By Dave Abbott of NELA Sports One
Lincoln beats Franklin to win the Northern League football championship. Eagle Rock is the dominant NELA team in girls volleyball as playoffs get underway this week in the CIF L.A. City Section. Upcoming matchups include Franklin v. Wilson in football’s “Battle for the Victory Bell” and the Eagle Rock girls tennis team in playoffs against SOCES in Sherman Oaks.
The Lincoln Tigers of Lincoln Heights defeated the Franklin Panthers of Highland Park, 52-34, in the Kenny Washington Memorial game, at Lincoln, on Oct. 22 to decide the Northern League championship. The Tigers, who played in April while Franklin (and Eagle Rock) opted due to COVID-19 concerns, are now back-to-back Northern League champions.
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The Lincoln v. Franklin game was one of a few games played last week at the normal time of 7 p.m. Most other games – in football and girls volleyball – have been moved to 4 p.m. as the Los Angeles Unified School District copes with a shortage of bus drivers. The shortage is due in part to drivers who remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 and thus are not allowed to work. The LAUSD vaccination deadline for bus drivers and other school staff was Oct. 15.
The shift to afternoon games turned Eagle Rock’s “Senior Night” on Oct. 22 into “Senior Day:” The Eagles played the Torres Toros at 4 p.m. beating the Toros, 55-0. The Eagles victory comes on the heels of another resounding Eagles win, against Wilson, on Oct. 15, 56-14.
The Marshall Barristers have forfeited their two remaining games because injuries have left them with a lack of players. The forfeitures mean that Marshall’s last game of the season was a defeat, 49-0, by Lincoln on Oct. 15.
Wilson High in El Sereno was scheduled to play the Barristers on Oct. 22; instead, Wilson played – and defeated – the Locke Saints of South L.A., 48-6.
In 8-man football, the Sotomayor Wolves of Glassell Park are the new “City League” champions. Sotomayor defeated Animo Robinson of downtown L.A., 50-12, on Oct. 15, and the USC Hybrid Trojans on Oct. 22, 40-6. Sotomayor, with a 4-0 record in league competition, is #1 ranked in the City Section and should make an appearance in the 8-man Championship game.
Coming up
Lincoln will play Torres on Oct. 29 in the one remaining game of the regular season. (Eagle Rock was scheduled to play Marshall but due to Marshall’s forfeiture does not currently have a game on Oct. 28.)
Franklin will host senior night in the “Battle for the Victory Bell” game on Oct. 29 against Wilson. The game will be at 7 p.m. because Wilson plans to charter a bus to the game.
The CIF L.A. City Section volleyball playoff will start on Oct. 26 with round 1. Eagle Rock, which has a first round bye, and Franklin will compete in Division II, while Sotomayor and Lincoln compete in Division III.
#14 seed Franklin Panthers will host #19 Los Angeles Romans on Oct. 26. The winner of that game will play #3 Eagle Rock on Oct. 28.
In Division III, #9 Sotomayor plays at #8 North Hollywood and #12 Lincoln at #5 Vaughn.
In the girls volleyball playoffs in the CIF Southern Section Division 6, the Sacred Heart Comets of Lincoln Heights defeated Southlands Christian Eagles of Rowland Heights 3-0 on Oct. 21 in the first round. They advanced to the second round on Oct. 23 where they lost against the California Condors of Whittier, 3-2. The loss ended an outstanding season for the Comets who finished with a 10-0 league record and an overall record of 18-4.
Eagle Rock, the Northern league runner-up, received the #11 seed in the Division I playoffs and will travel to #6 SOCES in the first round on Oct 26. The winner will play again on Oct. 28 at #3 Bell in the quarterfinals.
To contact Dave Abbott about purchasing his photos of NELA high school sports, visit: SplashArtPhotography.com
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How about some coverage of Girls Xcountry? City finals are coming up and Eagle Rock’s girls team could qualify for State. Some support would be great!