NOTEBOOK : Loyola vs. Bishop Amat for Del Rey Crown

Nationally ranked Loyola High will face its biggest test yet on Saturday when the Cubs host Bishop Amat at Glendale High.

At stake is the Del Rey League championship and a potential seeding in the Southern Section Division I playoffs, which begin Nov. 20.

The Cubs extended their unbeaten streak to eight games, beating Mission Hills Alemany, 21-14, Friday night. Bishop Amat kept its record perfect at 8-0, dismantling St. John Bosco, 34-6.

“It’s a big game. Obviously we’re playing for first place and both teams have undefeated records going into the game,” Loyola Coach Steve Grady said. Clelio Boccato is considered the Cubs’ best passing quarterback since Brendan McCracken, who graduated in ’84 and later starred at UCLA. Boccato has thrown for 919 yards and 13 touchdowns in seven games and is the area’s second-leading passer in yardage.

Grady was concerned during the preseason about the inexperience of his backfield, but he has discovered four players that he can use interchangeably in the Cub backfield.

Senior Eric Rogers, who had five carries last season, led the team with 414 yards after seven games. Fullback Matt Gocke (293 yards), and juniors Blake Hennon (338 yards) and Jerome Porter (206 yards) also have been getting their share of carries.

Bishop Amat will counter with halfback Rodney Sermons, who had 733 yards in 116 carries and scored 13 touchdowns in the Lancers’ first seven games. The Lancers also have a strong passing combination in senior quarterback Mike Smith and sophomore receiver Daylon McCutcheon, the son of former Los Angeles Rams running back Lawrence McCutcheon.

“Bishop Amat is a hard-nosed, hard-hitting football team,” Grady said. “Their most frightening feature is their team speed. I’m scared to death of teams that have a lot of speed because we’re not a very fast team.

“They’re fast, tough and good. It should be a tremendous game.”

Kenya and Oregon--Dorsey point guard Kenya Wilkins has entered into a verbal agreement to play college basketball for Oregon next fall.

Wilkins, a 5-foot-10 senior, averaged 17 points, six assists, four steals and two rebounds per game last season for the Dons. Wilkins had a season-high 31 points when Dorsey lost to Manual Arts in the second round of the City Section 4-A Division playoffs.

Wilkins also considered UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Sacramento and Cal State Long Beach. He visited Oregon Oct. 16-18 and made his decision Monday.

High school seniors can officially sign letters of intent during the Nov. 11-17 signing period.

“I wanted to play at what I believe is the highest level, the Pacific-10 conference, and I like the coaching staff and the players,” Wilkins said. “I believe they know how to win.”

Five to Nine--The Belmont girls’ cross-country team, which had aspirations of finishing in the top five in state, finished a disappointing ninth in the sweepstakes race last week during the 44th annual Mt. San Antonio College Invitational.

Patty Trejo was Belmont’s top finisher, placing 26th in a time of 19:49.

The Sentinel boys’ team finished 14th in their sweepstakes race.

In a non-sweepstakes race, Jorge Perea of Huntington Park ran 16:00 to finish second in his heat as Huntington Park took second behind Camarillo. Also competing were Bell Gardens, which placed seventh, South Gate (eighth) and Bell (13th).

Bad Breaks--Dorsey running back Che Johnson, the area’s fourth-leading rusher, broke a bone in his left wrist and did not play Friday night against Carson.

Johnson, who had gained 610 yards and four touchdowns in 85 carries, suffered the injury during the second half of Dorsey’s 27-7 win over Crenshaw on Oct. 23.

Johnson is the second Dons running back to be sidelined by an injury and the team’s fifth player to suffer a broken bone this season. Starting tailback Jermaine Gipson broke his left leg in the season-opening game against Las Vegas Eldorado.

Senior running back Tino Davis and junior Dante Spotville will share playing time, replacing Johnson in the backfield. Spotville had 81 yards in 10 carries against Crenshaw.

Other injured players are linebacker Tony Tillmon (fractured left shin), linebacker Lane Lewis (broken left ankle) and center Henry Amos (broken left foot).

“Fortunately, we’re pretty deep at running back,” Dorsey Coach Paul Knox said. “Some of the other players have been harder to replace.”

Off and Running--Garfield running back Armando Figueroa became the first player in his school’s history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, Coach Steve Robinson said.

Figueroa, a 5-foot-8, 170-pound junior, had 172 yards in 26 carries as the Bulldogs beat Jordan, 41-0, on Oct. 23. He had 1,049 yards in 177 carries before Friday’s game.

Last season, Figueroa rushed for 1,214 yards.

Leaders of the Pack--The Huntington Park boys’ cross-country team not only does well on the three-mile course, it also excels in the classroom. The six top Spartan runners each have a grade-point average of 3.0 or better. Jorge Perea, the team’s fastest runner, and Oscar Urizar both have a 3.8 average; Mike Gomez has a 3.4.

“These are not Mickey Mouse courses,” Huntington Park Coach Tony Guajardo said. “They take mostly honors classes and advanced studies.”