After 59 Straight, La Canada Deals With Tough Loss

The Southern Section-record winning streak of the La Canada High boys’ soccer team ended at 59 matches on Jan. 10 with a 1-0 loss to Blair in a Rio Hondo League match.

“My boys were very, very disappointed,” said 10th-year Coach Lou Bilowitz. “They felt like they let the boys down who graduated ahead of them.”

Bilowitz was told the national high school record for consecutive victories is 64.

“We hadn’t talked about the streak much before then, but I used [the national record] to try and pump them up,” Bilowitz said. “It didn’t work.”

The Spartans (9-1-1), nine-time defending Rio Hondo League champions, face a struggle to capture their 10th consecutive title.

“Before this year we’d lost four league games in nine years, and we may lose that many this season,” Bilowitz said. “But we play with such heart that I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had coaching.”

Mouthing off: The Fillmore-Oak Park boys’ soccer match Thursday ended early and in unpleasant fashion, leading to the ejection of Oak Park standout forward Russell Prior minutes after the match was called.

Fifteen minutes into the match between the Tri-Valley League’s two top teams, the referee decided the saturated field at Oak Park High was unsafe and postponed the match. Oak Park, (6-4-1, 2-2 in league), which was leading Fillmore, (8-0, 5-0), 1-0, protested.

“There were four or five Oak Park guys in the referee’s face, cursing at him,” Fillmore Coach Kevin Jauch said. “I was embarrassed to be on the field.”

Prior, an all-league forward, was cautioned and then ejected. By rule, he will miss the next match.

“I used vulgar language but I was mad,” Prior said. “Calling the game was the wrong thing to do because the conditions were fine. I should have controlled myself but I was just overwhelmed.”

Tough break: Oscar Garcia, leading scorer for the Cleveland High boys’ soccer team, is out for the season with a broken leg.

Garcia, a junior midfielder, had nine goals in 11 matches before he was kicked in Tuesday’s match with Chatsworth.

Snow delay: The Quartz Hill girls’ basketball team, ranked fourth in the region by The Times, will end a month-long layoff Tuesday against Highland in what will be its Golden League opener.

Three inches of snow Wednesday forced the cancellation of school Thursday, when the Rebels were scheduled to play Antelope Valley. Coach Steve Lankford said he does not know when the game will be made up.

Lankford had given the Rebels a week’s vacation from practice, hoping they wouldn’t become rusty after a 10-1 start. They haven’t played since Dec. 21.

Call to arm: Hart receiver Scott Collins caught 50 passes for 760 yards and five touchdowns last season, his first as a varsity starter. But his receiving days might be over. Collins plans to learn the quarterback position at Valley College next season.