WDN Touchdown Table: Your Predictions and ours

Steely Don
It's all good. I respect your ardent support of El Rancho. There are way too many "band wagoners" out there these days...I can't stand posers! You are definitely not one of them.

@ Lancer Alum: I wasn't aware of La Serna's exploits during the sixties and seventies; forgive me the slight. I suppose it was good for me to spew so that you were agitated enough to set the record straight.

@ ER Football Alumni: Since I'm proud of the glory years, and I feel that keeping knowledge of that time alive HELPS to attract kids to the program, I'm sorry I can't oblige you and "shut my mouth" on that topic.

It's interesting that I have not said one negative thing about The Ranch, its players or alumni. I can't even bring myself to rail against YOU, because you're a fellow Don. It's best to present a unified front to the public, don't you think?

@Steely Don
Man, do I love ER Football Alumni's comment and he's right! By the way, I know it might be irrelevant in your mind, but "what happened in Pico Rivera in the sixties" when La Serna won the CIF Football Championship lead by one of the great Raiders of all time, Dave Dalby? We had multiple Whitmont League championships in the 60's, 70's and went back-to-back in '80 & '81. Prop 13 caused the closure of Monte Vista and Sierra High schools in 1979 and things really changed for us in football until recently. Not claiming dynasty at all, just don't hate on those who experience success. Wouldn't be too shabby though to get to the semi-final two years in a row with only a couple returning players...let's see what happens.
Go LS!!!

Steely Don, are you still running your mouth? You are an embarrassment to the El Rancho Football Program. If you know anything or even played ER Football in the 90's under Shelko, when Tradition was alive and well, you would know, talking your mouth isnt the Ranch way or OUR TRADITION. We let out hitting doing the talking, "You havent been hit, till you've been hit by the Ranch"! That is how we talked on the field. We layed people out, helped them back up and hit them some more, thats how we played Ranch Football. All season, you trash talked every team. With El Rancho not getting it done in League and playoffs the last decade you sure talk alot, which makes me wonder if you even played football at the Ranch all four years and started on Varsity. You dont know anything about EL Rancho Tradition...just shut your mouth and start contributing to the program to make it better and not worse with your nonsense on the blogs..

@ Sports Fan: Let me distill these talking points down to something you can understand: if you and I were invited to an ESPN special about high school football, and the host asked each of us to tell the national audience something unique and interesting about his schools' program, I would mention the Dons' National Championship, their State Championship, Their Division ONE Championships, and our team's winning percentage during those twelve years of glory.

When it became your turn to thrill us with the exploits of La Serna football through the years, WHAT would you have to say? I can only guess that viewers would be changing channels rapidly, and the host would wonder just WHY you had been invited to be on the show.

El Rancho's football team MADE IT TO THE FINALS in 1988, which is more than La Serna has EVER done, but I didn't consider it important enough to mention, because it doesn't measure up to the exploits of our past. The Dons also won numerous league titles after the glory years, which again is more than La Serna has EVER done, but I bit my tongue because I have higher standards than that.

What happened in Pico Rivera in the sixties is the stuff they make movies about. Our program achieved something greater than the Titans in the Denzel Washington movie. Forgive me for not becoming too excited about La Serna being in the quarterfinals of a lower division; I know it's a mammoth step up from where your program has "traditionally" been, but as I say, I have higher standards.

If you guys can pardon a little clarity, I assume the comment was meant to say, this game could easily go either way...

@steelydon
It's not a tradition El rancho had a good 12 years and there is no denying that, but they didn't accomplish more then any other local team since then. La Habra is the best team on the area and they have dominated the last 10-12. If they start loosing do they have a winning tradition?

As for comparing the invention of tv to el ranchos tradition...tv has evolved and changed unlike the football program at el rancho. I can have a 50 inch screen on my wall that doesnt take up much more room them a big picture frame. We study about the landing of the moon and it affected the world not just pico Rivera or SoCal.

When I say la serna can easily win I mean that it wouldn't surprise me if La Serna won. I know they are building a good team over the hill in hacienda and they have just as good at shot at winning. It isn't goin to be easy for either team and I hope for a good game.

@ Football Fan: The word tradition means something that is passed on to successive generations or groups, as in the way each El Rancho team carried on those dominating ways for a period of twelve years.

Sure, that time has past, but to say that it's not important would be similar to dimissing the invention of television or the moon landing because they aren't "recent" enough for you. Would you also say that YOUR LIFE isn't very relevant because it didn't begin within the last 10-15 years?

El Rancho played Los Altos, and they are a very good club, as shown by their handling of a quality Burroughs team last Friday. To say that you can "easily" get a win against them is irresponsible. They have size, tenacity on the line, and a good passing attack. Their defense contained one of the top ten backs in state history (Zander Anding), so let's not be too cavalier in our forecasts; this is the playoffs.

@steelydon
Say what you want about traditions but el rancho and la serna havnt won a CIF championship in 40 plus years. Correct me if I am wrong but a tradition is something you keep doin frequently and every so often. Yea La Serna has just started winning recently but what has el rancho done recently in football??

I am goin to be out there at the La Serna v. Los Altos game bcuz it's the last Del Rio team and I am pulling for the lancers who I think can easily get a victory.

La Serna 31-21 Los Altos

@ Watcher: I didn't say I hated La Serna, merely that I have no love for that school. I'm also not pumping the Dons to the sky on these blogs either, because I try to keep a level head.

Most of my ire stems from the annoying comments of a certain 'LS' poster who had all the charm of a hemmorhoid, going on and on about the future greatness of Lancer football. Other fuel for the fire, so to speak, stems from the disparaging remarks made by certain La Serna fans at a Pioneer basketball game two years ago, which is why La Serna now needs to deploy a large contingent of security guards at their games.

So perhaps you can appreciate my hesitation to rally 'round your troops as you do battle with Los Altos. It should be a good game, as the Conquerors have been revitalized to play like the Los Altos of old. La Serna, conversely, has no football history to reference, so anything the Lancers achieve in this postseason will be described as sensational.

As for representing the Del Rio, yes, I wish you well with that. I understand what it means to be a torch-bearer for other teams, because my Dons once carried the torch for the entire country, when they were awarded the National Championship. We were also the winningest team in California for an entire decade. I suppose that's what you had in mind when you said El Rancho has a "losing tradition."

La Habra destroys Brea Olinda
Arcadia escapes La Mirada
Los Altos gets by La Serna
Monrovia trashes Whittier Christian
Lompoc-Cabrillo beats an inconsistent Cantwell

@ steely don, again more jealously by an ER fan! Haha what a shocker!! La Serna will beat Los Altos, steve finally got it right.. But I get it, if it's not ER you just hate anyone representing the del rio league cuz it's not you guys! Real mature, that's why no one likes ER! Way to keep the losing attitude and tradition going! And losing to Whittier?? Haha same ole ER lol

Steely Don,

Thanks for the feedback...I know outside of LA circles the Conq's year is interesting. But not even I think they would beat Arcadia and West Covina is in my opinion, going to win the championship game by 3 touchdowns over whomever they play.

But I am enjoying the turn-around from the last thre dismal seasons!

Of course there's intrigue in the Los Altos-La Serna matchup, but we're asked to pick one here, so in the big-play atmosphere of the playoffs, I'm going with a team whose quarterback and receiver groups bested a division one school, Lakewood, in the summer passing competition.

In the playoffs, the lines are usually good enough to give a quarterback time to find guys, and believe me, Arcadia has the guys.

I have seen Los Altos and La Serna, and I have to respectfully report that they don't have what Arcadia brings. I'm not an Arcadia booster; I simply know what I saw.

But good luck to Los Altos. I have no love for La Serna, and if you guys can remove them from the playoffs, it would be a great public service.

What? No intrigue in LA v. La Serna?

The comeback team of the year fighting to make the semi's? I'm confident LA can line-up and compete with anyone in the division if they stay focused and play their game, (except West Covina who is going to win it all rather easily), but hey if you see no intrigue here, well, you are entitled to your opinion!

I've gotta go with you on the Arcadia over La Mirada pick, Steve. I saw Arcadia at the Santa Fe passing tournament this summer, and they beat Lakewood. Boths lines being somewhat equal, it's the big-play capability of Arcadia which should prevail.