With Spring Drills Looming, Campbell Hall's Football Team Feels Good About its Chances

Like father, like son.

Campbell Hall High quarterback R.J. Gordon is coming off an excellent junior season, and his father, head football coach Russell Gordon, is about exciting about the team’s chances of making an impact in the talent-rich Alpha League.

“We have a good team coming back. We didn’t graduate a lot of kids,” Coach Gordon said. “I’m excited.”

The younger Gordon passed for 2,536 yards and 22 touchdowns this past season, and he has a lot of returning receivers, including Josh Ross (42 receptions) and Dustin Drai (40 receptions), both of whom are top defensive players, too.

Spring practice begins later this month, but Campbell Hall is already active, having competed in some seven-on-seven competitions with larger schools.

“Two weeks ago, we went up against Eastside and did really well,” the coach said.

The quarterback is expected to participate in some high-profile college summer camps, including Washington State.

“The wide receivers are back. Four of the five starting offensive lineman are back. Pretty much everyone is back,” Coach Gordon said. “We should be very competitive this year.”

The top offensive lineman is  George Kisselevsky. Blade Brady, who rushed for 521 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore last year, takes over for Austin McBroom, the one graduating senior the Vikings are really going to miss.

McBroom is headed to Central Michigan on a basketball scholarship.

EX-H.W. HOOPS STANDOUT WAITING FOR NEW MIAMI COACH TO SWOOPE RIGHT IN

There’s been some turmoil at the University of Miami, where basketball coach Frank Haith resigned to take the Missouri job, and among those effected is freshman forward Erik Swoope, the former Harvard-Westlake standout.

“You know it’s rough times because everything is up in the air,” Swoope said. “We’re waiting to see who the new coach is going to be, so that’s a major concern. It’s been hectic, a lot of questions, concerns and confusion.”

Swoope played 6.5 minutes per game while adjusting from being a power forward to a small forward.

“I could have done better, but it’s hard adjusting to a new position when you’re playing in the ACC,” Swoope said. “I kind of messed up my ankle, too, and that set me back.”

One thing is for sure: the rigorous academic program at Harvard-Westlake prepared Swoope well for college, and he was a first-team ACC All-Academic team selection.

“It was like continuing my senior year at Harvard-Westlake,” Swoope said. “The big difference is traveling so much and being outside of Florida so often, so that made it a little tougher. I didn’t quite have a 4.0 grade-point average, but I was up there.”

READY FOR A BIG WEEK

Campbell Hall’s baseball team faces Alpha League rival Montclair Prep in a key two-game series beginning on Tuesday.

“It’s going to be a big one for both teams,” Campbell Hall coach Juan Velazquez said. “We’re competing for the league title, and it’s going to be a playoff-type atmosphere. It’s good to put us in that mode already.”

Campbell Hall is 9-1, 3-0, and Montclair Prep is 10-5, 2-1. The Tuesday game is at Campbell Hall at 3:15 p.m., and the visiting Mounties are scheduled to send ace Max Fried to the hill. He already has committed to UCLA and is considered one of California’s top prospects.

“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” Campbell Hall catcher Adam Ehrlich said. “Montclair Prep is our big rival in the Valley, so our whole team is looking forward to it. I’m excited to face Max Fried. It’s a challenge.”

VALLEY TORAH HOOPS STANDOUT TO BE HONORED

Basketball standout Aaron Liberman from Valley Torah is being presented an award tonight as a John R. Wooden Most Valuable Player winner at a gala event in Los Angeles.

"It's a huge honor to go there with all these top prospects," Liberman said. "It's pretty incredible, the whole experience. It's a great feeling to be one of the recipiants."