1997-98 PREP YEAR IN REVIEW: THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES : SOME REFLECTIONS UPON '97-98 AS DRAMA UNFOLDED IN PREPS.Byline: VINCENT VINCENT Vital Information Necessary Centralized (movie, The Black Hole) BONSIGNORE On a crisp, chilly night in Santa Maria Santa Maria, city, Brazil Santa Maria (sän`tə mərē`ə), city (1991 pop. 217,592), Rio Grande do Sul state, S Brazil. It is a major railroad terminus and the site of an important military base. last November, Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame High running back Justin Fargas Justin Fargas (born January 25, 1980 in Encino, California) is a football player in the NFL. Professional career He was drafted in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. As of 2006, he is the Raiders' second-string running back. proved that special moments can occur when guts and talent are mixed in equal portions. His team clung to a slim lead against surging Righetti late in the third quarter in the Southern Section Division III
Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. semifinals. The Knights faced a third-down-and-24 predicament, a passing situation if there ever was one. Instead of throwing the ball, Notre Dame handed it to Fargas. The result was a memorable run in which Fargas blew through a handful of tacklers, cut to his left, then his right, then to his left again. When he was finally pulled down, the Knights had the crucial first down. They went on to score on that drive and later finished off Righetti to advance to the final. That memory is fresh. And just like the other indelible moments that Fargas and so many other athletes provided for us this year, it will be a long time before they fade from our memories. We won't soon forget the day Scott Long of Chaminade scored 35 points on 10-of-13 shooting against Bishop Montgomery to lead the Eagles to their first Southern Section Division III basketball championship. A week later, Long and Chaminade faced favored University of San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. High on the road in a packed, steamy gym. What transpired was the best local high school game of the season. Even though the Eagles lost to the eventual Division III state champion, their gutty performance against long odds proved that, even in defeat, the heart of a champion beats mightily. Fargas, who is playing at Michigan next fall, received most of the attention during football season. But others piqued our interest as well. Valencia running back Manuel White Manuel White (born July 2, 1982) is an American football running back. burst onto the scene with 2,190 yards, solidifying himself as the next great area runner. Westlake quarterback Zac Wasserman passed for 3,331 yards as a sophomore. And to think he has two years left to rewrite the Warriors record book. There was the night Newbury Park quarterback Nick Czernek led the Panthers on an improbable 90-yard touchdown drive in the final minute to beat Royal. And on a wet, miserable, muddy evening in November, Taft beat Sylmar to advance to the City 4-A championship game. In basketball, Grant junior Gilbert Arenas Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr. (born January 6, 1982 in Florida[0]) is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Washington Wizards. Arenas overcame his modest NBA debut, including being a second-round draft pick, to establish himself as one of the most emerged as the most electrifying e·lec·tri·fy tr.v. e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing, e·lec·tri·fies 1. To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor). 2. a. player around. His high-wire act and sweet shooting touch will make him a much sought-after recruit next season. But he wasn't the only basketball player who caught our attention. Newbury Park's Daniel Bobik turned in the performance of a lifetime with 28 points, 12 rebounds and six steals in a road upset over Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. to give the Panthers the Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school sports league primarily made up of schools from Ventura County. The Marmonte Leauge is part of the CIF Southern Section. Click here to view the league schedule. title. Bell-Jeff's Ruben Douglas Ruben Enrique Douglas (born October 30, 1979 in Pasadena, California, U.S.) is a Panamaian-American professional basketball player currently with Pamesa Valencia of the ACB, the premier professional basketball league in Spain. , who will play next year at Arizona, finished his prep career by leading the Guards further then they've ever been in the playoffs. Reluctantly, we bid farewell to Crescenta Valley's Michelle Greco, whose extraordinary basketball talent is surpassed only by her poise and class. Thankfully, Greco isn't going very far. We'll have four more years to enjoy her at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . There was no shortage of extraordinary performances in baseball or softball, either. Jodie Cox of Quartz Hill embarked on a postseason run that had people searching for the record books. A two-way standout equally adept at pitching and hitting, Cox led the Rebels to their first Southern Section Division II championship. She capped off her season by blasting a home run over the center-field fence at Mayfair Park in the final against Cerritos. Camarillo's Cindy Ball no-hit powerful Highland in the Division I semifinals. And El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
Two events stand out from Crescenta Valley's win over Esperanza in the Southern Section Division I championship game at Dodger Stadium • • [ last Saturday. The first is the courageous pitching of Jordan Olson, who ignored a painful back to shut down Esperanza. Then Falcons teammate Nate Barber brought the crowd to its feet with a 390-foot home run deep into the the left-field pavilion. The City 4-A champion has yet to be determined, but we'll tip our cap to finalists Chatsworth and El Camino Real. We won't venture a pick, other than to say you better catch ECR's Woody Clifords while you have the chance. And keep an eye on sophomore third baseman Conor Jackson. From Chatsworth, starting pitcher Mike Kunes took advantage of his first full year in the Chancellors rotation to win 12 games. Senior Tom Morefield, who will play at Cal State Northridge, had 11 home runs and 46 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in . The year wasn't without disappointment, either. In sports, there is always a winner and loser. But the dignity and character shown by local athletes in defeat was just as inspiring as their heroics in victory. After suffering a heartbreaking loss to Arroyo Grande in the Southern Section Division II championship game, Fargas and his Notre Dame teammates politely answered questions at a time when others might have sought refuge in the dressing room. After losing to Artesia in an emotional playoff game, Simi Valley basketball standout Rafael Berumen focused on next year rather than dwell on a tough loss. At Thousand Oaks, shortstop Kristen Combe combe Noun same as coomb wiped away her tears long enough to embrace members of the Camarillo softball team after the Scorpions ended the Lancers' year in the postseason. We can go on. But we'll end with a thank you to graduating seniors like Fargas, Long, Bobik, J.T. Stotts of Hart, Joey Cuppari of Westlake, Cindy Ball and Jessica Mendoza of Camarillo, Combe, Greco and all the others who will leave here, move on to college and thrill us with so many more performances. Good luck to all of you. To the athletes who return, have a great summer. We look forward to catching up with you next fall. LASTING MEMORIES Notre Dame's Justin Fargas nearly every time he carried the football. El Camino Real's Cara Blumfield making a play at shortstop. Crescenta Valley's Nate Barber blasting a 370-foot home run at Dodger Stadium. Quartz Hill's Jodie Cox's home run to center in the Division II final. Newbury Park's Daniel Bobik's 28 points, 12 rebounds and six steals against Simi Valley. Michelle Greco of Crescenta Valley driving to the basket. Grant's Gilbert Arenas catching and shooting. ECR's Woody Cliffords and his sweet swing. Cindy Ball of Camarillo throwing a no-hitter against Highland. Every time Fargas and Alemany's Miguel Fletcher raced each other. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Box PHOTO (1) Crescenta Valley's Michelle Greco Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News (2) Chaminade's Scott Long Myung J. Chun/Daily News (3) Notre Dame's Justin Fargas Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News BOX: LASTING MEMORIES (see text) |
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