EL SEGUNDO HERALD October 6, 2016 Page 5 Eagles Prepare for League Play By Gregg McMullin For the third consecutive season the El Segundo high school football team has completed an undefeated non-league schedule. With their 52-7 win over South Torrance it extended their non-league winning streak to 15 games dating back to the 2014 season. Winning streak aside, Eagle head coach Steve Shevlin would trade those wins for an Ocean League title. So the Eagles put together a near flawless game against the Spartans and won easily. The Eagles commandeered this game from the very start. They scored on eight of their nine possessions and the defense was so good that South Torrance had just two first downs for the entire game. The tone of the game was set early on with the Spartans opening possession. Dylan Radke, Adrian Johnson, Mark Binder and Angelo Pacheco made their presence known early on and would give South Torrance’s offense all night long. On third and long Radke got to Spartan QB Anthony Bjazevich for five yard loss. On the ensuing punt Ashton Saltz broke through the line to partially block the punt and the Eagles took over near midfield. With the offense working without star running back Taz Tauaese, due to an injury, the offense figured out just how much depth they have and the other options open to them. Saltz, who is usually the blocking back for Tauaese, was featured on the Eagle’s opening drive. After Billy Brasher caught a 15 yard reception Saltz ripped off a 30 yard run and then danced into the end zone one play later from 3-yards out. The Eagles next possession stalled at Spartan 19-yard line but that didn’t matter. Most high school teams might attempt to get a first down on fourth and short early in the game; not Coach Shevlin. Jake Palmer jogged out and calmly banged a 36 yard field goal that would have been good from 50 yards. With the defense forcing another punt the Eagles took over on the Spartan’s 40-yard line. Kobee Lagarde found Brasher for a big 36 yard pass play. Two plays later Lagarde found Danny McEntee open in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown pass play for a 17-0 lead and the end of the first quarter. Just two minutes into the second quarter the top ranked Eagles scored once again. After Isaiah Gray, the featured running back in place of Tauaese, picked up 12 yards on a blast Palmer found Haamid Brooks Jr. open for a 43-yard touchdown pass. On their next possession the Eagles used ten plays to get into the end zone. The 64 yard drive may have been the most impressive series of plays of the night. The drive was punctuated with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to CJ Shevlin to make it 31-0. The final score of the first half was another long pass play. This time Palmer found Brooks behind the Spartan secondary and hit his receiver in stride for a 64-yard catch and run touchdown pass play. The Eagles had thoroughly dominated their guests. The Spartans barely had positive yards in the first half, just 18 total yards on 23 plays. The Eagles offense was clicking and both quarterbacks were stellar. Jake Palmer was 6-8 for 127 yards and two TD passes. Kobee Lagarde was equally as good going 4-7 for 111 yards and two TD passes. To open the third quarter the Eagles were marching for another score to open up the second half. Only a fumbled snap and recovered by the Spartan’s Reza Amraei for a 56-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown was the only mistake El Segundo made. The Eagles responded with a vengeance by going 80 yards in six plays. Gray scored his first touchdown with a 14-yard run getting into the end zone thanks to the line play of Brandon Weldon, Gunnar Rogers, Jess Caravello, Kaden Langlois and George Hayes. Leading 45-7 in the fourth quarter the Eagles let the running back of the future highlight their final drive of the night. Joey Gorte rushed 12 consecutive times for 57 yards including a 4-yard touchdown run. Isaiah Gray led the Eagles with 112 rushing Dodgers Send Vin Off in Style By Adam Serrao His voice is unlike any other around. It transcends decades. It transcends generations. After 67 years of service to the Dodgers, Vin Scully’s voice can be said to transcend the game of baseball. His cool, calming notes will forever be linked to the sounds and smells of summer and spring. When Scully pulls the microphone close, baseball fans “After 67 years of service to the Dodgers, Vin Scully’s voice can be said to transcend the game of baseball.” everywhere know cleats scraping against the cement and the smell of fresh wooden bats are soon to follow. In this, Scully’s final year calling games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team is attempting to send him off into retirement the right way. A victory over the Colorado Rockies two Sunday’s ago in what would be Vin’s final game ever at Dodger Stadium gave the Boys in Blue a playoff ticket and their fourth National League West title in as many years. If his time with the Dodgers had to come to an end, at least it wasn’t with a shortage of postseason entertainment to keep him busy. Over his last four years in the game, Scully has seen his share of Dodgers playoff baseball. Still, there has been only one thing missing: a World Series ring. The last time the Dodgers were the best team in the world was in the 1988 season and there Vin sat, snuggly in the booth taking it all in, most likely feeling like a little child, giddy with excitement all the while. Now, at the young age of 88, the only thing that Vin has left to ask for is one more of those bright and shiny rings to send him off happily into the sunsetfilled, Dodger-blue sky of retirement. Most people find themselves lucky to retire at the age of 50 or 60. Well, Vin; he’s been happy enough to keep on going well beyond that. “The Dodgers have clinched the division,” Scully said over the call once Charlie Culberson’s home run cleared the wall to give the Dodgers the win. It was the fourth year in a row that Scully has now found himself muttering those words. After a season in which the team used 15 different starting pitchers and had a record of 41-36 back on June 26, they somehow found a way to mend together the pieces to streak for another division crown. Even with the success, however, Scully insists that after last Sunday’s call in San Francisco, his time behind the microphone is over. It’s typical Vin Scully fashion, never wanting to be bigger than the game itself, never wanting to one-up the players, and, of course, never wanting to be a distraction. Scully could obviously never mean anything negative to the game or his team, but if he did have an effect this season, it was in the way that he rallied the players from eight games behind the best team in baseball at the time right to where they are now; positioned on top of the hated Giants heading into this year’s playoffs. The Dodgers may have gotten swept by the Giants in the final three games of the season, but to be honest, no one was thinking about the play on the field. The Dodgers already had the division locked up and as far as baseball was concerned, a date with the Washington Nationals was the only thing on all of our minds. The Dodgers series with the Nationals will begin this Friday in Washington. The Dodgers were 5-1 against the Nationals during the regular season. Clayton Kershaw will take the mound in Game 1 looking to improve even moreso on that record. Kershaw is 2-6 with a 4.59 ERA in the postseason, certainly with something to prove. Despite that ugly ERA, the Dodgers ace is 3-1 with a 2.51 ERA in Nationals Park throughout his career. Before the beginning of the postseason, it is important to acknowledge the end of Vin Scully’s career. It was a career that spanned almost nine decades and will go down in history as the most prolific broadcasting career ever. The Dodgers and their fans everywhere are extremely lucky to have had such an announcer and a friend that helped them grow within the game of baseball and in real life as well. There will truly never be another Vin Scully. In his own words, “Don’t cry because it’s over; Smile because it happened.” All of us should surely smile because of the career that Scully has bestowed upon us. “There will be a new day and eventually a new year,” Scully ended his illustrious career explaining to his listeners. “And when the upcoming winter gives way to spring, rest assured that it will be time for Dodger baseball. So this is Vin Scully, wishing you a very pleasant and good afternoon, wherever you may be.” Though the career of the greatest broadcaster ever is now officially over, his words will live on forever. Now all that there is left to do is win a World Series to send the legendary broadcaster off the right way. Asixlion@earthlink.net • Visit us online: www.heraldpublications.com See Eagles, page 15
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