Prep Rally: Rocky sailing in the Marine League as teams threaten to forfeit against Narbonne

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. The City Section is never boring, and when four Marine League football coaches signed a letter sent to Commissioner Vicky Lagos saying they would forfeit games to Narbonne unless action is taken for alleged violations, it got everyone’s attention.

Marine League turmoil

Banning forfeited its Marine League opener against Narbonne on Friday in protest of the Gauchos allegedly violating rules. The Gauchos were put on probation in 2019 and 2020 for an ineligible player, but no evidence has been presented yet to the City Section of any new violations, leading some to believe the four coaches are out of line.

Mike Christensen, the coach at Carson, said the threat to forfeit games unless action is taken doesn’t involve transfers. “Transfers are part of high school now,� he said.

But Christensen, Banning’s Raymond Grajeda, Gardena’s Monty Gilbreath and San Pedro’s Corey Walsh said in the letter, “We cannot, in good conscience, continue to subject our athletes to an environment where unethical behavior is rewarded and their safety is jeopardized. Therefore, until action is taken, we will not schedule or participate in any football games against Narbonne. Our programs deserve an even playing field, and we believe that these steps are necessary to restore the principles of fairness, safety and competition within our league.�

Carson doesn’t play Narbonne until week 10, so the Colts are hoping this can be resolved. The only comment from the Los Angeles Unified School District has been, “Los Angeles Unified is aware of these allegations and will work with CIF to address any findings, as appropriate.�

“We’ll see what happens between now and then,� Christensen said. “Nobody is afraid to play them. This should be solvable. There has to be action taken.�

San Pedro is scheduled to play Narbonne on Friday, and the Pirates have indicated they won’t play, having changed their scheduled homecoming game from Friday to Nov. 1 against Gardena.

Here’s more information about the protest.

Southern Section football

St. John Bosco launches victory celebration after stopping Orange Lutheran on game’s final play for 28-24 win.

(Craig Weston)

It was delirious happiness on the St. John Bosco sideline when Brandon Nash recorded a sack on the final play to preserve the Braves’ thrilling 28-24 victory over Orange Lutheran. The second-half performance by freshman quarterback Koa Malau’ulu will be long remembered. He completed 20 of 22 passes and threw four touchdowns to rally the Braves from a 10-0 halftime deficit. Here’s the report.

Leuzinger High running back Journee Tonga tries to slip a tackle by Inglewood defender Noah Clark on Friday night.

(Nick Koza)

More drama happened at El Camino College, where unbeaten Inglewood and unbeaten Leuzinger engaged in a wild game that ended with Inglewood winning 34-29. Here’s the report

Servite (6-0) stayed unbeaten with a 20-7 win over previously unbeaten JSerra and will get to play unbeaten Mater Dei on Friday at Mt. SAC College. Quaid Carr rushed for 184 yards.

Mission Viejo improved to 7-0 with a victory over Long Beach Poly at SoFi Stadium.

Long Beach Millikan hasn’t beaten Long Beach Poly since the 2009 season. The Rams get to host Poly on Friday night in a huge battle for first place in the Moore League.

The biggest comeback was pulled off by Gardena Serra. Down 35-14 in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers scored four touchdowns to beat Loyola 42-35. Marcellous Ryan helped his team with an interception and fumble recovery in the quarter.

Ryder Brownstein of Brentwood set a school record for most receiving yards at 223 yards after catching 11 passes in a win over Don Lugo.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Here’s the list of top performances.

Here’s the score list.

Here’s this week’s schedule for week 7.

City Section football

Birmingham coach Jim Rose has a 43-game winning streak against City Section opponents.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Birmingham has set a City Section record for most consecutive wins against section opponents after a 64-0 victory over Chatsworth. That’s 43 consecutive wins dating back to 2018. The Patriots came in 0-4 against Southern Section opponents and now appear ready to do their annual beating up on City Section competition even though the team is filled with sophomores. Coach Jim Rose will try to have them improve weekly in time for the Open Division playoffs. The Patriots have been Open Division champions in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The Western League has a big game this week with 5-1 Palisades taking on 6-0 Westchester. Both teams won their league openers last week.

Sophomore Ceasar Reyes of Garfield continues to put up rushing yards for Garfield. He had 260 yards and four touchdowns against South East.

A big City Section game has the Coliseum League rivalry game between Crenshaw and Dorsey at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Here’s this week’s top 10 rankings.

Flag football

Josie Anderson intercepts a pass in the end zone to preserve Orange Lutheran’s 20-13 victory.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Two of the best quarterbacks in flag football dueled last week when unbeaten Orange Lutheran faced Santa Margarita. The spirals were amazing and showed how far the girls have come in only two years of competition.

Orange Lutheran prevailed 20-13 but flag football was the big winner.

Here’s the report.

Later in the week, Orange Lutheran suffered its first defeat to Mater Dei 12-6. Orange Lutheran and Santa Margarita have a rematch on Thursday at Santa Margarita.

Here’s the week 6 scores.

Saving Verbum Dei

Verbum Dei president Father Travis Russell will try to rebuild the suspended football program.

(Verbum Dei)

Verbum Dei, which opened in 1962 in Watts, suspended its football program after going 0-4 and running low on players. The school’s president is vowing to bring it back next season.

There have been obstacles building up the program because of the school’s corporate work study program that sometimes affects practice schedules.

Here’s the report on what Father Travis Russell plans to do.

Kicker U

Kicker/punters are not like quarterbacks. They rarely transfer if they are backups. They like competing and waiting their turn and know there’s lots of ways to get noticed off high school campuses throughs camps and private instruction.

Take the case of Chaminade High, which might be known as Kicker U. Last season, there were four kickers/punters on campus who one day could be kicking in college football.

Ryon Sayeri was the star kicker/punter who ended up going to USC. The backup was Joshua Zammit, who got to attempt just one punt but stayed. Now he’s the star punter at College of the Canyons. The punter on junior varsity was junior Alessandro Garrett. Now he’s averaging 44.6 yards per punt and committed to Holy Cross, where he also might be the kicker.

Also in the program was freshman Carter Sobel. Now he’s on the varsity as a sophomore and made a 49-yard field goal on Friday. There’s already word that a top eighth-grade punter might be enrolling in the fall.

Coach David Machuca likes being known for kickers and punters, but a few more linemen and touchdowns would be good for the program.

SoFi hosting games

SoFi Stadium.

(Gary Klein / Los Angeles Times)

SoFi Stadium wants high school football games to be part of its annual schedule of events, and the first of three games for this season was played on Friday when Mission Viejo took on Long Beach Poly. Other games scheduled are St. John Bosco vs. Servite on Oct. 18 and Garfield vs. Roosevelt on Oct. 25.

The Chargers, Rams and LA Bowl are serving as sponsors for the games to help reduce costs for schools, according to Adolfo Romero, the stadium’s vice president of programming and booking.

“The goal was to make this a home for football at all different levels,� he said.

Here’s the report.

Girls volleyball

Palos Verdes hitter Kaci Demaria on the attack in Wednesday’s three-set loss to Mira Costa in Manhattan Beach.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

The Bay League has 17 Division I girls’ volleyball commitments. The competition and intensity of matches is well known. The rivalries among Mira Costa, Redondo Union and Palos Verdes produce memorable play.

Here’s a look at what makes the league so good for girls’ volleyball and where those 17 players are headed.

Redondo Union defeated Mira Costa in the championship match of their own tournament.

Cross-country

City Section and Southern Section teams continue to prepare for the big meets ahead in cross-country.

Notes . . .

Banning safety Steven Perez will play the first month of the football season as a 16-year-old senior.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

On his 17th birthday, All-City defensive back Steven Perez of Banning announced he has committed to Utah Tech. . . .

Former St. Francis basketball player Mazi Mosley has committed to LSU. . . .

Junior pitcher Kal’nalu Van Scoyoc of Palos Verdes has committed to USC. . . .

Troy girls basketball coach Roger Anderson has said this will be his final season as coach. . . .

Point guard Amaya Williams of Mater Dei has committed to Grand Canyon. . . .

Junior Wynter Thorne-Thomsen of Bishop Diego has committed to Pepperdine for women’s volleyball. . . .

Pitcher Alyssa Galindo of Etiwanda has committed to Michigan State softball. . . .

Pitcher Kalai Benavente of St. Paul has committed to Cal Poly Pomona softball. . . .

Santa Margarita football coach Anthony Rouzier was placed on administrative leave while the school conducts an investigation into the program. . . .

Safety Tahj Crutchfield from Rancho Cucamonga has committed to Boise State. . . .

The Valley Mission League just got stronger for City Section baseball beginning this spring with Poly, North Hollywood and Verdugo Hills joining Kennedy, San Fernando and Verdugo Hills. Moving to the East Valley League are Vaughn, Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences and Van Nuys joining Grant, Monroe and Arleta. There’s a new Valley League made up of Canoga Park, Panorama, Reseda, Sherman Oaks CES, Fulton, Northridge Academy and East Valley. . . .

Basketball standout Tounde Yessoufou Santa Maria St. Joseph has committed to Baylor. . . .

Point guard Lino Mark of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has committed to Rutgers. . . .

Junior wrestler Nate Carrillo from St. John Bosco has committed to Oregon State. . . .

Cesar Dash is the new wrestling coach at San Clemente. . . .

Ryan Belanto is the new baseball coach at Laguna Beach. . . .

From the archives: Romeo Doubs

Green Bay Packers’ Romeo Doubs runs during the first half of an NFL football.

(Morry Gash / Associated Press)

The pride of Jefferson High School in Los Angeles, Romeo Doubs, continues to excel in the NFL as a receiver for the Green Bay Packers.

Doubs was a quarterback on a double-wing T offensive attack in high school, received a scholarship to play receiver at Nevada and was drafted with the 132nd pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Here’s a story from 2022 on Doubs talking about his journey.

Here’s a story from 2021 about Doubs’ climb in football.

Recommendations

From the Washington Post, a story on how flag football became a hit in one county in Maryland.

From FT.com, a story on the rise of travel ball in youth sports.

From Latimes.com, a story on former Camarillo star Gabriela Jaquez and her trip to Mexico.

From CBSSports.com, a story on the comeback of former Chino Hills guard Lonzo Ball.

From Noozhawk.com, a story on Bishop Diego football coach Tom Crawford nearing history.

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