Prep Rally: Is the state’s Open Division football title game viable for the future?

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. The football championships have been won. Now it’s time to begin the state bowl games and playoffs.

The matchups

There was a time where De La Salle was so powerful teams in Southern California supposedly had little chance of winning. Times have changed. The reverse is now true. Teams in Northern California haven’t won in the Open Division bowl game since 2015.

Mater Dei (12-0) will play De La Salle (12-0) in this year’s Open Division final on Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. at Saddleback College in matchups released Sunday.

If this game proves to be another rout, is the Open Division game viable in the future?

Here’s a look at the issues involved and whether De La Salle can be competitive when it takes a bus down to play the Monarchs.

Action begins this weekend in the other 14 divisions. Here’s the schedule.

Newbury Park pulled off a big one, beating Murrieta Valley 31-28 in the Division 2 final to improve to 14-0. It’s been quite a climb since Joe Smigiel took over as head coach in 2022. Here’s the report.

Mater Dei won its 14th football championship with a 31-24 victory over St. John Bosco in the Division 1 final. Here’s the report.

Despite missing its star running back, Edison rose up to win the Division 3 championship behind sophomore quarterback Sam Thomson. Here’s the report.

The top performer list from Friday night.

The top performer list from Saturday night.

Narbonne is back on top in City Section football after routing San Pedro to win the Open Division championship. Here’s the report.

The wildest game was in City Division II, where Chatsworth seemed headed to certain defeat. All South Gate had to do was kick the ball after taking a safety with one second left. Then disaster struck and the Chancellors won. Here’s the report.

In Division I, King/Drew dominated Palisades to win its first City title. Here’s the report.

In Division III, Panorama defeated Van Nuys. Here’s the report.

Robert Garrett of Crenshaw has become the City Section’s winningest coach with 290 victories, passing the late Gene Vollnogle of Carson. Garrett said his goal is 300. He has been Crenshaw’s head coach since 1988.

Boys basketball

Mater Dei lost its season opener to Carlsbad in overtime. It’s the first time since 1995 that the Monarchs have dropped an opener. But coach Gary McKnight’s team came back to win two games, tying McKnight with Morgan Wootten as the second-winningest coach in high school basketball history.

No. 1 St. John Bosco went to Illinois for a tournament and came home 5-0. Brandon McCoy was named most outstanding player.

Sierra Canyon came away with a big win over St. Pius X-St. Matthias.

AGBU is off to an 8-0 start after winning its division in the San Gabriel tournament.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Girls basketball

Ontario Christian traveled to Texas and came away looking even stronger as the No. 1 team in the state with two convincing victories. The team is 5-0.

Against Texas power Duncanville, freshman Tatianna Griffin had 23 points and eight assists. Kaleen Smith had a 29-point performance with Kim Mulkey watching.

Mater Dei went to Hawaii and won a tournament championship, defeating Kamehameha 51-42. Kaeli Wynn was named tournament MVP.

Windward picked up a nice early season win over defending state champion Bishop Montgomery.

Etiwanda dropped to 2-3 after a 55-47 loss to Duncanville in Texas.

Sierra Canyon blew out Fairmont Prep 81-63 without Jerzy Robinson.

Cross-country

The state championships in Fresno saw Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura win a third consecutive individual title in Division II.

Beckman boys and Trabuco Hills girls won team titles in Division I

Here’s the report.

Notes . . .

The annual Cathedral vs. Loyola boys soccer match is set for Dec. 10 at 6 p.m. at Cathedral. . . .

Junior defensive back Jayden Crowder of Santa Margarita has committed to Cal. . . .

Standout junior infielder CJ Weinstein of Huntington Beach has committed to LSU. . . .

Quarterback Tommy Acosta of Capistrano Valley has committed to Washington & Lee University. . . .

Dr. Jerry Bornstein, the team doctor at Birmingham since the 1970s and a fixture in City Section sports for decades, has died. He was 93. . . .

Standout defensive back Steven Perez from Banning has committed to Wyoming. …

Wednesday is the early signing day for high school senior football players. …

From the archives: Jared McCain

Whether on the court or off, former Corona Centennial guard Jared McCain is a star. He’s delivering as a rookie for the Philadelphia 76ers. And he’s delivering dance moves and painted nails on TikTok and Instagram.

He led Centennial to two state championships, then went to Duke and has kept producing as a pro player. He had a 30-point performance against the Nets.

Here’s a story from 2022 on McCain using his personality to build an empire.

Here’s a story from 2023 on McCain being The Times’ player of the year.

Recommendations

From the Seattle Times, a story on a soccer coach’s sacrifice helping the team win.

From the Washington Post, a story on a Virginia high school football team being removed from the playoffs over transfers.

From Reviewjournal.com, a story on Bishop Gorman winning another championship in Nevada.

From the New York Times, a story looking back at the Lady Jaguars.

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