Mira Costa

MANHATTAN BEACH ? Prior to the start of the season, Hoover High girls' basketball Coach Jack Van Patten believed this year's team had the chance to do something unprecedented, considering it returned six seniors and all five starters from a playoff-tested team the season before. The coach also was well aware that a lack of height and post presence could quickly negate that leadership and limit the Tornadoes against certain opponents. The latter proved to be the case on Saturday night, as the Tornadoes ran up against a taller, more physical Mira Costa squad.

Playing a night match is always nice, and when La Canada and Mira Costa -- two highly ranked boys' water polo programs -- face each other, it's special. On Saturday night at Pasadena City College's Aquatic Center, these CIF Southern Section Division III powers met, and as predicted, the tussle was close before the Spartans used a six-goal second half and coasted to a 12-8 nonleague victory. Driver Doug McNeese and setter Jordan Thompson each scored three goals for the Spartans (13-5)

Charles Rich Committing unforced errors isn't normally a concern for the La Canada High boys' water polo team. It became one Tuesday after the Spartans dropped an 8-7 nonleague road loss to Mira Costa. Miscommunication became the central theme after an errant pass in the closing seconds doomed the Spartans, who are ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division III. -- BOX SCORE -- -- La Canada 4 1 2 0 -- 7 Mira Costa 5 1 1 1 -- 8 -- -- LA CANADA Rady 2 goals, Thompson 2 goals, McNeese 2 goals, Blatchley 1 goal.

What was supposed to be a hard count, turned out to be an awfully hard way to lose for the Newport Harbor High football team Friday night. But the Sailors didn't go down without first finding a miraculous way to push visiting Mira Costa into overtime as the Mustangs came away with a 23-20 nonleague triumph. Newport Harbor went 84 yards on 12 plays after falling behind, 20-12, with 3:05 left to tie the game in dramatic fashion. Tom Jackson's pass went into and out of the hands of Mira Costa defender Kevin Romero at the Mustangs' 5-yard line, and Jarrett Daniel hauled it in and ran into the end zone.

FOOTBALL DIVISION III 1. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 2. ST. FRANCIS 3. Dominguez 4. Peninsula 5. Mira Costa 6. St. Paul 7. Redondo Union 8T. Arcadia 8T. Downey 10. Lancaster DIVISION X 1. Lompoc Cabrillo 2. Crespi 3. LA CANADA 4. Lompoc 5. Gladstone 6. Santa Maria St. Joseph's 7. Temple City 8. Monrovia 9. Serra 10. Morro...

SF footballFootball: With thrilling 20-14 victory against offensive juggernaut Mira Costa, St. Francis advances to semifinals for second straight year.LA CA—ADA FLINTRIDGE -- Nailbiting quarterfinals are becoming a habit for the St. Francis High football team. For the second consecutive year, the Golden Knights were victorious in a CIF Southern Section Division III quarterfinal game that wasn't decided until the very end. It came to be as Golden Knight Coach Jim Bonds, fist pumping, led a celebratory run to midfield Friday night at Friedman Field after St. Francis had staved off a driving Mira Costa for a 20-14 victory.

Hamlet Nalbandyan GLENDALE -- o7 Odds and ends from the local high school boys' water polo scene: f7 Up for grabs: The CIF Southern Section Division III standings have changed quite a bit this season. Except for the No. 1 spot, occupied by Mira Costa for most of the season, No.'s 2 through 10 have seen a wide assortment of teams, including locals La Canada and Crescenta Valley. That is all the more reason why many believe this year's postseason could be one for the ages.

La Canada water polo story.Water polo: After three straight semifinal losses, La Cañada boys' squad reaches final with 12-7 win against Mira Costa.PASADENA -- The gut-check came in the form of a three-goals-to-none run by Mira Costa that had the mighty La Cañada High boys' water polo team thinking about the previous three semifinal heartbreaks. The next seven minutes, however, reaffirmed just why the 2005 Spartans might be the overwhelming favorite to capture the CIF Southern Section Division III title.

Charles Rich MANHATTAN BEACH -- It might be difficult for John Yang to emerge from the tall shadow cast by his brother. The La Canada High boys' water polo player has other issues to handle then being compared to his brother, Matt, an All-CIF Southern Section Division III player in 2000. John has begun to carve his own niche and he made a splash Friday night, scoring a pair of goals to lead La Canada to a 10-2 win against Redondo in a quarterfinal-round match in the 32nd annual Henry Stuart South Bay Water Polo Tournament at Mira Cost High.

sportsSt. Francis and La Cañada will both host CIF quarterfinal contests, just like they did last season.GLENDALE -- The following are previews of tonight's local CIF Southern Section playoff football games. Mira Costa at St. Francis, 7:30 p.m.; The Golden Knights (9-2) find themselves in a familiar spot -- at home at Friedman Field hosting a CIF Southern Section Division III quarterfinal game. Last year they defeated Redondo Union, 17-16, on their way to the semifinals. This season, Bay League co-champion Mira Costa stands in St. Francis' path of a repeat bid. The Mustangs (10-1)

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - Playing tournament host as well as in its home opener, the Glendale Community College women's basketball team relied on solid defense to get in the win column for the first time of the young season. But as coach Carrie Miller showed, her players didn't really have a choice. After a sluggish start against Mira Costa in both teams' first game of the Vaquero Shootout, Miller pulled all five of her starters with just over four minutes elapsed in the first half.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - The Glendale Community College women's basketball team has lost games this season because it has either turned the ball over too many times, hasn't played well for 40 minutes or has had woes on defense. It lost Thursday partly because “it hit a wall.” The Vaqueros went five minutes without a basket in the first half of their game against visiting Mira Costa in the inaugural Christmas Crossover four-team round-robin tournament, and watched as the Spartans scored 11 unanswered points and took a nine-point lead.

PALMDALE — At the end of one long incredible game, it came down to one final stop. But inevitably, it was a contest that showed just how quickly momentum, a game and a season can turn. St. Francis High’s football team, having led on two occasions by two touchdowns, finished its season on the wrong end of an improbable 49-42 double-overtime loss to host Palmdale on a cold Friday night in the quarterfinal round of the CIF Southern Section Western Division playoffs.

MANHATTAN BEACH — All of the CIF and state championship banners on the wall didn’t intimidate the members of the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team. However, the Tologs found out quickly how good Mira Costa is and why it earned that plethora of titles. “We came in with the mindset to not be intimidated,” said Sacred Heart senior middle blocker Mary Schroeder, whose team suffered a 25-6, 25-16, 25-11 road loss to third-seeded Mira Costa on Thursday night in CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA second-round match.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Deflation suddenly rose to elation for the members of the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team Tuesday night. Staring at a second consecutive first-round postseason defeat, the Tologs couldn’t have picked a more appropriate time to make their most riveting comeback of the season. Flintridge Sacred Heart received 27 kills and 16 digs from Camille Coffey and 25 assists and 13 digs from Alessandra Orlandini to earn a surprising 15-25, 23-25, 25-23, 27-25, 15-7 come-from-behind home victory against Orange Lutheran in a CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA playoff match.

BOYS? WATER POLO Crescenta Valley at South Bay Tournament : The Falcons (6-7), ranked second in CIF Southern Section Division VI, were runners-up in the tournament, losing in the final to Mira Costa, the No. 2 team in Division IV, 10-6. Martin Rivera and Matt Peters had two goals each. ?We were happy with it,? said Falcons Coach Jan Sakonju. ?It was a good experience.? The Falcons played their way into the championship with a 7-6 win against El Segundo, the No. 5 team in Division V, in the semifinals on Saturday morning.

BURBANK — Emily Tubert of Burroughs High and Katie Park of Crescenta Valley have had their share of battles at De Bell Municipal Golf Course as Pacific League foes. While Tubert has logged countless hours on the Indians’ home course, Park takes lessons at De Bell and knows the layout very well. With that experience under their belts, the two had to be considered among the favorites Thursday in the seventh annual Magnolia Park Optimist Club Girls’ High School Invitational at the venue.

GLENDALE — Jack Van Patten will no longer be roaming the courts as coach of the Hoover High girls’ basketball team. However, he will still be visible in the landscape of Hoover athletics. Van Patten recently opted to resign as coach after nine seasons so he could continue to serve as Hoover’s athletic director and teach full time. It’s not clear who will succeed Van Patten, who graduated from Hoover in 1980 after playing for several seasons on the school’s boys’ basketball team.

MANHATTAN BEACH ? Prior to the start of the season, Hoover High girls' basketball Coach Jack Van Patten believed this year's team had the chance to do something unprecedented, considering it returned six seniors and all five starters from a playoff-tested team the season before. The coach also was well aware that a lack of height and post presence could quickly negate that leadership and limit the Tornadoes against certain opponents. The latter proved to be the case on Saturday night, as the Tornadoes ran up against a taller, more physical Mira Costa squad.

Team ? League ? Overall (SO)Notre Dame ? 5-0 ? 13-1 Chaminade ? 4-1 ? 9-3 St. Francis ? 3-2 ? 10-3 St. Paul ? 2-3 ? 8-2 Harvard-Westlake ? 1-4 ? 5-5 Alemany ? 0-5 ? 2-8 9/09 - St. Francis 17 -- Arcadia 12 9/16 - St. Francis 40 -- Crescenta Valley 7 9/22 - St. Francis 13 -- Burroughs 10 9/29 - St. Francis 35 -- Pasadena 10 10/07- St. Francis 20 -- Saugus 0 10/14 - St. Francis 17 -- St. Paul 7. 10/21 - St. Francis 30 -- Alemany 3. 10/28 - Chaminade 22 -- St. Francis 14. 11/04 - (SO)