After a turnover-marred loss in Week 0 and a blowout victory last week, Chino (1-1) will figure out much more about the caliber of its football team tonight against a young Oak Hills (1-0) program that just seems to keep getting better.
Open and shut: The Cowboys entered the season as one of the favorites in the Mt. Baldy League, but a 22-14 loss to a Diamond Ranch team they scored 41 points against in last season’s opener brought that status into question.
Chino, however, did plenty to beat themselves. An interception on the Diamond Ranch 1-yard line late in the game and a roughing the punter penalty that cost the Cowboys possession deep in enemy territory were the two most glaring mistakes.
“We might have been living in the past a little bit and thought that we didn’t have to come out and play hard every week,” Chino head coach Matt McCain said. “But that loss could turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to us.”
Rough terrain: Oak Hills’ football program is only one game into its third season of existence, but don’t let that fool you. It didn’t take the new school long to build a quality football team that has made the playoffs each of its two seasons.
The Bulldogs went 7-4 in 2010, finishing second in the Mojave River League, and 8-3 last season.
If its season opener is any indication, Oak Hills is likely better this season after defeating a respectable Palmdale Knight team 30-0 in Week 1. Last season, the Bulldogs relied heavily on 2,200-yard rusher Marshaun Coprich, who has since graduated. This year quarterback David Richardson may be the focal point of the attack after passing for 245 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the season opener.
Personality disorder: A 42-0 blowout of Pomona last week was welcomed by a Chino team in need of a confidence boost after some costly mistakes in the season opener. But the Cowboys didn’t learn too much about themselves last week, according to McCain.
“We looked bad the first week,” McCain said. “And then we looked really good last week. So right now it’s tough to gauge where we’re at. I think this week we’ll figure out a lot more about that.”
Quarterback quandary: The Chino starting quarterback is still being determined, according to McCain. Three quarterbacks played in last week’s blowout win over Pomona, the second game started by senior Jonathan Granados. Granados is expected to start again tonight, but will likely rotate with junior Richard Cervantez or sophomore Josh Thornton.
“We’re looking to see who we can count on as we get into league play,” McCain said. “(Tonight) we’ll just see who’s hot and who’s not to determine when they will play.”
