Times Honors Top Players, Coach : Prep football: Hawthorne’s Morgan, Peninsula’s Welbourn earn individual honors. Mira Costa’s Morrow is coach of the year.

Omarr Morgan of Hawthorne High, John Welbourn of Peninsula and Coach Don Morrow of Mira Costa were the South Bay award winners Sunday at The Times’ All-Star football breakfast at the Guest Quarters Hotel in Santa Monica.

Morgan, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound senior who played several positions, was named back of the year. Welbourn, a 6-6, 275-pound senior, was lineman of the year. Morrow, who guided Mira Costa to its first Southern Section title, was coach of the year.

Former NFL linebacker Ricky Hunley, a USC assistant coach, was the guest speaker and handed out certificates and plaques to the players chosen to the South Bay and Westside All-Star teams.

Morgan helped Hawthorne (12-2) advance to the Division III final for the second consecutive season with his all-around play. His main duties were on defense, where he was a full-time starter at free safety. He tied for the team lead with seven interceptions and ranked second with 150 tackles. Morgan had an interception and a fumble recovery Saturday night in the Cougars’ 22-14 loss to Newbury Park in the Division III championship game.

“He was our best defender in man-to-man coverage,” Hawthorne Coach Dan Robbins said. “He can play any position in the secondary.”

The versatile Morgan also contributed on offense, playing running back and wide receiver, in addition to his duties as a return specialist. He rushed for 346 yards and 11 touchdowns in 45 carries, a 7.6-yard average, and had nine receptions for 188 yards and two TDs. He averaged 37.2 yards on kickoff returns, with one touchdown, and averaged 13 yards on punt returns, with one TD. He completed his only pass of the season in Saturday’s game for 41 yards.

With Morgan in the lineup, Hawthorne was 15-2 over the past two seasons, including a 7-1 playoff record. He was named Bay League most valuable player.

Welbourn, a two-way starter at offensive guard and defensive tackle, emerged as one of the area’s top college prospects in a good year for linemen. His blocking helped Peninsula (10-2) average more than 300 yards rushing a game, and his defensive play was also praised by coaches.

Welbourn took his first recruiting trip last weekend to Nebraska. He also plans to visit UCLA, USC and Colorado. He was named to the Bay League first team.

Under Morrow’s guidance, Mira Costa (13-1) enjoyed the best season in school history. The Mustangs, who had never advanced further than the second round of the playoffs, won four playoff games and the Division VII title Friday night with a 29-17 victory over Rancho Alamitos.

Mira Costa’s only loss was a 21-20 defeat by Culver City that cost the Mustangs the Ocean League title. They won most of their games by comfortable margins behind a stingy defense and ball-control running game that featured several different backs over the course of the season.

Morrow, 34, had been the coach at South Torrance for four seasons, winning or sharing three Pioneer League titles, before moving to Mira Costa last spring. The Mustangs had won a total of seven games in two previous seasons.

A former standout quarterback, Morrow played football at Aviation High, El Camino College and Cal State Northridge.

South Bay Football Top 10 Final

Selected by Times Sportswriters

Rank School, League Record 1 San Pedro (Southern) 13-1 2 Hawthorne (Bay) 12-2 3 Carson (Pacific) 10-4 4 Mira Costa (Ocean) 13-1 5 Peninsula (Bay) 10-2 6 Banning (Pacific) 5-6 7 Leuzinger (Bay) 5-6 8 South Torrance (Pioneer) 7-3-1 9 North Torrance (Pioneer) 5-6 10 West Torrance (Pioneer) 6-5