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Kyle Middlebrooks was a like a one-man gang for Fountain Valley High in a Pac-5 Division playoff game Friday at Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.

The senior running back who runs a 10.5 100-meter dash burned the Knights for 276 yards and three touchdowns in 26 carries, but Notre Dame had more weapons and wore down the visiting Barons in a 41-24 victory.

Middlebrooks scored on runs of 50, 57 and 6 yards, and though the performance was not enough to win the game, he and his teammates certainly earned Notre Dame's respect.

"Oh, Fountain Valley definitely earned our respect, and he's a great running back," Notre Dame's Kenny Boggs said. "He's a good back. He's fast."

Perhaps it would have helped if Middlebrooks played defense, as Notre Dame amassed 401 yards, including a 211-yard rushing performance on 23 carries for Boggs.

"It was a great game. It was like the battle of the running backs," Boggs said.

Notre Dame (9-2) plays at Mission Viejo (11-0) next Friday in the quarterfinals.

Notre Dame quarterback Ryan Kasdorf also came through with a top performance, though he was not asked to pass as much as usual. He completed 11 of 12 for 97 yards and two touchdowns, and he also scored on a 1-yard run.

Bishop Amat's Dominic Ragland completed 4 of 14 for 47 yards and an interception.

Kasdorf totaled only 55 yards in the first half, but he was extremely efficient, completing his first seven passes and finishing 8 of 9 at the half -- the only incompletion a dropped pass.

Middlebrooks, who finished as a track runnerup in the CIF State 100 meter final last year, finished the season with 1,882 yards. He is the latest in a series of top running backs who have enjoyed big performances against Notre Dame this season, and that's something that should worry the Knights.

"I think we definitely have to tighten our run defense and just come out more focused," said Boggs, who also plays defensive back. "We can't make mental mistakes or big plays are going to happen."

Notre Dame's Jacob Smith rushed for 101 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown.

The game could not have started worse for Notre Dame. On the opening kickoff, Fountain Valley recovered an onside kick, and on the first play from scrimmage Kyle Middlebrooks broke a 50-yard touchdown for a quick 7-0 lead.

But Notre Dame rebounded with consecutive touchdowns to go ahead 14-7, scoring first on Kenny Boggs' 1-yard run, followed by a 21-yard scoring pass from Ryan Kasdorf to Tyler DiVincenzo.

Middlebrooks scored again on a 57-yard run, as Fountain Valley drove 80 yards in five plays to forge a 14-14 tie.

With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Notre Dame drove 69 yards on 13 plays, scoring on Kasdorf's 1-yard run. The key was and end zone interception by Fountain Valley's Justin Browley that was nullifed by a penalty, giving Notre Dame new life. The 1-yard touchdown two plays later, as Kasdorf took a shotgun hike and broke two tackles on his scoring run, giving the Knights a 21-14 halftime lead.

Middlebrooks rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries through two quarters. But he did not get much help, as Dominic Ragland completed just 2 of 6 passes for 21 yards in the first half.

Kasdorf totaled only 55 yards in the first half, but he was extremely efficient, completing his first seven passes and finishing 8 of 9 at the half.

After a inconsistent regular season that saw Taft High of Woodland Hills fall out of the state top 20, the Toreadors wanted to make a statement Thursday in the first round of the City Section Div. I football playoffs.

It did not take long at all.

Bam Goodall passed 59 yards to Donnel Robinson for a touchdown on the first play, and Taft (7-4) is leading 34-0 over Garfield at halftime.

Taft led 21-0 before Garfield managed a first down.

Taking advantage of a Garfield punt of minus-1 yard, Goodall passed 37 yards to D.J. Morgan for Taft's second touchdown, as Morgan weaved across the field to the end zone.

But Goodall soon was removed from the game because of dizziness and did not return. The extent of Goodall's injury was unclear, but he was talking and interacting with coaches and teammates.

Instead of going with a backup quarterback, Taft switched Morgan to quarterback, and the USC-bound senior responded by scoring on a 15-yard run, then passing 80 yards to Lucky Radley for a touchdown on a short shovel pass.

Any plans of a Garfield were squashed when when Shaquille Shelton scored on a 45-yard run with 19 second remaining in the first half to make it 34-0.

Taft amassed 382 yards in the first half -- 207 rushing and 175 passing -- while holding Garfield to 39.

Goodall finished 3 of 4 for 95 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 57 yards on four carries.

In the first half, Radley rushed for 54 yards on nine carries, while Shelton added 57 yards on three carries and Morgan had 39 yards on four carries.

Fourth-seeded Taft plays host to Dorsey of L.A. (8-3)/San Pedro (8-3) on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

With so many explosive game-breakers on offense, combined with a hard-hitting athletic defense led by defensive linemen Antwaun Woods and Brent Williams, Taft can be an intimidating opponent for just about anyone. The problem has been, the Toreadors have looked great one week, then very shaky the next -- for instance, hanging tough in an overtime loss to Serra of Gardena in Week 5 but a few weeks later falling to 1-7 Birmingham of Lake Balboa in what was probably the biggest upset of the season involving San Fernando Valley teams.

One thing is for sure: If the Taft does not let off the pressure from this point, the Toreadors could do some serious damage in the playoffs. Whether or not that means eventually knocking off powerful Crenshaw in the semifinals remains to be seen, but that probably will be the only way Taft would able to see the L.A. Coliseum in the championship game, so we shall see what happens.

It's always a killer when your starting quarterback gets hurt right before the football playoffs, and that's what's happening at Thousand Oaks and Highland of Palmdale.

Thousand Oaks' Avondre Bollar probably won't be able to play because of an ankle injury - coach Mike Leibin says Bollar is day to day but does not sound optimistic - and Highland's Christian Tago is out because of a knee injury.

It figured to be hard enough for both teams this coming Friday, as Thousand Oaks (5-5) takes on top-seeded Valencia (10-0) in the Northern Division, and Highland (6-4) is playing at heavily favored Alemany of Mission Hills (7-3) in the Western Division.

"I won't make a decision until game time or until Avondre has flat out told me he can't go, and he has not done that yet," Leibin said.

-- Gerry Gittelson

The press conference at Palmdale on Tuesday celebrating cornerback Joshua Shaw's football commitment to University of Florida had kind of a Hollywood feel with a light show, cameras, a live webcast and a video display.

So it comes as no surprise longtime coach Jeff Williams has roots in the film and television industry as a former production assistant to Emmy-award winning producer Frank von Zerneck of "Geronimo" fame.

"I worked with Frank on four or five projects, and the movie business was something I thought I wanted to do," Williams said. "But I always really wanted to be a football coach."

-- Gerry Gittelson

A generation ago, football players used to shave their heads bald in a brave rite of passage to prove their loyalty to the team. These days, bald is in vogue, so at Westlake a group of the players took things one step further and followed through on a pact to wear a Mohawk - including star receiver Nelson Spruce.

It's working for Westlake, too. The Warriors are 10-0 and averaging 44.6 points per game heading into a Northern Division opener Friday against visiting Ventura.

-- Gerry Gittelson

Saugus softball standout Jenna Kelly, who has a 4.5 grade-point average and eventually plans to be an orthodontist, has committed to a North Carolina scholarship, picking the Tar Heels over Northwestern, Iowa, St. John's, Illinois, Stanford, Akron, Colorado State and others.

-- Gerry Gittelson

Quarterbacks Nick Isham and Alex Bishop of Valencia are on the verge of setting a new area standard for passing accuracy.

Isham of Westlake has completed 75.5. percent of his passes (105 of 139) for 1,607 yards and 23 touchdowns with two interceptions, and Bishop has completed 74.9 percent (134 of 179) for 2,618 yards and 29 touchdowns with two interceptions.

The most accurate single-season performance in area history is 72.4 percent by Samson Szakacsy of Camarillo in 2005. The state record is 78.1 by Trent Edwards of Los Gatos in 2000.

-- Gerry Gittelson

It's a shame some City Section schools like Arleta don't have stadium lights, which means a 2 p.m. kickoff time for home football games, including today's first-round Div. II playoff game against visiting Reseda.

Not only is it tough for working parents to catch the game, but even the students will miss at least the first half because the school does not end until 3:26 p.m. No offense to Reseda, but by that time defending section champion Arleta figures to be way ahead.

"It stinks, but that's life. There is still a game to be played even if there are 10 people in the stands," Arleta running back Antonio Bray said. "We need to come and play. If the game starts at 2, we have to play at 2."

-- Gerry Gittelson

Once teams get past the first round of the Southern Section football playoffs, home games in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are awarded to teams that have played the fewest home playoff games. If two opposing teams have played the same number of home games in the playoffs, a coin flip determines the home team.

These days, coin flips are done before the game - way before, actually - for convenience sake. For example, we already know that if Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks and second-seeded Mission Viejo both advance Friday, the Knights must play at Mission Viejo in the quarterfinals because Notre Dame has lost the flip.

In the Northern Division, if Westlake and Hart advance, Hart has won the right to host the quarterfinal at College of the Canyons.

The process is different in the City Section. The higher seed automatic gets to be the home team.

-- Gerry Gittelson