Two perennial Foothill Conference juggernauts went at it on Thursday and it was Rio Hondo solidifying its top status with an 8-7 win over Chaffey.

The Roadrunners (21-3, 14-0)  now have a whopping five-game lead with 10 left to play. It’s pretty hard to run the table in conference play in any sport, let alone one where you play every other team three times. For Rio Hondo that is probably the only drama left.

Chaffey went 23-1 two years ago when it last won the conference title and that was impressive.

Rio has a game left wioth Chaffey on Saturday, then three-game sets against Antelope Valley, Victor Valley and Mt. San Jacinto. It has made a habit of eeking out one-run games when they need to and that takes a special team.

Chaffey (16-10, 12-5)  is trying to hold off a couple of teams for the second spot. The No. 2 team will make the playoffs too but the better the record, the better the playoff seed. The Panthers could really use a win in the series finale.

In other Foothill Conference action, San Bernardino Valley picked up a 6-5 road win over Barstow.

Former Cal State San Bernardino basketball standout Laura Beeman, a long-time resident of the Inland Empire, has landed her first head coaching job at the Division I level, being named to that position last week at the University of Hawaii.

Beeman led the Mt. SAC women’s program to prominence in her 15 years there. She led the Mounties to 10 conference championships and four California Community College State Championships–including a string of three straight from 2006-08.

Beeman was selected conference Coach of the Year four times and was voted the district and regional coach of the year in 2001. She led Mt. SAC to a school-best 37-1 record in both the 2007 and 2008 season. During her tenure with the Mounties, she produced 80 all-conference selections, 24 all-state selections, and 10 all-region selections. Beeman posted a 390-110 (.780) record during her tenure at Mt. SAC.

As a player, Beeman was an All-American guard at Cal State San Bernardino where she set the career, season and game assist records. She graduated in 1992 with a degree in business administration from CS San Bernardino and later earned a master’s degree in education with an emphasis on counseling from the University of Redlands.

She earned a second master’s degree in education with an emphasis in physical education from Azuza Pacific University.
 

Beeman was an assistant with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks before accepting an assistant position at USC where she worked with Michael Cooper. Cooper also heads the Sparks and had her on his staff there.

Beeman, 43, is the eighth head coach since the program’s inception in 1974 and the third female head coach in its history.

Three local JuCo teams are stil in the hunt for state championships.

San Bernardino Valley has both its men’s and women’s team alive while the Chaffey women are still in the hunt. Several other inland Empire teams are in the mix as well.

No. 19 Riverside pulled off the biggest surprise of the last round, upending No. 3 Mt. San Jacinto 79-76 in overtime on Saturday. Good for the still-homeless Tigers directed by John Smith.

No.  15 El Camino also pulled a stunner, beating No. 2 Mt. SAC.

So here’s what’s up in third round play on Wednesday . . .

MEN

No. 9 Cuesta (24-7) at No. 1 Citrus (26-1)

No. 12 Ventura (19-11) at No. 4 San Bernardino Valley (24-5)

No. 15. El Camino (18-9) at No. 7 Antelope Valley (22-7)

No. 19 Riverside (16-10) at No. 6 Saddleback (20-8)

WOMEN

No. 8 Chaffey (24-6) at No. 1 Mt. SAC (27-3)

No. 5 Cerritos (23-7) at No. 4 East Los Angeles (23-6)

No. 19 Cypress (21-9) at No. 2 Ventura (30-1)

No. 11 Mt. San Jacinto (23-7) at No. 3 San Bernardino Valley (27-3)

Chaffey College offensive lineman Bryan Oldenkamp is headed to the University of New Mexico. Oldenkamp only played one year at Chaffey so he will have three years of eligibility left at his new school.

Oldenkamp, a 6-foot-4, 280-pounder, is already at New Mexico so he will be eligible to participate in spring football there.

Oldenkamp, a graduate of Hesperia High School, started all 10 games for the Panthers at right tackle.

It has been an emotional week for the Chaffey College football team.

The Panthers were dealt a blow earlier in the week when popular assistant coach and former player Stevon Thomas, 23, died suddenly of an unknown cause.

Chaffey (4-5, 1-3) took the field for the first time since then against Long Beach City and lost 45-21 in a game that really wasn’t even that close..Truth be told, the Panthers probably wouldn’t have beaten the Vikings on a good day without the emotion of the week.

Thomas’ parents, other family members and friends were in attendance. Many wore black T-shirts with Stevon’s picture. Some wore T-shirts with a No. 4, Thomas’ number at both Chaffey and later at Northern Arizona.

The family was presented a framed photo of their son signed by the entire team and coaching staff.

Players had the No. 4 emblazoned on the back of their helmets and wore black wristbands with a red No. 4. Many had his name and number scrawled on tape,. Defensive lineman Kevin Gannuscio had “RIP Coach Thomas written in large block letters on the cast covering his wrist and forearm.

The seat Thomas occupied in the pressbox alongside fellow assistant Dave Portz was empty. Portz is quite vocal and animated and Thomas would often chuckle when he was going off in a tirade. I know because it is just a few seats from where I’m sitting.Thomas was always plesant and mild-mannered, something not quite typical of the ferocious defensive player he was.

He will be missed.

The San Bernardino Valley College men’s soccer team can secure its first Foothill Conference championship in the sport with a win in Tuesday’s 3 p.m. home game against defending champion and local rival Chaffey (9-3-4, 2-2-2).

The Wolverines (13-1-2, 5-0-0) have three games left and a two-game lead over Rio Hondo (7-7-5, 3-2-1) which has just two games remaining.

“Our guys are hungry,” SBVC coach Josh Brown said. “They really want this and they’re playing like it.”

SBVC has already set a school-record for wins in a season and reached double digits in the win column for just the fourth time since the program’s inception in 1990. The programs best finishes in the conference were second-place showings in 1991, 1994 and 2003.

SBVC has a nonconference game at Palomar on Friday and rounds out the regular season against Rio Hondo on Nov. 1.

Barstow College basketball standout Daquan Brown is headed to Fresno State. Brown was an All-Foothill Conference selection, averaging 11.7 points and 9.8 rebounds in helping the Vikings to their first playoff berth.

Brown, 21, also visited San Jose State, Pepperdine and Boise State before settling on the Bulldogs. He admits he liked Pepperdine but living in that area was going to be a little too costly. San Jose State seemed like an option since he has a teammate going there but it rained his entire visit.

“I took that as a sign,” he said.

“Fresno State just seemed like the best place for me,” he said.

Brown, who plans to major in criminology, had originally signed with Oklahoma State out of high school but didn’t get through the academnic clearinghouse. He ended up at Barstow through the college’s assistant coach Kenneth Roy who knew him from the AAU circuit.

“I thought my basketball career was over so it’s nice to be going on to a Division I school,” he said. “Everything worked out in th end.”

Brown’s decision gives the Vikings two Division I players. Earlier guard La Vanne Pennington decided on San Jose State. Give coach Reggie Howard credit for reviving a program that had been in the tank and moving quality players on to the next level as well. 

The Foothill Conference has always been one of the top conferences in the state when it comes to men’s basketball. So it  should be no surprise that first place will be up for grabs on the final day.

Chaffey College linebacker Dallas Kelley has signed with USC.

The 6-foot, 230-pounder spent his high school career at Norco. He originally signed with Portland State but didn’t play there, coming home and spending two years with the Panthers instead.

Chaffey coach Carl Beach said Kelley will enroll in January and be eligible to participate in spring drills, which made him an attractive prospect for the Trojans, who face a loss of scholarships and are looking for athletes who can come in and play right away.

Kelley is a two-time first- team all-conference pick. Last season he recorded a team- best 82 tackles, including 13.5 for losses (four sacks), with two forced fumbles, one interception and one blocked kick.

As a freshman in 2009 he had a team-best 74 tackles, including 9.5 for losses (3.5 sacks), and four deflections.

Beach added that USC also likes defensive back Daimian Stafford and might sign him too if he can get academics in order.