Foothill boys lacrosse finishes on top in CIF-SS Division 1 with win over Loyola

• May 13, 2023

DOWNEY — The third time was a charm for the Foothill boys lacrosse team.

Foothill beat Loyola 9-8 to win its first CIF-SS Division 1 championship Friday at Downey High after being runner-up the last two seasons.

The Knights won eight championships in the previous US Lacrosse playoff system, but Friday they won their first title since the CIF-SS took over the playoff system in 2021.

“This is not the most talented group we’ve had but they came together the most as a team better than any other team I’ve had,” Foothill coach Jon Fox said. “I love being able to shake the commissioner’s hand and hold that trophy.”

“Words can’t describe how I’m feeling right now,” senior Luke Fox said. “I’ve dreamed about this since I was in second grade coming to games and watching Foothill win championships.”

Foothill beats Loyola 9-8 to win its first CIF-SS Division 1 championship. Four goals for Luke Fox. 3 for Bode Jellerson including the game-winner. @ocvarsity @SteveFryer @Tarek_Fattal @latsondheimer @FHSLaxNews @OCSportsZone @James_Escarcega pic.twitter.com/95TVXip24E

— Michael Huntley (@mikehuntley63) May 13, 2023

Foothill (18-6) had an 8-4 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. Loyola (13-4) scored four unanswered goals in six minutes to tie the game.

With two minutes remaining, Bode Jellerson caught a pass on the right corner, drove to the goal and scored to give the Knights a 9-8 lead.

“Our coach set up a good clear for us, I got to open space, got the diagonal pass from my long-pole and saw some grass,” Jellerson said. “Instinctually I got my feet going and realized they didn’t have any help coming, so I ran to the goal, got my hands free and it went in.”

Loyola had the ball in the final minute but the Foothill defense, led by Landon Mokhtari, Jackson Bennett and Eric Oman, forced a turnover to give the Knights possession with 27 seconds remaining.

Luke Fox scored four goals to lead Foothill’s offense. The four goals gave him a school-record 122 points this season, breaking the previous record of 121 set by Nate Marano in 2015.

Foothill goalie Cohen Krudwig had 14 saves. This was the first year being a full-time goalie for Krudwig, who is also a hockey player.

Trent Turner scored three goals for Loyola and had an assist. Benjamin Horowitz and Cash Ginsberg each scored twice for the Cubs.

Foothill had a tough road to the championship, having to beat St. Margaret’s, Mater Dei and Corona del Mar in the earlier rounds. The Knights lost to Mater Dei and Corona del Mar in the regular season, but redeemed themselves in the playoffs.

“We saw the bracket when it came out and some of us had some doubts because we knew it would be tough,” Jellerson said. “We went on a crusade and took down some big names to get it done.

“I wept like a little baby when that horn blew and we won that thing. So many friendships and bonds created around this game over the years and it felt really good to win this one for our school.”

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CIF-SS baseball playoffs: Friday’s scores, updated pairings and schedule for the semifinals

• May 13, 2023

The scores from Friday’s CIF Southern Section baseball playoff games and the updated schedule for the semifinals Tuesday.

CIF-SS BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

DIVISION 1

Quarterfinals, Friday

Corona 2, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 1 (10 innings)

JSerra 6, Sierra Canyon 3

Orange Lutheran 6, Villa Park 1

Santa Margarita 9, La Mirada 4

Semifinals, Tuesday, 3:15 p.m.

JSerra at Corona

Orange Lutheran at Santa Margarita

DIVISION 2

Quarterfinals, Friday

Aquinas 7, Ocean View 2

Crespi 7, Corona Santiago 4

Calabasas 3, Gahr 1

South Hills 2, West Ranch 1

Semifinals, Tuesday, 3:15 p.m.

Crespi at Aquinas

Calabasas at South Hills

DIVISION 3

Quarterfinals, Friday

Aliso Niguel 6, La Serna 2

Yorba Linda 2, Long Beach Poly 1

San Marcos 2, Redlands East Valley 0

South Torrance 2, Westlake 2, suspended, 17 innings (resumes Saturday, Westlake HS, 11 a.m.)

Semifinals, Tuesday, 3:15 p.m.

Yorba Linda at Aliso Niguel

TBD vs. San Marcos

DIVISION 4

Quarterfinals, Friday

Crean Lutheran 2, Burbank 1

Sultana 17, Chaparral 6

Canyon/A 13, Barstow 3

Linfield Christian 6, Brea Olinda 3

Semifinals, Tuesday, 3:15 p.m.

Sultana at Crean Lutheran

Linfield Christian at Canyon/A

DIVISION 5

Quarterfinals, Friday

Bishop Montgomery 12, Montebello 1

Apple Valley 9, Calvary Chapel/SA 4

Peninsula 3, Liberty 1

Shadow Hills 10, St. Anthony 4

Semifinals, Tuesday, 3:15 p.m.

Bishop Montgomery at Apple Valley

Peninsula at Shadow Hills

DIVISION 6

Quarterfinals, Friday

Bloomington 6, Trinity Classical 3

Castaic 20, Mayfair 2

Hesperia Christian 8, Norwalk 3

San Marino 2, Campbell Hall 1

Semifinals, Tuesday, 3:15 p.m.

Bloomington at Castaic

Hesperia Christian at San Marino

DIVISION 7

Quarterfinals, Friday

Ganesha 21, Fontana 0

Brentwood 3, Cornerstone Christian 2

Cantwell-Sacred Heart 3, Banning 2

Fillmore 7, Artesia 1

Semifinals, Tuesday, 3:15 p.m.

Ganesha at Brentwood

Fillmore at Cantwell-Sacred Heart

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Boys tennis finals: Tesoro loses to Cate in amazingly close Division 3 final

• May 13, 2023

The CIF Southern Section Division 3 boys tennis championship between Tesoro and Cate of Carpinteria couldn’t have been any closer.

The match finished in a 9-9 tie and had to be decided on the total number of points from every set.

After the coaches and CIF-SS officials counted each team’s point total numerous times to make sure there were no mistakes, Cate came out on top 79-78.

The match featured a bit of drama at the end, which didn’t affect the outcome of the match but it could have.

Tesoro had a point deducted for a racket abuse violation in a doubles set, but because the violation occurred after the final point, the point got deducted from a Titans doubles team during a set that was still being contested.

The Rams’ tandem of Will Vanica and Ethan Bloom wound up winning the set 6-3 over Ethan Huang and Aryan Nagpal.

Tesoro’s doubles team of Nico Cruz and Fardean Khajejmiraki won their three sets by scores of 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.

The Titans were making their first trip to a division final.

“I think this match says a lot about our team,” Titans coach Patrick Harnett said. “They fought the best they could to the last game.”

In the Division 5 final:

Segerstrom and Whittier finished in a 9-9 tie, forcing points to be counted to determine the winner. Whitter came out on top of the Jaguars, 83-69.

The Jaguars doubles team of Joseph Tram and Ben Tong won their sets by a combined score of 18-5, but the Cardinals came out on top by winning seven of nine singles sets.

In the Division 4 final:

Long Beach Wilson, the top-ranked team in the division, won every doubles set and three singles sets to defeat Brea Olinda 12-6.

Roman Meraz was a bright spot for the Wildcats, winning all three of his singles sets, 7-6, 6-0, 6-0.

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Linfield Christian baseball team uses 6-run rally to top Brea Olinda in CIF-SS quarterfinals

• May 13, 2023

TEMECULA – The hole for Linfield Christian was considerable and the danger level was high. Fortunately for the Lions, there were plenty of hands pulling on the rope.

Six outs away from the end of their season and facing a three-run deficit, the Lions put together a huge sixth-inning rally to escape with a 6-3 victory over Brea Olinda Friday in a CIF Southern Section Division 4 baseball quarterfinal.

Linfield, the No. 2 seed, will travel to Anaheim Tuesday to face Canyon, a 13-3 winner over Barstow Friday.

“Our team never falls off with our energy,” said right fielder Drew Taylor, who had the biggest of many big hits in the six-run sixth. “No matter which way it’s going, we’re always going strong.”

For five innings, the Lions (23-7) had struggled against Brea starter Christian Altamirano. Hitting spots and changing speeds, he had Linfield seemingly popping everything in the air. He also was clutch, as Linfield had gone 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position through five.

What he hadn’t done is hold his pitch count low, so when Linfield put two runners aboard with one out in the sixth, he came out. Linfield’s first run came when Brea third baseman Bradley Medley gambled, trying for an out at the plate, putting the tying run aboard.

It didn’t stay aboard long, as Taylor drilled a double inside third base to bring in a run and even the game.

“The previous pitch, he threw me a two-seam (fastball), which threw me off a little,” Taylor said. “But after that, I was ready for it.”

Things fell apart for Brea Olinda (16-13-1) after that. An errant throw brought in one run and a wild pitch scored another. Jake Valencia capped the inning with a run-scoring single.

Despite all the action in the bottom of the sixth, Linfield Christian coach Kyle Owlsey pointed to a play in the top of the inning as key. Center fielder Gavin Malcomson made a spectacular running, backhanded catch before hitting the fence to rob Jayden Pack of at least a double to open the inning.

“That catch is the best catch I’ve ever seen coaching baseball,” Owsley said. “I think Gavin plays the best center field I’ve ever seen. And that catch changed our season.”

Linfield also got strong work on the mound. Starter Gavin Kramer cruised in the early going, needing just 21 pitches to record his first seven outs. He then lost some command, walking five over the next 2 1/3 innings, three of them coming around to score.

Ryan McCalmont slammed the door shut, retiring all eight batters he faced.

“Ryan is our X factor,” Owsley. “He may be small in stature, but that’s kid’s grit and will are outstanding.”

For Brea, the season marked a turnaround for a program that had struggled in recent years.

“I think it’s the first time in the quarterfinals,” Coach Rich Pohle said. “It’s been a fun ride. I hate to see it end this way, but the future is bright for Brea baseball.”

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Corey Jackson: California has a mental health crisis, it’s time for Sacramento to take action

• May 13, 2023

The mental health crisis in California must be addressed. Families are being torn apart, with loved ones lost to addiction, self-harming and other mental health-related tragedies. According to research conducted by Let’s Get Healthy California, suicides are now the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults ages 15-24 in California. Enough is enough.

Nearly 1 in 7 California adults’ experiences a mental illness. But a recent survey by the California Health Care Foundation found close to two-thirds of adults with a mental illness and two-thirds of adolescents with major depressive episodes did not get treatment. Why is this? This can be fueled by a combination of factors, including the lack of access to quality care, a shortage of mental health professionals and systemic barriers that prevent people of color from receiving the help they need. Individuals struggling with mental health issues also face stigma, discrimination, and shame, which often exacerbates their conditions and make it even more difficult for them to seek help.

Despite the clear need for increased mental health services, California’s mental health system is underfunded and understaffed. This shortage is particularly acute in rural areas, where access to mental health services is even more limited. We must ensure that mental health services are accessible to all, regardless of income or ZIP code. We must break down the barriers that prevent individuals from accessing quality care and support.

This crisis impacts everyone, regardless of race, gender, or socio-economic status. Yet, marginalized communities are disproportionately affected. African American and Latino Californians are less likely to receive mental health treatment, despite being more likely to experience trauma and stress. This is unacceptable.

We need a comprehensive strategy that includes prevention, early intervention, and treatment. We need to educate our communities about mental health, reduce stigma, and provide culturally competent care. We need to train more mental health professionals and support them with fair compensation and resources.

As chair of the Select Committee on California’s Mental Health Crisis, I plan to aggressively tackle this issue. That is why I have introduced two bills focused on increasing access to mental health services in low-income communities. The first bill, Assembly Bill 1451, provides funding for counties to establish in-patient and out-patient mental health urgent care units in communities with at least 70% free or reduced lunch communities. This bill also funds community health worker programs to provide mental health services to those who need it most.

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The second bill, Assembly Bill 1450, would require K-12 schools, county office of education and charter school to conduct universal screenings for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mental health conditions of all students. AB 1450 also requires schools to employ or contract with at least one mental health clinician, and at least one case manager to conduct these critical and lifesaving screenings. Lastly, this bill will require the mental health clinician who conducts a screenings to develop, and provide an action plan based upon findings from the screening. We know when ACEs and mental health conditions are caught early, outcomes can be improved.

These bills are just the beginning. We need to come together as a state to demand action on mental health. The mental health crisis in California is a complex problem that will require a comprehensive, coordinated response. But the stakes are too high to ignore. I urge you to join me in this fight for mental health justice in California.

Corey Jackson represents Assembly District 60.

​ Orange County Register 

Aquinas baseball gets boost from its bats in playoff win over Ocean View

• May 13, 2023

SAN BERNARDINO >> Hits found holes and the Aquinas baseball team made more of its own luck.

Nate Christman tripled, homered and had three RBIs as Aquinas totaled 11 hits in a 7-2 win over Ocean View on Friday in a CIF Southern Section Division 2 quarterfinal playoff game.

“Today we got a lot more guys on base and in scoring position and it makes for a much more successful day for us,” Aquinas coach Mike Carpentier said.

Christman went 3 for 4 with a run, and Gavin Egan and Josh Torres both had pinch-hit two-run singles as Aquinas (25-4) won its 11th consecutive game.

“It’s not just me, it’s the guys coming off the bench, too,” Christman said. “For those guys to go 2 for 2 with four RBIs is big.”

The Falcons host Crespi in a semifinal round playoff game Tuesday.

“There’s still lots to do. The last two years we’ve gotten to the semifinals and haven’t gotten the job done, so we’re looking to do differently this time,” Christman said.

Spencer Johnson was knocked around for six earned runs on nine hits in the loss for Ocean View (20-11), which was making its second section quarterfinal appearance since 2019.

“I thought we hit some balls on the screws, right at guys, and (Aquinas) found the bleeders, so the luck went their way and in a playoff games that’s everything,” Ocean View coach Tanner VanMaanen said.

Ocean View had outscored opponents 20-1 in the first two playoff rounds but managed just five hits against Aquinas while striking out seven times and leaving five runners on base.

A University of Oregon commit, Christman slammed a two-run home run to straightaway center field in the second inning for an early lead.

“It was a 1-1 changeup and he just didn’t execute,” Christman said. “It kind of hung. It was identical to his fastball, just slower speed, so I was able to recognize that and put a good swing on it.”

Torres came up with a two-run single in the fourth to double the lead, a hit that proved decisive in the first ever matchup between the two programs.

Mulivai Levu blasted a two-run home run in the fifth to cut the lead in half and chase Aquinas starter Cody Kiemele, but reliever Owen Egan entered and kept Ocean View from inflicting further damage.

“We didn’t feel overmatched, but you’re in a CIF game and you need to make luck happen,” VanMaanen said.

Gavin Egan smoked a two-run double into the right-center field gap to extend the lead in the bottom of the fifth, and Christman tripled off the wall to drive in Owen Egan in the sixth.

Owen Egan allowed just one hit and struck out three of the final four batters he faced to earn the save.

Mason Greenhouse went 2 for 2 with two runs, and Eric Bitonti had a double among his two hits and also scored a run for Aquinas, which defeated Capistrano Valley Christian 3-2 in 12 innings in a second-round game Tuesday.

“We’ve been battle-tested and we’re ready for games like this,” Carpentier said. “After we won the last game it was already like we’d won the championship because it was so grueling.”

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Swanson: Anthony Davis, Lakers block out noise, thwart Warriors

• May 13, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Oh, sure.

The resurgent, Western Conference finals-bound Lakers would have you believe they’re operating in a soundproof booth, that none of what Coach Darvin Ham characterized as “useless” and “irrelevant” noise is capable of reaching them.

They’ll tell you they’re focused, locked in, that even if another playoff game is on TV, it’s on mute. That they’re not hearing any of it. None. Too busy turning the tide of what was a lost season into something else entirely – a wild success story.

Definitely don’t care, they’ll say, about whatever is coming out of pundits’ mouths – even, or maybe especially, when they’re joking and expressing incredulity about Anthony Davis having to leave Game 5 after being hit in the head: “I’d be damned if I wasn’t laughing,” Stephen A. Smith said on ESPN the day after.

All that said, if you’re a Lakers fan, you hoped the Lakers weren’t actually tuning it out. You hoped that they – and Davis especially – heard every last disrespectful utterance.

Felt every inane insinuation insisting the NBA champion that was averaging 21.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots on a bad foot was somehow on the squishy side.

You hoped that he’d take it upon himself to use Game 6 of the Lakers’ best-of-seven second-round series against Golden State – the 122-101 victory a deciding blow against the team that won four of the previous eight NBA titles – to stifle any and all negative chatter so that no one has to hear it.

Though, again, to hear the Lakers tell it, it’s their inner voices that do the motivating: “You know,” Ham said, “if (Davis) felt like he had a subpar performance, he beats himself up a lot, and I just try to subside that part of him a little bit.”

That’s what’s struck Ham about his season with Davis: “Overall, just how much he loves the game. How much he cares.”

And no, Davis wasn’t concussed and so, yes, he played Friday night, on the Crypto.com Arena court 2½ hours before tipoff, taking care of his business. He was greeted, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, by Golden State’s Gary Patyton II: “C’mon, just take the night off, bro,” before Davis went through his warmup routine.

The Warriors wished!

From the jump – which he won – Davis was a dutiful deterrent to would-be drivers, including heading off Golden State scoring sensation Steph Curry on his forays forward.

And Davis was a vacuum on the glass, sucking up 10 of his 20 rebounds in his first 10 minutes of play. He finished the first quarter with a near double-double, adding nine points in an 11-minute span during which the Lakers outscored Golden State by 13 points.

And here’s the thing: All the while, the 30-year-old big man was playing within himself. Hardly a rabid bulldog with a bone to pick, more a man embodying a sailplane, gliding over all those peaks and valleys below.

And though Davis’ statistical production dipped in his nine second-quarter minutes, it was a stretch in which the Lakers outscored Golden State by six points and that he capped with a rousing block of a Donte DiVincenzo shot. And his swat set up Austin Reaves’ roof-raising, buzzer-beating 54-footer to push the Lakers’ halftime advantage to 56-46.

It wasn’t until the third quarter that the temperature really rose, when Davis dunked a lob from LeBron, spun around, swiped the inbound pass and drew a shooting foul – and then he let loose a scream.

As he stalked down the court emotions bubbled behind him too: Dennis Schroder was assessed a technical foul – a disqualifying second – for jawing from the other side of the ball being pushed into his face by Draymond Green, who drew his first technical.

And Davis kept working, staying on the court beside James – who scored 10 of his 30 points in the period – for all 12 minutes of the third. They kept the core of the four-time world champion Warriors at arm’s length, 14 points off the pace with only the final quarter left between the Lakers and a Western Conference finals berth against the top-seeded Denver Nuggets.

Will Davis’ 39 minutes, 17 points and those 20 rebounds, two blocks and two steals in Friday’s closeout victory over the defending champions be enough to shush those detractors?

Actually, who cares?

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Alexander: These Lakers shouldn’t be considered underdogs

• May 13, 2023

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers belong here.

They are entitled to no longer be considered a No. 7 seed. They might still be underdogs in the national consciousness, and their successes in the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs might be considered upsets, but those who would do so need to look beyond the 43-victory regular season and consider the twists and turns of this strange journey, and how they’ve helped transform this team.

When the Western Conference finals begin Tuesday night in Denver, this will be a fair fight. Yes, the Nuggets are the No. 1 seed, and they have Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, home-court advantage and a healthy belief that this is their year.

But how do you consider any LeBron James team that makes it to this point of the season an underdog? The Lakers themselves believe, and the journey has given them reason to. Vanquishing the young, energetic Memphis Grizzlies, and then dethroning the proud champion Golden State Warriors in the first two rounds of the playoffs has fed that belief.

“I think the seeding thing is just a number,” said Lakers guard Austin Reaves, one of the heroes of Friday night’s series-clinching 122-101 victory over the Warriors. “When you have guys like Bron, A.D. (Anthony Davis) that’s won championships, even Tristan (Thompson) that’s been through the fire with LeBron and all those championships (in Cleveland), you always feel like you have a chance.

“And especially with the roster that we have, the talent that we have. Like, you seen Game 4 when Lonnie (Walker IV) went out and put on a clinic, and three games before that he wasn’t playing. So when you have talent like that, our whole thing before the playoffs was (to) get in. Like if we get in, you know, we really think in a seven-game series that we would be tough to beat. And I think that that’s been proven these first two series.”

What’s the bigger achievement? The major roster renovation General Manager Rob Pelinka performed at midseason? Or the bond that the new guys and the holdovers have developed in just three months?

“Rob Pelinka can tell you right up, I didn’t expect this,” D’Angelo Russell said. “I didn’t think this. So I’d be wrong, I’d be lying to tell you I did. But once we got out there, you could just tell guys liked each other. Guys wanted to play for each other. And it was just contagious. Everybody wanted to win. Everybody wanted to just get the job done every night. And you looked up, we had a chance and we ran with that.

“He got snubbed for that GM award that he was supposed to get,” Russell added.

Sacramento’s Monte McNair was named the NBA’s Executive of the Year last week, not surprisingly given the emergence of the Kings. But the Lakers’ dramatic improvement over the last two months of the regular season should have had enough impact for him to finish higher than 11th in the voting of league executives. Pelinka got one third-place vote and that was it.

But it’s like the point Coach Darvin Ham made the other night when other awards snubs were mentioned. Would you rather have a regular season award, or would you rather have a legitimate shot at a ring?

“Bunch of guys that were selfless,” Russell said of the trades that brought Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba as well as himself. “Nobody expected or wanted anything. We worked for it all. And we had a touch, just a tad bit of chemistry in there, too. … When you have the right chemistry with guys it makes it that easy to go out every night and just play for each other.”

These players are prepared for this environment. Being a Laker and a member of LeBron’s team, and the attention and environment that comes with that helps. The intense focus needed to dig out of the hole the Lakers themselves created, or at least those who were on the roster earlier in the season … that helps, too.

“The month previous (to the playoffs), that whole buildup was basically playoff basketball for us,” Reaves said. “I can’t speak for the other teams, but we were in must-win situations for a long time. And to kind of be locked in like that before this – I mean, this is different just because you play the same team at most seven times. But to have that attention to detail, the focus that we had to have for the last month of the regular season, I think can be a big benefit for us because like I said, we were so locked in for so long.”

It does start with the leader. Whether or not LeBron was pacing himself at points during the Warriors series, he laid it all out there in Game 6: 30 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, two steals, one blocked shot and a couple of no-look passes that brought back memories of Magic Johnson orchestrating a previous generation’s fast break.

“They (the other players) expect nothing but greatness from him,” Ham said. “… It’s about the work he’s put in and where he’s placed himself, not just in his league today, but amongst the greats.”

LeBron’s been here often enough before that the expectations are baked in. So when asked if there was a possibility the Lakers were playing with house money at this point, he shot that down.

“Nah,” he said. “We’re trying to win every hand.”

This is no underdog. This is a team that’s going for the franchise’s 18th NBA championship.

It belongs here. And it very well could stay to the end.

jalexander@scng.com

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