Granada Hills

Granada Hills High's baseball team forfeited its scheduled West Valley League game against Taft on Thursday because of an alleged hazing incident under investigation by school officials. The incident occurred Monday in the locker room showers and involved junior varsity and varsity players, said a Granada Hills baseball player. School officials told players Thursday the forfeit was punishment for the incident and individuals could face disciplinary action pending further investigation.

Playing its first game as a 4-A team in 6 seasons, and with all 5 starters back from last year's team, Granada Hills High figured to get off to a quick start this basketball season. But Tuesday afternoon, the Highlanders stumbled out of the gate, falling to North Hollywood, a 3-A team, 73-67, in the season opener for both schools at Granada Hills. North Hollywood's Dana Jones led all scorers with 20 points to go with 16 rebounds and blocked 6 shots.

For years, Alemany and Granada Hills high schools have sat within blocks of each other, a football rivalry waiting to happen. Friday night in Granada Hills, they finally got together on the football field. Round one goes to the guys from the City Section. Granada Hills defeated its rival, 33-14. Granada Hills, a public City Section school, used an impressive ground attack to salt away the contest. The Highlanders rushed for 296 yards en route to 443 yards in total offense.

Chaminade High dominated every phase of its 28-8 intersectional victory over Granada Hills on Friday night. A strong rushing attack, a long touchdown pass and a defensive effort that included nine sacks left little doubt why the Eagles have started the season with a 3-0 record. Chaminade quarterback Tom Racius completed 15 of 29 passes for 282 yards, including a 70-yard scoring pass to senior Dino Dinielli. The score gave the Eagles a 21-0 halftime lead.

ALBUQUERQUE — In the nine months since the Granada Hills Charter High School Academic Decathlon team began studying for the competition, it's racked up an impressive list of accolades. The group took home victories locally, beating out all other teams in the Los Angeles Unified School District — and statewide, besting teams from across California. On Saturday, for the second year in a row, Granada Hills clinched the national title, outperforming 32 other teams. And this year — with a score of 54,081 points — the students claimed the highest score ever at the national competition.

Not even cafeteria food can stop Steve Smith and Chris Morgan. Queasy from lunch, the Woodland Hills Taft High receivers distinguished themselves quite well in a 40-6 victory over Granada Hills on Friday night in a West Valley League opener. Smith had 11 receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Morgan had 74 yards and one touchdown on four receptions and returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown. "We were both feeling ill from that stuff they feed us," Smith said.

The Granada Hills High boys' volleyball team advanced to the semifinals of the 40-team California Volleyball Tournament of Champions before bowing to powerhouse Capistrano Valley, 15-6, Saturday at Cal State Northridge. Capistrano Valley beat Fresno Bullard, 15-7, in the championship match. "They had too many guns for us," Highlander Coach Tom Harp said of the Cougars, who boast two players, Aaron Garcia and Eric Seiffert, on the U.S. junior national team. "They're an excellent team.

Expect the unexpected when the Granada Hills High girls' swimming team begins its quest for a seventh consecutive City Section title with today's preliminary meet at 2 p.m. at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. To wit: The Highlanders will be led by senior Jennifer Ward, who won individual titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles last year but will not compete in either event this time. Ward is entered in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly.

Granada Hills High is used to winning City Section swimming titles. But for the first time in seven years, it was the boys' team which captured the glory. Despite fielding one of the smallest teams in the competition, Granada Hills lapped the field at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach on Wednesday, accumlating 220 points to win the program's first City championship. Palisades finished second with 148 points, followed by Birmingham (137), Cleveland (134) and El Camino Real (122).

For nearly two hours after everyone else finished their matches on Tuesday, Michal Zeituni of Granada Hills High and Kamilah Smith of Hamilton struggled to see which one of their teams would advance to the City Section 4-A Division girls' tennis final. With the Highlanders and Yankees tied in sets, coaches, players and parents watched as the No.