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“In towns and cities... there is no more important institution than the local paper.”
Warren Buffett
By Loren Kopff
@LorenKopff on Twitter
As many as four area football teams could be in line for a postseason berth as the regular season comes to an end tonight. And for the other two area teams, one of them will be picking up their first Suburban League victory.
Gahr High hosted last place Dominguez High on Nov. 3 and needed a victory to lock up third place in the San Gabriel Valley League. The Gladiators are coming off a 56-35 loss to Downey High last Friday and were 7-2 overall, 2-2 in league entering the Dominguez contest. In addition, Gahr dropped out of the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division 10 top 10 poll. It was still being considered to move back into the top 10 pending the outcomes of the other games this week in the division. The last time Gahr had defeated Dominguez was 2009, but the Dons entered the Nov. 3 contest at 1-8 overall and winless in the circuit.
Valley Christian High remained the top team in Division 9 after posting a 28-7 win against Heritage Christian High last Friday night. The Crusaders will visit Maranatha High tonight, hoping to improve on their 7-2 overall season and 3-0 in league action. V.C. has won six straight games and has not had consecutive undefeated league campaigns in over 18 seasons.
Also in Division 9, Norwalk High is almost sure to advance to playoffs following its 40-28 at Artesia High last Friday night. The Lancers are ranked eighth in the division and are hosting Bellflower High tonight. A win will give Norwalk third place outright. A loss will send the Lancers into a three-way tie with Bellflower and Artesia, which concluded its regular season last Friday and has a 6-4 mark.
Cerritos High is hosting John Glenn High tonight at Hanford Rants Stadium in a meeting of the last two winless teams in Suburban League action. Cerritos is 2-6 overall while Glenn, which has not won a league contest since 2012, is on an eight-game skid after winning its season opener.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Cerritos High, which finished in a tie for second place in the Suburban League, rallied to knock off 10th ranked La Quinta High 21-25, 25-19, 24-26, 27-25, 15-10 in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 5 playoffs this past Tuesday night. The unranked Lady Dons (16-7) hosted seventh ranked Oak Hills High on Nov. 3. A win will send Cerritos to the quarterfinals on Saturday night against Crean Lutheran High or Quartz Hill High.
Also in Division 5 action, unranked Valley Christian High held on for a 25-18, 25-17, 26-28, 24-26, 15-11 victory against La Habra High this past Tuesday. The Olympic League champions, who moved to 18-10 on the season, visited top ranked Mayfair High on Nov. 3. V.C. and Mayfair played each other twice in a three-day span at the beginning of the season with Mayfair coming out victorious both times in five sets. The 10 sets played were decided by 46 points. The winner will face either Alta Loma High or La Reina High on Saturday.
Norwalk High saw its season come to an end with a 25-17, 25-15, 25-17 loss to Crossroads High this past Tuesday night. The Lady Lancers, who also tied for second place in the Suburban League, conclude the 2016 season at 14-12 overall.
CROSS COUNTRY
The Suburban League finals took place at La Mirada Regional Park on Nov. 3 with the La Mirada High boys team favored to win and the Norwalk High girls team to claim first place, which has been consistently dominated by Cerritos High and La Mirada in the past.