TORRANCE TRIBUNE October 6, 2016 Page 5 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 • Warriors Race to Keep Pace in Pioneer League By Adam Serrao As the High School football season slowly progresses to its mid-stage, the teams that are battling it out on the gridiron weekly seem to be separating themselves from each other. Currently, the standings have a clear bottom end, a defined middle, and a top end, with the West High Warriors competing to remain at the top. Last Friday night at Carson High School, the Warriors took a major step in the right direction. With a 24-21 victory on the road against the Carson Colts, West snapped a two game losing streak and got themselves back on the map. The win not only kept the Warriors on pace with their rivals from North High, but it also gave the team some much needed confidence and momentum heading into this week’s Pioneer League opener against none other than the Saxons. West High head coach summed up the game perfectly when all was said and done last Friday night. “This was a big game for us because we had a couple of games where we were blown out and a little doubt started to creep in. I think we realized we have an opportunity to get better each week as we head into league play.” League play is now about the start, so the win for Holt and the Warriors couldn’t have come at a better time, but it certainly didn’t come easily. With Carson leading 14-10 at halftime, the Warriors came out knowing that they had to put some points up on the board quickly if they wanted to have a chance at the win. After a slew of turnover to help West stay in the game and eventually take the lead (Carson turned the ball over six times), quarterback Max Parish put the team on his back and buckled down for the win. Parish, filling in for an injured Drake Peabody who left the game in the second quarter due to injury, immediately got to work and gave his team a 10 point lead in the third quarter with a 14-yard scamper into the end zone. “I have to hand it to our linemen. They were opening up holes for our run game all night,” Parish explained. “That makes my job pretty easy out there.” After West led 24-14, Carson attempted to get back into the game. With just two minutes remaining in the game, Colts quarterback Jaja Bellinger tossed a 37-yard touchdown pass to cut the Warriors lead to three points at 24-21. An onside kick found its way back in the hands of Carson and all of a sudden, all of the momentum looked to be on the side of the home team. Running back Tyson Maldonado, who finished the game with 155 yards rushing, got Carson all the way down to the 2-yard line, looking to punch it in for the win in the final seconds. With less than 10 seconds remaining in the game, Carson fumbled the snap from center. After a brief scrum on the ground, Sean Robinson would rise from the back after recovering the ball as the Warriors held on for an exciting three point victory. Peabody finished the game going 6-for-9 with 55 yards through the air and a touchdown for West while Parish went 7-for-9 for 72 yards and a touchdown in his stead. The Warriors will look to build momentum and keep their winning spirit alive as they face off against their Pioneer League and inner city rivals, the North High Saxons, in the first game of league play. Both teams are battling for first place in the Pioneer League this year, so the game will certainly not be shy on excitement. South High The South High Spartans came out to play in last Friday’s matchup against the El Segundo Eagles, but before they knew it, they were trailing and trailing by a lot. Head coach Matt Mishler and his team could barely get their feet onto solid ground before the Eagles took a 17-0 lead after the first quarter. By halftime, it was 38-0. The Spartans weren’t able to get onto the board until the third quarter and even then, it wasn’t the offense doing the work. Senior Reza Amraci recovered a fumble by El Segundo and returned it 59-yards for the TD. A great highlight for Amraci, but unfortunately for the Spartans, it was much too late. South (2-3) wound up taking a 52-7 loss last Friday night at El Segundo High and will now look forward to a matchup with Leuzinger (0-5) in the first week of league play to get some momentum going once again. Torrance High The Torrance Tartars are streaking this year, but unfortunately for head coach Rock Hollis and the Tartars fans, it’s in the wrong direction. So far on the young season, a young Torrance football team is 0-5 and failed to experience much more success last Friday night when they took on the Lawndale Cardinals at Zamperini Stadium in Torrance. A 56-10 loss basically told the story of a night in which the team was without starting quarterback Ryan Carroll due to concussion-like symptoms. Nathan Gottlieb, who is normally a wide receiver on the team, filled in for Carroll and completed four passes on 13 attempts for a total of 37 yards with an interception. Outmatched from the start, running back Ethan Meyers contributed 57 yards on the ground while Eric Suarez took six carries, also for 57 yards. The Tartars will look to finally get on the winning side of things in the first week of league play as they take on the Centennial Apaches (0-5). North High The North High Saxons sure looked strong heading into their league play opener against the West High Warriors that will certainly decide first place in the Pioneer League standings. A 56-13 victory over Morningside last Friday night at North High asserted the Saxons dominance and also gave the team momentum heading into the most important time of the year. As soon as the game started, it was almost out of reach. By halftime, it was clear that the Saxons were the more dominant team. A strong effort behind starting running back Saeed Galloway and quarterback Glenn Searcy paved the way for North (3-2) heading into a showdown with West where head coach Todd Croce will certainly need his two star players to show up if the team wants to win and remain in first place in this year’s Pioneer League standings. Head out to North High this Friday night at 7:00 p.m. to catch the Saxons vs. Warriors rivalry matchup. 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