Maranatha

6:30 TONIGHT CYPRESS COLLEGE Whittier Christian advanced to its first section final by knocking out top-seeded San Pedro Mary Star of the Sea to reach the Division IV-A final against second-seeded Maranatha. These Olympic League rivals split their two previous meetings, with Whittier Christian winning the first match, 15-3, 15-5, 15-12, and Maranatha winning three weeks ago, 16-14, 11-15, 15-13, 15-4.

Adrian Kaali-Nagy's 29-yard touchdown reception and subsequent conversion kick midway through the fourth quarter lifted L.A. Baptist High to a 7-6 victory over Maranatha in an Alpha League game Saturday night at San Marino High. Senior running back Surfy Taylor, who rushed for 237 yards in 31 carries, gave Maranatha a 6-0 lead on a four-yard run early in the second quarter. Taylor, also a defensive back, had 14 tackles and forced a fumble that the Minutemen recovered.

It has been a summer for learning a new offense and getting used to new coaches for the state's most prolific sophomore quarterback from a year ago, Andrew Elffers of Pasadena Maranatha. He passed for 3,328 yards and 37 touchdowns while throwing mostly from a shotgun formation. The new coach, Peter Karavedas, a 27-year-old former defensive coordinator at Whittier Christian, hired Mike Owens, a former Van Nuys High and Oregon quarterback, to install a West Coast passing scheme, in which the quarterback takes the snap from under center, looks for quick releases and must make pinpoint passes.

The El Monte Lions, on a seventh-inning double by left fielder Veronica Ramirez, defeated the Chino Cowgirls, 3-2, Friday to win the Southern Section 2-A girls' softball championship at Mayfair Park in Lakewood. On an 0-and-1 count, Ramirez pounded the ball into left-center field to knock in pitcher Stacey Campbell and break a 2-2 tie. "The pitch was right up the middle and I knew I had to get it through, so I just swung away," Ramirez said.

Changes in the Olympic League, an alliance of private high schools, might alter the look of some Orange County public school leagues next year. What is a six-team league will be missing at least one of its current members. Brethren Christian's move to the Academy League already has been approved by the Southern Section. Then, earlier this month, Sierra Madre Maranatha announced that it intends to join the Christian League.

Kilpatrick Coach James Jackson has been suspended for the remainder of the football season as a result of his scuffle with an opposing linebacker in a game earlier this month. Los Angeles County officials announced the suspension after reviewing game films of the Nov. 9 fight between Jackson and Maranatha player Terry Russo.

The Ambassador Auditorium and other key structures on the former Ambassador College campus in Pasadena have been purchased by a church and school, which plan to turn the vacant facilities into a private high school and concert venue. Harvest Rock Church and Maranatha High School, both based in Pasadena, bought the 13-acre site with five buildings from Worldwide Church of God last week for an undisclosed amount. The property is bounded by St. John Avenue, Green Street and Del Mar Avenue.

On a cold, drizzly night, the baseball diamond at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Pasadena needs repairs if a game between Pasadena Maranatha and Brentwood is going to be played, and the person showing the best form handling a rake is one of the scheduled starting pitchers, Dylan Covey. In a couple of months, Covey, 18, figures to have enough money to buy his own landscaping company, but the fact that he isn't hiding in the warm, cozy Maranatha clubhouse in the middle of a steady rain validates what people have been saying about his impeccable character.

Calvary Chapel had the kind of half-inning that causes players and coaches to shake their heads and wonder how so much could go so wrong so soon. Before the Eagles had their first at-bat, they were down five runs and went on to lose to Sierra Madre Maranatha, 6-2, in the Southern Section Division V title game Saturday at Blair Field in Long Beach. It was the first title-game appearance for both teams. Calvary Chapel, the third-place team from the Olympic League, finishes 20-9.