Crenshaw running back Joseph Scott did not have any problems running through Gardena’s defense. Photo by Jason Lewis
Carson scheduled tough non-league teams, but that has not worked out very well for them. This past Friday night they lost to Mission Viejo 31-0. Photo by Ken Brooks.
By Jason Lewis
Sentinel Sports Editor
[email protected]
For the first time in two seasons there is no clear-cut favorite at mid season in the City Section.
Crenshaw has lost a ton of talent, and many believe that they are not close to being the team that won the last two City championships. They are 2-2 after four games, just like last year, but last year’s Crenshaw team still looked like they would run through the City after a tough non-league schedule.
They ran Gardena 61-6 this past Friday night, but that is not going to convince many people that other City schools have not caught up to them.
Dorsey, Carson, and Narbonne look like they can compete for a City title. Out of that group, Dorsey looks like the team that may be the best up to this point in the season.
They are sitting at 4-1 after a pretty tough non-league schedule. They knocked off an undefeated Alemany team this past Friday, and their only loss was by two points against an undefeated Redlands East Valley team.
Dorsey is not lighting up the scoreboard, but they have mostly done it on defense, where they are only giving up 8.8 points per game.
Narbonne plays in the Marine League, the toughest league in the City, but they still schedule tough non-league opponents.
This past Friday they knocked off Gardena Serra, who is not the dominant team that they were the past two seasons, but they still have a lot of talent. Narbonne also gave Long Beach Poly a run for their money, but they came up short, 19-16.
Carson, also in the Marine, schedules tough non-league opponents like Narbonne does, but this year it looked like they were trying to knock off a number of the Southern Section’s top teams. They scheduled Mater Dei, Long Beach Poly, Santa Margarita, and Mission Viejo.
Two years ago Crenshaw had a similar schedule, and they finished their run through the Southern Section’s top teams with a 5-0 record, which helped their bid for a State Bowl appearance.
But it has not worked out that way from Carson, who after beating Mater Dei, they were thumped by Poly, Santa Margarita, and Mission Viejo. The final scores of those games were not close.
The theory is that tough non-league games can prepare a team for their league schedule, but the thought was that Carson was trying to make a statement by winning against some of Southern California’s best teams, but it did not work out that way.
The City Section seems like it is up for grabs for the first time in two years, but one thought that is floating out there is that until a City school actually knocks off Crenshaw, which has not happened since 2008, they are the team to beat in the City.
Last week’s results
Hamilton wide receiver Billy Vaughn Jr. takes an end around for a touchdown in their 46-10 victory over Cleveland. Photo by Jason Lewis
Dorsey 13, Alemany 12
Crenshaw 61, Gardena 6
Fremont 23, Washington 20
Mission Viejo 31, Carson 0
Narbonne 26, Gardena Serra 20
San Pedro 13, Inglewood 9
St. Margaret’s 28, View Park 12
Taft 28, Saugus 21
Jefferson 32, Bernstein 7
Los Angeles 35, Hollywood 12
Granada Hills 27, Palisades 6
Lincoln 34, Manual Arts 27
Locke 42, Sun Valley Poly 6
Hamilton 46, Cleveland 10
Marshall 27, Fairfax 25
University 26, Eagle Rock 20
Bishop Montgomery 21, Verbum Dei 14
Lakewood 42, Long Beach Wilson 28
Long Beach Poly 41, Compton 14
Compton Centennial 20, Morningside 14
Culver City 52, Leuzinger 0
Glendora 24, Lynwood 7
Hawthorne 35, Firebaugh 0
Dominguez 21, San Diego Lincoln 9
This week’s schedule
All games Friday at 7 p.m. unless noted
Fairfax at Wilson, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Bishop Amat at Venice, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at University, 3 p.m.
Fremont at Hamilton, 3 p.m.
Palisades at Vista Murrieta
Westchester at San Pedro
Carson at San Diego Lincoln, 6:30 p.m.
Narbonne at Culver City
Washington at Manual Arts, 3 p.m.
Gardena vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
West Adams at San Clemente, Saturday, 7 p.m.
Long Beach Jordan vs. Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium
Hawthorne at Leuzinger
Lynwood at Lawndale
Palos Verdes vs. Inglewood at Coleman Stadium
Santa Monica at Compton Centennial, 6 p.m.
Huntington Park at Jordan, 3 p.m.
Firebaugh vs. Morningside Thursday, 7 p.m.
Blair vs. View Park at Rancho Cienega Park Thursday 7 p.m.
Bosco Tech vs. Verbum Dei at Los Angeles Southwest College, Saturday, 7 p.m.
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