Page 4 January 12, 2017 Lawndale Girls Volleyball Sweeps Hawthorne By Adam Serrao The Lawndale Cardinals and the Hawthorne Cougars have been rivals for seemingly as long as anyone can remember. Both teams battle on a year-in and year-out basis in a highly competitive Ocean League--and though Santa Monica has owned the top spot in the girls’ volleyball league standings lately, the rivalry between the Cardinals and the Cougars is no worse for the wear. Success has eluded both clubs over the last two seasons as they both tied for last place a year ago and sit at the bottom of the standings again this year. With a 3-1 match win in the last game of the regular season, the Cardinals assured themselves of a better record than Hawthorne and wound up sweeping the season series. The Lawndale Cardinals began their dominance over Hawthorne in this past volleyball season early on when the Cougars traveled to Lawndale for the first matchup of the season in the rivalry. Lawndale was able to dominate the match from start to finish, including a 25-19 victory in the first set. Hawthorne wasn’t able to win a set and 19 points was the most that the team would attain on the night. Junior Deeann Smith was the focal point of Lawndale’s defense and played a major role in keeping Hawthorne at bay. Smith was also a force on offense, coming away with four serving aces and four kills as well. Junior Danica Flores had two aces of her own and Angelica Barrientos had four kills to round out the Cardinals’ strong offensive effort. The second matchup between the two teams played witness to more of the same--only in this last matchup of the year between the two rivals, Hawthorne was able to win a set. The Cougars were able to take the third set, albeit by only two points following a second set in which the team only put up five points. Senior Katherine Larios was tied for the team lead in kills with Yamilexi Lopez. Both players came away with five kills and were instrumental in the third set victory. Aside from that set, it was Lawndale and the usual suspects doing all of the damage. Deeann Smith got the job done on defense once again, coming away with seven solo blocks. Smith and Flores combined for nine service aces and killed almost every ball that they hit. The season sweep kept the Cardinals out of the bottom of the Ocean League standings where Hawthorne unfortunately finished. Under head coach Christine Regadio-Auberry, the Cougars were unable to win a game all season long in a sport that the school has struggled at traditionally. Lawndale, on the other hand, won six games throughout the course of their fifth place season. Two of those games were against Hawthorne and accounted for the Cardinals’ only two league-play victories of the year. Despite an otherwise disappointing season, Lawndale was able to start the year off with a three-game winning streak over Leuzinger, Morningside and Lynwood, respectively. There is certainly some hope for head coach Manuel Sandoval and his Cardinals after a season that had its fair share of optimism and bright spots. Inglewood High The Inglewood Sentinels girls’ volleyball team has fallen victim to being involved in a Bay League that is absolutely riddled with great high school volleyball teams. With Mira Costa, Redondo Union and Palos Verdes in your division, you’d be hard-pressed to attain many league-play victories at all. The Sentinels were still able to manage three on the season. Despite a disappointing finish, Inglewood was able to outlast Morningside and stay out of a last place standing. Inglewood didn’t only outlast Morningside in the standings, but also beat its rivals from the Bay League in the last game of the regular season as well. With a 3-0 victory, Morningside never really had a chance at all. Judging from its 0-12 overall record on the year, Morningside didn’t have much of a chance in any match this year. Inglewood didn’t lose a set to the Monarchs in two matchups this season. In what was an absolutely horrible season for Morningside, the Monarchs didn’t win one set all year long. Inglewood’s two victories over Morningside accounted for two of its three victories on the year and were the only two wins in league play for the Sentinels on the season. The only other win for Inglewood was a 3-0 match victory at home over Animo Leadership. Senior Precious Fludd had 20 kills and 10 service aces on the night and was perhaps the Sentinels’ best all-around player on the year. With Inglewood losing Fludd to graduation, someone else will have to step up in her place next season. Though Inglewood was only able to attain three wins, its season was its best in at least the last 10 years. The Sentinels will retain the services of sophomore captains Alejandra Chavez and Satara Johnson as they look to get better next season. • Trojans, Darnold Take Home Roses By Adam Serrao As the USC Trojans proceed to pick thorns from their stems, the Penn State Nittany Lions have been left scratching their heads, wondering how they possibly could have blown a two-touchdown lead in the third quarter to lose this year’s 103rd presentation of the Rose Bowl. The answer to that aggravating question? Sam Darnold. Darnold came out of nowhere this season to step up as the Trojans’ starting quarterback and lead his team to victory. An electric, high-scoring, nail-biting Rose Bowl came down to the last play that saw the Trojans take home roses with a 52-49 victory, giving USC its ninth win in a row and victory in the team’s last game of the season. Can you remember the name Max Browne? Well if you can’t, don’t worry…because the USC Trojans have probably tried to forget his name also. Browne was the starting quarterback for the Trojans in the first three games of the season this year before he got benched. Now, he has transferred out of the school after going 1-2 as a starter and all but sinking USC’s aspirations of bringing home a national championship this season. In steps Darnold. With Darnold under center, the Trojans have won nine in a row, including what was perhaps the team’s biggest game of the season in an edge-of-your-seat, comefrom behind victory that saw SC win on a last-second field goal. After 98 combined points and 1,040 total yards in a game that featured two offenses exploding, it was USC and kicker Matt Boermeester who ultimately sealed the deal. Boermeester had already missed two field goals in the game, but blocked out all of the noise--literally and figuratively--to hit a 46- yard try as time expired. The make not only redeemed Boermeester of his previous missteps, but also secured his team’s Rose Bowl win. “Game was on the line, but you’ve got to your technique and trust it,” Boermeester explained. It obviously wasn’t just Boermeester who stepped up big in SC’s 52-point explosion, though. As head coach Clay Helton put it, all of the team’s best players came to life when needed the most. “It was just two really good football teams playing at the highest level and competing until the absolute very end,” Helton explained of the game. “The greatest players shined brightest on the biggest stage. It’s what fairytales are made of.” Who would have thought that USC’s season would turn into one with a fairytale ending after the team lost three of its first four games? SC looked like it didn’t even belong in the Pac-12, let alone in the national championship or playoff Follow Us on Twitter @heraldpub discussion, at the start of the year. With the win in the Rose Bowl, however, and the emergence of the redshirt freshman Darnold, USC will have its eyes hungrily set on next season when the team will certainly be one of the favorites to make it into the College Football Playoff--and may even be a favorite to take home the national championship. The Trojans looked to be cruising toward a victory early in the game, leading 27-21 at the half. As he ran to the locker room, Penn State head coach James Franklin bluntly claimed that his team “hate[s] first halves. We’ve hated them all year long.” That being said, in typical Penn State fashion, the Nittany Lions came out on fire in the third quarter. The team scored three touchdowns on its first three snaps of the second half, including a 72-yard run by Saquon Barkley, a 79-yard touchdown catch by Chris Godwin, and a three-yard touchdown run by quarterback Trace McSorley. Darnold and the Trojans weren’t distraught. The freshman quarterback led his team on an epic rally that included 17 fourth quarter points as he led his team back from behind. The USC defense held Penn State scoreless in the quarter. Darnold ended the game with 453 yards and five touchdowns in one of the greatest Rose Bowls ever played. Deontay Burnett caught the pass that tied the game with 1:20 left. Burnett had three touchdowns on the night. Leon McQuay III sealed the deal when he intercepted McSorley with 27 seconds left and returned it 32 yards to set up his kicker with the perfect opportunity to win the game. That’s exactly what Boermeester did as time ran off the clock, the ball traveled through the uprights and the Trojans won the game. Despite the loss, Penn State is optimistic about next season and will return a good majority of the stars on the team. The Nittany Lions have now thrust themselves back into the national spotlight and have done a great deal to put the horrors of the past in the rearview mirror. USC will return Darnold, who will undoubtedly begin the season as a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. The Trojans themselves will also be among the teams in the immediate discussion to reach the College Football Playoff next year. What’s even better is that a showing like that on a national stage will certainly do its part to bring top recruits to both of these schools. The college football season may now officially be over, but there are certainly tons of excitement to come in the near future for both Penn State and the USC Trojans. • – Asixlion@earthlink.net
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