Home Sweet Homecoming Victory for Sierra Canyon's Football Team

• Final scores: Birmingham 35, Chatsworth 16; 
  Sierra Canyon 49, Pasadena Marshall 16

It’s homecoming tonight for Sierra Canyon High, a football team without a home, as construction continues for a campus stadium that hopefully will be completed in time for the 2012 season.

So the Trailblazers and what is expected to be their biggest crowd of the season gather tonight at 7 at Chatsworth High – there was a late site switch from Pierce College – for an Alpha League game against Marshall of Pasadena.

Sierra Canyon (5-0), the top-ranked small-school program in California, has won by an average of nearly 42 points, while Marshall (1-5) has lost four of its games by 15 points or more, including an 86-0 defeat to Paraclete, so there is not much doubt about which team is going to win tonight.

The biggest challenges for Sierra Canyon lie ahead, as the new season has taken on a rhythm after the Trailblazers lost to nemesis Paraclete this past December in the East Valley Division championship.

“We’ve kind of made it our motto not to put any more emphasis on one game compared to another,” Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse said. “We’re really trying to focus on one game at a time. But at the same time, we’re really excited about the second half of the season. We want to enjoy homecoming tonight and have a great outcome and play our best game.

“As for the future, it’s one game at a time, and that’s our goal.”

Sierra Canyon’s Tyler Stewart has passed for 878 yards and 18 touchdowns with just one interception, Xavier Menifield has rushed for 515 yards while averaging 14.7 yards per carry with 10 touchdowns, and Julian Brooks has 16 receptions for 311 yards and seven touchdowns.

CHATSWORTH FOOTBALL READIES FOR LEAGUE OPENER

Chatsworth High has a big football game at 7 tonight at Birmingham in Van Nuys in a West Valley League opener. City Secton Division II participant Chatsworth is 4-1 while Division I Birmingham (3-2) has lost two in a row to top Southern Section opponents -- so despite the host Patriots’ two-game losing streak, they’re a 21-point favorite on Calpreps.com.

“Birmingham is a big favorite, and we like that,” Chatsworth coach Andrew Kim said. “It gives us something to shoot for and something to work toward. My team likes being the underdog and playing up for the moment. They’re just really tenacious, and they feel like they can play with anyone.”

Jim Rose said Birmingham’s game plan is to stop Chatsworth’s Eric Waters.

“He has scored a lot of TDs,” Rose said.

Seventeen, to be exact, as Waters is among California’s most impressive performers through the first half of the season. Overall, the senior multi-purpose back has rushed for 450 yards, caught 12 passes for 318 yards, and three times he has scored four touchdowns or more in a game, including six last week in a win over Santee. He also has 16 tackles and an interception, and he is averaging 43.6 yards on kick returns.

CHATSWORTH VOLLEYBALL LOOKS TO IMPROVE

Chatsworth’s girls volleyball team has lost five in a row heading into a West Valley League game Tuesday at 4 p.m. at El Camino Real.

Overall, the Chancellors are 10-14-1, 0-6. Samantha Garner and Megan Hamlin lead with 83 kills, and Alyssa Melville leads with 57 digs.

Meanwhile, Sierra Canyon’s girls volleyball team, coached by Morgan Wijay, has won four in a row