August 2011 Archives

La Habra football coach Frank Mazzotta tabbed Cole Wolterman to start at quarterback for Friday's season opener against El Dorado at Valencia High School.
The senior had been the odds-on favorite to replace Cody Clements, now at Washington State. The decision was somewhat cloudy after La Habra accepted the transfer of Orange Lutheran's Clark Livingston, who was denied eligibility by the CIF-Southern Section office on Tuesday.
"Cole is our quarterback," Mazzotta said. "It's whole body of work, from Feb. 1 to this summer."
The Highlanders begin the season ranked No. 1 in the area and in CIF-SS Southwest Division.

Tuesday's PrepXtra Live featured San Gabriel coach Jude Oliva and Muir coach Ken Howard and West Covina coach Mike Maggiore and Darryl Thomas (which can be found at 54:01 on the video). Also, CIF's Thom Simmons (14:51) joined us to talk about recent transfers.

Tuesday's PrepXtra Live featured San Gabriel coach Jude Oliva and Muir coach Ken Howard (SAME SEGMENT) and West Covina coach Mike Maggiore and Darryl Thomas (SAME SEGMENT). Also, CIF's Thom Simmons joined us to talk about recent transfers. A replay of the show will be available Wednesday morning.

CIF has ruled Clark Livingston, who transferred from Orange Lutheran to La Habra last week, ineligible for the upcoming football season.

Livingston, a senior, threw for 1,055 yards last season and was in line to be under center for O-Lu again this season before abruptly transferring to La Habra in a move that sent shock waves throughout Orange County (and Whittier).

The Highlanders were and now remain in the market for a quarterback after last year's starter Cody Clements graduated and is now at Washington State.

La Habra had been auditioning Cole Wolterman and Sean Sparling for the position this summer.

IMPORTANT: CIF's Thom Simmons will be a guest on PrepXtra Live tonight at 7 p.m. You can watch it here.

We screwed up. The PrepXtra Preview Football magazine is NOT in today's home delivery or news rack. I'll spare you all the details, but a major breakdown in communication caused this. I have been assured that the PrepXtra Football Preview will run in WEDNESDAY'S home subscription and newsracks. Sorry for the inconvenience, it's embarrassing and we let you down. -- Prep Editor Fred Robledo

Who: West Covina coach Mike Maggiore and Darryl Thomas on the SAME SEGMENT. CIF's Thom Simmons.
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Where: This blog or Aram's, Miguel's, or Steve's.

This season, our high school football columnist and I will go to head-to-head in giving our predictions for all the area games from week to week. Want to play? Just add your projections and keep your tally and see how you match up.

This Week: I guess good minds think alike because Aram and I matched pick for pick. It appears the usual out of the box first week. La Mirada at St. Paul is very intriguing, but we both feel the Swordsmen, who won last year at La Mirada, have too much for what is a young Matadores team.

This week's Games
Friday
La Mirada at St. Paul, 7:30 p.m. -- Ramirez (St. Paul); Tolegian (St. Paul)
El Rancho at Los Altos, 7 p.m. -- Ramirez (El Rancho); Tolegian (El Rancho)
La Habra vs. El Dorado at Valencia HS, 7 p.m. -- Ramirez (La Habra); Tolegian (La Habra)
Whittier Christian vs. Esperanza at Whittier College, 7 p.m. -- Ramirez (Esperanza); Tolegian (Esperanza)
Bonita Vista vs. La Serna at California HS, 7 p.m. -- Ramirez (La Serna); Tolegian (La Serna)
Montebello at Los Angeles Roosevelt, 7 p.m. -- Ramirez (Montebello); Tolegian (Montebello)
Santa Fe at Hamilton, 7 p.m. -- Ramirez (Hamilton); Tolegian (Hamilton)

Here's this week's two-minute drill, featuring Friday's big opener between La Mirada at St. Paul. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Here's the Daily News' Top 5 preseason football rankings. The list was put together by my predecessor, Andrew J. Campa:

1. LA HABRA
Strengths: There aren't many holes with a defense anchored by
UCLA-bound linebacker Aaron Porter, especially given the growth of
the defensive line, last year's Achilles Heel. The Highlanders have a
stout kicker in Sean Wale and an offense that should score enough
points.
Obstacles: Like many area teams, the Highlanders are
breaking in a new quarterback.
Unlike several area teams, there isn't much room for a learning curve
with Orange Lutheran, Servite and St. John Bosco laying in wait in
the area's toughest nonleague schedule.
Outlook: The Highlanders will finish the nonleague season
either 3-2 or 2-3 and will be angry enough at their record to storm
through the Freeway League unscathed and likely win their fifth
straight CIF-Southern Section title.
2. ST. PAUL
Strengths: It's been a while since the Swordsmen started the
season so highly ranked and rightly so.
The Swordsmen return a seasoned quarterback in Paul Telles, a strong
ground attack with Michael Ortega and David Cabral and a solid
defense with Gabriel Gonzalez and Cabral at linebacker.
Obstacles: The offensive line has question marks and the
kicking game looks weaker this year than last. Let's face it, the
Mission League is even tougher this year, which makes it difficult
for a good squad to reach the postseason.
Outlook: The Swordsmen are tired of being out of the
postseason loop and should make it to the playoffs (probably as a
wild card) in what is the final season of coach Marijon Ancich's
historic 34-year career.
3. SANTA FE
Strengths: Health. The Chiefs lost their top running back,
quarterback and wide receiver to injuries last year before the start
of Week 2. The Chiefs appear healthy and their team size (63) is
bigger than anyone else in league. This team has depth at every
position and is hungry to recapture a league title.
Obstacles: Complexity. The Chiefs have a propensity to
outthink themselves. They're faster than everyone else in league but
have difficulty utilizing their speed.
Santa Fe's preseason schedule of Hamilton, Charter Oak and St. John
Bosco is no joke and the Chiefs will need to be on their toes.
Outlook: Like St. Paul, Santa Fe is also playing for a
well-respected coach in Jack Mahlstede, who is also stepping down.
There's nothing the players and coaches want more than to give
Mahlstede one last league championship.
4. EL RANCHO
Strengths: Finally. This team has some size. Senior Alfred
Villanueva (6-foot-2, 265 pounds) highlights an offensive line that
averages close to 240 pounds, which is up about 15 pounds from last
year's average.
The Dons have a solid blend of dynamic skilled and blue-collar,
hard-nosed players and have improved the last two years under head
coach Rick Zepeda.
Plus, they're as hungry this offseason as they've ever been.
Obstacles: Will the passing game concern opposing teams
enough to keep them honest. El Rancho has an explosive back in Ronnel
Lone but inexperience at quarterback and wide receiver to prevent
teams from loading the box.
The linebackers are also young and lack a true playmaker like Jake
Garcia.
Outlook: Everything seems stacked in El Rancho's favor.
The Dons could finish 4-1 or maybe 5-0 this preseason and catch a
visiting Santa Fe team in the league opener that has been through a
brutal preseason. While El Rancho missed its chances versus La Serna
last year in the league opener, this year's Dons seem much more
capable.
5. PIONEER
Strengths: The Titans are bigger than normal and certainly more
ornery, which is a good thing.
Too often, Pioneer's complex offensive schemes led the team to the
development a finesse type of attitude. This summer, the Titans'
offensive and defensive lines didn't hold back in mixing it up during
passing league and even had a memorable victory over Santa Fe in the
Tournament of Champions Tug-O-War competition.
The Titans also return experience at quarterback and running back and
at most positions.
Obstacles: Quarterback Daniel Castro averaged 60 passing
yards per game last year and will likely need to up that production
if the Titans are going to protect running back Tony Botello.
While the team is confident, it's still going to hit a rough spot in
the season and will need to stay disciplined and away from negative
thinking.
Before this team wins, it needs to believe it can.
Outlook:The Titans are definitely a playoff contender and
certainly have the ability to wear down teams behind their bruising
running attack. If this team can start off the preseason strong, look
out.

Santa Fe, which hasn't won the Del Rio League title in three years, was the unanimous pick to finish first in a league coaches' poll conducted as part of the Whittier Host Lions' Del Rio League Kickoff Dinner Thursday night at the Whittier Hotel Radisson.
La Serna, which won the league last season, was picked second, with California third.
"You have to win it on the football field, and we won't know where we are until we open league," said Santa Fe coach Jack Mahlstede, who is retiring after 34 seasons with the Chiefs. "It's good to know people like you. We have good comradeship in our league."
Santa Fe, which advanced to the Southeast Division quarterfinals, returns 15 starters.
La Serna, which had its best season in 50 years after going 11-2 and a trip to the Southeast semifinals, still is expected to be a player despite losing a bulk of its roster to graduation.
"We lost a lot of guys," La Serna coach Margarito Beltran said. "But at the same time, we have a lot of kids who have bought in and know the only answer is hard work.
"We expect to be young. But our young guys are going to have to step up."
California is expected to be improved after a rare sub .500 season in 2010.
"I think we'll be OK," California coach Jim Arnold said. "I kind of like it that nobody is talking about us, so we'll see what happens."

The quarterback battle to replace Cody Clements just got interesting at La Habra.
Clark Livingston, the expected starting quarterback for Orange Lutheran, has transferred to La Habra and could push senior Cole Wolterman for the starting job.
Livingston threw for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns last season.
He still needs to be approved by the CIF-Southern Section office to be eligible to play this season.
La Habra coach Fank Mazzotta's comments
On Livingston enrolling at La Habra: "It's something you don't expect. You don't expect to get a transfer this late, especially a high-profile one."
On how this effects senior QB Cole Wolterman and junior Sean Sparling, who have been the frontrunners all summer: "The kids are working hard. They are still our guys. But we want to give a young man an opportunity."
On eligibility process: "It's a simple thing. They had to move and they moved into this area."

By Steve Ramirez
LA HABRA - Cole Wolterman is sort of the missing link for the La Habra High School football team.
The Highlanders, who have won four consecutive CIF-Southern Section titles, appear to have nearly everything in place for their drive to five.
The question mark is at quarterback, where Southwest Division Player of the Year Cody Clements is gone.
Enter Wolterman, who understands the task at hand.
"Quarterback is already a tough position as it is, especially to follow someone like Cody," Wolterman said. "It's a big challenge, but I'm not that worried about it. I believe I can do it."
On the surface, Wolterman appears to be the perfect fit for La Habra. At 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, he's able to combine physicality with speed and has enjoyed success at the position while leading the junior varsity two years ago.
But the learning curve for him will be on the mental side. He must get up to speed for the complex reads - both passing and runs - that are required in coach Frank Mazzotta's offense.
Mazzotta likes what he's seen so far.
"He's really worked hard and done a nice job getting ready since fall camp started," Mazzotta said. "He's fast, and he's a good runner, which are the strengths that are really going to make him the right quarterback for our offense.
"He's getting better at the decision part. In our offense, not only is he making pass decisions, but there are a lot of run reads that he has to make. He's doing that. (Our) quarterback is the point guard. He needs to find the right guy to get the ball to."

By Steve Ramirez
SANTA FE SPRINGS - The book on the St. Paul High School football team is supposed to begin and end with senior running back Michael Ortega.
But the Swordsmen are far from a one-man team.
Ortega, who rushed for nearly 1,200 yards, leads the show, but there is also senior fullback David Cabral, who ran for 828; speedster Marcus Garcia; sophomore Elijah Carter and Savanna transfer Jamari Thompson.
"Everyone of those guys can run and they can fly," St. Paul coach Marijon Ancich said Tuesday. "It's rare to have five guys like that. This is the fastest group of guys I've had and they might be the fastest group in the history of the school.
"We have five guys who all can run about 4.5 seconds (in the 40-yard dash), which is fantastic for a high school team. It makes a huge difference because they can make a big play. Normally, it would be a 3-yard gain, but they have the ability to explode and they are up field. That's the key to the thing (this season), their speed and whether we can play defense."

This week's guests on the hour show included: Montebello coach Pete Gonzalez, Monrovia super recruit Ellis McCarthy and Bishop Amat coach Steve Hagerty (at 55:25).

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For most of the past few decades, the Del Rio League has been about Santa Fe. But the Chiefs have tasted from the league championship cup in three years. Is this the year they end the trend?
They are the obivious choice, with deep roster and athletic players like quarterback Christian Mahlstede and receiver/wrestler Joey Davis.
But the running attacks of El Rancho and Pioneer could make this race interesting. There's also the question if La Serna can recover from graduation losses and can California bounce back from last year's injury-riddled season.
I think it's the Chiefs year. But what do you think?

By Steve Ramirez
PICO RIVERA -- There was a time when the El Rancho High School football team was king of the Del Rio League.
The Dons have shown steady improvement under fourth-year coach Rick Zepeda and are expected to continue that trend this year. And part of the reason is the backfield duo of Ronnel Lone and Josh Lopez, who come into the season as one of the better running-back tandems in the era.
Lone, who combines power with speed, is El Rancho's Mr. Inside, with Lopez handling the outside chores. Together, they have the Dons thinking about a possible Del Rio League title, which has been elusive in recent years.
"We have a lot of talent coming back," Lone said. "For this team, we have to win everything. I don't believe there is a team that should beat us.
"We've gotten better each year, improving our win total. This year, we just have to peak. It's time for it."

We continue our tour of some of the area's football fall camps. Today we look at El Rancho.
The Dons, who lost in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division playoffs last year, begin the season as one of the favorites in the Del Rio League.

Here's what I wrote in today's paper:

There will be nothing complex about how the El Rancho High School football team attacks opposing defenses this season.
The Dons, armed with two of the better running backs in the area, will run, run and run some more.
"We've got a good group of backs," El Rancho coach Rick Zepeda said. "I have a combination of senior kids and some young guys coming up.
"There's some speed, and they're mature and know what to do with the football."
It starts with senior Ronnel Lone, who rushed for 613 yards and two touchdowns last season, but the Dons also have Josh Lopez, who's a nice complement to Lone. Lopez rushed for 221 yards during the Dons' first three games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. Together, they're one of the better tandems in the area.
"It's exciting," Zepeda said of the Dons' prospects this season. "We have enough guys to push everybody. We're pretty excited. We can't wait for the season to start."
The Dons, who were just 6-5 last season and ended the year with a 41-21 loss to Burroughs in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division playoffs, are expected to be one of the top teams in the area this fall, and the chief challenge to rival Santa Fe in the Del Rio League.
The team already is off to a quick start in fall camp.
"This is our second week in pads," Zepeda said. "The boys are coming along. I like what I've seen so far."
El Rancho begins the season Sept. 2 at Los Altos.

The Whittier Host Lions Club will pay tribute to the upcoming Del Rio League football season with its third annual kickoff dinner.
The event, which will feature comments from each of the six league coaches, is scheduled for 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25, at the Whittier Radisson Hotel, 7320 Greenleaf Ave.
Cost for the dinner is $15 in advance, and $20 at the door. The dinner features a Mexican-style buffet. Presale tickets are available at California, El Rancho, La Serna, Pioneer, Santa Fe and Whittier high schools.

he deadline for reservations for a dinner to honor former El Rancho High football coach Ernie Johnson has been extended to Monday.
Those interested can contact the school's activities office at 562-801- 5314.
The dinner is scheduled for Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m.
Johnson coached at El Rancho during the 1950s and '60s and compiled a record of 108-31-5. He also won nine league titles and three CIF-Southern Section championships, the final one in 1968.
The 1966 Dons team, which also won a CIF-SS title, is considered the top team in area history. It won a national title.

Santa Fe High School's football team began practice this week in what it hopes translates into a Del Rio League championship and a CIF- Southern Section Southeast Division title.
The Chiefs, though, are motivated for another reason - coach Jack Mahlstede, who's retiring at the end of this season after 34 years.
"I think it is big for (coach Mahlstede)," senior receiver Joey Davis said. "He's changed a lot in how he acts around us (this year). He's more laid back.
"I think it will be really good in his last year. We want to play well for him. He's been here 40-50 years, I don't even know, but we want to send him out on top."
Mahlstede, who's 228-134-5, is treating it like another of his previous seasons, but he also recognizes that it will be special as well.
"It will be interesting," he said. "I've put a lot of time in.
"I don't know what I will do next year. I have a grandson at Sonora (and one at Santa Fe). I'm sure Christian (Mahlstede, the Chiefs' quarterback) will play college ball somewhere. It's going to be different this year, but it will be fun."

Watch the PrepXtra Live replay of Whittier coach Frank Mazzotta and Aram and Fred's interview with Charter Oak and Super Bowl champion Jason David.

SANTA FE SPRINGS - The job description for a quarterback, in addition to the obvious physical attributes, includes bringing a certain level of confidence to the table.
It's that mental makeup that separates the average from the good and the good from the great.
Santa Fe High School's Christian Mahlstede fits the bill, going right for the jugular Monday when he was asked about his expectations for the Chiefs this season.
"CIF champs," Mahlstede said.
His comment was pure, simple and to the point.
But while some may view it as arrogance, the senior also has the tools, both physical and mental, to back it up.
Malhstede, the grandson of longtime Santa Fe coach Jack Mahlstede, and son of Jeff Mahlstede, who played for the Chiefs and Arizona State and who is an assistant at Santa Fe, is expected to be one of the better quarterbacks in the area, and a big reason why Santa Fe begins the season as the favorite in the Del Rio League and a team that could challenge for the CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division title.
"He's got great knowledge of the game and understands it," said Santa Fe coach Jack Mahlstede. "He's got great speed and can throw the ball."