Westlake should be tops in Southland

At least one sports writer doesn’t believe Westlake is the No. 1 team in Southern California. Daily News columnist Vincent Bonsignore wrote on Monday, "Nobody in their right mind would say Westlake could have beaten Hart on Saturday."

Bonsignore claims the Hart thrashing of Mission Viejo in its CIF championship game, Mission Viejo’s only loss of the season (they finished 13-1), indicates that Hart (11-3) is superior to Westlake.

However, Westlake beat Hart early in the season and did so without sophomore running back Jeff Rapoport, who produced 749 yards, 10.5 yards per carry and 12 TDs during the season. Rapoport was also unable to play when Westlake defeated St. Bonaventure in the CIF final game.

It was a good game vs. Hart early in the season and Westlake—not at 100 percent—won.

The win over four-time defending CIF champion St. Bonaventure, coupled with Westlake’s early-season win over not only Hart, but also Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (another CIF champ in Div. III), proves to many fans that Westlake (14-0) was deservedly No. 1 in Southern California.