Bishop Amat

Sang Lee EL MONTE -- When a bully picks on students at school, the students usually do whatever it takes to avoid seeing the bully again. Unfortunately for La Canada High's girls' basketball team, there was no avoiding Bishop Amat. The two met for a second time this season on Saturday night in a semifinal game of the Arroyo Tournament, where the Lancers outmuscled the Spartans, 60-28. The first game on Dec. 8 was not much different, with Bishop Amat winning, 63-33.

Bishop Amat dropped CV, 7-4, last Saturday in the Glendora Tournament Championship game. The Falcons drew first blood in the top of the first inning to lead 2-0. Bishop Amat tied the score with two runs in the third inning. CV went back into the lead, 4-2, with two runs in the fourth inning. However the Lancers responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame to jump back into the lead to stay. They added an insurance run in the sixth. The Falcons collected seven hits, but none went for extra bases.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE ? As far as beginnings go, St. Francis High?s football team?s was a promising one. Despite a turnover on their opening possession, the Golden Knights had held Bishop Amat to consecutive three-and-outs and garnered a seven-point lead after their second possession. But then Bishop Amat began to run the ball with success, ultimately leading to St. Francis falling from the ranks of the unbeaten, as the Golden Knights lost to the visiting Lancers, 28-13, on Friday night at Friedman Field.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Riding the momentum of a first-round playoff win and the resulting home game that came with it, the St. Francis High boys’ basketball team wasn’t intimidated by the prospect of playing Bishop Amat, not after facing similarly tough teams on a regular basis during the Mission League gauntlet. But as Friday night’s CIF Southern Section Division III second-round game progressed into the second half, the Golden Knights were forced to face some inevitable truths as to just why the well-rounded Lancers were bestowed the fourth seed in the division.

LA PUENTE ? This time it was the St. Francis High football team feeling the heartache of a last-minute defeat. After winning each of the last three weeks when either tied or behind in the fourth quarter, the Golden Knights were unable to pull out another late-game thriller, as they lost to Bishop Amat, 29-28, in overtime in Friday's nonleague game at Bishop Amat. "We expected to win," said St. Francis Coach Jim Bonds, whose team, the No. 1 squad in the CIF Southern Section Western Division, lost its first game of the year, falling to 5-1. "We are disappointed going home on the bus ride with a loss."

BASEBALL DIVISION I 1. Lakewood 2. Fountain Valley 3. Temecula Valley 4. Bishop Amat 5. Arcadia 6. Rialto 7. St. John Bosco 8. Esperanza 9. Long Beach Wilson 10. Crescenta Valley SOFTBALL Division II 1. Cerritos 2. Crescenta Valley 3. Loara 4. Kennedy 5. Marina 6. Corona 7. Hart 8. Thousand Oaks 9. Colton 10. Cajon...

Charles Rich LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- The La Canada High baseball team didn't win many guessing games Tuesday. Trying to hit and field a ball became a two-hour fruitless act for La Canada, which suffered a 12-0 loss to top-seed Bishop Amat in a CIF Southern Section Division IV second-round playoff game at La Canada on Tuesday. The Spartans (17-6) managed just two hits and committed three errors against a bulletproof Bishop Amat squad, which captured the Del Rey League championship.

Erik Boal DUARTE -- A demanding summer schedule is nothing new to the La Canada High boys' basketball program, which has averaged playing over 50 games from mid-June to the end of July for the past decade. As for the 2000 Spartan varsity summer squad, it may still take a little getting used to. Playing its sixth game in a 36-hour span and without the services of starting forward Greg Gaudino, La Canada ran out of gas down the stretch Sunday and fell to Bishop Amat, 41-34, in the finals of the Duarte High Tournament.

Grant Gordon Things just went from bad to worse for the St. Francis High baseball team in Wednesday's evening's Apache Invitational at Arcadia High. After posting a two-run lead in the bottom of the first inning, nothing went the Golden Knights' way as they fell behind, 7-2, as of press time. After Golden Knight Brian Farris belted a two-run home run to deep center, the Golden Knights' fortunes at the plate continued. Problem was they were negated by misfortunes on the base paths.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan LA PUENTE -- With high expectations and a No. 10 ranking in CIF Southern Section Division III preseason poll, the La Canada High girls' basketball hasn't fulfilled its goals early this season. The Spartans started the 2000 campaign losing their first two games. On Wednesday, in pool play of the first-annual Bishop Amat Tip-off Classic against St. Joseph High, La Canada took its first step in recovering from a slow start. The 1999 Rio Hondo League co-champions defeated the Jesters, 36-31, at Bishop Amat.

GLENDALE — Throughout most of the regular season, the Flintridge Prep girls’ basketball team seemed to play its best ball in the first and third quarters. Ultimately, not being able to close out close games in the fourth quarter led to some difficult losses. Recently, however, the Rebels have been at their best in the fourth quarter and haven’t allowed teams to come back in the fourth quarter throughout the CIF Southern Section Division V-AA playoffs. “We are playing our best basketball now,” said Flintridge Prep Coach Todd Frost, whose team will battle third-seeded St. Paul in a quarterfinal home game at 7 p.m. today.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Riding the momentum of a first-round playoff win and the resulting home game that came with it, the St. Francis High boys’ basketball team wasn’t intimidated by the prospect of playing Bishop Amat, not after facing similarly tough teams on a regular basis during the Mission League gauntlet. But as Friday night’s CIF Southern Section Division III second-round game progressed into the second half, the Golden Knights were forced to face some inevitable truths as to just why the well-rounded Lancers were bestowed the fourth seed in the division.

FRIDAY GIRLS’ SOCCER  Knight at Crescenta Valley in CIF Southern Section Division II first-round match, 3 p.m.  Estancia vs. Flintridge Prep in CIF Southern Section Division III first-round match at Glendale Sports Complex, 3 p.m.   BOYS’ BASKETBALL  Crescenta Valley at Tesoro in CIF Southern Section Division I-A second-round game, 7:30 p.m.  Bishop Amat at St....

SAN GABRIEL — With Emerson Castaneda scoring and Ian Hamilton rebounding, the duo proved to be the right mix to help the St. Francis High basketball team begin the playoffs on the right note. Castaneda and Hamilton needed to be sharp early on before their teammates eventually picked up the pace. Castaneda finished with a game-high 23 points and Hamilton grabbed 16 rebounds to power visiting St. Francis to a lopsided 76-44 victory against Gabrielino on Wednesday night in a CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA first-round game.

This is the sixth of eight consecutive editions in which the News-Press looks back at the area’s 2008-09 seasons, school by school, before looking ahead at the year to come.   With their talents and exploits often overcome by the rigors of the ultra-tough Mission League, St. Francis continued to show through the 2008-09 school year why it is always possessing of one of the area’s top athletic bodies. And while no program was able to claim a league title, it was hardly a sign of struggling times.

ARCADIA — The cast doesn’t remain the same, but the latest group of San Gabriel Valley Babe Ruth 16-18 All-Stars joined their predecessors in the category of Southern California champions. Behind some sturdy pitching, clutch defense and timely hitting, San Gabriel Valley upended La Crescenta, 4-2, on Tuesday night in the tournament’s championship game at Arcadia High. San Gabriel Valley, which has won the Babe Ruth World Series three times since 2004, will advance to the Pacific Southwest Regional.

GLENDALE — The following are previews for the area’s upcoming area high school football games.   Ahh, the beauty of a four-team league. Should the St. Francis High football team defeat Chaminade in the teams’ Mission League finale on Friday, it still might not make the CIF Southern Section Western Division playoffs. And, should the Golden Knights lose to the Eagles, they still have a chance at making the postseason. Indeed, when St. Francis hosts Chaminade on Friday at 7:30 p.m., there’s a chance at the game’s conclusion that three Mission League squads could be tied with 2-1 records and there’s a chance that three could be tied with 1-2 marks.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE ? As far as beginnings go, St. Francis High?s football team?s was a promising one. Despite a turnover on their opening possession, the Golden Knights had held Bishop Amat to consecutive three-and-outs and garnered a seven-point lead after their second possession. But then Bishop Amat began to run the ball with success, ultimately leading to St. Francis falling from the ranks of the unbeaten, as the Golden Knights lost to the visiting Lancers, 28-13, on Friday night at Friedman Field.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — The Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club, in its 66th year, meets Tuesdays at the Elk’s Lodge. The following are odds and ends from the sixth meeting of the year .   KNIGHTS STILL WIN MINUS KEY PLAYERS Already without reigning All-Area Player of the Year Dietrich Riley for Friday’s game against El Rancho due to a back ailment, the St. Francis High football team lost its replacement starting...

PICO RIVERA — At the halfway point of the season, there is no need to complain. For starters, the St. Francis High football team has already eclipsed its win total from a year ago. Even better for the Golden Knights, they remain undefeated. St. Francis received a pair of touchdown receptions from wide receiver Malik Speed on Friday to pick up a 45-7 nonleague victory against El Rancho. The Golden Knights (5-0) led throughout the contest against a tattered El Rancho team that dropped to 2-3. St. Francis, ranked fifth in the CIF Southern Section Western Division, scored on all four of its first-quarter possessions.