By Joe Snyder
Last season, Gardena High’s football team saw six starting players go down, five of those for the rest of the 2021 season, in a 20-18 double overtime home loss to Compton Centennial.
With virtually the entire team returning and healthier, the Panthers saw to it that misfortune would not happen again. Gardena rolled over the Apaches 54-6 last Thursday at Compton College to improve its early record to 3-0.
The Panthers will look for their fourth straight victory as they come home to face Jordan High from the Los Angeles-Watts area Friday at 7:30 p.m.
After recording its first win of the season at 47-0 over Hawthorne on Aug. 26 at home, Torrance High’s football team traveled to Redondo but was stifled in a 17-3 loss last Friday.
Redondo’s defense, which recorded a 33-0 shutout of host Long Beach Wilson on Aug. 26, kept the Tartars out of the end zone as the Sea Hawks limited them to a 37-yard field goal from junior kicker Christian Ramirez early in the third quarter.
Throughout most of the game, Torrance’s defense held down Redondo but the Sea Hawks (2-0) managed to have two touchdown passes by quarterback Christian Hunt; one of nine yards to junior wide receiver Nate Stieveson in the second quarter and from 29 yards to junior wide receiver Brian Shaw in the fourth period.
Redondo’s second TD was set up by a fumbled punt by the Tartars at the Torrance 29-yard line.
Torrance (1-2) will host CIF- L.A. City Section Marine League power San Pedro Friday at 7 p.m. West Torrance evened its re- cord to 1-1 with a 27-8 win over Santa Monica High last Friday at Santa Monica City College.
The Warriors will have a challenging contest against always tough Peninsula High from Rolling Hills Estates Friday at 7 p.m. This season, West has all five non-league games against Bay League teams. On Aug. 26, the Warriors lost at home to Culver City 35-13. West has two non league contests against Manhattan Beach Mira Costa on Sept. 16 and Redondo on Sept. 23, both at home, before opening the Pioneer League against cross town rival South Torrance on Sept. 30. South, meanwhile, is 2-0 after shutting out Narbonne 34-0 last
Thursday at South.
The Spartans are off to a very good start with a pair of blowout victories. South hosts Harvard-Westlake from Studio City Friday at 7 p.m. The Gauchos will visit Hawkins High in southwest L.A. Friday at 4 p.m.
In community college football, El Camino College had its season home opener against Santa Monica City College postponed and the contest has been tentatively rescheduled for Nov. 19. The Warriors’ new opener is also at Murdock Stadium II against long time rival Bakersfield College Saturday at 6 p.m.
