EL SEGUNDO HERALD September 20, 2018 Page 5
Eagles Take Care of Torrance
Story and Photos by Gregg McMullin
The El Segundo High School Eagles were
looking to break up their two-game losing streak
after falling to North Torrance and Mira Costa.
So, the Torrance Tartars rolled into Harvey
Hazeltine Field with thoughts of defeating the
Eagles too. The opposition looked good in the
beginning, but in the end the Eagles overcame
turnovers to maul the Tartars 49-6.
El Segundo had committed a total of 12
turnovers in its first three games and head
coach Steve Shevlin had his concerns. “We’ve
fumbled too many times and Matt [Romero]
has been picked off uncharacteristically way
too much,” he said.
On their first play from scrimmage, the
Eagles coughed up the ball and Torrance took
advantage. The Tartars recovered the ball at the
El Segundo 20-yard line and six plays later
senior tailback Eric Suarez found the end zone
for a 2-yard touchdown run. It would be the
only points the Tartars would score.
Torrance may have scored first, but it didn’t
take long for the Eagles to respond and grab
the lead.for good. The Eagles rushed for an
astounding 314 yards on the night, led by Joey
Gorte’s 78 yards. Gorte started the 8-play,
57-yard drive with a 22-yard run. Then came
three straight quarterback runs by Romero,
including a 1-yard dive into the end zone,
and the Eagles were on their way to a rout.
On El Segundo’s next possession, Romero
completed a 21-yard pass play to Christophe
Charles in the left corner of the end zone for
a touchdown and a 14-6 lead.
The El Segundo defense was stellar and
forced the Tartars to punt, but the Eagles
muffed the return and fumbled back to Torrance.
The Tartars drove to the El Segundo
11-yard line, where the drive stalled and the
Eagles took over. It didn’t take a drawn-out
drive to score.
With the help of a major penalty on Torrance,
the Eagles went the distance in three
plays that featured a 28-yard pass to Arman
Sayson, a 36-yard rushing gain by Gorte and
a 4-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Phillips.
The Eagles got the ball back one more time
before halftime. The defense forced another
Torrance punt and the Eagles took over on
Torrance’s 38-yard line. Working with under
a minute to play in the first half, Romero
completed a 14-yard pass to Gorte. With 12
seconds remaining, Romero dumped off a
pass to Sayson who found the end zone from
9 yards out for 28-6 halftime lead.
With El Segundo rolling on offense and the
defense allowing just 96 yards total to Torrance
in the first half, the Eagles continued their
dominance in the second half. El Segundo
would score three times and amass 211 total
yards. The game was such a runaway that a
running clock was used in the fourth quarter.
In the second half, Shevlin rested some starters
and highlighted another promising player
to open the third quarter. On the Eagles’ first
possession of the second half, James Fraelich
rushed for a 33-yard gain. On the next play,
Romero found Fraelich open on a 30-yard
touchdown pass for a 35-6 lead.
On El Segundo’s next possession, the offense
used three different running backs to go 55
yards in five plays to score. On the first play,
Gorte picked up 13 yards and Sayson ran over
two defenders on his way to a 23-yard gain.
Fraelich found an opening for a 5-yard gain
and Sayson found the end zone two plays later
on a 6-yard TD run.
Leading 42-6 to start the fourth quarter,
El Segundo scored one more time before the
running clock was employed. Fraelich rushed
twice for 25 yards and Dylan Marquez-Wasson’s
12-yard run set up a long 56-yard touchdown.
Elijah Dunn took an inside handoff and scooted
to the outside on his way to a 56-yard touchdown
run and a 49-6 lead.
Romero completed 8-10 passes for 134
yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed
for a touchdown. Gorte’s 78 yards led all
rushers, while Fraelich ran for 70 yards and
one score and Dunn ran for 69 yards.
It was a lopsided win for the Eagles, even if
they had three turnovers. It was a good showing
and team effort for El Segundo, which looks to
continue its winning ways on the road against
South Torrance on Friday night at 7 p.m.
Boys Water Polo Starts Strong
The Eagles have started the season on a high
note by competing in two tournaments against
some of the CIF’s top teams. In the Conejo Classic
Tournament in Thousand Oaks, El Segundo
defeated Buena and Calabasas to win its bracket.
The Eagles fell in the semifinal to Newbury
Park and then lost the third place game to Palisades
Charter to finish fourth out of 12 teams.
The Eagles played in the Servite Tournament
and did well against some tough Orange County
teams. El Segundo had an overtime win against
Tustin, but fell to Sonora and Tesoro. The
Eagles’ young roster is putting it together and
hopes to continue gelling as they start league
play this week against Beverly Hills.
The Eagles have a balanced scoring lineup
with sophomore Jaden Van Der Woude leading
the way. Danny Gonzalez, Brian Schodorf, and
Kalan Smith have been important players in
transition on both sides of the ball. Freshmen
Eeman Motallebi and Paxton Fastman have both
been key contributors to the offense as well.
Sophomore goalie JP O’Campo has stepped
up as a first-year starter and has demonstrated
his athleticism.
Cross Country Teams Compete
In Prestigious Meets
The girls varsity cross country team competed
against some of the top schools in Southern
California in the Bob Day’s Sweepstakes
Invitational in Norco. It was the first time in
school history the Eagles had been invited to
this marquee event. This is an invitational meet
reserved for some of the top-ranked programs
in the state that included division and state
champions. The Eagles started two seniors
(Gabby Lee and Nikki Fulcomer), three juniors
(James Matlosz, Sophia Zago and Letina Daniel))
and two freshmen runners (Tyler Matlosz,
and Isabella Mai). El Segundo finished in a
respectable position overall, paced by James
Matlosz (17:37) and Gabby Lee (17:58).
James Matlosz’s time was the quickest in
school history for a junior while Lee’s time was
the third quickest all time. Freshman runner
Tyler Matlosz’s 18:25 was the quickest ever in
school history by 20 seconds and Mai’s 19:50
moved her into eighth place all time.
The alternate girls varsity team competed in
the Woodbridge XC Classic and was led by
Leah Guziak, Erin Rifkin and Aliya Rafei. The
girls freshman team looked strong by coming in
second with Ami Jacobson, Madeline Nichols
and Grace Ringuette pacing their squad.
The boys competed in the Woodbridge XC
Classic and finished fourth out of 16 teams from
around the state. Arend Verfaillie (15:43) and
Christopher Waites (16:01) paced the Eagles,
followed by Calvin Liang, Jacob Rifkin, Marcus
Ortiz, Nate Quezada and Lukas Lux. The
boys JV team finished strong, placing fifth
overall and paced by Niall Glynn who (ninth
overall at 16:58) and Jonny Felker (18:09). The
sophomore team fared well, finishing eighth
out of 28 teams. Lucky Schwartz (18:03),
Cooper Haas (18:17) and Chase Kriko (18:42)
led the Eagles. The future looks bright with a
talented freshman team that took fourth overall
out of 22 teams. Ryu Iguchi ran a solid race
and finished fourth (17:41, which is the sixth
fastest freshman time in school history) out
of 219 runners, while Aiden Verfaillie (19:02)
and Neal Fallon (19:32) helped the Eagles.
Girls Volleyball Off to Quick
Start in Ocean League
The Eagles are off to a 2-0 start in Ocean
League volleyball play after taking care of
Hawthorne and Beverly Hills. El Segundo
competed in the Tartar Challenge and faced
some great teams,including West Torrance,
Corona Del Mar and Bishop Conaty-Loretto.
El Segundo faced Culver City on the road on
Tuesday and host Lawndale today at 3:15 p.m. •
Varsity cheerleaders and future Eagle cheerleaders combine to entertain the crowd at halftime.
Elijah Dunn looks for running room on his 56-yard touchdown run.