Vikings Are League Champs

Take Their First League Title in 13 Years

Amir Soofi
Mirror contributing writer

   Two weeks ago, with only two weeks of regular season play left, three teams sat at the top of the Ocean League: Inglewood 4-1, North Torrance 4-1, and Santa Monica 4-1.
   If each of the three teams concluded the season without any additional losses, they would have all tied for the Ocean League championship with records of 6-1, and each would have advanced to post season competition. However, a two-way tie at the top of the league would have gone to the school that won the meeting between the two. It would have been Santa Monica over North Torrance, North Torrance over Inglewood, and Inglewood over Santa Monica.
   With the schedules of the teams in the last two weeks suggesting that a three-way tie was most likely, Ocean League officials met and tossed a coin to determine the order in which the three teams would represent the league in the CIF Southern Section tournament. Santa Monica lost the coin toss, earning the third league birth to the tournament if all three teams tied.
   The first round went as expected. Santa Monica crushed visiting Torrance in true Homecoming fashion, 46-3. Quarterback James Cooper completed 7 of 12 passes for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns. Cooper found wide receiver Charles Gordon on 5 throws, for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the ground, Derrick Davis carried 23 times for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns.
   North Torrance had even less trouble with Compton Centennial, winning 58-0. North’s Michael Bolio scored five touchdowns; three in the air, a 52-yard punt return and a 60-yard kickoff return. Inglewood defeated South Torrance in a highly aerial game, 62-42. The three teams were tied again, at 5-1 each.
   Friday night marked the last regular season game for the Ocean League. Santa Monica expected that, with a victory, it would secure a three-way league championship with Inglewood and North Torrance, and, due to the tie-breaking coin toss, advance as the last team from the Ocean League, playing a tougher first round opponent.
   The Vikings delivered an exceptional performance, running, and passing, circles around South Torrance, 55-6. Cooper completed 10 of 13 for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver Terrell Maze caught 3 passes for 63 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Gordon had five receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown. Davis rushed 265 yards in 25 carries, averaged 10.6 yards per run, and scored 4 touchdowns. “We played a tremendous game,” explained Samohi’s offensive coordinator Tebb Kusserow, “with a tremendous defense [and] excellent pass coverage.”
   Across the bay, North Torrance proceeded as expected, ousting Torrance, 56-28. Bolio had seven receptions for 121 yards and three touchdowns and two kickoffs returns of 87 and 93 yards for touchdowns.
   As rumors of both the Santa Monica and North Torrance games’ outcomes circled through the league, Inglewood had yet to finish writing its chapter, hosting El Segundo, whose 3-3 record included losses to Santa Monica and North Torrance, in the third of the three games to determine the league champion. Amazingly, quarterback Matt Engle who generally throws every play and for over 200 total game yards, led El Segundo to a nail-biting 21-20 victory over Inglewood.
   This left only Santa Monica and North Torrance at the top of the league. Santa Monica’s prior victory over North Torrance broke the tiebreaker and Santa Monica earned its first football league title in 13 years.
   In addition to securing the league title, Santa Monica advanced to the tournament as the first place team from the league. Furthermore, the CIF Southern Section awarded Santa Monica the third seed of sixteen teams in its division. Workman High, the third place team from the Montview League, will face Santa Monica in the first round of the tournament. The Lobos (3-6, 2-2) are led by head coach Jarret Myers and quarterback Anthony Silva.
   The winner of the Santa Monica-Workman game will face either La Cañada or St. Joseph of Santa Maria, who play each other on the same night. Workman will travel to Santa Monica College on Friday, November 16, at 7 p.m. to challenge the Vikings.