PREP WRAPUP : Carson Crushes Crenshaw in 4-A Semifinal, 58-7

There definitely was something missing from Friday night’s L.A. City Section 4-A semifinal between Carson and Crenshaw at Veterans Stadium.

A football game, to be exact.

Carson’s 58-7 drubbing of the hapless Cougars was far from being a game. A joke, maybe, but not a game.

Sure, they played four quarters. But the last period was kept on a running clock. It was that bad.

“It’s boring,” said a Carson fan, her interest waning as the Colts raced to a 42-7 halftime lead.

A reporter in the press box quipped: “If it was a fight, they’d stop it.”

But this was football, and the game must go on.

“It was fun in the first half,” Carson Coach Gene Vollnogle said, “but I would have liked to get on the bus at halftime and go home.”

That goes for the rest of us, Gene.

Vollnogle, though, did stick around long enough to congratulate his team for winning its 10th consecutive game and putting Carson in the City final for the ninth straight year.

The Colts (10-1) will play Dorsey (10-3) for the second time this season at 7:30 Friday night at El Camino College. Carson beat the Dons, 29-7, in Pacific League play.

Friday’s semifinal was also a rematch. Carson had defeated Crenshaw, 39-12, in a league game. The Cougars, however, were confident they could reverse that decision after posting playoff victories over San Fernando, 27-24, and Taft of Woodland Hills, 27-13.

“They were pumped up (during warm-ups) and said they were going to beat us physically,” Carson quarterback Armin Youngblood said. “They said they were going to blitz us like Bishop Amat.”

Carson lost its season opener, 24-23, to Bishop Amat, which was successful with a stunting defense that tackled Youngblood for 35 yards in losses.

But the only quarterback running for his life Friday was Crenshaw’s Derrick Williams. He was sacked six times for 81 yards in losses, including a safety by defensive end Marcus Long to open the third quarter.

When Williams was able to get off a pass, he misfired most of the time. The senior was five for 21 with two interceptions, both of which were returned for touchdowns by linebacker Isiah Hall (12 yards in the first quarter) and defensive back Tarriel Hopper (38 yards in the second quarter).

The only competition on the field was the scoring between Carson’s various units. The final tally: Colt offense 27, Colt defense 24, Colt special teams 7.

Youngblood, who said he audibilized 60 percent of the time, completed 10 of 17 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns. He is the school’s single-season record holder with 2,300 yards and 30 TDs passing.

“I was having a good time,” Youngblood said. “But after a while, it began to drag on. I wanted to have a running clock to get it over.”

As is the case many times after blowouts, the losing coach accused the winning coach of pouring it on.

Crenshaw’s Robert Garrett was upset that Vollnogle, who asked for a running clock at halftime, called a pass play on a double reverse with Carson leading, 44-7, midway through the third quarter.

“That’s a slap in the face,” Garrett said.

Under the circumstances, a trick play was probably in poor taste. But it should be pointed out that the pass from wide receiver Michael Ross to running back Abdul Muhammad lost two yards and was one of only five passes attempted by Carson in the second half.

If Garrett needs to blame someone for Crenshaw’s embarrassment, he should look in the mirror. His team was ill-prepared to play.

Asked if it would be difficult to get Carson prepared to play after two consecutive playoff blowouts, Vollnogle said: “We’re playing for the City championship now. We’ll be better yet.”

As was the case last season, when Carson won the 4-A title with a 55-7 victory over Banning, the Colts seem to get better each week.

In the last nine games, since conference play began, they have outscored their opponents, 367-43. In two playoff games the margin is 89-7.

And the prospect of meeting Dorsey again has at least one Colt excited.

“I really want to play Dorsey again because I had a bad game against them,” Youngblood said. “I want a second chance.”

After a strong showing in the Pacific Shores Tournament, Morningside’s basketball team moves up to a higher level of competition this week in the Tournament of Champions at Ocean View High in Huntington Beach.

The Monarchs open the 16-team tournament at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday against Los Alamitos, ranked No. 2 in The Times’ preseason Orange County poll and led by 6-foot-9 center Robert Conlisk.

The tournament also features Long Beach Poly, ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section 5-AA Division; Mater Dei, ranked No. 1 in both 5-A and Orange County; Loyola, ranked No. 2 in 5-A; Capistrano Valley, ranked No. 3 in 5-A and Orange County, and Lakewood, which reached the Pacific Shores final against Morningside and is ranked No. 4 in 5-AA.

The only other South Bay entry is Westchester, which faces West Covina at 4 p.m. Monday. The championship game will be played 8:30 Saturday night.

Rolling Hills, which took Morningside into overtime before losing, 76-68, in the semifinals of the Pacific Shores Tournament, begins play in the Beverly Hills Tournament at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against Santa Maria.

The Titans received good news Friday when X-rays revealed that center Roger Hendrix suffered only a sprained right thumb against Morningside. Coach Cliff Warren said the 6-5 junior is on a day-to-day basis.

St. Bernard, which finished the Pacific Shores Tournament with a decisive 86-71 win over Palos Verdes and a 3-1 record, also is entered in the Beverly Hills Tournament and faces Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

St. Bernard beat Rolling Hills in the finals last year.