There’s at least one thing not strange in Valle Vista

Bill Zernickow dubbed this season the strangest of his eight in the Valle Vista League.

Thankfully for the San Dimas High School football coach, the one thing not so strange is his team’s success.

San Dimas has won a CIF championship under Zernickow, reached at least the semifinals of the playoffs each of the last three years and finished lower than second in league just once in his tenure.

The consistency is undeniable.

But for all their success, the Saints have only one outright league championship in the past seven years. Entering league play tonight against Hacienda Heights Wilson, San Dimas is hoping another consistent performance translates into something that hasn’t been so consistent – a league title.

“To see the fluctuation with everybody else is so weird,” Zernickow said. “This team is, I don’t want to say we’re right there, but I think we’re better than we have been the last two years.”
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San Dimas is 1-0, but that hardly tells the story

The San Dimas High School football team’s season has already been one of the roller-coaster variety. And it’s only one game in.

The Saints lost a 23-point lead but converted a Bonita fumble into the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes remaining in a 37-36 win over their bitter rival Thursday night at Citrus College.

San Dimas running back Jake Payton collected 126 yards and three touchdowns on his first 10 carries, including a 30-yard scoring run on the first play of the second quarter to give the Saints a 23-0 lead.


Jennifer Cappuccio Maher/Staff Photographer
San Dimas junior Jake Payton finished with 180 yards and three TDs on 22 carries in the Saints’ 37-36 win over Bonita.
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All-Valle Vista League baseball, softball teams

BASEBALL
MVP: Erik Gonzales, Jr., Pitcher, Nogales

First Team
Pitchers: Niko Cataneda (Northview), Bernardo Flores (Baldwin Park), Caleb Rudusky (Nogales), Landon Moore (San Dimas).
Infielders: Adrian Guzman (Nogales), Eddie Gutierrez (Baldwin Park), Anthony Moreno (Covina), Alec Montanez (San Dimas).
Outfielders: Shawn Kennedy (San Dimas), Vinny Venegas (Covina), Albert Lemus (Nogales), Jake Grijalva (Northview).
Catchers: Gabe Rojo (Northview), Jimmy Lambert (San Dimas).
Utility: Nick Hynes (Covina).
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Pomona promotes assistant to head football coach

Aaron Jamieson has been approved as the new head football coach at Pomona High School, according to athletic director Joe Biagioni. Jamieson was an assistant at Pomona the last two years under Anthony Rice, who resigned Jan. 13.

“Aaron is a good coach with a lot of energy,” Biagioni said. “He is also a very good teacher as well. He has the background and experience and is ready to be a head coach. The fact that Aaron has been a part of the staff and foundation that Anthony Rice has established will help make the transition smoother.”

Jamieson was an assistant at Carter from 2005-2007 before joining Rice’s staff at Colony in 2008 to coach defensive backs and running backs. In addition to coaching the Red Devils, Jamieson has been a teacher at Pomona the last two years.

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Rice resigns after two years as Pomona football coach

Anthony Rice resigned Friday after two seasons as the Pomona High School head football coach, opting to focus his efforts on seeking an administrative position. After winning two CIF-SS Central Division championships in four seasons at Colony High School, Rice was hired at Pomona prior to the 2010 season. Pomona went 5-5 in Rice’s first season before ending a seven-year playoff drought last season by posting a 6-5 mark good for a third-place finish in the Valle Vista League.

“I think we made good progress, but it was harder than I thought it would be,” Rice said. “When I first came on here, my thing was to try and get into administration. I told my wife it would be a two-year thing from the beginning.”

Just before Christmas break, Rice told Pomona principal Roger Fasting and athletic director Joe Biagioni he was considering resignation. The two convinced Rice to consider his options over the break, but he returned only to officially resign on Jan 13.
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All-CIF football selections: Mid-Valley Division

Offensive Player of the Year: Steven Rivera, Arroyo, 12
Defensive Player of the Year: Brett Walsh, Monrovia, 11
Coach of the Year: Ryan Maddox, Monrovia

OFFENSE
Running back

Amjed Aboul-hosn, Village Christian, 12
Sir Darius Yarbrough, Pomona, 12
J.R. Nelson, Hacienda Hacienda Wilson, 12
Marquise Bias, Monrovia, 12
Desmond Reed, Azusa, 12
Quarterback:
Andy Guerrero, San Gabriel, 12
Billy Livingston, Covina, 12
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Valle Vista has more than one CIF title contender

Gone are the days when the San Dimas High School football team won its Valle Vista League games by an average of 34 points. Though it was only two years ago when the Saints mowed down their first three league opponents by a combined score of 126-0 on the way to the schools’ first CIF football championship, much changed last season.

San Dimas didn’t just lose out on the league title, it finished third in 2010. After dropping a dramatic game to Baldwin Park, the Saints had a chance to earn a share of the league title but fell to Covina, the same team that happens to be currently ranked one spot ahead of them entering Valle Vista League play tonight.

Fresh off a victory over defending CIF-SS Mid-Valley champion Monrovia, San Dimas (3-1) has risen to No. 3 in the CIF rankings, but league foe Covina (3-1) is resting comfortably at No. 2.

“Covina is looking to be a league champion and a CIF champion as well,” San Dimas coach Bill Zernickow said. “They’re very good and their program has been doing well at the lower levels too.”
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San Dimas won’t let its season be smudged

Imagine beginning the season with a playoff game. Imagine losing that game. Season’s over, right?

That’s probably what it felt like for the San Dimas High School football team after losing to Bonita Sept. 1 in the annual Smudge Pot game, arguably the most meaningful on the schedule prior to December. Scheduled for Week 0 this year, the rivalry game not only went in favor of Bonita, the Bearcats gave a rude awakening to a San Dimas team with championship aspirations, 40-20.

“With the emotion involved in that type of game, a lot of guys could have thrown in the towel,” San Dimas coach Bill Zernickow said. “But there was no complaining, no moping. They just said, `Let’s clean this up.”‘
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San Dimas too aerial to fly under any radar

Shawn Kennedy may have had to recover from a sore neck, too, given the swiveling required to watch the San Dimas High School football team’s aerial attack last season.
The Saints senior, who missed 2010 with a shoulder injury after quarterbacking the team to a CIF-SS championship in 2009, will get to partake in the ramped-up passing game when he returns this year.

Well, maybe nobody needed a neck brace, but by San Dimas standards coach Bill Zernickow called for an extraordinary amount of passes last season. As a sophomore, Kennedy’s Valle Vista League and CIF-SS Mid-Valley Division championship team had 101 more rushing attempts than last year’s team. The Saints team that finished third in league and exited the playoffs courtesy of a 33-point semifinal loss to eventual CIF-SS champ Monrovia last season, had 70 more pass attempts than during Kennedy’s sophomore season.

“Last year we threw it the most we’ve ever thrown it here,” Zernickow said. “This year we’re going to throw it a lot, too. We’ve always known Shawn can do it. We wanted to give him the opportunity as soon as we could.”
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Pomona gaining talent but will it translate to success?

Football coaches around the Valle Vista League take on a certain tone when addressing Pomona High School’s prospects this season. As was the case last season, the growing amout of talent at the school is aknowledged but the lack of results rings true as well.

Of course, 2011 will be just the second season at Pomona for head coach Anthony Rice, who won CIF titles at Colony in 2006 and 2007. The results in year two will be a much more revealing indicator of where the Red Devils are headed as they try to break a seven-year postseason drought.

“Our expectations are to be better than last year,” Rice said. “We want to make sure we’re in the running for the playoffs. I hope we’ve got a good shot because we’ve got a pretty good team.”
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