Frighteningly, it wasn’t the five players with multiple scholarship offers that prompted Marcus Soward to liken the Rancho Cucamonga High School football team to a college program.

The offensive and defensive fronts were the units that inspired the comparison from Miller’s football coach during Rancho Cucamonga’s 45-0 victory over Miller Friday night at Los Osos High School.

Soward, a former defensive back for Arizona State whose brother R.J. starred at USC, has some credibility when it comes to college football.

“As big and fast and strong as they are, they’re like a college team,” Soward said. “The fronts were what impressed me the most. They were some of the best I’ve seen in a long time.”

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Craig Lee won’t arrive at UCLA until next season, but the Redlands High School running back has already faced plenty of college-caliber talent this year.

Thursday night the Terriers took on a defending CIF champion Summit defense with eight returning starters that included multiple Division I prospects, but Lee couldn’t be contained for the second consecutive week as he churned out 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 21-12 victory at Miller High School.

After Lee was held to 80 yards on 20 carries in a season-opening blowout loss to the CIF-SS Inland Division’s No. 2 team last week, Redlands bounced back by pulling away from the defending Eastern Division champions in the second half thanks in large part to its UCLA-committed running back and a stout defensive effort. Rancho Cucamonga, which features at least four defensive players with multiple scholarship offers, handed Redlands a 40-17 loss last week but Terriers coach Jim Walker knew his team gave the Cougars plenty of assists.

John Valenzuela/Staff Photographer
Redlands running back Craig Lee (above) ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in a 21-12 win over Summit.
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Miller High school was seemingly sleepwalking into the second half, losing four fumbles in less than 10 minutes and fell behind Lake Elsinore Lakeside 14-0.

Then things suddenly changed.

A 72-yard touchdown pass from Michael Watkins to Devon Brown with 7:37 left in the third quarter started Miller’s comeback.

By the end of the game, Miller had scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions plus a defensive touchdown and downed Lakeside 39-20 in the season opener for both schools.

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Offensive Player of the Year: Su’a Cravens, Vista Murrieta
Defensive Player of the Year: Jeremy Castro, Vista Murrieta
Coach of the Year: Coley Candaele, Vista Murrieta

OFFENSE
Running back:
Romello Goodman, Corona Centennial
Donta Abron, Upland
Craig Lee, Redlands
Joseph Ajeigbe, Norco
Kurt Scoby, Charter Oak
Quarterback:
Hayden Gavett, Centennial
Travis Santiago, Charter Oak.
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FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Austin DeCoud, REV
Clayton Leach-Mead, Yucaipa
Jimmy Walker, Redlands

Running Back
Jessie Riley, REV
Darryl Miller, Redlands
Craig Lee, Redlands
Khaylin Jackson, Miller

Wide Receiver
Turner Jackson, Miller
Brandon Scott, Yucaipa
Zachary Brown, REV
Marvelle Harris, Eisenhower
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The first and only Miller High School baseball coach is stepping down after 20 years on the job. Frank Martinez, who began the program at Miller’s inception, resigned at age 52 but will retain his physical education teaching position at the school.

“When I got into my 50s, I started looking at other things I wanted to do with my life,” Martinez said. “It was coaching year-round and with the budget cuts, I had to become a lot more of a fund raiser. It was just a lot of things that added up and I decided to hang it up.”

After stints as an assistant coach at Tustin Foothill, Corona and Norco High Schools, Martinez accepted his first head coaching position at Miller in 1991. In the last six seasons, Martinez has led Miller to a five playoff berths and a pair of Citrus Belt League championships.
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First Team
Michelle Solomon, Redlands
Amanda Weis, Redlands
Kendall Apodaca, Redlands
Narissa Garcia, Redlands
Gabby Martinez, Redlands
Courtney Brown, Yucaipa
Justine Burdine, Yucaipa
Ashley Huff, Yucaipa
Melissa Roberts, Yucaipa
Sahvanna Jaquish, Redlands East Valley
Savannah Moore, Redlands East Valley
Ashlyn Bender, Redlands East Valley
Jenna Jaquish, Redlands East Valley
Sonja Garza, Eisenhower
Sarah Pineda, Eisenhower
Julia Gilbert, Miller
Diauna Nelson, Miller
Sarah Yniguez, Fontana
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MVP: Kevin Davidson, Sr. Yucaipa

First Team
Leonard Malfavon, Yucaipa
Tyler Sapp, Yucaipa
Jackson McClelland, Redlands East Valley
George Thanopoulos, Redlands East Valley
Angel Landazuri, Redlands
Kavan Pardo, Redlands
Sean Smith, Redlands
Anthony Ayala, Fontana
Justin Lewis, Yucaipa
Alec Mordbito, Yucaipa
Frankie Alvarez, Redlands East Valley
Joseph Molina, Redlands East Valley
Matt Wilson, Redlads East Valley
Jacob Nottingham, Redlands
Brian Ruhm, Redlands
Luis Martinez, Eisenhower
Tyler Campbell, Miller

FIRST TEAM
Offense
Eric Shufford, QB, Miller
Mike Stallone, QB, Redlands
Devante Lewis, RB, Miller
Dylan Malone, RB, Yucaipa
Darryl Miller, RB, Redlands
Jesse Riley, RB, Redlands East Valley
Juwon Bell, WR, Miller
Auston Forsythe, WR, Redlands East Valley
Kadyn Glass, WR, Redlands
Albert Jackson, WR, Eisenhower
Blake Braun, TE, Redlands East Valley
Edmund Faimalo, OL, Redlands East Valley
Tyler Kiest, OL, Yucaipa
Jared Layel, OL, Redlands
Dominique Robertson, OL, Redlands East Valley
Andres Ronquillo, OL, Miller
Jordan Smith, OL, Redlands
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After the Seattle Mariners made him their 22nd-round pick in the MLB draft on June 8, Carter High School pitcher Stephen Landazuri reached an agreement with the organization Thursday night. The right-hander received a $95,000 signing bonus.

Landazuri, a first-team All-Valley selection, was drafted 672nd overall, one selection before Los Osos catcher Jake Hernandez, who opted not to sign with the Detroit Tigers, rather utilize his scholarship to USC. Landazuri posted a 3-7 record and 3.05 ERA his senior season for a Carter team that went 5-18. He struck out 86 batters in 62 innings and held opponents to a .241 batting average. He also batted .403 with three home runs and 18 RBIs.