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Santa Monica
Sports Notes
St. Monica had only 29 players suited up and lost several to injuries as play went on. But now the Mariners have momentum going into a game Friday night at Bosco Tech. The next home game will be against Mary Star Oct. 6. St. Monica High earned its first win against two losses with a non-league 15-14 victory over Northwood Saturday night at St. Bernard High. Because St. Monica doesn't have a football field it plays all home games at St. Bernard, in Westchester. Coach Randy Robinson, in his first season of guiding the team, now has a varsity victory after spending nine years at the school as varsity assistant coach and head coach of the junior varsity squad. He took over for Norm Lacy, who became head coach at Santa Monica. ``St. Monica has some talented players and they're a well-coached team,'' said Jeff Cortez, coach of Paraclete High which defeated St. Monica the previous week. ``But at a small school sometimes you don't have the numbers (of players).'' |
Samohi Overcomes Deficit, Obstacles To Win Again By Mitch Chortkoff There was a lot going against Santa Monica's gallant football team when the second half began Friday night at Venice. The Vikings were four points behind. They didn't have star receiver Charles Gordon, who injured his left ankle on the third play of the game and didn't return. And rain began to fall. But instead of using any excuses, Samohi rallied to win, 31-14. The Vikings scored three touchdowns and held the Gondoliers scoreless in the second half. The biggest play was made by Terrell Maze, who picked up a dropped lateral pass in the fourth quarter and ran 20 yards into the end zone, increasing the Samohi lead from 17-14 to 24-14. Most of the Venice players thought it was an incomplete pass and a dead ball, but since it had been passed backward the ball was live. That's the type of play teams make when they're headed for big seasons. Now Samohi has a 3-0 record and has surpassed its victory total of last season when the team went 2-9. Samohi will begin Ocean League play Friday night at Inglewood, and that will be another difficult test. Inglewood is also 3-0 and last week rolled to a 38-7 victory over Serra, a team Samohi edged, 21-16. Inglewood runs a double win-T offense, something that is unfamiliar to most opponents. As league play begins Samohi can look back with pride at going undefeated in the non-league games, with wins over University, Serra and Venice. A capacity crowd turned out at Venice despite threatening weather. The stands were filled on both sides, and the interest in Samohi football is evident when a large crowd travels to a game. It happened the previous week at Serra and again here. No rain fell in the first half, when Venice took a 14-10 lead. But when the teams returned from the halftime intermission rain began to fall. It began as a drizzle and then became heavier. James Cooper threw a touchdown pass to put Samohi ahead, 17-14. Then Maze made his big play. Then fullback Jesus Valdovinos carried twice, getting the ball to the one, and tailback Derrick Davis got the final yard for the game's last touchdown. On all occasions Darius Bell made the extra point. Davis carred 22 times for 112 yards but Cooper had an off-night passing, constantly overthrowing his receivers. He was five-for-19. Venice quarterback Anton Clarkson and running back Wale Forrester kept Samohi off balance early in the game. But they were less effective as the contest went on. Samohi did a nice job of adjusting to the absence of Gordon, who was hurt while trying to make a difficult catch in the end zone. But if Gordon is out for awhile it will doubtlessly hurt the Vikings on both offense and defense. |
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