Hart boys basketball team extends undefeated streak to 13

The Hart boys basketball team blew out its second team in as many nights in the Holiday Classic tournament.
The Indians beat Reseda, 92-70, and won their 13th game in a row to start the season. Hart is undefeated and has won its first two games in the Hart Holiday Classic tournament.
Lewis Stallworth led the Indians in scoring with 19 points. He had four 3-pointers. Four Hart players scored in double figures and the team made 13 3-pointers in the game.
Hart plays South Bakersfield in the third round of pool play in the tournament on Friday.

Photo: The Hart boys basketball team improved to 13-0 with a 92-70 win over Reseda in the Holiday Classic tournament. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Runners rise to the top of Santa Clarita sports in 2012

Runners took center stage in the Santa Clarita sports world in 2012. From the Summer Olympics in London to Central Park in Saugus, cross country and track runners were celebrated. Allyson Felix won three gold medals in London. The Saugus girls cross country team won their seventh CIF state championship in a row. Chris Low from College of the Canyons won a state title in track. John Gilbertson from The Master’s College won a national championship in cross country.

But cross country and track and field were not the only sports that athletes from the Santa Clarita Valley excelled. A receiver from Canyon High broke two state football records. A golfer from Valencia High qualified for her third US Women’s Open. The fire captain at Station 76 in Valencia won an IHRA drag racing event.

Here is a look at the top sports stories of the year:

Hart boys basketball team wins big in Holiday Classic

The Hart boys basketball team beat Burbank, 81-50, in the opening round of pool play in the Hart Holiday Classic.
Lewis Stallworth led four Indians in double figures. He scored 15 points. Myles Franklin scored 13.
Hart outscored Burbank, 25-8, in the third quarter to take a 22-point lead. The Indians led, 37-32, at halftime.
Hart is 12-0 to start the season. The Indians play Reseda in the second round pool play next.

Photo: The Hart boys basketball team won its first game in pool play against Burbank in the Hart Holiday Classic. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Opening night for Irwindale Event Center set for April 6

Buried in the release of LoanMart's new partnership with the Irwindale Event Center is the tentative opening night for racing to return to the oval tracks.

LoanMart will have new billboards posted around the track and for the drag strip. The company also reserved on of the suites at the track.

"We couldn't be happier to be associated with the great new Irwindale Event Center," said Colby Estes, LoanMart's Director of Marketing. "Our company loves all forms of motorsports competition and the people who love it. We really can't wait for the stock car season to begin."

... And right now that's set for Saturday April 6, 2013.

Samantha Kenny joins dad, brother in NHRA Super Comps

Samantha Kenny's dad, Alan, won the NHRA Super Comp national championship.
Her brother, Jason, won a Super Comp race at Las Vegas.
On the final event of the year at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, she was the only one of the three Kenny racers to reach the final day of elimination.
Samantha Kenny says she had one of her best seasons even though she didn't win a national event. She was eliminated in the fifth round at Pomona, but she had her family and supporters rooting her on.
The 30-year-old from Ohio is keeping the family tradition of drag racing alive and will be joining her dad and her brother when the NHRA drag racing season begins in 2013.
Go to the K&N website for more on Samantha Kenny and her drag racing career.

Photo: Samantha Kenny reached the final day of eliminations in the NHRA Super Comp division at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona in November. (Credit: Jegs)

What can UCLA and USC expect in their bowl games?

The UCLA Bruins football team will play Baylor in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 27. So, who exactly are these Baylor Bears? It might be best to start with who they are not.

They are not Robert Griffin III’s Baylor Bears. The Heisman Trophy winner is the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins these days. But even though Baylor lost a first-round quarterback to the NFL, the football team was left in two capable sets of hands.

The first pair belongs to receiver Terrance Williams. He is making a variety of All-America teams and breaking even more school records. Williams leads the nation with 1,764 receiving yards and was a finalist for the Fred Belitnekoff Award. (Marqise Lee of USC won the award).

Williams holds the school record for receiving yards and is second in school history in receiving TDs with 12 and receptions with 95. He needs 236 yards in the Holiday Bowl to become only the second player in NCAA football history with 2,000 receiving yards in a season. The  way Baylor runs its offense, 236 receiving yards is not out of the question.

Trevor Insley from Nevada is the only college receiver with more than 2,000 receiving yards in a season. He caught 134 passes for 2,060 yards in 1999. Only two receivers have more than 1,900 receiving yards in a season, Michael Crabtree at Texas Tech and Troy Edwards at Louisiana Tech.

Nick Florence, Baylor’s senior quarterback, has more than delivered after RG3 left the team. Florence is 174 yards shy of breaking Griffin’s school record for passing yards in a season. Florence is also six touchdown passes short of breaking Griffin’s school record in that category.

Florence leads the nation with an average of 387.7 yards per game of total offense. He is an academic All-American, the fourth quarterback from Baylor to earn that honor. Of course, the last quarterback to do it was Griffin in 2011.

Suffice it to say Baylor can put up some points. The team can put up points at Oregon Ducks pace. The Bears might have a more potent offense than USC. The Bruins will have their hands full, but then again, USC was supposed to give them a handful, too.

West Ranch Boys Basketball Team Knocks Off CIF State Champs | KHTS Radio

West Ranch Boys Basketball Team Knocks Off CIF State Champs | KHTS Radio
The West Ranch boys basketball team beat Alemany in the quarterfinals of the Santa Monica Tournament. Alemany won the CIF Division 3 state championship last year.
The Wildcats play Chaminade in the semifinals of the Santa Monica Tournament tonight.
The Hart boys basketball team beat Westlake and reached the semifinals of the Crescenta Valley Tournament.
The Canyon girls basketball team is in the semifinals of the Kiwanis Buena Tournament.

Canyon Boys Baksetball Team Starts Own Tournament With Win Over Lancaster | KHTS Radio

Canyon Boys Baksetball Team Starts Own Tournament With Win Over Lancaster | KHTS Radio
The Canyon boys basketball team started its own Canyon Classic Tournament with a win over Lancaster.
The Saugus boys basketball team beat Eastside in its first game in the Canyon Classic.
The Golden Valley girls lost their first game to Simi Valley in the Golden Valley Tournament.

Hart Boys Basketball Team Rolls To 3-0 Start | KHTS Radio

Hart Boys Basketball Team Rolls To 3-0 Start | KHTS Radio
The Hart boys basketball is undefeated after three games to start the season. The Indians beat Flintridge Prep in the Crescenta Valley Tournament for their third win.
The Master's College men's basketball team clobbered Cal Tech.
The Saugus girls basketball team beat Calabasas for their second win of the season.

Trinity's Dakota Prochnow Selected As CIF Division II 8-Man Football Offensive Player Of The Year | KHTS Radio

Trinity's Dakota Prochnow Selected As CIF Division II 8-Man Football Offensive Player Of The Year | KHTS Radio
Trinity Classical Academy's Dakota Prochnow was selected as the CIF Southern Section Division II 8-man football offensive player of the year. Three of his teammates earned spots on the All-Division II team.
Plus the Saugus girls soccer team is ranked No. 2 in the Southern Section Division 2 rankings.
The Hart boys are ranked No. 8 in the Division 4 soccer poll.

Alan Kenny wins NHRA Super Comp national title

Alan Kenny has been chasing a national championship in drag racing for nearly 40 years. He won his first, the NHRA Super Comp national championship, with the help of his son.
The 60-year-old Kenny capped his championship season from the pits at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. He didn't advance to the elimination rounds at Pomona, but he secured the championship before the elimination rounds began.
Two weeks prior, Jason Kenny, his son, won the Super Comp event in Las Vegas and put a comfortable gap between his dad and his nearest competitors in the Super Comp standings.
Go to the K&N website for more on Alan Kenny's championship season.

Photo: Alan Kenny won his first NHRA Super Comp championship at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. (Credit: National Dragster)

The Master's College Women's Volleyball Team Drops Second Match At NAIA National Championships | KHTS Radio

The Master's College Women's Volleyball Team Drops Second Match At NAIA National Championships | KHTS Radio
The Master's College women's volleyball team's first trip to the NAIA National Championship tournament might end a little earlier than expected.
The Lady Mustangs need to win their next match to advance to the elimination rounds of the tournament. They have lost their first two matches in pool play. Viterbo University beat The Master's College in four games on Wednesday night in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Lady Mustangs play Indiana Wesleyan in their final pool play game tonight. 

Saugus Girls Soccer Team Shuts Out Lancaster In Season Opener | KHTS Radio

Saugus Girls Soccer Team Shuts Out Lancaster In Season Opener | KHTS Radio
The Saugus girls soccer team scored two goals in the first half and two goals in the second half to shut out Lancaster 4-0.
Monica Allen scored both goals in the second half.
The Santa Clarita Christian girls soccer team squeaked past Crossroads, 3-2.
The Hart boys soccer team scored four goals in the second half to beat Quartz Hill, 5-1. 

The Rematch: UCLA vs. Stanford

Can the UCLA football team beat Stanford? If Saturday’s outcome is any indication, the Bruins have a lot of work to do if they want to upset the Cardinal on Friday night in the Pac-12 championship game.

UCLA and Stanford will meet for the second time in six days. The venue will be different, in Palo Alto instead of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, but the outcome will be the same if the Bruins can’t make some key adjustments.

Stanford rolled UCLA, 35-17. By the second quarter, the rout was on. Stanford was up 21-10 at halftime and scored two more touchdowns in 13 seconds in the third quarter to pull away.

The Stanford defense scored. The Stanford running attack gave the Bruins fits. UCLA had one scoring drive that actually netted -8 yards, a 48-yard field goal in the second quarter.

UCLA coach Jim Mora was asked after the game what his team needs to do to beat Stanford.

“Once I look at the film, I can better answer that question for you,” Mora said. “There is a lot to learn. I’m not going to get into too many specifics. But I don’t want to give away what we need to do in order to improve.”

Carmelita Jeter shares Olympic dreams, experiences with YMCA

Three-time Olympic medalist Carmelita Jeter wanted to play on the United States women's basketball team. Instead, she ran on the US women's track team and became one the top sprinters in the world at the London Summer Games.
Jeter won a gold medal on the world-record breaking 4x100 relay team. She won silver in the 100 and bronze in the 100.
As part of the Team for Tomorrow programs, Jeter shared her Olympic medals and experiences with the Torrance-South Bay YMCA.
Jeter ran track at nearby California State University, Dominguez Hills and at Bishop Montgomery in Torrance in high school.
She plans on competing in the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in 2016.
For  more on Jeter and her visit to the YMCA, visit the Team USA website.

Photo: Carmelita Jeter shows the kids at the Torrance-South Bay YMCA the medals she won at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Saugus Girls Cross Country Team Wins 7th State Title In A Row | KHTS Radio

Saugus Girls Cross Country Team Wins 7th State Title In A Row | KHTS Radio
Sophomore Samantha Ortega paced the Saugus girls to their seventh CIF State championship in a row. She finished in second place in the girls Division II race.
Five runners from Saugus finished in the top 50 as the Centurions edged La Costa Canyon for the state crown.
On the boys side, Saugus was second in the Division II state meet. AJ Yarnall set the school record and finished in second place on the course at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Paraclete eliminates San Dimas in Mid-Valley football semifinals

Paraclete quarterback Tyler Carvalho threw three touchdown passes and iced the game with a bruising 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter in a 28-20 win over San Dimas in the CIF Southern Section Mid-Valley Division semifinals on Friday night.
San Dimas took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but Carvalho threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter to tie the score.
A last second field goal gave San Dimas a 17-14 lead at halftime.
Carvalho threw his third touchdown of the game in the third quarter to give the Spirits their first lead, 21-17. The Paraclete quarterback scored his team's fourth touchdown to give the Spirits an eight-point lead.
Paraclete will play Monrovia in the Mid-Valley championship game next week.
Go to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin for more on the game between Paraclete and San Dimas.

Photo: Tyler Carvalho (11) and the Paraclete football team prepare for their semifinal playoff game against San Dimas at Antelope Valley College. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Valencia Football Team Advances To Semifinals Of CIF Playoffs | KHTS Radio

Valencia Football Team Advances To Semifinals Of CIF Playoffs | KHTS Radio
The Valencia football team is in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Northern Division playoffs. Hart and Canyon were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
The Trinity football team lost in the semifinals of the Southern Section Division II 8-man playoffs.
The College of the Canyons football team lost to Santa Ana College in the Southern California Bowl.

Carmelita Jeter visits Torrance-South Bay YMCA

Three-time Olympic medalist Carmelita Jeter visited the Torrance-South Bay YMCA on Friday night. She went to Cal State Dominguez Hills and Bishop Montgomery High School. Jeter was on the 4x100 relay team that won the gold medal and set the world record at the Summer Games in London. She also won the silver medal in the 100 meters and the bronze medal in the 200 meters. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Six Cross Country Teams Qualify For CIF Southern Section Finals | KHTS Radio

Six Cross Country Teams Qualify For CIF Southern Section Finals | KHTS Radio
The Golden Valley, Saugus and Hart boys cross country teams qualified for the CIF Southern Section Division II finals at Mt. San Antonio College.
The Saugus, Golden Valley and Canyon girls are also in the Division II finals.
The Golden Valley boys are the reigning Southern Section Division II and state champions. The Saugus girls are ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section Division II poll.
For good measure, Olivia Pear from Valencia qualified for the Division I race after finishing third in her preliminary heat race.

Valencia, Canyon, Hart Advance In CIF Football Playoffs | KHTS Radio

Valencia, Canyon, Hart Advance In CIF Football Playoffs | KHTS Radio
Valencia, Canyon and Hart won their first-round CIF Southern Section Northern Division playoff games and moved on to the second round.
The Trinity football team is in the semifinals of the Southern Section Division II 8-man playoffs after a 58-18 blowout against Cornerstone Christian.
The College of the Canyons football team won its season finale and earned a bid to play in the Southern California Bowl against Santa Ana College.

Jurupa Hills eliminates Fillmore from East Valley Division playoffs

The Fillmore football team had home-field advantage in the first round of the CIF Southern Section East Valley Division playoffs, but it didn't do the players much good.
Visiting Jurupa Hills had a 23-point lead at halftime and scored three touchdowns in the third quarter in a 47-19 blowout.
Fillmore running back Collin Farrar rushed for a game-high 185 yards and scored a touchdown. Josue Valenzuela scored a touchdown on a 60-yard fumble return and had an interception. But that was about all the highlights for the Flashes.
Jurupa Hills quarterback Damion Wright threw three touchdown passes and running back Wayman Cooley scored two touchdowns.
Go to the Ventura County Star for more on the game between Jurupa Hills and Fillmore.

Photo: The Fillmore football team lost to Jurupa Hills in the first round of the CIF Southern Section East Valley Division playoffs. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Antron Brown wins NHRA Top Fuel championship

Antron Brown won the NHRA Top Fuel championship. Brandon Bernstein won the Top Fuel race at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. Tony Schumacher lost the final race and the Top Fuel championship by a fraction of a second.

Brown had to sit and watch as Schumacher advanced through the Top Fuel field and reached the final round. Brown lost in the first round after blowing up against Spencer Massey. He suffered burns on his hands and legs and wore gloves during his post-race news conference with reporters. He said the gloves were to protect his hands from small blisters that formed on them after his car exploded.

He also said he was ready to race again, despite the burns on his hands. But having to watch rather than race was painful in another way.

“Ain’t nothing you can do. Just sit and watch,” Brown said. “I felt like I was a kid back in elementary school when those days felt like they were 30 hours long. You want to race for it. You ask any racer out there, they don’t want to stay on the sidelines, waiting and hoping for someone to lose.”

Schumacher had to win the season finale to take what would have been his eighth Top Fuel championship. He met Bernstein in the final race.

Bernstein beat Schumacher off the line and held his lead across the finish line with a .037 seconds reaction time. He won by .009 seconds at 320.81 mph.

“Tony’s a class act,” Brown said. “They have no reason to hold their heads down. It just didn’t turn out like that this year.”

Brown is the first African-American driver to win an NHRA Top Fuel championship and the first African-American to win an auto racing championship in a major American racing series.

 “I certainly wanted Tony to win the championship,” team owner Don Schumacher said. “But certainly Antron and the Matco Tools deserved to win the championship. They had hiccups in both Las Vegas and here, first round. They came out here, they did it this year, they won the world championship. Antron is the NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel world champion.”

Photo: Antron Brown became the first African-American to win the NHRA Top Fuel championship. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Jack Beckman wins 2012 NHRA Funny Car championship

Jack Beckman had the odds stacked against from the start of the season. New team, new crew members, new approach to the NHRA Funny Car season.

Beckman narrowly won his first NHRA Funny Car championship at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona on Sunday, beating Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps by two points in the standings.

Beckman and Capps lost in the semifinals at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. Capps lost to Courtney Force. Beckman lost to Cruz Pedregon. After Capps lost, Beckman’s crew cheered from the starting line.

Beckman raced Pedregon following the Capps and Force race. After Beckman lost to Pedregon, he found Capps and gave him a hug before he took his helmet off.

“Character is an important thing, win or lose,” Beckman said. “I feel bad for him because I feel terrible if the situation was turned. There really wasn’t anything to say. It’s going to take me a while to wrap my head around this in an incredibly positive way. It’s probably going to take Ron a while to wrap his head around it in a very disappointing way.”

Photo: Jack Beckman won his first NHRA Funny Car championship by reaching the semifinals of the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Santa Clarita Christian Girls Volleyball Team Reaches Quarterfinals Of CIF Playoffs | KHTS Radio

Santa Clarita Christian Girls Volleyball Team Reaches Quarterfinals Of CIF Playoffs | KHTS Radio
The Santa Clarita Christian girls volleyball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division VAA playoffs after a five-game win over Upland Christian.
The high school football playoffs begin tonight for three teams from the Foothill League. Valencia, the Foothill League champion, is home for a game against Paso Robles.
Canyon is home against San Luis Obispo. Hart is on the road against Arroyo Grande.

Hart's Jamie Corr Tees Off In Regional State Qualifier This Morning | KHTS Radio

Hart's Jamie Corr Tees Off In Regional State Qualifier This Morning | KHTS Radio

Hart's Jamie Corr is vying for a spot in the CIF girls golf state championship today in Murrieta. She is the only golfer from the Santa Clarita Valley and the Foothill League in the Regional State Qualifier.
The tournament started at 8 a.m. 

Hart knocks out Moorpark in CIF girls volleyball playoffs

Source: tout.com via Tim on Pinterest

The Hart girls volleyball team knocked Moorpark out of the CIF Southern Section Division IA playoffs in four games on Tuesday night.
Hart won, 25-13, 23-25, 25-9, 25-21, and moves on to the second round of playoffs.
Moorpark ended its season with Mariah Bell notching a match-high 18 kills.
Hart's Chase Tengberg provided production off the bench with a team-high 12 kills.
After winning the first game, Hart stumbled a bit in the second game.
Go to the Ventura County Star for more on the match between Hart and Moorpark.

Kwasniewski leads NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings by two points

Two points separate the top two drivers in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings with one race to go.
Greg Pursley, the reigning West Series champion, trails his Gene Price Motorspors teammate Dylan Kwasniewski, who won the penultimate race at All American Speedway in Roseville last month.
The West Series season finale, the Casino Arizona 50, is at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday night. That's right, 50 laps to decide the West Series champion.
Go to the K&N website for more on the West Series race from Roseville.

Photo: Dylan Kwasniewski won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., last month. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR).

Ventura College completes 10-0 football season

Ventura College back-up quarterback Chase Smith guided his team to a come-from-behind, 27-14, win over visiting Pasadena City College on Saturday night. Smith threw one touchdown pass, rushed for another and led Ventura in rushing with 103 yards on 14 carries. Ventura completed a 10-0 regular season, its first perfect record in school history. Smith's touchdown run in the third quarter gave Ventura its first lead of the game, 20-14. The Pirates trailed Pasadena 14-6 in the first half and 14-13 at halftime. Go to the Ventura County Star for more on the game between Ventura and Pasadena.

Photo: The Ventura football team celebrates its 27-14 win over Pasadena City College and its first 10-0 season in school history. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Moorpark beats Westlake on last-second field goal

Source: tout.com via Tim on Pinterest

Moorpark Eric Kreitz kicked a 36-yard field goal with no time left on the game clock in his team's 38-35 win over Westlake in the third-place game in the Marmonte League.
Moorpark will play Alemany, the Mission League champion, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Northern Division playoffs on Friday night.
Westlake plays Mission Viejo, the No. 2 seed in the Pac-5 Division and the champion of the South Coast League, in the first round of playoffs.
Go to the Ventura County Star for more on the game between Moorpark and Westlake.

Valencia Faces Paso Robles In First Round Of CIF Football Playoffs | KHTS Radio

Valencia Faces Paso Robles In First Round Of CIF Football Playoffs | KHTS Radio
The Valencia football team is the No. 2 seed in the CIF Southern Section Northern Division playoffs and will play Paso Robles in the first round on Friday night.
Palmdale, undefeated at 10-0, is the top seed in the Northern Division playoffs.
Canyon and Hart also qualified for the playoffs.
The CIF Southern Section girls volleyball playoffs open tonight with Saugus aganst Simi Valley in the wild-card round in Division IA.
Four teams from the Foothill League qualified for the girls volleyball playoffs. Valencia, the Foothill League champion, opens in the first round on Tuesday night.

Saugus Girls Volleyball Team Wins Crescenta Valley Tournament | Hometown Station

Saugus Girls Volleyball Team Wins Crescenta Valley Tournament | Hometown Station

The Saugus girls volleyball team beat Alta Loma in the championship match of the Crescenta Valley Tournament. The Valencia girls volleyball team finished in fifth place in the Redondo Power Classic Tournament.
Robinson Ranch hosted its first Pac-12 cross country championship meet.
The Hart football team dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Northern Division poll after losing to Valencia.

Famous fathers and their football sons

Cordell Broadus is developing into a top-recruited wide receiver at Diamond Bar High School. He already has a scholarship offer from UCLA and is drawing interest from Duke University and the University of Oregon.
His father is Snoop Dogg. If Broadus ends up at UCLA, he will be teammates with another son of hip-hop icon.
Justin Combs, a red-shirt freshman defensive back at UCLA, is the son of Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs.
But Justin Combs didn't exactly receive a warm welcome when he decided to attend UCLA on a football scholarship. He met criticism for accepting a scholarship to UCLA when his dad was such a rich and successful entertainer and singer.
Will the same reception await Broadus if he ultimately decides to go to UCLA or any other college to play football?
Time will tell. For now, Broadus is weighing his offers and looking forward to playing football at Diamond Bar and UCLA.
Go to SB Nation for more on Broadus, Combs and their famous fathers.

Photo: Cordell Broadus, a sophomore wide receiver at Diamond Bar High School, is becoming a top college recruit at wide receiver. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Valencia Football Wasn't Intimidated; Trinity Football Wins Championship | Hometown Station

Valencia Football Wasn't Intimidated; Trinity Football Wins Championship | Hometown Station

The Valencia football team beat Hart, the No. 1 ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Northern Division poll.
Canyon beat West Ranch. Now Hart and Canyon are tied for second place in league and all Valencia needs to be is beat winless Golden Valley on Friday night to win its fourth league championship in a row.

Carpinteria rallies for win against Santa Paula

Caprinteria scored three touchdowns in the third quarter, erased a 14-point halftime deficit and won its first Tri-Valley League game, 35-22, against Santa Paula.
Jonathan Esqueda, Paul Cortez and Peter Ranos each scored in the third quarter. Esqueda started the touchdown barrage with a 60-yard run on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter.
It was another tough loss for Santa Paula. The Cardinals were up 14-0 at halftime on touchdowns by Corey Peck and Juan Carlos Magana.
Esqueda led all rusher with 167 yards and two touchdowns.
Magana led Santa Paula in rushing with 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Go to the Ventura County Star for more on the game between Carpinteria and Santa Paula.

Photo: The Santa Paula football team warms up before its game against Carpinteria. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Top 10 athletes turned actors

With the passing of Alex Karras, I started thinking about some of my favorite athletes turned actors.

Karras was one of them. He might best be remembered as the dad on “Webster.” But I remember him best as Mongo from “Blazing Saddles.”

Mongo just pawn in game of life. He was more than a pawn in that movie. He arguably had the best character in “Blazing Saddles.”

Here are my top 10 athletes turned actors.

10. Bob Uecker – He was a teammate of Hank Aaron, a World Series champion with the Milwaukee Braves and he was great as Harry Doyle from “Major League.” But he was probably playing himself, which isn’t much of a stretch for an actor. His day job is as a broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers. That makes his inclusion in the top five just a bit outside.

9. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Loved him in “Airplane” as Capt. Roger Murdoch. Or was he playing himself too? “Listen kid! I’ve been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I’m out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.”

Bakersfield College sacks undermanned Moorpark

The Bakersfield College football team, ranked No. 11 in the state, shut out Moorpark College for three quarters and won 31-3 on Saturday night.
Marquise Johnson scored two touchdowns for Bakersfield. One was on a 70-yard punt return. The other came on a 27-yard catch in the first quarter.
Bakersfield was up 17-0 at halftime and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to go up 31-0.
Moorpark finally scored on a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Go to the Ventura County Star for more on the game between Bakersfield College and Moorpark College.

Photo: The Moorpark College football team warms up before its game against Bakersfield College. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Santa Paula takes advantage of turnovers

Santa Paula's Jo Jo Garcia intercepted three passes and the Cardinals forced five turnovers in a 39-13 win over visiting Santa Clara on Friday night.
Santa Paula snapped a six-game losing streak. All three of Garcia's interceptions led to touchdowns for Santa Paula.
Juan Carlos Magana scored four touchdowns. He had three rushing touchdowns and caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Christian Garcia, Jo Jo Garcia's older brother.
Kennedy Frutos also intercepted a pass and Andrew Vasquez recovered a fumble for Santa Paula.
Go to the Ventura County Star for more on the game between Santa Paula and Santa Clara.

Photo: The Santa Paula football team warms up before its game against Santa Clara. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Fillmore football team crushes Santa Clara on Senior Night

The Fillmore High football team scored four touchdowns in the second half and beat visiting Santa Clara, 41-7, in a Frontier League game on Friday night.
Fillmore's Collin Farrar scored four touchdowns, all on the ground, and led his team to its second league win of the season.
The Flashes are ranked No. 10 in the Southern Section East Valley Division poll and 2-0 in Frontier League play.
Fillmore was up 20-7 at halftime. Farrar scored all three touchdowns for the Flashes in the first half. He finished with 192 yards rushing.
Teammate Andrey Sanchez rushed for 107 yards and caught a 60-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Go to the Ventura County Star for more on the game between Fillmore and Santa Clara.

Photo: The seniors on the football team, as well as the girls golf team, pep squad, band and color guard were honored before the game between Fillmore and Santa Clara at Fillmore High School. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Dodgers end season on a hot streak, but fall short of playoffs

The Dodgers finally caught fire, but it was a little too late to do any damage in the National League playoffs.
They put together a little six-game winning streak in the final week of the season and averaged nearly seven runs a game.
This is the kind of offense Dodgers fans can expect next season. Too bad it didn’t do them any good this season.
Still, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com there is no reason to think his players can produce like this on a regular basis.
“It’s good. It’s kind of fun playing like this,” Mattingly said. “It makes you think, ‘Why can’t you do this over the course of a season or a month?’”
Why, indeed.
It would have been nice if the Dodger bats woke up a month ago.
Adrian Gonzalez put together a 13-game hitting streak over the final two weeks of the season. It was the longest hitting streak for any Dodger this season. It started on Sept. 19 against the Washington Nationals. He hit .396 during the streak and the Dodgers were 9-4 over those 13 games.
Gonzalez had two hits, including his 47th double of the season, a career-high, against the Giants on Monday.
Matt Kemp ended the season on a hot note as well. He hit .458 with four home runs and nine RBIs in seven games from Sept. 24 to Oct. 1.
Luis Cruz was a tough out during that same time span, hitting .320 with a home run and four RBIs. He hit .313 in September and had the second-highest batting average on the team for the month.
Little-used Elian Herrera even got into the hitting act with a game-winning, RBI single against the Giants in a game the Dodgers needed to win to stay alive in the playoff picture.

Fillmore football team wins Frontier League opener

Behind the arm and legs of quarterback Carson McClain, the Fillmore football team won its Frontier League opener, 27-6, over visiting Grace Brethren on Friday night.
McClain accounted for all four of Fillmore's touchdowns. He threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two more TDs as the Fillmore football team gradually wore down the Grace Brethren defense.
McClain completed only three passes in the game. Two of them went to Andrey Sanchez for touchdowns. McClain's first touchdown pass came in the second quarter to give Fillmore a 7-0 lead at halftime.
His second touchdown pass came at the end of the third quarter to put Fillmore up 20-0.
Grace Brethren scored its only touchdown of the game in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
Go to the Ventura County Star for more on the game between Fillmore and Grace Brethren.

Photo: The Fillmore defense shut out Grace Brethren for three quarters and didn't give up a touchdown until the final minute of the game. (Credit: Tim Haddock)

Thorn wins West Series race in New Mexico

Derek Thorn won his second NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at NAPA Speedway in New Mexico on a night when a pair of rookies stole the spotlight.
Dallas Montes was the runner-up in his West Series debut. Hannah Newhouse, a 15-year-old making her West Series debut, was sixth.
Thorn started seventh and worked his way to the lead holding off Montes and Eric Holmes in a green-white-checkered flag finish in the NAPA Auto Parts 150.
Greg Pursley was eighth and leads the West Series standings by 13 points over teammate Dylan Kwasniewski.
Go to the K&N website for more on the West Series race from Albuquerque, N.M.

Photo: Derek Thorn won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at NAPA Speedway in New Mexico. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)

Dodgers fall short of playoffs, lose to Giants

LOS ANGELES – The San Francisco Giants snuffed any chance the Dodgers had at a playoff spot with a 4-3 win on Tuesday night.

“It could have ended a little bit better,” Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp said. “We came up a little bit short. It’s tough. You work hard. Everybody’s main goal was to make the playoffs. We kind of failed.”

The Dodgers needed a win to stay in the playoff picture and keep within striking distance of the St. Louis Cardinals, who entered the night with a two-game lead in the wild-card playoff race over the Dodgers.

The Reds beat the Cardinals, 3-1, earlier in the night leaving the door open for the Dodgers to stay alive in the playoff chase for another day.

But Buster Posey’s home run in the second inning and Marco Scutaro’s two-run double in the fifth sealed the Dodgers’ fate before 42,473 at Dodger Stadium.

“We’re going to learn from this,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “This is a feeling we don’t want to have again.”

The Dodgers had a chance to tie the score in the ninth inning. Andre Ethier led off the inning with a single up the middle, but AJ Ellis couldn’t sacrifice him to second. Pinch runner Dee Gordon came in for Ethier and stole second with two outs.

Mark Ellis ended the game when he lined out to centerfield.

“We still had a chance to do it,” said Kemp, who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. “We just came up short. We kind of rebounded, but we didn’t make it at the end. No excuses, man. No excuses.”

Posey hit a solo home run to lead off the second inning and gave the Giants a 1-0 lead. It was his 24^th home run of the season.

The Dodgers tied the score, 1-1, in the bottom of the second. Hanley Ramirez hit a one-out triple into the right field corner. Luis Cruz knocked him in on a groundout.

Adrian Gonzalez led off the second inning with a deep drive to left field. Xavier Nady made the catch crashing into the outfield wall for the first out of the inning. Gonzalez singled in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

Joaquin Arias put the Giants back on top, 2-1, with a solo home run to centerfield in the third inning. It was his fifth of the season.

Dodgers starter Chris Capuano didn’t make it past the third inning. Mattingly replaced Capuano with Jamey Wright in the fourth inning.

Capuano gave up a pair of solo home runs and left the game trailing, 2-1.

Scutaro drove in two runs with a two-out double in the fifth inning and gave the Giants a 4-1 lead.

AJ Ellis hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning off reliever Guillermo Mota to cut the Giants lead to one run, 4-3. Ethier was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Ellis followed with a shot to centerfield that was helped over the fence by the warm night air.

Posey went 2-for-4 and leads the National League in hitting with a .337 batting average.

Andrew McCutcheon of the Pittsburgh Pirates, second in the National League in batting, went 0-for-4 against the Atlanta Braves and saw his batting average drop to .327.

Photo: Matt Kemp signs some autographs for fans after the Dodgers lost to the Giants, 4-3, on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. (Credit: Tim Haddock)