Lawndale is the highly likely kings of the Ocean League and they said it again last week with emphasis in a 47-7 victory over Crespi. Read the Daily Breeze write up to get the full & complete story of that game: http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/2...over-crespi-to-lead-lawndale-football-in-rout
Lawndale (2-0) hosts Leuzinger (1-2) next week. The 3 first teams on Lawndale's schedule this year all seem to be struggling, with Crespi's struggles extending beyond the current year, but nevertheless, would usually be worthy opponents for a team like Lawndale. But this is not the Lawndale of years past. Things have changed dramatically since the arrival of coach Travis Clarke a couple of years ago.
The CIFss poll now has Lawndale ranked #2 in Div. 5 behind Paraclete and I think they are worthy of their ranking. I expect the Cardinals to easily dispense with Leuzinger, just like they did with their prior two opponents. Ironically, it will take a City team, San Pedro (3-0), after Leuzinger, to finally provide any test for Lawndale and I still expect Lawndale to pass that test fairly easily.
El Segundo (2-0) continues to surprise beating Oak Park (1-1) 35-3. Junior QB Matt Romero continues to excel going 13 of 20 for 151 yards & 4 TD's with one interception. El Segundo did plenty of running too, rushing 31 times for 198 yards, the longest being a 36 yarder by senior Kyle Freeman. QB Romero also had a 23 yard scamper.
El Segundo will face Mira Costa (0-2) this week. By calpreps ratings, El Segundo's first week's opponent Leuzinger still rates out better than Mira Costa but I have a hard time believing that. Costa faced St. Francis (2-0) in week 1 and La Serna (2-1) in week 2. If Jonah Tavai is eligible and healthy, he can be a real disruptor on defense for Costa, but La Serna was able mount a substantial rushing attack offset by good passing numbers, so Costa is still a bit of a mystery to me. It may be that they are struggling to be productive on offense. But one thing I do know is that Costa lost a close one to El Segundo last year 14-18, and the Mustangs are probably not going to be in the mood to go 0-3 at the beginning of their season after losing to the Eagles last year.
I bring up Culver City (2-0) third because El Segundo has jumped ahead of the Centaurs in the latest calpreps power ratings. Culver should now know that the Eagles will be a tough league opener for them. The Centaurs certainly have the horses to win it, but it may be too close to call even with a few more preleague games to play. See my separate CC write up for details on the Centaurs.
Hawthorne (3-0) is the cinderella story of the Ocean League right now, but the problem is the clock has not struck midnight yet, and it won't until at least October 20th. While the score and some of the stats look very impressive, the Daily Breeze write up suggests that South could have given Hawthorne a much tougher game. http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/2...l-stays-unbeaten-with-win-over-south-torrance
Still, Hawthorne definitely has offensive weapons and could be dangerous enough to cause trouble for Culver or El Segundo in the league standings battle. Hawthorne will have an easier game this week, hosting Bernstein (1-2) of Hollywood, an LA City D-3 nobody.
Santa Monica (0-3) dropped down in competition level last week and only lost 22-43 to Compton (2-1). Things get even more fun for them this week as they travel to Dana Hills (0-3), a team getting closer to their power rating. I think it will still be a Samo loss, but then comes South Torrance, a team that truly seems to be at their competition level.
Beverly Hills (0-3) scheduled a team at their competition level last week and had a close 14-19 loss to Malibu (2-0). At least BH can say their opponents they have faced are a combined 7-0 so far. This week they don't have that problem. They are traveling to Gahr High to play Cerritos (0-3)! This won't be easy for BH. Cerritos tries to run a balanced offense but seem to have an all or nothing passing offense with 17 completions in 55 attempts for 240 yards with 6 interceptions and 0 TD's. 13 receptions have gone to either Stacy King or Erik Baker. RB Tye Anderson had been trying to carry the team with 290 yards rushing in the first 2 games but it looks like he may have missed the last game against Gahr. That could be a hopeful sign for BH.
Lawndale (2-0) hosts Leuzinger (1-2) next week. The 3 first teams on Lawndale's schedule this year all seem to be struggling, with Crespi's struggles extending beyond the current year, but nevertheless, would usually be worthy opponents for a team like Lawndale. But this is not the Lawndale of years past. Things have changed dramatically since the arrival of coach Travis Clarke a couple of years ago.
The CIFss poll now has Lawndale ranked #2 in Div. 5 behind Paraclete and I think they are worthy of their ranking. I expect the Cardinals to easily dispense with Leuzinger, just like they did with their prior two opponents. Ironically, it will take a City team, San Pedro (3-0), after Leuzinger, to finally provide any test for Lawndale and I still expect Lawndale to pass that test fairly easily.
El Segundo (2-0) continues to surprise beating Oak Park (1-1) 35-3. Junior QB Matt Romero continues to excel going 13 of 20 for 151 yards & 4 TD's with one interception. El Segundo did plenty of running too, rushing 31 times for 198 yards, the longest being a 36 yarder by senior Kyle Freeman. QB Romero also had a 23 yard scamper.
El Segundo will face Mira Costa (0-2) this week. By calpreps ratings, El Segundo's first week's opponent Leuzinger still rates out better than Mira Costa but I have a hard time believing that. Costa faced St. Francis (2-0) in week 1 and La Serna (2-1) in week 2. If Jonah Tavai is eligible and healthy, he can be a real disruptor on defense for Costa, but La Serna was able mount a substantial rushing attack offset by good passing numbers, so Costa is still a bit of a mystery to me. It may be that they are struggling to be productive on offense. But one thing I do know is that Costa lost a close one to El Segundo last year 14-18, and the Mustangs are probably not going to be in the mood to go 0-3 at the beginning of their season after losing to the Eagles last year.
I bring up Culver City (2-0) third because El Segundo has jumped ahead of the Centaurs in the latest calpreps power ratings. Culver should now know that the Eagles will be a tough league opener for them. The Centaurs certainly have the horses to win it, but it may be too close to call even with a few more preleague games to play. See my separate CC write up for details on the Centaurs.
Hawthorne (3-0) is the cinderella story of the Ocean League right now, but the problem is the clock has not struck midnight yet, and it won't until at least October 20th. While the score and some of the stats look very impressive, the Daily Breeze write up suggests that South could have given Hawthorne a much tougher game. http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/2...l-stays-unbeaten-with-win-over-south-torrance
Still, Hawthorne definitely has offensive weapons and could be dangerous enough to cause trouble for Culver or El Segundo in the league standings battle. Hawthorne will have an easier game this week, hosting Bernstein (1-2) of Hollywood, an LA City D-3 nobody.
Santa Monica (0-3) dropped down in competition level last week and only lost 22-43 to Compton (2-1). Things get even more fun for them this week as they travel to Dana Hills (0-3), a team getting closer to their power rating. I think it will still be a Samo loss, but then comes South Torrance, a team that truly seems to be at their competition level.
Beverly Hills (0-3) scheduled a team at their competition level last week and had a close 14-19 loss to Malibu (2-0). At least BH can say their opponents they have faced are a combined 7-0 so far. This week they don't have that problem. They are traveling to Gahr High to play Cerritos (0-3)! This won't be easy for BH. Cerritos tries to run a balanced offense but seem to have an all or nothing passing offense with 17 completions in 55 attempts for 240 yards with 6 interceptions and 0 TD's. 13 receptions have gone to either Stacy King or Erik Baker. RB Tye Anderson had been trying to carry the team with 290 yards rushing in the first 2 games but it looks like he may have missed the last game against Gahr. That could be a hopeful sign for BH.
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