EL SEGUNDO HERALD October 1, 2015 Page 5 “Coming into the regular season, the Dodgers were supposed to be one of the best teams in the MLB.” Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L A W Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litiga tion 310-540-6000 Lifetime El Segundo Residents *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Brian R. Brandlin • Bruce R. Brandlin • Christopher P. Brandlin Douglass M O R T U A R Y “Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954” B U R I A L - C R E M A T I O N - W O R L D W I D E T R A N S F E R P E T M E M O R I A L P R O D U C T S 500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245 Telephone (310) 640-9325 • Fax (310) 640-0778 • FD658 Unanswered Financial Questions? Can I really afford to retire? • Do I take a lump or annuity? How do I pay for college? • Where is my paycheck going? Are these the right investments? • How can I reduce taxes? We provide sound objective advice for a planned and secure financial future. Call us for a free no obligation get acquainted meeting. 310.706.4123 Eileen S. Freiburger, CFP • El Segundo Resident ESF Financial Planning Group Twenty-Nine Years of Experience in the Industry • www.esfplanning.com No commissions, no pressure, and no long term contracts. Dodgers, Angels Making Playoff Push By Adam Serrao, asixlion@earthlink.net This year’s baseball season is getting down to the nitty-gritty. As of last Sunday, there were just less than ten games left in the regular season for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels, with the Dodgers in a much better position than the Angels. While the Angels are playing at a peak level to make their final playoff push, it’s beginning to look like the trials of a long, 162-game season are finally catching up to the Dodgers. Coming into the regular season, the Dodgers were supposed to be one of the best teams in the MLB. Finishing with over 90 wins in a season is certainly an accomplishment for any team – and it looks like the Dodgers will do just that – but even still, something seems a bit off when you watch the team. As the best team that money can buy, it is well known that the Dodgers front office personnel wasted no time or money in putting together a team that should be, hands down, the best around. As the season comes to a close, however, the Dodgers aren’t necessarily giving their fans confidence that they’ll finally accomplish their long-coveted goal of reaching the World Series. With the Giants out of reach for the division crown, the Dodgers don’t have much to worry about when it comes down to actually making the playoffs. Put plainly, they’ll be there. But a series loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates two weeks ago sprouted cause for concern. More concern arose following Pittsburgh when the Dodgers lost two consecutive games to division rivals, the Arizona Diamondbacks, getting outscored 16-4. The team then moved on to Colorado and again looked less than stellar, giving up three home runs in another 7-4 loss in the first game of the series before eventually getting swept by the last place team in the division. The team may have a strangle hold on the division, but they certainly aren’t looking like a deep playoff team. The Angels, on the other hand, have had a rough go of things this year. A season that began with Josh Hamilton’s substance-abuse relapse and General Manager Jerry Dipoto’s resignation has seen the Angels riding a rollercoaster of emotions this season. Some months, the Angels will look like the best team in the league with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols firing on all cylinders. Other months, they’ll go 10-19 and average less than three runs a game like they did this past August. Similarly to the Dodgers, fans everywhere simply want to know who the real Angels team is. As of last weekend, the Angels stood at a record of 78-74 which is mediocre at best; especially when the team had the hype that it did to the start the year. Despite their struggles, however, and injuries to key players like Pujols, C.J. Wilson, and David Freese, the Angels have somehow survived and kept themselves right in the thick of the wild card race. Refusing to give up without a fight, the Angels have used the month of September to win more games than they’ve lost and go 7-3 in a 10 game stretch that was perhaps the most important 10 game stretch of the season for the team. “These guys have filtered out every distraction and just came in and played ball,” manager Mike Scioscia said of his ball club. “There’s a lot of veteran leadership in there, and the coaching staff has been incredible in keeping these guys where they need to be.” The veterans that Scioscia speaks of - like Freese who is batting .319 with nine doubles and 21 RBI’s since returning from injury, or Trout, who is recovering from a career-worst month of August – are what is keeping the team above water. With only a handful of games remaining on the schedule, it will be those same veterans who will have to continue to perform if the Angels will stand any chance at overtaking the Houston Astros for the final American League playoff spot. Of course, no team ever looks completely unflawed. Like the Angels decline in the month of August, the Dodgers have certainly had their moments, too. Moments where it looks as if they have absolutely no pitching staff behind Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. Moments when it seems that they simply can’t beat a team like Pittsburgh, San Francisco, or any other National League team that actually has a winning record. When all is said and done, though, the playoffs mark the beginning of a brand new season. Everything starts over again and all other preconceived notions about a team are thrown out the window. This Sunday marks the final day of the regular season for both teams. The Angels certainly have the more interesting race to the finish remaining. Should they beat out the Astros for a final playoff spot, despite all of the two team’s flaws and imperfections, Southern California will have a lot to root for and be proud of this October. • Kehl Leads Eagles to Impressive Win By Gregg McMullin Photos by Gregg McMullin Prior to the high school football season starting there were plenty of question marks for the Eagles. How could quarterback Lars Nootbaar be replaced and how could the defense replace so many starters lost to graduation. Those question marks were answered for the fourth consecutive week. Senior quarterback Jason Kehl had a hand in four touchdowns and the defense made three interceptions and eight sacks in a 41-7 win over Torrance. The game seemed closer than the final score indicated. When El Segundo’s running game was being held in check the Eagles looked elsewhere for opportunities. It was the leadership of Kehl that not only captivated his teammates but made believers of Torrance’s defense. The Eagles had been averaging over 200 yards per game on the ground so the Tartars stacked the line. Kehl did his magic by going over top and connecting with six different receivers on the night. The Eagles took a 7-0 lead on a nine play 64-yard drive that ended when Kehl found Shahman Moore open for a 28 yard touchdown pass. On their next possession Kehl took his team 74 yards for another score. Completions to Moore, Ashton Saltz and Taj Balogun got the ball to the four yard line. Two plays later Kehl followed the blocking of his center Jess Caravello to get into the end zone for a 14-0 lead. On their next possession the Eagles made it 21-0 when Kehl found Taz Tauaese on a screen pass for 34 yards which setup a 23 yard touchdown pass to Moore two plays later. With time winding down in the first half Torrance’s only score of the night came on an 88 yard pass play from Ryan Carroll to Eric Suarez to make it 21-7. To change things up Torrance attempted an on-sides kick to start the second half. That ploy misfired when Mark Binder recovered the loose ball and Kehl made the most of the opportunity. On the third play he found Moore wide open for a 53-yard touchdown pass and run to make it 28-7. The offense went conservative and went three consecutive series without a first down. The defense, which limited the Tartars to a total of 95 yards in the second half, included two interceptions and a fumble recovery. So in the span of nine seconds, in the fourth quarter, the Eagles scored two touchdowns in the span of nine seconds to seal the win. With 5:02 remaining the defense stopped Torrance on fourth down at the El Segundo 28 yard line. The Eagles took over and on the second play Kehl found Moore open for a 38 yard pass play. On the next play Taz Tauaese picked up the final 32 yards on a sweep to make it 35-7. On the Tartars’ first play Tyler Villalobos picked off Torrance’s Ryan Carroll and ran 27 yards untouched into the end zone for the final score. Kehl had his best game of his career, completing 15-24 for 264 yards and three TD passes; he also rushed for a touchdown. Shahman had his best night receiving, picking up 155 yards on six catches and three TDs. The Eagles (4-0) host South Torrance (4-0) Friday night at 7pm. It is the final tune-up for each team before they start league play. The Spartans are much like the Eagles and have a heady offense to go along with a dynamic defense. The Eagles have a lot to prove and a couple of streaks they are defending. Besides the four straight wins to start this season they’ve won nineteen consecutive regular season games. The JV Eagles improved to 4-0 with their 30-6 win over Torrance. Danny McEntee scored twice on special teams returning a punt for a touchdown and returning the opening second half kickoff for another score. Brenden Casillas tossed touchdown passes to Devon Bonney with 1.2 seconds remaining in the first half and a 67-yard pass play to Haamid Brooks. McEntee, Kyle Freeman and Jorge Montani split time running the ball in what head coach See Eagles, page 7
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