Sports Shorts: Los Al's Jarrels Likely to Miss Rest of Polo Season

Los Alamitos’ top goal-scorer, junior Chandler Jarrels, is likely out for the season because of a back injury, his mother, Aimee Jarrels, told the Orange County Register.

She said the doctors' prognosis for her son’s full recovery from abnormalities on two of the lumbar in his back is excellent. He will wear a back brace during his recovery.

Jarrels led the Griffins, , to the Division 1 quarterfinals with 68 goals last season. A Sunset League first-team selection, Jarrels was named to the U.S. men’s youth team that played in Italy this summer.

He didn't play in Los Alamitos’ 12-5 nonleague loss at No. 1 Mater Dei on Monday and saw limited time in the pool during an 18-4 season-opening victory over Northwood on Sept. 13.

The Griffins will open the annual South Coast tournament on Thursday with a 5 p.m. game against No. 10 Dana Hills at Newport Harbor High, where they will remain to compete in pool play.

Here are where the teams will begin their two days of pool play today. Quarterfinals will be held Friday at each pool, and winners will advance to Saturday’s semifinals, which will take place at 10:40 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. at Newport Harbor.

Capistrano Valley High -- 1. Mater Dei; 2. Laguna Beach; 3. Capistrano Valley; 4. Vista; 5. Northwood; 6. San Clemente; 7. Granite Hills; 8. Buena Park.

Foothill High -- 1. El Toro; 2. Loyola; 3. Santa Barbara; 4. Foothill; 5. Punahou (Hawaii); 6. Mission Viejo; 7. Santa Margarita; 8. University.

Newport Harbor High -- 1. Newport Harbor; 2. Los Alamitos; 3. The Bishop's (La Jolla); 4. Long Beach Wilson; 5. Servite; 6. Edison; 7. Dana Hills; 8. Redlands.

Corona del Mar -- 1. Corona del Mar; 2. Huntington Beach; 3. Villa Park; 4. Dos Pueblos (Goleta); 5. Riverside Poly; 6. Esperanza; 7. La Canada; 8. Long Beach Poly.

VILLANUEVA LEADS GRIFFINS TO DURANGO VOLLEYBALL FINAL

Senior opposite/setter Jaylen Villanueva, who recorded 41 kills, 20 assists and six aces to lead the Los Alamitos girls volleyball team to the finals of the Durango Fall Classic Saturday in Las Vegas, has been named the Orange County Register’s girls volleyball athlete of the week.

The Griffins, , fell to Assumption of Kentucky, 25-13, 25-19, in the final after defeating Marymount, 25-20, 24-26, 25-22, in the semifinals; Clovis West, 25-18, 25-17, in the quarterfinals, and Sunset League rival Edison, 25-19, 25-17, in an earlier round.

Villanueva was joined on the all-tournament team by two teammates: senior outside hitter Alijah Gunsaulus and sophomore middle blocker Crissy Jones.

On Tuesday, Los Alamitos traveled to Mira Costa and defeated the sixth-ranked Mustangs, 25-23, 25-22, 25-14, behind Gunsaulus' nine kills, outside hitter JoJo Schabl's 13 kills and setter Justine Wong-Orantes' 27 assists.

On Sept. 12, with a 25-17, 25-8, 25-16 victory over South Torrance. Los Alamitos did not lose a game during the tournament, and Villanueva, Gunsaulus and Schabl were named to the all-tournament team.

Speaking of volleyball, here are the pool assignments and schedule for pool play for the Divisions 1 and 2 brackets of the Dave Mohs O.C. Championships, which begin play at 3 p.m. Friday and resume at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Friday's pool schedule: 1 vs. 3; 2 vs. 4; 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3. On Saturday, it's 3 vs. 4 and 1 vs. 2. Afterward, the top two teams advance to the playoffs Saturday afternoon at Edison High.

The Division 1 final is Monday at 7:30 p.m., and it's preceded by the Division 2 final at 6 p.m. Both games are at Edison High.

DIVISION 1

Pool 1 at Edison -- 1. Los Alamitos; 2. Rosary; 3. Mission Viejo; 4. Los Osos.

Pool 2 at Corona del Mar -- 1. Corona del Mar; 2. El Dorado; 3. Tesoro; 4. West Ranch.

Pool 3 at Edison -- 1. Ediso; 2. Poly/Long Beach; 3. Bakersfield; 4. University/Irvine.

Pool 4 at Marina -- 1. Mater Dei; 2. San Clemente; 3. Marina; 4. Beckman.

Pool 5 at Newport Harbor -- 1. Newport Harbor; 2. Harvard-Westlake; 3. Capistrano Valley; 4. Chaparral.

Pool 6 at Newport Harbor -- 1. Laguna Beach; 2. Orange Lutheran; 3. Centennial/Corona; 4. Murrieta Valley.

Pool 7 at Edison -- 1. Santa Margarita; 2. Palos Verdes; 3. Wilson/Long Beach; 4. Upland.

Pool 8 at Huntington Beach -- 1. Huntington Beach; 2. Yucaipa; 3. Dana Hills; 4. Carson.

DIVISION 2

Pool 1 at Huntington Beach -- 1. Notre Dame; 2. Garces Memorial; 3. La Habra; 4. Estancia.

Pool 2 at Costa Mesa -- 1. Francis Parker; 2. Villa Park; 3. Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana; 4. Norco.

Pool 3 at Fountain Valley -- 1. Temecula Valley; 2. San Juan Hills; 3. R.E. Mountain; 4. El Modena.

Pool 4 at Marina -- 1. Trabuco Hills; 2. Peninsula; 3. Woodbridge; 4. Fullerton.

Pool 5 at Corona del Mar -- 1. Ayala; 2. Troy; 3. Stockdale.

Pool 6 at Costa Mesa -- 1. Sage Hill; 2. Carlsbad; 3. Canyon/Anaheim; 4. Costa Mesa.

Pool 7 at Corona del Mar -- 1. St. Margaret's; 2. Northwood; 3. Valencia/Placentia; 4. Silverado.

Pool 8 at Fountain Valley -- 1. Brea Olinda; 2. Laguna Hills; 3. Bonita; 4. Connelly.

GRIFFINS TAKE ON L.A. UNIVERSITY IN FOOTBALL ON THURSDAY

Los Alamitos’ football team, undefeated at 3-0 and , takes on the Warriors of University High of Los Angeles (2-0) in an intersectional game Thursday at 7 p.m. at Long Beach Veterans Stadium.

In common between these opponents is the fact that their victories have come against less-than-stellar opposition. The combined records of University’s opponents is 0-6, while the Griffins’ opponents have a record of 1-8.

The scoreboard could be lit brightly all evening as Los Alamitos is averaging 49 points per game, while University is averaging 38.5. However, both teams have seen their scoring totals drop off with each passing week. The Griffins opened with a , then scored a 56-21 win over Mayfair, followed by a 21-8 victory over West Adams Prep. The Warriors beat Animo South Los Angeles, 49-6, to open their season, then beat Panorama, 28-13, last week.

University has rushed for an average of 150.5 yards per game behind sophomore Xavier Johnson and passed for 55.5 behind senior Alif Vannah. Los Alamitos is averaging 174.3 yards rushing and 166 yards passing, led by seniors Cody Paul and Dylan Lagarde.

The Griffins should have no trouble picking up coach John Barnes' 293rd career victory, but will playing such a seemingly weak schedule to open the season satisfactorily prepare the Griffins for the rigors of the Sunset League and the playoffs? Remember, the Griffins haven’t won a playoff game since 2004.

I guess that answer could come as early as next week, when Los Alamitos does an about-face and plays Santa Margarita, ranked No. 5 in the Pac-5, on Thursday, Sept. 29, at Veterans Stadium. Last season, the Griffins lost to the Eagles, 31-7, but went on to win the league title; however, they fell in the first round of the playoffs to Crespi of Encino, 28-14.

LOS ALAMITOS RUNNERS EXCEL AT CROSS-COUNTRY COUNTY CLASSIC

Los Alamitos High runners competed in the Cross Country Classic Friday and Saturday at Estancia High. The 31st annual meet was co-hosted by Woodbridge, Estancia, and Costa Mesa high schools and the Newport-Irvine Rotary Club, and was sponsored by Puma.

Here are results of races in which the Griffins scored among the top 10:

Freshman Girls -- 1.Melnyk (Crescenta Valley) 18:45; 2. Scharmann (Tesoro) 18:51; 3. Padilla (Great Oak) 18:53; 4. Evans (Redlands East Valley) 18:58; 5. Witzeman (Crescenta Valley) 18:58; 6. Taylor (Los Alamitos) 19:23; 7. Hebb (Redlands East Valley) 19:27; 8. McCullough (Long Beach Poly) 19:32; 9. Nolte (Crescenta Valley) 19:45; 10. DeFrank (Great Oak) 19:46.

For complete results in all divisions, click here.

We’re a little late with this one, but for complete results of the Sept. 10 Laguna Hills Invitational, click here.

Coming up on Saturday are the Dana Hills Nike Invitational as well as the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto.

WRESTLING OFFICIALS NEEDED FOR 2011-12 SEASON

The Orange County Wrestling Officials Assn. is looking to add officials to its rosters and is holding its first mandatory meeting for candidates for the 2011-12 high school season on Sunday at 6 p.m. in Room 240 (across from gymnasium) at Corona Del Mar High School.

For more information, contact Bruce Terry at (714) 876-7230 or drbruceterry@yahoo.com.

Have some high school news or a score that you'd like to share? Send it to O.C. Patch sports editor Bob Rohwer at bob.rohwer@patch.com.