Wolfpack football stays close, but comes up short again

Seeking their first win since September 27, Claremont came up short against South Hills last Friday at CHS’ annual homecoming game, falling to the Huskies 23-20. The Wolfpack are now 1-6 overall and 1-3 in Sierra League play.

Running back Cecil Flemming continued his stellar senior campaign, notching his sixth game with at least 130 yards rushing and one touchdown this season.  He finished with 138 yards on the ground, 60 more on the receiving end and two touchdowns. Flemming now has 1,004 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns in seven games this season.

Senior quarterback Craig Myers tied his season-high in passing yards with 197 and threw his third touchdown of the season when he connected with Flemming for a 52-yard strike. 

Claremont outgained South Hills 410 yards to 277, compiling 212 yards through the air and 198 on the ground. The Wolfpack had the Huskies on their toes most of the game with a balanced offensive attack, having attempted 27 passes and 30 rushes. 

For the second week in a row, the Wolfpack defense put together a victory- worthy performance. They held the Huskies to just 93 yards through the air and forced an interception for the fourth straight game. This was Claremont’s second consecutive game without giving up a passing touchdown.

Senior safety Cameron Tyus led the Wolfpack defense with 15 total tackles, including 11 solo and four assists. Junior and senior linebackers James Stephens and Josh Ferrer each topped 10 total tackles with 12 and 10, respectively.

Claremont will host Damien (3-4, 1-1) tonight as they attempt to climb the Sierra League standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season. 

Volleyball win streak helps postseason chances

For the third week in a row, the Claremont girls volleyball team won in straight sets, defeating Ayala 26-24, 25-13 and 25-20. The Wolfpack are riding a three-game win streak and now stand at 11-9 overall and 3-3 in Sierra League action.

The Wolfpack’s offense was lights-out Tuesday night and sparked an impressive performance from the team all-around. Senior middle blocker Janie Feldsher recorded team-high 12 kills while junior outside hitter Denise Britton had 10 kills. Feldsher and Britton have combined for 64 kills in 19 sets this season.

Head coach Allan Comerford was proud of the way his team played together as one pack, commending his squad on their communication and energy throughout the match.

But with the postseason fast approaching, he knows just how crucial it is to perform well down the final stretch of the regular season.

“It is very important we play well through the second half to make playoffs and secure a spot,” Coach Comerford said. “Beating Ayala was a huge step in making our chances to the playoffs possible.”

Results for today’s match with South Hills will be posted in the next edition of the COURIER.

Water polo team fizzles after quick start

The Wolfpack (14-4, 3-1) lost 14-10 to Ventura on Wednesday in a non-league match, despite controlling a majority of the first half and jumping out to an early lead in the first quarter.

Claremont held a 3-1 lead after one quarter, and increased that lead to 5-3 midway through the second. Ventura then went on a 4-point run over the next four minutes to take a 7-5 lead with 37 seconds left. Claremont would pull within one, after the Wolfpack with time expiring netted a backhand goal.

Just as Claremont fought back to within one before the intermission, Ventura went on another scoring run to open the third, netting four consecutive goals to jump out to an 11-6 lead. Claremont did not get its first second-half goal until the two-minute mark, which was its lone goal of the quarter.

Ventura continued to execute its game plan in the fourth quarter, tacking on four more goals, but Claremont fought back and narrowed the margin to three goals with two minutes left in the match. Ventura added on two more goals before the Wolfpack added on their tenth and final goal of the match.

Head coach Kristin McKown thought Ventura came out and executed well, but she said the loss falls on her team for not playing up their standards.

“They’re definitely a good team. They have a great center, and in preparing for that I think we lost focus. We just need to have a little bit more confidence to shoot.”

Coach McKown noted CHS have the physical talents to be where they want to be at performance-wise, but it is the mental aspect the team is stumbling with right now.

“I think we’re struggling with our mental strength,” Coach McKown said. “We have the physical ability, so if we start playing as a team I think we will do very well to finish off the season.”

Results from yesterday’s league match against Ayala will be posted in next week’s edition. CHS will face Damien on Thursday at home.

Golf team play peaks at right time

The Claremont girls golf team kicked off Sierra League postseason play at Los Serranos North on Tuesday, with four of six golfers making the cut to compete in the finals, which were held yesterday.

The top four golfers from the two-day league tournament will represent the Sierra League in the CIF regional tournament on Monday.

The Wolfpack’s top performer during prelims, Kennedy Bingham, sat in second place out of 28 competitors after day one with a score of 86. Nicole Curti was tied for seventh with a score of 94, trailing the last CIF spot by three positions. Stella Huh held spot No. 13 with a score of 103 while Vanessa Lopez trailed her by one stroke, finishing prelims with a score of 104.

Head coach Octavio Hernandez praised the performances of all of his golfers, saying that not only are they peaking at the right time, but they are also playing their best golf of the season.

“I was proud of Kennedy because her first 9 holes were not stellar, but she shot one over on the back 9,” coach Hernandez said. “She finished strong when most would have wilted.  Nicole played consistent and is in contention.  Vanessa and Stella both improved greatly from the tournament that we played last week.”

Results for Thursday’s Sierra League finals will be posted in print and online and in the next issue of the COURIER.

Cross country

Cross country will compete tomorrow at the Mt. SAC Invitational.

Girls tennis

A request from the coach for stats on this week’s matches was not answered by press time.

—Bryan Stauffer

sports@claremont-courier.com