With the final games of the regular season set for Friday, the Battle at the Beach and King of the Hill rivalry games will hold playoff bearings for all four teams.
Palos Verdes (6-3, 4-0) will attempt to remain unbeaten in Bay League action and win its eighth straight Bay League title (the Sea Kings shared the 2016 crown with Mira Costa and Redondo).
PV is ranked No. 8 in the latest CIF Southern Section Division 5 poll and will host the surprise team of the year, Peninsula (6-3, 3-1) for first place.
It’s been quite a season for the football program at Peninsula, which went 1-4 in league during the 2017 season and, in 2015, cancelled the remainder of the season with three games left due to numerous injuries on the team.
The Panthers have not made the CIF Southern Section playoffs for 10 years and would like nothing better than to enter the Division 11 playoffs as a co-champion.
Peninsula upset Redondo (4-5, 2-2) last Friday with a 21-7 victory when senior Mason O’Connor returned two interceptions for touchdowns and Ethan Han ran for 102 yards.
Redondo cut the lead to 14-7 in the third quarter when Demarcus Johnson ran the ball six times for 32 yards before reaching paydirt on a 3-yard run.
Redondo drove to the Peninsula 31 in the fourth quarter but was intercepted by Jack Haworth. Panther quarterback Ethan Gretzinger sealed the game with a 31-yard touchdown pass to John Skoblar.
The last time Peninsula beat Redondo was in 2018, when they reached the playoffs. Peninsula is currently ranked No. 4 in the CIF-Southern Section Division 11 pol.
“We put ourselves into a difficult hole early on, giving up two interceptions resulting in touchdowns,” Redondo coach Matt Ballard explained. “Our defense played very well, and our offense was able to sustain drives and get into the red zone, however, we were unable to put points on the board for our efforts.
“It goes without saying that we’re all a little frustrated and disheartened about the loss, however, this is the nature of the game we play. All we can do is learn from our failures, and work to learn from them. We have a very important game next week; and it’s a game about tradition and pride. It’s an honor and privilege to play in the “Battle at the Beach”, so we go back to work, and prepare to play our best football yet.”
Redondo’s Offensive Players of the Week included Drew Wilson, Dylan Parkinson, Sione Tukutau, Tyler Litchman, Nick Schmit, Isaac Martinez, Bryan Kaplan and DJ Wingfield.
Defensive Player of the Game was sophomore linebacker Kale Nilsen and Special Teams Player of the Game was junior Lance Brugma. The Scout “Eager Beaver” Player of the Week was junior Anthony Talley.
Mira Costa (5-4, 3-1) remains in the hunt for a share of the Bay League crown routing Centennial (0-9, 0-4). The Mustangs look to extend their season in the Division 6 playoffs while Redondo is hoping for a berth in Division 4. Mira Costa moved into the No. 10 spot in the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 poll.
“We need to win to assure a playoff spot,” Mira Costa coach Don Morrow said. “It’s gonna be a tough task. All you have to do is watch Redondo’s game against PV and you can see what they are capable of. We will have our work cut out with them, as we always do.”
