Mustangs

PASADENA - The Crescenta Valley High boys' basketball team was all that stood between Muir and an outright Pacific League championship on Tuesday. While the Falcons proved to be an immovable object for much of the back-and-forth game, they couldn't hold back the Mustangs from going on a big run to start the fourth quarter. And in the end, although the game tightened up once again down the stretch, they could only watch as Jelani Mitchell sealed host Muir's 66-63 win from the free throw line.

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.

PASADENA — The Hoover High football team entered Friday’s Pacific League game still searching for its first win of the season and facing the daunting task of playing Muir, the defending league champion and fourth-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Southeast Division. With sizable advantages on the lines and the skill positions, the Mustangs were expected to easily defeat the Tornadoes. And that’s exactly what they did. Hoover was no match for Muir’s potent offense, as the Mustangs ran away with a 47-0 victory at home.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on viewpoint, history was with both the Muir and Hoover high football teams in Friday evening's Pacific League contest at Moyse Field. Muir, which entered on a three-game losing streak, resurrected its league playoff and title chances at the expense of host Hoover by virtue of a 42-0 win. The victory improved the Mustangs' record to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in league, while Hoover dropped to 0-6 and 0-3. In winning, Muir is attempting to follow a familiar script, as the Mustangs commenced the 2009 and 2010 league seasons 0-2 only to rebound and finish 9-1 combined in league.

LOS ANGELES — Despite ending the regular season on a three-game losing skid, the Crescenta Valley High girls' basketball team looked to wipe the slate clean entering its opening-round playoff contest Thursday night. The late tailspin knocked the Falcons out of contention for an automatic playoff berth, leading them to apply for an at-large berth in the CIF Southern Section Division I-A playoffs. Crescenta Valley received a playoff spot, but many of the things that led directly to their late-season swoon carried over into the postseason.

Trailing, 27-0, in a extension of a season in which little had gone right, the Costa Mesa High football team gathered its collective feet Thursday night against visiting Huntington Beach. The thick, muscled legs of the linemen, as well as those thinner, fleeter ones propelling ball carriers, all seemed to settle underneath Coach Jay Johnson's teetering team. And though a 37-14 nonleague defeat was the end result, the Mustangs clearly emerged from their third setback of the season with a foundation to, perhaps, build the rest of the season upon.

The Costa Mesa High football team lost its Golden West League opener last week, but the Mustangs may have gained their offensive identity. Coach Jay Johnson's squad (0-5, 0-1 in league) will try to assert its newfound offensive confidence Friday against visiting Westminster, at 7 p.m. at Orange Coast College. Mesa, decimated by early injuries, had struggled mightily for the first 4 1/2 games of the season, scoring just three offensive touchdowns in its first 18 quarters.

LA CRESCENTA - It isn't often that two teams are left disappointed after a match, but such was the case for both the Muir and Crescenta Valley high boys' soccer teams after Friday afternoon's Pacific League contest. Apparently, neither was satisfied after a 1-1 tie that may have been damaging to both teams' Pacific League title hopes, as they fell further from league-leading Burroughs (10-5-2 overall, 7-2 in league). “We're still getting back players from injury and have been trying to learn the same system since the beginning of the season,” Mustangs Coach Mario Hernandez said.

LA CANADA - The Flintridge Prep boys' basketball team took a break from Prep League action Wednesday to continue what has become a nonleague tradition. The Rebels hosted Kilpatrick in a game, then the two schools sat down for a friendly dinner. The food probably tasted a little better to the Flintridge Prep players, taking into consideration they had just rolled to an easy 67-44 win against the Mustangs. “It has become a nice tradition between the two schools,” Rebels Coach Garrett Ohara said.

BURBANK - Thanks to an unrelenting defense and a balanced scoring attack, the St. Francis High boys' basketball team secured itself an early holiday gift. The Golden Knights forced 24 turnovers, while seven players scored four or more points in a dominating 65-39 victory in the championship game of the 24th annual Providence Paul Sutton Tip-Off Classic on Saturday evening. "This is a confidence booster for right now, especially early on," St. Francis sophomore wingman Markar Aghakanian said.

PASADENA - The Crescenta Valley High football team's goal was to limit Muir's big plays in Friday night's Pacific League opener. But the Mustangs were too explosive, too fast and too overwhelming for the Falcons. Muir scored four touchdowns on the first play of four drives, including 96- and 54-yard scores by Andreece Brown, en route to running away with a 36-0 home victory. “We didn't play well at all,” Falcons Coach Paul Schilling said. “We're really disappointed.

The following are previews of the area's upcoming high school football games this week. There's normally been plenty of intrigue when the Crescenta Valley High football team meets Muir. Throughout the years, the Falcons and Mustangs have vied for Pacific League championships and have had their share of top-caliber athletes record excellent performances on both sides of the ball. Don't expect that to change when the teams collide again at 7 p.m. Friday at Muir in a league opener for both teams.

PASADENA - There are only a few miles between Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Muir High, but the Mustangs girls' basketball team put some distance between themselves and the Tologs on the court Thursday. The Mustangs did so at home in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA playoffs through their constant pressure defense, rebounding and balanced offense, as they defeated Sacred Heart, 65-30. That's just Muir basketball, Mustangs senior guard Shaela Flynn said.

PASADENA - The Crescenta Valley High boys' basketball team was all that stood between Muir and an outright Pacific League championship on Tuesday. While the Falcons proved to be an immovable object for much of the back-and-forth game, they couldn't hold back the Mustangs from going on a big run to start the fourth quarter. And in the end, although the game tightened up once again down the stretch, they could only watch as Jelani Mitchell sealed host Muir's 66-63 win from the free throw line.

LA CRESCENTA - The top two teams in the Pacific League boys' basketball standings are set for a collision course on rivalry Friday at Pasadena High. That's because visiting Muir High used a fourth-quarter surge to defeat the league's other potential league-title challenger, Crescenta Valley, 76-56 on Tuesday afternoon. The victory sets up a showdown between CIF Southern Section Division III-AA second-ranked Pasadena (13-5 overall, 6-0 in league), the nine-time defending league champion, and archrival and Division IV-AA No. 10-ranked Muir (17-1, 6-0)

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE - Muir High boys' basketball Coach Gamal Smalley wasn't up for a repeat performance Friday night when the Mustangs met Glendale in a Pacific League road contest. This time around, Muir built a big enough lead and held off a late Nitro rally to earn a 66-54 Pacific League victory. "We know Glendale always has some great shooters and you have to respect their shooters because they can always come back," said Smalley, who cited Glendale overcoming a 13-point second-half deficit last season to knock off the Mustangs, who were then the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division V-AA.