Orange County scores and player stats for Tuesday, Oct. 24

• October 25, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Tuesday, Oct. 24

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

TUESDAY’S SCORES

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS

DIVISION 1

Pool B

Huntington Beach def. Los Alamitos, 25-23, 25-22, 25-22

Mira Costa def. Alemany, 3-0

Pool A

Mater Dei def. Marymount, 25-10, 26-24, 25-20

Sierra Canyon def. Palos Verdes, 3-2

BOYS WATER POLO

GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE

Loara 16, Rancho Alamitos 11

La Quinta 20, Bolsa Grande 6

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

Aliso Niguel 13, Mission Viejo 6

Goals: (AN) Geiger 4, Lynch 3

Saves: (AN) Hanson 3, Kennedy 3

CRESTVIEW LEAGUE

Foothill 25, Brea Olinda 10

El Dorado 23, Yorba Linda 7

NORTH HILLS LEAGUE

Canyon 17, El Modena 9

Villa Park 10, Esperanza 7

ORANGE LEAGUE

Western 20, Anaheim 4

FREEWAY LEAGUE

La Habra 10, Fullerton 8

TRINITY LEAGUE

JSerra 24, Servite 4

NOTE: JSerra finishes the regular season 24-0 overall, 5-0 in league play.

GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE

Ocean View 16, Katella 5

NONLEAGUE

Saddleback 17, Savanna 10

Fountain Valley 17, Whittier 7

GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

Aliso Niguel 21, Trabuco Hills 6

NONLEAGUE

Esperanza 19, Orange Lutheran 7

​ Orange County Register 

Mater Dei girls volleyball sweeps Marymount, moves closer to spot in Division 1 final

• October 25, 2023

SANTA ANA — After taking the first set of the match, things were looking up for the Mater Dei girls volleyball team.

Suddenly the Monarchs found themselves down by two points late in the second set but were able to comeback and take the set and eventually the match with a 25-10, 26-24, 25-20 victory over Marymount on Tuesday night in pool play of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs.

Top-seeded Mater Dei (37-2) is now 2-0 in pool play and will face Sierra Canyon on Saturday. If the Monarchs win that match they will advance to the Division 1 final on Nov. 4 at Cerritos College.

The Monarchs’ last CIF-SS title came in 2018.

Mater Dei coach Dan O’Dell called a timeout with his team trailing 23-21 in the second set, trying to help the Monarchs regroup in a pivotal moment against a Marymount team that upset No. 4 seed Sierra Canyon in five sets in the first round of pool play.

“We were making runs all match so I knew we could come back at any point,” O’Dell said. “Against Palos Verdes, in our last game, we had multiple times where we were down late and we came back, so this team’s been showing resiliency. They’re showing that even if they’re down late they still have the confidence to make the plays and they’re not getting nervous, so I think it’s a good trait to see the girls act like that.”

Senior outside hitter Izzy Clark had a match-high 17 kills for the Monarchs while senior opposite Cymarah Gordon added 13 kills and sophomore outside hitter Layli Ostovar also finished with 13 kills.

Mater Dei setter Julia Kakkis had 40 assists and senior libero Malyssa Cawa finished with 19 digs.

O’Dell praised his senior core for their performance.

“I think seniors have a little bit more sense of urgency out there,” he said, “so Julia, the way she set tonight, Cymarah, Izzy, Mal (Cawa) our libero, they’re all just kind of stepping up and they know that this is our last season (together). We want to make sure we finish on a high, so we’re doing a really good job in these moments.”

The Monarchs raced to an early lead thanks to Clark and Gordon and won the opening set with little resistance.

But the fifth-seeded Sailors (27-11) fared much better in the next set and went on a 7-0 run after falling behind 20-14. Kate Martin’s swing when the game was tied at 20 gave Marymount a brief lead.

Mater Dei reacted well after the timeout and Gordon stopped the Sailors’ first attempt at set point with a crucial sideout. Cawa collected a huge service ace before Gordon’s final attack helped the Monarchs take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

“Knowing that she (Gordon) was going to be on the court late, that’s a big difference maker when she’s front row for us,” O’Dell said.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Huntington Beach girls volleyball sweeps rival Los Alamitos in Division 1 playoffs

• October 25, 2023

HUNTINGTON BEACH — The Huntington Beach girls volleyball team came away with a 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Los Alamitos in the second round of play the CIF SS Division 1 playoffs on Tuesday at Huntington Beach High School.

The match was more of a battle between the two Surf League rivals than a 3-0 sweep would indicate.

The Oilers (29-7), the third-seeded team in the eight-team Division 1 playoffs, came from five points down in the first set and stayed composed after giving up a 6-0 run to allow the No. 7 Griffins to come back in the third set.

Huntington Beach is 2-0 in Pool B in Pool B and will play No. 2 Mira Costa, which is also 2-0, on Saturday at Mira Costa. Both teams have swept both of their matches in pool play

The winner of Saturday’s match will play the winner of pool A for the Division 1 championship on Nov. 4 at Cerritos College.

The Oilers are trying to win the program’s first CIF-SS title since 1996.

The Huntington Beach volleyball team celebrates after sweeping Los Alamitos in the second round of Pool B in the CIF SS Division 1 playoffs on Tuesday, Oct. 24. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

A pair of aces from Noalani Nuez and an ace from Brynn Minter helped the Griffins take a 9-4 lead in the first set.

The Oilers came back, but the Griffins managed to maintain a lead of one to two points until back-to-back kills from Taylor Ponchak and Ellie Esko gave the Oilers their first lead at 18-17.

Huntington Beach closed out the set on a 4-1 run with Haylee LaFontaine getting the final kill.

“Knowing that we’re able to come back from certain deficits and just knowing our ability and then using that and just being confident overall just helps us go on those runs and get back in and then get that lead again,” said Addison Williams who had nine kills for the Oilers.

LaFontaine led the team with 13 kills and Kylie Leopard and Ponchak had 10 and nine kills, respectively.

Ashley Repetti led the Griffins with 12 kills and Katey Foley had seven kills and two blocks for the Griffins.

The Oilers put forth just enough of a late surge to take the second set, with Williams getting the final kill.

In the third set, Huntington Beach led 10-7 before giving up a 6-0 run and falling behind, with five of those points coming on hitting errors.

Consecutive kills from Repetti gave the Griffins a 21-21 tie, but once again the Oilers went on a late run to put the set and the match away.

“We had another slow start which we’ve got to get rid of but we came through when we needed to,” Oilers coach Craig Pazanti said.

Huntington Beach also defeated the Griffins twice in league play.

All Division 1 teams receive automatic bids to the CIF State playoffs.

You’ve got to rebound and recover after a loss because you’re not done,” Los Alamitos coach Dave Huber said. “We earned the right to be here and guaranteed four matches. We’re going to get after it four times.”

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Kings shake off early wobble, beat Coyotes behind balanced effort

• October 25, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Although they let their opponents get off the mat at times, the Kings ultimately pinned the Arizona Coyotes, 6-3, in a seesaw affair that saw a broad array of contributors for the hosts on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

It was the Kings’ first home victory of the season (in four tries) and it put them on the right side of a .500 points percentage for the second time in the young campaign.

The Kings got goals from six different scorers: Anze Kopitar, Trevor Lewis, Trevor Moore, Blake Lizotte, Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe (empty net). Fiala and Kopitar also contributed an assist apiece, as did five of the six Kings defensemen in uniform on Tuesday. Pheonix Copley earned his first win in his second start of the season after losing a 6-5 overtime affair to Carolina on Oct. 14.

Jack McBain, Nick Bjugstad and Clayton Keller each tallied for Arizona. Connor Ingram stopped six of the nine shots he faced before being relieved by Karel Vejmelka in a wake-up call goalie change for Arizona, which sharpened up soon after.

“Overall, it was a good team effort,” Copley said, “Just a full team effort.”

With 36 seconds remaining, Kempe lofted the puck into the empty net for his second goal of the season, both of which entered a vacated cage.

As 9:11 displayed on the game clock, the Coyotes appeared to pull back within one but Barrett Hayton’s goal was nullified on a review initiated by the Kings because the play had gone offside.

“There’s an offside goal, if not, it’s a one-shot game again,” Arizona coach André Tourigny said. “That’s the rule, it is what it is. Don’t take any credit from the Kings.”

Early in the third period, the Kings absorbed play, brushing up against another tie score at least twice before Fiala authoritatively stuffed home a Vladislav Gavrikov rebound. Fiala, whom Coach Todd McLellan mentioned as not having attempted a shot in a loss to Boston on Saturday, tied for game-high honors with four strikes on net Tuesday.

“He’s so good visually with all his passes and stuff, but he has a tremendous shot. His goal was the shortest shot he’ll probably take all year, it was from two inches, but you’ve got to go and get those,” said McLellan, whose team has scored at least five goals in four of its six games.

The second period saw the Kings’ two-goal lead halved, re-established and then reduced anew to a solitary goal.

A dizzyingly deft passing sequence saw rookie Logan Cooley execute a perfect dish for Keller, who flared into the right circle for a one-timer after players and the puck whizzed about the Kings’ zone, 2:32 before the second intermission. It was the sort of goal to which McLellan said he simply had to tip his cap.

Lizotte had regained a two-goal edge with the fourth line’s second tally of the night, as he snuck behind pressure generated by a forecheck that caused a turnover and into the low slot unmarked 82 seconds after Arizona scored.

“First and foremost, we try to be defensively responsible, but [we] love getting love in on the forecheck, so I don’t think it’s anything crazy to say we can chip in offensively, especially when we have our legs,” Lizotte said.

At the 6:17 mark, Lawson Crouse flicked an innocuous-looking shot on net, but the rebound trickled out to Bjugstad, who had gotten position on Moore and allowed his imposing size to do the rest as he effortlessly popped in his second goal of 2023-24.

“Bjugstad’s goal, the rebound off the faceoff, that’s a tough box-out, the way it happened. We were better in those areas, it might not look that way, but we were,” McLellan said of his team’s net-front defending.

After an early wobble, much of the first period was carried by the Kings.

Related Articles

Moore scored his team-leading fifth goal after a disrupted counterattack became a workmanlike trip into the offensive zone. It culminated in Danault’s centering pass along the goal line for a swift redirection that chased Ingram from the game after surrendering three goals in just over four minutes between the 8:13 and 12:34 marks of the game.

The Kings had taken the lead after Andreas Englund and Lizotte’s rush opened up space for a trailing Lewis to slide his first goal of the season far side past Ingram.

Kopitar had drawn the Kings even with a one-timer off a Fiala seam pass through the center of both faceoff circles. It was the captain’s third goal of the season and his second on the power play.

The Coyotes started auspiciously, when three minutes into the match McBain stuffed home a rebound from a dangerous Travis Boyd shot that came off a slick pass from behind the net, but Copley soon settled in comfortably.

“We had a slow start, and our goaltender played extremely well early in the game,” McLellan said.

Fiala’s first of the season puts LA back up by 2!!!@LAKings I #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/kmjtvdwKA9

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 25, 2023

Coach McLellan talks post game@LAKings I #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/UTacYnImHm

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 25, 2023

Blake Lizotte catches up with @CarrlynBathe after first home win of the season
@LAKings I #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/RwPRVsQKr1

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 25, 2023

OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN!!@LAKings I #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/mFPFMYeox5

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 25, 2023

He’s still got it!@LAKings I #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/g6S1xxq1pv

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 25, 2023

Lizotte makes it 4!!@LAKings I #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/NV0TXmirAb

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 25, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

Ducks edge Blue Jackets on Frank Vatrano’s OT goal, snap 3-game skid

• October 25, 2023

By NICOLE KRAFT The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ducks started their first extended road trip of the season in an ideal way – with their first road win.

Frank Vatrano scored on a breakaway 2:40 into overtime and Lukas Dostal stopped 34 shots as the Ducks snapped a three-game skid, rallying to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2, on Tuesday night to begin their four-game trip.

The Ducks twice erased one-goal deficits and pulled even with goals by Ryan Strome and Brett Leason on the way to their fifth straight victory against Columbus.

“I thought our penalty killing really won the game for us,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. “A lot of guys did a great job blocking shots. They just kept persevering. I thought we were flat in the first period, standing around watching them skate, and we kind of woke up second and third periods. Just really happy with the energy and the effort our guys play with.”

In the overtime, Benoit-Olivier Groulx picked up a loose puck in his own zone and sent a pass to a streaking Vatrano near center ice, and the 29-year-old winger beat Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins on the stick side.

“Just quick transition play, three-on-three,” Vatrano said. “It was a great pass and I was fortunate to put it in the net.”

Adam Fantilli had a goal and an assist, his first multi-point NHL game, and Emil Bemstrom scored for the Blue Jackets, who had a two-game wins streak halted. Merzlikins stopped 24 shots.

“I’m disappointed for the players,” Blue Jackets coach Pascale Vincent said. “They’re working hard. Anaheim is a hard-working team and they transition really well.

“We had our chances – (17) shots in the third period, (37) chances total. These are games we usually win.”

After squandering a pair of power-play chances in the first period, the Blue Jackets capitalized on a third when Bemstrom scored his first of the season from the left circle at 16:49. Ivan Provorov set up the goal with his fifth assist in five games.

The Ducks got the equalizer when Strome scored off an odd-man rush, burying the rebound of a shot by Pavel Mintyukov at 15:49 of the second, his first goal of the season.

The score remained tied until Columbus’ Fantilli beat Dostal from the left circle at 9:13 for his second career goal and second in as many games.

Related Articles

That lead held until Leason beat Merzlikins between the pads at 16:13 of the third.

Vatrano secured two points for the Ducks with his overtime winner.

BACK IN BLACK

The game, set for 6:30 p.m. local time, was delayed two hours when an underground cable that feeds power to the area failed and plunged Nationwide Arena into darkness at 1:06 p.m. Power was restored 4½ hours later and the puck dropped at 8:30 p.m.

INJURY UPDATE

The Blue Jackets placed Patrik Laine on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 20 and recalled forward Dmitri Voronkov from AHL Cleveland, who did not play. Laine is day-to-day with an upper-body injury suffered in Friday’s 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.

UP NEXT

The Ducks visit Boston on Thursday at 4 p.m. PT.

VATRANO FOR THE WIN@AnaheimDucks | #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/scar0kVhWc

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 25, 2023

STROME @AnaheimDucks | #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/iq5pDLhb6r

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 25, 2023

LEASON@AnaheimDucks | #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/nvJiIV5Csg

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 25, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

NLCS: Diamondbacks top Phillies in Game 7, reach 1st World Series since 2001

• October 25, 2023

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA — Corbin Carroll ducked late into the Arizona Diamondbacks’ clubhouse with his uniform pants stained in dirt – two stolen bases will get a player dirty – but was otherwise clean when he was spotted by the rest of his bubbly-bathed teammates.

“Have yourself a Game 7!” jubilant teammates shouted as they chased down the breakout postseason star. “Why are you dry?”

Carroll had little room to escape inside a cramped visitors’ locker room – not that he wanted to – and was soon doused with beer before a victory cigar followed.

World Series trips don’t come often for this franchise in the desert. So when it was time to celebrate, the Diamondbacks did it with the same vigor they used to knock off last year’s National League champs.

Carroll went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, and Arizona advanced to the World Series for the first time in 22 years on Tuesday night by stunning the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2, in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series.

“We did it! That’s all I can say,” said Carroll, the frontrunner for NL Rookie of the Year. “Just believe in each other, believe in our guys. We know what we have in that clubhouse, and it’s special. We’ve known it all year.”

Arizona will play the Texas Rangers in an all-wild card World Series no one saw coming, with Game 1 set for Friday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

In their only other trip to the Fall Classic, the Diamondbacks won a seven-game thriller against the New York Yankees in 2001.

The young Diamondbacks, who at 84-78 squeezed into the playoffs as the final NL wild card, completed their comeback from an 0-2 hole in the NLCS. They won Games 6 and 7 in Philadelphia, where the defending National League champions had been 12-2 over the past two postseasons – including 11-0 in NL playoff games.

“I’ve said it a million times, and I’ll say it again: A connected team is a very dangerous team,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “No matter what happened in those times of crisis, these guys stuck together.”

Rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt struck out seven, and five relievers combined on five scoreless innings of one-hit ball for the surprising NL pennant winners.

“They played great baseball,” Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber said. “There’s no way around it. Everyone’s got a sick feeling in their stomach. It’s not the way we pictured this thing ending.”

Bryce Harper and the rest of the Phillies are forced to ponder this offseason how they let a second straight World Series trip slip away. Philadelphia returned home one win from another pennant but couldn’t close it out, falling behind early in Game 6 and then losing the first Game 7 in the 141-year history of the franchise.

“It’s very disappointing. It really is,” Manager Rob Thomson said. “I told the club if you asked me two days ago, two weeks ago, two months ago if we would be going home tonight, I would have said no. So that’s how much belief I have in this club.”

Kevin Ginkel, the fourth Arizona reliever, showed his mettle with a gutsy performance in the seventh. After left-hander Andrew Saalfrank walked consecutive batters with one out, Ginkel entered and retired Trea Turner and Harper on flyouts to center field.

Ginkel then struck out all three hitters in the eighth, and Paul Sewald pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save this postseason.

With that, Arizona’s bullpen slammed the door on Philadelphia’s powerful lineup – and shushed Phillies fans who were left weeping on their own.

“That’s a good club, and they really played well. You come into this building and beat us twice in this type of atmosphere, you’re doing some things right,” Thomson said. “They pitched well. They really did.”

Again, the Diamondbacks struck first when Christian Walker grounded into a fielder’s choice against Phillies starter Ranger Suárez in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. It may have seemed like a rather innocuous play, but Arizona was already 5-0 this postseason when scoring first. And that run – similar to a three-run second inning for the Diamondbacks in Game 6 – deflated a boisterous crowd that came prepped for a clinch.

Well, Phillies fans did see one.

Just not the pennant winner they paid to watch at Citizens Bank Park.

Pfaadt, who struck out nine in Game 3, allowed Alec Bohm’s tying homer in the second that put a jolt in the crowd and a needed one into the offense. Bohm pointed to his ring finger – symbolizing the World Series bling he wanted to win.

Bohm was at it again in the fourth when he walked and scored on Bryson Stott’s double for a 2-1 lead.

But the free-swinging Phillies let prime opportunities go to waste. With runners on the corners, Nick Castellanos struck out – at that point, 0 for 21 with 11 strikeouts since a Game 1 homer – and, after a walk to Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas struck out to end the fourth.

Thomson had few pinch-hitting options for Rojas, so he let the light-hitting center fielder take his cuts and he promptly fell to 3 for 22 in the NLCS.

Pfaadt’s big strikeout let the Diamondbacks exhale.

Suárez fanned Ketel Marte for the third straight time in the fifth to make it two outs and a runner on second. Carroll – just 3 for 23 in the first six games of the series – grounded an RBI single up the middle for his third hit of Game 7. Suárez was replaced by Jeff Hoffman, and Carroll stole second before 23-year-old catcher Gabriel Moreno made it 3-2 with another single.

“The performance hasn’t been there for me, for whatever reason,” Carroll said. “I kind of chalked it up to it just being baseball and I kind of stuck to my approach.”

Pfaadt had done his part and the 25-year-old righty who went just 3-9 this year kept Arizona – which swept the division champion Milwaukee Brewers and Dodgers to reach the NLCS – in position for one of the biggest wins in team history.

“He knows when he is the center of the moment,” Lovullo said ahead of Game 7. “I think he’s used to that.”

Carroll tacked on a sacrifice fly in the seventh for a 4-2 lead, and the Diamondbacks never looked back.

“They started to run a little bit, started to put pressure on us. They started playing their game,” Thomson said about the momentum shift when the series returned to Philly.

By the time Philadelphia broke the in-case-of-emergency on ace Zack Wheeler in the seventh, it was too late. The Phillies team that bashed homers at a record pace against Miami and Atlanta never cashed in back home, finishing 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position in Game 7.

“We had some people on base tonight. We couldn’t get the big hit,” Thomson said.

MVP MARTE

Marte batted .387 with 12 hits, four doubles, a triple and a stolen base in the series to earn NLCS MVP honors. His 19 hits in a single postseason are a club record.

“There was times this year where it was like, how do you even pitch this guy? He is kind of back in that mode right now. It’s special to watch,” Carroll said.

Marte has hit safely in all 16 career postseason games, the longest streak in NL history and second in major league annals to Derek Jeter’s 17-game postseason hitting streak for the Yankees.

LAST LAUGH

Arizona ace Zac Gallen was raised in South Jersey and considers himself a diehard fan of Philly sports teams.

Except for the Phillies.

He actually grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan because he loved Mark McGwire. It was his mother, Stacey, who considered herself a diehard Phillies fan and took Gallen and his brother to games at Citizens Bank Park.

“I have a lot of text messages that I’m going to have to send out after this game,” Gallen said. “A lot of people showed their true colors, asking me for tickets back in May when we played the Phillies. This feels sweeter to the 11-year-old kid who used to be a Cardinals fan.”

HOME COOKED

After winning their first six home playoff games this year, the Phillies dropped the last two and fell to 28-13 in the postseason at Citizens Bank Park.

The D-backs shock the world! #NLCS

(MLB x @BudweiserUSA) pic.twitter.com/23hDdQROcv

— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2023

Carroll comes up clutch! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/xtvWiTG3xF

— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2023

Corbin Carroll pads the @Dbacks lead! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/CexQnYGW1j

— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2023

A CONNECTED TEAM IS A DANGEROUS TEAM. pic.twitter.com/CDW0j6Ou81

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) October 25, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

USC coach Lincoln Riley misses practices with illness

• October 25, 2023

LOS ANGELES — After the lopsided loss at Notre Dame a few weeks ago, after USC’s undefeated slate was washed away with the morning rain in South Bend, Indiana, Lincoln Riley had a reminder for the public: his program was still undefeated in Pac-12 Conference play.

After falling to Utah on Saturday night, after USC’s undefeated start to conference play vanished on a last-second field goal by the Utes, the reminder was repurposed and repackaged on Tuesday even in the head coach’s absence: they were 4-1 in conference play, wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons reminded the public, with “every opportunity to accomplish every goal that this team has set forth.”

Every goal – except, realistically, a shot at a College Football Playoff berth. And a national championship.

“I mean, you know 4-1 in conference, a lot of stuff we still can go get, so I think that’s – we’re just trying to stay positive,” senior linebacker Mason Cobb said Tuesday, earnest as ever. “That’s all we can do.”

“I mean, what else is there to do?” Cobb added. “Complain, and not keep going, not keep pushing?”

At 6-2 and reeling, USC is caught in a maelstrom of noise that’s worn at the foundation of goodwill Riley has built with fans, keeping going and keeping pushing in practice this week without the man who expounded on Saturday that his team at times had been “too focused on the outside things.”

A spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that Riley was missing his second straight practice due to illness, following an absence from his usual appearance on Monday night’s “Trojans Live” radio show, and was recovering under doctor’s orders. In his stead, Simmons is serving as the acting head coach, and offensive analyst Kliff Kingsbury – formerly the head coach of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals – was being instated as a “countable coach,” eligible under NCAA rules to coach during practice.

It’s a nod to Riley’s relationship, first and foremost, with Simmons, which has developed over the course of two decades since they both started working together at Texas Tech under Mike Leach.

“Dennis has always earned that trust,” former Texas Tech assistant head coach Ruffin McNeill said when asked about Simmons and Riley’s relationship.

And players and coaches widely expressed Tuesday that not much had changed at practice in Riley’s absence, with Cobb noting Simmons had been “pretty vocal” and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch noting the opportunity for Kingsbury to work directly with quarterbacks. Cobb said he hadn’t heard from Riley but saw him Sunday, and Simmons said he’d talked with Riley and the coach was “doing better.”

“At the end of the day, I know we all think that he is immortal, but I guess God shows us that he is human,” Simmons said of Riley. “When I got here, phone calls were made, conversations were had, and this is where we’re at.”

Simmons reiterated multiple times Tuesday: this is Riley’s team.

“It’s not like he’s gone forever,” Simmons said.

Related Articles

It’s unclear when Riley will return. Unclear, even, if he’ll be back in time to patrol the sidelines against Cal (3-4 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) on Saturday. And even if everything goes smoothly in practice, it’s an inconvenient time for a wounded program to physically be without its leader.

“You can let the disappointment of not playing perfect, or you know, when you won by 20 and you didn’t win by 40, and all the outside noise that comes with that, like, it can get to you,” Riley said Saturday night. “And I think, at times, fair to say it’s got to this team.”

The lightning rod for much of that noise has been Grinch, who has continued to keep the same analytical public demeanor even as calls for his job – overseeing a unit that ranks 104th of 130 FBS teams in yards surrendered per game – run rampant in the public sphere. And when asked about such pressure on Tuesday, Grinch responded with graceful accountability.

“I think it’s part of the job description, right? You put coordinator next to your name, you’re supposed to coordinate,” Grinch said. “So there’s the accountability piece, and so that’s your job … it’s my responsibility to get better and help build this program. We’ve had X number of games in a two-year period of time, and it’s not where it needs to be yet.”

He paused as if finished, then caught himself before another question could be asked.

“And we admit that.”

​ Orange County Register 

Swanson: Rams blow it against Pittsburgh Steelers in true team effort

• October 23, 2023

INGLEWOOD – From the coulda, woulda, shoulda files: Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Rams 17.

It would’ve been hard to imagine back in July, before the Rams broke camp, that they could weather a loss this season that would be quite so disappointing.

They were coming off a most-disheartening 5-12 Super Bowl defense and embarking on a preseason with 39 rookies on the roster. The only expectations were low expectations. Specifically, oddsmakers’ prognostication: over/under 6.5 wins.

And yet Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh stung. The Rams’ complementary collapse will eat at them and everyone associated with them until they can get back on the field and make it right, whether that’s next weekend in Dallas or the following week at Green Bay or on Nov. 19, when they’re back at SoFi Stadium against the Seattle Seahawks. Or whenever.

Because it turns out the Rams are better than what oddsmakers imagined they’d be, and moreover, they should be better than 3-4.

They’ll tell you that, too. This is a team led by a head coach that isn’t afraid to give itself lashings: “We didn’t help ourselves,” McVay volunteered before anyone could even ask a questions about what he called a “disappointing deal” at his postgame news conference.

“Anytime we don’t get it done, it’s a collective effort,” he continued. “There’s a lot of things that we didn’t do to be able to finish this game. Execution on (special) teams. Execution offensively. Defensively …”

McVay’s is a team that goes out of its way show it cares by being neither dismissive nor defensive. But even all their accountability can go only so far as to blunt the public annoyance with a game that was so badly botched, blown by a pileup of mistakes. A true and total team effort.

It wasn’t, despite what Ice Cube rapped to an appreciative stadium at halftime, a good day in L.A. At least not if you were one of the easily outnumbered Rams fans in the stands Sunday.

Oh, how did Steelers fans love this one? Let me count the ways. Or some of them. I’ve got only so much space.

Sixth-year kicker Brett Maher missed two field goals and an extra point, momentum-killing misses even if those seven points wouldn’t have won the game on their own.

Cornerback Derion Kendrick was late coming off the field, so the Rams were penalized five yards for too many men two plays before Najee Harris rushed for the Steelers’ final score – a 3-yard touchdown – in the lopsided fourth quarter.

.@ohthatsNajee22 in for 6⃣

: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/T87FSng3KS pic.twitter.com/v0dISLEj9J

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 22, 2023

Stafford – who was sacked twice and hurried four times – threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted by the Steelers’ defensive superstar T.J. Watt on the first play of the second half, setting up a Pittsburgh touchdown that gave them the 10-9 lead.

The Rams found themselves on the ropes late in a game that featured another sensational effort from rookie receiver Puka Nacua, who finished with eight catches for 154 yards. Even he, though, bemoaned a few misses on third down: “I left some plays out there.”

Even the game’s controversial conclusion – a highly questionable first-down spot with 2:24 to play – reflected the old adage that you create your own luck.

In the Rams’ case, that’s bad luck. They couldn’t request a review of the play because they’d blown through all their timeouts.

They’d found themselves in a fourth-quarter dogfight even though, mathematically, it seemed improbable: Pittsburgh had 110 total yards entering the fourth quarter, but finished with 300. Its generally anemic offense recorded only six of its 17 first downs before that final frame too. And yet, the Steelers (4-2) had their hosts on their heels.

Even after Pittsburgh’s fourth-quarter surge, when they outscored the Rams 14-0 to overcome a seven-point deficit, McVay’s team walked off the field with more total yards, more first downs, more passing and rushing yardage, more time of possession and fewer penalties for fewer yards.

Just about everything except more points.

Related Articles

Even the sure-handed Cooper Kupp chipped in with a pair of uncharacteristic drops on the Rams’ sloppy opening drive, a harbinger of the mess to come.

“Too many mistakes, too many mistakes,” said Kupp, who finished with just two catches for 29 yards. “You want to play a perfect game, and that obviously isn’t gonna happen. But there are plays you can make, you gotta make. So to start the game off like that and set us back a little bit and we didn’t get into a rhythm, I can obviously do a much better job there.”

Kupp’s rookie cohort seemed at a loss to explain all the ways it went wrong when pressed postgame, so he referred to McVay’s messaging in the locker room after the loss, relaying something that sounded like constructive frustration.

The notion Nacua relayed was that the Rams need to “look inward at ourselves for the things we can execute, because were doing them throughout the week. We’re right there on the edge, so it’s the little things – the inch in the alignment to get that block done — that might make the difference. Or the yard in making sure I’m getting across the field in a shallow route. All those little things make the difference in the end.”

It could, it should. It probably would.

​ Orange County Register