The hard-fought contest ended in a 1-1 draw.

Graves scored the sole goal for her team.

Final score: 37-0.

The win improves Rancho’s record to 2-0 on the season.

In the photo, Rancho’s Stephan Monge runs for a TD.

Winning kids were, front row from left, Noah Hagerstand (boys division), Allyson Tan (girls division), and Joshua Tan (Allyson’s brother). 

Congratulations, kids!

Pinewood Derby, you say.

Been there, done that?

Seen it all?

Maybe not.

The Pinewood Derby held in Garden Grove recently rivaled the Long Beach Grand Prix — well, in miniature — with flags, actual Nascar tires donated by the Irwindale Speedway and signs relating to car racing.

George Shearer of Garden Grove is the master-mind of the annual event for Cub Scouts, all Wolves, Bears and Webelos.

Shearer was the Cub master for Garden Grove Pack No. 548 from 2003 to 2014 and now is the ad hoc Pinewood Derby go-to-person.

“I’ve been in scouting since I was 8 years old and I’m an Eagle Scout,” said Shearer; “I came from a scouting family. My mother was involved on the council level. My boys also participated in the scouting programs, so I’ve been working with Scouts for more than 30 years and doing the Pinewood Derby for the Garden Grove LDS Stake since 2003.”

Shearer said he decided he was going to make the Pinewood Derby interesting and fun and so he began promoting it through the automotive-parts industry to raise money.

“I received donations of money, posters, banners and fliers. With the money, we were able to purchase the $500 aluminum race track we use, that’s 32-feet long,” he said.

Some big name suppliers who helped the Garden Grove Derby look top-notch professional include Federal Mogul Performance & Racing Parts, Goodyear tires, Nascar (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), Wagner Brake Components, Valvoline Oil and several smaller speed-shop suppliers.

No detail was overlooked by Shearer.

The track has an electronic finish-line controlled by a computer, so there’s no guessing as to who wins each heat. Each Cub Scout gets to race his hand-made car three times, once on each of the three tracks on the raceway, then points are tallied to find the top three winners overall, with a final race to determine the one top winner and then trophies are awarded. “

Twenty-one Cub Scouts participated.

“I set the track up the same way each year and hang flags from the ceiling the same way also, for consistency,” Shearer said. “And I like to keep the sign-in table in the same corner to keep it organized and to move the Scouts in and out of check-in quickly.”

Shearer said the Pinewood Derby is yet another activity for Scouts that provides help with the development of boys.

“They learn good sportsmanship and it’s a hands-on-building project with a family member, generally their father,” he said. “The boys sand the wood and paint and decorate the car, which encompasses so much in the way of a hands-on activity.”

Shearer said there are many different Cub Scout packs involved throughout the area and that he wanted to make sure the derby was a fun event for the whole family. That support was evident as not only parents, but grandparents and friends showed up to cheer the boys on.

“The Boy Scouts of America is a good organization for boys 7 to 10 years of age and we encourage them to join a local Cub Scout pack,” said Shearer. “Outside of the scouting program, there is also a National Pinewood Derby Association that boys can join.”

For those interested, there’s a Boy Scouts of America website on the Internet that lists all of the local Cub Packs and Boy Scouts in the area.

Cub and Boy Scouts are generally sponsored by schools and/or churches.

The Friday-night heat was sponsored by the LDS Church in their Valley View Building in Garden Grove and took in the cities of Garden Grove, Stanton, Westminster and some of Anaheim and Cypress. One Samoan family lives in Costa Mesa but travels to Garden Grove to attend church in the LDS Samoan Garden Grove 2nd Ward and also to have their Cub Scout boys participate with the other Scouts in Garden Grove.

Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Kyle Brodowski, a councilor in the Valley View building, and a real “master” of the art, drawing the boys in with a few questions here and there to keep their attention.

The Matadors took the match at Garden Grove High by scores of 25-18, 25-17, 27-25.

After closing out the first two sets with strong finishes, it appeared the Matadors might put away the Argonauts handily in the third set.

Bolsa Grande jumped out to a lead of 12-6 before the Argonauts regained some momentum.

Long Tran got the Argonauts back on track with a tap over blockers for a point to cut the lead to 12-7. A couple of points later, Janson Nguyen put a kill through two blockers to pull the Argonauts to within two, at 12-10.

The two teams then exchanged three-point runs. Khoa Pham put down a first-hit kill on an overpass by Garden Grove defenders that put the Matadors up 14-10. A Garden Grove misplay put the Matadors up 15-10 before the Argonauts answered with three straight points to close the gap to 15-13.

Late in the set, the two teams exchanged several clutch plays in a long rally that ended with Garden Grove’s Andrew Nguyen getting the point with a kill off a tip. That point made the score 21-19 for Bolsa Grande.

Bolsa Grande then scored two points. An Le and Michael Luong each had a kill to extend the Matador lead to 23-19, as Bolsa Grande looked to close out the match.

But the Argonauts rallied one more time. Long Tran had a kill to cut the lead to 23-20. A net violation and ace serve cut the lead to 23-22 and Janson Nguyen tied the set at 23-23 with a kill off a block.

With the set tied 24-24, Jimmy Nguyen had a kill for Bolsa Grande to put them up 25-24. But Fitu Lupematasila answered with a kill to again tied the set at 25-25.

However, Jimmy Nguyen and Max Wilcox would each get kills to close out the match with a 27-25 win.

The Matadors improved to 7-2, while Garden Grove dropped to third place in league with a 6-3 record.

La Quinta came into this week in first place at 8-1. La Quinta was scheduled to play at Garden Grove on Tuesday (May 2) while the Matadors closed out the regular season at Santiago on Tuesday (both games were after press time).

Although the standings are still in flux, all three will be entering the CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs. In last week’s CIF-SS poll, the Matadors were ranked No. 5, while La Quinta was in the No. 8 spot. Garden Grove received votes, but was just outside the top 10.

The Matadors took the match at Garden Grove High by scores of 25-18, 25-17, 27-25.

After closing out the first two sets with strong finishes, it appeared the Matadors might put away the Argonauts handily in the third set.

Bolsa Grande jumped out to a lead of 12-6 before the Argonauts regained some momentum.

Long Tran got the Argonauts back on track with a tap over blockers for a point to cut the lead to 12-7. A couple of points later, Janson Nguyen put a kill through two blockers to pull the Argonauts to within two, at 12-10.

The two teams then exchanged three-point runs. Khoa Pham put down a first-hit kill on an overpass by Garden Grove defenders that put the Matadors up 14-10. A Garden Grove misplay put the Matadors up 15-10 before the Argonauts answered with three straight points to close the gap to 15-13.

Late in the set, the two teams exchanged several clutch plays in a long rally that ended with Garden Grove’s Andrew Nguyen getting the point with a kill off a tip. That point made the score 21-19 for Bolsa Grande.

Bolsa Grande then scored two points. An Le and Michael Luong each had a kill to extend the Matador lead to 23-19, as Bolsa Grande looked to close out the match.

But the Argonauts rallied one more time. Long Tran had a kill to cut the lead to 23-20. A net violation and ace serve cut the lead to 23-22 and Janson Nguyen tied the set at 23-23 with a kill off a block.

With the set tied 24-24, Jimmy Nguyen had a kill for Bolsa Grande to put them up 25-24. But Fitu Lupematasila answered with a kill to again tied the set at 25-25.

However, Jimmy Nguyen and Max Wilcox would each get kills to close out the match with a 27-25 win.

The Matadors improved to 7-2, while Garden Grove dropped to third place in league with a 6-3 record.

La Quinta came into this week in first place at 8-1. La Quinta was scheduled to play at Garden Grove on Tuesday (May 2) while the Matadors closed out the regular season at Santiago on Tuesday (both games were after press time).

Although the standings are still in flux, all three will be entering the CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs. In last week’s CIF-SS poll, the Matadors were ranked No. 5, while La Quinta was in the No. 8 spot. Garden Grove received votes, but was just outside the top 10.

The Rancho Alamitos High football team celebrated after beating Loara, 42-14, last week at Glover Field.

Rancho went undefeated in Garden Grove League play and now heads to the CIF playoffs, riding a six-game winning streak during which it has outscored opponents 212-42.

Rancho hosts Northwood in the first round of CIF playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2.

To view Rancho’s stellar season, visit www.rahssports.wordpress.com.

How sweet it is!

The Rancho Alamitos High football team celebrated after beating Loara, 42-14, last week at Glover Field.

Rancho went undefeated in Garden Grove League play and now heads to the CIF playoffs, riding a six-game winning streak during which it has outscored opponents 212-42.

Rancho hosts Northwood in the first round of CIF playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2.

To view Rancho’s stellar season, visit www.rahssports.wordpress.com.

Three of the Vaquero runners finished in the top four, led by Andrew Hernandez, who took second with a time of 15:57.1 He was just three seconds behind Drake Prince of High Tech High in Chula Vista.

Hernandez was followed by Daniel Rioquinto with a time of 16:24.0 and Raymond Ruvalcaba in 16:28.9.

BY TED APODACA: The Rancho Alamitos High boys cross country team won the title in the Division 3 juniors division at the Dana Hills Invitational on Saturday at Dana Hills High.

Three of the Vaquero runners finished in the top four, led by Andrew Hernandez, who took second with a time of 15:57.1 He was just three seconds behind Drake Prince of High Tech High in Chula Vista.

Hernandez was followed by Daniel Rioquinto with a time of 16:24.0 and Raymond Ruvalcaba in 16:28.9.

In the boys senior race, Andrew Lopez led the Vaqueros with a 3rd place overall finish. Lopez finished the race in 16:25.2. Rancho’s Richard Le also ran the senior event, finishing 44th overall in 18:40.9.

Rancho was led by Don Molina in the Division 3 sophomore boys race with a 15th place overall finish. Molina finished the three-mile course in 17:35.5. Kevin Pinzon had a strong showing in 58th overall at 18:45.7.

In other prep action, Westminster High lost to Kaiser High, 49-0. Westminster faces Artesia at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7.

Pictured, Rancho Alamitos High School’s Nathan Kanyavong scores a first quarter touchdown during a 20-15 win last Thursday at Garden Grove Stadium.

In other prep action, Westminster High lost to Kaiser High, 49-0. Westminster faces Artesia at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7.