MIDWEEK REPORT / HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL UPDATE : A Fiery Finish

Talk about going out with a bang.

When he’s not coaching the Van Nuys High football team, Coach Mark Pomerantz works for a company that scatters ashes of the deceased in the ocean. The twist: The remains are spread amid a shower of fireworks.

The company boat, Shot in the Dark, travels almost four miles off the coast of Marina Del Rey and, with surviving family members aboard, provides a fiery burial at sea. Clients bring the already-cremated remains to Pomerantz’s company, Pacific Memorial, which sends the ashes up in 10 clusters of fireworks.

“The people we’ve worked with have really enjoyed what we’ve done,” Pomerantz said. “Only in L.A. could you put somebody in fireworks.”

Business is improving as more people hear about it, said Pomerantz, one of three partners. “We’d like to do it two or three times a week,” Pomerantz said, adding: “As long as it’s not on Friday nights.”

It’s Not a Hobby

Ernest Quinley was born in Alabama, but his family moved from the football-crazed state shortly after birth. Maybe that’s why he waited so long to try the sport.

Quinley, a Granada Hills senior, previously concentrated on basketball. He was the leading scorer for the Highlanders as a junior.

This year, Quinley finally tried his hand at football. Either he’s pretty good or is experiencing beginner’s luck. After three games, Quinley is the leading City Section receiver in the region, with 14 receptions for 320 yards and four touchdowns. He also scored on a 65-yard run against Chaminade last Friday.

“I’m learning new things out there every week,” Quinley said.

Getting Carried Away

Slugging it out in the trenches suits Edgar Nava of Notre Dame just fine. But sometimes a guy’s just gotta carry the football.

Nava, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive lineman, pestered the Knights’ coaching staff and finally was granted his wish. Two weeks ago, Nava ran five yards for a first down against Royal. Last week, Nava came off the bench and bowled over the Glendale defensive front on a three-yard touchdown run.

“It’s exciting for me,” Nava said. “I don’t worry about trying to juke people. I just run them over.”

Oh, Brother

Big brother was watching Jason Giovannettone. And little brother did not disappoint.

Giovannettone’s four touchdown runs in as many carries for Chaminade against Granada Hills dazzled an Eagles’ crowd that included Justin Giovannettone, the team’s starting tailback as a senior in 1992. Justin, a student at UC Davis, no longer plays football.

Jason scored on runs of 69, 22, nine and 12 yards and had a 40-yard score on a screen pass nullified by a penalty.

“He watched me score five TDs in a game,” Jason said. “He was like, ‘I’ve never done that.’ ”

Field Goal of Dreams

Harvard-Westlake kicker Greg Nortman’s first field goal of the season is his longest to date. Nortman converted from 47 yards Sept. 16 against St. Bonaventure. He is three for three in his career from beyond 40 yards.

As a junior, Nortman made seven field goals and 34 extra points to help lead Harvard-Westlake to the Southern Section Division IX semifinals. Nortman recently resigned from his club soccer team to focus on football.

“I’ve never missed one that really matters,” Nortman said.

Around the Leagues . . .

CITY SECTION EAST VALLEY

Van Nuys plays host to Grant in a Valley Pac-8 Conference opener that has become a heated rivalry the past few years. Unhappy with two consecutive losses, Van Nuys Coach Mark Pomerantz has promised lineup changes on both sides of the ball. “We’re going to shake the house up,” he said. . . . The Sylmar defense is at it again. The Spartans held El Camino Real to 21 yards and have allowed only seven points in each of their three games. . . . Reseda extracted some revenge by defeating Birmingham, 41-14. The Regents lost to Birmingham twice last year, including an upset in the playoffs.

MID-VALLEY

Grant has been on the losing end of three close games, and its conference opener at Van Nuys might be another nail-biter. “The first three games have been exciting. Why should this one be any different?” Coach Bill Foster said. . . . Monroe goes to Poly for what has become a grudge match. Coach Fred Cuccia left Poly last year for Monroe. “The intensity level from Poly will be way up there, I’m sure,” Cuccia said. Poly defeated Monroe last season in the conference opener. The Parrots will have to improve their rushing game, which accounted for minus-17 yards against San Fernando. . . . North Hollywood faces Reseda in a match of speed versus strength. “I haven’t seen a team that big in quite a while,” North Hollywood Coach Gary Gray said of Reseda. “We’ll just have to try to out-run them.” Husky tailback Dante Clay, who has a calcified right thigh muscle, might not play.

NORTH VALLEY

Taft (1-1-1) has a difficult preseason schedule by design. Games against Sylmar and Crenshaw, the City Section 4-A finalists last season, are giving a group of sophomores some high-intensity game experience. “We could have played other teams and gone 3-0,” Coach Troy Starr said. Taft’s Nick Dipadova is the only City quarterback among the top nine in the area who has completed more than half his passes. . . . Granada Hills and El Camino Real are winless heading into their game Friday. Granada Hills probably will be missing defensive starters Devon Rose and Aaron Roepke, who have knee injuries. . . . Kennedy’s Calvin Zinck has rebounded from completing two of seven passes for 17 yards in his debut. He leads area City quarterbacks with five touchdowns. . . . Keijuan Douglas of San Fernando is another rapidly improving quarterback. He more than doubled his passing yardage with 122 yards against Poly.

WEST VALLEY

A week after the return of running back Emmanuel Evans from a hand injury, Birmingham has lost running back/defensive back David Belk and kicker Luis Salguero. . . . Don’t expect a grudge match between Chatsworth and Taft, even though the Chancellors accused the Toreadors of recruiting, charges that were not proven. Assistant John Brown and quarterback Travis Winn, two of the main characters in the controversy, are no longer at Taft. “As far as I’m concerned, its over,” Chatsworth Coach Myron Gibford said. . . . The Junior Brignac quarterback experiment at Cleveland might be over. Brignac, a standout wide receiver, threw only two passes against Monroe and is questionable for Friday’s game against Birmingham after getting speared last week. Jared Mills will start at quarterback.

NORTHWESTERN

Defeats the past two weeks against St. Francis and Brea Olinda have taken a mental toll on Verdugo Hills. “It’s getting to the point where they’re looking a little baffled out there,” Coach Don Scott said.

SOUTHERN SECTION

DEL REY

Inside linebacker Mark Stipkovich, an integral member of the Crespi defense, will be sidelined for at least another two weeks because of a strained knee suffered against Canyon Springs. Stipkovich was injured while playing running back.

FOOTHILL

Ted Iacenda, who has scored 67 touchdowns in his career at Hart, may not play in Friday night’s game against Palmdale because of inflamed tissue in one of his feet. . . . Canyon, which has only 144 yards passing in three games, has added senior Tramaine Jackson to its receiving corps. . . . For the second week in a row, Burroughs has promoted a 15-year-old to the starting lineup. Last week, Robert Barillas made an interception in his first start in the secondary. This week, Joey Learman (6-3, 240) will start both ways at tackle. He was not eligible for varsity action until he turned 15 Saturday. . . . Saugus, traditionally a running team, threw 39 passes in a 14-0 loss to Loyola and rushed for negative yardage (minus-17) for the first time under Coach Jack Bowman. . . . Burbank is 0-3 even though the Bulldogs are averaging 4.5 yards per rush.

GOLDEN

Of Antelope Valley’s 19 touchdowns, 12 have covered 27 yards or more; six have been 50 yards or more. . . . Quartz Hill is 2-1, but the Rebels might be undefeated had Jeremiah Harris played in their 13-7 opening loss to Kennedy. Benched for disciplinary reasons against the Golden Cougars, the junior has rushed for 373 yards in 29 carries--a 12.9 average--the past two games. . . . Of the nine touchdowns Palmdale has allowed, only one was on a pass. The Falcon secondary will be tested by Hart, which has 12 scoring passes. . . . Littlerock has not made an extra point or field goal.

PACIFIC

Crescenta Valley finally has its first pass completion--a 54-yard play from Cody Blackburn to Tim Jones for a touchdown. However, Blackburn suffered a hyper-extended left knee on the play and will be sidelined for at least two weeks. Sae Woon Jo replaces Blackburn and sophomore Ryan McKnight is in the wings. Falcon tailback Dion Higuera, who has rushed for 187 yards and a touchdown, also will be sidelined at least two weeks because of a sprained ankle. . . . Tommy Lee of Glendale returned five kicks for 155 yards against Notre Dame. Lee’s interception set up Glendale’s only score--a field goal.

CHANNEL

After watching his receivers drop several passes during pregame warm-ups, Rio Mesa Coach George Contreras decided to stick to the run against Santa Clara. Rio Mesa rushed for 446 yards and seven touchdowns. . . . Donell Wickett, a Ventura receiver who had only one catch in two games, set a school record by gaining 187 yards in six receptions against Royal. Wickett broke the mark of 166 yards set in 1988 by Chris Thomas, now a defensive back with the San Francisco 49ers. . . . Oxnard is 1-2, still Coach Wes Morimune believes the future is bright. “Only four seniors start,” he said. . . . Winning without a 100-yard rushing effort by Ronney Jenkins was encouraging for Hueneme, which beat Camarillo, 29-12. Jenkins had only 48 yards but Hueneme held the Scorpions to 20 yards in 19 carries. . . . Buena linebacker Ben Villa is out because of a thumb injury.

MARMONTE

Interceptions by Jeff Feiereisen, Jim Ange and Aaron Shaw helped Thousand Oaks overcome four first-half fumbles to defeat Franklin. . . . Defensive backs Justin Vint and Garrett Hobba and lineman Brian Nelson each intercepted a pass to help Newbury Park down Buena. The Panthers have a league-high six interceptions. . . . Channel Islands linemen Roger Nadeau, Ray Rivera, Jay Fajardo, Jose Murillo and Blane Saipaia have played a big role in the Raiders’ surprising 2-1 start. Coach Joel Gershon notched career victory No. 125 when Channel Islands defeated Oxnard last Friday. . . . Simi Valley has allowed only 427 passing yards, but the Pioneers will be tested against Newbury Park, which has passed for 1,109 yards--more than 43 area teams have in total offense. . . . Agoura’s Jason Weiss has eight receptions for 288 yards and two touchdowns. . . . Brian Leppard, a guard and linebacker, was a key player for Royal against Ventura. Christian Broussard of Royal rushed for 196 yards in 29 carries, and “was much more impressive on carries 16 through 29 than one through 15,” Ventura Coach Phil McCune said.

MISSION

Notre Dame receiver Nick Kounalis, who suffered a broken arm three weeks ago against Alemany, might return Friday against Crespi. Kounalis, who caught 19 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown last season, will wear a soft cast. Kicker Steve Lee, who suffered a pulled groin muscle two weeks ago, remains questionable. Pat Thomsen is handling kicking duties. Linebacker Dan Petrini had two sacks for losses of 19 yards against Glendale.

FRONTIER

Santa Paula’s Willie Zavala completed only four of 15 passes in the Cardinals’ 40-14 loss last Friday to Carpinteria. However, he finished with 106 yards and two of his completions went for touchdowns: a 44-yard strike to his brother Robert Zavala and a 10-yard toss to Wayne Brick. . . . Santa Clara receiver Andy Super caught four touchdown passes in the Saints’ 48-28 loss to Rio Mesa. Two came on middle screen plays and two on fly patterns. Sophomore Adrian Maciel completed 13 of 26 for 241 yards. Calabasas Coach Larry Edwards was hardly distraught over the Coyotes’ 21-6 loss to Arroyo Grande last Friday. “If anything it was a loss that did us good,” said Edwards, whose team was hurt by penalties and turnovers. “We got up there early and our kids bought a local paper that built us up as the next juggernaut of the South. I think some of them started to believe it, so the game was a nice grounding.”. . . . Nordhoff’s 12-0 loss to St. Bonaventure makes the schools 3-3 against each other in the 1990s.

TRI-VALLEY

Undefeated St. Bonaventure tonight faces its toughest test when it plays host to Rosamond. Seraphs Coach Jon Mack hopes the team can control the ball the way it did in a shutout victory over Nordhoff. . . . Quarterback Chris Goodenough, a starter the past two games, will retain the job for Fillmore even though James Cummings has recovered from a rib injury. . . . Josh Nicassio of Oak Park has four extra points but has not tried a field goal. Nicassio has been playing quarterback for the Eagles, but Coach Dick Billingsley would prefer to have Dan Wasserman play quarterback, freeing Nicassio to play receiver.

ALPHA

Injuries continue to hamper Village Christian, which last week played without four starters. Tailback Aaron Funk has suffered a twisted ankle and probably will miss Friday’s game against Orange Lutheran, the Division X runner-up last year. Tony Yousif never left the field for the Crusaders against Kern Valley, starting at wide reciever and defensive back, returning both kickoffs and punts, and handling kicking and punting duties. . . . Kilpatrick center Charles Wilkerson probably will miss Friday’s game against defending Division X champion Montclair Prep because of a bruised chest. . . . Peter Dirksen gets the nod at quarterback for L.A. Baptist against Fillmore.

SANTA FE

Matt Stanley took over at quarterback for Bell-Jeff last week and Miguel Segura, who was sharing the position, moved to receiver. Stanley passed for 104 yards and the team’s first touchdown. The Guards had passed for 15 yards in two previous games. Lineman Mark Dodd has a separated shoulder and will miss at least three weeks. . . . St. Genevieve welcomed back Rickey Estrada, who rushed for 217 yards in 17 carries in a victory over Western Christian. In their two previous games, the Valiants rushed for 161 yards.

FREE-LANCE

Valencia running back Donavan Calhoun was limited to 58 yards in 13 carries by Yucca Valley after gaining 253 yards and 101 yards in earlier games.

Contributing: Mike Bresnahan, Dana Haddad, Steve Henson, Vince Kowalick, Michael Lazarus, Tris Wykes, Peter Yoon.