PREP FOOTBALL : Friday’s Playoff Highlights : Antelope Valley, Muir Reach Final

Eric Mortensen scored on runs of 33, 1 and 4 yards and gained 143 yards in 16 carries to lead Antelope Valley over South Torrance, 41-7, into the finals of the Coastal Conference where it will play defending champion Muir (12-0).

Antelope Valley quarterback Ron Whipple completed 7 of 13 passes for 108 yards and also scored on a 32-yard run. South Torrance got the last touchdown of the game on a 14-yard pass from Zak Krislock to Brett Boston.

Antelope Valley lost the Northwestern Conference final last season to Canyon.

In other games:

Southern Section

Muir 22, Canyon 14--Muir of Pasadena in the Coastal Conference football title game without much help from star running back Ricky Ervins? Who would have thought it?

Last season, maybe, since the Mustangs had an outstanding corps of receivers. But this was supposed to be different, a regular it’s-all-up-to-Ervins kind of season.

It was no different.

With Ervins hampered by a leg injury in the playoffs for the second straight year, Muir got 139 yards passing from quarterback Vince Phillips, and 85 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground from speedy running back Andreas Douglas to beat Canyon in the rain at Glendale High for its 23rd straight win and second consecutive trip to the championship game.

Both touchdown runs for Douglas, a sprinter on the track team, were a result of speed. The first, a 12-yarder with three minutes left in the first quarter, was a reverse to the left side; the second, an 18-yarder around right end, was good for the game’s final touchdown.

Arroyo 14, Cajon 10--Junior running back Fernando Zabala ran 9 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter for the Knights to advance them into the Southeastern Conference final. The winning touchdown was set up on a 40-yard pass from Willie Reyna to Anthony Alvarez, who also caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Reyna in the third quarter. Zabala had 102 yards on 25 carries.

Valley Christian 21, Tehachapi 14--Sean McQuown caught a 10-yard pass from Lance Havel on the first play of the California tiebreaker and the Crusader defense then held Tehachapi scoreless on four straight plays to win the Inland Conference semifinal game at Tehachapi. The win over the defending champion avenged a loss in last year’s semifinals. Valley Christian’s Bryan Templeman gained 148 yards in 27 carries and scored once. The Crusaders will play the winner of tonight’s Carpinteria-Bishop game.