Los Angeles Times - 02.11.2019

D6 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS

clare it a no contest, Nar-

bonne interim coach Joe

Aguirre said. Players began

hugging one another in the

weight room, returning

equipment and saying good-

bye.

Narbonne went from 9-0

to 0-9 because the City Sec-

tion determined that multi-

ple players on this year’s

team were ineligible. There

was a dispute late Friday be-

tween the administration

and coaching staff about

which players were ineligi-

ble. Coaches wanted to pre-

vent those who were ineligi-

ble from playing against

Banning but administrators

refused to identify the play-

ers to the coaching staff.

LAUSD announced Oct.

8 that Narbonne had used an

ineligible player last year.

The City Section ruled Nar-

bonne will have to forfeit sev-

en games from the 2018 sea-

son and vacate its Open Di-

vision title. The program

was put on probation

through the 2022-23 school

year.

The Gauchos were con-

sidered heavy favorites to

win another Open Division

title. A recruiter from Ala-

bama was at the coaches’ of-

fice Friday afternoon as

players glanced at their

smartphones seeking infor-

mation and while music

blared in the weight room.

The sanctions were han-

ded down on the eve of the

City Section playoff seeding

meeting. Narbonne’s ab-

sence creates a wide-open,

eight-team Open Division

with all of the teams capable

of winning the title.

The seriousness of the in-

vestigation became appar-

ent when longtime coach

Manuel Douglas announced

he had been temporarily re-

assigned on May 31. He said

the district alleged he inter-

fered with an investigation.

Douglas filed a lawsuit

against the LAUSD in Sep-

tember.

There’s expected to be an

exodus of Narbonne under-

classmen, and supporters of

schools around the South-

land have already made in-

quiries, according to one

Narbonne coach.

Narbonne must also vacate

2018 title as part of penalty

[Narbonne,from D1]

“I wouldn’t know they were

freshmen.”

Thompson-Robinson, a

sophomore, also has come of

age after some early season

struggles, completing 61.7%

of his passes in Pac-12 games

with 10 touchdowns and

three interceptions. He’s

throwing to a dynamic stable

of receivers that includes De-

metric Felton Jr., whose 36

catches have tied a school

record for a running back,

and Kyle Philips, the slot re-

ceiver who has at least one

touchdown catch in each of

the last three games.

Kelly has contributed to

the offensive surge by simpli-

fying plays that are run over

and over as part of the team’s

unrelenting preparation,

Thompson-Robinson said..

“It’s more so about prac-

tice,” Thompson-Robinson

said of the team’s success,

“than it is on Saturday.”

Saturday is when the fun

comes, Kelly’s resurgent of-

fense making the skeptics fi-

nally stop asking when he

might bring back the Oregon

blur.

“It’s just kind of plugging

and playing and finding out

what your guys do well,”

Kelly said of his play designs,

“and try to play to their

strengths.”

When he was offensive co-
ordinator at New Hamp-
shire, Chip Kelly once ran
the single-wing formation
against Dartmouth as a trib-
ute of sorts to the Big Green
during its 100th year of foot-
ball.
Recently asked if he
would bring back that archa-
ic offense as part of UCLA’s
centennial celebration, the
Bruins coach prompted
laughter from reporters
when he responded with a
terse “No.”
Kelly can run seemingly
whatever he wants these
days.
The latest offshoot of the
pro-style, tight-end-heavy
sets he brought to UCLA was
a liberal sprinkling of the pis-
tol formation last weekend
against Arizona State. The
pistol differs from the shot-
gun in that the running back
lines up behind the quarter-
back as opposed to beside
him, allowing a team to bet-
ter disguise which way a play
is headed.
“If you go pistol, you
can kind of go both
ways,” quarterback Dorian
Thompson-Robinson said,
“so it kind of doesn’t give the
defense the right look and
kind of puts them at a disad-
vantage almost.”
The Bruins piled up 217
yards rushing and scored 42
points on the way to their
second consecutive victory,
the latest sign that Kelly
hasn’t lost his touch as some
critics contended when the
team remained stuck on 14
points in each of its noncon-
ference games.
Aficionados might want
to take notes on Kelly’s next
move when UCLA (3-5 over-
all, 3-2 Pac-12) faces Col-
orado (3-5, 1-4) on Saturday
evening at the Rose Bowl

with an opportunity to sur-

pass last season’s victory to-

tal.

Since Pac-12 play started,

no offense in the conference

has been better. The Bruins

lead the Pac-12 in points per

game (38.2), yards per game

(488.4), rushing yards per

game (220.6), first downs per

game (25.4) and are tied with

Utah for the lead in third-

down conversion success

(48%) in conference games.

Kelly said his team’s

heavy uptick in productivity

has been largely a function of

improved execution. He

noted how Thompson-Rob-

inson released the ball on

one pass against Arizona

State before receiver Kyle

Philips had made the cut on

his route, leading to a 20-

yard touchdown shortly be-

fore halftime.

“They were on the same

page about where they’re go-

ing to be and it was a bang-

bang play right in the corner

[of the end zone] and we

ended up scoring and that’s

what execution’s all about,”

Kelly said. “I mean, you can

draw lines on a paper and

say, ‘Hey, this works versus

this coverage and this works

versus that coverage,’ but

you have to go out and actu-

ally execute it, and the credit

goes to the players.”

Kelly has increasingly

drawn up plays involving

Joshua Kelley in recent

weeks since the running

back returned to form fol-

lowing a preseason knee in-

jury. The Bruins ran the ball

a season-high 57 times

against Arizona State, in-

cluding 34 carries by Kelley.

The return of running back

Kazmeir Allen from an aca-

demic suspension and the

ability of Thompson-Rob-

inson to scramble for yard-

age on read-option plays

also has bolstered the rush-

ing attack.

The heavy reliance on the

run led to two clock-gobbling

drives in the first half that

each encompassed 16 plays

and kept UCLA’s defense

fresh, resulting in its second

consecutive strong perform-

ance.

UCLA has also benefited

from a sturdy offensive line

that since the start of Pac-12

play has given no indication

of its youth. The Bruins’

starters on the line include

sophomore right guard

Christaphany Murray and

freshman left tackle Sean

Rhyan and left guard Duke

Clemens.

“If I didn’t know them,”

Thompson-Robinson said,

Kelly’s pistol produces bang-bang plays

UCLA’s offense is on a

roll. What will coach

do for his next trick

against Colorado?

By Ben Bolch

DORIAN THOMPSON-ROBINSONand the Bruins are averaging 488.4 yards

over the last five games after averaging just 263.3 in the first three.

Marcio Jose SanchezAssociated Press

Marquee matchup

Colorado quarterback

Steven Montez vs. the

UCLA defense. The Bruins

won’t get the benefit of

facing a freshman quarter-

back in this one after win-

ning back-to-back

matchups against Stan-

ford’s Jack West and Arizo-

na State’s Jayden Daniels.

Montez, a fifth-year senior,

is about as grizzled as play-

ers come at the college level.

The dual-threat quarter-

back accounted for 369

yards of total offense and

four touchdowns last week

against USC and is just the

second player in school

history to top 9,000 yards of

total offense. His top target

is Laviska Shenault, whose

172 yards receiving against

the Trojans gave him the

seventh 100-yard game in

his career.

Getting offensive

UCLA (404.0 ypg/29.1

ppg):All the trends are

pointed upward for the

Bruins. Their running game

has become the best in the

Pac-12 and quarterback

Dorian Thompson-Rob-

inson is now known more for

his production than his

upside. UCLA has averaged

488.4 yards over its last five

games after averaging 263.3

in its first three.

Colorado (421.8 ypg/27.1

ppg):Why would you punt?

The Buffaloes led USC for

42:34 thanks to a humming

offense that coach Mel

Tucker took off the field by

punting at the Trojans’

38-yard line with a three-

point lead and 6:23 left in

the game. It was a losing

strategy after USC took

the ball and drove for the

winning score in a

35-31 triumph.

Getting defensive

UCLA (450.1 ypg/34.3

ppg):The Bruins were stout

against Arizona State until

putting the game out of

reach, holding the Sun

Devils to 10 points and 244

yards of offense through the

first three quarters. UCLA

will be without defensive

back Jay Shaw for the first

half after he was called for

targeting last week.

Colorado (486.9 ypg/34.9

ppg):The Buffaloes have

been consistently bad in

this department, allowing

at least 30 points in all eight

games. A big part of the

problem has been explosive

plays; Colorado has allowed

49 plays of 20 yards or more,

with 18 going for touch-

downs.

Something special

Colorado kicker James

Stefanou, 32, and UCLA

punter Wade Lees, 31, are

the second- and third-

oldest players in major

college football, trailing only

Colorado State defensive

back Joshua Griffin, 33.

Stefanou and Lees are good

friends who both hail from

Melbourne and came to the

United States after working

with Prokick Australia.

Of note

UCLA has gone 4-1

against Colorado at the

Rose Bowl, winning all four

games since Colorado

joined the Pac-12 in 2011.

Injury report

UCLA defensive lineman

Elijah Wade and safety

Quentin Lake appear

doubtful based on limited

participation in practice

this week. ... Colorado’s

injury woes have forced

the Buffaloes to start 36

players.

MATCHUPS:

UCLA (3-5, 3-2) vs.

Colorado (3-5, 1-4)

Tonight, 6, TV: Pac-12 Networks, Radio: AM 570, 97.3 FM.

By Ben Bolch

TOP 25
No. 1 Mater Dei 51, No. 8 JSerra 14
No. 2 St. John Bosco 56, Santa Margarita
10
No. 3 Corona Centennial 77, Eastvale
Roosevelt 20
No. 4 Mission Viejo 44, No. 16 Tesoro 14
No. 5 Narbonne vs. Wilmington Banning,
canceled
No. 6 Coronda del Mar 48, Los Alamitos
14
No. 7 Servite 34, Orange Lutheran 14
No. 9 Calabasas at St. Bonaventure, can-
celed, fire
No. 10 Sierra Canyon 24, Paraclete 20
No. 11 Grace Brethren 28, No. 14 Camaril-
lo 13
No. 12 Bishop Amat 38, Loyola 10
No. 13 La Habra 42, Sonora 6
No. 17 Bishop Alemany 35, No. 24 Sher-
man Oaks Notre Dame 29
No. 18 Culver City 55, Beverly Hills 0
No. 19 Rancho Verde 44, Heritage 0 (Thu.)
No. 20 Norco 70, Corona 14
No. 21 La Serna 42, Whittier 6
No. 22 Oxnard 36, Buena 6
No. 23 Ayala 42, Alta Loma 7
No. 25 Rancho Cucamonga 47, Upland
28
CITY
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Bernstein 40, Belmont 22
Marquez 57, Hollywood 6
Mendez 30, Contreras 6
COLISEUM LEAGUE
Crenshaw 56, Fremont 7
Dorsey 28, View Park 14
Locke 40, Hawkins 0
EAST VALLEY LEAGUE
Arleta 28, Sun Valley Poly 0
Chavez 27, Monroe 7
Grant 43, Verdugo Hills 7
EASTERN LEAGUE
Legacy 38, Huntington Park 18
Garfield 25, Los Angeles Roosevelt 0
South Gate 7, South East 0
EXPOSITION LEAGUE
Manual Arts 43, West Adams 0
Santee 28, Angelou 22
Washington 52, Rivera 12
MARINE LEAGUE
San Pedro 13, Carson 7
METRO LEAGUE
Los Angeles 42, Rancho Dominguez 0
Los Angeles Jordan 53, Sotomayor 0
Maywood CES 56, Roybal 16
NORTHERN LEAGUE
Eagle Rock 48, Torres 18
Franklin 40, Lincoln 0
Los Angeles Wilson 13, Los Angeles Mar-
shall 0
VALLEY MISSION LEAGUE
Canoga Park 54, Van Nuys 0
Granada Hills Kennedy 42, Sylmar 15
San Fernando 56, Panorama 0
WEST VALLEY LEAGUE
Birmingham 42, Granada Hills 0
Cleveland 36, Taft 0
El Camino Real 43, Chatsworth 8
WESTERN LEAGUE
Palisades 21, Fairfax 7

Venice 40, Los Angeles Hamilton 8

SOUTHERN SECTION

605 LEAGUE

Artesia 61, Pioneer 21

Glenn 50, Cerritos 34

ACADEMY LEAGUE

Firebaugh 36, Southlands Christian 0

ALMONT LEAGUE

Alhambra 59, Keppel 0

Bell Gardens 34, Schurr 12

Montebello 35, San Gabriel 0

AMBASSADOR LEAGUE

Aquinas 70, Western Christian 6

Ontario Christian 41, Arrowhead Christian

0

ANGELUS LEAGUE

St. Francis 38, Cathedral 0

Crespi 70, Salesian 7

BASELINE LEAGUE

Chino Hills 37, Etiwanda 0

Los Osos 27. Damien 24

Rancho Cucamonga 47, Upland 28

BAY LEAGUE

Mira Costa 35, Redondo 14

Palos Verdes 44, Peninsula 0

BIG 4 LEAGUE

Segerstrom 58, Westminster 0

BIG VIII LEAGUE

Corona Centennial 77, Eastvale Roosevelt

20

Corona Santiago 28, King 0

Norco 70, Corona 14

CAMINO LEAGUE

Bishop Diego 41, Thousand Oaks 6

Grace Brethren 28, Camarillo 13

CAMINO REAL LEAGUE

Mary Star 28, Bishop Montgomery 26

St. Monica 48, Cantwell-Sacred Heart 19

CANYON LEAGUE

Oak Park 35, Agoura 21

Simi Valley 21,Royal 0

CHANNEL LEAGUE

Santa Ynez 48, San Marcos 27

CITRUS BELT LEAGUE

Carter 34, Redlands 13

Citrus Valley 35, Redlands East Valley 0

CROSS VALLEY LEAGUE

Riverside Prep 17, Silver Valley 14

DEL REY LEAGUE

Harvard-Westlake 30, La Salle 27

St. Paul 38, St. Genevieve 3

DEL RIO LEAGUE

El Rancho 37, Santa Fe 10

La Serna 42, Whittier 6

DESERT EMPIRE LEAGUE

Palm Desert 41, Rancho Mirage 28

Palm Springs 46, Shadow Hills 14

Xavier Prep 20, La Quinta 10

DESERT SKY LEAGUE

Adelanto 42, Silverado 28

DESERT VALLEY LEAGUE

Cathedral City 48, Desert Mirage 0

Coachella Valley 28, Banning 14

Desert Hot Springs 13, Indio 7

Yucca Valley 21, Twentynine Palms 6

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Placentia Valencia 35, Crean Lutheran 0

FOOTHILL LEAGUE

Golden Valley 29, Hart 28 (OT)

Saugus 40, Canyon Country Canyon 28

Valencia 45, West Ranch 0

FREEWAY LEAGUE

La Habra 42, Sonora 6

Sunny Hills 48, Troy 16

GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE

Los Amigos 33, Bolsa Grande 10

Rancho Alamitos 38, Westminster La

Quinta 14

GOLD COAST LEAGUE

Brentwood 40, Viewpoint 20

Sierra Canyon 24, Paraclete 20

GOLDEN LEAGUE

Palmdale 31, Quartz Hill 21

HACIENDA LEAGUE

Diamond Ranch 33, West Covina 3

Los Altos 21, South Hills 7

INLAND VALLEY LEAGUE

Riverside North 42, Riverside Poly 14

IVY LEAGUE

Paloma Valley 24, Valley View 21

MARMONTE LEAGUE

Oaks Christian 35, Westlake 14

MIRAMONTE LEAGUE

Ganesha 28, La Puente 7

Pomona 37, Bassett 18

MISSION LEAGUE

Bishop Alemany 35, Sherman Oaks Notre

Dame 29

Bishop Amat 38, Loyola 10

Chaminade 24, Gardena Serra 14

MOJAVE RIVER LEAGUE

Apple Valley 41, Oak Hills 21

Serrano 70, Sultana 17

MONTVIEW LEAGUE

Sierra Vista 40, Duarte 29

MOORE LEAGUE

Compton 43, Long Beach Cabrillo 8

Long Beach Poly 35, Lakewood 13

Long Beach Wilson 35, Millikan 27

MOUNTAIN PASS LEAGUE

Beaumont 22, Citrus Hill 19

Hemet 41, West Valley 18

San Jacinto 49, Tahquitz 12

MOUNTAIN VALLEY LEAGUE

Rubidoux 41, Indian Springs 27

NORTH HILLS LEAGUE

El Dorado 15, Esperanza 13

Foothill 25, Brea Olinda 8

OCEAN LEAGUE

Culver City 55, Beverly Hills 0

Lawndale 48, Hawthorne 0

Santa Monica 28, El Segundo 20

ORANGE LEAGUE

Anaheim 34, Savanna 21

Katella 36, Santa Ana Valley 8

Magnolia 41, Century 14

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE

Estancia 27, Costa Mesa 21

Orange 57, Santa Ana 13

PAC 4 LEAGUE

Western 77, Godinez 6

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Burbank Burroughs 29, Burbank 28

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Beckman 27, Irvine University 13

Northwood 27, Irvine 15

Portola 35, Woodbridge 28

PACIFIC VIEW LEAGUE

Oxnard 36, Buena 6

Oxnard Pacifica 49, Rio Mesa 6

Ventura 42, Channel Islands 6

PALOMARES LEAGUE

Ayala 42, Alta Loma 7

Bonita 39, Claremont 23

Glendora 63, Colony 27

PIONEER LEAGUE

Inglewood 48, Morningside 0

North Torrance 42, South Torrance 16

PREP LEAGUE

Rio Hondo Prep 28, Pasadena Poly 21

RIO HONDO LEAGUE

South Pasadena 40, La Canada 10

RIVER VALLEY LEAGUE

Hillcrest 64, La Sierra 0

Norte Vista 45, Patriot 0

Ramona 48, Jurupa Valley 0

SAN ANDREAS LEAGUE

Rim of the World 61, Arroyo Valley 6

San Gorgonio 55, Rialto 14

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY LEAGUE

Paramount 59, Gahr 0

SAN JOAQUIN LEAGUE

Saddleback Valley Christian 38, Webb 6

St. Margaret's 56, Capistrano Valley

Christian 7

SANTA FE LEAGUE

St. Bernard 52, Verbum Dei 0

St. Pius X-St. Matthias 56, Bosco Tech 0

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

San Juan Hills 42, Laguna Hills 6

Trabuco Hills 26, Aliso Niguel 21

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

Capistrano Valley 36, El Toro 7

Mission Viejo 44, Tesoro 14

SOUTH VALLEY LEAGUE

California Military Institute 44, Nuview

Bridge 12

Santa Rosa Academy 24, Temecula Prep

14

SOUTHWESTERN LEAGUE

Chaparral 49, Great Oak 47

Temecula Valley 41, Murrieta Mesa 26

Vista Murrieta 21, Murrieta Valley 7

SUBURBAN LEAGUE

La Mirada 34, Norwalk 0

Mayfair 49, Bellflower 14

SUNBELT LEAGUE

Elsinore 28, Temescal Canyon 7

Riverside Notre Dame 42, Arlington 22

SUNKIST LEAGUE

Fontana 35, Bloomington 6

Kaiser 42, Colton 8

Summit 62, Grand Terrace 21

SUNSET LEAGUE

Corona del Mar 48, Los Alamitos 14

Huntington Beach 9, Fountain Valley 0

TRINITY LEAGUE

Mater Dei 51, JSerra 14

Servite 34, Orange Lutheran 14

St. John Bosco 56, Santa Margarita 10

VALLE VISTA LEAGUE

Northview 52, Rowland 14

San Dimas 56, Hacienda Heights Wilson

0

NONLEAGUE

Heritage Christian 47, Rancho Christian

45

Moorpark 35, Newbury Park 28

INTERSECTIONAL

San Luis Obispo Mission Prep 56, Camp-

bell Hall 29

PREP FOOTBALL RESULTS

The Bulldogs not only

took home the league cham-

pionship, but also their 10th

straight victory in the ri-

valry, and did so in convinc-

ing fashion with a 25-0 shut-

out.

“They gave us a lot of bul-

letin board material,” Her-

nandez said. “It made our

guys want to come out and

prove that [our team] is not

just about one [or two]

guys.”

Garfield (8-2, 6-0) was es-

pecially effective on defense,

forcing and recovering four

Roosevelt fumbles and turn-

ing those mistakes into 16

points.

A pivotal play came in the

third quarter after Garfield

scored on the opening pos-

session of the half on a three-

yard run from P.J. Garcia.

the Eastern League champi-

onship game.

Back in March, Garfield

quarterback Jonathan

Bautista briefly transferred

to Roosevelt only to return

to the Bulldogs a couple of

days later.

Then, in Wednesday’s

media session, Roosevelt

coach Aldo Parral was can-

did, saying he was happy

that Garfield lost in the CIF

State Division 4-A Bowl

Game last season, while in-

sinuating that the Bulldogs’

recent success in the rivalry

boils down to recruiting.

An hour prior to kickoff at

East L.A. College, Garfield

coach Lorenzo Hernandez

laughed off those comments

but made it clear his team

was none too pleased with

what was said.

A high school football ri-
valry as storied as the East
L.A. Classic between
Garfield and Roosevelt,
played for the 85th time Fri-
day night, doesn’t require a
lot of manufactured motiva-
tion.
But there were plenty of
moments leading up to the
2019 edition that created
added incentive coming into

On Roosevelt’s ensuing

drive, Khyren Ross scooped

up a fumble and returned it

44 yards for a touchdown,

giving the Bulldogs its final

margin with 7:32 left in the

quarter.

The Bulldogs pitched

their fifth shutout during

league play and held the

Rough Riders (7-3, 5-1) to 106

yards of total offense.

Garfield will now prepare

for the City Section Open Di-

vision playoffs, and with

Narbonne barred from post-

season play for the next two

seasons, Hernandez is opti-

mistic about making anoth-

er deep playoff run.

“It’s truly an open divi-

sion now,” he said. “It’s un-

fortunate what happened,

but now it’s a real open op-

portunity for everyone.”

GARFIELD’SP.J. Garcia tries to shake off a Roose-

velt tackle in first-half action at East L.A. College.

Gabriella Angotti-JonesLos Angeles Times

A Classic mismatch for Garfield

Inspired Bulldogs use

suffocating defense to

beat Roosevelt in 85th

edition of rivalry.

GARFIELD 25
ROOSEVELT 0

By Devin Ugland

Narbonne sanctions

A timeline leading up to the sanctions against the Narbonne

High football program:

May 17, 2019:LAUSD confirms it is investigating an allegation

of academic misconduct at Narbonne, and two staff

members are reassigned during the investigation.

May 31, 2019:Coach Manuel Douglas says he’s been

temporarily reassigned from his duties by the LAUSD for

allegedly interfering in a district investigation.

Sept. 18, 2019:Douglas files a lawsuit against LAUSD,

alleging the district has brought “false and unsubstantial”

proceedings against him.

Oct. 8, 2019:LAUSD says an investigation into an allegation

of academic misconduct confirms that a player on last year’s

team was ineligible after Oct. 4, 2018, because he did not

have a grade-point average above 2.0.

Nov. 1, 2019:City Section bans Narbonne from 2019 and

2020 playoffs, forces team to vacate 2018 Open Division title

while forfeiting seven games; it forces 2019 team to forfeit all

its games and places program on probation through 2022-23

school year.