-2 in league, scored its only touchdown in the second quarter on a 4-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Gibson Turner to wide receiver Jake Silverman. Turner did well in the first half completing nine of 10 passes for 134 yards and one TD but was shut out in the second half.
Summit hosts top seed Huntington Beach in the quarterfinals Friday at 7 p.m.
Second place Redondo and fourth place Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula were the league’s only winners in the playoffs. The host Sea Hawks edged San Bernardino Aquinas 7-6 in the first round of the Division IV playoffs and the Panthers upset No. 2 seed and host Redlands Citrus Valley 17-14 in Division VII play. Redondo visits top seed St. Bonaventure High Friday at 7 p.m. in Ventura. St. Bonaventure won its first-round game over Riverside Orange Vista 47-30.
Also in Division VII, top seed and host West Torrance held on for a 24-20 victory over West Valley High from Hemet. The Warriors, who are 9-2 overall, will visit Oak Park in the quarterfinals Friday at 7 p.m.
Gardena High’s football team did not play last week as it made the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division where it begins play as the No. 5 seed and visits No. 4 and defending five-time City champion Birmingham High in Lake Balboa Friday at 7:30 p.m. If the Panthers win, they could face the task of playing at top seed Narbonne High on Nov. 22 in Harbor City, a team that Gardena, along with three other Marine League teams, boycotted and forfeited their league games to the Gauchos due to protesting questionable recruiting and other actions with them. Among those were allegations of having some players flown in from out of state, getting paid tens of thousands of dollars for playing, and getting homes either for free or a big bargain in the Narbonne High district, according to coaches and athletic directors from Gardena, Banning, Carson and San Pedro. Any team that refuses to play the Gauchos, according to L.A. City Section officials, will be banned from postseason next year.
Narbonne hosts Coliseum League champion Dorsey in the first round Friday at 7:30 p.m. Carson, the second-place team, but unofficial on-the field Marine champion, is the second seed as it hosts Garfield High from East L.A. Third seed San Pedro hosts Marine and L.A. Harbor rival Wilmington Banning.
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Edison shuts down North in dominating fashion
After getting eliminated in the CIF-Southern Section Division VI and VIII first round playoffs the past two seasons, the Pioneer League champion North Torrance High football team was placed up to Division III and its first-round game was against No. 3 seed Edison High last Thursday at Huntington Beach High.
The Saxons found the usually powerful Chargers much different from their regular season opponents, especially in the Pioneer. They shut out North 24-0 and put a lot of pressure on premiere sophomore quarterback Boogie Anetema. Using an effective swarm defense, Anetema continuously struggled completing 14 of 30 passes for 175 yards, well below his average of nearly 300 yards. He completed six of those passes for 120 yards to his brother, Kingston. Anetema was sacked five times and threw two interceptions.
North was even worse on the ground where it was limited to minus-29 yards rushing.
The Saxon defense also struggled as Edison scored on first drives of each of the first three quarters. The Chargers got things going fast scoring on their first drive on a 3-yard run by Edmusteon. The drive was fueled by running back Julius Gillick, who ran for 105 yards and one touchdown. So far, this season, Gillick ran for 1,784 yards and has 3,380 yards in his prep career.
Wide receiver Aidan Brown gave Edison a 14-0 lead on a 60-yard pass from quarterback Sam Thomson. In the third quarter, Gillick scored on a 28-yard run and Nico Banner added a 34-yard field goal to close out the period.
The loss ended North’s season at 8-2 but has better hopes for next season with the return of the Anetema passing combination and a few other key players. The Chargers move on to visit Bonita High in La Verne.
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ECC clinches NNL title over Ventura
El Camino College’s football team rallied from a 21-point deficit to top Ventura College 45-38 in overtime to capture the National North League championship last Saturday at Murdock Stadium.
After a 38-38 tie in regulation, the Warriors, who are 7-2 overall and 6-0 in conference, scored the winning touchdown on a 3-yard run by running back Jaden Moore. ECC’s defense went to work in keeping Ventura (4-2 in conference) from scoring.
El Camino trailed 24-10 at halftime and 31-10 early in the third quarter before mounting the rally with 28 unanswered points. It began on Moore’s 19-yard scoring pass from quarterback Hunter Herrera to wide receiver Joshua Long. Running back Jaden Moore, who rushed for 182 yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries, cut Ventura’s lead to 31-24 on an 18-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter. The Warriors tied the game at 31 with a 22-yard scoring pass from Hererra to Mark Baker and grabbed a 38-31 lead with 3:54 left in regulation on Jaden Moore’s 5-yard run.
Ventura tied the game at 38 with 11 seconds remaining in regulation on running back Daniel Duran’s one-yard touchdown run.
On ECC’s first drive of the overtime, Moore was able to pull the game out on his fourth TD.
El Camino finishes the conference and seeks an undefeated league record as it visits Hancock College in Santa Maria Saturday at 1 p.m.
