Ribet Academy

A panel of judges upheld the conviction of a former basketball coach accused of having a sexual relationship with a Glendale girl who played on his team. Paul Calvin Clark, 36, was convicted June 19, 2002, of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor younger than 16, penetration with a foreign object, and two counts of oral copulation. Clark, a former Ribet Academy coach, had asked for probation, but a judge had sentenced him to three years in prison and required him to register as a sex offender when freed.

Deborah Meron When Ryan Honda won a gold medal at the State Science Fair in May, his science teacher John Shirajian reportedly jumped three feet in the air. Ryan, a Glendale resident and junior at Ribet Academy, won $500 for his entry in the pharmacology and toxicology division. Nearly 1,000 students from 35 counties participated in the California State Science Fair, competing for $40,000 in prize money. Students' projects far surpass the cliche papier-mache volcano of yesteryear.

BOYS’ SOCCER Paramount 1, Crescenta Valley 0: Stefan Eng made six saves for the host Falcons (0-2) in Wednesday’s nonleague game. Salar Hajimirsadeghi and Raimond Baghoomian played well for Crescenta Valley. BOYS’ BASKETBALL Flintridge Prep 64, Sierra Canyon 59: Kenyatta Smith led the way with 16 points, as the Rebels (2-0) won their home opener on Wednesday. Providence 70, Glendale Adventist Academy 58: The Cougars opened their season with a nonleague road loss on Tuesday.

Erik Boal FLINTRIDGE PREP -- The fact that the Flintridge Prep boys' basketball team was outrebounded, 43-22, in Wednesday night's nonleague game against Ribet Academy was only one of Coach Garrett Ohara's concerns. Other pressing issues such as being able to consistently inbounds the ball, not turning the ball over in the half-court offense and making free throws were also foremost in Ohara's mind following the Rebels 68-44 loss to the Frogs in the Rebel gym. Flintridge Prep (3-2)

TODAY GIRLS? BASKETBALL ?San Gabriel Mission vs. Holy Family at Pacific Park Community Center, 5:30 p.m. ?Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 7 p.m. ?San Gabriel Academy at Glendale Adventist Academy, 4 p.m. ? BOYS? BASKETBALL ?San Gabriel Academy at Glendale Adventist Academy, 5:30 p.m. ?Ribet Academy at Renaissance Academy, TBA ? GIRLS? WATER POLO ?Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 4 p.m. ?

The following are previews of Friday's local CIF Southern Section football games. St. Francis at Lompoc, 7:30 p.m. : Even after completing its season with a convincing 34-14 Mission League home win against St. Paul on Friday, it appeared as though St. Francis would miss the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Golden Knights finished 4-6 and took fifth in league. When making their selections Sunday, the CIF office chose St. Francis as one of two teams to receive an at-large berth from the Western Division with St. Francis' strength of schedule being a critical factor.

Amber Willard GLENDALE -- A former high school coach has been ordered to stand trial on charges that he had sex with a Glendale teen, based in part on the testimony of the girl. Paul Calvin Clark III is accused of having sex with the girl, who was 15 at the time the relationship started, at his Duarte home. The two also allegedly had sex at Ribet Academy, the private school where Clark was her basketball coach. The school is in the Glassell Park area of Los Angeles, just south of Glendale along the Glendale (2)

LOS ANGELES  -  Back following two seasons away from football, Kareem Ismail became the biggest target on the field when it mattered most for the Flintridge Prep football team. The 6-foot-7 Ismail, who last played during his freshman season before seeing his career put on hold because of injuries, made the two biggest catches of the season for himself and the Rebels. Ismail's biggest reception came when he hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Clayton Weirick in the first overtime to give visiting Flintridge Prep a 34-28 upset win against Ribet Academy on Friday night in a CIF Southern Section Northeast Division first-round contest.

The following are previews of Friday's local CIF Southern Section football games. St. Francis at Lompoc, 7:30 p.m. : Even after completing its season with a convincing 34-14 Mission League home win against St. Paul on Friday, it appeared as though St. Francis would miss the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Golden Knights finished 4-6 and took fifth in league. When making their selections Sunday, the CIF office chose St. Francis as one of two teams to receive an at-large berth from the Western Division with St. Francis' strength of schedule being a critical factor.

For the first time in his brief head coaching career, Flintridge Prep's Antonio Harrison found himself at the CIF Southern Section offices for the release of the football playoff pairings. For only the second time in his 12 years as St. Francis' head coach, Jim Bonds and his Golden Knights looked as if they wouldn't find themselves in the postseason. But on Sunday, Harrison realized him and his Rebels were right where they wanted to be, while Bonds and his Golden Knights were pleasantly surprised to find themselves right where they're used to being - in the playoffs.

Though the Renaissance Academy basketball team recently won its first CIF Southern Section Division VI championship, many of the players haven't forgotten the last loss pinned on them. That occurred Feb. 7, when Renaissance suffered a 57-56 Harbor League defeat to Ribet Academy. The Wildcats shook off the loss, having since won seven games in a row. Third-seeded Renaissance (26-6) will get another crack at second-seeded Ribet (21-10) when the teams meet at 7 p.m. today in a CIF State Boys' Division V Championships Southern California Bracket semifinal contest at Pasadena City College, with Ribet as the home team.

Once he arrived in California from his native land of Guadeloupe in the summer of 2008, Gill Tacita had plenty to learn without much time to learn it. First, he needed to grasp the English language. In addition, Tacita also learned that the skill level of basketball in Guadeloupe didn’t compare to that in the United States, where it’s one of the more popular sports to play and follow from the high school ranks to the NBA. Tacita’s comprehension of English vastly improved and so has his basketball skills while playing forward for the Renaissance Academy basketball team.

TODAY GIRLS? BASKETBALL ?San Gabriel Mission vs. Holy Family at Pacific Park Community Center, 5:30 p.m. ?Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 7 p.m. ?San Gabriel Academy at Glendale Adventist Academy, 4 p.m. ? BOYS? BASKETBALL ?San Gabriel Academy at Glendale Adventist Academy, 5:30 p.m. ?Ribet Academy at Renaissance Academy, TBA ? GIRLS? WATER POLO ?Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 4 p.m. ?

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — While testing themselves against a team with legitimate size in the post, the members of the Renaissance Academy boys’ basketball team also managed to test the patience of their coach. The Wildcats would eventually pass all tests on Tuesday night, defeating visiting Ribet Academy, 72-62, but not before allowing the Frogs to make the game far too close for comfort early in the second half. Gil Tacita’s second-effort layup with 43.9 seconds left, capping a much stronger fourth-quarter showing, gave the Wildcats an eight-point lead and rendered the game an exercise in intentional fouling the rest of the way. “We had bad ‘D’ and we made a few mistakes,” Tacita, who scored 17 points, said of a stretch between the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the fourth that saw Ribet twice pull to within three points after trailing by as many as 16. “Coach just told us ‘Play harder,’ and we did.” Renaissance (16-8)

BOYS’ SOCCER Paramount 1, Crescenta Valley 0: Stefan Eng made six saves for the host Falcons (0-2) in Wednesday’s nonleague game. Salar Hajimirsadeghi and Raimond Baghoomian played well for Crescenta Valley. BOYS’ BASKETBALL Flintridge Prep 64, Sierra Canyon 59: Kenyatta Smith led the way with 16 points, as the Rebels (2-0) won their home opener on Wednesday. Providence 70, Glendale Adventist Academy 58: The Cougars opened their season with a nonleague road loss on Tuesday.