TORRANCE TRIBUNE July 30, 2015 Page 3 A Football State of Mind By Adam Serrao The High School sports world is a quiet place these days. With summer break in full effect, most kids are either off getting wet at the beaches or are traveling with their families rather than being deeply involved in a playoff chase. This slow time of year, however, reminds us all of what is near. The void in the sports world brings with is a fond memory of football season. The grass stains, helmets, and cleats scraping against the ground are coming our way, now every so quickly. Though the High School football season doesn’t start for what is still quite some time, practices are gearing up and before we know it, the Friday night lights will be on and in full shine. Last year was a year of many first’s in the football world, but specifically for the West High Warriors. Not only was it the first year that West had left the Bay League to join their other inner-city rivals in the Pioneer League, but it was also the first time that the Warriors had finished in first place in any division in eight years. That’s right, in the team’s first season in the Pioneer League, they finished in first place. The Warriors could have been thankful to get rid of such opponents like Mira Costa, the Palos Verdes teams, and Redondo, or they could have felt that they simply needed to make a good impression coming into a league that was chock-full of rivals from around the same city. Either way, coach Greg Holt and his team enjoyed an extremely successful season last year. With a record of 12-1 to end the year, West went undefeated in league play, not only sweeping their other rivals from Torrance, but also taking out Leuzinger and Centennial as well. One win of particular note for Holt’s team was a 49-0 shutout of Leuzinger at the end of October. Clearly, that was the time that that head coach had his team running on all cylinders. The Warriors, of course, were able to make it into the playoffs with their great regular season record and flawless league-play record, but it was there that they found trouble for the first time. It was none other than their old rivals from the Bay League, the Palos Verdes Sea Kings, that kicked the Warriors out of the playoffs in the CIF Western Division semifinals. Palos Verdes went on to win the championship, but the Warriors were sent home reeling, awaiting their next opportunity to take the field and shake the nasty loss from their minds. Some of the players on the team have naturally changed over the offseason, but the Warriors, at last, recently received the opportunity that they had been waiting for. Three weeks ago, West took to the field for the first time since their disappointing loss to Palos Verdes to participate in a 7-on-7 passing competition. Their opponents? The Palos Verdes Sea Kings. Why not? They wouldn’t have it any other way. West’s history of struggling against Palos Verdes doesn’t only date back to last year’s semifinals. The Sea Kings have now beaten the Warriors in six consecutive regular season matchups, also including a bout in the 2012 CIF Southern Section Northern Division championship game. The passing competition was less like a regular season matchup, and more like a tune-up for the regular season. With no pads and no score keeping, the competition provided coaches with an opportunity to see some of the their players display their skills as the team’s look to fill voids left by last year’s standout seniors. Two of those standout seniors are going to be hard to replace. Quarterback Trevor Mallett and running back Brett Ojiyi led the team at their respective positions last year and will be s orely missed at two of the highest skill positions on the team. Quarterback Drake Peabody and running back Brylen Baucham will be looking to replace Mallett and Ojiyi as the team will also welcome back key players like Cody Wissler, Michael Timmerman and Luis Aguiar. Along with West High, the Torrance Tartars, North High Saxons, and South High Spartans are all gearing up for this year’s football season as well. Things don’t get started until the beginning of September, so there’s still some time left to get excited about the season before it actually begins. Going forward, we’ll take a look at each of your favorite teams from around the Pioneer League and the city of Torrance and see how they might fare going forward in this upcoming season. Summer is still currently in its prime with a lot of beach weather left to be had, but in just a few short weeks those lights will go up, the pads will go on, and High School football season will be upon us once again. • Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L AW Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation 310-540-6000 *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization If Crisis Strikes, You Risk: • Losing Control • Additional Stress on Your Family • The Loss of What You Spent a Lifetime Building Proper Planning Allows You: • Maintain Control of Your Assets for the Family’s Sake • Give Control to Those you Trust, When You’re not Able • To Afford Long Term Care Costs • Keep Your Family’s Business Private This Workshop covers frequently asked questions and misconceptions on: • WILLS & TRUSTS • ASSET PROTECTION • PLANNING FOR DISABLED CHILD OR LOVED ONE • MEDI-CAL QUALIFICATION FOR NURSING HOME CARE Join Us For A Free Workshop Call (310) 782-6322 to register. 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This Workshop covers frequently asked questions and misconceptions on: • WILLS & TRUSTS • ASSET PROTECTION • PLANNING FOR DISABLED CHILD OR LOVED ONE Dodgers Post All-Star Break By Adam Serrao The All-Star break was a couple of weeks ago now and if you break the season into two halves, then you can say that the Dodgers had a pretty successful first half. That’s not uncommon for the Dodgers nowadays though. The “Boys in Blue” seem to win the NL West every year now before a team like the St. Louis Cardinals kicks them out of the postseason and they’re forced to sit at home while watching their rivals from San Francisco throw parades. In order for this season to be a success, the Dodgers have to at least make it to the World Series. In order for that to happen, the second of the season, post All-Star break must go in the teams’ favor in very specific ways. At this year’s All-Star break, the Dodgers were 51-39 and sitting pretty in first place above the Giants in the National League West. It’s certainly not a bad start when you’re one of the top-five teams in the league. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, it’s not where you are in July, it’s where you are in October that counts. And that’s where L.A. wants to be; still playing well into the month of October. One thing that does make this year’s Dodgers team unique from the one’s from years past, however, is the amount of All- Stars that came from the team. For the first time since 1995, the Dodgers had five players to make the prestigious team. Zack Greinke started at pitcher for the National League while Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Gonzalez, Joc Pederson, and Yasmani Grandal were all given the nod as well. Those five join the likes of Mike Piazza, Hideo Nomo, Raul Mondesi, Jose Offerman, and Todd Worrell who all made the team in ‘95. If the Dodgers want to get anywhere in the month of October, it will have to be those five All-Stars that put the team on their collective backs and carry them to success. So far, Greinke and Kershaw have been doing it all for the Dodgers. While Kershaw’s first-half start has been inconsistent, he showed us all that he can still turn it on when he wants to with a zero run, three hit, 14 strikeout performance last Saturday afternoon against the Washington Nationals. Greinke, on the other hand, has been nothing short of masterful and is having what may be the best season of his entire career. After last Sunday’s eight inning, zero run performance, Greinke upped his scoreless innings streak to 43 2/3 innings, which is the third longest streak in Dodgers history, and downed his ERA to 1.30, which is best in the league. “It’s pretty easy,” an always brutally honest Greinke explained. “All of my stuff is pretty nasty right now.” Nasty enough to break the record? Greinke has already tied Orel Hershiser and Don Drysdale for most consecutive scoreless starts in franchise history, with six, but now he’s going after Orel’s 59-inning scoreless streak, which is the most in the history of the game. He’s got about two games left to go to get there. If Greinke and Kershaw keep playing the way they are capable of playing, then the Dodgers will at least have a chance at advancing in this year’s playoffs. To get to the World Series, though, they will need much more. With Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy done for the year, the Dodgers are relying on Brett Anderson, Mike Bolsinger, and Carlos Frias to fill out their rotation. While those three pitchers can certainly get the Dodgers through a long, 162-game season, you don’t want to see any one of them starting for your team in the playoffs. The Dodgers need help in the rotation after Greinke and Kershaw and could be targeting Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies to get it. No matter if it’s Hamels or someone else, the Dodgers need to add a toptier starter by the July 31st trade deadline if they want to get to the World Series this year. The Dodgers’ offense started off red-hot and as one of the best in the entire league. Ever since the beginning of May, however, that stifling offense has been doused a bit. Adrian Gonzalez continues to lead the team in RBI’s, but there is a significant drop-off after him. Joc Pederson has been a gem in center field and at hitting home runs, but last week his average was down to .230. Don’t expect the Dodgers to make any trades for big bats by this deadline, but promoting Corey Seager and Hector Olivera from the minor leagues might be in the team’s best interest if they hope to get a jolt at the plate and in the box score. Last but not least, the Dodgers bullpen must find a way to stay healthy. After Kenley Jansen ended his six week stint on the disabled list due to foot surgery, five other relievers went down with injuries, too. It’s easy to say that the Dodgers bullpen needs help, but the only help they need is health. Should the ‘pen remain healthy, they’ll have what it takes to get crucial outs in the playoffs. If all else fails, 18-year-old phenom Julio Urias is down in Triple-A chomping at the bit to get his shot at major league hitters. It’s never easy to get to a World Series, let alone win one. If you’ve been following baseball over the past, say, 27 years, you might say that the Dodgers are due. The team may not have what it takes to win it all at this specific point and time, but they’ve certainly got most of the pieces in place. With one or two minor tweaks in this post-All-Star half of the season, you could be looking at the next championship team of Major League Baseball. •
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