The Loyola Cubs overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat the Taft Toreadors 76-68 in front of a raucous home crowd to advance in the 2013 CIF Open Division 1 Championships.

It was a tale of two halves as Taft came out of the gate strong and built an early double digit advantage. The Toreadors were led by the stellar play of seniors Kris Yanku and Usama Zaid. Yanku drilled a buzzer beater to end the first quarter and give Taft a 19-13 lead.

Loyola relied heavily on big man Thomas Welsh. The 7-foot junior had 14 points in the first half to lead the Cubs.

On February 24, Tashon Smallwood of Central East (Fresno, CA) was at USC visiting for the Trojans’ Junior Day. On February 24, the 6-foot-1, 280 lbs. defensive tackle gave his verbal commitment to become the fourth member of their 2014 recruiting class.

“I’ve been considering it, but when I got there, it seemed like the right place for me,” said Smallwood when asked what made him want to commit right away.

When you’re coming out of the heart of SEC country, you know you have to stand out as a football player and that is exactly what Auburn High School (Auburn, AL) linebacker Rashaan Evans is doing. Evans stands at 6-foot-3, 218 lbs., runs the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds and currently has 24 offers from many of the top schools in the nation including Alabama, Auburn, USC, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida State.

The Etiwanda Eagles staved off a furious rally from the Mater Dei Monarchs to capture the CIFSS 1AA Championship in a thrilling 54-51 classic.

Etiwanda jumped out to an early lead with lights out shooting from behind the arc. Standout junior Jordan McLaughlin, senior Darryl Adigwu and sophomore Delewis Johnson knocked down two three-pointers apiece.

The long range barrage helped the Eagles build a 29-13 advantage late in the second quarter.

Etiwanda Wins 54-51: Game Highlights

To say that Kishawn Holmes is hungry to play at the next level would be an understatement. At 5'8" 180, the Vista Murrieta (CA) 2014 RB has already proved that he can run with the big boys. His current mission is to convince college coaches and recruiting coordinators that he can do the same alongside the nation's best athletes.

The Pacific Hills Bruins completely dominated the Marshall Eagles 104-41 to advance to the quarterfinals of the CIFSS 4A playoffs.

The Bruins jumped out to a 30-12 advantage after the first quarter behind strong play from Washington bound Jahmel Taylor, Rice commit Marcus Jackson and Namon Wright.

Marshall senior Davin Hampton did his best to keep the Eagles in it with 20 first half points.

Pacific Hills was paced by 15 points from Taylor while Jackson and Wright added 13 apiece to give the Bruins a commanding 60-31 halftime advantage.