Samohi Wins Again; Receiver Chris Gary Praises Coaches

By Mitch Chortkoff

The most spectacular play of Santa Monica High's 35-0 victory over Morningside Friday night was a twisting catch in the end zone by Chris Gary.

It came on the final play of the first half after Samohi was given an additional down from 25 yards out following a long meeting of the officials. At first they said offsetting penalties would end the half. Then they changed their mind.

After the game Gary shifted the credit to head coach Norm Lacy and his staff.

``The coaching staff last year worked hard but this staff has taken us to a new level,'' said Gary. ``The talent was always there.

``We have confidence now. This game is about 90 percent mental.''

A week earlier Samohi defeated Centennial, 54-0. The consecutive shutouts are impressive for a team that had a porous defense last season. But the Vikings have only defeated the two weakest teams in the Ocean League.

The competition gets much tougher Friday when Santa Monica High comes home to play North Torrance at 7 p.m.. Down the road there will be a showdown game with Inglewood, which appears to be Santa Monica's major roadblock toward winning the league title.

Lacy said his players worked hard during the summer and it is paying off now with a 5-0 record and No. 2 ranking in CIF Division 10.

``Weight training in the off-season is important,'' he said. ``We had a lot of guys who stuck it out.''

He praised two sophomores who became starters on defense after playing on the frosh-soph team a year ago.

``Abraham Badillo has done the job at middle linebacker and Adrian Gonzalez at strong safety,'' said the coach. ``Both have bright futures.''

Samohi was without three injured players for the game against Morningside at Coleman Stadium in Inglewood. Star receiver Charles Gordon is out for the season with a broken ankle. His replacement, Ben Casillas, suffered a separated shoulder in the win over Centennial. John Cox, another stellar defensive player, has a knee injury but may be able to play this week.

Lacy called up sophomore Paul Helney from the junior varsity. Helney played most of the game on defense against Morningside.

In another change Ben Hutchinson was shifted from tight end to add depth at wide receiver. Hutchinson caught a 20-yard pass against Morningside.

Quarterback James Cooper, who was a perfect seven-for-seven in the rout of Centennial, was only five-of-13 against Morningside. But he threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Maze and the big one to Gary.

Running back Derrick Davis gained 186 yards against Morningside, including touchdown runs of 2 and 30 yards.

On the game's first series Morningside was stopped but flubbed its punt attempt, giving Samohi the ball on the 24. Davis gained 22 yards on a sweep around left end, then scored on his two-yard run.

However, Samohi stumbled through the next 15 minutes and held only a 7-0 lead late in the second quarter against a winless (0-5) opponent. But Cooper led a drive that ended with his six-yard TD pass to Maze. And when Samohi struck again as the half ended it took a 21-0 lead to the locker room.

A 30-yard run by Davis set up the next touchdown and Samohi scored again as the Morningside defense became worn down. In the game's final two minutes Samohi drove to the Morningside three-yard-line but was stopped on fourth down.

Jesus Farjardo, who has won the place-kicking job from Darius Bell, was successful on every extra point attempt.

The bullish runs of fullback Jesus Valdovinos also contributed nicely to the victory. He had 60 yards.