Prep Wrapup : Bay League Picture Cloudy as Ever

In light of Friday’s results, the picture in the Bay League football race appears as clouded as it did when play began two weeks ago.

The following scores offer proof:

Sept. 30--Hawthorne 30, Palos Verdes 15.

Oct. 7--Palos Verdes 36, Santa Monica 24.

Friday night--Santa Monica 41, Hawthorne 28.

How do you explain it?

“Every week you have to be on your toes,” Hawthorne Coach Goy Casillas said, “or you’re going to get knocked off.”

Although Leuzinger (6-0 overall, 3-0 in league) took over sole possession of first place with a convincing 28-7 win over Beverly Hills (5-1, 2-1), the league’s top five teams all appear capable of beating one another.

In other words, there is no clear-cut favorite.

Hawthorne, the preseason favorite of the league coaches, was no match for Santa Monica’s overpowering offensive line. The Cougars fell behind early and abandoned the running game, which is their strength, and defensively they could not stop the run, as Santa Monica tailback Mark Harper and fullback Damian Lunetta combined for 394 yards rushing.

The surprising result left the standings in somewhat of a logjam. Leuzinger leads the pack by one game over Beverly Hills, Santa Monica (3-2, 2-1), Palos Verdes (5-1, 2-1) and Hawthorne (4-2, 2-1).

And it might be too early to count out Rolling Hills (3-3, 1-2). The Titans snapped a three-game losing streak by beating winless Inglewood, 35-9, and can move into the playoff picture with a win over Hawthorne this Friday.

What makes the Bay League an interesting mix are the varying strengths and weaknesses of the teams:

--Leuzinger plays aggressive defense and runs the ball well, but the lack of an efficient passing attack will hurt if it ever falls behind.

--Hawthorne has great speed and big-play capabilities, but it’s obvious from the Santa Monica game that the Cougars are lacking up front.

--Santa Monica unquestionably has the best linemen in the league, but in the loss to Palos Verdes the Vikings appeared less talented at the skill positions than they’ve been in the past.

--Beverly Hills has a balanced offense and several talented players, but the linemen are small and the defense is suspect against the run.

--Palos Verdes has shown the ability to run, pass and play good defense, but some believe the Sea Kings are doing it with mirrors. Can they keep it up?

--Rolling Hills, lacking a passing game and team speed, needs to play error-free football to compete with the front-runners.

--Torrance (1-5, 0-3) and Inglewood (0-5, 0-3) are out of their leagues.

Beverly Hills Co-Coach Dick Billingsley said Leuzinger kept his team off balance Friday by employing 6-0, 215-pound offensive guard Mike Delich as a tight end on running plays.

Leuzinger used a double-tight end formation much of the game and finished with 258 yards and three touchdowns rushing.

“We were prepared for that, but we didn’t have anybody in our secondary who could match up (with Delich),” Billingsley said. “That was one of the key things they did.”

Leuzinger Coach Steve Carnes said it was the first time the Olympians had used Delich as a tight end. The senior was an All-Pioneer League lineman last year, but has played a reserve role this season because of back problems.

“We were disappointed with the blocking of our tight ends,” Carnes said. “We watched Delich work out Wednesday and decided to try him there. He gives us another good blocker.”

Carnes said Delich with have a new number for Friday’s game against Palos Verdes. He wears No. 72.

Leuzinger put Beverly Hills away on the first play of the second half when sophomore linebacker Manny Gonzalez intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown to give the Olympians a 21-7 lead.

“That killed them,” Carnes said. “It changed the whole complextion of the game. It put them in a hole.”

Servite was impressive in a 42-13 win over Bishop Montgomery, but Friar Coach Jerry Person didn’t make any friends by allowing star tailback Derek Brown to score the game’s final touchdown with 2:44 remaining.

“If I had Derek Brown on my team, I wouldn’t have him in the game with three minutes left,” Bishop Montgomery Coach Andy Szabatura said. “That I don’t appreciate. I’ll remember that.”

Brown, who missed most of the second quarter after suffering a cut on his right hand, carried the ball 17 times for 140 yards and four touchdowns.

“He’ll have to get a couple of stitches,” Person said of Brown’s injury. “But it’s nothing that’s going to hold him back.”

Brown, who surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season, scored the last three TDs for Servite (6-0), ranked No. 3 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.

Bishop Montgomery (4-2) trailed by seven points at halftime, 13-6, but a series of mistakes in the second half took the Knights out of the Angelus League opener. They had a punt blocked, lost a fumble, botched another punt and had a pass intercepted. Servite scored a touchdown after each miscue.

Quarterback Scott Altenberg accounted for all of Bishop Montgomery’s points with two 41-yard field goals, a 31-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Sheldon Butler and a PAT.

If Morningside continues to play like it has for the last three weeks, the only race in the Ocean League will be for second place.

The Monarchs (3-2, 3-0) moved into sole possession of first place with an easy 19-6 win over West Torrance for their third consecutive victory.

West (3-3, 2-1) fell into a four-way tie for second with Centennial, North Torrance and South Torrance in what looks like a scramble for the league’s two remaining playoff spots.

The combination of tailback Phillip Favors’ rushing, quarterback Ernesto Carmicle’s passing and a tough defense proved too much for West, which hurt itself by fumbling away its first possession at the Morningside 2-yard line.

Numbers game:

--Banning tailback Keith Mims rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries in a 14-0 win over San Pedro to increase his South Bay-leading totals to 888 yards and 14 TDs.

--Carson quarterback Perry Klein continued his torrid completion rate by connecting on 9 of 10 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-6 win over Gardena. On the season, Klein has completed 42 of 62 passes (67%).

--Narbonne lost to Crenshaw, 36-7, for its 17th straight defeat, and has now been outscored 205-13 this season. The Gauchos ended a scoreless streak of 18 quarters when it scored on a fake field goal with 11 seconds left.

--Serra, which had scored only 44 points in its first five games, eclipsed that mark with a 50-12 win over St. Anthony in a Camino Real League opener.

--Hawthorne quarterback Curtis Conway racked up some big numbers in a 41-28 loss to Santa Monica. He passed for 251 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two TDs.