Crescenta Valley

BASEBALL Flintridge Prep wins share of Prep League title: Though Flintridge Prep closed out the regular season with a 10-2 win over Rio Hondo Prep on Wednesday, the Rebels won themselves a share of the Prep League title on Friday afternoon. On the strength of Pasadena Poly defeating Webb Schools, 10-3, on Friday for the second time in as many days, the Panthers forced a three-way tie atop the standings, bestowing the Rebels with a share of their first league title in more than 15 years.

GIRLS' SOCCER Crescenta Valley 4, Glendale 0 : The Falcons improved to 8-4-1 and 6-1-1 in the Pacific League on Monday at home, as they got three first-half goals en route to an easy win. Olivia Bird, Jacque Phinney, Cassandra Orozco and Sarah Worden scored goals. BOYS' SOCCER St. Francis 2, Harvard-Westlake 2: Billy McCreary and Matt Laterza each scored one goal Monday night for the visiting Golden Knights in a Mission League match. St. Francis (4-7-7, 3-1-3 in league)

Crescenta Valley bounced back from a tough loss against Arcadia last week when the Falcon volleyball team held on for a 25-22, 27-25, 25-14 victory against Hoover (1-12, 1-6). Crescenta Valley improved to 4-4 in Pacific League play (5-11 overall). In a see-saw battle for the first two games, Hoover jumped out to a 10-7 lead in game one on consecutive aces, yet consecutive kills by Falcons Kim Cox and Maggie Rajtar tied the game at 13, setting the Falcons up for a 16-13 lead ? their first lead since 3-2 ?

What began as a mutual exercise in frustration and futility for the Burroughs and Crescenta Valley high football teams on Oct. 2 at Moyse Field ended as anything but. For three quarters of the both teams? Pacific League opener, the Falcons seemed intent on inflicting self-sabotage, while the Indians appeared utterly incapable of fully capitalizing on three turnovers and numerous Crescenta Valley mistakes. Beginning in the final seconds of the third quarter, however, the two rivals engaged in a slugfest that saw five lead changes and jaw-dropping big plays from both sides and ended in a thrilling 34-32 win for Crescenta Valley.

LA CRESCENTA - No matter where a Hoover High boys' basketball player stood on the court, they rarely appeared comfortable being guarded by Crescenta Valley. Passes were deflected or stolen and shots were sometimes altered. It translated into frustration for Hoover and elation for Crescenta Valley on Monday. “I thought our defense did a good job, especially in the second half,” said Crescenta Valley guard Cole Currie, who finished with a game-high 23 points to help host Crescenta Valley roll to a 69-36 Pacific League victory against Hoover.

BURBANK — Many of the local girls’ high school golf players are consistently showing they can match up well with the top players from around the region. Christine Cho and Katie Park of Crescenta Valley and Burroughs’ Emily Tubert proved that in a big way Thursday afternoon at the seventh annual Burbank Girls’ Invitational Golf Tournament at De Bell Municipal Golf Course. The Harvard University-bound Cho and Park helped the Falcons win the tournament’s A Flight competition for the second time in three years.

LA CRESCENTA - For nearly an hour, players from the Crescenta Valley High and Hoover boys' water polo teams milled around the pool deck soaking in a rainstorm that featured plenty of thunder and lightning. With the Falcons and Tornadoes eager to meet in a Pacific League match Thursday afternoon at Crescenta Valley, the teams were forced to wait out the storm for 45 minutes before getting involved in a high-scoring tilt. Nate Fernandez shook off the delay and answered the call for the Falcons, as he scored a team-high four goals to ignite Crescenta Valley to a 15-13 win. “It was a completely different set of circumstances with the weather,” said Fernandez, who helped Crescenta Valley improve to 6-10, 2-1 in league.

GLENDALE - Just when it seemed like its playoff woes were bound to be lifted, the Crescenta Valley High baseball team suffered another first-round heartbreak at the hands of a double play. The 1-0 loss to Yucaipa at Stengel Field in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division II tournament Friday night marked the Falcons' sixth in a row in the playoffs, with the past three all at home in the first round. Last season, the Falcons fell to Tustin, 7-4. Their last playoff victory came in a 2009 wild-card game and they haven't advanced to the second round of CIF since 2008.

LA CRESCENTA - Though it's only May and it's only passing league, Crescenta Valley High's football team certainly wasn't treating Friday afternoon's first day of the Gordy Warnock Memorial Passing Tournament like any old spring day. Facing Pacific League-foe Burroughs in their second pool-play game of the day, the Falcons rushed onto offense with less than a minute remaining in a back-and-forth contest. Alas, a deep ball into the back corner of the end zone by quarterback Ben Rees drifted through the fingertips of receiver Connor Van Ginkel, whose outstretched dive came up just short, as the Indians prevailed, 22-16.

Two local softball teams will participate in the CIF Southern Section playoffs after the CIF office unveiled its playoff pairings Monday. Crescenta Valley High and Holy Family will have little time to prepare for their postseason contests, as both the Falcons and Gaels will take part in wild-card games Tuesday. Crescenta Valley (14-10-1) will make the short trip to Pasadena to face La Salle (12-12-1) in a Division III contest at 3:15 p.m. Holy Family (6-14) will host Frazier Mountain (14-7)

In the current state of CIF Southern Section postseason baseball, not even winning a league title is a guarantee for a first-round playoff home game. In the cases of Crescenta Valley High and Flintridge Prep, both teams shared titles in their respective leagues, but, fortunately for the Falcons and Rebels, they ended up on the right end of tiebreakers and will host first-round playoff games on Friday. As released Monday by the CIF Southern Section offices, the Falcons (20-7) will host Yucaipa or Great Oak in the first round of the Division II playoffs, while the Rebels (15-8)

After recording a par on the first hole, Colin Morikawa encountered immediate difficulty. Participating in the CIF Southern Section Northern Individual Regional on Monday at River Ridge Golf Club's par-72 Vineyard Course, the La Cañada High boys' golfer found himself in an unusual situation. The reigning All-Area Boys' Golfer of the Year quadruple-bogeyed the par-four second hole, seriously reducing his chances of extending his splendid season. Morikawa shook off the tough situation and finished with a 73 to finish in a seven-way tie for fifth at the event.

After seeing their attempts to lead their respective boys' golf teams past the CIF Southern Section team divisionals fall short, six area athletes will strive to achieve individual success. The group will migrate north to Oxnard to participate in the 18-hole CIF Southern Section Northern Individual Regional, which will be held at 8 a.m. Monday at River Ridge Golf Club's Vineyard Course. Among those expected to participate will be Paul Park of Crescenta Valley High, Vince De Pinto and Mike Mozilo of St. Francis and La Cañada's Collin Morikawa, Robby Stehlin and Joshua Suh. The top 30 plus ties from the Northern and Southern regionals will advance to the CIF Southern Section Individual Championship Tournament, which will be held at 9 a.m. May 20 at La Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc.

RIVERSIDE - There's little the Crescenta Valley High boys' swimming team was unable to accomplish during the high school careers of Young Tae Seo and Harrison Thai. One thing the Falcons and their two standout seniors couldn't do, however, was go out with a second straight championship on Saturday at the CIF Southern Section Division II meet at Riverside City College. PHOTOS: CIF Southern Section Division II swimming final Try as it might, CV couldn't climb the uphill challenge it was dealt in a deeper Los Osos team that won six events and set three Division II meet records in the process.

ARCADIA - It appeared hope for capturing the Pacific League baseball title and avenging a previous loss against its rival was running low for the Crescenta Valley High baseball team Friday night. Down two runs headed into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Falcons appeared to be down to their final out after consecutive strikeouts. The second, however, came on a wild pitch to CV's Joe Torres that rolled to the fence. Torres beat the throw to first, representing the tying the run and bringing the potential winning run to the plate.

LA CRESCENTA - A few minutes after the Crescenta Valley High softball team suffered a 3-1 Pacific League home loss against Arcadia on Thursday, Crescenta Valley Coach Mark Stamford didn't want to know how many runners the Falcons left on base. Seconds later, Samford inquired about the total number of runners stranded - eight. PHOTOS: Crescenta Valley vs. Arcadia softball   "The big stat [is] how many runners we left on base," said Samford, whose team could have locked up sole possession of second place behind Burbank in league with a victory Thursday as Burroughs lost to the first-place Bulldogs.

BASEBALL Flintridge Prep wins share of Prep League title: Though Flintridge Prep closed out the regular season with a 10-2 win over Rio Hondo Prep on Wednesday, the Rebels won themselves a share of the Prep League title on Friday afternoon. On the strength of Pasadena Poly defeating Webb Schools, 10-3, on Friday for the second time in as many days, the Panthers forced a three-way tie atop the standings, bestowing the Rebels with a share of their first league title in more than 15 years.