FACTS, FIGURES AND COMMENTS FROM AREA EVENTS

THE BETTER HALF

University’s 18-17 comeback victory against Westchester was achieved without tailback Marco Pleas. The sophomore, who suffered a bruised Achilles’ tendon the previous week against Venice, had been averaging 122.7 rushing yards a game. The Warriors rushed for 42 yards, but quarterback Lal Knight passed for 175 yards and two touchdowns. In the second half, the defense limited the Comets to two first downs.

Senior tailback-cornerback Mike Williams scored his first touchdown of the season on a 15-yard run, intercepted a pass in the end zone and made the tackle on a fake-punt play in the fourth quarter.

“Lal had a great game, but Mike was all over the place,” Coach Marshall Jones said.

University can win the Metro League championship by winning its remaining two games. The team plays at Los Angeles (1-7) on Friday.

“The team understands what they need to do,” Jones said. “They won’t be satisfied until they win the league. After that, they won’t be satisfied unless they do something good in the playoffs.”

Said quarterback Knight: “This week we’re preparing harder than ever. We can always do better and we feel we need to keep improving.”

SNOOZING

Westchester Coach Larry Wein believes his team needed a wake-up call after a 7-0 start. However, Wein is not convinced that Friday’s loss to University will snap the Comets out of their slumber.

The Comets were unable to hold onto a 17-0 halftime against the Warriors in a Coastal Conference game at University. The loss snapped Westchester’s 18-game regular-season winning streak.

Wein questions whether the Comets will repeat as Western League champions. He expects an answer Friday when the Comets (4-1) meet Venice (5-0) for first place.

“This is a pivotal game because we have to prove to ourselves that we are a championship-caliber team and that we have a legitimate chance to do well in the playoffs.

“I think the loss (to University) may have raised some questions about this team. Whereas this game (against Venice) will answer that question.”

The turning point in Friday’s game came in the second quarter, with Westchester ahead, 17-0. The Comets had the ball on the Warriors’ three-yard line. On second-and-goal, Westchester was penalized 15 yards for clipping. On the next play, quarterback Seka Edwards’ pass was intercepted by Mike Williams.

Wein was not surprised that his team suffered its first loss.

“I really don’t think there is a big difference between our team and the other top teams in the conference,” Wein said. “We were winning games by a few points and University, for example, was losing games by a few points. Sooner or later the breaks go the other way. I really think it was our time to lose.”

TIME WELL SPENT

Venice co-coach Tony Chretin looks at Friday’s game against Westchester, which will decide the 4-A Division Western League championship, as the culmination of a long journey.

“Looking at the 10th-graders three years ago, the coaching staff knew there was a lot of talent,” he said. “We felt we could teach them some football and they learned. On Friday, we’re really coming to the pinnacle of that three-year mission. That’s what we worked for.”

CLOSING RANKS

Culver City sacked Leuzinger quarterback Jason Simmons seven times, gave up only one completion and free safety Chris Ellison had an interception in the Centaurs’ 21-9 win. Mira Costa Coach Don Morrow, who was scouting the game in preparation for Friday’s Ocean League game against Culver City, came away impressed.

“We were pretty wowed by their athleticism,” Morrow said. “They’re the fastest team we will have played.”

Mira Costa (6-0) has not played a close game all season. Their closest margin of victory was 13 points against Inglewood, and they have trailed only twice.

“They’re a big, strong fundamental team. They do everything right. That’s why they’re undefeated,” Culver City assistant Anthony Thomas said. “But we feel they haven’t played anybody yet, to tell you the truth.”

In the Leuzinger game, Centaur defensive lineman Justin Barton, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior, suffered a knee injury in the second quarter after getting two sacks and four tackles.

HARD EIGHT

St. Monica scored eight touchdowns against Verbum Dei, but the Mariners did it the hard way. Steve Pulley scored on a 32-yard pass play, only after he caught a pass, fumbled, kicked the ball in the end zone and recovered it for a touchdown. The Mariners scored another touchdown when quarterback Oscar Casillas bobbled the ball while trying to make a handoff, then ran in for a nine-yard touchdown.

“The coaching staff should have been in Vegas that night,” Mariner Coach Norm Lacy said. “We dropped balls and picked them up for touchdowns. We missed handoffs and still scored.”

The Mariners hope the luck continues when they play Serra on Friday. The two teams tied for the Camino Real League title last season.

PLAYOFF PREPARATION

Brentwood (7-0) will put its record on the line when it plays host to Masada (3-4) at 2 p.m. Friday. Masada held second-ranked Hesperia Christian to a 14-14 tie before a fumbled punt return and an interception with 2 minutes remaining led to a 26-14 defeat.

“So far they’ve been their (own) worst enemies. Against Hesperia, they had two touchdowns called back for holding. They’re a big-play team,” said Brentwood Coach Pat Brown. “This is really going to toughen us up for the playoffs.”

In last week’s 45-7 win over Webb, freshman tailback Rico Saken scored his first touchdown on a 50-yard fourth-quarter run.

Senior Fred Savage, the television actor who starred in “The Wonder Years,” is averaging 13.4 yards rushing for the Eagles and scored a 31-yard touchdown against Campbell Hall.

LESSON LEARNED

Murphy Coach Greg Dixon found a bright spot after a scoreless tie with Salesian in a Santa Fe League game.

“Our defense finally got a shutout but it just happened in a game where we didn’t score any points,” he said. “We couldn’t get anything going.”

The Nobles are the two-time defending champions and Dixon believes the team may have taken too many opponents for granted.

“We’ve basically dominated the league for the past two years and they got into believing it would automatically happen again,” Dixon said. “I don’t know if the guys were taking every team seriously before. But if they were, that’s beginning to change now.”

SLIM PICKINGS

After a 29-25 victory over Manual Arts on Friday, Fairfax Coach Terrel Ray spent his time trying to figure whether the Lions had a legitimate shot to make the playoffs. The Lions, who are 4-4 (2-3 in the Western League), can qualify as a third-place team if they win their remaining games against Hamilton and Los Angeles.

The top two teams from the six City 4-A leagues are guaranteed playoff berths. Four at-large teams will also be selected. Traditionally, third-place teams from the North Valley League and Pacific League receive at-large bids. Fairfax, third in the Metro, will be competing with third-place teams from the Eastern League, Northeastern League and Valley East League.

“If we make the playoffs, we plan to make an impact,” Ray said. “It doesn’t matter who we play because we will probably be one of the last teams chosen.”

HOME STUDYING

Rasheed Phillips, Hamilton’s leading rusher and receiver, has missed the past two games because of academic problems.

Phillips was removed from the team by his mother until he improved his grade-point average. Phillips led the Yankees with 211 yards rushing and 247 yards receiving before he left the team.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Don’t expect West L.A. Coach Rob Hager to be inviting Pierce Coach Bill Norton over for Thanksgiving dinner Saturday when the West L.A. plays host to Pierce.

While scouting the 1992 Pierce-Harbor game last season, Hager said he had a confrontation with Norton and his staff. He said Norton sent an assistant to order Hager and his coaches off the sidelines and threatened them.

“(Norton) really drags our coaching profession down and he’s no different than a common thug,” Hager said. “The demeanor of the Pierce coaching staff is really a slap in the face to respectable programs.”

Norton said one of his assistants heatedly told Hager and his staff to leave, but only after making the request politely with no results.

“Rob Hager has what is called selective memory,” Norton said.

Hager, however, wants to downplay the incident in preparation for the Western State Conference Southern Division game.

“What happened has been discussed with the team, but it does not help to drag anything up,” Hager said. “We’re going to play a football game and no one’s personal agenda or grudges is above that. It is not my intention to create any negativity.”

West L.A. (3-3-1, 1-0-1) remains unbeaten in conference but had to settle for a 43-43 tie against Santa Monica on Saturday after both teams missed field goals in the final minute. The tie extended Santa Monica’s seven-year unbeaten streak against West L.A.

West L.A. rallied from a 36-22 fourth-quarter deficit to tie the score, 43-43, on a 45-yard pass from Damon Williams to Keyshawn Johnson and a two-point conversion run by James Henderson with 1:36 to play.

The teams combined for 840 yards offense, 433 of them by West L.A. Oiler running back Michael Black gained 211 yards and scored two touchdowns to move into second place among the state’s rushing leaders with 1,034 yards and seven touchdowns.

Santa Monica quarterback Jorge Blanco completed 16 of 27 passes for 237 yards as the Corsairs accumulated 29 first downs. Brian Clark had seven receptions for 132 yards and Mario Mattison had 118 yards in 15 carries for Santa Monica.

“For two teams to score 86 points in 3 1/2 hours is incredible,” Santa Monica Coach Owen Hahn said. “(West L.A.) shot themselves in the foot a few times, but I think for their program tie was more like a victory and more like a loss for us.”

Another loss for the Corsairs (3-3-1, 0-1-1) would virtually eliminate them from a postseason bowl berth. Santa Monica will play host to Bakersfield (8-0, 2-0), the state’s third-ranked team, on Saturday.

“The picture is cloudy, but we’re not dead yet,” Hahn said. “We still have an outside chance but we’re going to need some help from other teams.”