Golden League winter sports outlook

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On the eve of the first round of the Southern Section division basketball playoffs last season, I remember Times’ stats guru Eric Maddy saying he’d be surprised if any of the Golden League boys basketball teams made it out of the first round. Well, I shouldn’t have doubted Maddy because he’s always right about those kind of things, but I was a little surprised when we actually posted that last league score on the website.

Hopefully, history won’t repeat itself this season -- let’s hope somebody from this league can represent the Antelope Valley with a deep playoff run.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL -- Highland‘s victory over defending co-champion Knight on Wednesday showed there will likely be a two-way battle for the league title. The Kyisean Reed-led boys over on 25th Street West look really strong, but never count out what the Pepperdine-bound Paul George is capable of doing for Knight. Lancaster and Palmdale are my picks for the other two playoff spots.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL -- Thanks to a tough nonleague run that included tournament appearances in Canada and at the Santa Barbara TOC, Tijera Matthews and the rest of the Palmdale gals are my pick to outlast Knight for the league title. But it’s definitely going to be close again this year. The Hawks’ point-producing machine of Gelenda Loving, Malika Jackson, Dominique Turner and Anttanisha Moton will be tough to stop. Quartz Hill, however, only lost by two points to Knight in the Serrano Holiday Tournament, so the Rebels definitely will be in the title hunt, too.

BOYS’ SOCCER -- Thanks to a penalty-kicks victory over Birmingham in the finals of the Hart Soccer Showcase last week, Quartz Hill proved it’s the front-runner for the league title. With talented scorers like Facundo Gomez, Eric Wageman and Logan McDaniel in the lineup coupled with a defense that’s allowed only six goals, how can you not pick these guys? Palmdale and Highland will complete the top three, but Lancaster, along with improved squads from Littlerock and Antelope Valley, could make an impact.

GIRLS’ SOCCER -- Four-time defending champion Highland, which is sporting a 35-game league winning streak heading into today’s match with Littlerock (weather permitting), is once again the team to beat. The Bulldogs have several talented players, including forward Samantha Johnson, who’s coming off a 12-goal, 30-point sophomore campaign. A decent-looking Knight squad, along with Lancaster and Quartz Hill, will tussle for playoff positioning. Check out this second outlook.

-- Austin Knoblauch

-- Image from www.avacres.com