EL SEGUNDO HERALD March 17, 2016 Page 7 Oakland Ready to Raid AFC West By Adam Serrao If you’re a fan of the National Football League and you hear the name, Raiders, you probably laugh. The Raiders have been the laughing stock of the league since they were destroyed in Super Bowl XXXVII by their ex coach, Jon Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. Well, you won’t be laughing for long. Now, that’s not to say that the Raiders are going to make it to the Super Bowl next year. That would certainly be a lofty expectation. But it’s been just over one month since Super Bowl 50 and the balance of power in the AFC West has already drastically shifted. Sure, the Broncos just won the championship and as we all know, Going For a Walk With Laura Robinson By Gregg McMullin What many people do each day for exercise is walk. Some for example walk their dogs a few blocks, some take advantage of walking lap after lap at the high school track. Then there are some who even walk miles and miles to the beach and back. But few in our community have taken on a walk that Laura Robinson has embarked on; walking from the Canadian border to Mexico’s border. The mere thought of a 1700 mile stroll along the West Coast, on the well-traveled Laura Robinson. Photo courtesy of Laura Robinson. Pacific Coast Bicycle Trail, is daunting enough. Then, to do it alone could be a more challenging matter. But as Laura explains she won’t be alone or doing any speed walking. “I’ll be walking close to 10 miles, more or less, each day. I might have walkers from the local church join me and of course I’ll have God with me,” she says. In general, she’ll be following Old Hwy 99 (the I-5 corridor) through northern Washington, then the 101 HWY from Olympia, Washington Eagles Stumble, but Recovery is Imminent By Gregg McMullin The girls’ softball team, boys’ volleyball team, boys’ lacrosse and the baseball team all stumbled in the first week of the season. But each team is expected to do well as the season goes forward. Early season losses are actually good for programs especially when the loss is to a good team. In each case the Eagle’s losses were to teams that figure to be in the hunt for league titles in their respective leagues. In the case of the Lady Eagles’ 4-0 defeat to Mira Costa it was a matter of the cold bats on a cool night that factored in a night in which they collected just four hits. Trailing 1-0 Monique Benjamin replaced Megan Truesdale and gave up a bases loaded double scoring three runs. The Eagles tried in vein to recover but came away empty in each of the last two innings. Head coach Keith Cameron was mildly concerned but isn’t thinking of hitting the panic button anytime soon. “We looked out of sync at the plate but with the talent on this team I don’t expect it to happen again. The Eagles faced Valencia in a doubleheader and one and tied one. In the first game the Eagles had problems stringing together any offense and fell 4-1. In the second game Truesdale, who is committed to Whitworth University in Washington state, pitched a gem scattering four hits and giving up just one run and the Eagles were down 1-0 in the seventh inning. With no one on and two outs Truesdale singled followed by a single by Sarah Bergren. Cierra Kessler running for Truesdale reached third and scored on Jordan Dornblaser RBI single to tie the game. When neither team scored in the eighth inning the game was called on account of darkness. Tuesday the Eagles opened up with Kennedy in the Torrance TNT tournament which goes on the rest of this week. Boys’ Volleyball The defending CIF champions played in the Best of The West Tournament and faced some of the country’s top teams. Though they fell to top ranked Huntington Beach (25-23 and 25-15) to give the Oilers their 116th consecutive victory, they weren’t intimidated at all. They faced Newport Harbor in their second game and came away shaking their heads after falling to the Sailors 25-22 and 25-15. They faced Corona Del Mar in their last game of the tournament and took down last season’s fourth ranked team in the nation 25-22, 21-25 and 15-13. The Eagles have shown early on they can play with any of the top teams and look to defend their Ocean League title when they open up league play at home on Tuesday against Culver City at 3:15pm. Boys’ Lacrosse The defending Ocean League champions are off to a slow start but there is a reason. According to head coach Brooks Roscoe the team has had injuries and other distractions that have led to a their 1-3 start. Junior attacker Cory Lund scored five goals in each of the team’s first two games while freshman attacker Lukas Roscoe is also one of the leading scorers on the year. Sophomore attacker Christian Martin posted a three goal hat-trick against Palisades. The Eagles played hopst to Mira Costa yesterday before hosting Orange County power Valencia on Monday at 3pm and Redondo on Wednesday afternoon. Baseball The Eagles competed in their own tournament and did well. After blistering Westchester, Carson and Bishop Montgomery they faced Royal for an opportunity to play in the championship game. When two storied programs face each other its always special. Both have won CIF titles and sent plenty of alumni onto four year schools and to the professional ranks. Royal put together just enough offense and capitalized on a few miscues to go on and shutout El Segundo 8-0. The Eagles had trouble getting anything going against Royal’s pitcher Chris Contreras. The crafty right-hander limited the Eagles to two hits, struck out seven and walked one. On the other hand Spencer Long looked sharp but had some tough luck when the defense couldn’t come up with some key plays. Wyatt Boyce came in relief in the fifth inning and pitched well into the seventh inning where the Highlander scored four runs on no hits. Ten was the number of the day as El Segundo outlasted Narbonne 10-8 in the final game of the El Segundo Tournament. The Eagles took advantage of ten walks, pounded out ten hits and scored ten runs for the win. Dylan Sledge walked twice and scored twice while Griffen Martes went 2-3 with two RBIs and scored once. Justin Ostler picked up the win giving up four runs (one earned) in three innings. The Eagles host top ranked Redondo in a double-header today starting at 3:15pm. The second game starting approximately 45 minutes, after the conclusion of the first game. The Sea Hawks boast a pitching staff that has allowed just one run in five games so far. On Saturday the Eagles host Hart in an 11am game. • 2016 EL SEGUNDO ELECTIONS Residents and Business Owners El Segundo’s Election We’ve merged! Expanding is on April,what’s 12,possible 2016 with money is now Have any questions for your (888)City 422-2287 Council . www.abacuswealth.candidates? com Send them to us at management@heraldpublications.com We will not be able to publish all submissions. See Laura Robinson, page 16 540 Main St. El Segundo (310) 322-0051 esumc@sbcglobal.net www.elsegundoumc.org they’re from the AFC West. Not only has the landscape transformed since last season’s Super Bowl, though, but the Raiders have also quickly gone from dysfunctional, to a power that will now have to be reckoned with. This offseason has already been a productive one for the Oakland Raiders. While General Manager Reggie McKenzie and the rest of the Raiders front office continues to accumulate talent, the rest of the AFC West continues to lose it. Take the aforementioned Broncos as an example. The Super Bowl champions have already lost Peyton Manning (who’s record against the Raiders was 9-2, lifetime) to retirement, of course, but See Oakland, page 16
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