These Taft Players Will Miss Title Game

So much for the thrill of victory for the Taft High boys’ basketball team.

The Toreadors will play Hollywood in the championship round of the Westlake tournament at 8 tonight, the same time Taft’s football team meets San Pedro at the Coliseum for the City Section 4-A Division championship.

“I guess there is a price for winning,� said Taft athletic director Jim Woodard. “Maybe they can watch the game on TV.�

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Bad memory: Taft better hope tonight’s football game goes better than the last time the Toreadors played the Pirates.

In Coach Troy Starr’s first season in 1992, San Pedro scored three first-half touchdowns and cruised to a 24-7 victory in the 3-A final for the Pirates’ first-ever City title.

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End of line: Saturday will mark the 39th and final game for the Nordhoff tandem of Coach Cliff Farrar and his son, senior fullback Russell Farrar, in the Southern Section Division X final against St. Bonaventure.

Cliff has a record of 64-49-1 in 10 seasons with the Rangers, but has gone 27-10-1 in Russell’s three varsity seasons.

Russell leads Nordhoff with 1,507 yards and 11 touchdowns in 221 carries.

“Russell leaving is already hard to talk about,� said Cliff, his voice choked with emotion. “It’s been a neat three years with him. I don’t have to worry about how I handle him because he’s earned absolutely everything he’s gotten.�

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Head in clouds: Rain, rain . . . come back.

That’s the wish of Van Nuys Coach Mark Pomerantz, whose team has benefited from an opportunistic defense recently.

Since his ball-control offense isn’t prone to turnovers, Pomerantz would like to see as much slipping and sliding as a muddy field might cause.

“If it’s [rainy and wet tonight], we have a pretty good advantage,� Pomerantz said. “We don’t give up the ball that often.�

Losing ground: A fast, albeit unbelievable, fact: On average, Van Nuys’ defense allows 26 yards more than its offense gains.

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Two-way threat: Notre Dame’s secondary has 14 interceptions this season, including four by Jorge Piedra, who doubles as the Knights’ quarterback.

Piedra, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior, had six interceptions last season, two he returned for touchdowns.