Don Lugo (5-4, 4-0) and Colony (6-3, 4-0) will be squaring off for the Mt. Baldy League football title on Friday at Colony.
There is a whole lot of irony in the quarterback situation that will be playing out. Senior Dane Ford of Don Lugo sustained a broken collarbone (non-throwing shoulder) in the third quarter of Friday’s win over Montclair, the next to last game of the season.
Last season it was Colony quarterback Josh Thompson suffering the same exact injury in the next to last game, ironically enough, against Don Lugo.
Most thought when Thompson went down, so went the title hopes of the Titans. But no that wasn’t the case. Another senior, Jordan Johnson, who had played very little, stepped in manned the position until Thompson returned for the first time in a month in the CIF semifinal.
Thompson then went out and played in the title game like he had never gone down.
So let’s not sell Don Lugo short. Do the Conquistadores have the same supporting cast around Ford’s replacement, sophomore Rudy Garcia as the Titans did around Thompson? No. But games aren’t won on paper.
Don Lugo graduated a ton of players from a team that finished a respectable third last year in a year most (including myself) had them pegged for finishing last. So for them to be in this position the last week of the season tells you the job this coaching staff has done.
Coach Luis Garcia will have his team ready to go. Yes, they’ll probably trim down the playbook just a little. But anyone who counts this team out is making a big mistake.
Also, let’s not forget that Thompson was just a sophomore when he took over the quarterback spot when then starter Jonathan Trucks was injured. Thompson kept the job even when Trucks came back. So this will be Garcia’s moment and likely have more in the next two years to come.
