Jonathan Davis, Simi Valley High's 6-foot-7 senior forward,  has committed to play for George Washington University.

Davis averaged 16.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game as a junior for Christian Aurand's Pioneers, earning first-team All-Marmonte League, first-team All-Ventura County and second-team All-CIF honors.

He has averaged 11.8 points and nine rebounds per game in his two seasons on varsity. Entering his senior season, he ranked No. 27 on the all-time scoring list and is tied for 11th on the all-time rebounding list.

Davis would be the seventh Simi Valley player to continue his playing career at the college level in the past four seasons, joining Loren Jackson (Pepperdine), Mike Meza (UC San Diego), Tyler Trapani (UCLA), Brad Lewis (UC Santa Barbara), CJ Faulwell (Occidental College) and Joey Brinton (Moorpark College).

Senior center fielder Amber Sanders had a two-RBI double in the fourth inning and the game-winning RBI single in the sixth inning as the Royal High softball team opened Marmonte League play with a key 4-3 win over crosstown rivals Simi Valley Tuesday afternoon.

Pitcher Nancy Bowling struck out 10 to improve to 4-1.

Royal (4-1, 1-0) and Simi Valley (4-1, 0-1) entered the league opener a combined 7-1.

Taylor Cartwright had RBI singles in the first and third innings to stake the Pioneers to a 2-0 lead. Calli Grant was 1 for 2, scored twice and had a stolen base.

CIF-Southern Section boys' basketball playoffs

Friday, 7 p.m. Second Round

Pacifica at Los Alamitos, I-AA
Thousand Oaks at Los Osos, I-AA
Simi Valley at Alta Loma, II-AA
Westlake vs. Damien, II-A
Oak Park at Gahr, III-AA
Calabasas at Tustin, III-AA
Oaks Christian vs. Fillmore, IV-A
St. Bonaventure vs. Woodcrest Christian, IV-A
Santa Clara vs. Western Christian, V-AA
Besant Hill at Hillcrest Christian/Granada Hills, V-A

How's this for a memorable week?

The Royal High boys basketball team opened the week by losing to Newbury Park on Jordan Brower's buzzer-beating, half-court heave Monday (scroll down for video) and ended it tonight by shocking cross-county rival Simi Valley, beating the Pioneers for the first time since 2004 and the second time in 20 meetings.

"That's this league," said Simi Valley coach Christian Aurand. "Anybody can beat anybody."

"There's more bad news here," Simi Valley High athletic director Matt La Belle told Moorpark athletic director Rob Dearborn Thursday evening.

It looks like the Marmonte League added more state powers than playoff berths Thursday.

Originally, it was thought that 10-team league would split up into two divisions, each with three combined playoff berths. But it appears only 40 percent of the league will be guaranteed postseason berths, rather than 60 percent of a typical five-team league.

"We're in a 10-team league with nine league games," said Dearborn. "That's what's voted on and it can't be changed.

"We're not an association. We're a league. Big difference.

"We could split the league in half but we still only get four playoff spots, so it doesn't make much sense."

That would mean each school would have a single non-league game to schedule each season.

"We all have contracts for games that we're going to have to break," said Dearborn. "This is set by CIF. That's the way it is unless there's some new ground broken.

"It's a big, big mess."

There is never a good time to lose your top singles player, but there are worse times than others.

Sophomore Kristina Eisenbrand told Moorpark girls' tennis coach Sandy Jacobs she will not play the remainder of the season because she is attending a tennis academy in Spain.

Eisenbrand participated in Moorpark's loss to Rio Mesa yesterday - sweeping her sets in the process - and left today for Spain.

Moorpark's schedule this week includes matches against Marmonte League-leaders Westlake and Thousand Oaks. Today's match against Westlake was postponed, however, because of the rain and will be played on Monday.

"I thought we might have a chance against Westlake," Jacobs said. "But without Kristina, that is pretty much impossible. Her absence changes everything."

Now, Moorpark will likely battle Simi Valley for the final two automatic playoff spots in league.

"We should be able to get fourth place, especially since we do have that one win over Simi Valley already," Jacobs said. "Hopefully, we can squeak out fourth place. We have to see. You never know when one of your top girls gets sick or what is going to happen."

Northern Division

Buena 27, Thousand Oaks 20: Buena passes big test by Derry Eads in Ventura.
Newbury Park 34, Rio Mesa 6: Newbury Park adjusts well by Joe Curley in Newbury Park.
Pacifica 56, Simi Valley 27: Mondol, Pacifica roll past Simi Valley by Sean Ceglinsky in Oxnard.
Camarillo 49, Agoura 14: Camarillo clicks against Agoura by Jeffrey Dransfeld in Camarillo.
Hueneme 33, Calabasas 0: Hueneme blanks Calabasas by Ted Cotti in Hueneme.
Westlake 42, Saugus 20: Isham powers Westlake over Saugus by Bob Buttitta in Santa Clarita.
Chaminade 33, Royal 14: Chaminade too much for Royal by David Lassen in Los Angeles.

Northwest Division

Santa Paula 23, Golden Valley 13: Santa Paula earns first win by Steve Pratt in Canyon Country.
Morro Bay 28, Oak Park 13: Morro Bay holds off Oak Park by Lance O'Fallon in Oak Park.

Thanks to the Jewish New Year - Rosh Hashanah, which begins tonight at sundown - we get two nights of high school football this week.

Here are the news, notes and highlights from last night's games:

Buena 27, Thousand Oaks 20: It was only a matter of time before Cliff Farrar turned the Buena program into a winner again. But this quick? Wow. In Farrar's second season at the helm, the Bulldogs recorded their biggest win in several years. Buena QB Robert Munoz completed 15 of 19 passes for 218 yards as Buena improved to 2-0 against a Thousand Oaks team that played Valencia down to the wire last week. The Lancers were without the services of RB Richard Minyard.

Camarillo 49, Agoura 14: On the same day the school conducted tryouts for its loudest students, Camarillo gave them plenty to scream about. Ossie Toc - could there be much better of a name? - rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Molesworth caught three touchdown passes from Jeff Mathews in the route. If you espouse the Kevin Bacon theory, Ventura might be in for a handfull tonight against Moorpark. The Cougars lost to Agoura 12-0 in the opener last week.

Newbury Park 34, Rio Mesa 6: The Panthers scored 34 unanswered points and held Rio Mesa to just 37 yards of total offense in the second half. Newbury Park QB Jake Geringer threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more.

Westlake 42, Saugus 20: Nick Isham knows what perfection feels like. The Westlake QB finished an eye-popping 16 of 16 for 153 yards and four touchdowns. If that wasn't enough, Isham also caught four passes for 27 yards and returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown as the Warriors posted 42 points for the second straight game. Tavior Mowry rushed 13 times for 103 yards. 

Pacifica 56, Simi Valley 27: This game was over by halftime as QB transfer Max Mondol completed 9 of his first 10 passes, including four touchdowns. Mondol finished the game 13 of 15 for 190 yards and his second incompletion of the game didn't come until less than 10 minutes remained in the fourth quarter.

Chaminade 33, Royal 14: Chaminade led 33-0 before Royal finally put together a few scoring drives. Royal QB Zach Collins completed 24 of 43 passes for 270 yards and Connor Wolcott had 11 receptions for 166 yards.

Hueneme 33, Calabasas 0: Sure the Vikings haven't played the toughest schedule, but 3-0 sure feels good after not winning a single game last season. Speaking of that, Calabasas can relate to losing streak. The Coyotes have had a few of their own over the years. Senior RB Trashaun Nixon had a stellar performance for Hueneme, rushing for 269 yards on 16 carries and scoring three touchdowns. Nixon broke off TD runs of 76 and 93 yards in the fourth quarter.

Morro Bay 28, Oak Park 13: The Eagles had to dig deep to find a starting QB last night. Brad Taylor was out with headaches and his backup Connor Hill was out with a hernia. Oak Park turned to WR-turned-QB Dereck Deakin, who completed 3 of 8 passes, including a 66-yard touchdown pass to Aiki Zapati (another classic name for the vault).

Santa Paula 23, Golden Valley 13: Santa Paula registered its first win behind Ivan Ledesma. The senior returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and went 69 yards on a screen pass thrown by sophomore Kameron Klein for another touchdown. Ledesma finished with five catches for 125 yards. 

 

Four Ventura County cross country teams have been accepted as sweepstakes entries for the Woodbridge Invitational Sept. 19 in Irvine.

Because of air quality conditions in East Ventura County, high school coaches in the Simi Valley school district were advised to be careful with student-athletes with breathing problems. Practices have not been canceled.

The Marmonte League held its league meeting today and decided to extend an invitation to Oaks Christian School to participate in its league while leaving Calabasas to find another league pending CIF-SS approval. This was the official press release issued a few minutes ago:

"The Marmonte League has extended an invitation to Oaks Christian High School to join the members of the Marmonte League which include:  Agoura High School, Moorpark High School, Newbury Park High School, Royal High School, Thousand Oaks High School and Westlake High School to participate fully in all league sports.

"While the Marmonte League recognizes Calabasas High School and the contributions it has brought to the league it regrets the affects this decision will have on them; however, it is in the best interest of the League to extend this invitation to Oaks Christian High School to have full participation in all sports."

Division I-A

Ventura 64, Paloma Valley 48

Division II-AA

Thousand Oaks 62, Edison 45: Chris Carter led the Lancers (27-2) with 13 points. Alex
Kiffin scored 12 points. Thousand Oaks will play Marina at Westlake High on
Friday night.

Division II-A

Loyola 88, Simi Valley 74

Division IV-A

Oaks Christian 66, La Salle 52:
Crespi 59, Santa Clara 58: Cierre Wood's game-tying 3-point bid in the final seconds just fell off for the Saints.

Division VI-A

Besant Hill 65, Marywood-Palm Valley 26: Francois Tchoyi and Yannick Atanga both scored 18 points. Ivan Matip scored 17 points with two 3-point goals and eight assists. Gunnar Von Burg scored 12 points and had three 3-pointers. Besant Hill (20-1) will host Padrio Pio in the CIF semifinals on Friday.

All games second round.

Boys:

Division I-A

No. 5 Ventura 74, No. 12 Los Osos 73:  Center Mike Melonas scored with 0.5 seconds remaining to give visiting Ventura the win in Rancho Cucagmong. Los Osos sophomore forward Omar Ajanovic put the Grizzlies in front, 73-72, with a long 3-pointer that appeared to eliminate the Channel League champion. But Ventura¹s ensuing inbound pass was knocked away downcourt, giving the Cougars the ball underneath the basket with 2.5 seconds remaining. Melonas
coolly layed in Kory Kindle¹s inbounds pass to send the Cougars to the
quarterfinals.The Grizzlies were led by UCLA-bound junior Kendall Williams who had 32
points and helped push Los Osos to an early 31-17 advantage.
Kindle, who elected to play basketball Friday night instead of in the
Ventura High soccer team¹s 3-2 win over Rancho Verde in the Division II
playoffs, sparked a 15-0 second-quarter run that gave Ventura its first lead
of the night just before halftime.

Division II-AA

No. 1 Thousand Oaks 71, Buena 54: Alex Tiffin had 16 points as the Lancers won their 16th straight game
No. 6 Simi Valley 67, Rowland 53: Brad Lewis led the Pioneers with 24 points. Danny
Cox scored 16 points and also led the team in rebounds with six.

Division IV-A

No. 2 Price 76, Fillmore 59: Noah Aguirre poured in 31 points while also collecting 10 rebounds. Chris De La Paz scored 17 points.

No. 5 Oaks Christian 82, Banning 49: Dillon Van Der Wal scored 20 points and Jules Sharpe 16. The Lions blew the game open with a 28-8 fourth-quarter run.

Girls:

Division II-AA

Thousand Oaks 47, Burbank 37: Karina Alofaituli completed a double-double with
20 points and 10 rebounds. Jenna Bandy followed suit with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Division I-AA
Long Beach Wilson 65, Oxnard 49

Division I-A
No. 5 Ventura 73, Hawthorne 47
Ventura will visit No. 12 Los Osos, 66-43 winners over California, Friday
Lancaster 63, Pacifica 49

Division II-AA
No. 1 Thousand Oaks 69, Canyon Country-Canyon 41
Buena 61, Walnut 59
Thousand Oaks will host Buena Friday

Division II-A
No. 6 Simi Valley 66, Compton 62
Simi Valley will visit Rowland, 50-41 winner over No. 11 Sunny Hills, Friday night
Mayfair 64, Camarillo 39
No. 16 Santa Barbara 58, Westlake 52

Division III-AA
Arroyo Grande 69, No. 7 Agoura 58
St. John Bosco 63, Rio Mesa 55
No. 6 North Torrance 102, Moorpark 56

Division IV-A
No. 5 Oaks Christian 75, Morro Bay 62
Oaks Christian will play Banning, 51-43 winners over Fairmont Prep, Friday
No. 6 Santa Clara 80, Santa Ynez 43
Santa Clara will play No. 11 Cerritos Valley Christian, 64-52 winners over Costa Mesa, Friday
Fillmore 59, Carpinteria 53
Fillmore will host No. 2 Price,  73-45 winners over Whittier Christian, Friday
Crespi 70, Nordhoff 45

Division IV-AA
St. Francis 57, Santa Paula 41

Division V-A
No. 14 Pilibos 41, Thacher 38

Division VI-AA
No. 13 Newbury Park Adventist 66, Cuyama Valley 44
Newbury Park Adventist  will play Hesperia Christian, 57-31 winners over Desert Chapel, Friday.

The CIF-Southern Section released the playoff pairings for basketball today. Here are just a few highlights from the girls side of things. The first round is scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

- Buena is the No. 2 seed in Division II-AA and hosts Glendale - an at-large selection from the Pacific League.

- Agoura is seeded No. 2 in Division III-AA and hosts San Marcos in the first round.

- Ventura is the No. 5 seed in Division I-A and hosts Aliso Niguel - an at-large team from the South Coast League.

- Newbury Park is seeded No. 6 in Division II-A and hosts Glendora - an at-large from the Serra League. Simi Valley and Westlake both received at-large bids in II-A and Calabasas received an at-large bid in IV-AA.

- Thousand Oaks is the No. 5 seed in Division II-AA and hosts Burbank.

- If No. 13 Royal wins on the road against Century in Division II-AA, the Highlanders would likely meet No. 1 Brea Olinda in the second round.

- Pacifica will have its hands full in the very-tough Division I-AA bracket. The Tritons received the No. 11 seed and host Redlands East Valley.

- Rio Mesa received a No. 9 seed and a rematch in Division II-A. The Spartans host Dos Pueblos, which they beat in their own tournament earlier this season.  In another Pacific View-Channel showdown, Camarillo plays at Santa Barbara.

- Oaks Christian is the No. 5 seed in Division IV-A and hosts Louisville. Andre Chevalier should be familiar with Mission League opponents having formerly coached at Reseda Cleveland.

- Fillmore is the No. 7 seed in IV-A and hosts Santa Ynez. The Flashes lost to Santa Ynez three years ago in the second round of the playoffs at Santa Ynez.

- Santa Clara reached the second round without even playing a game. The Saints are the No. 3 seed in V-A and received a bye. They will host the winner of No. 10 Desert-No. 11 Mojave on Saturday.

Here are The Star's Top 10 stories for the week Jan. 26-31.

Here are The Star's top 10 stories in high school sports for last week, in no particular order:

Wednesday's results

Winner's bracket
Simi Valley 96, Buena 67
Valencia 62, Ventura 55

Loser's bracket
Camarillo 66, Santa Barbara 50
Newbury Park 65, Dos Pueblos 62

Tuesday's results

Upper Bracket
Golden Valley 70, Dos Pueblos 62 (OT)
Bakersfield Stockdale 64, Newbury Park 63
Chaminade 67, Camarillo 53
Saugus 65, Santa Barbara 43

Lower Bracket
Valencia 68, Knight 63
Ventura 65, El Camino Real 62
Simi Valley 80, Littlerock 47
Buena 65, Burroughs 60 (OT)

Wednesday's schedule

Winner's bracket
Golden Valley vs. Stockdale, 6:30 p.m. at Camarillo High
Chaminade vs. Saugus, 8 p.m. at Camarillo High
Valencia vs. Ventura, 6:30 p.m. at Simi Valley High
Buena at Simi Valley, 8 p.m.

Loser's bracket
Dos Pueblos vs. Newbury Park, 3:30 p.m. at Camarillo High
Camarillo vs. Santa Barbara, 5 p.m. at Camarillo High
Knight vs. El Camino, 3:30 p.m. at Simi Valley High
Littlerock vs. Burroughs, 5 p.m. at Simi Valley High

Click the jump for highlights from individual games.

The Simi Valley High boys' basketball team is one victory away from the 800th in the program's history.