PREP WRAPUP : Rampaging Serra Leads the Unofficial Awards List

For those who can’t wait until Dec. 17, when The Times will honor the South Bay All-Star football team along with the coach, back and lineman of the year at the Anaheim Hilton, here are some early unofficial awards:

The Making it Look Easy Award--Serra. The Cavaliers, who have outscored opponents 404-53 on their way to the first 10-0 regular season in the school’s history, are the most dominating Southern Section team in the area since 1982, when West Torrance won the Coastal Conference title with a 14-0 record.

“They are either the best or the second-best team we’ve faced all year,” said Bishop Montgomery Coach Steve Carroll, whose team lost to Serra, 36-0, Thursday. “If they went against (Bishop) Amat, I don’t know if Amat could handle them. They just have too many horses.”

Angelus League champion Bishop Amat is 7-3 and ranked No. 4 in the Southern Section Division I poll.

Serra, ranked No. 2 in Division VII, opens the playoffs next week as the South Bay’s best bet to bring home a Southern Section title.

The Heartbreak on the Hill Award--Leuzinger. The Olympians, who needed to beat Santa Monica on Friday to give Rolling Hills a chance to make the Division II playoffs as an at-large entry, squandered a nine-point lead in the last six minutes and lost, 22-19.

Most Overrated Team--Tie, North Torrance and Banning. North proved once and for all that success in the summer does not guarantee success in the fall. The Saxons won the prestigious L.A. Games passing tournament, but found the going tough once they donned pads. They finished 2-8, losing seven games by margins of 19 points or more.

Banning entered the season regarded as a favorite for the L.A. City 4-A crown. But after a 41-0 loss to Carson on Thursday, the Pilots are fighting to make the playoffs. A knee injury to quarterback John Ma’ae won’t help their chances in Friday’s must-win game against Dorsey.

Coach of the Year--Take your pick. Leo Hand of Serra, Larry Petrill of Mira Costa, Gene Vollnogle of Carson, Bill Judy of Palos Verdes, John Black and Mark Knox of West Torrance, and Goy Casillas of Hawthorne are all worthy candidates.

Hand deserves credit for installing the full-house T at Serra to take advantage of the school’s abundance of running backs.

Kudos go to Petrill for turning Mira Costa into a winner. The Mustangs, who won a total of four games the previous two seasons and had not qualified for the playoffs since 1983, are 6-4 and should get the at-large berth today for the Division VII playoffs.

The rest of the aforementioned coaches guided their teams to league titles. The most surprising was Palos Verdes, which tied Hawthorne for the Bay League crown after being picked sixth in a preseason coaches’ poll.

Back of the Year--Another tossup. Running backs Dennis Gerard of Serra, Robert Coulter of Rolling Hills, Josh Moore of West Torrance and Chris Alexander of Hawthorne, and Carson quarterback Armin Youngblood all deserve consideration.

The 5-foot-7 Gerard might have a narrow lead at this point. Assistant coach Joe Griffin said Gerard went over the 1,400-yard mark in rushing Thursday. He leads the South Bay with 24 touchdowns and 146 points scored.

Lineman of the Year--It might be stretching the bounds of this category to include a wide receiver, but Michael Ross of Carson is nothing short of the most exciting player in the South Bay. His one-handed touchdown catch against Banning was further proof.

The Throw Me the Ball Award--Wide receiver Eric Hansen of North Torrance. Although his team is going nowhere, Hansen moved into eighth place on the Southern Section all-time single-season reception list. His four catches Thursday against South Torrance gave him 84, the highest season total in South Bay history.

The Jekyll and Hyde Award--Morningside. The Monarchs opened the season with six losses and finished with four wins, which was good enough to clinch third place in the Ocean League and a Division VII playoff spot.

The Better Luck Next Year Award--Inglewood. The Sentinels completed their second straight 0-9 season Thursday with a 32-20 loss to Hawthorne.

Darrell Daniel, a 6-foot-1 point guard for Bishop Montgomery, signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play basketball for St. Mary’s, coached by former El Camino College mentor Paul Landreaux.

Daniel is one of two South Bay seniors to officially commit during the early one-week signing period that ends Wednesday. The other, 6-4 Rolling Hills guard Steve Clover, verbally committed to Pepperdine two weeks ago.

Morningside, which returns three starters and eight players from last season’s team that came within one win of reaching the State Division III title game, is seeded No. 1 for the 38th annual Pacific Shores Basketball Tournament.

A new entry in the tournament, Lakewood, is seeded second, followed by Carson and defending champion Rolling Hills. The 16-team field begins play Dec. 4 and 5 at Mira Costa and Redondo high schools, with the championship game Dec. 9 at Redondo.

Morningside’s deep and experienced team is headed by 6-7 center Jeff Crowe, 6-6 swingman Arthur Savage and point guard Don Sanders, all starters on last season’s 25-6 team. Co-coach Ron Randle also expects big things from 6-5 guard Tyrone Paul, who played well last summer.

Top-seeded Mira Costa (20-0) will travel to the Santa Barbara area Tuesday to face Dos Pueblos (15-2) in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section 5-A girls volleyball playoffs. The Mustangs opened the playoffs Thursday with a 15-4, 15-2, 15-6 win over Bishop Montgomery, while Dos Pueblos beat Newport Harbor, 15-8, 15-12, 9-15, 15-8.

In water polo, Bay League champion Palos Verdes (20-4) will play host to second-seeded Capistrano Valley (23-1) on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the 3-A Division playoffs. The Sea Kings advanced with a 10-5, second-round victory Friday over Crespi.

In girls tennis, Miraleste, Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills will all play away matches Tuesday in the 4-A Division quarterfinals. Second-seeded Palos Verdes (13-2) plays at Fountain Valley (13-4), third-seeded Miraleste (13-2) travels to Santa Barbara (15-4) and Rolling Hills (10-11) visits Estancia of Costa Mesa (15-5).

Palos Verdes singles players Melanie Fountain, Marion Sampras and Clara Shun each swept three matches by 6-0 scores Thursday in a 14-4, first-round victory over Dos Pueblos.