Bechtel on Damien’s head football coaching vacancy: ‘I’m neutral.’

Matt Bechtel is a natural candidate for the Damien High School head football coaching position that came available Sunday with Greg Gano’s resignation after four seasons. He has had success as a head coach, is a young respected offensive mind and, perhaps most importantly, is a graduate of Damien.

After spending one season as the Chino Hills offensive coordinator following two seasons as Colony’s head coach, the former Damien quarterback says he is happy where he is and hasn’t seriously considered the possibility of becoming the head coach at Damien.

“I’m neutral,” Bechtel said. “I’m happy at Chino Hills. But obviously I want Damien to do well and I’ve always thought about being the guy there. I just don’t have a feeling of what they’re looking for. I don’t know if they’re looking for a quick fix or a guy to be there for a long time.”

Continue reading “Bechtel on Damien’s head football coaching vacancy: ‘I’m neutral.’” »

Share this
Plusone Twitter Facebook Tumblr Reddit Stumbleupon Email

CIF recommends Damien, St. Lucy’s be moved from Sierra League in 2014

In anticipation of the 2014-2018 releaguing cycle, Damien and St. Lucy’s were recommended by the CIF-SS to be moved from the Mt. SAC area to the parochial area. If they so desire, the current members of the Sierra League can present arguments on Dec. 13 to their recommended placement.

Pomona Catholic has been recommended to move from the small schools area to the parochial area. If the schools are indeed moved, there are a number of possible members for a new league. One of the major issues with the parochial area is the distance between schools all the way from Santa Ana Mater Dei to North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake.

Share this
Plusone Twitter Facebook Tumblr Reddit Stumbleupon Email

Four things and one wild guess

1. If the preseason polls released on Tuesday are any indication, girls water polo season in the Inland Valley likely will still be going near the end of February.

Despite having moved up a division, Bonita claimed the No. 1 ranking in the CIF-SS Division 4 poll a season after it secured the No. 1 playoff seed in Division 5. The Bearcats have some unfinished business after falling one goal short of the division championship last season.

Four of the 10 teams in the Division 3 preseason poll are locals, headlined by a third-ranked Los Osos program that has reached the CIF finals four years in a row. The Grizzlies will have plenty of local competition, including Baseline League foe Upland, which is ranked No. 7. Upland and Los Osos were two of the final four teams left in the Division 4 playoffs last season but lost to eventual champ Harvard Westlake.

Continue reading “Four things and one wild guess” »

Share this
Plusone Twitter Facebook Tumblr Reddit Stumbleupon Email

Marquee prep football matchup: Redlands at Chino Hills, Inland Division

In the CIF-SS Inland Division playoff bracket, the tier of teams behind No. 1 seed Vista Murrieta and No. 2 seed Corona Centennial isn’t separated by much. This game is proof seeing as both Chino Hills (7-2-1) and Redlands (7-3) were one league victory from earning the top playoff seeds in the Sierra and Citrus Belt Leagues, respectively.

Nearly No. 1: After a league-opening 41-13 loss to Inland Division No. 4 seed Covina Charter Oak, Chino Hills finished second in the Sierra League. Had Redlands not lost the regular season finale, 14-7, to Eisenhower, the Terriers would have been the league’s top seed instead of its No. 3 seed.

Continue reading “Marquee prep football matchup: Redlands at Chino Hills, Inland Division” »

Share this
Plusone Twitter Facebook Tumblr Reddit Stumbleupon Email

Prep football playoff prediction: CIF-SS Inland Division

First Round
No. 1 Vista Murrieta over West Covina South Hills
Norco over Redlands East Valley
Rancho Cucamonga over Corona Santiago
Temecula Chaparral over No. 4 Covina Charter Oak
No. 3 Upland over Temecula Great Oak
Chino Hills over Redlands
Eisenhower over Murrieta Valley
No. 2 Corona Centennial over Los Osos

Quarterfinals
No. 1 Vista Murrieta over Norco
Rancho Cucamonga over Temecula Chaparral
No. 3 Upland over Chino Hills
No. 2 Corona Centennial over Eisenhower

Continue reading “Prep football playoff prediction: CIF-SS Inland Division” »

Share this
Plusone Twitter Facebook Tumblr Reddit Stumbleupon Email

It’s a serene sweep for St. Lucy’s volleyball

Seventeen postseason games in two years can’t help but provide the St. Lucy’s volleyball team a little perspective on a regular-season Tuesday night.

Despite first place being on the line in the Sierra League and the two teams separated by two points or less late in each game, St. Lucy’s earned a sweep over Ayala by game scores of 25-18, 25-19 and 25-20.

The No. 1 team in CIF-SS Division 1-A came through when it mattered most, winning the last five points of the first game and the final four of the second and third games to extend their league lead to two games over Ayala (11-7-1, 4-2).
Continue reading “It’s a serene sweep for St. Lucy’s volleyball” »

Share this
Plusone Twitter Facebook Tumblr Reddit Stumbleupon Email

It’s not often Chino Hills has its back to the wall

It’s not often the Chino Hills High School football team faces a “must-win” game outside the postseason. Huskies head coach Derek Bub, however, applied that label to last Friday’s game against Ayala.

Coming off a 41-13 loss to Covina Charter Oak Oct. 5 that all but dashed its seemingly promising Sierra League title hopes, Chino Hills would have bigger problems if it dropped a second straight game in league play.

Coming to its side of Chino Hills was not only a fierce city rival but a revived one-loss Ayala team brimming with confidence after a statement win over a 2011 playoff team in its league opener.

“Even aside from the rivalry and all that comes with that, this was a game we needed to win,” Bub said. “If you have any chance of playing in the postseason, you can’t go 0-2 in the Sierra League.”
Continue reading “It’s not often Chino Hills has its back to the wall” »

Share this
Plusone Twitter Facebook Tumblr Reddit Stumbleupon Email

Huskies still the top dog in Chino Hills

There is still only one big dog in Chino Hills.

A resurgent Ayala team didn’t go quietly, but Chino Hills pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 49-34 victory over the Bulldogs on Friday night at Chino Hills High School.

The Huskies (4-2-1, 1-1) bounced back from a 28-point loss last week to Covina Charter Oak in what was billed as the Sierra League championship game.

Coming off its most significant league victory in three years, Ayala (5-2, 1-1) couldn’t muster its first win over Chino Hills since 2008.

After the Huskies’ offense was held to 13 points last week, the Chino Hills tandem of quarterback Matt Simko and running back Louis Napoles combined for 385 yards against Ayala.


Thomas R. Cordova/Staff Photographer
Continue reading “Huskies still the top dog in Chino Hills” »

Share this
Plusone Twitter Facebook Tumblr Reddit Stumbleupon Email

Marquee matchup: Chino Hills vs. Ayala

After a couple of down years for Ayala, the city rivalry will be renewed tonight when the resurgent Bulldogs take on a Chino Hills program that is seemingly always in the Sierra League championship mix.

Curious timing: Entering league play just two weeks ago, Chino Hills (3-2-1, 0-1) was considered one of the favorites while Ayala (5-1, 1-0) had demonstrated measurable improvement but was still dealing with some uncertainty.

One game into league play their situations are considerably different.

Chino Hills is coming off a loss to defending league champ Covina Charter Oak by a larger than expected margin of 41-13. The Huskies, who lost a 38-7 matchup to Charter Oak last season that determined the league championship, now find themselves facing an uphill battle.

Ayala, meanwhile, only added legitimacy to its 4-1 start to the season with a 49-31 win last week over a Damien team that made the playoffs a year ago. Now a clearly improved Bulldogs team will take on Chino Hills with most of the pressure on the Huskies.
Continue reading “Marquee matchup: Chino Hills vs. Ayala” »

Share this
Plusone Twitter Facebook Tumblr Reddit Stumbleupon Email