NOTEBOOK : Perez Dashes to State Title

It took Oscar Perez three journeys to Fresno, but he finally got the state cross-country championship he longed for since his sophomore year at Pater Noster High.

Perez, a senior who finished second in the state in 1988, held off a final surge by El Cajon Christian junior David Soto to win the Division III individual state title last weekend at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Perez led Pater Noster to a seventh-place finish in the Division III race.

Hanging in: Franklin High, the only Glendale-area team still competing in the football playoffs, will meet Gardena in a City Section Northern Conference quarterfinal game Friday night at Wilson High.

The key to victory for Franklin?

“Our quarterback has to play,” Coach Armando Gonzalez said.

Panther quarterback Santiago Alvarez completed 20 of 30 attempts for 208 yards and a touchdown during Franklin’s 27-3 victory over Huntington Park last week.

Alvarez, however, left the game in the third quarter with a hyper-extended knee.

Alvarez has passed for 3,260 yards and 46 touchdowns this season.

Franklin defeated Gardena, 34-6, earlier this season in what Gonzales described as his team’s best game of the year.

Over and out: Marshall High’s football season came to an end with a 28-6 loss to unbeaten Venice in a City Section Northern Conference playoff game at Venice.

The Barristers finished 5-6 in a season highlighted by outstanding performances by quarterback Carlos Gutierrez and wide receiver Miguel Osorio.

Gutierrez, a senior, had the unenviable task of replacing Sid Oxford, last season’s City Section passing leader. Gutierrez, however, surpassed Oxford (1,470 yards) with 1,635 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Osorio, also a senior, had 42 receptions for 748 yards and 13 touchdowns.