Prep Rally: Black Eyed Peas mix well with Garfield-Roosevelt game

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. It’s Garfield-Roosevelt week, perhaps the biggest football rivalry anywhere and this season it’s being played at the Coliseum with a halftime concert by the Black Eyed Peas.

East L.A. Classic

The biggest and best football rivalry in the City Section, Garfield vs. Roosevelt in the East L.A. Classic, takes place Friday night at the Coliseum. It has drawn more than 20,000 at times during its days at East L.A. College. It’s always unique because both schools celebrate homecoming at halftime, drawing thousands of alumni.

This time, halftime will be even more special with the Black Eyed Peas performing a concert. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster for $15.

The football game itself offers intrigue. Last season, Roosevelt ended a 10-game losing streak to Garfield with a 22-19 victory using the double-wing attack. This season, Roosevelt is 7-0 and Garfield is 6-2. Both are unbeaten in the Eastern League and want to play in the City Section Open Division playoffs.

Anything can happen in this rivalry game. In 1990, Roosevelt was winless at 0-6, then defeated Garfield 7-0.

Remember during the Super Bowl when kicker Evan McPherson didn’t go into the locker room to watch the halftime concert? The question is will the kickers from Garfield and Roosevelt get to watch the Black Eyed Peas on Friday night?

“We got three of them. They’re going to be in the locker room,” Garfield coach Lorenzo Hernandez said.

Football rewind

The Bishop Amat player upending Chaminade QB Seth Shigg is defensive back Foster Slaughter (honestly). He’s listed that way on Amat roster and I just CQ’d it with Eric.

(Craig Weston)

Chaminade won its eighth consecutive game with a 36-29 victory over Bishop Amat, getting four interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns. Here’s the report.

Los Alamitos locked up the Sunset League title by routing previously unbeaten Edison. Here’s the report.

In a battle of two double wing teams, Norwalk prevailed over Bellflower. Here’s the report.

Bella Rasmussen of Laguna Beach became the first female to score two touchdowns in state history in a game against Godinez. Here’s the report of the historic moment.

Big games this week: Sierra Canyon at Chaminade, Oaks Hills at Apple Valley, Crenshaw vs. Dorsey at Rancho Cienega Park, Cathedral at Loyola, Oak Park at Newbury Park.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Here’s the complete week nine schedule.

Hall of Famer

Harry Welch, the only football coach to win three state titles at three different schools, was inducted into the Southern Section Hall of Fame.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

First came the roar, then the applause as more than 70 suddenly rambunctious former players coached by Harry Welch rose from their seats to give him a standing ovation at the Southern Section Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Long Beach.

The only coach to win state championships in football at three high schools — Canyon Country Canyon, San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s and Santa Margarita — Welch was a no-brainer Hall of Fame selection. He won nine Southern Section championships and had an .821 winning percentage, second-best all-time for coaches with at least 250 victories.

Yet those who have followed his sometimes controversial career since the 1980s through his retirement in 2013 had to chuckle. Welch once sued the Southern Section when it tried to suspend him for one year in 1991 after he conducted an illegal practice. Welch won in court and used the damages to buy a Lexus. So now the same organization that was sued and lost was honoring him.

“He’s earned it,” Southern Section commissioner Rob Wigod said.

A look back at the trials and tribulations.

Kicker extraordinaire

Chaminade kicker/punter Ryon Sayeri has become a standout in his junior season.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

There are giant white-and-blue helmets hanging from each stall in the West Hills Chaminade football locker room. You got to have a pretty big head to fit in one of those helmets. Stop by Ryon Sayeri’s stall and it becomes clear he’s either the ball boy or the kicker, because a bag filled with footballs rests in his stall.

Sayeri is having the kind of football season every coach dreams for a special teams player. He’s 32 of 32 on PATs, has made six of seven field-goal attempts and only three times all season have his kickoffs not become touchbacks. He’s also averaging 52.6 yards on 10 punts. He’s 65 of 65 on conversion kicks the last two seasons and 13 of 15 on fields.

Here’s a profile of the rising junior standout.

Adams brothers help Narbonne

Brothers Marcus (left) and Maxie Adams figure to be top players for Narbonne this season. Marcus is a junior, Maxie a freshman.

(Marcellus Fletcher)

City Section basketball is expected to be wide open this coming season, so the arrival of brothers Marcus and Maximo Adams to Narbonne puts the Gauchos squarely in the title hunt.

Marcus, a 6-foot-8 junior, was at Narbonne for his freshman and sophomore seasons. He has returned as one of the best players in the City Section.

“He’s more confident,” said Narbonne interim coach Kumase Demesma, who is filling in for Anthony Hilliard until he returns from a medical leave. “He’s stronger and added more to his arsenal.”

His brother, Maximo, a 6-6 freshman, also could be an impact player.

Narbonne also has picked up transfer Troy Jones from Windward and returns standouts EJ Andrews and Christian Gill, who averaged 18 points last season.

Demesma is a former Narbonne player in the final stages of getting a teaching credential. He has served as an assistant coach and Hilliard has been preparing him, so the Gauchos are in good hands until he returns.

Strange media day

Juju Watkins was the star at Sierra Canyon media day. Bronny James was unavailable.

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

In her lowest point last season, tears welling in her eyes while in a handshake line after a Southern Section Open Division championship loss, Sierra Canyon’s Juju Watkins turned to her roots.

The Trailblazers lost that late-February game to Etiwanda, a strong start from Watkins marred by foul trouble, and she needed to recover. Get her head straight. So before the Trailblazers went to regionals and eventually won a state title, The Times’ 2021-22 girls’ basketball player of the year went back to her hometown in Watts, where she’d spent her entire life before transferring to Sierra Canyon in the summer.

“That was a moment I needed to go home,” Watkins said at Sierra Canyon’s media day, “and spend time with my family.”

When she’s faced adversity in this new phase of her journey, Watts grounds her. She goes back to her grandma’s house, gets some home cooking, sees the aunties and cousins who put a smile on her face.

And as the top 2023 college recruit sees the world expand in her senior year at Sierra Canyon — fresh off a new megadeal with Nike (alongside Bronny James) — her home is still at the front of her mind.

“Basketball’s going to take me everywhere around the world, I realize,” Watkins said. “But it’s important for me and my family to never forget where I come from.”

Media day was primed to be Bronny James’ night in the spotlight, LeBron James’ four-star son fresh off his 18th birthday and entering a senior year that will be ablaze with speculation about college and pro plans. But although his name was printed on a list of planned speakers, coach Andre Chevalier climbed the stage and told media members James wouldn’t be speaking, not specifying a reason.

Here’s the report.

Sierra Canyon went to Las Vegas for a competition, and what a performance from Bronny James. Here’s the report.

Girls’ volleyball

Mira Costa girls’ volleyball team is seeded No. 1 in Division 1.

(Luca Evans / Los Angeles Times)

The Southern Section girls’ volleyball playoff pairings were released on Saturday.

Mira Costa is seeded No. 1. Here’s the report.

Here’s the link to complete pairings.

Water polo

The top water polo teams in the Southern Section keep taking turns beating each other.

It happened again on Saturday as JSerra knocked off No. 1 Newport Harbor 8-7 in overtime to win the championship of the North-South Challenge in Atherton.

The previous week, Newport Harbor defeated JSerra in the championship of the Harvard-Westlake tournament.

Ryan Dodd led JSerra with five goals.

Notes . . .

Junior shortstop Aleena Garcia of Whittier Christian has committed to UCLA. . . .

Point guard Caia Elisaldez of Santa Ana Mater Dei has committed to Tennessee Chattanooga. . . .

Shortstop Dean Curley from Northview has committed to Tennessee. . . .

Pitcher Zoe Prystajko of Huntington Beach has committed to Stanford softball. . . .

Swimmer David Schmitt of San Juan Hills has committed to Harvard. . . .

Sophomore pitcher Thomas Gonzales of JSerra has committed to San Diego. . . .

Harvard-Westlake offensive lineman Kai Faucher has committed to Brown. . . .

Defensive back RJ Jones of St. John Bosco has committed to UCLA. . . .

Sophomore outfielder Anthony Pack from Long Beach Millikan has committed to UCLA. . . .

Westlake won the Ventura County girls’ cross-country championship. Ventura won the boys’ title. Micah Grossman ran 15:15.1. . . .

San Clemente won the Orange County boys’ cross-country championship. . . .

Fairfax guard Darius Carr has committed to New Mexico State. . . .

Pitcher Brodie Purcell of JSerra has committed to USC.

From the archives: Su’a Cravens

Rams receiver Michael Thomas makes a catch against Broncos defenders De’Vante Bausby (41) and Su’a Cravens (21) in a 2019 game.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Ever since his days at Vista Murrieta as a star defensive back, Su’a Cravens was known for his wit and intelligence during interviews, so it’s no surprise he’s entered the broadcasting business helping out on USC football games and appearing in other media jobs.

He was a top defensive back at USC, then a second-round pick of Washington in the 2018 draft. He has never backed away from speaking his mind.

Here’s a story from 2014 about Cravens pursuing greatness.

Here’s a story from 2015.

Recommendations

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former Norco running back Travis Dye‘s rise at USC.

From NBCsports.com, a story on former Crespi basketball player DeAnthony Melton.

From The562.org, a story on Long Beach girls’ volleyball team supporting a teammate after she lost her father.

Tweets you might have missed