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Matchup for the Title – Santa Monica College vs West LA – 2011

Posted 13 Nov 2011 — by Michael Yanow
Category 2011, CA, California, Corsair, Corsair Field, Corsairs, Football, Jr. College, JUCO, Junior College, LA, Los Angeles, Photography, Photojournalism, Santa Monica, Santa Monica College, SMC, Sport, Sports, Sports Photography, Touchdown, West LA College

The West Los Angeles College Wildcats, undefeated in conference play, made the short drive to Corsair Field to take on the Santa Monica College Corsairs, also undefeated in conference play, for the American Pacific Conference championship. West LA jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after their second possession of the game. SMC answered back with a 18-yard touchdown run by Alonzo Frederick. West LA added two more touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the first half to take a 21-10 lead into halftime. SMC held West LA scoreless in the second half and put up 21 unanswered points for a 32-21 victory. The Corsairs (8-2, 6-0) on the season earned their first conference championship since 1991. The win also entitles them to a bowl game.

With the clock ticking down and the victory in hand, players on the Corsair sideline searched for the water jugs to pour on their coaches but they came up empty-handed. I think the coaches spoke with the training staff prior to the start of the game and asked them to pour out the water to prevent a Gatorade bath. Gatorade or not, SMC had no trouble celebrating their championship.

Santa Monica College players lift up head coach Gifford Lindheim after their 32-21 victory over West L.A. College for the Pacific Conference championship on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at Corsair Field in Santa Monica, California. SMC has not won the conference title since 1991.

Santa Monica College head coach Gifford Lindheim (right) and quarterback Alfonso Medina embrace after the game to celebrate their 32-21 victory for the Pacific Conference championship.

Santa Monica College defensive lineman Gerald Blockmon reacts to winning against West L.A. College.

Santa Monica College running back Daniel Pipkin and tight end Aaron Boesch celebrate after Pipkin’s 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against West L.A. College.

Santa Monica College quarterback Alfonso Medina throws a 80-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Taylor in the third quarter against West L.A. College.

West L.A. College quarterback LeAndre Thompson stiff arms Santa Monica College linebacker David Mayo on a scramble play.

For more pictures from the game please visit my flickr page:

Tags: American Pacific Conference, Football, Santa Monica, SMC, West LA

Last Drive – Santa Monica vs Glendale

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Posted 06 Nov 2011 — by Michael Yanow
Category American Pacific Conference, California, Corsair, Corsairs, Football, Glendale Community College, Jr. College, JUCO, Junior College, Photography, Santa Monica, Santa Monica College, SMC, Sport, Sports, Sports Photography, Touchdown

The Santa Monica College Corsairs made the necessary plays on the last two drives in the American Pacific Conference game against the Glendale College Vaqueros at Glendale College on Saturday, November 5, 2011. The Corsairs, with 1:52 left on the clock, drove 80 yards in 1:39 for a touchdown and a 47-41 lead, leaving only 13 seconds left on the clock for the Vaqueros. During the scoring drive, the Corsairs faced a fourth and one at their 45 yard line. Head coach Gifford Lindheim called back-to-back timeouts to buy extra time for making the decision. Lindheim huddled his team around the sideline and asked them what they wanted to do. The players, in a rare display of unanimity, decided to go for it on fourth and one. On the next play, quarterback Alfonso Medina ran a quarterback sneak to the right of center and picked up the first down. Five plays later, Medina hooked up with wide receiver Brandon Taylor for a 23-yard touchdown catch.

With the ball in the hands of Glendale quarterback Kevin Hunter on the Glendale 20 yard line, with the clock almost at zero, it was his turn to drive his team for a touchdown. Clinton Perry intercepted Hunter and sealed the deal for the Corsairs victory.

The victory improves the Corsair record to 5-0 in conference and 7-2 overall. SMC and rival West LA, both undefeated, will square off on the field for the conference championship next Saturday, November 12 at Corsair Field. Winner gets the ring.

Kris Johnson (right) and Michael Perry of the Santa Monica College Corsairs celebrate after their 47-41 victory against the Glendale College Vaqueros on Saturday, November 5, 2011 in Glendale, California. SMC’s victory moves their conference record to 5-0 and leads them to a key matchup next week against rival West LA for the conference title.

Safeties coach Darnell Lacy (right) of the Santa Monica College Corsairs talks to Clinton Perry after Perryâs interception seals the victory for SMC over the Glendale College Vaqueros in a conference matchup on Saturday, November 5, 2011 in Glendale, California. SMC won 47-41 and improving SMCâs season record to 7-2. SMC faces West LA next week for the conference title. Michael Yanow/Corsair

Safeties coach Darnell Lacy (right) of the Santa Monica College Corsairs talks to Clinton Perry after Perry’s interception seals the victory for SMC over the Glendale College Vaqueros in a conference matchup on Saturday, November 5, 2011 in Glendale, California. SMC won 47-41, improving SMC’s season record to 7-2. SMC faces West LA next week for the conference title.

Joseph Wiggan of the Glendale College Vaqueros battles for running room against the defense of the Santa Monica College Corsairs in a conference matchup on Saturday, November 5, 2011 in Glendale, California. Wiggan runs for 124 yards on 24 carries and 2 touchdowns in his team’s 47-41 loss to SMC.

Wide receiver Matt Volland (left) of the Glendale College Vaqueros rips the ball on the way down from the hands of Ricardo Wright of the Santa Monica College Corsairs for a 44-yard reception late in the fourth quarter in a conference matchup on Saturday, November 5, 2011 in Glendale, California. Volland’s reception sets up a touchdown moments later and ties the game at 41-41.

For more photos of the game please visit my flickr page.

Tags: Alfonso Medina, Football, Gifford Lindheim, Glendale, Glendale College, Santa Monica College, SMC

Pierce College at Santa Monica College 2011 Version

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Posted 29 Oct 2011 — by Michael Yanow
Category California, Corsair, Corsairs, Football, JACC, Jr. College, JUCO, Junior College, Outdoors, Photography, Pierce College, Santa Monica, Santa Monica College, SMC, Sport, Sports, Sports Photography, Touchdown, Youtube

Step 1: The Idea. In October, I attended a conference sponsored by the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, in Fullerton California. Throughout the weekend, professionals in the field offered six photography related workshops. My attendance = 90%. (In the past, I would have attended one.) The topics and presenters were appealing, but I’m also more focused and more committed to my craft than I’ve ever been. In three of the workshops, photographers presented audio slideshows. I was familiar with the technique having created one for myself 6 months earlier. I was inspired to tackle the challenge once again at a football game. My plan: record the sounds of the game and then layer the sounds over images I would take that day.

Step 2: The Action. Saturday, October 22, 2011 was the game of choice. Pierce College vs. Santa Monica College. In order to make the most of my time at the game, I planned out ahead of time what sounds I hoped to record on my iPhone. The iPhone works fairly well but it has some difficulties picking up sound from a distance without adding in all of the unwanted sounds in-between. I am looking forward to the days when I can use a higher quality audio recorder.

Step 3: The Assembly. It was definitely a challenge to put it all together. First, I used iMovie. Not a smart move. The program does not allow for exact edits. My second choice was Garage Band. An improvement from iMovie, but not a whole lot better. My lack of familiarity with the program did not help. My goal is to buy the $299 version of Final Cut from the Apple App Store. Donations are welcome! After the audio was cut I laid the photos over the audio in iMovie. Not the best choice, but the only choice I had.

Take a look at the finished result:

Santa Monica College defeats Pierce College 37-31 on Saturday, October 22, 2011. SMC’s defense stops Pierce from scoring on the last drive of the game.

To see more photos from the game please visit my flickr page.

Tags: Audio Slideshow, corsair, Football, Pierce College, Santa Monica College, SMC, Youtube

Sunset over Friday Night Lights

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Posted 04 Oct 2011 — by Michael Yanow
Category CA, California, CIF, Football, Helix High School, High School, High School Football, Outdoors, Photography, Sports, Sports Photography, Sunset, The Curious Palate, Touchdown, Venice, Venice High School

My assignment on Friday, September 30, 2011 was to cover Venice High School’s football matchup against Helix High School, from La Mesa, California (10 miles east of San Diego). The moment I stepped on the field I noticed the beautiful sunset. I quickly started to snap photos of Helix going through their warmups. Next I approached the referee asking him in a joking but serious manner if at all possible to start the game 15 minutes ahead of schedule. I need those minutes to capture game action against the colorful sunset. He was unable to change the start time and told me to go the beach to photograph the sunset.

I nervously waited for kickoff hoping the vivid colors would stick around. To my pleasure the the rich tones in the sky were present for the first 15 minutes of the game.

Game Recap: Helix jumped out to an early 14-0 lead. Venice roared back to tie the score at 14 all and added a 48-yard field goal in the second quarter to take a 17-14 lead into halftime. The second half had a different story but all to familiar to Venice. Venice’s undersized defenders wore down against Helix’s offense. Helix outscored Venice 28 to 3 in the last 30 minutes of play. Helix drove back to San Diego County with a 42-20 victory.

Really off topic: before the game I ate at The Curious Palate on Venice Blvd and Inglewood in Mar Vista. If you enjoy apricot jam, they have the best. It was heaven on my tongue. I look forward to going back and buying a jar.

Ernest Shipley of Helix High School walks off the field during pre-game warmups in Friday night’s contest against Venice High School on Friday, September 30, 2011 in Venice, Calif.

Helix running back Michael Adkins huddles the defense and scores a touchdown in the first quarter against Venice on Friday, September 30, 2011 in Venice, Calif.

Tags: California, Football, Helix High School, High School, La Mesa, Sports, Sunset, Venice, Venice Football

Santa Monica College at Santa Ana College – JUCO Football

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Posted 19 Sep 2011 — by Michael Yanow
Category California, Flickr, Football, Photography, Santa Ana College Dons, Santa Monica, Santa Monica College, Sports, Sports Photography, Touchdown

This past weekend I traveled on the Santa Monica College team bus to cover their game against the Santa Ana Dons in Santa Ana, California. This was my first team bus ride since my football playing days when I was in eighth grade. The highlight was on the trip home when the bus driver pulled over at McDonald’s allowing the players to grab something to eat. 80 players and a cheer squad filling up a McDonald’s was a sight to see. Clearly, I was not expecting this iconic moment because my camera was under the bus. Lesson has been learned.

Game Report: Santa Monica jumped out to an early lead but was unable to hold on. A tied score at 14-14 mid-way through the second quarter was the closest SMC would get. The Dons scored the next 36 points to put away the Corsairs. SMC lost 27-53.

Kris Comass (right) of Santa Monica College leaps and makes a reception for a 16-yard touchdown over Avery Lynch (left) of the Santa Ana College Dons on Saturday, September 17, 2011 at Santa Ana Field in Santa Ana, Calif. Comass’ touchdown reception tied the game at 14-14; SMC would go scoreless for the next two quarters.

Joshua Webb #3 of Santa Ana College and Ryan Arballo #14 celebrate after Webb’s touchdown reception on Saturday, September 17, 2011 at Santa Ana Field in Santa Ana, Calif. Santa Ana College won 53-27 over Santa Monica College.

For more photos from the game visit my flickr page.

Tags: California, Day Game, Football, Joshua Webb, Kris Comass, McDonald's, Orange County, Santa Ana, Santa Monica College, SMC, Team Bus, Touchdown

Watching the Green Bay Packers

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Posted 11 Jan 2011 — by Michael Yanow
Category Eagles, Falcons, Football, Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Brewers, NFL, Photography, Playoffs, Sports, Sports Photography, Television, Time Lapse, Touchdown, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Badgers

Ask any family member or friend and they can talk about my passion for my home state of Wisconsin and my love of sports. Mixing both Wisconsin and sports gets a very passionate Green Bay Packer fan, Wisconsin Badger fan, Milwaukee Brewer fan. On Wisconsin!

This past Sunday the Green Bay Packers traveled to Philadelphia, PA to take on the Eagles in the NFC Wild Card matchup. I had the idea of documenting myself during the game. I thought of creating a time lapse of still pictures throughout the game. In the first half I shoot a frame every 10 seconds. The second half I doubled the number of frames to one every 5 seconds. I threw all the frames into iMovie and set their duration to 0.1 seconds. Below is the result.

I am working on another video for the Packer -Falcons game. Go Pack Go!

Tags: Football, Packers, Playoffs, Sports, Television, Time Lapse

Venice vs Crenshaw CIF Semifinals Playoffs

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Posted 04 Dec 2010 — by Michael Yanow
Category CIF, Crenshaw High School, De'anthony Thomas, Football, High School, High School Football, Los Angeles, Photography, Sports Photography, Touchdown, Venice High School

Venice High School traveled to Crenshaw High School for a chance to play in the City Section finals of the CIF playoffs. Quarterback Dean Sarabia of Venice completed the first pass of the game for 42 yards to Frank Murray. Three plays later Venice found the endzone to score the first points of the game. These points would be the last for Venice until the fourth quarter and after Crenshaw put up 63 points on the scoreboard.

Venice’s offense was not sharp on the night and committed numerous turnovers. Crenshaw capitalized on the turnovers and turned them into points led by Blue Chip recruit De’anthony Thomas who has committed to University of Southern California. Crenshaw moves onto to play Caron in the City Chamionship on December 11th at 1pm in the Coliseum.

Larry Clark a San Diego State recruit lines up for the national anthem with his teammates.

Deontay Banks rumbles into the endzone for the game’s first score.

De’anthony Thomas answers Venice’s score with a 20 yard touchdown run. Thomas’ touchdown set off a scoring feast by Crewnshaw by scoring the next 63 points.

#24 Joseph Pullard on defense runs into the endzone for a touchdown.

De’anthony Thomas a Oregon recruit snatches the ball out of mid-air.

Tags: CIF, De'anthony Thomas, Football, High School, Playoffs, Venice

Venice High School vs San Pedro High School Round 2 Playoffs Matchup – Football

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Posted 27 Nov 2010 — by Michael Yanow
Category CIF, Football, High School, High School Football, LAPD, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Sports Journal, Pepper Spray, Photography, Playoffs, San Pedro High School, Sports Photography, Touchdown, Venice High School, Western League

San Pedro High School traveled north on the 405 to Venice to take on Venice High School in a second round CIF playoff matchup. Venice has not faired well against San Pedro lossing to them second before in the playoffs. Will this year team put a stop to the losing trend?

To help answer the question for Venice a 96 yard touchdown on the opening kickoff by wide receiver Gabriel Marks helps out. Venice takes an early 7-0 lead. San Pedro pounded the ball up the middle against Venice’s run defense but only scored 10 points in the first half. San Pedro took a 10-7 lead into halftime.

Venice’s defense in the third quarter had the bend but don’t break mentality. San Pedro drove numerous times deep into Venice territory but walked off the field not scoring. Venice held San Pedro scoreless in the second half. A key play in the second half for Venice was a blocking field goal attempt. The block saved three points but Gabriel Marks snatched the ball from the air and scramble 85 yards for the touchdown to increase their lead to 14 points. A 10 point swing.

Venice score twice in the third quarter and two more times in the fourth to win 35 to 10. They move onto the third round of the CIF playoffs and will play Crenshaw next Friday night.

The evening ended on a sour note when a San Pedro player punched a Venice player in the handshake line. Chaos took over which lead to a Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) officer using pepper spray to separate the teams. To learn more of the incident visit my earlier posting or visit Sports Journal LA.

The tradition of slapping the wall upon exiting the locker room.

Larry Clark celebrating Gabriel Mark’s 96 yard touchdown run to open the game up.

Venice blocking San Pedro’s field goal attempt in the third quarter. Gabriel Marks ran the ball 85 yards for this second special team’s touchdown on the evening.

Jahret Hood coming from the blind side to sack the quarterback and jarring the ball loose for Venice to recover.

Gabriel Marks caps off his evening by intercepting the ball and any threat of San Pedro scoring late in the game.

Tags: Football, Friday Night Lights, Pepper Spray, Playoffs, San Pedro, Venice

Venice High School Vs Locke High School 11.19.10

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Posted 20 Nov 2010 — by Michael Yanow
Category CIF, Football, Los Angeles, Photography, Playoffs, Shooting Angle, Sports Photography, Touchdown, Venice High School, Western League

Venice High School hosted Locke High School in the first round of the CIF playoffs. Third play of the game started the down pour of points by Venice. Venice outscored Locke 66-0. Venice offense was falsely and the defense played tough and spent most of the evening in Locke’s backfield. The defense converted two turnovers for touchdowns. Venice’s quarterback Dean Sarabia threw for over 200 yards on seven completions and four touchdowns.

Venice will host San Pedro High School on Friday, November 26th.

Larry Clark wide open catches the pass from quarterback Dean Sarabia on the third play of the game for the first score of the game.

Running back Teondray Caldwell breaks loose on the evening scoring two touchdowns.

Deontay Banks reaches for the ball and hauls it in then dashes to the end zone to increase Venice's lead to 39-0.

Wideout Frank Murray rips off a big run after the catch. Venice scores 66 point against Locke High School.

Lamar Moody breaks loose around the corner.

Tags: blowout, CIF, Football, High School, Playoffs, Touchdown, Venice

Santa Monica High School vs Culver City High School

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Posted 10 Nov 2010 — by Michael Yanow
Category Culver City High School, Football, High School, Los Angeles, Photography, SAMO High School, Santa Monica, Shooting Angle, Sports Photography, Touchdown

The Santa Monica High School football game on Nov 5th most likely was my best game of the season in regards to getting the best shots.

Starting in the third quarter I tried something new by lying flat on my stomach to achieve a field level view. I love this camera angle and produced some amazing shots.

All the photos in this posting were taken lying on my stomach. It looks weird to the people around me but I don’t care because the results are worth it.

Santa Monica beat 34-10.