Prep League

There was no argument at the meeting to determine the All-Prep League boys' basketball team when it came to deciding the most valuable player for the 2012-13 season. The obvious choice was Flintridge Prep point guard Robert Cartwright, arguably the best offensive and defensive player in the league. While the Rebels have dominated the Prep League in recent years and have boasted a number of talented players - including center Kenyatta Smith, who recently showcased his skills to the whole nation in the NCAA Tournament with Harvard University - Flintridge Prep Coach Garrett Ohara said the uniform decision was a little unusual.

Shortly after being named the new co-coaches of the Flintridge Prep girls' basketball team last spring, Kevin Kiyomura and Jayme Kiyomura-Chan began to comb through their player personnel. The coaching duo inherited a team filled with potential after the Rebels advanced to the playoffs under former coach Todd Frost in 2012. Kiyomura and Kiyomura-Chan wanted to shape the returning talent while also forming a strong nucleus for the next several years. Flintridge Prep stayed the course, relying on a trio of underclassmen in Maya Okamoto, Tala Ismail and Lacy Coan to play huge roles in helping it finish second in the Prep League before advancing to the CIF Southern Section Division V-AA semifinals and making an appearance in the CIF State Division V Championships.

Each time Manny Perez took the field, his goal was to be the consummate playmaker for the Flintridge Prep boys' soccer team. Perez often proved to be the ideal go-to player for the Rebels, who finished second in the Prep League and made an appearance in the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs. Perez' intelligence and reading of the game were two of the biggest reasons why Flintridge Prep tasted success and played a role in the senior midfielder/forward being tabbed the All-Prep League Most Valuable Offensive Player.

The following are playoff previews for Tuesday's events involving local teams. BOYS' BASKETBALL Santa Clara at Flintridge Prep, 7 p.m.: The second-seeded Rebels (21-7) have seen plenty of Santa Clara (16-11) in recent postseasons. The Rebels, who won the Prep League title, will try again against the Saints in a Division V-AA quarterfinal contest. It will mark the third time in the last four years that the teams have met in the playoffs, with the Saints dispatching the Rebels in 2010 and 2012.

PASADENA - Once again, the Flintridge Prep and Mayfield girls' soccer teams had to wait around for a while before they finally took the field against each other. Tuesday's match between the teams was delayed for half an hour because a Pasadena City College softball game occupied a third of the field at Robinson Park. The teams' first match earlier this season had to be rescheduled because of a similar conflict at the Glendale Sports Complex and was played on Saturday with the teams tying.

LA CANADA - In the jockeying atop the Prep League girls' basketball standings, Flintridge Prep held onto its title of No. 1 contender to four-time reigning league champion Pasadena Poly with perhaps its biggest league victory to date. The CIF Southern Section Division V-AA fourth-ranked Rebels employed an absolutely smothering defense in forcing 27 turnovers and 27% shooting from visiting Division IV-A 12th-ranked Westridge in an important 53-42 victory Thursday afternoon on senior day. The Rebels (14-5 overall, 7-1 in league)

GLENDALE - Having not played a match in 15 days, the Flintridge Prep girls' soccer team took on Westridge on Tuesday and hoped to shake off any cobwebs that might have lingered from the extended time off. The Rebels also had to take the field without standout defender Abby Letts, who was serving a one-game suspension after getting double yellow cards in the team's Prep League contest Jan. 14 against Pasadena Poly. Any notion of Flintridge Prep suffering from rust was dispelled in the first few minutes, as the team scored an early goal.

GLENDALE - Scoring chances were few and far between for both the Flintridge Prep and Webb boys' soccer teams on a rainy Friday at the Glendale Sports Complex. The strong defensive Prep League matchup shifted largely into Webb's favor when it got on the board first in the 12th minute. The game continued to slide more and more to a Gauls win with every minute that ticked off the clock. The Rebels had a last-second answer, though, as their standout midfielder Manny Perez earned a penalty kick in the 80th minute and converted it to end the contest at a 1-1 tie. “We tried to take advantage of every chance we had and in the end we did and scored a goal,” Perez said.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - While momentum within the constantly changing Prep League boys' soccer standings seem to favor a new darling on a weekly basis, it's hard to deny the message sent by Flintridge Prep against rival Poly on Saturday afternoon. The surging Rebels scored a trio of goals in each half and took advantage of a short-handed and surprisingly flustered Panthers squad en route to a 6-0 home victory. The triumph added to a five-game unbeaten streak in which Flintridge Prep (7-8-2 overall, 3-1-1 in league)