EL SEGUNDO HERALD September 30, 2021 Page 3
El Segundo Eagles Steal
Their Way to Fifth Win
By Gregg McMullin
The Eagles completed their non-football
league schedule with an unblemished 5-0
record after their come-from-behind 28-27
win over Mary Star. It wasn’t easy, and at
times it looked like the Eagles would fumble
their way to a first loss. The Eagles tried to
give the game away with befuddled mistakes,
penalties, and fumbles, but through it all, they
worked through their self-induced adversities.
Head coach Shawn Green was happy
after the win but was frustrated by all of the
compounding mistakes through the first five
games. “We are a good football team, but
we have to do better with all the mounting
penalties and mental mistakes.”
El Segundo took the opening kickoff, but
their drive was short. Junior quarterback Leo
Menendez was stripped by a defender and
coughed up the first of three fumbles; the
Eagles lost on the fourth play of the game.
El Segundo’s defense held strong, and the
Stars turned the ball over on downs. The
Eagles’ offense went 72 yards in eight plays
to score the first touchdown of a game.
Menendez directed a well-executed series
of plays that saw Dylan Bucher set up the
passing game with his rugged rushing attempts.
Menendez found Conrad Bernstein
on a pass for 14 yards and Michael Wilson
for 25 yards. That set up Mason Kahn’s
13-yard touchdown run with 2:49 left in
the first quarter.
Mary Star responded with an extended
drive of their own. Sophomore quarterback
Santiago Martinez picked the El Segundo
secondary for two first downs on pass plays
of 19 and 11 yards. That set up a 27-yard
touchdown pass to Vincent Guerrero to tie
the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter.
On El Segundo’s next possession, the
Eagles were hit with a major penalty and
were forced to punt. A low snap led punter
Tucker Stevens to inadvertently field the snap
on one knee, thus killing the play and giving
the ball to the Stars on the Eagle’s 21-yard
line. The Stars were in a position to take
the lead. On the fifth play of the drive that
saw the Stars get to the El Segundo 13-yard
line, El Segundo’s Vaughn Huey stripped
the ball away from running back Nathan
Chavez. Huey dodged a would-be tackle
and sprinted 88 yards down the Mary Star
sidelines on his way to a touchdown and a
14-7 El Segundo lead.
Mary Star wouldn’t be denied on their ensuing
possession that consumed nearly seven
minutes. The Stars had great field position
and had to go 51 yards, but it took them 14
plays to get into the end zone. The Eagles
committed two crucial penalties during the
Stars’ drive. The defense came up with two
key stops before Mary Star got into the end
zone. Linebacker Edward Leiva stopped Guerrero
short of the goal line on a swing pass.
On the next play, Aidan Pagel and Jeremy
Hoover stopped Chavez in the backfield for
a loss of two yards. But with five seconds
remaining in the first half, Chavez got into
the end zone from three yards out to tie the
game at 14-14.
For the fourth consecutive game, the Eagles
started slowly in the first half, and it didn’t
go unnoticed. Coach Green gave his team his
thoughts at halftime, and the team responded
with a better second half. “We’re better than
what we continue to show to start games.”
The defense did their part to force a three
and out to start the second half, and the Eagles
Your Neighborhood Therapist
Dear Neighborhood Therapist,
I have some big decisions to make, and I
keep putting them off. The problem is that
they seem to weigh more and more on me
every day, and my anxiety goes through the
roof when I think about them. I wonder if I
secretly hope that I will get out of making
these decisions! Time is passing, and the
anxiety is getting worse. Can you help?
– Unbelievably Undecided, El Segundo
Dear Unbelievably Undecided,
Making a decision to pursue one career
path at the expense of another, move to another
city, get married, get divorced, or any
other big life crossroads can be incredibly
intimidating and stressful. You’re not at all
alone in what you are experiencing.
The bad news is that you cannot escape
this: not deciding is also a decision. The good
news is that once you do make a decision,
even if it’s not perfect, you’ll probably feel
better. This is because indecision is usually
(but not always!) a bad idea. Here is a partial
list of its effects:
First, indecision takes up a lot of mental
space: you could be thinking about something
else, but you’re not, and you know it. This
is gasoline for anxiety. Maybe shouldering
this anxiety is worth not having to decide,
but usually it is not.
Second, prolonged indecision increases the
odds that the choice will be made for you.
Maybe you actually want that, especially
when the stakes are low and you would
rather not have to take responsibility for a
decision. Perhaps your partner really cares
about where you go out for dinner tonight,
but you do not. Great time to let them make
the decision, but make sure you don’t then
complain! With decisions big or small, you
must be prepared to accept an outcome you
did not influence.
Third, indecision gives time for other options
to open up or present themselves. Some
new options may become available, but of
course current opportunities may cease to
exist. How likely do you assess these probabilities
to be? Are you willing to roll the
dice with what the future presents?
Once you’ve decided to decide, here’s how
to feel better about it: first, make sure it’s
a good time to make the decision. (Hint: it
probably is.) You mentioned the anxiety is
getting worse. Take your best guess: are you
very likely to gain something that makes the
anxiety worth it? If not, then it’s time.
Next: gather as much information as you
reasonably can (reasonable is the key - you
can never have all the information), so that
you will know you made the best decision
you could based on the information available
at the time you make your decision. Write
down your thought process, including how
you weighed the pros and cons and what was
important to you. If things don’t work out, you
can refer to your answers. They will comfort
you. This is your biggest hedge against regret.
And what about regret? We all have regrets,
but they often don’t feel as bad as we fear
they will. How heavily do your regrets so
far weigh on your day to day experience of
life? Certainly the answer lies somewhere
between “completely debilitating” on one
side and an occasional “meh” on the other. If
they are not debilitating, is there good reason
to believe future regrets will be different?
Take comfort that you can never, ever be
totally sure something will work out.
Take comfort that few decisions are irreversible.
Don’t fear regret. You may not have great
options, but the best bad option is probably
better than not deciding at all.
Please write to tom@tomandrecounseling.
com or text to 310.776.5299 with questions
about handling what is affecting your life,
your family, the community or the world.
Tom Andre is a Licensed Marriage & Family
Therapist (LMFT119254). The information
in this column is for educational purposes
only and nothing herein should be construed
as professional advice or the formation of a
therapeutic relationship. •
Police Reports
Brett Abitante makes a touchdown-saving tackle on Mary Stars Richard Paura.
#53 Jeremy Hoover II, #64 Aidan Pagel, and #45 Matt Higginbotham helped limit Mary Stars to 48 total rushing yards.
Monday Sept 20th
A grand theft report was taken at 0714 hours
from the 600 block of West Pine Avenue.
Unknown suspect(s) tricked the victim into
making purchases for the suspects.
A grand theft report was taken at 0826
hours from El Segundo Boulevard and Pacific
Coast Highway. Unknown suspect(s) stole a
backpack from the victim’s vehicle.
A disorderly conduct/loiter report was
taken at 0954 hours from the 800 block of
Concord Place.
A burglary (commercial) report was taken
at 1020 hours from the 100 block of South
Pacific Coast Highway.
An online petty theft report was taken at
1637 hours from the 200 block of West Palm
Avenue. Unknown suspect(s) stole property
from the victim’s unlocked vehicle
An online burglary (auto) report was taken
at 1637 hours from the 200 block of West
Palm Avenue. Unknown suspect(s) broke into
the victim’s vehicle and stole his property.
A grand theft report was taken at 1632
hours from the 2200 block of East Park
Place. Unknown suspect(s) stole the victim’s
property from his opened locker.
An arson report was taken at 0040 hours
from the 2000 block of East Park Place.
Tuesday, Sept 21st
A burglary (vehicle) report was taken at
1355 hours from Acacia Avenue and Hillcrest
Street. Unknown suspect(s) stole several items
from the victim’s vehicle.
Traffic accident (with injuries) occurred at
1538 hours from Hughes Way and Pacific
Coast Highway, three vehicles were involved.
An attempt burglary (commercial) report
was taken at 1820 hours from the 800 block
of Apollo Street.
A vandalism report was taken at 2006
hours from the 400 block of California Street.
Unknown suspect(s) spray painted graffiti on
the victim’s trash can
A burglary report was taken at 2044 hours
from the 700 block of West Imperial Avenue.
Unknown suspect(s) stole the victim’s package
from the mailroom.
Wednesday, Sept 22nd
An annoying phone calls report was taken at
0749 hours from the 600 block of Richmond
Street. The victim received several annoying
messages from a known suspect.
A traffic accident (no injuries) report was
taken at 0824 hours from Douglas Street and
Utah Avenue, vehicle versus vehicle.
One male adult was arrested at 1229 hours
from the 100 block of North Continental
Boulevard for vandalism and one outstanding
probation violation warrant.
An identity theft report was taken at 1512
hours from the 1200 block of East Grand
Avenue. Unknown suspect(s) fraudulently
cashed a check written by the victim.
A burglary report (commercial) was taken
at 1734 hours from the 700 block of South
Pacific Coast Highway. The suspect entered
the store and stole various items. The suspect
then exited the store without paying for them.
A traffic accident (no injuries) report was
taken at 0026 hours from 120th Street and
Aviation Boulevard, vehicle versus west basin
municipal water valve.
One female adult was arrested at 0436
hours from the 900 block of Main Street for
possession of a controlled substance.
Thursday, Sept 23rd
A vandalism report was taken at 1806
hours from the 700 block of North Douglas
Street. The suspect(s) spray painted graffiti
on trash bins.
A forgery report was taken at 1046 hours
from the 600 block of West Imperial Avenue.
See Eagles, page 12
See Police Reports, page 6