East’s Ramirez, Halvorson Too Much for West : Preps: Former North Torrance players keep the pressure on West defense in 22-0 victory. Win is the East’s third in a row.

If the East team’s offense appeared like it borrowed significantly from the North Torrance High playbook in Saturday’s West Torrance Lions all-star game, it was no coincidence.

The East was coached by North Coach Joe Austin and featured the quarterback and receiver tandem of Frank Ramirez and Dean Halvorson. The combination was too much for the West to handle as the East rolled to a 22-0 victory at Redondo High.

“There has to be some favoritism when you play on the same team,” said Halvorson, who caught three passes for 30 yards and a touchdown. “I thought (Ramirez) threw a little more to me than anyone else. I thought it was it advantage for me and for Frank. The timing would not have been the same.”

Ramirez was successful on two of five passes for 30 yards with both completions going to Halvorson. The two combined on a 12-yard scoring pass with 11 minutes 57 seconds left before halftime to give the East a 12-0 lead.

The East had taken a 6-0 lead less than a minute earlier on a scrambling 14-yard run by Banning’s Damin Hurst. Hurst, running backward toward the left sideline, appeared to have been dropped for a loss, but cut across the width of the field to score on a burst down the right sideline with 54 seconds left in the first quarter.

The conversion failed, but the East did not have to wait long for another scoring opportunity.

Corey McCoy of Hawthorne fumbled the kickoff and Dion Brumfield of Carson recovered for the East at it its own 14-yard line. Two plays later, Ramirez and Halvorson connected for the touchdown.

“You might as well take advantage of what’s there,” Ramirez said. “We used all North plays and I know how (Halvorson) runs. We had team meetings and none of the North people really had to go because we already knew what we were going to do.”

Ramirez and Halvorson were among the South Bay’s most productive combinations the past two seasons, guiding the Saxons to a 14-7-1 record, including a 10-2 record in 1992.

Ramirez, the Pioneer League offensive player of the year, passed for 2,389 yards and 26 touchdowns. The versatile 6-foot, 175-pound Ramirez, who also played on North’s basketball and baseball teams, passed for 4,460 yards and 47 touchdowns the past two seasons.

The 5-9, 155-pound Halvorson was North’s leading receiver the past two seasons, catching 67 passes for 1,058 yards and eight touchdowns. He caught 29 passes for 485 yards as a junior.

Although the two will attend El Camino, Saturday’s game marked the end of their football partnership. Ramirez has decided to drop football and basketball and play only baseball.

The game also reunited Ramirez and Halvorson with North fullback Chi Vina Lam, tackle Harout Barsoumian, tight end Jared Meyer and linebacker Larry Lopez for a final time.

“I thought the score would be a lot closer, but having those guys makes it real easy because they know the whole offense,” said Austin, who will coach at South Torrance in the fall after three seasons at North. “That’s a real big advantage.”

The East had the Harbor College-bound Hurst as well.

The 5-9 running back rushed 10 times for a game-high 123 yards and two touchdowns. He broke several tackles en route to a 68-yard gain in the third quarter. The run set up a 33-yard field goal by Chadwick’s Joe Giaconi that gave the East a 15-0 lead with 1:15 left in the quarter.

Taking advantage of an eight-yard punt by West Torrance’s Brian Belliveau, the East used an eight-play, 39-yard drive--which consumed more than four minutes--to take a 21-0 lead on a four-yard plunge by Hurst with 6:57 to play. Giaconi added the extra point for the final margin.

“We were frustrated most of all,” said West offensive lineman Mostafa Sobhi of Hawthorne.

Adding to the West’s frustration was the absence of Hawthorne linebacker Tevita Moala, the Southern Section Division III player of the year, who withdrew from the game last week to play in the upcoming Shrine game.

“One of the main dudes in the defense didn’t play so it was like a big hole,” said West free safety Leandrew Childs of Inglewood. “Most everybody on their team knew each other. Most of us had just met and that’s a lot harder.”

Childs, the state long jump champion who will attend El Camino, also rushed for a team-leading 60 yards in seven carries at quarterback and running back.

The victory was the third in a row for the East in the 28th annual game, matching seniors from area high schools. The East defeated the West, 22-6, in 1992 and 14-3 in 1991.