The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 37

2003:10:12:22:42:21 D14 SPORTS LOSANGELESTIMES By Martin Henderson Times Staff Writer No one can accuse Carson Coach John Aguirre of dodging the competition. The Colts lost to the highest- ranked Southern Section team, Los Alamitos, 31-6, on Friday. A week earlier, they lost to Fresno Clovis West, 21-0. In the season opener, they lost to City Section power Venice, 34-14. Clovis West was ranked No.

2 in the Central Section beforethe weekend, then defeated No. 1 Clovis East, 27-7. Clovis West beat Corona Centennial, 44-40, two weeks ago, and Clovis Eastearlier defeated Long Beach Poly, 17-13. So how do these top teams from different sections stack up? rank Los Alamitos No. 1 because their offense is so strong, but rank Clovis West No.

2 because they have the overall team. Their defense is a lot stronger than Los Aguirre said. was our first game. I thought they were solid and probably have the best group of receivers, but I feel their defense was as Aguirre so sure Venice really is the No. 1 team in the City.

He likes Dorsey, which this weekend defeated Chino, 26-10. The Dons are led by defensive lineman-tight end Jasper Henry safety Jerome Boyd tailback Jeremiah Johnson and quarterback Donald Prince think their defense is a little bit better, and what it will come down to in the Aguirre said. Chino Coach John Monger argue after Dorsey held his team to 124 yards. never played Poly, been a head coach for 32 years, and that was the fastest football team ever Monger said. seen fast backs, seen fast receivers, and seen fast defensive lineman, but never seen as many fast players everywhere And their execution was This has to be some kind of record, even though it came in a losing effort.

Trailing Santa Maria, 28-0, Arroyo GrandeNipomo scored twice in thefinal 1.1 seconds Friday. Caleb Courtney picked up a fumble and ran 32 yards for a touchdown for the first score. Nipomo kicked off, and the ball went out of bounds. No time ran off the clock because the ball touched. Santa Maria, instead of taking a knee, tried a rushing play and fumbled the ball.

Nathan McGee recovered and returned it 40 yards for another score. Winless Alta Loma did something no other team has done this year when the Braves stopped Riverside North on the first play of their game Friday. That prevented the Huskies from getting into the end zone on their opening offensive play for the fifth consecutive week, though theWeek 2 touchdown was nullified by a penalty. Instead, North drove 80 yards with Josh Barnett scoring from four yards. Barnett carried nine times for 174 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-19 victory.

For the record, a double pass failed to materialize on first play, as Damon Morton starteda sweep and then passed backward to his quarterback and twin, Dion Morton who found his target, Barnett, covered downfield. Morton lost a yard when he tried to run. one of those things, you want it to become something where, if you get it, going to kill you and it said Coach Lou Randall whose team drove 80, 80, 81 and 71 yards for touchdowns on its first four possessions. want that to be the focus, the first play of the game and how going to Kevin Harris delivered the halftime speech during San 22-14 victory over San Marino on Friday, helping the Matadors improve to 5-0. Harris, a senior fullback and linebacker, was shot six times in the leg and once in the torso Sept.

28. His girlfriend was killed and another teen was injured in the attack. Three dots and a cloud of dust: Terrell Jackson rushed 40 times for four touchdowns and a school-record 393 yards as Corona Centennial defeated Redlands, 41-27. He broke the record of 340 set by 2001 graduate Mike Bass is 5-0 for the first time since 1983 after its 3113 Moore League victory over Long Beach Eisenhower is Eagles began last season 0-5, then had a 5-0 record in league Valley Vista Del Lago, in its third year but without a senior class, won its first varsity game with a 13-6 DeAnza League victory over Banning. Duante Gross ran 72 yards for one touchdown, and Frankie Hernandez caught a 60-yard touchdown pass for the Ramon Burgos scored four touchdowns a 23-yard pass reception, a 55-yard interception return and runs of 39 and 72 yards to help Rowland Heights Rowland defeat Montebello, 35-22.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL REWIND Choice Is Los Alamitos THE RANKINGS MARTIN FOOTBALL RANKINGS AND COMMENTS RankSchool (Record)Comment (last week) 1 LOS ALAMITOS (5-0, SS-Div. I) This week, Barnes and Barnes vs. White and White. (1) 2 MISSION VIEJO (5-0, SS-Div. II) Rumbling Chane Moline keeps reeling off long runs in noteworthy games.

(2) 3 RIVERSIDE NORTH (5-0, SS-Div. V) Finally, the off to score on the first play of the game. (3) 4 WESTLAKE (5-0, SS-Div. IV) Made mincemeat of expectations that Agoura would present a challenge. (4).

5 LONG BEACH POLY (3-2, SS-Div. I) Put up 63 points, 587 yards of offense against Long Beach Millikan. (5) 6 ST. BONAVENTURE (5-0, SS-Div. IV) Beat Ridgecrest Burroughs, 27-20, in battle of unbeaten teams.

(6) 7 ORANGE LUTHERAN (4-0, SS-Div. VI) Had open date last week, no one called to add them to schedule. (7) 8 HART (2-3, SS-Div. II) Sean Norton Co. rolling, beat Loyola for second win in a row.

(8) 9 LOS ALTOS (5-0, SS-Div. VI) Never mind Drayton and Brown, Tau Alo emerging as offensive threat. (9) 10 ST. JOHN BOSCO (5-0, SS-Div. I) Scrape past Narbonne, 10-6; guilty of looking ahead to Mater Dei? (10) 11 S.O.

NOTRE DAME (4-1, SS-Div. III) Escaped with 24-23 win when Valencia failed on two-point conversion try. (11) 12 CORONA CENTENNIAL (3-2, SS-Div. V) One of most potent offenses, but defense is suspect. (12) 13 VENICE (5-0, City) Beau Davis completed 11 passes, six for TDs, against Franklin.

(13) 14 C.C. CANYON (5-0, SS-Div. II) Soft schedule finally gets tough with Valencia on Thursday. (15) 15 LOYOLA (3-2, SS-Div. I) Cubs 0-2 against the top 25, and have Servite on deck.

(14) 16 SOUTH HILLS (5-0, SS-Div. VII) Smooth and efficient in 35-17 win over Glendora. (17) 17 DORSEY (5-0, City) Jeremiah Johnson chopped down Chino in 26-10 victory. (25) 18 SANTA MARGARITA (5-0, SS-Div. I) Michael Angelo benched in first quarter, throws two TD passes in second.

(16) 19 FOUNTAIN VALLEY (3-2, SS-Div. I) Kyle three TDs enough to beat Santa Ana Valley, 35-14. (18) 20 DOMINGUEZ (5-0, SS-Div. III) Take care of business, but only 28-14 victory vs. winless Compton.

(19) 21 SERVITE (5-0, SS-Div. I) Scrape past Edison on Mike fumble return. (22) 22 MATER DEI (2-3, SS-Div. I) Are the Monarchs finally on track? Is Bosco next on hit list? (20) 23 VALENCIA (4-1, SS-Div. II) Lost to N.D., went for two instead of kicking PAT with 3.2 seconds left.

(23) 24 EDISON (3-2, SS-Div. I) Allow one TD in consecutive losses to top-25 teams. (21) 25 MIRA COSTA (5-0, SS-Div. III) Slip past Hawthorne, ready for Bay League challengers. (24) he Germans celebrated by forming a chorus line and performing high kicks, not the kind you might see from them on the soccer field but the kind you would see from the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall.

They sang that traditional German beer hall song, Or at least a version of it. In tribute to the prolific striker from the national team, a German radio station a few years ago took the melody from the song and changed the words in the chorus to, only one Rudi The German women Sunday changed the words again, this time to, only one Nia Most people who have been following the World Cup probably know there was even one Nia Kuenzer. Even in Germany, she was better known for her television commentary during the national games than as a player. After rehabilitating from her third major knee surgery, all before her 23rd birthday last January, she joined the teamfor this tournament. But she had played in only three of the five games before Sunday and for a total of only 64 minutes.

On a team with the World two leading goal scorers, Birgit Prinz and Maren Meinert, who would be first and third in Golden Ball voting formost valuable player, the odds against Kuenzer scoring the golden goal in overtime would have been prohibitive. How she scored was equally improbable. At 5 feet 5, she was the third-shortest player on the field. But on a free kick from 32 yardsby midfielder Renate Lingor, Kuenzer leaped high into the air over 5-7 defender Kristin Bengtsson and headed the ball over the head of 5-9 goalkeeper CarolineJoensson into the net. That was all it took.

Germany 2, Sweden 1. Asked later if she in her wildest dreams had ever envisioned scoring such an important goal, she who had scored twice in 33 international matches, Kuenzer said, my wildest dreams She laughed and confessed, soccer player dreams of scoring the decisive goal in the World Cup. I deny Alarger-than-expected crowd of 26,137 was announced for the game at the Home Depot Center in Carson. Many of the fans probably bought tickets in advance, anticipating that the U.S. team would be in the final.

Even so, they were in a good mood, going so far as to cheer the embattled FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, when he was introduced. He rarely receives a reception like that in soccer stadiums. The largely pro-Swedish crowd might have been disap- pointed with the result, but it had to appreciate the play. Swedish Coach Marika Domanski Lyfors said fans told her afterward it was of the best games ever putting it in acategory with 3-0 semifinal victory over the United States seven days before in Portland, Ore. It was certainly the best of the three World Cup championship games played in the L.A.

area in the last nine years. Brazil defeated Italy in the 1994 final and the United States defeated China in the 1999 final, both games at the Rose Bowl. Goals actually were scored in regulation of this game and it mercifully decided by penalty kicks. More significant was that this was the first time a female coach has won the World Cup. The threechampi- ons since the first tournament in 1991 were coached bymen.

Men also coached the two gold-medal in the Summer Olympics since 1996. Afemale coach was bound to win Sunday. Women coached both finalists. A woman, April Heinrichs, also coached the third-place U.S. Lyfors did an outstanding jobof regrouping her players after their timid first half in a 3-1 loss to the U.S.

in the first game, but she will never be confused with Bob Knight. That is a good thing, though she might have been more forceful in objecting to thecall that gave Germany its crucial free kick eight minutes into overtime. Of her subsequent conversation with referee Floarea Cristina Ionescu of Romania, Lyfors said, onlytold her that I thoughtit a free kick. I say anything else that was rude or something. But I was real angry, of The winning coach, Tina Theune-Meyer, said last week she turned to the profession because she get a job as a physical education teacher.

She selected to coach the national team because she was necessarily the best candidate available but because the German federation, practicing affirmative action, told her it wanted a woman coach for the team. But it turned out she was right for the job, even if she did downplay the issue. She also downplayed her decision to insert Kuenzer into the game in the 88th minute. That had more to do with the fact she needed a defensive midfielder to cope with Swedish playmaker Malin Mostroem, she said, than with a premonition that Kuenzer would score the winning goal. Who would have thought before the World Cup that the star of the championship game would be Nia, not Mia? Randy Harvey can be reached at randy.harvey@la- times.com.

Gina Ferazzi Los Angeles Times BREAKTHROUGH: Nia Kuenzer (4) scored the goal that made Germany the first World Cup champion coached by a woman. ANDY ARVEY Women of World Cup Unite! The goal gave Germany a 2-1 victory, and it served as the exclamation point to an absorbing, well-played and incident-filled match that held the attention of the 26,137 fans right until the end. But it might have been a bad call. In a tournament beset throughout by questionable officiating despite claims to the contrary by Joseph Blatter, president a controversial decision by referee Floarea Cristina Ionescu of Romania proved decisive. fourth referee Sonia told me when I got the prize silver ball that it a free Svensson said.

football, she said, and she do anything the sad that the refereeing is going to destroy the game. think everyone saw that I took the ball fairly and it was her hanging on to me after the Sweden Coach Marika Do- manskiLyfors confronted referee Ionescu after the match. only told her that I thought it a free Lyfors said. say anything else that was rude or something. But I was real angry, of course.

know how she could make it a free kick. But anyhow, done is done, the result is as it is. But very sad because of the girls, of course, they have been fighting so much to reach the gold medal, and then the final result is on a free kick that a free German forward Maren Meinert shrugged off the importance of call, pointing out that Germany, outplayed in the first 45 minutes, had dominated the second half and the brief overtime. unlucky for them, but I think that was the decision the she said. had enough fouls against and I think we should been a penalty in the first half, but talking about With its victory, Germany, which lost in the final in 1995, became the first country to win both the World Cup and the World Cup.

There were long stretches, however, when it seemed that Sweden, which finished third in 1991 in its previous best performance, might prevail. The Swedes took the lead in the 41st minute when Hanna Ljungberg collected a pass from Anna Sjoestroem and fired a shot past German goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg, the hero of semifinal victory over the United States. Germany did not take long to reply. Roughly 40 seconds into the second half, striker Birgit Prinz, winner of the golden ball as the top player and also of the golden boot as its top goal scorer, sent a diagonal pass to Meinert. Meinert, momentarily free of any defensive shadow, hit a right-foot shot that caught Swedish goalkeeper Caroline Joensson in two minds not knowing whether to guard the near post or move to her right to stop the shot.

In the end she did neither and shot beat her. It was the fourth goal of the 16-nation tournament and helped earn her both the bronze ball as the third-best player of the World Cup and the silver boot as its second-leading goal scorer. Both she and team captain Bettina Wiegmann retired after the game. goal set the stage for game-winner. Said Svensson: think we were worth the gold medal.

But they won and nothing we can do At least not until Athens in 2004. going to take the gold medal at the Svensson said. Call in Overtime Has Swedes Seething Los An eles Time World Cup United States1 Norway0 Germany7 Russia1 Brazil1 Sweden2 China0 Canada1 United States 0 Sweden2 Germany 3 Canada1 Germany Sweden Germany ChampionshipSemifinalsQuarterfinals 2 (OT) 1 World Cup, from Page D1 SUMMARY At Home Depot Center GERMANY 2, SWEDEN 1 (OT) FIRST Sweden, Ljungberg 3, 41st minute. SECOND Germany, Meinert 4, 46th minute. Germany, Kuenzer 1, 98th minute.

Yellow Red Cristina Ionescu, Romania. Mirt, Romania; Katarzyna Na- dolska, Poland. Lineups Rottenberg; Kerstin Stegemann, Sandra Minnert, Ariane Hingst, Stefanie Gottschlich; Renate Lingor; Pia Wunderlich (Nia Kuenzer, 88th); Bettina Wiegmann; Kerstin Ga- refrekes (Martina Mueller, 88th); Birgit Prinz; Maren Meinert. Joensson; Karolina Westberg; Jane Toernqvist; Hanna Marklund; Sara Larsson (Kristin Bengtsson, 76th); Frida Oestb- erg; Malin Mostroem; Malin Andersson (Therese Sjoegran 53rd); Anna Sjoestroem (Linda Fagerstreom, 53rd); Hanna Ljungberg; Victoria Svensson..