Braves rumble to CIF Final

LOMPOC -- Culver City's Centaurs rolled into the CIF Division X football semifinals at Huyck Stadium with an 11-1 record and the second seed.

Then the Braves ran over them.

Lompoc's defense hardly let Culver City's 35.8 points-per-game offense get untracked, and the Braves offense punished the Centaurs defense with a devastating ground game. Lompoc prevailed 40-7 in a game that was as one-sided as the score indicated.

Ninth-ranked Lompoc (10-3) faces either top-ranked Serra of Gardena or Cathedral of Los Angeles for the title. Those teams play tonight. Either way, the Braves will be on the road for the championship game either next Friday or Saturday. Lompoc's three prior playoff games have been at home.

The Braves' last CIF title game was in 1995. Covina blocked a last-minute Braves field goal try then and won 22-20.

Lompoc should be in fine shape in the 2002 championship game if it plays as it did Friday night. For starters, its offensive line cleared out the Centaurs so well that Robert Adams scored four touchdowns.

"We saw a lot of film and thought they were weak up the middle," Adams said. "We thought if we kept coming at them, they would die late in the game."

That is what happened. The Braves broke open a game that was 14-0 at halftime.

Matt Winn ran 23 times for 135 yards and scored a touchdown. Adams, who went over the 1,000-yard mark for the year, had 108 yards on 21 carries as the Braves amassed 391 rushing yards to Culver City's 70.

"They had no clue on defense," Lompoc coach Robin Luken said. "We were constantly one play away from popping a big one. It could have been really ugly."

Things were unattractive enough as it was for the Centaurs and their star Michael Bumpus. At least one publication rated Bumpus as one of the top junior prospects in the country, but he had 38 yards on five carries - one of those was a 29-yard reverse that set up Culver City's only score - and caught two passes for a total of two yards.

"We wanted to take (Bumpus) out of the game," said Luken. "We took him out of the game."

The Braves did it by playing a six-defensive back set that had the Centaurs flustered. "We worked (on the six-defensive back formation) all week," said Lompoc linebacker Nathan Mendoza. "Our coaches had us well-prepared for everything. I give most of the credit to the coaches."

Boys basketball

Righetti 68, Lincoln 54

SAN FRANCISCO -- Aaron Subido scored 20 points and added six rebounds as the Warriors advanced to the finals of the Arch Bishop Riordan Tournament with a win over the San Francisco-based school.

Ernie Del Rio added 18 points and five rebounds in the victory, while Ben Paine had five points and 10 assists. Righetti made 11 3-pointers, led by four each from Del Rio and Subido.

Lincoln was led by a 20-point effort from 6-foot-9 Russian immigrant Igor Fishbeyn.

Righetti faces either Arch Bishop Riordan -- the defending state Division III champs -- or Woodside of San Francisco in tonight's 7 p.m. final.

Atascadero 91, Santa Maria 79

MORRO BAY -- Mecklin Davis scored a game-high 35 points in leading the Greyhounds to a Harding Invitational consolation-bracket win over the Saints.

Darryl Phillips added 18 points in the victory for the Greyhounds.

Fred Smith led Santa Maria with 24 points, while Ricky Quintana added 16 in the losing effort.

Santa Maria takes on Templeton in today's seventh-place game.

Capistrano Valley 66, Santa Ynez 27

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- A six-point first quarter was followed by a one-point third quarter as the Pirates fell to Capistrano Valley in the consolation semifinals.

Aaron Richman led the Pirates with 11 points, while Sutton Clark added eight.

Santa Ynez takes on Gilroy in the sevneth-place game today at noon.

Girls basketball

VCA Tournament

St. Joseph played its way into the tournament championship game with a 78-40 victory over Bishop Diego.

Amy Phillips and Lisa Wise scored 11 points each, with Jennifer Mills, Jessica Perez and Abby Smith scoring 10 each in the victory.

In other tournament action, the host Lions fell to the seventh-place game with a 49-43 loss to Templeton.

Lacey Miller led the Lions with 15 points in the defeat, while Cynthia Regalado added 10 for VCA.

St. Joseph faces St. Mary's of Inglewood in the 2:30 p.m. final, while VCA faces Coast Union in the 10 a.m. seventh-place game.

Lompoc Varsity Tournament

LOMPOC -- The Braves fell to the Chargers in their own tournament despite a 20-point effort from Caysi Garife.

Brittany Garcia added 12 points, while Jillian Conaway and Natalie Fell had seven each.

In other tournament action, San Luis Obispo beat Santa Paula 55-31 and Arroyo Grande beat Delano 62-54.

Lompoc rounds out tournament play against Santa Paula at 4:30 p.m. today.

Boys soccer

Cats and Dogs Tournament

Righetti reached the championship-level Gold Division with a pair of victories in the tournament co-hosted by Atascadero and Paso Robles, while Arroyo Grande fell short despite a pair of shutouts.

Righetti opened play with a Vince Engelbrecht hat trick in a 3-1 win over Carpinteria. Crespin Guerrero had the assist on all three tallies.

Guerrero got one of his own in the Warriors' 2-0 win over Crossroads of Santa Monica, joined by a Cory Smith goal.

Arroyo Grande opened with a two-goal effort from Arturo Diaz in a 4-0 win over Yosemite, added to another two-goal game from Diaz in a 6-0 win over Bellflower. Bobby Petro and Antonio Diaz scored a goal apiece in both wins.

Righetti opens Gold Division play with a 9 a.m. match against Stockdale, while Arroyo Grande faces off against San Joaquin Memorial of Fresno in a 10 a.m. Silver Bracket game.

Girls soccer

Cabrillo 2, Dos Pueblos 2

VANDENBERG VILLAGE -- The Conquistadores garnered a second-half goal by Sarah Rogers, but couldn't tally another in a non-league tie with the Chargers.

Katie McIntosh scored the other goal for Cabrillo (0-0-1), coming at the eight-minute mark.

Cabrillo travels to Righetti on Wednesday.

Water polo

Newbury Park Invitational

NEWBURY PARK -- Righetti split its two games in pool play, beating Paso Robles 13-1 before losing to Cabrillo 8-1.

Jada Beasley had four goals in the win over the Bearcats, while Lauren McGilvray added three and Sam Ramos and Lydia Lombard had two each.

Veronica Adams scored the lone Righetti goal in the loss to Cabrillo, but goalie Meghan Tingstrom made nine saves in the losing effort.

Righetti faces Santa Barbara and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks in pool play today.

December 7, 2002