positive happening

It’s Viva Las Vegas for the top girls volleyball teams in Southern California. They’ll be in Las Vegas this weekend for the 30th Durango Classic that will be played at four sites beginning Friday.

Seven of MaxPreps’ top 10 teams nationally are scheduled to compete, including Sierra Canyon, Mater Dei, Redondo Union, Marymount and Mira Costa.

Sierra Canyon is ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section power rankings after knocking off Redondo Union last week.

It’s also one of the first chances to see teams strengthened by players who had to sit out the first half of the season after transferring without moving. The sit-out period ended Sept. 13. …

The Ivy League football season begins on Saturday, and there are 39 players from Southern Section high school teams listed on Ivy League rosters.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Sophomore running back Arman Papazyan was supposed to be the backup to his brother, Gev, this season at Glendale High. Then Gev went down with a season-ending injury. Little brother Arman came to the rescue.

He had 215 yards rushing in 32 carries in a loss to Marshall. He has continued to be a productive offensive weapon for 1-2 Glendale. He has 349 yards and five touchdowns in three games.

“He’s been carrying the load,” coach Manuel Lemus said. …

Several football teams are enjoying turnaround seasons. Westlake has gone from 0-10 to 4-0. Bellflower is 3-0 after going 0-10. L.A. University is 4-0 after going 2-9 last season, while L.A. Marshall and Norco are 4-0 after finishing 3-7 last season. …

Banning improved to 4-0 on Friday night with a 21-20 win over Garfield in which the Pilots stopped a two-point conversion attempt to win. Mauricio Ortiz Jr. made the game-saving tackle.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Moyo Odebunmi, a junior running back at Cleveland High and native of Nigeria who had never played varsity football until this season, is quickly adjusting to the speed of the game.

On Thursday night against Arleta, his first three carries resulted in touchdown runs of 68, 85 and 59 yards. He also caught a touchdown and had a 99-yard kickoff return in Cleveland’s 70-37 win. He finished with 303 yards rushing.

Odebunmi, who is 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, didn’t play football as a freshman, came out last season and learned the game on junior varsity. Now coach Mario Guzman can’t find enough spots to use him.

“We had him all over the field,” Guzman said. “He’s just an athlete we have to have out there.”

Another big contributor for Cleveland was soccer athlete Samael Cerritos, who was 10 for 10 on PATs.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

During an interview that will be aired on Thursday for “Friday Night Live” on The Times’ X account, Kennedy All-City quarterback Diego Montes was asked about players in the City Section being overlooked.

That produced a response, “Do not sleep on the City Section.”

“I can’t afford to play for a private school,” he said. “I don’t think where you play should matter that great. You’re telling me if I play for a private school, that makes me any better than I am now? No. There’s talent in the City Section.”

The complete interview can be seen at 5 p.m. Thursday via X at LATSondheimer.

Montes accounted for seven touchdowns (four running) in a 56-51 win over Eagle Rock last week.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Whatever Canon King of Venice High had done earlier this season — he had six home runs — his performance on Tuesday night in the City Section Open Division semifinal game against Sylmar at Cal State Northridge earned him a lofty place few others have attained.

He was five for five with three RBIs and scored the winning run in the eighth inning of a 9-8 victory.

“It felt amazing,” he said. “My approach all day, get on base.”

He repeatedly looked for holes in Sylmar’s defense and sent the ball wherever they existed. It was an amazing display of bat discipline and knowledge. He had a single in the first inning, a two-run single in the second, a single in the fourth, a single in the sixth and a run-scoring double in the eighth.

Now he gets to play in the Open Division final against El Camino Real at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dodger Stadium. He’s committed to Cal State San Marcos and is a three-time Western League MVP.

“Best hitter in the City in my time doing this,” Westchester coach Joshua Saperstein said.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

The City Section track preliminaries and finals will be run on Birmingham High’s new Mondo track, which is like running on a carpet and improves times.

Birmingham spent more than $1.2 million on the new synthetic track, replacing one that had been put in before the 1984 Olympic Games.

The reviews have been great from runners. The City prelims are scheduled for May 15 and the finals May 22. …

The Southern Section will release its baseball and softball playoff pairings on May 12. The City Section will release its baseball pairings on Saturday. The City softball pairings will be announced May 16. …

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Get ready for a day of drama in Trinity League baseball as Santa Margarita (6-8), Servite (5-9) and JSerra (5-9) battle to finish in third place and claim the league’s final automatic playoff spot. St. John Bosco and Orange Lutheran clinched the first two spots.

Santa Margarita plays host to Servite in a 2:30 game Friday. The Eagles would finish third with a win. A Servite win would give the Friars two wins out of three games against Santa Margarita and the tiebreaker edge to claim third. But if JSerra upsets St. John Bosco and Servite beats Santa Margarita, there would be a three-way tie for third place, resulting in a possible play-in game next week.

Santa Margarita and Servite are in position to get an at-large playoff berth with a .500 or better overall record. JSerra is in jeopardy of not making the playoffs if it doesn’t get an automatic spot.

Playoff pairings will be announced May 12. …

The City Section Open Division baseball playoffs will have eight teams instead of 12 this season. The playoff games will be spread out with a Wednesday-Tuesday-Saturday schedule, giving an advantage to a school that relies on one top pitcher. Pairings will be announced May 10. The Open Division semifinals will be played at Cal State Northridge in a doubleheader.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

After he threw just 11 innings last season while coming back from an injury, Jackson Eisenhauer’s improvement this season has been stunning. The Crespi High right-hander is 3-0 without giving up any runs in 19 innings.

“I spent a lot of time in the weight room,” he said. “Putting on strength has been a big part of it.”

Eisenhauer showed up as a 5-foot-5, 135-pound freshman. Now he’s a 6-foot, 175-pound senior. He spent time getting stronger under the guidance of former El Camino Real standout Woody Cliffords, who has a private training service.

“He made massive improvements over the fall and winter — strength, stability, power,” Cliffords said. “He still has room to grow.”

He has helped Crespi to a 6-0 record. Now he and Tyler Walton give the Celts an imposing one-two pitching duo. …

Former L.A. Jordan football coach Derek Benton is the new football coach at Fremont. …

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Doug Bledsoe, a former head football coach at Dorsey, University, North Hollywood and Pasadena, was asked why he wanted to become the head coach at Narbonne, a school that won’t be eligible for next season’s City Section football playoffs after sanctions for playing ineligible players.

“Somebody has to do it,” he said. “Honestly, it’s really a privilege and honor to come back to the City Section. I’m a City guy born and raised.”

Narbonne won the Open Division title, then was punished for having seven ineligible players.

It was the latest issues involving a football program that lost most of its players and was banned from the 2019 and 2020 playoffs following a similar situation.

Bledsoe knows he’ll be inheriting another depleted team. “It means our staff and the kids who stay get an opportunity to build a new foundation,” he said. “I love the area, love the new administration coming in.”

Bledsoe served as an assistant last season at Salesian and before that was an assistant at Burroughs. He’s also coached at Compton College and Pierce College and is a Dorsey graduate.

He said, “I intend to be at Narbonne until my grandson plays for me and graduates. He’s 3 years old.”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected]

It’s a bit astonishing to think that Los Alamitos High has four basketball players who have each scored more than 1,000 points during their four-year career. And all the points were scored as Los Alamitos students.

Trent Minter, Wes Trevino, Liam Gray and Samori Guyness pulled off the feat. The fact they stayed together for four years is notable in an era of player movement.

Los Alamitos is 19-8 and 11-0 in the Sunset League. Coach Nate Berger scheduled one of the toughest group of nonleague games for his senior-dominated teams in preparation for the playoffs. …

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected]

When Patrick Vargas was a 5-foot-4 starting quarterback for Garfield High in 2008, the Bulldogs stunned City Section power Birmingham 29-28 in their season opener.

Now, at age 32, Vargas is taking over as Garfield’s new football coach, replacing Lorenzo Hernandez, and he’s embracing all the lessons learned about overcoming obstacles and understanding the tradition of excellence at Garfield.

“It’s a dream come true for me, being a kid from East L.A.,” he said. “Garfield has always been the place I wanted to be, first as a football player, then as a coach. What coach Hernandez did was change the program for the better. What I want to do is continue with that leadership and do my best to take it to the next level.”

He’s also going to inherit a new turf football field under construction. …

For the third straight year, Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura has been named the Gatorade state player of the year in girls cross country.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].