Sports

Sierra Canyon Football Ready to Challenge Larger Schools in Saugus Tourney

The Trailblazers have entered the Saugus Under The Lights passing tournament beginning today, and there is a lot of tough competition.

Sierra Canyon High's football team proved itself against small-schools competition this past winter, advancing to the Southern Section East Valley championship game before losing 14-7 to Paraclete in the final.

Today, Sierra Canyon is ready to mix it up with the big boys -- without helmets and pads, that is -- at the fifth annual Saugus Under The Lights passing tournament, as the Trailblazers are the smallest school in the 20-team, two-day event that concludes with the championship game Saturday at 8 p.m.

Sierra Canyon feels ready to step up, based on the return of standout quarterback Tyler Stewart, who passed for nearly 2,900 yards and 39 touchdowns as a junior last season.

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“He’s a lot better,” coach Jon Ellinghouse said.

Stewart, who stands 6 feet 4, needs to find a new favorite receiver now that Shane Harrision (75 receptions, 21 touchdowns) has graduated. The top candidate is Julian Brooks, who as a junior had 35 catches for 858 yards and 15 touchdowns, including a 98-yarder.

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Stewart and Brooks are not typical small-school athletes. Stewart has scholarship offers from Bowling Green and several other universities, and Brooks has offers from Washington State, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah State, Utah and Oregon State.

Some of the colleges want Brooks as a receiver, others as a defensive back, so he is an impact player on both sides of the football.

Sierra Canyon also returns running backs Xavier Menifield (1,014 yards 12 touchdowns) and Danny Jordan (837 yards, six touchdowns).

Pool competition begins today, and Sierra Canyon opens against Agoura at 6 p.m., followed by Long Beach Poly at 7 and Saugus at 8. The top 16 from six pools qualify for a 16-team elimination tournament beginning Saturday at 5 p.m.

Some of the top teams are Canyon, Oaks Christian, Valencia, Hart, Loyola, Chaminade, Notre Dame and Thousand Oaks – all schools with much bigger football reputations than Sierra Canyon.

“I think we’ll do well,” Ellinghouse said. “We played some bigger schools in a tournament at Antelope Valley College last week, and we beat a lot of the teams out there. We lost by just two points to Hart, and we should have won that game, too.”

HOOP IT UP

Chatsworth’s boys basketball team participates in the annual War on the Floor tournament beginning on Saturday at Pierce College, as the Chancellors open at 10 a.m. against West Ranch, followed by a game at noon against Oaks Christian. On Sunday, Chatsworth finishes pool competition with a game at 6 p.m. against Highland, and the playoffs are on Monday.

CHATSWORTH BASEBALL COACH TO HELP GUIDE NATIONAL TEAM

Tom Meusborn, a 22-year coach for Chatsworth’s baseball team, is part of the coaching staff on the USA Baseball U-16 national team that will play in the Youth Championships on Aug. 19-28 at Lagos de Moreno, Mexico.


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