MIDWEEK REPORT / HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS UPDATE : Chaminade Sophomore Grows, Up

Talk about growing up in a hurry. Scott Long is threatening to sprout right out of the gym at Chaminade High.

Long, a sophomore forward, stands 6 feet 5 and weighs 185 pounds--barely resembling the 6-1, 165-pound freshman who answered to the same name last March.

Long has grown three inches since August. He makes groceries disappear at a rate that has the family food bill skyrocketing. And check this case of athlete’s feet: he wears a size-16 shoe.

“I call stores and ask if they have my size before I go shopping,” Long said. “They say they’ll have a shipment coming in. Then I go there and they have, maybe, two or three pairs

that don’t fit.”

Growing pains? Not for Long. In fact, life seems to fit just fine.

Long, who is averaging 14.5 points and 8.7 rebounds as a starter, is developing rapidly into a solid power forward with a nifty baseline jump shot. Long averaged 17 points a game during the Simi Valley tournament.

“He works out in the gym every day,” Chaminade Coach Jeff Young said. “If he’s not lifting weights, he’s working on his game. And he’s only going to get better.”

And bigger.

Long’s daily diet includes several protein shakes and extra helpings of whatever is on the menu. And he says he’s never full.

“I just started eating a lot,” Long said. “Lots of bagels, tuna, chicken, pasta. I’m eating constantly.”

‘Dogged Defense

With several players sick with flu, the Buena girls’ basketball team nevertheless put the hurt on nationally ranked Archbishop Mitty in the championship game of the Mitty tournament last week in San Jose.

“We’ve all been fighting the bug. Some of the kids were sick the entire tournament,” said Coach Joe Vaughan.

Imagine how they’ll play when they are well. Nicole Greathouse, a 6-foot-2 junior center, shrugged off a 102-degree temperature to score 23 points and grab 12 rebounds in the final against Mitty, which Buena won convincingly, 57-43.

In the semifinals, the Bulldogs (8-0) crushed Atherton Sacred Heart, the two-time defending state Division III champion, 55-34.

Defense keyed Buena’s effort, especially the play of guard Kori Sebek, a four-year varsity player. Guard Ebony Conley and forward Christie Erickson joined Greathouse on the all-tournament team.

“Everybody played well,” Vaughan said. “We put a lot of pressure on teams with our man-to-man defense.”

Building a Contender

If there is a time for the Montclair Prep boys’ basketball team to jell, it’s now.

The defending State Division V champions play four games this week, culminating in nonleague contest against Hart on Saturday.

Most weeks the Mounties are scrambling to play one or two games a week to fill out their freelance schedule before the playoffs begin next month.

Montclair Prep (12-3) followed a similar blueprint last season.

Forward Anwawn Jones, the State Division V player of the year in 1995, provides physical inside play; point guard Akil Anderson, after taking a week off following the football season, is back running the team, and guard Scott Stark has improved his shooting touch.

“There’re starting to come around and play like they did last year,” Mountie Coach Howard Abrams said.

But the players may still have a little bit to learn. Jones and Stark did not start in Tuesday’s victory over Western Christian for violating team rules.

Road Wary

The next time Greg Hayes warns his Canyon boys’ basketball team about a long trip home, he might bite his tongue.

Before a 67-54 loss to Monte Vista last week in the Mt. Carmel tournament, Hayes told his players, “If we play well it’s a great trip. If we don’t play well, it’s a long trip home.”

Was it ever.

On the return trip, one of two vans the team used to travel to San Diego broke down. The van, owned by assistant coach Dave Harris, blew its transmission on Highway 15 near Lake Elsinore.

Canyon crammed its contingent of 15 into the other van and limped home. The following day, Hayes and Harris returned to Lake Elsinore with a borrowed truck and a rented hitch to tow the van home.

It took seven hours to get back because the 210 Freeway was closed for several hours because of police activity.

On the bright side, Hayes said the William S. Hart Unified School District is considering supplying vans for long trips.

Job Juggling

Canoga Park defeated Palmdale in the first round of the Hart boys’ basketball tournament last week, a victory that was significant in more ways than one.

Canoga Park Coach Ralph Turner was called into action by his working wife to baby-sit his three children, even though the game was at 10:30 in the morning.

“Except [my wife] doesn’t call it babysitting when they’re your kids,” Turner quipped.

Against Palmdale, Turner bottle-fed baby Austin on the bench in the first quarter, but that didn’t stop him from shouting instructions to his players. In the second and third quarters, Austin napped in Turner’s arms as he paced the sideline, with Madison, 2, and Ralph Jr., 8, within arm’s reach. The Hunters went on to win, 89-75, and Turner was able to avoid similar conflicts the rest of the week.

“It worked out great,” he said. “Since we were able to get into the winners’ bracket, my wife was able to meet me at the gym.”

Medical Report

What sounded like a minor ailment has turned into a major frustration for Bell-Jeff basketball star Jaclyn Johnson.

Johnson, who is averaging 22.3 points and 14.3 rebounds in six games for the Guards (13-2), was originally injured during the Rio Mesa tournament back on Dec. 8.

The first diagnosis: a strained right calf muscle. She was told to stay off the court for seven days.

A week passed. Johnson tried playing again but still felt pain. An ultrasound treatment then revealed that the calf muscle was actually slightly torn. A doctor recommended an additional two weeks off.

Johnson, a junior who last season averaged 25 points for Quartz Hill, was cleared to play on a very limited basis in the Bell-Jeff tournament last week.

Johnson played 44 seconds in Bell-Jeff’s first-round victory over Canyon on Dec. 26, but she was hurting the next day and was held out of the rest of the tournament.

“It’s frustrating,” Guard Coach Jim Couch said. “I’m sure we wouldn’t have our two losses if she had been in the lineup for those games.”

Meanwhile, Johnson’s status hasn’t changed much.

“It’s a day-by-day thing,” Couch said.

Basketball

City Section

NORTHWEST VALLEY CONFERENCE

Boys: North Valley League--High-scoring El Camino Real forward Cameron Henderson is no longer a secret to the opposition. “We’ve been seeing a lot more zone defenses trying to stop him,” Coach Neils Ludlow said. Although the defensive pressure has slowed Henderson following a season-high of 52 points, El Camino Real (10-5) is still winning. . . . Every team is idle this week except Granada Hills, which plays Van Nuys in a nonleague game Friday.

West Valley League--Even though Kennedy (8-4) has fewer losses than any conference team, Coach Yutaka Shimizu is happy to see the end of tournament play: “We’ve got some things to work on that we just can’t do during tournament time.” The Golden Cougars lost to Monroe in overtime in the championship game of the Birmingham tournament. . . . Cleveland guard Tony Hoggatts will have his appeal heard by the City Section Rules committee on Monday. Hoggatts was declared ineligible following the Cavaliers’ first game because his eight semesters of eligibility had been used. . . . After a 1-5 start, Taft has won three of its last four games, and advanced to the Eagle Rock tournament final. . . . Chatsworth (3-6) is still struggling, but the Chancellors did defeat Westchester, traditionally one of the top teams in the City Section, in the Best of the West tournament.

Girls: West Valley League--El Camino Real senior Tami Jones, the second-leading scorer among City Section players last season, has added over six points a game to her average. Through six games, Jones is averaging 25.7 points. According to coach Lori Chandler, the presence of point guard Aja Diamond, a transfer from Monroe, is enough reason for Jones’ increased output. Jones moved from point guard to small forward, a more-natural position.

VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE

Boys: East Valley League--Coach Howie Levine isn’t exactly enjoying his 10th season at Grant. The Lancers (6-7) have struggled early, compiling a losing record heading into league play for only the second time in 10 years. Levine’s only other losing season was in 1992-93. But the bright spot for Levine is senior forward Donald Patterson, who is averaging 21.2 points and is shooting 59% from the field. “He does put a smile on our face. He’s got a heart of a lion. He comes to play every day,” Levine said.

Girls: East Valley League--Reseda (2-4) has just seven players on its varsity roster this year, but senior center Lashanda Holland, a 6-5 center, could be a one-girl show. Holland, who averaged 30 points in her final four games last season, is averaging 16. . . . It hasn’t been an easy preseason for Canoga Park first-year Coach Mark Nogy, who inherited a team that finished 2-14. One player quit, another was dismissed and two more failed to maintain the minimum grade-point requirement, cutting Nogy’s roster to six. Nogy had to scramble to add two more players, but the outlook is still bleak. The one victory Canoga Park (1-5) has is a forfeit over Fremont. “This is not a rebuilding year for us. Next year will be the rebuilding year,” Nogy said. “This year I’m just playing the hand I was dealt.”

NORTHERN CONFERENCE

Boys: Maybe the expectations are just a little too high for Verdugo Hills high-scoring forward Maurice Potter. cott Kemple, the Dons’ coach, didn’t think Potter had a particularly good week in the Reno tournament though he scored 28, 32 and 33 points in the first three games. But Potter finished with a flurry, scoring 42 of his 55 points in the second half of a victory over Rite of Passage. “It was just one of those times when you can truly say that a player was on fire,” Kemple said.

Southern Section

FOOTHILL

Boys: Burroughs is off to an 8-5 start, and it might credit Massachusetts Coach John Calipari for a little inspiration if it has a successful season. Indian Coach Art Sullivan met Calipari on a recent flight home from Hawaii, where both teams were playing in tournaments. Calipari and his top-ranked Minutemen signed autographs and wished Burroughs well. . . . Hart is off to a 9-4 start, but the Indians will be bolstered by the return of forward Casey Keltner this week. Keltner, a second-team All-Valley choice by The Times at linebacker, has yet to play since breaking his hand while blocking an extra-point attempt in the Division II football championship game against Antelope Valley.

Girls: Saugus is off to a rocky 2-7 start, but Coach Laurie Roland is high on senior guard Wendy Gussner. Roland believes Gussner could be the best player in the league. She averages a modest 10.8 points, but Roland said her floor leader brings much more to the court. “It’s not just scoring,” Roland said. “She’s a strong passer and she causes a lot of turnovers on defense.”

GOLDEN

Boys: Highland Coach Tim Knight is not complaining about his team’s 7-7 start. The Bulldogs have faced some tough opponents, including Long Beach Jordan and two games against Canoga Park, ranked No. 2 in the Valley by The Times. “We haven’t played any softies at all,” he said. But Knight would be even more optimistic if his team did a better job handling the ball. The Bulldogs committed 27 turnovers in one game. . . . Don’t take Palmdale guard Theo Carino lightly. Though he might be small at 5-8, he can wreak havoc. Carino had nine steals in one game this season and made eight of eight shots from the field in another, which was a school record.

Girls: Two freshman have led Highland to a 6-5 start and raised the expectations of Coach Cammy Henderson. Forward Tiffany Winkfield averages 10 points and 14 rebounds. Guard Mae Bidaure averages 14 points. “In the past, Highland’s been a dumping ground,” Henderson said. “But I’m excited about my team.” . . . Quartz Hill Coach Brett Neal loves the scoring rivalry that has developed between starting forwards Becky Welch and Sanethia Thomas. It has worked out well so far. Both players are averaging 13 points.

PACIFIC

Boys: Nathan Sinning of Crescenta Valley was an all-tournament selection as the Falcons finished third last week in the St. Louis (Hawaii) tournament. Sinning averaged 22.8 points in four games, including a 37-point performance against Oregon City of Portland. Crescenta Valley was defeated, 60-48, by Honolulu Kalaheo, the defending state champion. The Falcons defeated St. Louis, 70-64, for third place. Senior guard Jake Willis suffered a severe sprain of his left hand against Oregon City. Willis sat out one game while doctors examined the hand to determine whether it was fractured. Willis is expected to play in Friday’s league opener against Hoover.

Girls: Amirah Leonard is Crescenta Valley’s career leader in three-point baskets. Leonard, a senior guard, has made 164 three-pointers in four seasons, eclipsing Sarah Hagman’s mark of 151 in three years. Hagman, now playing for Cal State Northridge, made a Southern Section-record 121 three-point baskets as a senior in 1993.

CHANNEL

Boys: After weathering commutes of more than an hour and winning two of three in both the Loyola and Beverly Hills tournaments, Buena (5-5) lost three in a row at the neighboring Ventura tournament. . . . Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara enter league play as the significant favorites.

Girls: All five teams from the region began league play with winning records. Buena (8-0) has the most momentum, but Hueneme (7-2) and Oxnard (6-4) are also playing with confidence. Rio Mesa (7-3), behind 6-foot-1 center Chante Guggia and sharpshooting guard Carol Saldana, was 7-1 before losing to Chino and Thousand Oaks in the Thousand Oaks tournament. Ventura is 5-4.

MARMONTE

Boys: Further evidence of the league’s strength: Seven of the eight teams entered league play with winning records, and every team has advanced to the final of a tournament. . . . Although Simi Valley lost twice in the Hart tournament, center Pero Vasiljevic is becoming increasingly dominant. In four games last week, the 6-9 senior had 107 points and 61 rebounds.

Girls: Agoura entered league play with a 3-7 record, but that is a vast improvement over last season’s 1-23 mark. The Chargers, who were winless in league play last season, defeated Channel Islands in a league game before the winter break. . . . Dave Murphy needs only four victories to become the winningest Simi Valley coach in any sport. Bob Hawking, the boys’ basketball coach from 1975-88, had 230. Murphy has 237.

MISSION

Boys: Harvard-Westlake gained valuable experience in last month’s two-week East Coast road trip that included appearances in tournaments in Florida and Delaware. The Wolverines (9-2) won the consolation championship of the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, Fla., then placed third at the Slam Dunk to the Beach tournament in Lewes, Del. The team also picked up a flu virus that has sidelined twins Jason and Jarron Collins. Both players missed practice Tuesday while recuperating “With all that cold weather back there, they kind of got a chest infection,” Harvard Coach Greg Hilliard said. “We wanted to be sure it wasn’t pneumonia.” Senior Alex Gelbard and junior Ryan Smiley made significant contributions in the East. Gelbard scored 16 points against national power Baltimore Dunbar in Delaware. He was five of five shooting, six of six from the free-throw line and had 13 rebounds. He scored 14 the following night--including a three-pointer to send the game into overtime--in a 70-69 double-overtime loss to Roman Catholic of Philadelphia. Smiley scored in double figures in four games on the trip.

Girls: Guard Becky Witt of Louisville, an all-league guard last season, has missed two games because of a sprained ankle and is questionable for tonight’s league opener at Notre Dame.

CAMINO REAL

Girls: With the reality setting in that Bell-Jeff will have to open league play on Friday against Cantwell Sacred Heart without Jaclyn Johnson, Guard Coach Jim Couch is looking to other players for help. So far senior forward Carolyn Nielsen has answered the challenge. Nielsen has averaged 15 points and 14 rebounds over the last four games, helping to ease the loss of Johnson and her 22 points and 14 rebounds due to a calf injury almost a month ago.. . . . The Guards (13-2) have scored a total of one point in the fourth quarter of their two losses this season.

FRONTIER

Boys: Moorpark senior guard Patrick Tate has lost his shooting touch, concerning Coach Tim Bednar, who starts three sophomores. Tate hit only four of 13 shots in a two-point loss to Canyon on Dec. 22, a game in which Moorpark surrendered a four-point lead in the final minute. “Patrick’s our most athletic guy but he’s struggled and with our young team we need to have him come through,” Bednar said. . . . Calabasas Coach Bill Bellatty is still shaking his head over the Coyotes’ Dec. 15 loss to El Camino Real. Calabasas finished the game with only three players after tipping off with six due to illness and injuries. In the game, one already-sick player was unable to continue and another two fouled out. “I’ve played with four before but never three,” Bellatty said. “They looked kind of lonely.”

Girls: Damaris Hinojosa has been a pleasant surprise for Moorpark. The 5-foot-10 freshman forward has averaged 10 points despite playing only about half of each contest. . . . Santa Clara is giving Coach Sherri Cvijanovich fits. The Saints shot 11% from the field in one recent game, then turned around and shot 39% soon thereafter. “It’s not like we don’t practice shooting in practice,” Cvijanovich said. “We just never know which team will show up.”. . . . There won’t be much room on the Nordhoff bench this winter as Coach Jack Smith will carry 17 players for the league schedule. “I’m willing to win by less in order to play more people,” said Smith, who usually plays 12 or 13 of the Rangers. “Next year’s [starters] are already on varsity so you have to do something to ensure future success.”. . . . Calabasas has had mixed success in replacing graduated forward and 1994-95 league player of the year Melissa Krolik, now at New Mexico on a softball scholarship. “Without Melissa our scoring has been more balanced and more productive but our rebounding is not as good,” Coach Steve Spadaro said.

ALPHA

Boys: Village Christian will be without leading scorer Kiko Banos for at least one week after the senior point guard sprained his ankle during a 57-46 loss to Katella last week. Banos has averaged 19.1 points and 3.9 assists so far. . . . Aaron Kendrick will assume the point-guard duties while Banos is out, including Saturday’s league opener against Kilpatrick.

HIGH DESERT

Girls: A 7-2 start for Paraclete is impressive, but it becomes even more startling when one considers that the Spirits have won four out of five nonleague games against larger Golden League teams and have done it with only 10 players. Injuries have resulted in the loss of two players, including starting forward Carolyn Nelson, who is out for the season and is scheduled to have major knee surgery today.

Soccer

City Section

Boys: Birmingham junior forward Basil Grant, a potential starter, has not played for the Braves (6-0-1) since suiting up for a pair of preseason scrimmages in November. Grant has been troubled by an injured back and academic problems. Birmingham Coach Jose Freire said Grant received an incomplete in one class when 10-week grades were reported in late November and that he will not be allowed to practice or play with the team until a grade is determined. Also absent for much of the season so far has been standout midfielder Victor Escobar. Escobar has played in one match, a victory over Cleveland, and has been in his native El Salvador for much of the past month. He is expected to return late this week and be available for Birmingham’s Jan. 10 match against San Fernando.

Southern Section

Boys: Mission League--Alemany defender Mark Fitzpatrick suffered a broken nose in the quarterfinals of last week’s Hart tournament and did not play in the next two matches, compounding the Indians’ injury woes. Fellow defender Mike Dinse is out for the season after breaking a leg in the Royal tournament earlier this month and midfielder Sergio Molfetta is battling an injured back. “This is always the treacherous part of the season,” Alemany Coach Lowell Thomas said. “The holiday tournament games are always intense and they’re played in such a short period of time.”

Rio Hondo League--La Canada’s Lou Bilowitz, whose team is 34-0 in the last two seasons, believes the Spartans are better this season than last. “Last year our team was built around giving the ball to Josh Henderson,” Bilowitz said of his former striker, now a standout at Duke. “People would pass the ball forward and watch him do his magic. This year, everyone is moving forward and all 10 [field] players can come up and score. It’s more fun to watch, coach and play.” Bilowitz credits the development of attacking midfielder Chap Early with further strengthening the team. Early, who has committed to California, did not start in 1994-95 but has blossemed this season. Early’s progress has allowed Josh Sweeney, last season’s attacking midfielder, to move to defensive midfielder, where his height and skill in the air have keyed a La Canada defense that has allowed one goal--on a penalty shot.

Girls: Mission League--Louisville, a league also-ran last season, entered 1996 with a 7-3-2 record thanks to an influx of new and experienced players. The team’s three freshmen starters, outside fullbacks Breanne Lavery and Elizabeth Cooper and sweeper Bridget Madell have shown no signs of inexperience on the back line. The rookies were joined earlier in the season by senior sweeper Marje O’Connor and junior midfielder Kelly Hamilton, both of whom had played for the Royals before but chose not to suit up last season. O’Connor tore ligaments in her ankle in mid-December and is out for the season, but the team has continued to improve, led by the tandem of senior midfielders Kim Daws and Andrea Licari, and is in the thick of the league title hunt with Chaminade, Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame.

Channel League--Ventura has found an able replacement for graduated sweeper Kari Attebery, now at Cal State Northridge, in the person of sophomore Micayla Drew.

“Micayla doesn’t bowl people over at full speed like Kari but she’s fast and taking charge in the back,” Coach Mike Ishihara said. While Drew anchors the defense, offense has come from senior midfielder Roxanne Pena, who scored late goals to defeat Camarillo and Granada Hills, and sophomore striker Courtney Garmon, who scored five goals in four Hart tournament matches.

Wrestling

City Section

The creation this season of the 215-pound weight class has worked in favor of senior Marcos Nieves of Canoga Park. Nieves, who placed third in the City as a heavyweight last season, is off to a 7-1 start. Last season, Nieves hovered at about 198 pounds, considerably lighter than most heavyweights. “This is better for him,” Canoga Park Coach Rudy Lugo said. . . . Juniors Robert Alvarez (heavyweight) and Melkon Melkonian (215) of Granada Hills both are 9-0 after each placed first at the Harvard-Westlake and Granada Hills tournaments. Melkonian was City champion last season at 189. Teammate Tim Imada (152), also defending City champion, is 4-0. Granada Hills, which won its own tournament and this weekend enters the North Torrance tournament, might have its best team since the 1970s, according to Coach Bill Lake. . . . Senior Alfonso Brizuela of Monroe (135), 36-3 last season and City champion at 130, has missed practice during the holiday break and might have left the team. Brizuela is 7-1. “I just don’t know yet,” Coach Tom Jones said. “I’m still optimistic. He has so much going for him.” Monroe’s William Jackson (171), 35-5 and City champion at 160 last season, has yet to wrestle because of a late start. Jackson is a member of the school’s football team.

Southern Section

Twins Rick and Ron Peterson of Camarillo enter Saturday’s Camarillo tournament with momentum. Rick, 18-1 at 125, placed third last week at the Sierra-Nevada tournament in Reno. Last month, he placed first and was selected outstanding wrestler for lower weights in the El Toro tournament. Ron, 15-3 at 119, placed second at El Toro. Camarillo’s Ted Weisse, 15-4 at 103, placed third at El Toro. . . . Four seniors are off to fast starts for Harvard-Westlake. Josh Eisenberg (171), who placed sixth in last season’s Division IV finals, is 18-1, including tournament victories at A.B. Miller and Harvard. Ron Linares (152) is 18-2, including a tournament victory at Harvard. Brian Choi (189) is 17-3. Paul Michels (125) is 13-2.

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Contributing: Dana Haddad, Steve Henson, Vince Kowalick, Michael Lazarus, Paige A. Leech, Tris Wykes, Peter Yoon.