Junior Achievement: Boseman Is Named Best in His Class

It is time again for Stais Boseman to drag out the scrapbook. Another accolade has come his way.

The two-sport standout from Morningside High has been selected the top junior football player in the state by Cal-Hi Sports newswire. Boseman, a quarterback/defensive back who led Morningside to its first-ever Southern Section title, was the only non-senior named to the 32-player all-state team.

Selected as a defensive back, Boseman joins tailback/defensive back Shayzar Hawkins of Banning and running back/wide receiver Theron Hill of Carson on the all-state squad. Hawkins and Hill were multipurpose picks.

Banning defensive back Brandon Moore, a junior, was named to a separate all-underclass team.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Boseman guided Morningside to the Southern Section Division VIII title and an 11-2 record, leading the team in rushing, passing, scoring and interceptions.

Here are some of the other awards Boseman has won in the last year:

* 1990 Ocean League football offensive player of the year.

* 1991 Ocean League basketball player of the year.

* 1991 Times South Bay basketball player of the year.

* 1991 Ocean League football co-player of the year.

* 1991 Southern Section Division VIII football player of the year.

* Named to 1991 All-Southern Section football team.

In addition, Boseman is a leading candidate for The Times South Bay back of the year award. An announcement on that award and the coach and lineman of the year awards will be made Sunday at the Guest Quarters Hotel in Santa Monica at a breakfast honoring The Times South Bay all-star team.

UCLA linebacker Arnold Ale, a former Carson standout who was recently named most valuable player of the John Hancock Bowl, will be the guest speaker.

Cal-Hi Sports selected wide receiver Amani Toomer of De La Salle High of Concord as the state player of the year.

Toomer, a 6-3, 185-pound senior, caught 65 passes for 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns to help De La Salle extend its winning streak to 34 games before it was upset by Pittsburg, 35-27, in the North Coast Section 3-A final. He also excelled as a return specialist, running back four punts and a kickoff for touchdowns.

Here is a list of other award winners:

State coach of the year--Herb Meyer (El Camino of Oceanside), 13-1.

State team of the year--Mater Dei, 13-1.

Sophomore player of the year--George Keiaho (Buena of Ventura), running back.

Game of the year--Pittsburg 35, De La Salle 27 (North Coast Section 3-A final).

Upset of the year--Los Alamitos 8, Esperanza 0 (Southern Section Division III final). The winning ways of Gene Vollnogle obviously rubbed off on Los Alamitos. The former Carson coach was an assistant for the Griffins. Without Vollnogle, Carson was 6-5-1 and lost in the second round of the City Section 4-A playoffs, the school’s worst showing in years.

The Peninsula girls’ basketball team played its first home game Saturday night, but the Panthers didn’t get a break from the officials. Del Campo of Fair Oaks attempted 30 free throws compared to only eight for Peninsula.

Despite the difference in fouls, Peninsula still won easily, 77-57.

Panther Coach Wendell Yoshida said his players were more aggressive than usual after playing four games in the New York area last week.

“They really play rough back East,” Yoshida said. “It’s almost a brawl. Our kids loved it.”

Fair Oaks forward Danielle Viglione, a 5-10 junior, led all scorers Saturday with 39 points. She made 10 field goals, including four three-point shots, and 15 of 19 free throws. It was the most points scored by a player against a Yoshida-coached team in 12 seasons--11 at Palos Verdes and one at Peninsula.

“She’s a player,” Yoshida said.

Harbor College baseball Coach Tony Bloomfield has recruited many of the area’s top high school players, including nine who were named to The Times’ South Bay all-star team last season.

Assistant Coach Bob Anderson said the Seahawks could start as many as five freshmen. Among the leading newcomers are pitchers Brian Wise (El Segundo), Kris Radcliffe (Torrance), Mark Sanchez (Banning) and Andy Diver (St. Bernard), infielders David Rosato (South Torrance) and Tristan Paul (Rolling Hills), and outfielders Dwon Knighten (Serra), Eric Gonzalez (Torrance) and Mark Ponce De Leon (Mary Star).

Anderson said Rosato is pushing returning shortstop Mark Lewis for a starting spot, and Paul might be the regular third baseman. Anderson said Knighten--the area batting champion last season with a .629 average--could be one of three freshmen who start in the Harbor outfield. The others are Dan Tucker (Leuzinger), an unheralded player in high school, and Rolondo Avila (Paramount).

One of El Camino’s best players should be left-handed pitcher Jason Wayt, a transfer from Fresno State. Wayt was a standout at El Segundo two years ago.

However, first-year El Camino Coach Nick Van Lue was unable to recruit pitcher Armando Cervantes, his top player at Narbonne last season. Cervantes, the City 3-A player of the year, signed with Pepperdine.

Notes

In a meeting of two of the top girls’ basketball teams in the Southern Section, Thousand Oaks defeated Lynwood, 48-47, in the championship game of the Thousand Oaks tournament Saturday night. Lynwood center Janet Davis, a 6-4 transfer from Morningside, was held to eight points, including two in the second half. She spent most of the third quarter on the bench with four fouls. It was the first loss for Lynwood. Thousand Oaks’ only loss was to Peninsula in the final of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions last month.

Guard Mirlen Martinez scored 20 points to lead the Bishop Montgomery girls’ basketball team over Bell-Jeff of Burbank, 72-56, in the final of the Bell-Jeff tournament Saturday night. . . . Pepperdine first baseman Dan Melendez, a former St. Bernard standout, has been named to preseason All-American teams by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. Melendez played for Team USA last summer, helping the United States to a 27-10 record.