Jamaal Kellen Street's Posts - San Pedro News Pilot2024-03-28T14:40:18ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2211968730?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://sanpedronewspilot.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=23j376jxf2aan&xn_auth=noSan Pedro High Flag Football 2023 Shines In Inaugural Yeartag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2023-12-31:6389356:BlogPost:1987532023-12-31T22:00:00.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12343399280?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12343399280?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> When a new high school sports program begins, normally it takes time to build a winner from the ground up.</p>
<p>For San Pedro High flag football however, they didn't waste time in its inaugural season.</p>
<p>Not wanting to settle for just being one of the 54 CIF-Los Angeles City Section schools to take in this brand-new environment, San Pedro immediately…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12343399280?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12343399280?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>When a new high school sports program begins, normally it takes time to build a winner from the ground up.</p>
<p>For San Pedro High flag football however, they didn't waste time in its inaugural season.</p>
<p>Not wanting to settle for just being one of the 54 CIF-Los Angeles City Section schools to take in this brand-new environment, San Pedro immediately looked to hire a man well versed in coaching the sport, and the school didn't have to look far for their man to steer the ship.</p>
<p>Enter Victor Tuberosi, a lifelong San Pedro resident who coached the Harry Bridges boys flag football team to the LA FIYA championship, the Mary Star Middle School boys flag football team to the Final Four of the Catholic Youth Organization tournament, and the Mary Star Middle School boys basketball team to the Finals of the CYO, also coaching numerous San Pedro youth teams to City champions.</p>
<p>If that name still doesn't ring a bell, not too long ago, Tuberosi coached the Mary Star Of The Sea High girls basketball team to the 2021 CIF-Southern Section Division 4-AA championship and was named CIF-SS Coach Of The Year twice in 2019 & 2021 with a 155-99 record and three Santa Fe League titles during his ten-year tenure from 2013-2023.</p>
<p>Hiring Tuberosi was just the first chapter of the incredible first-year story for this program that featured 24 girls and the added guidance from assistant coaches Chris Amalfitano and Nick Fiamengo.</p>
<p>San Pedro (24-4 overall) was blessed to have sensational athletes from several different sports, none more familiar on campus than girls basketball senior Noelani Raigans, who along with fellow flag football teammates in seniors Shalia Coleman, Maddison Joseph-Cooper and Taylor Blair, plus sophomores Naomi Eneliko, Madison Adrid & Jayda Sanford, helped lead the Lady Pirate hoopsters to the 2023 CIF-LACS Division 2 title.</p>
<p>Tuberosi then was able to bring in athletes who excelled in even more sports, like the soccer quartet of senior Nicole Castaneda alongside juniors Logan Bader, Stella Malone and Giuliana Sutrin, plus the sophomore softball tag team of pitcher Jenna Ortega, now a quarterback, and fellow sophomore outfielder Dahlia Davila.</p>
<p>Year one officially begun with a highly respectable 6-0 loss at CIF-SS power Redondo Union of Redondo Beach on September 6, 2023, but then confidence stemming from that outcome skyrocketed to the top three days later when San Pedro gained their first two victories of the year with a 38-14 rout of host Santee of Los Angeles, followed by a 45-0 shutout of Lincoln of Los Angeles in their first doubleheader.</p>
<p>From there, San Pedro immediately took control in the Marine League, winning all twelve encounters by decisive margins against Narbonne of Harbor City, University of Los Angeles, Fairfax of Los Angeles, Los Angeles CES, Westchester and Hamilton of Los Angeles, pitching eight shutouts along the way.</p>
<p>San Pedro made even more history by winning the first L.A. City Flag Football Classic Tournament at Narbonne, easily winning their pool by shutting out Montebello, Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach & Mendez of Los Angeles before avenging a September 15 loss to Eagle Rock with a 14-8 victory over the Eagles in the championship game itself on September 25.</p>
<p>Also gaining some more ground in victories over CIF-SS South Bay schools like West Torrance and Palos Verdes, and also garnering an impressive 34-0 shutout win at Mayfair of Lakewood, it caught the eye of the CIF-LACS to the point that they awarded San Pedro the top seed of the inaugural CIF-LACS Open Division playoffs.</p>
<p>Thanks to the suffocating pressure-packed defense and fast-paced, no-huddle spread offense, San Pedro easily dispatched Los Angeles Leadership Academy, 48-0 in the first round, then shutting out rival Narbonne a third time, 28-0 in the quarterfinals, before hosting the biggest game of the year at Mike Walsh Pirate Stadium that even rivaled the Battle Of The Harbor whenever the Pirates take on Banning year after year.</p>
<p>Except this was a CIF-LACS Open Division semifinal against Eagle Rock, who also steamrolled their way to a rubber match with the Pirates with a championship berth at stake.</p>
<p>For the first and only time all season, San Pedro trailed at halftime in front of their home crowd down 13-6, but they weren't about to let their perfect home record slip away as Ortega threw a perfect bomb to Raigans for a touchdown to cut their deficit down to 13-12 following a failed two-point conversion. The Eagles quickly responded with a touchdown to go up 19-12, but their extra-point attempt was picked off by Raigans.</p>
<p>On San Pedro's final offensive drive, facing a fourth-and-16, Ortega connected with Coleman on a curl route pattern. Incredibly, Coleman shed off two would-be flag pull defenders in one fell swoop before coasting down the far sideline for a 55-yard touchdown, and following the two-point conversion catch by Raigans, San Pedro suddenly led by a single point with 1:04 to play.</p>
<p>Once again, it was Raigans in the middle of things when she left her designed defensive spot to run up and deflect the Eagles' last-ditch pass on fourth-and-10 to force the final turnover on downs with 27 seconds to play, securing the Pirates' 20-19 victory on November 15 to protect their home turf with a perfect home stretch.</p>
<p>Even the Pirates' bitter 14-6 loss in the Open Division championship game to Birmingham of Lake Balboa three days after that improbable come-from-behind victory isn't enough to diminish the remarkable first season produced by the Lady Pirates' flag football season. </p>
<p>Raigans, Coleman and Castaneda were all named to the inaugural All-CIF LACS Open Division team, while they along with Ortega were inaugural All-Marine League selections. However, nothing can be taken away from the incredible strides made by the likes of Adrid, Sutrin, Malone, Davila, Sanford (18 interceptions on defense) and freshman wide receiver Lexi Lopez. </p>
<p>With 2024 now on the horizon, how will San Pedro build from what 2023 brought to the table?</p>
<p></p>
<p>(Note: Photo courtesy of John Mattera Photography)</p>
<p></p>2022-2023 San Pedro Prep Sports Team Of The Yeartag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2023-07-17:6389356:BlogPost:1984152023-07-17T16:29:49.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12150052252?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12150052252?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> Not since the 1985-1986 season has the San Pedro High School girls basketball enjoyed a time quite like this.</p>
<p>While other programs like the football, girls volleyball, softball, both cross-country teams and several others at the school gained some credible success over the years, even their boys basketball counterparts also winning CIF-Los Angeles…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12150052252?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12150052252?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>Not since the 1985-1986 season has the San Pedro High School girls basketball enjoyed a time quite like this.</p>
<p>While other programs like the football, girls volleyball, softball, both cross-country teams and several others at the school gained some credible success over the years, even their boys basketball counterparts also winning CIF-Los Angeles City Section titles in between, the 2022-2023 school year finally became the time for girls hoops on 15th and Alma Streets.</p>
<p>With a determined team led by a driven leader in head coach Kevin Simpson, the Lady Pirates were able to achieve indescribable, and undeniable success to turn the school, and their city upside down, along with everyone's heads and eyes to them in February.</p>
<p>Becoming CIF-LACS and Marine League champions for the first time in 37 years, then taking it three steps further to become the first team in school history to reach a CIF Southern California Regional championship game, the 2022-2023 San Pedro High girls basketball team made it a year impossible to forget.</p>
<p>However, it wasn't the auspicious kind of start this team was looking for, as San Pedro struggled out of the gate with five losses in their first six games. Things started to click for San Pedro once December started, and they split their four games in their inaugural Lady Pirate Holiday Classic to get San Pedro's overall record to 9-8.</p>
<p>January 11, 2023 started the proverbial chain reaction of victories, when the Lady Pirates for only the second time since 1991, defeated perennial CIF-LACS power Narbonne of Harbor City, 42-32 at home for their third straight Marine League win, and they never looked back, dominating the rest of the way to complete a perfect 10-0 league season.</p>
<p>The only real threat was the rematch with Narbonne on January 27, where two game-winning free throws by junior point guard Noelani Raigans propelled San Pedro to a 49-47 victory for their first victory over the Lady Gauchos in their home court in 32 years. From that point on, nothing seemed impossible for the Lady Pirates, as they earned the top seed of the CIF-LACS Division 2 playoffs.</p>
<p>In the first three rounds, San Pedro eliminated Roosevelt of Los Angeles, 70-46, held off league foe Carson, 69-62 (third win over Carson in 2022-2023), and then outlasted Bravo Medical Magnet, 50-39 to put San Pedro into the Division 2 final against Chatsworth Charter, a team looking to gain retribution from losing in this predicament one year ago to Verdugo Hills of Tujunga.</p>
<p>Putting on a defensive clinic, both the Lady Pirates and the Chancellors took turns putting up scoring runs each quarter, but with Chatsworth leading 43-38 in the closing minutes, Raigans provided the most important run of all, as her three-pointer followed by two free throws in the final minute to force overtime, and made the eventual game-winning basket with just over a minute to play in the extra frame, banking in a three-pointer for a 50-48 lead. Senior guard Jaliyah Robertson's layup increased the advantage to four, and the Lady Pirates did just enough to hold on and win 52-51 for the Division 2 championship.</p>
<p>Even though Raigans got perpetual praise from her own teammates at the award ceremony with a rousing 'MVP!' chant for scoring 13 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter & overtime combined, the performances of fellow juniors Shalia Coleman (17 points) and Maia Wooldridge (8 points) before they both fouled out, could not be overlooked.</p>
<p>All three of these All-City Division 2 selections along with some other notable heroes on this special team kept the good times rolling as the second seed of the CIF Southern California Regional Division 5 playoffs.</p>
<p>San Pedro defeated three straight CIF-Southern Section schools on their home floor in Riverside Prep (56-41), Laguna Beach (62-43) and St. Monica Prep of Santa Monica (53-51) before finally falling in the Regional final, 51-43 to eventual CIF Division 5 state runner-up Marina of Huntington Beach, ending the Lady Pirates' incredible & in some cases, improbable 15-game winning streak.</p>
<p>Against St. Monica Prep on March 4, San Pedro trailed the entire first half and were in dire straits early in the third quarter until Simpson called upon freshman guard Madison Adrid, and she delivered with six points, none more important than her winning mid-range jumper with five seconds left. The basketball gods were smiling on the Lady Pirates as the Mariners' last-ditch attempt to steal the game rimmed out as time expired.</p>
<p>Raigans, the 2023 Marine League and CIF-LACS Divison 2 Player Of The Year, scored 10 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter against St. Monica Prep and was awarded a Cal-Hi Sports All-State Division 5 selection as well. Coleman, Wooldridge, senior forward Aleisha Fizer and junior guard Natalia Garcia join Raigans on the 2023 All-Marine League team.</p>
<p>On a year where the San Pedro girls volleyball and boys swimming teams also won CIF championships along with Port Of Los Angeles High boys basketball also taking home a CIF title, San Pedro girls basketball is your undisputed San Pedro Prep Sports Team Of The Year.</p>
<p></p>
<p><span><strong>SAN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PAST PREP SPORTS TEAMS OF THE YEAR</strong></span></p>
<p><span><strong>2011-2012:</strong><span class="font-size-2"> San Pedro High School Football (12-1; CIF-LACS Division 1 semifinalists)</span></span></p>
<p><span><strong>2012-2013:</strong><span class="font-size-2"> Port Of Los Angeles High School Softball (28-8; CIF-LACS Division 3 champions)</span></span></p>
<p><span><strong>2013-2014:</strong><span class="font-size-2"> Port Of Los Angeles High School Baseball (14-9; CIF-LACS Division 3 champions)</span></span></p>
<p><span><strong>2014-2015:</strong><span class="font-size-2"> Port Of Los Angeles High School Girls Soccer (22-4-2; CIF-LACS Division 4 finalists; CIF Division 5 Southern California Regional playoffs)</span></span></p>
<p><span><strong>2015-2016:</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="font-size-2">San Pedro High School Girls Soccer (20-2-3; CIF-LACS Division 1 semifinalists)</span></span></p>
<p><span><span class="font-size-2"><strong>*2016-2017:</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>San Pedro High School Softball (25-9-1; CIF-LACS Division 1 Champions)</span></span></p>
<p><span><span class="font-size-2"><strong>*2016-2017:</strong> Port Of Los Angeles High School Girls Soccer (18-4; CIF-LACS Division 2 Champions; CIF Division 3 Southern California Regional playoffs)</span></span></p>
<p><span><strong>2017-2018:</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>San Pedro High School Boys Soccer (14-9-2; CIF-LACS Division 4 champions; <span class="font-size-2">CIF Division 4 Southern California Regional playoffs</span>)</span></p>
<p><span><strong>2018-2019:</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>San Pedro High School Girls Volleyball (26-6; CIF-LACS Division 1 champions; CIF Division 4 Southern California Regional playoffs)</span></p>
<p><span><strong>2019-2020:</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Port Of Los Angeles High School Girls Volleyball (15-8; CIF-LACS Division 4 champions; CIF Division 5</span></p>
<p><span>Southern California Regional playoffs)</span></p>
<p><span><strong>2020-2021:</strong> Mary Star Of The Sea High School Girls Basketball (22-1; CIF-Southern Section Division 4-AA champions; CIF Division 3-AA Southern California Regional finalists)</span></p>
<p><span><strong>2021-2022:</strong> San Pedro High School Boys Swimming (CIF-Los Angeles City Section champions)</span></p>
<p><span><strong>2022-2023:</strong> San Pedro High School Girls Basketball (24-9; CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 2 champions; CIF Division 5 Southern California Regional finalists)</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>* - Both Teams Share The Team Of The Year Honor</span></p>San Pedro High Softball Goes Four Hours To Win In 12 Inningstag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2023-04-12:6389356:BlogPost:1983052023-04-12T08:39:40.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11026853064?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11026853064?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> Four hours.</p>
<p>Two minutes.</p>
<p>12 innings of sheer endurance, gutsy plays, clutch hits.</p>
<p>Two overturned calls.</p>
<p>One game-winning walk-off hit.</p>
<p>That's just yet another chapter in the book of what has been a two-decades long rivalry between San Pedro High and Carson softball on Tuesday at the San Pedro High John M. & Muriel…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11026853064?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11026853064?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>Four hours.</p>
<p>Two minutes.</p>
<p>12 innings of sheer endurance, gutsy plays, clutch hits.</p>
<p>Two overturned calls.</p>
<p>One game-winning walk-off hit.</p>
<p>That's just yet another chapter in the book of what has been a two-decades long rivalry between San Pedro High and Carson softball on Tuesday at the San Pedro High John M. & Muriel Olguin Campus.</p>
<p>A Marine League game that had league title implications early ended on one swing of the bat by senior center fielder Sicily James who was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a sacrifice bunt... and she comes through on the first pitch she sees blasting a scorching drive to right-center field, plating sophomore left fielder Breya Ventura to cap off another vintage comeback in the annals of the annual battles between the Pirates and the Colts, this one ending in a come-from-behind 4-3 victory for San Pedro.</p>
<p>After scoring a pair of two-out runs on a double in the top of the twelfth inning, Carson (4-10) finally chased San Pedro senior starting pitcher Layla Jelenic from the game after she struck out 16 in a gutsy performance, scattering three runs on eight hits and ten walks, tossing an astonishing 227 pitches before exiting with the bases loaded. Junior pitcher Bella Miller promptly retired the Colts' next batter to prevent further damage.</p>
<p>And then... came the bottom of the twelfth inning. </p>
<p>Junior shortstop Madison Fao led off with a full count walk for San Pedro after being intentionally walked in the seventh and ninth innings, then after a throwing error from third triggered by a ground ball hit by junior first baseman Izzie Galan, Fao managed to score from first base, cutting the Pirates' deficit down to a single run. Two pitches later, sophomore left fielder Breya Ventura drives in Galan with a single to even the score at 3-3.</p>
<p>Sophomore catcher Bri Rodela's drag bunt single followed by a critical full count base on balls drawn by senior pinch-hitter Alicia Gonzalez loaded the bases for James, who wasted little time in putting a capper on what was a spectacular finish to a wild contest.</p>
<p>Pacing San Pedro (5-4 overall, 2-0 league) besides the heroics of both James and Jelenic, was sophomore shortstop Katie Borges who went 2-for-5 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored, an RBI-single that brought in Borges compliments of senior right fielder Izabella Chavez in the third inning for the game's first run, and sophomore catcher Bri Rodela who singled in her last two at-bats after going 0-for-4, also catching a runner stealing second base for the first out of the game.</p>
<p>Ventura also went 0-for-5 before her clutch RBI-hit in the bottom of the twelfth, plus Fao, Jelenic, Galan and senior third baseman Marissa Markel also added a hit each for San Pedro, who will next host Harbor Area neighbor Banning of Wilmington on Thursday in another league showdown.</p>Janelle Vega Blasts Walk-Off Winner For Mary Star Softball Over San Pedrotag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2023-03-18:6389356:BlogPost:1977022023-03-18T04:44:49.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10999336079?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10999336079?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> It's March Madness.. San Pedro Prep Softball style.</p>
<p>A wild intersectional hometown showdown ended with a St. Patrick's Day delight on a Friday afternoon for Mary Star Of The Sea High softball.</p>
<p>With two outs and two in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh with the game tied, Mary Star junior shortstop Janelle Vega blasted the first…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10999336079?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10999336079?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>It's March Madness.. San Pedro Prep Softball style.</p>
<p>A wild intersectional hometown showdown ended with a St. Patrick's Day delight on a Friday afternoon for Mary Star Of The Sea High softball.</p>
<p>With two outs and two in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh with the game tied, Mary Star junior shortstop Janelle Vega blasted the first pitch from San Pedro freshman Jenna Ortega into center field, driving in freshman second baseman Mariah Candela for the 9-8 home victory.</p>
<p>This was a back-and-forth encounter that had a lot of twists, turns, and like the NCAA basketball tournaments, it was also a game of runs, especially in the fifth inning.</p>
<p>With San Pedro ahead, 3-2, the Pirates struck for three runs to push their lead up to 6-2, strengthened by a pair of RBI-singles by senior designated player Marissa Markel and senior left fielder Layla Jelenic, who stole second on a double steal that also saw sophomore Bri Rodela steal home uncontested, but the host Stars (5-3) were undaunted, and came into the bottom half of the inning ready to counterattack.</p>
<p>It all got started with an innocent ground-ball out by Vega, but once senior center fielder Tele Jennings drew a one-out walk, Mary Star was ready to unload, and San Pedro came stunningly unraveled. </p>
<p>Back-to-back hits by senior third baseman Destiny Contreras and junior 1B/P Mina Tala made it 6-4, with Tala's second RBI hit of the afternoon bringing home Jennings. San Pedro's first error of the inning plated Conteras, and then junior P/1B Jocelyn Mayorga blasted an opposite-field RBI-single to right for Tala to score. Suddenly, Mary Star was only down 6-5 but on the next pitch, Candela's grounder to third ate up San Pedro senior Bella Chavez, loading the bases.</p>
<p>Mayorga and junior left fielder Alaina Velardez then score off a wild throw from San Pedro junior shortstop Madison Fao towards first base on what should have been the final out of the inning, then two pitches later, Vega's first RBI-hit of the day plated Candela for an 8-6 Mary Star advantage.</p>
<p>True to form, San Pedro (3-4) kept battling, and once the seventh inning surfaced, they wasted little time in making their comeback bid.</p>
<p>Fao led off the inning being hit by an inside pitch from Tala, then Markel's booming double to right allowed Fao to score from first. Jelenic's one-out ground-ball out drove Markel in to even the score at 8-8 going into the bottom of the seventh inning.</p>
<p>Not easing up, Mayorga drilled a single on the first pitch before being forced out on a fielder's choice at second on Candela's grounder to Chavez. Then Candela advanced to third on Velardez's one-out single, followed by senior right fielder Lilly Vega striking out, but Rodela dropped Ortega's pitch recovering quickly to throw to first for the second out.</p>
<p>And then, it was Janelle Vega that got her shine on.</p>
<p>Jennings, bound for UC San Diego, went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, scoring twice for Mary Star. Tala earned the win in relief of Mayorga, scattering three runs on five hits, striking out four. Contreras, Mayorga and Tala all had two hits each with Tala also delivering with 2 RBIs. Markel went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for San Pedro, while Jelenic went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs.</p>
<p>Fao, Chavez (2-for-4) and junior first baseman Addison Patapoff all belted doubles for the two-time defending Marine League champion Pirates, who got a solid four innings of work by junior pitcher Bella Miller, only allowing two runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts.</p>San Pedro High Girls Basketball Is 2023 CIF-LACS D-2 Championstag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2023-02-25:6389356:BlogPost:1969282023-02-25T09:05:14.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10972807091?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10972807091?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> VENICE - San Pedro High girls basketball hasn't had a season as glorious as this... since it was 1986.</p>
<p>Fast-forward to Friday, February 24, 2023, for the next date of glory for the Lady Pirates as they went overtime to defeat Chatsworth Charter, 52-51 in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 2 championship game at Venice High to capture the…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10972807091?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10972807091?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>VENICE - San Pedro High girls basketball hasn't had a season as glorious as this... since it was 1986.</p>
<p>Fast-forward to Friday, February 24, 2023, for the next date of glory for the Lady Pirates as they went overtime to defeat Chatsworth Charter, 52-51 in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 2 championship game at Venice High to capture the program's fourth CIF girls basketball title, and first in nearly four decades.</p>
<p>With this win, the Lady Pirates (21-8 overall) capped off an incredible run as they have now won 12 straight games which included going unbeaten in the Marine League for their first league crown since... well, 1986.</p>
<p>Everything seemed to work against fourth-year head coach Kevin Simpson in the midway point of the fourth quarter, as two of his top scorers, both junior forwards in Shalia Coleman and Maia Wooldridge had to exit the game permanently with five personal fouls each, and his leading scorer, junior point guard Noelani Raigans was out of the game suffering from cramps.</p>
<p>With 49.9 seconds to play, Chatsworth senior guard Destiny Silva buried a corner three-pointer to beat the shot clock and put the second-seeded Chancellors (16-16) ahead, 43-38. The title was seemingly slipping away for top-seeded San Pedro... until Raigans happened.</p>
<p>On San Pedro's next possession, Chatsworth's full court press was broken with crisp passes, leading to Raigans drilling a desperation three from NBA range to cut San Pedro's deficit down to two. Then Raigans immediately stripped Silva from behind in the backcourt for a steal, narrowly missed a potential go-ahead corner three, then got it back after an offensive rebound from senior guard Jaliyah Robertson and got fouled with 23.8 seconds to play.</p>
<p>Although she struggled early on from the free-throw line, Raigans cool as a cucumber, easily hit both free throws to tie the score at 43.</p>
<p>Chatsworth senior guard Madison Guerrero missed the potential go-ahead midrange jumper, and San Pedro forced a jump ball situation with the arrow pointing in their favor giving them one last shot with 3.6 remaining. Raigans misfired a hurried shot from half court, and it was time... for overtime.</p>
<p>With the score tied again at 45, Guerrero hit a three from the left wing to give the Chancellors their final lead of the night with 2:07 to play in overtime before Raigans mustered every last bit of strength to will the Lady Pirates to victory,</p>
<p>First, Raigans scored on a driving backdoor cut layup to slice Chatsworth's lead to 48-47 with 1:51 left, then after the defense forced a turnover the next time down, San Pedro called on Raigans again...</p>
<p>Taking the inbounds pass in stride, the two-time All-City guard eluded a steal attempt then casually stepped up to the right wing and kissed her three-point attempt off the glass and through to put San Pedro ahead for good at 50-48 with 1:33 remaining in overtime, then just a minute later, Raigans kept the ball alive after a trapping steal by junior guard Natalia Garcia and then found Robertson for the layup and a 52-48 Lady Pirate edge.</p>
<p>After Guerrero made 1-of-3 free throws, Chatsworth got the ball back via a jump ball call, but Guerrero missed the potential tying three, with Raigans clearing the rebound and getting fouled with 7.7 seconds remaining. Raigans however, missed both free throws.</p>
<p>With 5.2 seconds left... Chatsworth had one final chance to send it to a second overtime, but freshman guard Victoria Menjivar shockingly passed up shooting the three, and even though senior center Emily Cuevas made the final shot of the game at the buzzer... it was only for two points, allowing San Pedro to exhale, survive, and celebrate a hard-earned CIF championship victory that could have gone either way.</p>
<p>Once the Lady Pirates got all their championship medals, the final player called to get her medal, fittingly enough, was Raigans, who finished with a game-high 18 points, six rebounds, six steals, two assists... and a well-deserved cascading and serenading of her teammates and San Pedro fans with the chant of "M.V.P!" for a good 20 seconds.</p>
<p>Despite fouling out, Coleman was also sensational for San Pedro with 17 points and three rebounds, scoring 9 of her points in the first half where San Pedro led, 21-14 at halftime, and had a lead as big as 30-16 in the third quarter before Chatsworth closed the quarter on a 13-0 run. Wooldridge finshed with 8 points, four steals and two rebounds for San Pedro, while Chatsworth was paced by Guerrero's 15 points and 11 points from senior center/forward Cyrielley Becerra-Rodriguez. Silva and Cuevas each scored 8 points for the Chancellors.</p>
<p>En route to the winning the Division 2 championship, San Pedro defeated Roosevelt of Los Angeles (70-48), Marine League rival Carson (69-62) and Bravo Medical Magnet (50-39) in the prior rounds before outlasting Chatsworth from the powerful West Valley League.</p>
<p>Senior forward Aleisha Fizer grabbed a team-high five rebounds for San Pedro, who will now await their spot in the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs as the pairings will be announced on Sunday.</p>POLAHS Boys Basketball Is 2023 CIF-LACS Division 5 Championstag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2023-02-24:6389356:BlogPost:1970212023-02-24T11:00:00.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10972364861?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10972364861?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> WILMINGTON - Fast paced, and in your face.</p>
<p>That was how the 2022-2023 Port Of Los Angeles High boys basketball team turned their program around.</p>
<p>After losing all but one of their 14 games the previous year, which was the first after not playing a shortened 2021 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, these young but dangerous Polar Bears squad…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10972364861?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10972364861?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>WILMINGTON - Fast paced, and in your face.</p>
<p>That was how the 2022-2023 Port Of Los Angeles High boys basketball team turned their program around.</p>
<p>After losing all but one of their 14 games the previous year, which was the first after not playing a shortened 2021 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, these young but dangerous Polar Bears squad did an about face, and adopted a relentless, fast-paced style that worked out well for them. So well in fact, they made some big-time history on Thursday at Los Angeles Harbor College.</p>
<p>POLA shook off a slow first quarter start against New Designs Watts of Los Angeles, pulled away in the second quarter, then dominated the second half all the way to a 67-39 victory over the Knights in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 5 championship game, giving the Polar Bears their first basketball title, and the tenth sports crown in school history.</p>
<p>It took a balanced effort for head coach G. Aaron Givens and company to turn back the challenge of the upset-minded, No.14-seeded Knights (10-7 overall), who built up quite the resume in knocking out the third-seed (Math & Science College Preparatory School) in the second round, and the second-seed (University Pathways Public Service Academy) in the semifinals just to make it to the title game itself in attempt to then eliminate the top-seeded Polar Bears (12-9).</p>
<p>Trailing 11-9 at the end of the first quarter, POLA's full court pressure defense began to wreck things up for New Designs Watts, as a 14-4 run spearheaded by five points apiece from junior guard Russell Carrera and sophomore guard/forward Nasir Patrick, propelled the Polar Bears to a 23-15 advantage at halftime.</p>
<p>Once the third quarter begun, the lead grew significantly when POLA's leading scorer, sophomore shooting guard Hudson Smith, finally erupted after being held scoreless in the first two quarters. It also helped when Carrera also got hot as he drilled a pair of three-pointers and scored 8 points in the quarter. Smith also buried a trifecta and scored his first six points of the contest.</p>
<p>Junior point guard Gared Almazan scored four of his 10 points in the period, which saw POLA leading 45-27 at the end of it.</p>
<p>The fourth quarter proved to be a mere formality as POLA once again outscored New Designs Watts 22-12 in the final frame (identical to the third quarter) to put the historic first hoops CIF championship at the San Pedro-based Charter high school on lockdown. Senior forward Manuel Chavez scored all six of his points in the quarter, while Smith scored eight more to finish with a team-high 14 points. Sophomore guard Ian Murakami hit the Polar Bears' last of six three-pointers on the night for the exclamation point.</p>
<p>Defensively, POLA forced 22 turnovers, while New Designs Watts imploded in the fourth quarter with three technical fouls.</p>
<p>Patrick was solid on both ends of the court for the Polar Bears, finishing with 12 points. Carreras finished with 13 points, and senior guard/forward Daniel Cervantes finished with 8 points as well. Sophomore Martavius Watson led New Designs Watts with 11 points, and senior Abraham Barcelo ended up with 8 points for the Knights.</p>
<p>This championship for POLA boys basketball makes them just the second male related sports champion in the history of the school, joining the 2014 CIF-LACS Division 3 champion baseball team. This is also the second straight sports championship for POLA that came one year after missing the playoffs, just like the previous champion, the 2019 CIF-LACS Division 4 champion girls volleyball team.</p>
<p>These Polar Bears won all four CIF-LACS Division 5 playoff games by at least eleven points as it defeated Alliance Marine-Innovation & Technology of Sun Valley (92-65), North Valley Military Institute of Sun Valley (74-44) and fifth-seeded Triumph Charter of Sylmar (56-45) before seizing the championship.</p>
<p>POLA will now await playoff pairings again, this time for the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs, which will all be announced on Sunday.</p>San Pedro High Girls Basketball Ends 37-Year League Title Waittag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2023-02-04:6389356:BlogPost:1972042023-02-04T20:42:54.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10954342056?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10954342056?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> In the case of the San Pedro High girls basketball program... about time to party like it's 1986.</p>
<p>Who would have believed that this once down-trodden program who won only one game in the 2010-2011 season rise to the very top of the Marine League considering the previous decades-long dominance of CIF-Los Angeles City Section power Narbonne of Harbor…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10954342056?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10954342056?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>In the case of the San Pedro High girls basketball program... about time to party like it's 1986.</p>
<p>Who would have believed that this once down-trodden program who won only one game in the 2010-2011 season rise to the very top of the Marine League considering the previous decades-long dominance of CIF-Los Angeles City Section power Narbonne of Harbor City along with some league title success of their rival Carson?</p>
<p>Well, this 2022-2023 edition of Lady Pirates' hoops definitely believed, and they were determined to make it a reality.</p>
<p>This past Friday was the culmination of those beliefs emphatically sealed with a convincing 61-19 victory over visiting Gardena to not only capture the outright Marine League championship for the first time in 37 years, but to also finish an unbeaten, undeterred, and undisputed 10-0 run through the league for San Pedro and fourth-year girls basketball coach Kevin Simpson.</p>
<p>For the first quarter at least, Gardena made things a little interesting, taking an early 5-2 lead before San Pedro (17-8 overall) stormed back to take a 12-7 lead at quarter's end. Once the second quarter took off, San Pedro junior forward Shaila Coleman and sophomore forward Maia Wooldridge combined to take over.</p>
<p>Coleman and Wooldridge combined to score 17 points in a 21-2 surge by the Pirates to turn what was the makings of a potential close encounter, into a breakthrough rout on senior night, storming to a 33-9 halftime lead. The advantage grew even larger when San Pedro scored the first 10 points of the third quarter before the Panthers (5-14, 2-8) finally scored to end what was a 31-2 scoring burst.</p>
<p>Defensively, the Pirates were stingy and staunch, forcing a mind-blowing 32 turnovers with a combination of tough half-court pressure and a relentless full-court trap.</p>
<p>Despite some shortcomings from the free-throw line, San Pedro still had some balanced scoring paced by Coleman's game-high 24 points. Wooldridge produced 14 points and provided great interior defense blocking five shots. Two-time returning All-City junior guard Noelani Raigans was limited to nine points (she scored 28 in the first meeting against Gardena), but still played brilliantly with seven assists and four steals. Also providing great hustle was senior power forward Aleisha Fizer who scored 8 for the Lady Pirates.</p>
<p>CIF-LACS playoff pairings will be announced later today, and it seems like San Pedro could get a pretty favorable draw in Division 2, reaching the semifinals last season.</p>
<p></p>San Pedro High Girls Soccer Wins 18th Straight League Titletag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2023-02-04:6389356:BlogPost:1970152023-02-04T20:11:39.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10954321865?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10954321865?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> Coaches and players have come and gone in the San Pedro High girls soccer program since the Marine League was reformed in the 1999-2000 season, but the end result, with the exception of one year (2005), has always remained consistently the same.</p>
<p>For the 18th consecutive season, San Pedro remains sitting on the league throne as they posted back-to-back…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10954321865?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10954321865?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>Coaches and players have come and gone in the San Pedro High girls soccer program since the Marine League was reformed in the 1999-2000 season, but the end result, with the exception of one year (2005), has always remained consistently the same.</p>
<p>For the 18th consecutive season, San Pedro remains sitting on the league throne as they posted back-to-back season ending victories over Gardena, 4-0 this past Wednesday at Mike Walsh Pirate Stadium, followed by a 4-1 triumph at rival Narbonne of Harbor City on Friday. In all, the Pirates have been solid all year long, posting a 21-2 overall record going into the upcoming CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 1 playoffs with the pairings coming up on Monday.</p>
<p>In Manuel Maciel's second year as coach, San Pedro captured their second straight Best In The West Tournament title in Montebello, while also reaching the finals of their own Lady Pirate Cup, with their only two losses coming to CIF-Southern Section powerhouses Cerritos and Wiseburn Da Vinci of El Segundo, both shutout setbacks.</p>
<p>Which means, if the Pirates' can't score, they can't win, which they have done 21 times this season.</p>
<p>So far, San Pedro's biggest wins that may benefit them down the road come playoff seeding time, have come against Granada Hills Charter and Birmingham of Lake Balboa from the West Valley League, while also defeating Eastern League champion Huntington Park, Western League runner-up Los Angeles CES, and Northern League runner-up Eagle Rock.</p>
<p>A bevy of scoring threats in San Pedro's arsenal will make them a tough out in the playoffs.</p>
<p>Freshman Leilani Phillips has been a surprise to some, but when you see her play, it won't be too much of a surprise to see that she leads San Pedro with 19 goals while also assisting on nine goals for others. Sophomore midfielder Mariyah Bumgarner, last year's Marine League Most Valuable Player, has been equally as dominant with 11 goals and six assists. Four-year senior Gracie Carrasco has provided stellar play with 10 goals and a team-leading 16 assists.</p>
<p>Another freshman, Molly Skolil (6 goals, 7 assists) has proven to be a long-ball threat on free kicks, evidenced by her two goals from over 20 yards away last Wednesday against Gardena.</p>
<p>San Pedro also received a big boost with the addition of three impact transfers from in-city neighbor Port Of Los Angeles, last year's CIF-LACS Division 3 runner-up.</p>
<p>Junior forward Bryanna Duarte has not lost a step from her 26-goal season last season for the Polar Bears, scoring 14 goals for San Pedro. Junior midfielder Naty Wehbe has scored five goals, while junior defender Kristin Walden has provided stellar defense alongside four-year senior captain Emily Robledo.</p>
<p>This team has also proven they can rise to the occasion whenever faced with adversity.</p>
<p>On the first week of school, the Pirates lost returning All-City senior midfielder Valerie Torres to a season-ending ACL tear and have battled when they lost both Phillps and Bumgarner for a while to lesser injuries. San Pedro rallied from a 2-0 deficit on the road in hostile territory before coming from behind to defeat Huntington Park on a last-minute game-winning goal from junior Nicole Castaneda (9 goals this season).</p>
<p>And not to be left out, is rising sophomore goalie Giuliana Sutrin, who has logged 1,605 minutes and made 54 saves, only allowing 17 goals to score against her. Sutrin has also shutout 13 Pirate opponents, eight of them in league play.</p>
<p>San Pedro is expected to receive a pretty high seed for the CIF-LACS Division 1 playoffs. </p>San Pedro High Girls Volleyball Is 2022 CIF-LACS D-1 Championstag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-11-05:6389356:BlogPost:1969062022-11-05T09:30:00.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10864199053?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10864199053?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> NORTHRIDGE - Redemption. </p>
<p>One year ago, San Pedro High girls volleyball reached their seventh CIF-Los Angeles City Section championship match appearance, only to get their dreams of a fifth title swept away in the Division 1 final by Sylmar.</p>
<p>The majority of the team took that defeat really hard and vowed to make it back to a championship match…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10864199053?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10864199053?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>NORTHRIDGE - Redemption. </p>
<p>One year ago, San Pedro High girls volleyball reached their seventh CIF-Los Angeles City Section championship match appearance, only to get their dreams of a fifth title swept away in the Division 1 final by Sylmar.</p>
<p>The majority of the team took that defeat really hard and vowed to make it back to a championship match with another opportunity to make it count. A determined team with 13 seniors on an experienced 19-player roster did exactly that from the opening serve of the 2022 season, all the way to returning to the CIF-LACS Division 1 title tilt. This time, they finished in an impressive way on Friday.</p>
<p>Taking on top-seeded Birmingham of Lake Balboa, who were the Division 1 champions in 2020, San Pedro shook off a tough first-set loss before delivering the reserve sweep for a 18-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-19 victory to win the CIF-LACS Division 1 championship at Cal State Northridge, avenging their bitter runner-up finish of 2021.</p>
<p>It started out with good intentions early for San Pedro (26-9 overall) with a match-opening kill from senior outside hitter Elaine Turituri coupled with a service ace from senior outside hitter Samantha Brown for an early 4-1 lead in the opening set, but the Patriots (18-14) went on a tear from there, going on a 23-14 surge to eventually win the set, grabbing the early 1-0 advantage.</p>
<p>With San Pedro trailing 8-6 in the second set, a timely block by senior middle blocker Laila Jackson started a surge that turned the match completely around for the Pirates, and it was Turituri who was the catalyst.</p>
<p>A pair of aces sandwiched in between a roll shot kill, and San Pedro took a 10-8 lead which continued to increase shortly after via a stuff block by junior setter Kalia Teofilo, a third ace from Turituri, and a viciously tooled kill off a block by senior outside hitter Jamie Roth, forcing a Birmingham timeout.</p>
<p>Teofilo's perfectly timed jump-dump down for another kill made it 14-8 before San Pedro's momentum quelled, but it wasn't stopped.</p>
<p>Two more kills and an ace from Roth, two kills from Turituri, a kill from senior opposite hitter Kaitlyn Duron and another block from Jackson got San Pedro into their first set point opportunity, which they cashed in on with Jackson's overpass kill to even the match at one victory apiece. </p>
<p>San Pedro bolted to an early 6-2 lead in the third set before Birmingham stormed back to briefly lead 7-6. A service error tied the score at 7, and the Pirates went back to work with another furious scoring rally.</p>
<p>Turituri again mounted an all-out assault with another pair of kills coupled with a second successful jumping dump down from Teofilo and yet another Jackson rejection for an 11-7 lead to force a Patriot timeout, then San Pedro just kept on coming, piling up a 21-12 advantage before Jackson's incredible fifth block of the match on set point provided the Pirates the all-important 2-1 edge.</p>
<p>Roth's thunderous kill to open off the fourth set got the Pirates off to a rousing start with the championship within reach, but they once again had to hold off the determined Patriots down the stretch. Trailing 5-2 early, it was the serving of Brown coupled with two kills and a block from junior middle blocker Sofie Valle that willed San Pedro into a 13-7 lead.</p>
<p>From that point on, the Pirates never trailed again as the combined efforts of Roth, Turituri and Duron propelled the team into the proverbial finish line. On match point, Birmingham's last attack to try to keep the match going, just sailed out at center court, and San Pedro began celebrating their hard-earned championship win with unbridled joy in their hearts. </p>
<p>Consider this as 'the redeem season'.</p>
<p>Turituri ended the night with 12 kills, 6 digs and five aces, while Roth also was spectacular with 11 kills,3 digs and 2 blocks. Jackson had a pair of kills and five blocks. Teofilo had three kills, two blocks, 19 assists and an ace, while senior libero Kennedy Kordic added an ace, 23 digs and 12 serve receptions. Duron had 4 kills and 7 digs, while Brown and senior setter Alyssa Estrada's serving was pivotal in San Pedro's run to the Division 1 championship. </p>
<p>It was a victory that was a microcosm of San Pedro putting forth their own expectations and exceeding them all.</p>
<p>Winning a third straight Marine League championship was one of those goals, winning nine straight league matches all by virtue of three-set sweeps, while in tournaments, San Pedro defeated an unprecedented four defending CIF-LACS champions from the 2021 season (Sylmar - Division 1, Eagle Rock - Division 2, North Hollywood - Division 3, GALA - Division 4) to strengthen their resume </p>
<p>In postseason play, the third-seeded Pirates eliminated Garfield of Los Angeles, league rival Carson and second-seeded Marshall of Los Angeles before overcoming the top-seeded Patriots in the title tilt.</p>
<p>Head coach Sean Zuvich, a San Pedro alumnus, won his 99th career match in five coaching seasons, with the first two coaching at nearby Mary Star Of The Sea High School, winning league championships in the last four of those years combined.</p>San Pedro High Football Clinches Perfect 2022 Regular Seasontag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-10-29:6389356:BlogPost:1968012022-10-29T19:00:00.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10857829066?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10857829066?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="350"></img></a> WILMINGTON - There has been plenty of incredible memories in this century-old Battle Of The Harbor football rivalry between San Pedro and Banning of Wilmington High that dates back to their first meeting all the way back in 1921.</p>
<p>Just over a full century later, came the biggest battle of all.</p>
<p>The Pirates and Pilots both came in with equal 3-0…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10857829066?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10857829066?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="350" class="align-left"/></a>WILMINGTON - There has been plenty of incredible memories in this century-old Battle Of The Harbor football rivalry between San Pedro and Banning of Wilmington High that dates back to their first meeting all the way back in 1921.</p>
<p>Just over a full century later, came the biggest battle of all.</p>
<p>The Pirates and Pilots both came in with equal 3-0 Marine League records, relatively breezing through league play before finally meeting in a highly anticipated showdown pitting the No.1 and No.2 teams in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section according to the CalPreps rankings, just like last year's battle, which the Pilots won, 48-41 at Mike Walsh Pirate Stadium in a high scoring war.</p>
<p>On this Friday night, home field advantage was switched... and so did the bragging rights in the Harbor Area once again.</p>
<p>Relying on a stingy defensive effort, and the familiar Pound-N-Ground rugged offensive style, visiting San Pedro emerged victorious with a 14-7 triumph over Banning to cap off a perfect regular season for only the third time in program history, finishing as outright and undisputed Marine League champions.</p>
<p>Few can say they can go into a postseason without a loss for the first time as coach, but San Pedro's Corey Walsh joins that elite 'few' companies of first-year head coaches that can stake that claim. Walsh also did it with one of the gutsiest decisions of the game, and maybe the entire season.</p>
<p>With 4:37 left in the fourth quarter and the Pirates clinging to the lead with a 3rd & 9 situation, Walsh called upon junior 5'8'' defensive lineman Juan Reyes to make a play with the Pilots' last attempt to even the score.</p>
<p>Reyes made Walsh look like a pure genius, sacking Banning sophomore quarterback Robert Guerrero to force a punt.</p>
<p>From there, the combination of nine runs by junior quarterback Santiago Rivera and sophomore tailback Pete Eneliko was enough to churn out yardage for three first downs, with Eneliko's 13-yard run on the game's final play sealing the deal, and giving Walsh the obligatory, unavoidable Gatorade bath.</p>
<p>After a scoreless first quarter, San Pedro drew first blood on a four-yard touchdown run by senior FB/LB Makani Konopka for a 7-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter. The defense made it stand for the remainder of the half, forcing a missed 27-yard field goal attempt, and on the Pilots' final play in the closing seconds of the half, junior WR/DB Luka Mardesich makes a crucial interception of a Guerrero pass.</p>
<p>Despite not scoring in the final 15 seconds, the Pirates maintained the one-score advantage until three minutes remained in the third quarter when Guerrero found Elijah Nuhi-Yandall for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7, ending an impressive 13-play, 99-yard drive.</p>
<p>Mardesich returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards to the Banning 48-yard line, and that's when the march to regaining the lead began for San Pedro.</p>
<p>On the third play of the eventual go-ahead drive, sophomore quarterback Marcus Jeronymo, part of Walsh's two-quarterback tag team combo, found sophomore TE/LB Dylan Rubino for a 16-yard pass, with Rubino dragging Pilot defenders along with him for a crucial first-down. San Pedro then stared at a fourth-and-six from the Banning 32 on the seventh play of the possesion. Rivera makes a gutsy pass on the run, throwing off his back foot to Mardesich for an 19-yard game.</p>
<p>Immediately on the next play, Rivera runs for a 13-yard touchdown off a quarterback draw to put the Pirates on top for good with 10:37 to play in the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>San Pedro's defense, who has yet to allow 20 points in a game all season, stepped up to the challenge on Banning's next possession, forcing a three-and-out on a tackle for loss by senior linebacker Miguel Castellon. Despite punting on their next offensive series, the Pirates' forced another punt thanks to Reyes' clutch sack.</p>
<p>This victory put San Pedro ahead once again in the all-time Battle Of The Harbor series, 42-41-3 despite playing without two key players, senior running back Roman Sanchez and senior WR/DB Laron Tunupopo.</p>
<p>Both are expected to return for the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division playoffs which begins on Friday, November 11. Pairings will be announced today at 4 pm. San Pedro is expected to receive the overall top seed of the division.</p>Mary Star High Football Dominates Early, Wins 2022 Openertag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-08-20:6389356:BlogPost:1960122022-08-20T23:20:13.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10779500065?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10779500065?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200"></img></a> A strong first impression has engulfed the minds of those who came down Taper Avenue to Mary Star Of The Sea High School on Friday for the first football game of the 2022 season.</p>
<p>Taking the opening possession in stride and never losing their poise, Mary Star stormed to an early three-touchdown advantage while the defense made all the right plays in…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10779500065?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10779500065?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200" class="align-left"/></a>A strong first impression has engulfed the minds of those who came down Taper Avenue to Mary Star Of The Sea High School on Friday for the first football game of the 2022 season.</p>
<p>Taking the opening possession in stride and never losing their poise, Mary Star stormed to an early three-touchdown advantage while the defense made all the right plays in defeating visiting Viewpoint of Calabasas, 35-7 for their first victory under new coach Eli Anzoleaga.</p>
<p>The pro-style, and sometimes pistol offensive attack proved to fit junior quarterback Tony Gutierrez like a hand in glove.</p>
<p>On the first possession of the game, Gutierrez orchestrated a 10-play, 62-yard drive that consumed nearly the first five minutes of action, ending with his four-yard touchdown pass to senior WR/DB/K Cooper DiLeva for a 7-0 Stars lead with 7:02 to play in the first quarter.</p>
<p>Mary Star's defense promptly forced a three-and-out, putting Gutierrez back to work, and he only needed four plays to produce another reservation for six as he delivered a curl route strike to senior WR/DB Vincent Guerrero, who then did all the rest as he outraced the Patriots' defense down the near sideline in front of his teammates who cheered him all the way to the end zone.</p>
<p>Guerrero's 52-yard touchdown sprint proved to be an early backbreaker with 3:39 left in the opening quarter.</p>
<p>Yet, Mary Star (1-0) was far from finished.</p>
<p>After forcing another punt, Gutierrez's 18-yard screen pass to sophomore WR/DB Jarren David put the Stars' up 21-0 with 1:29 remaining, then a jarring sack by senior linebacker Armando Patino on the final play put the perfect capper to a dominant first quarter for Mary Star.</p>
<p>Viewpoint (0-1) was able to score in the second quarter taking advantage of a fumble by Mary Star sophomore TE/LB Daniel Avila on a first-down pass completion, but the defense remained airtight in keeping the Stars ahead 21-7 by halftime.</p>
<p>Once the third quarter began, a big hit from Guerrero caused a fumble, allowing senior RB/LB Jaimen David to pounce on the loose ball. The Stars were quick to capitalize and score on a four-yard run by senior RB/LB Tyrese Mingle and increase their advantage to 28-7 with 5:04 to play.</p>
<p>Gutierrez added one more to a spectacular opening afternoon by scoring on a one-yard keeper with 9:05 remaining in the fourth quarter for the final touchdown of the game,</p>
<p>For the day, Gutierrez accounted for four of the Stars' touchdowns, and Guerrero caught six passes for 107 yards, while also forcing a fumble and breaking up a couple of passes defensively. Junior RB/LB Sebastian Espindola also added a sack in the fourth quarter for the Stars, who will next host Crean Lutheran of Irvine next Friday.</p>
<p></p>
<p>(Note: Photo credit courtesy of Miguel Elliot)</p>San Pedro High Football Wins Their 2022 Season Openertag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-08-20:6389356:BlogPost:1962112022-08-20T22:42:14.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10779482101?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10779482101?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200"></img></a> A new era once again has begun at San Pedro High football.</p>
<p>In its first year under new head coach Corey Walsh, the Pirates were able to overcome a shaky second quarter and a slew of mind-numbing 15-yard penalties to defeat visiting St. Anthony, 33-14 in their intersectional season opener Friday at Mike Walsh Pirate Stadium.</p>
<p>San Pedro (1-0),…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10779482101?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10779482101?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200" class="align-left"/></a>A new era once again has begun at San Pedro High football.</p>
<p>In its first year under new head coach Corey Walsh, the Pirates were able to overcome a shaky second quarter and a slew of mind-numbing 15-yard penalties to defeat visiting St. Anthony, 33-14 in their intersectional season opener Friday at Mike Walsh Pirate Stadium.</p>
<p>San Pedro (1-0), fresh off last year's run to the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division finals, started off strong on the heels of its defense.</p>
<p>Senior linebacker Makani Konopka made a crucial tackle from behind on a fourth-and-one play which was just short of the marker, forcing a Saints turnover on downs. Five plays and 46 yards later, San Pedro took a 6-0 lead on a nine-yard touchdown run from senior running back Roman Sanchez with 6:50 to play in the first quarter.</p>
<p>The defense once again made another crucial play when senior WR/FS Laron Tunupopo intercepted a deep pass over the middle and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown nearly one minute later for a 12-0 San Pedro edge, and the score remained that way at quarter's end.</p>
<p>In the second quarter, the Saints pushed back and scored twice with goal line touchdown runs by Elijah Lolesio-Pua sandwiched in between Sanchez's second touchdown run of four yards coming with 7:35 to play in the second quarter.</p>
<p>San Pedro took a 19-14 lead into halftime and opened off the third quarter engineering an eight-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with Sanchez's third rushing score of the night, another four-yard scamper into the end zone, for a 26-14 lead coming with 8:48 to play in the third quarter.</p>
<p>Despite a couple of penalties that wiped out two more touchdown runs for Sanchez of 61 & 21 yards, the defense remained firm in keeping the Saints (0-1) out of the end zone for the entire second half, as the secondary picked off two more passes, with senior WR/CB Jeremiah Robinson coming up with a clutch interception at the goal line. The Pirates then scored the game's final touchdown with Tunupopo catching an eight-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Marcus Jeronymo with 52 seconds remaining.</p>
<p>Junior WR/DB Luka Mardesich intercepted a pass on the final play of the third quarter, and the defense forced another Saints turnover on downs midway through the fourth quarter to preserve the win.</p>
<p>This game was a rematch of last year's opener, where the Pirates dominated the Saints, 42-0 at St. Pius X/St. Matthias Academy in Downey. However, the Saints and their head coach Raul Lara made a strong case for themselves that they're off to another wonderful season competing in the CIF-Southern Section.</p>
<p>Sanchez ran for 144 yards on 20 carries to power San Pedro, who will next host South Gate next Friday. The Rams won their opener, 33-20 over Dorsey of Los Angeles.</p>
<p></p>
<p>(Note: Photo credit is courtesy of Miguel Elliot)</p>Mary Star High School Football 2022 Season Previewtag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-08-12:6389356:BlogPost:1963152022-08-12T18:32:41.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10764513674?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10764513674?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250"></img></a> The 2022 prep football season will bring another level of change to the Mary Star Of The Sea High School football program, but they’ve been used to it for nearly a decade.</p>
<p>In the past seven years the Stars were coached by Jason Gelber, who is now at CIF-Southern Section power Servite of Anaheim as an assistant, Mary Star went through five different…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10764513674?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10764513674?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>The 2022 prep football season will bring another level of change to the Mary Star Of The Sea High School football program, but they’ve been used to it for nearly a decade.</p>
<p>In the past seven years the Stars were coached by Jason Gelber, who is now at CIF-Southern Section power Servite of Anaheim as an assistant, Mary Star went through five different styles of offense, reaching the postseason four times. Now, another new change for the new season comes with a new leader in first-year coach Eli Anzoleaga.</p>
<p>And right on cue, Anzoleaga brings in yet another change in offensive scheme, a scheme the Stars are familiar with, an old school brand of attack.</p>
<p>“This season we are bringing a Pro-style offense,” Anzoleaga, who also goes by ‘Coach AZ’, says of the 2022 Stars. “This will compliment our size and skills. We are very young, but hungry for success. We know that the road ahead will have its ups and downs, and we look forward for what the future has in store for us.”</p>
<p>A tried-and-true method that hopes to serve these Stars well amidst another tough schedule, as they look to improve off a dismal 3-7 campaign in 2021, including losing all four Del Rey League games.</p>
<p>Now back in the Camino Real League, Mary Star renews its rivalry with Bishop Montgomery of Torrance on September 30 when the Stars visit the Knights. Other CRL encounters includes battles with Cantwell Sacred Heart of Montebello and Verbum Dei of Los Angeles. The Stars also have notable nonleague encounters with El Segundo, St. Monica of Santa Monica and defending Del Rey League champion Salesian of Los Angeles as well.</p>
<p>As far as returning players to watch goes, Mary Star has plenty of talent to lean on.</p>
<p>Both quarterbacks return, but Tony Gutierrez assumes the role of starter this season. Fellow junior signal caller Santiago Martinez who was the first-string quarterback last year, is now converted over to start at wide receiver.</p>
<p>Martinez will also be flanked alongside senior WR/DB Vincent Guerrero, a returning all-league selection who is a definite playmaker on both sides of the field for Mary Star. Budding sophomore RB/DB Jaimen David will also provide valuable contributions.</p>
<p>The offensive line will be tried by fire this season sporting three sophomore starters in Max Marinkovich, 6’4’’, 255-pound tackle Frankie Rivera and Koa DiBernardo. Two more sophomores who are looking to do big things for Mary Star are WR/DB Jarren David and WR/DB Luke Fajardo.</p>
<p>If there’s one name on the Stars’ roster that truly rings a bell, it’s sophomore RB/LB Jordan Barber, who’s the youngest son of Ron Barber II who starred at Banning of Wilmington, and the grandson of former San Pedro High star Ron Barber Sr.</p>
<p>Mary Star officially opens the 2022 season, their second full season with their recently updated on-campus field now with a brand-new press box, on Friday, August 19 at home against Viewpoint.</p>
<p></p>
<p>(Note: Photo courtesy of Miguel Elliot)</p>
<p></p>
<p>MARY STAR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL</p>
<p>2022 SEASON SCHEDULE</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>FRI. 8/19 vs. VIEWPOINT (3:30 pm)</strong></p>
<p><strong>FRI. 8/26 vs. CREAN LUTHERAN (3:30 pm)</strong></p>
<p>FRI. 9/2 @ El Segundo (7 pm)</p>
<p>SAT. 9/10 @ Riverside Prep (7 pm)</p>
<p>SAT. 9/17 @ St. Monica (7 pm)</p>
<p><strong>FRI. 9/23 vs. BOSCO TECH (3:30 pm)</strong></p>
<p>FRI. 9/30 @ Bishop Montgomery (7 pm)</p>
<p><strong>FRI. 10/7 vs. CANTWELL SACRED HEART (7 pm)</strong></p>
<p><strong>FRI. 10/21 vs. VERBUM DEI (7 pm)</strong></p>
<p>FRI. 10/28 @ Salesian (7 pm)</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>San Pedro High School Football 2022 Season Previewtag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-08-12:6389356:BlogPost:1963132022-08-12T18:21:48.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10764510061?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10764510061?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250"></img></a> It’s time to strap on the pads again.</p>
<p>The 2022 high school football season is here, and San Pedro High can’t even be more excited for it.</p>
<p>Coming up one victory short of the program’s seventh CIF-Los Angeles City Section championship when it lost 24-14 to defending champion Birmingham of Lake Balboa in the Open Division final last November, the…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10764510061?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10764510061?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>It’s time to strap on the pads again.</p>
<p>The 2022 high school football season is here, and San Pedro High can’t even be more excited for it.</p>
<p>Coming up one victory short of the program’s seventh CIF-Los Angeles City Section championship when it lost 24-14 to defending champion Birmingham of Lake Balboa in the Open Division final last November, the Pirates finished 10-2 after setting team passing records and touchdowns in a single season.</p>
<p>2021 also marked the end of the six-year coaching regime of Corey Miller, who chose to step down at season’s end.</p>
<p>A new era is upon San Pedro for 2022, as their season opener against St. Anthony of Long Beach at Mike Walsh Pirate Stadium on Friday, August 19 will start a new coaching realm of former Pirate player Corey Walsh, who is the son of former legendary Pirate coach Mike Walsh.</p>
<p>The energetic Walsh inherits a team that loses much of its offensive firepower from the 2021 team, but still returns several key players on both sides of the gridiron, and adds some young talent from the junior varsity team that went 6-1 last season. All of that was on display during their scrimmage this past Thursday (August 11) at Fairfax of Los Angeles.</p>
<p>San Pedro’s most heralded player coming into this season is senior 6’4’’, 255-pound tight end & defensive end Nicholas Fernandez, who has garnered 16 Division 1 scholarship offers, including two from the Pac-12, two Armed Forces offers (Army & Air Force), and three Ivy League offers.</p>
<p>Trying to fill the shoes of the graduated Aidan Jackson at quarterback, will be a tag team approach with junior Santiago Rivera, a transfer from Wilson of Los Angeles, and sophomore Marcus Jeronimo, who quarterbacked the JV team last season. Both combined to throw for three touchdowns in the scrimmage with Fairfax.</p>
<p>Jeronimo & Rivera will orchestrate a balanced offensive attack that returns Fernandez and senior running back Roman Sanchez, who will also handle punting duties. Several new offensive stalwarts enter the scene like sophomore WR/FS Luka Mardesich, junior WR/CB Robert Marnani, senior WR/DB Laron Tunupopo, & sophomore RB/LB Pete Eneliko.</p>
<p>Defensively, the Pirates were very stingy in 2021 apart from a Marine League opening 48-41 loss to eventual league champion Banning of Wilmington, pitching six shutouts, three of them against the other league adversaries.</p>
<p>Many of the top defensive studs are back, including senior linebacker Makani Konopka, an All-Marine League returner, and senior defensive end Jerry Witty, a CIF-LACS champion wrestler who led the Pirates in sacks last season. Those two along with Fernandez will anchor the defense as the secondary will have all new starters which includes Marnani and senior Matthew Lecona, who also plays wideout.</p>
<p>Both lines are among the biggest in the City Section, and the offensive line in particular, is expected to move opposing defenses back and produce critical yardage for the Pirates. All returning on the offensive line are Andrew Kirkpatrick, Aiden Acap, Jeremiah Gasca and Josiah Vargas, all seniors.</p>
<p>Other than St. Anthony, the Pirates’ 2022 schedule also has intriguing battles outside of Marine League competition, with the most critical one being on Thursday, September 1 at Mike Walsh Pirate Stadium against Venice, who won the CIF-LACS Division 1 title last season. Also, the Pirates have City Section showdowns with South Gate (August 26) & Dorsey of Los Angeles (September 16) plus another intersectional battle on the road at Torrance on September 9.</p>
<p>The annual Battle Of The Harbor showdown at Banning on October 28, if all goes well for both schools, just might be for the Marine League championship, adding to the drama of the rivalry.</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>SAN PEDRO HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL</strong></p>
<p><strong>2022 SEASON SCHEDULE</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>FRI. 8/19 vs. ST. ANTHONY (7 pm)</strong></p>
<p><strong>FRI. 8/26 vs. SOUTH GATE (7:30 pm)</strong></p>
<p><strong>THU. 9/1 vs. VENICE (7:30 pm)</strong></p>
<p>FRI 9/9 @ Torrance (7 pm)</p>
<p>FRI 9/16 @ Dorsey (7:30 pm)</p>
<p><strong>FRI 9/23 vs. DYMALLY (7:30 pm)</strong></p>
<p><strong>FRI. 10/7 vs. GARDENA (7:30 pm)</strong></p>
<p>FRI 10/14 @ Carson (7:30 pm)</p>
<p><strong>FRI 10/21 vs. NARBONNE (7:30 pm)</strong></p>
<p>FRI 10/28 @ Banning (7:30 pm)</p>San Pedro High Boys Swimming Is 2022 CIF-LACS Championstag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-06-21:6389356:BlogPost:1956592022-06-21T01:36:56.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584558454?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584558454?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250"></img></a> In 1926, the San Pedro High School boys swimming program was born.</p>
<p>Ninety-six years later on Saturday, May 8 at Los Angeles Valley College, the Pirates finally captured their first CIF-Los Angeles City Section championship in that sport, as they scored a team-high 392 points to outdistance themselves from runner-up Granada Hills Charter (273),…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584558454?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584558454?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>In 1926, the San Pedro High School boys swimming program was born.</p>
<p>Ninety-six years later on Saturday, May 8 at Los Angeles Valley College, the Pirates finally captured their first CIF-Los Angeles City Section championship in that sport, as they scored a team-high 392 points to outdistance themselves from runner-up Granada Hills Charter (273), Cleveland Charter (265_ and perennial power Palisades Charter (259).</p>
<p>"This marks history," San Pedro junior captain Willie Hatch III says. "The way how our team faced adversity and persevered maid hosting up that trophy such an amazing feeling."</p>
<p>This latest title in San Pedro High history makes it 62 total sports CIF-LACS championships at the third oldest school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, following up the baseball team's historic run to San Pedro's first Open Division sports crown one year ago.</p>
<p>"I feel ecstatic about this win," San Pedro swimming coach Sharon Frazier said. "This was a huge victory for our program."</p>
<p>This was also a huge breakthrough for the school after football and girls volleyball both reached CIF-LACS finals in the Fall of 2021, only to come up short as runners-up.</p>
<p>The key moment in the finals meet was the winning 200 freestyle relay team race when senior Joshua Jones, followed by the junior trio of Hatch, Max Sorich and Nick Jones stroked their way to a winning time of 1:28.1 (dropping nearly three seconds) to break their previous school record.</p>
<p>"This victory will help us promote the San Pedro High School swim team," Frazier says. "This is also an enormous win for the school (sports program) as a whole. This highlights yet another positive aspect of this wonderful community-based school."</p>
<p>The girls swimming team finished fourth in the CIF-LACS finals meet as Palisades Charter took home the girls CIF-LACS championship.</p>
<p>Hatch, Sorich, Nick Jones, senior captain Finley Kircher and senior girls captain Cate Russo represented the Pirates in the CIF State Meet on May 13-14, a d while there, the boys' quarter of Hatch, Kircher, Sorich and Nick Jones once again broke a pair of school records in the 200 and 400 relays.</p>
<p>According to Frazier, the team's success is built upon numerous factors.</p>
<p>"Most of these boys have been swimming together since they were in elementary school," Frazier says. "All these years, they have been working hard, both in the pool and outside the pool. The boys varsity swim team at San Pedro High School also has the highest grade point average of all of the spring sports in the Los Angeles Unified (School District."</p>
<p>Frazier continues: "We also have amazing parental and community support. All these factors put together made us a championship team."</p>The 2022 All-San Pedro News Pilot Prep Softball Teamtag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-06-21:6389356:BlogPost:1959542022-06-21T01:00:00.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584482260?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584482260?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250"></img></a> 2022 was an unpredictable year in the world of San Pedro Prep Softball.</p>
<p>San Pedro, Port Of Los Angeles and Mary Star Of The Sea High Schools all came in relatively young, fresh and full of potential, eager to show their opposition what they were capable of. All three schools combined to have just eight seniors on their respective rosters, while the…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584482260?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584482260?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>2022 was an unpredictable year in the world of San Pedro Prep Softball.</p>
<p>San Pedro, Port Of Los Angeles and Mary Star Of The Sea High Schools all came in relatively young, fresh and full of potential, eager to show their opposition what they were capable of. All three schools combined to have just eight seniors on their respective rosters, while the Pirates and Polar Bears, the two youngest, both started multiple freshmen in their lineups.</p>
<p>It's kind of ironic that both San Pedro and POLA were the two schools that also not only won either a share of or an outright league championship, both their seasons ended in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section semifinals, falling short against the eventual Open Division (El Camino Real) and Division 2 (Garfield) champions in the process.</p>
<p>Behind second-year coach Leanna Flores, the Pirates (13-9) overcame a ragged first half of the season, and the adjustment of playing their home games at the John M. & Muriel Olguin Campus for the first time, to repeat as Marine League champions, finishing in a three-way tie for first with fellow rivals Banning of Wilmington and Carson with an 8-2 mark. The Pirates staked claim to being the team to watch for 2023 by virtue of their Open Division quarterfinal win over the Pilots.</p>
<p>Don't sleep on the Polar Bears (13-3) in 2023 either.</p>
<p>For the first time since 2018, POLA is back on top of the Coliseum League as champions and will return all but one player for next season, with a couple new freshmen who could make an impact for third-year coach Danielle Martinez. Reaching the Division 2 semifinals after consecutive run rule wins over Marquez of Huntington Park and Wilson of Los Angeles gives the Polar Bears' plenty of incentive to build up for a longer run.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Mary Star (11-13) missed the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 playoffs due to their 2-6 record in the cutthroat Del Rey League, but they too will return plenty of talent for 2023.</p>
<p>As unpredictable as the 2022 season was all around town, the choice for the 2022 San Pedro News Pilot Prep Softball Player Of The Year was even more unpredictable.</p>
<p><span>San Pedro freshman catcher Brianna Rodela made quite an impact by simply going out there and competing to the best of her abilities, and was able to do that and more.</span></p>
<p><span>The All-City Open Division & All-Marine League first team selection was rock solid behind the dish, with 131 putouts in 139 total chances only committing one error, erasing seven would-be base stealers and also helping turn a double play. Rodela also led the Pirates with a .418 batting average and 29 hits (3 doubles, 26 singles) with 11 RBI, proving to be pretty nimble and speedy for a catcher with four bunt singles.</span></p>
<p><span>In just ten games of action, POLA junior outfielder Mikalah Nitta converted over from catcher to post an incredible hitting year, batting .613 with five home runs, 18 RBI, 19 hits and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, 19 putouts in 19 chances with zero errors to be named an All-City Division 2 & Coliseum League first team selection along with being named the SPNP Prep Softball Co-Most Outstanding Player with Mary Star junior Fa'tele Jennings.</span></p>
<p><span>In only one month of action, Jennings made tremendous strides in her first year after transferring from St. Anthony of Long Beach, hitting a home run in her very first at-bat, ending with three homers on the season for the Stars while covering a lot of ground at her center field position, showing great range on line drives.</span></p>
<p><span>Other notables: POLA freshman pitcher Isabella Cardona went 10-3 in the circle for the Polar Bears to be named the Coliseum League Pitcher Of The Year. The San Pedro senior duo of outfielder Lexi 'LuLu' Deleon (.381 BA, 1 HR, 17 RBI) and Brianna Ventura (.300 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBI) were named as All-City Open Division selections along with Rodela. DeLeon will be playing in the Fall at William Penn University, while Mary Star senior utility stud Anissa Vital will be playing at Chaminade (Hawaii) University. San Pedro senior P/OF Vanessa Reed will be playing at Alfred University in New York.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p>(Note: Rodela photo courtesy of Ari Ramirez)</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>ALL-SAN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PREP SOFTBALL 2021</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>INFIELDERS</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Madison Fao, San Pedro, soph.</div>
<div dir="auto">Camilla Garcia, POLA, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Jasmine Garcia, POLA, soph.</div>
<div dir="auto">Janelle Vega, Mary Star, soph.</div>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>OUTFIELDERS</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Lexi DeLeon, San Pedro, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Nalani Cervantes, POLA, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Alaina Velardez, Mary Star, soph.</div>
<div dir="auto">Izabella Chavez, San Pedro, INF/OF, jr.</div>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>CATCHERS</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Neveah Randall, POLA, fr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Ella Lane, Mary Star, sr.</div>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>PITCHERS</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Isabella Cardona, POLA, fr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Lilly Gonzalez, San Pedro, soph.</div>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>UTILITY</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Anissa Vital, Mary Star, P/INF, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Brianna Ventura, San Pedro, INF/P, sr.</div>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>PLAYER OF THE YEAR</strong></p>
<div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">Brianna Rodela, San Pedro, C, fr.</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
</div>
<div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><strong>CO-MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYERS</strong></div>
<div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">Mikalah Nitta, POLA, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Fa’tele Jennings, Mary Star, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
<div dir="auto"><strong>MOST IMPROVED PLAYER</strong></div>
<div dir="auto"><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">Marissa Markel, San Pedro, INF/OF, jr.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p></p>
<p><strong>FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR</strong></p>
<div><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc dati1w0a e5nlhep0" id="jsc_c_9f"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d"><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">Katie Borges, San Pedro, INF</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>SAN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PAST PREP SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR</strong></span><br/> <span class="font-size-2"><strong>2012:</strong> Marina Vitalich, Mary Star</span><br/> <span class="font-size-2"><strong>2013:</strong> Marina Vitalich, Mary Star; Nicolle Miranda & Allison Bayer, Port Of Los Angeles</span><br/> <span class="font-size-2"><strong>2014:</strong> Marina Vitalich, Mary Star</span><br/> <span class="font-size-2"><strong>2015:</strong> Marina Vitalich, Mary Star & Nicolle Miranda, Port Of Los Angeles</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>2016:</strong> Analise De La Roca, Port Of Los Angeles</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>2017:</strong> Analise De La Roca, Port Of Los Angeles & Andrea Cline, San Pedro</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>2018:</strong> Briana Velazquez, San Pedro & Alessandra Samperio, Mary Star</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>2019:</strong><span> </span>Ashley Rico (Player) & Alessandra Samperio (Pitcher), Mary Star</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>2020:</strong> Briana Velazquez, San Pedro & Alessandra Samperio, Mary Star</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>2021:</strong> Sierra Sandoval, San Pedro</span></p>The 2022 All-San Pedro News Pilot Prep Baseball Teamtag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-06-21:6389356:BlogPost:1959522022-06-21T00:29:41.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584404868?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584404868?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250"></img></a> The 2022 San Pedro Prep Baseball season was the first fully felt-like-a-season kind of year.</p>
<p>For the first time since the pandemic, San Pedro, Port Of Los Angeles and Mary Star Of The Sea High Schools could finally participate in tournaments where they could play against other schools outside of their own respective CIF sections.</p>
<p>San Pedro…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584404868?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10584404868?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>The 2022 San Pedro Prep Baseball season was the first fully felt-like-a-season kind of year.</p>
<p>For the first time since the pandemic, San Pedro, Port Of Los Angeles and Mary Star Of The Sea High Schools could finally participate in tournaments where they could play against other schools outside of their own respective CIF sections.</p>
<p>San Pedro (19-9 overall) was fresh off winning the 2021 CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division championship and fourth straight Marine League title, but their quest to repeat as championships for both under first-year coach Nick Lusic was denied in the quarterfinals by the eventual runner-up Birmingham of Lake Balboa on May 20, and finishing second in league by one game to new champion Carson.</p>
<p>Mary Star (15-10) also finshed one game out of first place in the Camino Real League behind first place Salesian, and was eliminated in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division IV playoffs by Sergestrom of Santa Ana.</p>
<p>Port Of Los Angeles (6-8) finished fourth in the Coliseum League under first-year coach Hector Lopez, splitting their ten games, before their season ended with a CIF-LACS Division 2 first round loss to Arleta.</p>
<p>Despite the playoff misfortune, San Pedro senior pitcher Zack Geiss, bound for Cal State Dominguez Hills, still had a marvelous season. Following up his dynamic 2021 season where he was named the CIF-LACS Open Division Co-Pitcher Of The Year, <span>Geiss, the All-Marine League & All-City Open Division selection was stout in the big games with a perfect 5-0 record on the mound in Marine League play while overall going 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 56 strikeouts for the Pirates.</span></p>
<p><span>Meanwhile, Mary Star senior utility star Isaac Vega was sensational all-around, being named the 2022 Camino Real League Most Valuable Player. Vega hit .456 for the Stars with four home runs, 3-0 RBIs and 16 stolen bases offensively, while also going 8-3 on the mound with a 1.67 ERA.</span></p>
<p>Vega & Geiss (dual photo courtesy of Miguel Elliot) take home the honor of both being named the 2022 San Pedro News Pilot Prep Baseball Players Of The Year.</p>
<p>Other notables: All-Marine League first team junior catcher Giovanni Crow hit a blistering ,448 with 58 hits, five home runs and 32 RBIs for the Pirates. Most Outstanding Player and senior infielder Matt Borges was also outstanding for the Pirates with a .361 batting average, 30 hits and 10 RBI. POLA junior utility star Ryo Ose had the highest batting average in town at a staggering .700 clip (28 hits in 40 at-bats), with a home run, 5 doubles, 5 triples and 14 RBIs, scoring 26 runs.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>ALL-SAN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PREP BASEBALL 2022</strong></p>
<p><strong>INFIELDERS</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Gil Solis, San Pedro, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Ryan Bobich, Mary Star, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Seth Russell, POLA, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Gerry Buscemi, Mary Star, sr.</div>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>OUTFIELDERS</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Aiden Reynolds, Mary Star, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Ryo Ose, POLA, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Xzavier Bumgarner, San Pedro, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Joaquin Guerrero, POLA, fr.</div>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>CATCHERS</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Giovanni Crow, San Pedro, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Brody Cuellar, Mary Star, soph.</div>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>PITCHERS</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Ty Lukin, Mary Star, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Jesse Ferreira, San Pedro, sr.</div>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>UTILITY</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Anthony Garcia, POLA, 3B/C, fr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Richard Paura, Mary Star, INF/P, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
<p><strong>CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR</strong></p>
<div dir="auto">Zack Geiss, San Pedro, P/INF, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">Isaac Vega, Mary Star, SS/P/C, sr.</div>
<p> </p>
<p><b>MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER</b></p>
<p>Matt Borges (San Pedro, INF/P, sr.)</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>SAN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PAST PREP BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR</strong></p>
<p><strong>2012:</strong><span> </span>Blake Mendoza, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2013:</strong><span> </span>Richard Samudio, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2014:</strong><span> </span>Augie Encinas, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2015:</strong><span> </span>Derrick Edwards, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2016:</strong><span> </span>Fernando Rivas, Port Of Los Angeles</p>
<p><strong>2017:</strong><span> </span>Isaiah Bumgarner, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2018:</strong><span> </span>Travis Connelly, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2019:</strong><span> Joshua Duarte (Player) & </span>Travis Connelly, San Pedro (Pitcher)</p>
<p><strong>2020:</strong><span> </span>Travis Connelly, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2021:</strong> Dylan Kordic, San Pedro</p>San Pedro High Softball Pulls Away & Advances In CIF-LACS Open Quarterstag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-05-12:6389356:BlogPost:1957282022-05-12T05:00:00.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10480997266?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10480997266?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200"></img></a> Familiarity breeds contempt... that's what that old saying goes.</p>
<p>However, whenever San Pedro High softball hooks it up with Harbor Area neighbor Banning of Wilmington in a CIF-Los Angeles City Section playoff game, familiarity rears its ugly head in the worst possible way for the Pilots.</p>
<p>For the first time ever, San Pedro, Banning and fellow…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10480997266?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10480997266?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200" class="align-left"/></a>Familiarity breeds contempt... that's what that old saying goes.</p>
<p>However, whenever San Pedro High softball hooks it up with Harbor Area neighbor Banning of Wilmington in a CIF-Los Angeles City Section playoff game, familiarity rears its ugly head in the worst possible way for the Pilots.</p>
<p>For the first time ever, San Pedro, Banning and fellow Marine League power Carson, all shared the league championship in a three-way tie, with the home team winning each time whenever these three hooked up in their six combined battles.</p>
<p>The home team once again prevailed as the Pirates turned the makings of another classic game and dropped it on its head with a four-run bottom of the sixth inning to win 8-1 over Banning in the CIF-LACS Open Division quarterfinals.</p>
<p>As always between these two, this latest Battle Of The Harbor duel was not without potential drama.</p>
<p>Banning (15-8) came out hard against San Pedro (13-8) and had several chances to create chaos, but San Pedro sophomore pitcher Lilly Gonzalez weathered the storm with tons of help from a supporting defense.</p>
<p>With one out in the top of the second inning, the Pilots had runners on first and second with one out, but Gonzalez induced a ground ball towards center field which San Pedro sophomore shortstop Madison Fao almost effortlessly grabs in stride, rushes to second base to force out one, then throw a strike to senior first baseman Brianna Ventura for an inning-ending double play.</p>
<p>Fao gave San Pedro a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning by beating out a throw to first base for an infield single on a play that could have ended the inning, and during the confusion of no call being made on sight when the Pilots' first baseman bobbled the throw, senior right fielder Lulu DeLeon scored from second base. After the two umpires conversed with each other a minute after that moment, Fao was ruled safe and the run counted.</p>
<p>The third inning was a combination of more of the same.</p>
<p>Gonzalez quickly got out of potential trouble when she walked the first batter of the top of the third, by inducing another ground ball where this time, freshman second baseman Katie Borges got in on the double play fun by tagging the runner coming at her before easily throwing to first for a second twin killing. Another ground ball out ended that half, before the Pirates started their first big scoring surge of the day.</p>
<p>Back-to-back run scoring singles by Fao and junior third baseman Marissa Markel made it 3-0 with one out in the bottom of the third inning, then Fao scored on a two-base throwing error for a 4-0 cushion.</p>
<p>In the fifth inning, another leadoff walk drawn by Banning quickly got erased when San Pedro freshman catcher Bri Rodela caught the Pilots' only baserunner of the inning stealing second with a strong throw for the second out, but the Pilots kept on coming.</p>
<p>An RBI-single from Xiomel Geluz finally got Banning on the board... and chased Gonzalez from the circle, to start the top of the sixth inning. Enter San Pedro junior pitcher Layla Jelenic into the fray. Borges made a spectacular leaping grab of a line-drive smash towards right field that would have assuredly scored two runs, then Jelenic worked around a walk in between two critical strikeouts to leave the bases loaded and the Pirates led 4-1.</p>
<p>San Pedro put the game away in the bottom of the sixth inning with more than enough insurance.</p>
<p>Ventura's leadoff single got things rolling, then advanced to third with Rodela's one-out double. Borges' single then plated Ventura for a 5-1 lead. Sophomore designated player Addison Patapoff drew a walk to load the Pirates, who capitalized on the opportunity in one of the strangest ways possible.</p>
<p>Fao literally check-swinged the first pitch she saw... and it found a spot of artificial turf grass in right field to drive home Borges and freshman pinch-runner Trinity Martinez. Markel then followed with a single deflected by Banning's shortstop which was enough for Patapoff to score the game's final run.</p>
<p>Jelenic only gave up a two-out double in the top of the seventh after striking out the first two batters, then forced a fly out to DeLeon in right field to end the game.</p>
<p>Despite the rough six inning giving up three straight hits before being pulled, Gonzalez threw the timing off Banning's offense with great use of her off-speed stuff, finishing on a four-hitter with one earned run allowed and one strikeout to earn the win. Jelenic got a six-out save with four strikeouts surrendering one hit and a walk for San Pedro, as four players had two hits each, paced by Fao's 3-for-4, 4 RBI performance.</p>
<p>Markel went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs, Borges 2-for-4 with an RBI and several clutch defensive plays, and DeLeon went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Patapoff also had a hit and scored twice for San Pedro, who will next face top-seeded, two-time defending CIF-LACS Open Division champion El Camino Real on the road Tuesday in the semifinals.</p>
<p>The semifinal showdown is a dream matchup... because the Pirates and Royals (formerly the Conquistadors) have both won 17 CIF-LACS major division championships each.</p>
<p></p>
<p>(Note: Photo by Ari Ramirez)</p>The 2022 All-San Pedro News Pilot Prep Girls Basketball Teamtag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-04-09:6389356:BlogPost:1958272022-04-09T05:42:59.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10306311483?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10306311483?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> Ever since the 2017-2018 season, San Pedro Prep Girls Basketball has been a Star-studded takeover on Taper Avenue.</p>
<p>The five-year plan of head coach Victor Tuberosi has parlayed into three straight Santa Fe League championships the last three seasons, two CIF Southern California Regional appearances (2021 Division 3-AA runner-up), and even the school's…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10306311483?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10306311483?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>Ever since the 2017-2018 season, San Pedro Prep Girls Basketball has been a Star-studded takeover on Taper Avenue.</p>
<p>The five-year plan of head coach Victor Tuberosi has parlayed into three straight Santa Fe League championships the last three seasons, two CIF Southern California Regional appearances (2021 Division 3-AA runner-up), and even the school's first CIF-Southern Section (Division 4-AA) sports championship nearly a year ago.</p>
<p>Arguably the greatest prospect to come out of all this, still has two more years left in high school.</p>
<p>In nine seasons at the helm, Tuberosi has turned a once-starving program searching for answers, into the talk of this proud Harbor Area town when it comes to girls basketball, and sophomore forward Madison Watts has played a massive role in keeping the Stars in the conversation of top prep sports programs in San Pedro, CA.</p>
<p>A small forward by design, with the skills of a point guard, Watts, now a two-time San Pedro News Pilot Prep Girls Basketball Player Of The Year, is truly one of a kind.</p>
<p>The 2021-2022 season was one to be impressed by, as Watts averaged 24.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.4 steals, 2.2 assists and 1.3 blocks in just 20 games played. The Stars missed four games this season due to the pandemic, but still finished 19-5 overall and reached the second round of the CIF-SS Division 2-A playoffs.</p>
<p>Watts, a 2022 All-CIF SS Division 2-A second team selection and Santa Fe League Player Of The Year, posted a triple double in the league opener at St. Monica of Santa Monica on January 13 with 32 points, 11 rebounds and ten steals.</p>
<p>In spite of Watts' dominant sophomore campaign, she was not alone. The Stars had a deadly array of shooters around her with sophomore Drea Lopez, and the junior trio of Bella Marconi, Jozy Jaramillo and Paula Serrano, while sophomore forward Amy Duarte was the most improved girls hoops player of all the San Pedro-based high schools.</p>
<p>Meanwhile over at San Pedro, the Lady Pirates are slowly but surely building back up their reputation of competition after going 12-11 overall, 7-2 in the Marine League (only losing both meetings to league champion Narbonne of Harbor City) and reaching the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 2 semifinals for the second consecutive season under third-year coach Kevin Simpson.</p>
<p>Sophomore guard Noelani Raigans is named the SPNP Girls Basketball Most Outstanding Player after leading the Lady Pirates in scoring at 13.6 points a game, also averaging 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.6 assists. Fellow sophomores Maia Woolridge and Shaila Coleman were also sensational. Raigans and Coleman were named as All-City Division 2 selections.</p>
<p>Port Of Los Angeles did not field a girls basketball team for the second straight year due to not finding a head coach and didn't hold tryouts.</p>
<p>(Note: Madison Watts photo by Miguel Elliot)</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>FIRST TEAM</strong></p>
<p>Bella Marconi (Mary Star, jr.)</p>
<p>Drea Lopez (Mary Star, soph.)</p>
<p>Shaila Coleman (San Pedro, soph.)</p>
<p>Amy Duarte (Mary Star, soph.)</p>
<p>Maia Woolridge (San Pedro, soph.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>SECOND TEAM</strong><br/>Ciarra Villa (San Pedro, sr.)</p>
<p>Jozy Jaramillo (Mary Star, jr.)</p>
<p>Paula Serrano (Mary Star, jr.)</p>
<p>Aliesha Fizer (San Pedro, jr.)</p>
<p>Natalie Garcia (San Pedro, sr.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>PLAYER OF THE YEAR</b></p>
<p>Madison Watts (Mary Star, soph.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER</strong></p>
<p><span>Noelani Raigans (San Pedro, soph.)</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>SAN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PAST PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR</strong></p>
<p><strong>2012:</strong><span> Rita Fiorenza, San Pedro</span></p>
<p><strong>2013:</strong> Angela Wade, Port Of Los Angeles</p>
<p><strong>2014:</strong><span> </span>Rita Fiorenza, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2015:</strong><span> </span>Rita Fiorenza, San Pedro & Angela Pisano, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2016:</strong><span> </span>Deanna Valverde & Melannie Ortiz, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2017:</strong><span> </span>Angela Pisano, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2018:</strong><span> </span>Hanalei Emnace & Melanie Meza, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2019:</strong><span> </span>Isabella Serrano & Karla Rocha, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2020:</strong> Isabella Serrano & Sarah Leyba, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2021:</strong> Madison Watts, Mary Star</p>The 2022 All-San Pedro News Pilot Prep Boys Basketball Teamtag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-04-09:6389356:BlogPost:1959232022-04-09T04:51:40.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10305864458?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10305864458?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> At last, a full season of hoops for the first time since 2018-2019 in the world of San Pedro Prep Sports.</p>
<p>Starting hot early, overcoming a rough patch coming into their own tournament, and maintaining that confidence and belief in one another, San Pedro High boys basketball posted a solid 19-10 overall season which ended in the CIF-Los Angeles City…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10305864458?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10305864458?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>At last, a full season of hoops for the first time since 2018-2019 in the world of San Pedro Prep Sports.</p>
<p>Starting hot early, overcoming a rough patch coming into their own tournament, and maintaining that confidence and belief in one another, San Pedro High boys basketball posted a solid 19-10 overall season which ended in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 1 quarterfinals thanks to eventual champion Grant of Valley Glen/Van Nuys.</p>
<p>Although the Pirates had a variety of scoring threats under 23-year coach John Bobich, the one player that drew the most attention from their opponents, especially in the Marine League, was a 5'9'' Croatian sniper Pirate teammates called, The General.</p>
<p>Who could blame them?</p>
<p>Junior guard Anthony Hrboka exhibited a dazzling display of accuracy in all facets of shooting. The All-City Division 1 & All-Marine League first team selection led a balanced Pirate team with a 19.3 points per game average, hitting an insane 101-of-183 attempts from three-point range for a scorching 55.1% clip.</p>
<p>Taking a challenge from Bobich to reach the free throw line more, Hrboka answered that call and then some, missing only three of his 50 attempts to finish at 94%, and overall, the three-year veteran made 58% of his shots from the field, also averaging 4.2 assists and 2.4 steals, averages that would have been a little higher if he didn't miss two Marine League games at home against both Carson and Banning of Wilmington, games the Pirates still managed to win.</p>
<p>With those eye-popping numbers, Hrboka successfully defends his claim to being named the 2022 San Pedro News Pilot Prep Boys Basketball Player Of The Year.</p>
<p>Despite Hrboka's amazing year, other Pirates' such as fellow All-Marine League selections, the senior trio of Boston Wimberly, Volney Griffin and Keith Vaughn Jr. also had fine seasons themselves. Griffin shared Co-MVP honors with Hrboka after this fantastic four helped San Pedro capture their own Pirate Shootout 2021 Tournament right before Christmas with a 52-45 victory over Crenshaw of Los Angeles on December 23.</p>
<p>San Pedro placed third in the Marine League with a 6-4 mark, only losing to co-champions Gardena and Narbonne of Harbor City all four combined times.</p>
<p>Mary Star Of The Sea (9-17 overall, 3-6 Santa Fe League) languished through a difficult run in Santa Fe League play with a relatively young team under six-year coach Mike Sestich, but three of their six league setbacks came by a combined eight points, keeping them from reaching the CIF-Southern Section Division 4-A playoffs.</p>
<p>Even so, junior guard Luka Fiamengo, the 2022 SPNP Prep Boys Basketball Most Outstanding Player, had a wonderful season of his own, leading the Stars in scoring.</p>
<p>Port Of Los Angeles finished 1-13 overall, 1-9 in the Imperial League as they played under a new coach a year after not fielding a team last Spring during the resumption of high school sports in mid-2021 during the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>(Note: Anthony Hrboka photo by Miguel Elliot)</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>FIRST TEAM</strong></p>
<p>Volney Griffin (San Pedro, sr.)</p>
<p>Boston Wimberly (San Pedro, sr.)</p>
<p>J.R. Hammer (Mary Star, jr.)</p>
<p>Keith Vaughn Jr. (San Pedro, sr.)</p>
<p>Isaac Chau (Mary Star, sr.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>SECOND TEAM</strong><br/>Isaiah Almazan (POLA, sr.)</p>
<p>Harrison Tan (Mary Star, sr.)</p>
<p>Achilleas Papadoupoulos (San Pedro, jr.)</p>
<p>Giuseppe Dileva (San Pedro, sr.)</p>
<p>Devon Wilmington (Mary Star, jr.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>PLAYER OF THE YEAR</strong><br/><span>Anthony Hrboka (San Pedro, jr.)</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><strong>MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER</strong></p>
<p>Luka Fiamengo (Mary Star, jr.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>SAN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PAST PREP BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR</strong></p>
<p><strong>2012:</strong><span> </span>Kenny Potter, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2013:</strong><span> </span>Elijah Gaines, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2014:</strong><span> </span>Quincy Thomas, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2015:</strong><span> </span>Justin Rodriguez & Neil Green, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2016:</strong><span> </span>Joseph Octave, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2017:</strong><span> </span>Joseph Octave, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2018:</strong><span> </span>Joseph Octave, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2019:</strong><span> </span>Joseph Octave, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2020:</strong> Ian Hietala, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2021:</strong> Anthony Hrboka, San Pedro</p>Mary Star High Girls Basketball 2022 Opens Postseason In Dominant Fashiontag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-02-13:6389356:BlogPost:1956202022-02-13T17:30:00.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10098666857?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10098666857?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250"></img></a> New playoff division, same mindset.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Mary Star High girls basketball tested themselves with a grueling nonleague and tournament schedule before bulldozing their way to a third straight Santa Fe League championship, setting themselves up for arguably their toughest postseason journey…</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10098666857?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10098666857?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>New playoff division, same mindset.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Mary Star High girls basketball tested themselves with a grueling nonleague and tournament schedule before bulldozing their way to a third straight Santa Fe League championship, setting themselves up for arguably their toughest postseason journey yet.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Opening off the CIF-Southern Section Division 2-A playoffs against visiting Valley Christian of Cerritos, the Stars shook off a slow start by delivering an overwhelming scoring blitz to win 63-31 over the Defenders on Saturday.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Trailing 10-6 midway through the first quarter, Mary Star (19-4), who won the Division 4-AA championship last season, responded by scoring 27 unanswered points and cruised from there to set up a second round showdown with Brentwood on Wednesday, 7 pm at Brentwood High.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The game-breaking run began with 2:03 remaining in the first quarter when sophomore guard Drea Lopez banked in a three-pointer. In the closing seconds of the opening frame, a driving layup by junior guard Bella Marconi through contact while drawing the foul made it 15-10 by quarter’s end. Once the second quarter surfaced, Mary Star scored the next 18 points of the contest, with several players getting into the act as six different Stars scored, paced by sophomore forward Madison Watts.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Defensively, as usual under ninth-year coach Victor Tuberosi, the Stars made things chaotic for the Defenders (8-19), limiting them to just three points in the second quarter, allowing the Stars to take a commanding 37-13 halftime advantage.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">In all, by the time the game came to its conclusion, the Stars forced 31 Valley Christian turnovers, and Watts delivered a double-double with 30 points and 13 rebounds.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Balance was tantamount for the Stars’ offensively, and despite a cold shooting night from Lopez (1-for-9 from three-point range), she contributed with eight points and five assists. Marconi scored 7 points, while junior guard Jozy Jaramillo and freshman guard Shay Williamson scored six points apiece for Mary Star.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Not to be left out was the tough defense all around from sophomore forward Amy Duarte, junior guard Paula Serrano and senior center Marlena Rivera who contributed greatly off the bench.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Mary Star goes into Brentwood on a ten-game winning streak, and Tuberosi improves to 7-0 in CIF-SS playoff opening games.</span></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1">(Photo courtesy of Miguel Elliot)</p>
<p></p>San Pedro High Football Earns 15 CIF-LACS Open Division Honorstag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2022-01-05:6389356:BlogPost:1959092022-01-05T05:00:00.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9982933895?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9982933895?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250"></img></a> San Pedro High football might have came up short in their bid to become CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division champions in 2021, but it still didn't diminish the impact they made along the way to the final.</p>
<p>For the first time in program history, the Pirates garnered a total of 15 All-City selection honors, and two of them were top individual…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9982933895?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9982933895?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>San Pedro High football might have came up short in their bid to become CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division champions in 2021, but it still didn't diminish the impact they made along the way to the final.</p>
<p>For the first time in program history, the Pirates garnered a total of 15 All-City selection honors, and two of them were top individual winners.</p>
<p>Senior quarterback Aidan Jackson was rewarded for his record-setting season as he was named the 2021 CIF-LACS Football Open Division Offensive Player Of The Year after throwing for 2,280 yards at a 64% clip, 32 touchdowns, and just two interceptions during the Pirates' 10-2 season.</p>
<p>Also getting a top honor was senior Gabriel Anguiano, as he was named the Offensive Lineman Of The Year for the Open Division. Anguiano was the anchor of an experienced five-man front that helped San Pedro establish an offensive record of 4,345 yards (a record 2,601 of them through the air) and 67 touchdowns (and another record of 40 passing scores).</p>
<p>San Pedro was also awarded with five first team selections, and eight more second team selections, which is pretty impressive. The Pirates' 15 All-City selections were tied at the top with Birmingham of Lake Balboa, who defeated San Pedro, 24-14 to repeat as Open Division champions on November 27 at Pierce College.</p>
<p>The Patriots' uber-talented senior two-way star Arlis Boardingham was named the Open Division Player Of The Year.</p>
<p>Three of San Pedro's All-City selections will return in 2022, and here is the full list of Pirate All-City football selections.</p>
<p></p>
<p>(Note: Photo courtesy of Tino Nunez)</p>
<p></p>
<div><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc dati1w0a e5nlhep0" id="jsc_c_7d"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d"><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">SAN PEDRO HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL</div>
<div dir="auto">2021 ALL-CITY OPEN DIVISION SELECTIONS</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
</div>
<div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR</div>
<div dir="auto">Aidan Jackson, QB, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
</div>
<div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR</div>
<div dir="auto">Gabriel Anguiano, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
</div>
<div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">FIRST TEAM OFFENSE</div>
<div dir="auto">WR - Robert Sarmiento, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">WR - Chris Nixon, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
</div>
<div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">FIRST TEAM DEFENSE</div>
<div dir="auto">LB - Kain Parris, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">LB - Elijah Thorp, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">DB - Kejuan Bullard, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
</div>
<div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">SECOND TEAM OFFENSE</div>
<div dir="auto">RB - Christian Phillips, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">RB - Roman Sanchez, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto">OL - Jonathan Herrera, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
</div>
<div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto">SECOND TEAM DEFENSE</div>
<div dir="auto">DL - Jerry Witty, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto">DL - Benjamin Watson, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">LB - Makani Konopka, jr.</div>
<div dir="auto">LB - Andrew Mejia, sr.</div>
<div dir="auto">CB - Jonathan Mendoza, sr.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p></p>Top San Pedro Prep Sports Stories Of 2021tag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2021-12-28:6389356:BlogPost:1958102021-12-28T19:35:18.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9962980700?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9962980700?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> The San Pedro Prep Sports world began not-so normally, with many sports teams at San Pedro, Mary Star Of The Sea and Port Of Los Angeles High Schools all hoping to just play again due to the overwhelming nature of the coronavirus pandemic which caused a national shutdown on March 14, 2020.</p>
<p>Everything returned with a carefully planned twist in March for…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9962980700?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9962980700?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>The San Pedro Prep Sports world began not-so normally, with many sports teams at San Pedro, Mary Star Of The Sea and Port Of Los Angeles High Schools all hoping to just play again due to the overwhelming nature of the coronavirus pandemic which caused a national shutdown on March 14, 2020.</p>
<p>Everything returned with a carefully planned twist in March for Mary Star, while San Pedro and Port Of Los Angeles resumed in April.</p>
<p>What soon followed thereafter, is a cavalcade of amazing moments to relive as 2021 draws nearer to a close.</p>
<p>From an abbreviated four-game spring football season, all the way to the return of the pre-Christmas San Pedro Pirate Shootout boys basketball tournament (which the Pirates eventually won), it was truly a sensational 2021 considering the circumstances we are still living in with even two new variants of the coronavirus causing a recent wave of concern.</p>
<p>Here are the top five stories.</p>
<p><strong>1. Mary Star High Girls Basketball Makes History In Becoming School's First CIF-Southern Section Sports Champion</strong></p>
<p>For the second straight year, coach Victor Tuberosi & the Stars grab the top headlines in San Pedro Prep Sports, and this time it is no longer a shock.</p>
<p>June 10, 2021 will forever be embedded in the minds of Tuberosi, the eleven girls on this amazing team, all who attended the small gymnasium on Taper Avenue, and every single Mary Star High alumni and administration who either witnessed the game in person, watched it outdoors on campus on the big screen near the main office, or surprisingly read it in the local newspapers.</p>
<p>It was on that day, that the Stars defeated Agoura of Agoura Hills, 54-50 to capture the CIF-Southern Section Division 4-AA championship in front of a standing-room only crowd at Mary Star High, a first for the program, and the sports teams at the long-standing San Pedro-based Catholic school that waited 67 years for their time to finally come.</p>
<p>Mary Star (22-1 overall) didn't stop there, reaching the CIF-Southern California Regional Division 3-AA championship game after back-to-back victories over Crenshaw and Westchester, and currently in the 2021-2022 season, the Stars are 9-3 with a few more impressive victories over Santiago of Garden Grove, Palos Verdes, Lakewood and Los Altos in the Glenn-Norwalk Tournament championship game.</p>
<p>With 2021 CIF-SS Division 4-AA Player Of The Year sophomore forward Madison Watts, fellow sophomore guard Drea Lopez and junior guard Bella Marconi all returning, the Stars could make more noise now competing in Division 2-A.</p>
<p><strong>2. San Pedro High Baseball Wins The 2021 CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division Championship</strong></p>
<p>While the northern area of San Pedro was still celebrating history, the southern area in town also ended up celebrating their own brand of history just nine days later.</p>
<p>On June 19, 2021, the Pirates' baseball team fulfilled what was their determined date with destiny with a rousing fifth inning comeback to defeat El Camino Real, 7-6 in front of a large capacity crowd at San Pedro High to become the school's first CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division sports champion. A dramatic two-run home run by now-graduated Dominic Porter with one-out in the bottom of the fifth inning put the Pirates ahead for good, giving coach Steve Tedesco the perfect send-off in his eighth and final season at the helm.</p>
<p>Dylan Kordic, the 2021 CIF-LACS Player Of The Year, had a monumental season at the plate, and ended up getting the six-out save on the mound by striking out the final two batters faced.</p>
<p>Not lost in the euphoria of their amazing season, San Pedro (17-8) also won a fourth consecutive Marine League title and before reaching the title game, ended the three-year reign as champion for Birmingham of Lake Balboa with a 7-0 semifinal triumph on June 16. CIF-LACS Co-Pitcher Of The Year Zack Geiss pitched a four-hit shutout with six strikeouts in the win. Geiss is verbally committed to Cal State Dominguez Hills.</p>
<p><strong>3. San Pedro High Girls Volleyball Makes Promising Postseason Push</strong></p>
<p>In the first full season for coach Sean Zuvich, San Pedro (18-12) was sensational.</p>
<p>Capturing a share of the Marine League title with Carson after a slow start in the early going of the season, the Pirates made it a season to remember even without capturing a CIF championship, reaching the CIF-LACS Division 1 championship game, and becoming the first in school history to win not one, but two CIF Southern California Regional playoff games with back-to-back sweeps of North Hollywood and East of Bakersfield.</p>
<p>Several will return for San Pedro in 2022, including Marine League Player Of The Year in sophomore setter Kalia Teofilo, and three more All-City selections along with her in juniors Jamie Roth, Elaine Turituri and Kennedy Kordic.</p>
<p><strong>4. San Pedro High Football Reaches The CIF-LACS Open Division Championship Game</strong></p>
<p>In the first full season in two years, San Pedro, despite losing two games on the field and not being able to play two others due to health and safety protocols, had a marvelous season at 10-2 and making it all the way to the CIF-LACS Open Division finals, where Birmingham successfully defended their title from two years ago.</p>
<p>A record-setting campaign for senior quarterback Aidan Jackson as he threw for 2,280 yards and 32 touchdowns, breaking two single-season records, along with a relentless defensive pursuit that pitched six shutouts, made it a season worth looking back on for the Pirates, who defeated Roosevelt of Los Angeles and Palisades Charter to advance to their ninth CIF-LACS final in program history.</p>
<p><strong>5. The Unexpected Passing Of A San Pedro Coaching Legend</strong></p>
<p>In July of 2021, San Pedro High boys and girls cross-country great Bruce Thomson, just months after retiring, suddenly passed away while on a morning workout.</p>
<p>Thomson's legacy will no doubt be felt all around San Pedro as in his coaching days with the Pirates, captured 15 CIF-LACS championships (9 girls, 6 boys) and countless Marine League titles, not to mention, his demeanor as an all-around great human being both at Peck Park and in the trenches of workouts, will be greatly missed.</p>
<p>Throughout my time as a sports journalist, attending cross-country meets was few and far between, but Thomson was always welcoming in my times attending when I was able to over the years. Working with him as well when he was the public address announcer at football home games from 2004-2020 was also a joy because Thomson was a true, first-class professional in how he called games.</p>
<p></p>
<p>There are other moments in 2021 which also deserves some mentioning, like San Pedro softball winning the Marine League championship, Port Of Los Angeles baseball repeating as Coliseum League champions, and San Pedro boys basketball winning their own Pirate Shootout tournament for the first time in the tournament's 13-year history after a one-year absence.</p>The All-San Pedro News Pilot Prep Football Fall 2021 Awardstag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2021-12-25:6389356:BlogPost:1956052021-12-25T22:10:08.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p class="p1"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9945324281?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9945324281?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> At long last… it was a full season of high school football in San Pedro, California.</p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">San Pedro and Mary Star Of The Sea High was able to enjoy the fruits of a ten-game season for the first time in two years, and the Pirates (10-2 overall) nearly came away with some hardware.…</span></p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9945324281?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9945324281?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>At long last… it was a full season of high school football in San Pedro, California.</p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">San Pedro and Mary Star Of The Sea High was able to enjoy the fruits of a ten-game season for the first time in two years, and the Pirates (10-2 overall) nearly came away with some hardware.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">On November 27 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, San Pedro was denied the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division championship when Birmingham of Lake Balboa started strong and held off the Pirates, 24-14 to successfully defend their championship, putting a bitter end to what was a season unlike any other.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">For the first time in school history, San Pedro produced a football season where passing was the top recourse of attack in an explosive offense, coupled with an equally important defense that posted six shutout victories.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">At the head of the forefront was senior quarterback Aidan Jackson, and fellow senior WR/DB Robert Sarmiento.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Jackson broke two school single-season records by throwing for 2,280 yards and 32 touchdowns, becoming the first Pirate signal-caller ever to reach the 2,000-yard & 30-touchdown milestone. Jackson also completed his passes at a 63.8% rate and was extremely efficient in only throwing two interceptions.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Sarmiento was an automatic threat to score a touchdown the second his number was called on any given play. For the season, The Marine League All-Purpose Player Of The Year caught 35 passes for 612 yards and 12 touchdowns, rushing for two more touchdowns out of the wildcat formation, and returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to open off San Pedro’s 69-0 victory over Gardena on October 15. From building blocks on the junior varsity as freshmen, shining stars as seniors, Jackson and Sarmiento share the prestigious honor as your 2021 San Pedro News Pilot Prep Football Players Of The Year.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Other than Sarmiento, Jackson had plenty of weapons to go to in his record-setting campaign.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">San Jose State-bound senior WR/LB Kejuan Bullard was Mr. Reliable for the Pirates, leading the team with 44 receptions, also piling up 612 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Another senior wideout, Chris Nixon tied for the team lead with 12 touchdown catches and led the Pirates with 672 receiving yards on 42 catches. In all, Jackson threw touchdown passes to seven different receivers in 2021.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Defensively, the Pirates were paced by Marine League Co-Defensive Player Of The Year senior linebacker Kain Parris, who paced the Pirates with 134 tackles, while also intercepting a pass and recovering three fumbles, one of which he returned for a touchdown against Lakewood on October 8.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Meanwhile, Mary Star (3-7 overall) closed the year with six straight losses, including going 0-4 in a talented Del Rey League in a year that was plagued by injuries.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">The biggest loss was the absence of senior running back Nathan Chavez, who in five games plus ran for 543 yards and eight touchdowns before suffering a season-ending concussion in the Del Rey League opener at Harvard-Westlake of Studio City.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Despite that, the Stars still got an incredible season out of senior WR/DB Steven Ceniceros, who ran back two kickoffs for touchdowns, while also catching 32 passes for 416 yards and five more scores. Defensively, the All-Del Rey League first team choice led Mary Star with 85 tackles (67 solo) while intercepting a pass and deflecting four others.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">A true positive close to the 2021 season was that Mary Star was finally able to play their final two home games of the season under the lights, an exciting capper to their first full season of playing home games on their Taper Avenue-based campus.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Senior RB/LB Giovanni Boccanfuso and junior WR/DB Vincent Guerrero were the other first team All-Del Rey League picks for the Stars.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Cheers to the return of a true prep football season and happy wishes for the resumption of the same in the Fall of 2022.</span></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s3">S<strong>AN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PREP FOOTBALL SPRING 2021 AWARD WINNERS</strong></span></p>
<p class="p3"><strong><span class="s3">CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR</span></strong></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Aidan Jackson (San Pedro, QB, sr.)</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Robert Sarmiento (San Pedro, WR/DB, sr.)</span></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><strong><span class="s3">MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER</span></strong></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Steven Ceniceros (Mary Star, WR/DB, sr.)</span></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><strong><span class="s3">OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR</span></strong></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Kejuan Bullard (San Pedro, WR, sr.)</span></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s3"><b>DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR</b></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Kain Parris (San Pedro, LB, sr.)</span></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s3"><b>LINEMAN OF THE YEAR</b></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Gabriel Anguiano (San Pedro, OL/DL, sr.)</span></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s3"><b>NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR</b></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Vincent Guerrero (Mary Star, WR/LB, jr.)</span></p>San Pedro High Boys Basketball 2021 Wins Their Own Shootouttag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2021-12-24:6389356:BlogPost:1957022021-12-24T08:42:23.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9941221470?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9941221470?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> After a one-year absence, the San Pedro High boys basketball team brought back their own Pirate Shootout tournament... and for the first time in its 13-year tenure, was able to win it.</p>
<p>It was a terrific Thursday for the Pirates, as they ended four days of Holiday hoops by treating their fans to a gritty 52-45 victory over perennial CIF-Los Angeles City…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9941221470?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9941221470?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>After a one-year absence, the San Pedro High boys basketball team brought back their own Pirate Shootout tournament... and for the first time in its 13-year tenure, was able to win it.</p>
<p>It was a terrific Thursday for the Pirates, as they ended four days of Holiday hoops by treating their fans to a gritty 52-45 victory over perennial CIF-Los Angeles City Section power Crenshaw of Los Angeles to capture their own Pirate Shootout in only the second time even reaching the championship game itself. San Pedro's only other finals appearance was the second year of the tournament, finishing runner-up to Peninsula of Rolling Hills Estates in 2009.</p>
<p>The first quarter saw Crenshaw score the opening basket during the first minute of the game, then San Pedro (7-4 overall) took charge from there, ending the quarter on a 20-2 run when junior guard Anthony Hrboka buried a transition three-pointer from the left corner before time expired for a 20-4 lead.</p>
<p>San Pedro's scoring run extended (and ended) to a 23-2 run on another Hrboka triple to begin the second quarter, then struggled to score for a good stretch thanks to a persistent and pestering defensive attack from the Cougars (8-5), who trailed 27-15 at halftime. Crenshaw closed the gap to 32-26 by the end of the third quarter before San Pedro scored 11 of the first 15 points scored in the final frame to go up 43-30 with 4:39 to play in the game.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Crenshaw once again drew within earshot of the Pirates before senior point guard Volney Griffin buried what proved to be a pivotal three-pointer for a 48-38 lead with just over two minutes to play, but in less than a minute, the Cougars narrowed their deficit down to 48-45 with 1:32 left.</p>
<p>On two occasions, Crenshaw misfired on potential game-tying three-point attempts, and San Pedro was able to survive as Hrboka successfully hit all four free throws to secure the history-making victory.</p>
<p>Not lost in the shuffle by any means, was the outstanding play off the bench by junior guard Achilleas Papadopoulos.</p>
<p>While the Pirates were attempting their last surge early in the fourth quarter, it was Papadopoulos who provided the biggest lift, scoring seven of his nine points, including a crucial three-point play during that 11-4 run to begin the quarter.</p>
<p>"Achilleas really sparked us off the bench," San Pedro coach John Bobich said.</p>
<p>Hrboka and Griffin both were named Co-Most Valuable Players of the 2021 San Pedro Pirate Shootout. The returning All-City guard scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Griffin, a steady contributor at both ends, finished with 8 points and 7 assists. Seniors guard Boston Wimberly (12 points, 10 in the first half), and forward Keith Vaughn Jr. (7 points, 12 rebounds) were also named as all-tournament selections. All four of them combined with everyone else who played, were tremendous defensively against the Cougars.</p>
<p>"Anthony and Volney really stepped up in this tournament," Bobich said. "All in all, it was a team defensive effort holding a talented team like Crenshaw to 45 points."</p>
<p>During the four-day tournament, San Pedro also defeated Locke (91-29), crosstown neighbor Mary Star Of The Sea (65-50) and South Torrance (61-56) on the way to winning the Pirate Shootout.</p>
<p>In other local action in the same Pirate Shootout, Mary Star captured seventh place in the tournament with a 59-56 double overtime victory over Eagle Rock. Junior guard Luka Fiamengo scored a game-high 24 points for the Stars (6-10), 11 of which combined in both overtime periods. Fiamengo also hit a game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds of the first overtime. Port Of Los Angeles lost 61-55 to Locke in the eleventh place game.</p>San Pedro High Boys Basketball 2021-2022 Outlasts Mary Startag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2021-12-22:6389356:BlogPost:1956032021-12-22T20:03:01.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9937038096?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9937038096?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200"></img></a> In the first crosstown high school sports battle since the coronavirus pandemic, San Pedro High boys basketball battled visiting Mary Star Of The Sea in a San Pedro Pirate Shootout pool play game on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>It was a true game of runs, but it was the Pirates who pulled away in the midway point of the third quarter to eventually defeat the Stars,…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9937038096?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9937038096?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="200" class="align-left"/></a>In the first crosstown high school sports battle since the coronavirus pandemic, San Pedro High boys basketball battled visiting Mary Star Of The Sea in a San Pedro Pirate Shootout pool play game on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>It was a true game of runs, but it was the Pirates who pulled away in the midway point of the third quarter to eventually defeat the Stars, 65-50 in the second of two pool play games in one day. San Pedro (5-4 overall), also defeated Locke, 91-29 earlier in the day. <br/> <span>The Pirates took charge with a solid 12-2 run to close the third quarter after the Stars got to within 36-35. San Pedro never trailed in the contest, bursting out to a 26-7 lead at the end of the first quarter before Mary Star (5-9) outscored the Pirates 20-6 in the second quarter to close to within 32-27 at halftime. </span><br/> <span>“(Sophomore) Nathan Cigar came off the bench in the third quarter and played brilliantly for us, igniting our defense to allow us to make our run,” San Pedro coach John Bobich said.</span> <br/> <span>Senior guard Boston Wimberly scored 12 of his game-high 17 points to pace San Pedro, while junior guard Anthony Hrboka piled up 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Senior guard Volney Griffin poured in 13 points while also piling up seven assists and five steals, while senior forward Keith Vaughn Jr. provided a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Pirates, who will face South Torrance in the championship semifinals <span dir="ltr">on Wednesday at 5:30 pm</span>.</span><br/> <span>Jacob Morales led Mary Star with 14 points, 12 of which on four second quarter three-pointers. Luka Fiamengo scored 13 for the Stars who will face Roosevelt in a fifth place semifinal <span dir="ltr">at 2:30 pm Wednesday</span>. <br/> This game was also a rematch of the 2018 Pirate Shootout semifinals, where the Stars won, 77-51 over the Pirates. <br/> <br/></span></p>
<p><span>Note: Sent from my iPhone. Photo by Miguel Elliot.</span></p>The 2021 All-San Pedro News Pilot Prep Girls Volleyball Teamtag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2021-12-06:6389356:BlogPost:1956012021-12-06T19:47:31.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9885850092?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9885850092?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250"></img></a> The 2021 San Pedro Prep Girls Volleyball season was a celebration of a return to somewhat normalcy.</p>
<p>Fans were able to take in the hard-hitting, fast and furious action while still adhering to the rules of the pandemic era that is still ongoing with seemingly no end in sight.</p>
<p>One area school managed to stand triumphant even when not fully…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9885850092?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9885850092?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>The 2021 San Pedro Prep Girls Volleyball season was a celebration of a return to somewhat normalcy.</p>
<p>Fans were able to take in the hard-hitting, fast and furious action while still adhering to the rules of the pandemic era that is still ongoing with seemingly no end in sight.</p>
<p>One area school managed to stand triumphant even when not fully accomplishing all the team goals they hoped to achieve.</p>
<p>San Pedro (18-12 overall) still managed to make school history first by making a spirited comeback in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 1 semifinals at top-seeded Verdugo Hills of Tujunga.</p>
<p>Down two games to one, the Pirates stormed back and won a classic back-and-forth deciding fifth set to defeat the Dons and reach the championship match, where not even a straight set sweep by eventual champion Sylmar was enough to dim their competitive fire.</p>
<p>Earning a spot in the CIF Southern California Regional Division 5 playoffs, San Pedro became the first in school history to win a CIF SoCal Regional playoff event by sweeping North Hollywood, a feat so nice, they actually did it twice. Rallying from a 10-1 deficit in the second set, the Pirates eventually showed their comeback ability again against CIF-Central Section representative East of Bakersfield, pulling off another sweep before falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Santa Clarita Christian.</p>
<p>Two players in particular, were inseparable during the Pirates' incredible postseason run.</p>
<p>Sophomore setter Kalia Teofilo and junior outside hitter/middle blocker Jamie Roth was the perfect combination of fire and ice, trading dominant performances in the most critical of matches for the Marine League co-champions. Teofilo was well rounded in all phases of the game, and was the most deadliest serving maestro in providing three matches with double-digit aces. Roth was a standout finisher at the net, and an automatic point was certain for the Pirates whenever an overpass came her way.</p>
<p>This dynamic All-City Division 1 first team duo is a worthy pick for our 2021 San Pedro News Pilot Prep Girls Volleyball Players Of The Year for their efforts.</p>
<p>Despite the sensational showings from Teofilo and Roth, they were just two parts of a balanced attack for San Pedro, as the Pirates also garnered three more All-City Division 1 selections in first team senior libero Vanessa Martinez, and two more second team selections in junior outside hitter Elaine Turituri (who also was named All-City Open Division second team in the spring 2021 season) and fellow junior defensive specialist Kennedy Kordic.</p>
<p>Mary Star Of The Sea (13-15) was unable to make the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoffs due to going 2-6 in a cutthroat Del Rey League, but still showed plenty of fight in all their matches, especially when talented junior outside hitter Neriah Tualaulelei-Malele was on the court delivering plenty of earth-shattering spikes. The 2021 Most Outstanding Player & St. Paul transfer made the most of her first season at her new home in leading the Stars in kills.</p>
<p>Junior Paige Courtney was outstanding in her first full season with Mary Star despite a banged up knee she suffered diving for a loose ball in the Stars' home opener against St. Monica. Courtney converted over from libero to fill in another outside hitter position, and Gina DeSisto emerged as the town's top freshman at setter.</p>
<p>Port Of Los Angeles (5-8) made a return to the 2021 CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 4 playoffs after not participating in the short-lived spring season, falling in the second round to Chavez of San Fernando after receiving a first round bye. Junior outside hitter Sasha Suggs, the only remaining member left from their 2019 Division 4 championship team, paced the Polar Bears in kills, and showed all the tools that make her a five-tool talent.</p>
<p></p>
<p>(Note: Photos by Miguel Elliot)</p>
<p></p>
<p>ALL-SAN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PREP GIRLS VOLLEYBALL 2021 (FALL)</p>
<p>OUTSIDE HITTER: Elaine Turituri, San Pedro, jr.</p>
<p>OUTSIDE HITTER: Paige Courtney, Mary Star, jr.</p>
<p>OUTSIDE HITTER: Sasha Suggs, Port Of Los Angeles, jr.</p>
<p>SETTER: Gina DeSisto, Mary Star, fr.</p>
<p>DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST: Kennedy Kordic, San Pedro, jr.</p>
<p>LIBERO: Vanessa Martinez, San Pedro, sr.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Co-Players Of The Year: Kalia Teofilo (soph.), S & Jamie Roth (jr.), OH, San Pedro</p>
<p>Most Outstanding Player: Neriah Tualaulelei-Malele, Mary Star, OH</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>SAN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PAST PREP GIRLS VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR</strong></p>
<p><strong>2011:</strong> Fina Ojeda, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2012:</strong> Susana Sanchez, Port Of Los Angeles</p>
<p><strong>2013:</strong> Angela Wade, Port Of Los Angeles</p>
<p><strong>2014:</strong> Allison Kittell, San Pedro & Ally Spillane, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2015:</strong> Ally Spillane, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2016:</strong> Ally Spillane, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2017:</strong> Selene Ramirez, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2018:</strong> Lauren Sutrin & Sara Peterson, San Pedro</p>
<p><strong>2019:</strong> Sammie Sabra & Serena Ramirez, Mary Star</p>
<p><strong>2021 (Spring):</strong> Cassidy Espinosa, San Pedro</p>San Pedro High Girls Volleyball 2021 Powers For Historic Firsttag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2021-11-10:6389356:BlogPost:1952082021-11-10T06:34:18.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9786774265?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9786774265?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="350"></img></a> On this past Saturday, San Pedro High girls volleyball was denied a fifth CIF-Los Angeles City Section championship when Sylmar swept their way to a Division 1 title.</p>
<p>Tuesday was a different story, as the Pirates got the next best thing.</p>
<p>For the first time in seven tries, the third oldest school in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9786774265?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9786774265?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="350" class="align-left"/></a>On this past Saturday, San Pedro High girls volleyball was denied a fifth CIF-Los Angeles City Section championship when Sylmar swept their way to a Division 1 title.</p>
<p>Tuesday was a different story, as the Pirates got the next best thing.</p>
<p>For the first time in seven tries, the third oldest school in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) finally achieved their first ever playoff win in a CIF Southern California Regionals, as San Pedro girls volleyball defeated visiting North Hollywood 25-16, 25-12, 25-16 in the opening round of the Division 5 Regionals.</p>
<p>The Huskies (11-7) were coming in on a roll, sweeping all four matches to win the CIF-LACS Division 3 title this past Saturday, but San Pedro was relentless in pursuit of victory.</p>
<p>The fourth-seeded Marine League co-champion Pirates (17-11) stormed out to early big leads in the first two sets and only trailed once. There was little struggle in the third set, as North Hollywood held a 14-12 lead before San Pedro put the match away by scoring 13 of the final 15 points to complete a historic sweep.</p>
<p>San Pedro girls volleyball was 0-4 in CIF Southern California Regional matches, with the 2004, 2005 and 2018 CIF-LACS Division 1 championship teams, along with the 2017 Open Division playoff participant team all getting eliminated in the first round. San Pedro also lost CIF Southern California Regional first round games in 1986 with girls basketball, and again in 2010 with boys basketball, both of whom won a CIF-LACS title to advance to Regionals.</p>
<p>Two of San Pedro's biggest catalysts on this night, was the outstanding play of sophomore setter Kalia Teofilo and senior opposite hitter Alyssa Ortiz, as their combined serving skills lured North Hollywood into scrambling for both sustained rallies, and answers.</p>
<p>Teofilo matched her season high with 11 aces, also dealing out 13 assists to various teammates who were all willing to step up without talented juniors, and the Pirates' two top attackers in middle hitter Jamie Roth and outside hitter Elaine Turituri. Junior outside hitter Sam Brown (five kills), junior middle blocker Laila Jackson (five kills, three blocks), senior Lauren Phinessee (three kills) and even seldom-used senior Ruth Yape (two kills) all got their shots in.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Ortiz played her best match of the season with a team-high seven kills, but was also deadly in the serving department with five aces. The libero tag team of senior Vanessa Martinez (12 digs) and junior Kennedy Kordic (8 digs) were also solid in keeping rallies alive. Anna Katsevich, another junior middle blocker, also shined with a pair of blocks.</p>
<p>With this monumental, bounce-back triumph, San Pedro will next host No.5 East of Bakersfield in the CIF-Southern California Division 5 Regional quarterfinals. East swept Pacifica Christian of Santa Monica in their opening match.</p>
<p></p>
<p>(Note: Photo by Miguel Elliot)</p>San Pedro High Girls Volleyball Wins 2021 Marine League Titletag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2021-10-15:6389356:BlogPost:1947042021-10-15T09:28:56.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9703704096?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9703704096?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300"></img></a> LONG BEACH - On Thursday, the San Pedro High girls volleyball team accomplished something few could do in recent years, and that's a Marine League championship.</p>
<p>By virtue of defeating host Rancho Dominguez Prep 25-10, 25-10, 25-12 in their regular season finale, the Pirates clinched an automatic share of their first league title in the Fall semester…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9703704096?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9703704096?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>LONG BEACH - On Thursday, the San Pedro High girls volleyball team accomplished something few could do in recent years, and that's a Marine League championship.</p>
<p>By virtue of defeating host Rancho Dominguez Prep 25-10, 25-10, 25-12 in their regular season finale, the Pirates clinched an automatic share of their first league title in the Fall semester since winning five straight league crowns from 2005-2009, winning 60 straight matches without a loss during that span, winning two CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 1 titles and finishing as runner-up in two more final appearances. </p>
<p>San Pedro also won the Marine League title in the Spring of 2021 during an abbreviated shortened season due to the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>"We went through many long, hard fought battles to get to where we are," San Pedro junior libero Kennedy Kordic said on the Pirates' tough schedule outside of league, which molded them into the team they're trying to be. "Having those experiences of playing at different levels of skill and competitiveness really helped shape our view of the game."</p>
<p>Alluding to Kordic's sentiments, San Pedro battled the likes of defending CIF-LACS Open Division champion Palisades Charter along with a pair of local South Bay wars with North Torrance and Peninsula of Rolling Hills Estates, not to mention going through some brutal affairs in both the Pacifica (Garden Grove) and Chatsworth Tournaments just to get prepared for the rigors of the Marine League... a league that was dominated in the prior 2010 decade by Carson.</p>
<p>At one point, Carson was untouchable during a 71-match winning streak that started late in the 2013 season. That same streak was ended by the Pirates' two years ago with a stunning sweep at home on October 3, 2019. </p>
<p>San Pedro (14-10 overall, 9-1 league) put themselves in prime position to stake their claim to the league crown in 2021 with another home sweep of the Colts on September 27, who then returned the favor a week later with a home sweep of their own. For now, the Pirates are alone in first place by a half game ahead, as Carson finishes the regular season next Tuesday against Banning of Wilmington.</p>
<p>A win for Carson clinches a league title share, but a loss to Banning makes it an outright league title for San Pedro.</p>
<p>The match against Rancho Dominguez itself wasn't too much of an issue for San Pedro. After trailing 4-3 in the opening moments of a back and forth first set, the Pirates seized control and never trailed for the remainder of the contest, relying on tough serves and instinctive attacks to pull away from the scrappy Lobos. </p>
<p>It was a delicate, but articulate balance put forth by San Pedro, paced by junior Elaine Turituri with nine kills, six digs and a pair of aces. Sophomore setter Kalia Teofilo (7 kills, 8 assists, 3 aces), senior Ruth Yape (4 kills all in the second set), and junior outside hitter Jamie Roth (five kills) were also vital to the Pirates' victory.</p>
<p>Recent junior varsity call-up Alyssa Estrada provided a significant lift off the bench with four aces, while the libero tag team of Kordic (7 digs) and senior Vanessa Martinez (9 digs and 3 aces) also were crucial.</p>
<p>"This whole season has been a road of emotions," Roth said. "We all have had our ups and downs, but in the end, we all came together as a team, have fun and play ball. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us."</p>
<p>The immediate future will be revealed next week as the Pirates will begin play in the upcoming CIF-LACS Division 1 playoffs, that same division in which the Pirates captured their fourth title in 2018, and was semifinalists in 2019.</p>San Pedro Prep Football Fall 2021 Previewtag:sanpedronewspilot.com,2021-08-16:6389356:BlogPost:1943032021-08-16T18:46:44.000ZJamaal Kellen Streethttps://sanpedronewspilot.com/profile/JamaalKellenStreet980
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9433376853?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9433376853?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250"></img></a> Due to adjustments made on the fly thanks to the coronavirus pandemic... San Pedro Prep Football fans got just an appetizer of what to expect this past Spring.</p>
<p>Now it's time to unleash the main course.</p>
<p>Thursday, August 19 marks the start of the traditional high school season when San Pedro High football battles St. Anthony of Long Beach at St.…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9433376853?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9433376853?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>Due to adjustments made on the fly thanks to the coronavirus pandemic... San Pedro Prep Football fans got just an appetizer of what to expect this past Spring.</p>
<p>Now it's time to unleash the main course.</p>
<p>Thursday, August 19 marks the start of the traditional high school season when San Pedro High football battles St. Anthony of Long Beach at St. Pius X/St. Matthias High in Downey at 7 pm, then at 3 pm on Friday, August 20, Mary Star Of The Sea High hosts Marshall of Los Angeles in a pair of intersectional openers.</p>
<p>Both teams are planning on spreading the love offensively.</p>
<p>The Pirates showed their high capability of making plays in their two-game spring season in mid-to-late April, piling up 119 points. In Mary Star's final of three spring games against Harvard-Westlake, the Stars scored the final touchdown of the game in a 35-7 loss with a short touchdown run, running a variation of the spread offense on the final drive.</p>
<p>Plenty of excitement despite the looming uncertainty of things still abounding in the pandemic era to be had, and here's a preview of both schools as they pursue league titles... and beyond.</p>
<p>Are you ready for some football again?</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>SAN PEDRO</strong></p>
<p><strong>COACH:</strong> Corey Miller (6th Season)</p>
<p><strong>LEAGUE:</strong> Marine</p>
<p><strong>CIF SECTION:</strong> Los Angeles City</p>
<p></p>
<p>Miller has a bevy of playmakers returning for the Fall, as San Pedro has most of the top talent returning as one of the teams to be on the lookout for in the CIF-LACS Open Division title chase.</p>
<p>Senior quarterback Aidan Jackson was bullseye with his pinpoint accuracy once he got the protection he needed from an athletic offensive line, and he has three reliable targets to choose from in a trio of senior wideouts: the explosive Robert Sarmiento, physical Kejuan Bullard, and the steady Chris Nixon, all of whom are a serious threat to make regular house calls to the end zone.</p>
<p>And then there's an even larger target in the form of 6'4'', 275-pound junior TE/DE Nicholas Fernandez.</p>
<p>Sarmiento also handles the PAT and field goal kicking duties and hits hard in the secondary for the Pirates.</p>
<p>San Pedro runs a variation of the pistol offense now, which still makes the running game a problem for opposing defenses with the shifty senior running back Christian Phillips and bruising junior Roman Sanchez, who will both get their fair share of handoffs from Jackson.</p>
<p>Defensively, the Pirates have even more talent to be wary of with Fernandez, Bullard, Nixon, junior linebacker Makani Konopka and senior WR/LB Elijah Thorp.</p>
<p>San Pedro's nonleague slate will feature two CIF-Southern Section battles with St. Anthony and Lakewood, a reunion of an old Southern Pacific Conference rivalry with Dorsey of Los Angeles, and the September 2 showdown at Venice which will be an early barometer of how the Pirates' stack up against another City Section Open Division title hopeful.</p>
<p>The most important game on schedule is the Marine League opener on October 1 at home against Harbor Area neighbor Banning of Wilmington, as that could potentially determine the Marine League championship. However, the Marine is still one of the most dangerous leagues in the City Section, so the Pirates know they must bring it every night.</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>SAN PEDRO HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL 2021 FALL SCHEDULE</strong></p>
<p>THUR. 8/19 St. Anthony @ St. Pius X/St. Matthias 7 pm</p>
<p>FRI. 8/27 @ Eagle Rock 7 pm</p>
<p>THU. 9/2 @ Venice 7 pm</p>
<p><strong>FRI. 9/10 BELL 7 pm</strong></p>
<p><strong>FRI. 9/17 DORSEY 7 pm</strong></p>
<p><strong>FRI. 10/1 BANNING 7 pm*</strong></p>
<p>FRI. 10/8 Lakewood @ Veterans Stadium 7 pm</p>
<p>FRI 10/15 @ Gardena 7 pm*</p>
<p><strong>FRI 10/22 CARSON 7 pm*</strong></p>
<p>FRI 10/29 @ Narbonne 7 pm*</p>
<p></p>
<p>* - Denotes Marine League Game (Home games are in <strong>CAPITOL & BOLD</strong> covering)</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9433426056?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9433426056?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>MARY STAR OF THE SEA</strong></p>
<p><strong>COACH:</strong> Jason Gelber (7th Season)</p>
<p><strong>LEAGUE:</strong> Del Rey</p>
<p><strong>CIF SECTION:</strong> Southern</p>
<p></p>
<p>The Stars will be competing in the Del Rey League for the first time in a Fall season, as they will be looking to make their first year of playing home games on campus worth it.</p>
<p>Senior RB/LB Giovanni Boccanfuso is the top returning player for Mary Star, but plenty of shine is being increased on these Stars.</p>
<p>With the spread offense now becoming a thing in this town, Mary Star will rely on sophomore quarterback Santiago Martinez to be the ringleader as fellow sophomore Luka Fiamengo chose to focus on basketball. Martinez will have options when the Stars do decide to take to the air.</p>
<p>Senior Steven Ceniceros only played one game during the spring after transferring from perennial power St. John Bosco of Bellflower but has the speed and vision downfield after the catch which will make him difficult to deal with. Another St. John Bosco transfer in senior tight end Matthew Oakes, and junior Vincent Guerrero is another reliable target.</p>
<p>Senior running back Nathan Chavez returns for Mary Star after missing all of the spring season due to a concussion. Chavez ran for 18 touchdowns on the junior varsity level in 2019 during his sophomore year in the program. Senior Joe Spaleta will be an anchor up front on both lines, and all the PAT and field goal duties will be handled by a true athlete in senior Maddie Purves, who helped the girls soccer team reach the CIF-Southern Section Division 7 semifinals this past May, garnering an All-CIF Division 7 selection.</p>
<p>The Stars' nonleague slate has two South Bay battles with Torrance (away on September 10) and El Segundo (home on September 24), while they will be battle tested in the Del Rey League battling the likes of Harvard-Westlake, St. Anthony, La Salle of Pasadena and Salesian of Los Angeles in order all in the month of October.</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>MARY STAR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL 2021 FALL SCHEDULE</strong></p>
<p><strong>FRI 8/20 MARSHALL (LOS ANGELES) 3 pm</strong></p>
<p>FRI. 8/27 @ Alhambra 7 pm</p>
<p>FRI. 9/10 @ Torrance 7 pm</p>
<p><strong>FRI. 9/17 VIEWPOINT 3 pm</strong></p>
<p><strong>FRI. 9/24 EL SEGUNDO 3 pm</strong></p>
<p>SAT. 10/2 @ Harvard-Westlake 7:30 pm*</p>
<p><strong>FRI. 10/8 ST. ANTHONY 3 pm*</strong></p>
<p>FRI 10/15 @ La Salle 7 pm*</p>
<p><strong>FRI 10/22 SALESIAN 3 pm*</strong></p>
<p><strong>FRI 10/29 FILLMORE 3 pm</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p>* - Denotes Del Rey League Game (Home games are in <strong>CAPITOL & BOLD</strong> covering; home game schedule and times are subject to change during the course of the year)</p>
<p></p>
<p>(Note: Aidan Jackson & Giovanni Boccanfuso photos courtesy of Miguel Elliot)</p>