HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

Last week was 21-20 hindsight for Lancaster, which defeated Chaminade by that score in its nonleague opener.

Last year, Lancaster lost to Crespi, Chaminade’s Mission League rival, 21-20, on a Hail Mary pass in the fourth quarter.

Lancaster led Chaminade, 21-7, at halftime but had to hold off a late two-point conversion to win.

“A couple of times, I was thinking, ‘Oh, no. Not again,’ ” Coach Ray DeShane said.

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It was quite a varsity debut for Tony Ortiz of Lancaster.

Ortiz, a 5-foot-8, 150-pound junior, made the crucial two-point conversion stop against Chaminade. He also intercepted a pass and rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns in 16 carries.

The performance was only a partial surprise.

“We knew he’d be good,” DeShane said of Ortiz, the most valuable player last year on the Eagles’ 9-1 junior varsity team. “We just didn’t know how soon.”

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Injuries and depth have been an issue at Littlerock, which is playing without six projected starters.

One of the latest to be lost is senior Keon Montgomery, one of the region’s top defensive backs.

Montgomery has a partially torn knee ligament and is expected to miss at least four more weeks.

“We’re about three or four injuries away from being a very good junior varsity team,” Coach Jim Bauer said.