PREP NOTES : Shots at Football Games Spur More Security for Friday

Recent incidents of gunfire outside the stadiums of two L.A. City Section football games have prompted high school administrators to increase security Friday for two games involving South Bay teams.

Chuck Didinger, Banning assistant principal in charge of athletics, said additional police will be on patrol Friday night for Banning’s game against Dorsey at Jackie Robinson Stadium near the Dorsey campus.

Last Thursday, the Dorsey-Crenshaw game was suspended in the fourth quarter when at least 20 shots were fired outside Robinson Stadium. The gunfire caused the 800 people at the game to hit the ground or run for cover.

“There has been an effort to step up supervision for this week,” Didinger said. “We’re concerned about the safety of our kids, and I’m sure the parents in the community are concerned.”

They are concerned at San Pedro High, too.

San Pedro Coach Henry Pacheco explored the possibility of moving Friday afternoon’s game at Washington High to another site after off-campus gunfire suspended play in the Nov. 3 game between host Washington and Gardena.

“I approached our principal about the possibility of getting the site changed,” Pacheco said. “But downtown (administrators) said they are going to have added security--more school police and LAPD.”

Although none of the gunfire outside of Washington and Robinson Stadium reportedly was directed at participants, the recent spate of shootings has L.A. City administrators concerned.

“Fortunately all of the shootings have been outside the perimeter of the stadiums,” said Hal Harkness, director of L.A. City athletics. “No one has been directly confronted by a gun, but that doesn’t minimize the situation.”

Harkness said schools normally have a “great deal” of security at games, especially those played in gang-ravaged South Los Angeles, where Washington and Dorsey are located. Law enforcement personnel who regularly patrol L.A. City football and basketball games include members of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Sheriff’s Department and campus security.

“It’s not like there hasn’t been (security) people there,” Harkness said. “They just haven’t been as visible as people would have liked.”

To improve their visibility, police and security personnel will patrol the parking lots and areas outside the stadiums more than usual Friday.

“We’re making sure it’s all under control,” Banning’s Didinger said.

San Pedro, which needs a win over Washington to clinch a spot in the L.A. City 3-A football playoffs, has played one of the most demanding schedules in the South Bay.

All of the Pirates’ five losses have come against teams that have either qualified for the playoffs or are competing for a playoff spot, including two league champions--Palos Verdes (Bay) and Carson (Pacific).

“We have a good team, but our record doesn’t indicate it,” said Coach Pacheco, whose team improved to 3-5 with a 28-20 win over Gardena last week. “Our level of competition has been higher than anybody else in the area.”

San Pedro’s other losses have come against Leuzinger, the third-place team in the Bay League, and Banning and Crenshaw, both fighting for playoff berths from the powerful Pacific League.

San Pedro (2-3 in conference play) and Gardena (2-4) have the inside track at securing the Southern League’s two berths in the 3-A playoffs. But if San Pedro loses to Washington (1-5), it could throw the Southern-Pacific Conference into a series of tie-breakers that would have to be played either Monday or Tuesday. The top two teams in each of the eight 3-A leagues qualify for the playoffs, which start Wednesday because of Thanksgiving.

Banning is in a precarious position entering its final Pacific League football game.

The Pilots, coming off a discouraging 41-0 loss to Carson, need a victory Friday night against Dorsey to secure an L.A. City 4-A playoff spot.

Banning is tied for third place and the Pacific League’s final playoff berth with Crenshaw, both with 4-2 conference records. If the teams remain tied after Friday’s games--Crenshaw faces Carson--they will play a tie-breaker on Monday at a neutral site.

Making matters worse for Banning is a knee injury suffered by quarterback John Ma’ae against Carson. A decision on his availability for Friday’s game will be made today, Didinger said.

Which brings up an interesting question. When is the last time Banning failed to make the playoffs?

“I don’t think I’m that old,” Didinger said. “It’s been a long, long time.”

Laura Collins, a 5-foot-11 center for North Torrance, signed a letter of intent Monday to play basketball for UCLA.

Collins led North to the semifinals of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs last year, averaging 21.7 points and 14.4 rebounds a game. She was named to The Times South Bay All-Star Team, the All-CIF first team and the USA Today All-American squad as an honorable mention.

PREP NOTES--Pacific League champion Carson has a bye for the first round of the L.A. City 4-A football playoffs Wednesday. The Colts will begin play in the quarterfinals Dec. 1 . . . Top-seeded Mira Costa, which meets fourth-seeded Laguna Beach at 7:30 tonight at Redondo High in the semifinals of the Southern Section 5-A girls volleyball playoffs, remained in the No. 1 spot in the final State CIF/Coaches poll. Ranked behind the Mustangs are Corona del Mar and Santa Barbara, which meet tonight in the other semifinal. The final will be played at 8:15 Saturday night at Marina High in Huntington Beach . . . Miraleste’s water polo team defeated Cabrillo of Lompoc, 16-7, Tuesday to advance to the semifinals of the Southern Section 2-A playoffs. The third-seeded Marauders (22-5) will play second-seeded La Serna of Whittier (12-2) on Saturday at an alternate site chosen by La Serna.