Sports

WRIGHT MOVE

Gerry Wright, a former standout basketball player at USC and Iowa, has been hired to coach the Santa Monica High girls’ basketball team. He replaces Heidi Overseer, who became coach at Chadwick.

Wright, a Santa Monica policeman, played at USC in 1984 and at Iowa from 1985-1987. George Raveling, the USC basketball coach, was Wright’s coach at Iowa for two seasons.

Despite announcing that he had enlisted in the military, the 6-foot-6 Wright was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the NBA draft. He was a physical education instructor and assistant basketball coach at Navy for a year and then had two years of flight school training.

After fulfilling his military commitment, Wright played professional basketball for Louvain, Belgium.

Wright, 30, worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for two years and has worked for the Santa Monica Police Department for the past year.

“I’m very excited not only because I’m getting back into basketball, which I enjoy, but because I can work with young people on campus,” Wright said.

UNDER PENALTY

West Los Angeles and Valley colleges engaged in a penalty-filled Western State Conference South Division game Saturday.

The two teams were penalized 26 times for 235 yards. Standout Oiler running back Michael Black was ejected late in the third quarter.

Valley won, 27-8.

SMASHING DEBUT

Robert Taylor made school history Saturday as the first African American to coach Santa Monica College in a football game and he won his debut in impressive fashion.

The Corsairs had nine players score in a 65-19 victory over Rio Hondo.

Corsair quarterback Jorge Blanco threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Receiver Nakia Wheeler had touchdown receptions of 63 and 35 yards.

Running back Quincy Wimbush had touchdown runs of seven and four yards, Robert Hayes had a seven-yard scoring run and John Houston had a 14-yard touchdown.

“We never expected to score 65 points,” Taylor said. “It came as a complete surprise.

“We really hit a good niche in the second half. In football, when you hit a couple long passes and the team is playing good defense, it’s hard for opponents to play catch-up.”

Can the Corsairs produce that same type of scoring power Saturday at Santa Barbara?

“Half the campus here is asking that question,” Taylor said. “Santa Barbara had a bye and saw us play. I’m sure they will be ready for us and we’ll be ready for them.”

TRASH TALKING

Venice co-coach Tony Chretin is impressed with San Pedro’s play on the football field, but he is not a big fan of the Pirates’ demeanor.

“They really play an intimidating physical style of football, which we like,” Chretin said. “They don’t back down from anyone. But we don’t like the verbal aspect of their team. They try to verbally intimidate you by trash talking. We don’t do any trash talking.”

The teams meet Friday night at Venice.

“I’ve never seen someone score a touchdown with their mouth,” Chretin said. “They’re capable of scoring with their helmets and their shoulder pads the way the game is supposed to be played.”

Last Friday, Chretin was unimpressed with his team’s play in a 24-6 win over Hollywood. Chretin said his team was uninspired. Demetrius Posey, who carried nine times for 41 yards, twisted his right ankle while running the sweep and is out indefinitely.

Junior running back Ronnel Jamar will replace Posey, the Gondoliers’ leading rusher, against San Pedro.

CASHING IN

Fairfax came back a winner from its Las Vegas trip, defeating Silverado, 27-8.

Receiver Ivan Torres had touchdown receptions of 89 and six yards. Defensive back Tanquary Clark scored on a 65-yard punt return and running back Anthony Gillespie scored on a one-yard run.

Defensively, Jermaine Walton and Lewis Torres each had two interceptions and Darrick Houston had one. The strangest turnover, however, came when Deneal Davis wrestled the ball away from a Silverado player and ran 15 yards.