Blast From the Past on FSN

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Was flipping through channels Saturday morning when I came across a blast from the past on Fox Sports Net 2, Saturday at 11 a.m.

It was a Fox Sports "High School Football Game of the Week" replay of the 2003 Mission League showdown between Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and St. Paul at Monsignor Cranham Stadium.

That was a contest that featured prominent stars like St. Paul's D.J. Tardy (Washington State) and Notre Dames' Garrett Green and Cary Harris (both at USC).

Another blast from the past was linebacker/fullback Matthew Parent, who scored St. Paul's first touchdown of the game and also led the team in tackles. Parent is currently a junior at the University of New Hampshire and is a starting linebacker for the Wildcats.

For those who have forgotten, St. Paul trailed 21-13 at the 1:20 mark in the fourth before rallying for a 24-21 victory, in their biggest upset win of the season. Kicker Randall Reynoso sealed the game after a Knights' muffed kick return by nailing a 47-yard field goal with 18 seconds left.

The Swordsmen finished off the 2003 campaign Mission League champions at 10-3 with one of their two regular-season losses against Long Beach Poly (47-14).

St. Paul was eliminated in the semifinals of the D-III playoffs by Palmdale, 14-6. The Mission League title was the final in the brilliant career of St. Paul coach Marijon Ancich.

All-Star Games Lack Communication

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As most of you know, there are two local football All-star games taking place next week. The first is the 29th Annual Hall of Fame Game, Friday the 27th at Bassett High School at 7 p.m.

Locally, we have 10 players committed. On the West side, we have seven players including Cantwell-Sacred Heart's Deonta Woodward, El Rancho's Travis Shafer, La Serna's Rudy Jordan, Montebello's Vicente Torres, Schurr's Alex Valdez and Raul Pintado and St. Paul's D.J. Krattenmaker.

On the East side are the other three locals, California's Chris Burns and Jose Castellon and Pioneer's Andre Ortega.

The other all-star game taking place is the Second Annual L.A. Fiesta Bowl Game happening Saturday the 28th at L.A. Wilson High School at 4 p.m.

We have 15 locals tabbed to play in that game. To see their names, check out three posts below at "Fiesta Bowl Rosters".

Now, there has been a lot of criticism because both bowls are scheduled only a day apart.

This has led several athletes, who were selected to compete in both games, left to chose one or the other.

Hall of Fame West coach Erick Escamilla spoke about the matter after Thursday's practice.

Here's the interview -

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Now, what I'll say about the matter is this has more to do with a lack of communication than it has to do about a rivalry between bowls.

I spoke with Fiesta Bowl Chairman Mike Aldapa a few weeks ago about this issue and he said it was an honest mistake.

The Fiesta Bowl organizers moved their game up a week from last year's date specifically not to compete with the Hall of Fame Game. Aldapa is not a coach and perhaps that's what hurt him.

He was not in contact with the Hall of Fame Game organizers when this decision was made. Much to the surprise of those associated with the Fiesta Bowl, they were shocked that the HOF game moved up a week as well.

Now, I have great respect for my esteemed colleague Fred Robledo of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune but I have to disagree with his column "Where's the Loyalty?" on his blog (www.insidesocal.com/tribpreps). He questioned "Why did the Fiesta, knowing th (sic) date of the Hall of Fame, schedule their game a day later?"

Had Mr. Robledo spoken to Aldapa or anyone else associated with the Fiesta Bowl, he would have known that there was no malice with the scheduling of the game.

I spoke to one Fiesta Bowl coach who said the allegations made on Robledo's blog were a "slap in the face to all the coaches involved" and that there was "absolutely no way the Fiesta Bowl was trying to defame the Hall of Fame Game."

It seems like there was miscommunication not only between both bowl game organizers but between the SGV media (which has yet to actually attend a practice) and the Fiesta Bowl coaches (who have problems answering their phones).

Updated Hall of Fame Roster +/-

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abacus.jpgStopped by Thursday's West Football Team Hall of Fame Game Practice at South El Monte High School. West Coach Erick Escamilla of South El Monte was gracious enough to update an initial roster released last week. The 29th annual Hall of Fame Game is scheduled for next Thursday (06/27) at Bassett High School at 7 p.m.

Here are the latest roster additions:

Austin Goldsmith, Duarte, QB/LB
Erik Manzanares, Eagle Rock, LB
D.J. Krattenmaker, St. Paul, OL (Don't Sleep on this Guy)
David Morris, Marshall, WR

Here are the latest roster subtractions:

Gabriel Moreno, Alhambra, OL/DL
Lars Guillermo, Arcadia, DT/C
Donnie Fields, Arcadia, OL/DL
Kevan Walker, Arcadia, WR/FS
Jelani Blunt, Eagle Rock, QB/DB
Arshak Abramyan, Glendale, OG/NG
Zane Archer, Glendale, WR/LB
Mario Cruz, Glendale, TE/LB
Juan Casillas, Lincoln, FB/LB
Willie Youngblood, Muir, RB/LB

Covina Classic Info

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In case anyone was interested in football (not counting all-star games), the 16th annual Covina Classic Passing Tournament is happing this weekend at Covina High School.

Locally, we have one team (Pioneer High School) competing in a 14-team field that includes Baldwin Park, Chadwick, Covina, Covina "B", Gladstone, Los Amigos, Moreno Valley, Northview, Ontario Christian, Perris, Silverado, South El Monte and Workman.

Covina Coach Daryl Thomas checked in yesterday and said the competition should be pretty lively.

The first scrimmage begins at 1:30 p.m. Friday and goes until 6:45.

Here's Pioneer's Schedule:

plays Covina at 1:30 p.m. on Field 3
plays Los Amigos at 2:25 on Field 2
plays Moreno Valley at 3:20 on Field 2
plays Ontario Christian at 4:15 on Field 1
plays Gladstone at 5:10 on Field 1

Fiesta Bowl Rosters

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Orduno_Joe.jpg Caption: The Los Angeles Fiesta Bowl All-Star Football game between graduating seniors from the CIF Los Angeles section vs CIF Southern Section at East Los Angeles College in East Los Angeles, Calif., Saturday night July 7. 2007, Schurr's Joe Orduno ,4, runs for a first down in the first quarter. (SGVN Staff Photo Keith Birmingham/SXSports)

Sorry for the delay... here is a "tentative" roster for the Southern Section Squad that has signed on to play in next Saturday's (06/28) Second Annual L.A. Fiesta Bowl against the L.A. City Section All-Stars at L.A. Wilson at 4 p.m.

I say tentative because some of the players have been tabbed to play in the Hall of Fame Game the previous day and are not sure if they will do both. Also, because there is no minimum amount of practices for the Fiesta Bowl, players can add very late, as was the case last year. Cal-Hi's Drew Harris just signed on Tuesday.

Thanks to San Gabriel High School coach Keith Jones for the info.

Number        Name                        School
#01                Javier Miranda             San Gabriel
#02                Devin Fuller                 Blair
#03                Anthony Brown            Alhambra
#03                Drew Harris               California
#04                Shelton Miles              San Gabriel
#07                Keith Gaines             Santa Fe
#08                Tyron Crockom            Pasadena
#09                Gabriel Zendejas          Pasadena
#10                Brian Partida               Arroyo
#11                Austin Daniels             Muir
#12                Michael Harrison          Pasadena
#13                Marcus Thompson       Muir
#15                Thomas Walker           Compton Dominguez
#20                Davion Biddle              Compton Dominguez
#21                Jonathan Palomino   Schurr
#22                Ahmere Owens            Muir
#23                Rudy Jordan              La Serna
#25                Alex Valdez              Schurr
#26                Raul Pintado             Schurr
#28                Kevan Walker              Arcadia
#30                Deon Shorter               Muir
#31                Adam Frescas             John Glenn
#36                Willie Youngblood        Muir
#40                Vance Rand                Muir
#41                Marquis Byers             Pasadena
#42                Ray Madrid                El Rancho
#44                Nick Alvarez              La Serna
#45                Michael Olivares       Schurr
#47                Adam Acosta             Montebello
#50                Chris Shelgren          California

#51                John Patton                 Muir
#52                William Walls              Pasadena
#55                Jeremiah Taotoai      Santa Fe
#56                Uta Kalolo                   Compton Dominguez
#57                Josh Taotoai             Santa Fe
#58                Eric Arias                    Alhambra
#64                Donny Fields               Arcadia
#66                Roland Penaloza       Schurr
#67                Matthew Matsuda         San Gabriel
#72                Daniel Llovio             California
#76                Gabriel Moreno             Alhambra
#77                Lars Guillermo              Arcadia
#79                Jonathon Silva              Alhambra
#83                Prentice Gill                 Cathedral
#89                Jared Brennan           California
#90                Eric Estrada                Schurr
#99                Ruben Almonte          Schurr

La Serna Summer Passing League

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LS_Football.jpgLa Serna High School football coach Margarito Beltran checked in earlier this week with La Serna's Summer Passing League Schedule, which kicks off a week from now on June 25th.

Here's the Lancers summer Info -

Wednesday, June 25th, at Fullerton,
June 27-28th, at Bonita (La Verne) Passing Tournament, TBA
Tuesday, July 1st, at La Habra,
Wednesday, July 9th, at Los Altos,
Tuesday, July 16th, at Claremont Passing Tournament, TBA
Wednesday, July 19th, at Fullerton,
Saturday, July 19th, Chino Lineman Competition, TBA
Tuesday, July 22nd at home, against Whittier Christian.

The Lancers dead period is listed from July 25th to August 19th.

Fall practice begins on Wednesday, August 20th with Two-A-Days. All of the above practices are listed for 5 p.m., not counting tournaments.

Fiesta Bowl Gets a Big Coup

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Youngblood2.jpgSan Gabriel High School defensive coordinator Donald Bernard checked in today with some interesting info regarding the 2nd annual Fiesta Bowl happening June 28th at 4 p.m. at L.A. Wilson High School.

Bernard claims that Muir High School stud running back Willie Youngblood (left, 19 TDs, 1,280 yards) has signed onto the Southern Section squad and will likely drop out of the Hall of Fame All-Star Game being held a day earlier at Bassett High School.

Pasadena High School quarterback Tyron Crockum (28 TDs, 2,905 yards passing), the Pasadena Star-News Player of the Year who wasn't included on the Hall of Fame roster, is also expected to play in the Fiesta Bowl exclusively.

Those aren't shabby acquisitions for a bowl game in its second year. I'll try to have a roster with our local kids included by Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

Titans Take Third

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It was a pretty fruitful weekend for the Pioneer High School football team, which took third at last Saturday's L.A. Watts Summer Games at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

The Titans claimed the bronze with a 5-2 record. This was the second-straight strong effort by Pioneer, which finished runner-up to L.A. Jordan in the same tournnament last year.

Pioneer actually had a chance to advance to the championship game and just missed.

Down 13-7 with two minutes left in Saturday's semifinal, the Titans drove to the L.A. Banning 3-yard line with about 15 seconds left. However, on the very next play, the Titans were picked off.

Despite the close loss, Titans head coach Ramon Juarez said he was generally pleased with his squad's performance.

However, an area of concern that the Titans will need to address this summer is their defense.

Juarez admitted that due to Pioneer's small team-size, several athletes are currently tabbed to play both ways. One of those players is Pioneer quarterback Ronnie Palacios, who will also play corner.

"We're still trying to find guys on defense," Juarez said. "That's an area where we'll definitely need to get stronger. I thought this was a good test against some pretty physical guys from the L.A. City Section."

Locals in the College World Series

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Johnson_Jake.jpgGaylord_Adam.jpg
The Whittier area has a couple of locals involved in this week's College World Series, both La Mirada High School alums, including Fresno State freshman Jake Johnson (left) and Stanford sophomore Adam Gaylord (right).

Johnson is a catcher for the Bulldogs, who are coming off a 17-5 rout over No. 6-seeded Rice on Sunday. The former Suburban League MVP is currently batting .222 and has only committed one error this season.

As for Gaylord, while he's seen limited action, he's only committed two errors in the field as a defensive replacement. Stanford roughed up Florida State on Saturday, 16-5.

The WAC Champion Bulldogs are back in action today against No. 2-seeded North Carolina at 4 p.m. The Pac-10 runner-up Cardinals also play today at 4 against Georgia. That game will be televised on ESPN2.

Pioneer Going For Tournament Win

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Pioneer High School football coach Ramon Juarez checked in this afternoon with some info about the Titans, who are currently involved in the Los Angeles Watts Summer Games (football passing league tournament).

Pioneer, which is ranked No. 2 in the tournament and sports a 3-1 record, is set to go in Saturday's quarterfinals at 11 a.m. at the Carson Center against Inglewood Morningside.

A victory would send the Titans into the 1 p.m. semifinal against either Compton or Los Angeles Banning.

The consolation championships are set for 2 p.m. while the championship game is scheduled for 3.

For Juarez and company, they're hoping to reach the championship game for a second-straight year. Pioneer was defeated by Los Angeles Jordan in last year's finale.

"I like to play against city-section teams because they bring a speed that we don't really see in our area," Juarez said. "These kids bring great speed, athleticism and skills and that can only help prepare us for the season."

This will be a great opportunity to check out senior quarterback Ronnie Palacios. Is Palacios the area's top returning QB? While it's still too early to tell, he's on a very short list.

Cal-Hi Summer Passing Leagues

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Cal-Hi Helmet.JPGCalifornia High School football coach Jim Arnold checked in this afternoon with Cal-Hi's Summer Passing League Schedule, which kicks off two weeks from now on June 24th.

Here's the Condors Summer Info -

Tuesday, June 24th, at Santa Fe,
Thursday, June 26th, at La Habra,
Tuesday, July 1st, at Downey,
Wednesday, July 2nd, at Fullerton,
Tuesday, July 8th, at Santa Fe,
Wednesday, July 9th, at Fullerton,
Saturday, July 12th, Tournament of Champions/Lineman Competition at Santa Fe TBA
Tuesday, July 15th at Downey,
Tuesday, July 22nd, at Santa Fe,
Wednesday, July 23rd at Fullerton,
Tuesday, July 29th, at Downey

The Condors dead period is listed from July 30th to August 20th.

Fall practice begins on Monday, August 25th. All of the above practices are listed for 5 p.m. not counting the July 12th Tournament.

By the Way

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Longoria_Evan.jpgI understand that the Lakers playoff run is dominating sports in LA and the OC, but during halftime or after the game, flip over to Fox Sports Net and catch the Angels-Rays game (starts at 7 p.m.).

Former Rio Hondo College great Evan Longoria is having quite a season for Tampa at third base. He's batting .255 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs.

In the Rays' 13-4 rout of the Angels yesterday, Longoria had three hits, two homers and three RBIs.

Here's Doug Padilla's story -

Angels-Rays Game

Longoria and the Rays will be in town until tomorrow when they play Anaheim at 12:30 p.m. It's nice to see a local doing well.

Is it Friday Already?

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Jordan_Rudy.jpgFriday will be the area's first chance to get an inaugural glimpse of the 2008 La Serna High School football team.

That's because the Lancers program is hosting the 12th annual Crimson and White Game Friday at 5 p.m. at California High School.

The format is an 11-on-11 scrimmage with five 12-minute periods.

The first 10 minutes of each fifth will involve a running clock while the last two minutes won't.

The varsity will participate in first, third and fifth periods while the junior varsity squad will see
action in the second and fourth intervals.

Halftime is scheduled between the third and fourth period.

The cost is $3.

"What I'm really going to be looking for is kids competing in game-type situations," second-year Lancers coach Margarito Beltran said. "I hope to see some display of skill and competitiveness."

Check out Thursday's paper for more info.

I more interested in who's going to replace the Jordans?

You Are Now Entering... the DEAD PERIOD

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St. Paul High School Athletic Director Marc Hernandez (yes, that's the same Marc Hernandez of NIAAA fame) checked in this afternoon with a bit of interesting info.

For the first time in the Coach Pete Gonzalez era, St. Paul has moved up its dead period.

The dead-time period consists of three weeks of non-activity (not counting lifting) mandated by the CIF Southern Section office.

Last season, St. Paul took its three weeks off from July to August.

This year the Swordsmen will start the dead period on Friday, June 6.

When asked for a reason behind the change, Hernandez said the coaching staff felt that the team would be better served to take its break early and then head into the season without another interruption.

While the timing is a bit strange in this area, it's consistent with what many Orange County schools have done recently.

Of course, this begs the question, is it better to have the dead period early and then head into the season, or later, and give the players a final rest before the long haul?

Gillett Takes State Title

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Gillett.jpgBreaking News

In what can be considered a great upset, La Mirada High School's Cameron Gillett just clinched the boys long jump title at the CIF-State Track and Field Championships at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

Gillett won the title with a season-best mark of 24 feet, 1 3/4 inches. The senior entered in a field that included the top two national leaders.

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Congratulations and kudos to Cameron.

Whittier's Luis Dorantes also finished off his prep career in style.

The Cardinals senior finished sixth in the boys 3,200-meter run with an incredible mark of 9 minutes, 7.04 seconds.

Congratulations and kudos to Luis

kudos.jpg

50th Annual Spring Scrimmage

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Thumbnail image for goalpost.gifThe 50th Annual St. Paul Spring Blue-White Game, which just concluded a few minutes ago, turned out to be pretty successful.

Despite obvious rust and new faces there was still plenty of excitement surrounding the 2008 season.

The scrimmage was broken up into two 20-minute halves with a running clock.

The Varsity Blue squad was led on offense by senior quarterback Andrew Canales, who guided his team to the only score of the contest.

Canales hooked up on 67-yard touchdown strike with former Mayfair standout Darius Bratcher, who looked most impressive Saturday morning.

Bratcher only had three carries, yet each went for 6 or more yards. He also had a second-half reception of 16 yards.

Junior quarterback Paul Lopez had a couple of big plays, including when he found another former Monsoons star, Odiase Osagie, on a 64-yard strike in the first half.

The defense, though, looked the best and made minimal errors in allowing only one score.

Not too bad.

Here's my brief interview with Andrew Canales -

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Check out Wednesday's paper for more info.

What are you doing Saturday?

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Lopez.jpgWhile the CIF-State Track and Field Championships will wrap up this Saturday evening at Cerritos College, I know where I'll be headed Saturday morning.

The defending CIF Southern Section Western Division football champion St. Paul Swordsmen are having a scrimmage at 11 a.m. which is open to the public?

For the champs, there are so many questions heading into this Spring scrimmage and summer practices.

Who will start at quarterback?

How will the defense adjust with the loss of so many starters?

Who will lead the running game?

Who will step up this year on offense and defense?

And most importantly, can St. Paul repeat?


The start of the 2008 season kicks off Saturday for St. Paul. Paul Lopez (above) is going to be there. Are you?

Tune in Saturday afternoon for more info from the scrimmage.

S.I.'s Top 25 National Prep Programs

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While no local schools made Sports Illustrated's top 25 high school sports program list, the Golden State had three entries, two of which are nearby.

Mater Dei of Santa Ana was ranked No. 2 in the nation, behind No. 1 Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii), while Long Beach Poly was ranked No. 6.

California's other ranked school was No. 17 Archbishop Mitty of San Jose. It's a pretty informative list.

S.I.'s Top 25

Tornell Tabbed to All-Star Game

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Tornell.jpg
La Habra High School senior Ryan Tornell has been selected to next month's prestigious Kiwanis of Anaheim Orange County All-Star Baseball Game.

The Highlanders ace went 5-2 this season with a 3.57 earned-run average. Tornell picked up some huge wins this season, including a 5-4 victory over Sonora during early Freeway League play and a shutout of Fullerton, 5-0, later in the year.

As a hitter, Tornell had the team's third-best batting average (.348) with a homerun, six doubles and 23 RBIs (second-best).

Sonora High School pitcher Steven Cerda (6-1, 1.50 ERA) and infielder Julian Duran (.379 batting average, 26 runs) were also selected.

The game is scheduled for June 3 at Glover Stadium in Anaheim.

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Kudos to all three.

Track is Still On... for now

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The CIF Southern Section-Toyota Masters Meet at Cerritos College is set to go... at least for now.

A CIF official checked in to say that there were no plans to postpone the event.

Our locals involved include St. Paul's Dusty Brown in the pole vault (5:30 p.m.), La Mirada's Cameron Gillett in the long jump (5:30 p.m.), Whittier Christian's Kyle Clark in the boys 300-meter hurdles (7:45 p.m.) and Whittier's Luis Dorantes in the 3,200 (8:25 p.m.).

Good Luck to our final four.

About this blog

Andrew J. Campa is a prep sports and college writer for the Whittier Daily News. He has covered sports in the East and West San Gabriel Valley, as well as the San Fernando Valley and San Bernardino area. Please post your comments, ideas or advice on this blog or to his email at andrew.campa@sgvn.com.

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