PREP FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: BIRMINGHAM LOSS A BLESSING?

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer

Birmingham High of Lake Balboa defensive back Chad Green believes his team's 30-6 loss to Taft of Woodland Hills on Friday might be just what his team needs heading into the playoffs against visiting Grant of Van Nuys (8-2) on Thursday night.

Birmingham (7-3), which had lost to high-powered Southern Section programs Hart of Newhall and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, had beaten seven City Section opponents by 24 points or more this season.

``A lot of positives came out of the Taft loss, especially for us as a team,'' Green said. ``I think a lot of younger players were a little nervous. But now they realize we can hang with (Taft). I really think we can beat them. We just have to get right back to the practice field. As long as we learned something, the loss wasn't wasted. We can come back.''

--Add Green: Green, one of the faster cornerbacks in Southern California, was humbled Friday when Taft's Noah Smith burned him on a 56-yard reception.

Green is fast. But Smith is faster.

``We run track, and he's beaten me every time we've raced, about five or six times,'' Green said. ``That pass was actually a perfectly thrown ball by Cary Dove. He put the ball out there where only the wide receiver could catch it. I was with Noah down the sideline, but at the last second, he might have gained a step on me.''

--Burgess visits WSU: Rudy Burgess, an all-purpose back from Desert of Edwards Air Force base, took an official recruiting visit to Washington State last week. He also plans to visit UCLA, Arizona State, Oregon and Oregon State.

``Rudy liked Washington State a lot,'' Desert coach Joel Sweitzer said. ``He had a lot of fun, but I don't think he's going to commit anywhere until he has taken all of his trips. He'll be the first D-I scholarship player from our school in at least 10 years.''

Burgess has helped Desert develop into one of the region's most successful small-school teams entering its Division XII playoff game against Salesian of Los Angeles on Friday at Edwards. Burgess is averaging 11.7 yards per carry (655 yards on 56 carries) and has scored 14 touchdowns. The second-seeded Scorpions (10-0), who won their only section football title in 1981, have scored 33 points or more seven times this season.

--Tough draws: Division III Highland of Palmdale and Division XI Montclair Prep of Van Nuys both received challenging first-round draws.

Highland (7-3), coming off a shocking upset loss to Quartz Hill in last week's finale, must travel to ``the pit'' Friday to play always-tough St. Paul in Santa Fe Springs. If the Bulldogs win, they probably will play host to top-seeded Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach in the quarterfinals.

``I've been to the pit a couple of times before when I coached at Bishop Montgomery. It's pretty different down there,'' Highland coach Sam Vaiana said. ``The crowd is real close and vocal, and sometimes they throw stuff at you. I don't think our kids have ever experienced anything like it.''

Montclair Prep, which has been to the Division XII final the past two seasons, started the season as the top-rated Division IV team in the state by Cal Hi Sports. But the Mounties (7-3) have lost two of their past three games and needed a long touchdown in the final 17 seconds to beat Kilpatrick of Malibu last week just to qualify for the playoffs.

They'll travel to Mary Star of San Pedro in the first round, and a victory means they'll probably see top-seeded Carpinteria in the quarterfinals.