Speaking to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune recently, Ganesha football coach Darrick Rice talked about what is takes to turn around a struggling football program. With a full offseason to mold the team after a 2-8 season last year, Rice is expecting his foundation to be firmly in place this year.

“We have to remember this is not the 70′s, 80′s, or even the 90′s,” Rice told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. “The rules have changed and so has the area especially with other schools stealing our resources right out of our backyards. Our mission is to first establish something special to keep our talent home, win one game at a time in all areas and learn from our mistakes. We want to show that Ganesha High school can move into the 21st century and actually play four quarters of football and not be everyone’s homecoming game.”

The Mt. Baldy League’s appeal of its placement in the Central Division football playoff grouping was denied on Wednesday. The league including Chaffey, Chino, Colony, Garey, Don Lugo, Montclair and Ontario lost its appeal by a vote of 7-0, with two abstaining.

A notable addition to the new Central Division football playoff grouping includes the Sunkist League, home to defending CIF-SS Eastern Division champion Summit, which has been to consecutive CIF championship games. Another member of the Sunkist League is Kaiser, which had it’s 11-year streak of league titles snapped by Summit last season. The Inland Valley League, already a member of the Central Division, is adding two schools from the vaunted Big VIII League, Riverside North and Riverside Poly.

Of the 32 appeals heard, 27 were denied, including the Montview League’s appeal of its placement in the CIF-SS Northwest Division football grouping.

Summit 42, Etiwanda 35
Despite Etiwanda junior Larry Cutbirth passing for 339 yards and three TDs, Summit escaped Etiwanda Thursday night when Summit super recruit Devon Blackmon nabbed Cutbirth’s third interception at the 2-yard line as time expired. A dramatic finish included a fourth-down touchdown catch by the Eagles’ Mike Sena (9 receptions, 121 yards, 2 TDs) with 41 seconds left before Etiwanda recovered an onsides kick. Summit piled up 353 rushing yards and ran for five touchdowns. Running back Montigo Alford led a balanced effort with 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 30 carries.

Ganesha 31, Montclair 12
As evidenced by the state-record 49-game losing streak it mercifully ended in 2008, Ganesha has been on the wrong side of its share of blowouts. Thursday night the Giants were on the right side of a lopsided score as quarterback Terry Francis rushed for 243 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries. The explosive senior broke 54- and 59-yard scoring runs in the second quarter to give Ganesha a 21-0 lead.
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