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By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on Twitter
October 4, 2022~The CIF-Southern Section fall season began on Aug. 13 with girls volleyball being the first sport to have its events played, and just like that, Oct. 14 will be the last day of league action with the divisional playoffs beginning on Oct. 17. While two area teams are on track to win their respective leagues, as many as four others are in a prime position to grab one of their respective league’s automatic berths.
In the 605 League, Cerritos High began the week at 14-7 overall, 7-0 in league and needs two wins to claim the program’s fourth straight league crown. The Dons visited John Glenn High this past Tuesday and will host Whitney High today and second place Oxford Academy on Tuesday.
The battle for third place could come down to the final regular season match when Artesia High welcomes Glenn. Entering this week, Artesia was 5-10 overall, 3-4 in league while Glenn was sitting at 7-8, 3-4. Artesia will host Oxford Academy today while the Eagles entertain Pioneer High today.
In the Mid-Cities League, first place La Mirada High hosted third place Norwalk High this past Monday and swept the Lancers to improve to 13-9 overall and 6-0 in league. The Matadores had home matches with Lynwood High (Oct. 4) and Firebaugh High (Oct. 6) before ending the regular season at Bellflower High on Tuesday and home against Dominguez High on Thursday. Norwalk, which dropped to 7-11, 3-3, hosted Firebaugh and Dominguez this week and will visit Lynwood and Bellflower on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.
Valley Christian High began the week at 17-10 overall and 3-1 in the Olympic League, good for second place. The league title was on the line on Oct. 6 when the Defenders hosted first place Village Christian High and Valley Christian will visit Whittier Christian High on Monday before hosting Heritage Christian High on Wednesday.
FOOTBALL
Westminster High (6-0) @ Artesia (0-5-1)-The Pioneers ended a two-game scoreless skid but still hasn’t picked up a win after an 18-14 loss to Viewpoint High last Friday. In six games, Artesia has scored 41 points and the 18 allowed last Friday was a season low. The Pioneers will conclude their non-league part of the schedule against a Lions team that is both offensive and defensive-minded.
Westminster, coming off a 13-9 win over Katella High last Friday, has scored 227 points while allowing 19 points. The team had a stretch of four straight shutouts before last Friday. Quarterback Alex Solano (48 completions, 911 yards, 14 touchdowns), running back William Pardue (37 carries, 377 yards) and wide receiver Jason Pham (24 receptions, 476 yards, 10 touchdowns) are the offensive leaders.
Prediction: Westminster 42, Artesia 6.
Gahr High (0-6) @ Cerritos (1-5)-This ABC Unified School District game, which was on Oct. 6, has not been played since Sept. 8, 2017, probably because Gahr was on a 13-game winning streak, outscoring the Dons 561-56 with seven shutouts. But times have changed, and Cerritos has a much better program these days. The Dons are coming off a 34-14 loss to Chino High last Friday and have yet to score more than 21 points in any game. This will be the final non-league contest for the Dons.
It’s a tad bit worse for Gahr, which was doubled up by Bellflower High 40-20 last Friday in the Mid-Cities League opener. It was a season high in points scored, but the Gladiators have been outscored 183-55 this season, including three games of yielding at least 40 points.
Prediction: Cerritos 35, Gahr 14.
John Glenn (2-3) @ Garden Grove High (5-1)-Glenn has had two weeks off since a 59-6 loss to Norwalk High on Sept. 16. After scoring 49 points against Firebaugh High on Aug. 26, the Eagles have scored 25 points in their last three contests and have been outscored 104-0 in the first three quarters in the last two games.
It could be more of the same against the Argonauts, who have already defeated Artesia 61-6 and Gahr 21-0 earlier in the season. Quarterback Branden Roth has completed 65 percent of his passes and has thrown for 627 yards and 10 touchdowns. Running back Malachi Bey continues to be stellar on the ground, gaining 799 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns.
Prediction: Garden Grove 42, Glenn 6.
La Mirada (3-3, 1-0 in the Gateway League) @ Mayfair High (3-3, 0-1)-La Mirada picked up a huge 43-21 win at Dominguez last Thursday in the inaugural Gateway League open and after a three-game slide, the Matadores have won their past two games. In the win over Dominguez, senior running back C.J. Zackery scored on runs of five, three and 32 yards while senior quarterback Nehuel Garcia threw touchdown passes of 31 yards to senior Trevor Cook and two yards to freshman Gavin Lannon.
When the Matadores were in the Suburban League, their biggest rival was Mayfair, which has won five straight in the series. Before that, La Mirada won seven of the previous eight meetings. The Monsoons were trounced by Warren High 54-7 last Friday, ending a two-game winning streak and in their three losses, they have scored 34 points. Mayfair is more of passing team than a rushing team and is led by quarterback Evan Tomich, who has thrown for over 800 yards.
Prediction: La Mirada 35, Mayfair 31.
Lynwood (6-1, 1-0 in the Mid-Cities League) @ Norwalk (6-0, 0-0)-The Lancers were off last Friday following their high-scoring 44-30 win over El Rancho High. This is Norwalk’s Mid-Cities League opener, and it comes against a surprise Lynwood program that had historically been in the bottom half of the old San Gabriel Valley League. It is also Norwalk’s homecoming game, and no Norwalk team has faced Lynwood in at least over 25 years.
The Knights are coming off a 40-0 win against Firebaugh last Friday for their second shutout of the season. However, two of the six wins have been by forfeit and the six victories are the most by any Lynwood team since 2014. One more win by Lynwood would give the program its best mark since 2008.
Prediction: Norwalk 42, Lynwood 14.
Ontario Christian High (6-0, 1-0 in the Ironwood League) @ Valley Christian (2-4, 0-1)-See Heritage Christian/Valley Christian game story.
Prediction: Ontario Christian 49, Valley Christian 13.
Last week: 3-2
Season to date: 27-9-1
