SATURDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Arcadia's last good teams.
1994 9-3 2nd round lost
1995 10-2 2nd round lost
1997 10-3 3rd round lost
2002 10-2 2nd round lost

Arcadia beat St. Francis in 1996 (First year) & 2002.

West Co is a home game for the 'Cats

where is the West Covina game being played?

That's a bold prediction, Fan.

Arcadia is good this year... St. Francis may be among the elite.

A victory over St. Francis would be great. When is the last time Arcadia won a game within that rivalry? It seems like those games are always close with St. Francis coming out on top.

No. I recall you or another of similar name saying "Arcadia is a good D-3 program...they are stepping down." By stepping up, I was implying that they finally accepted our invitation. Yes, they have finally stepped up. And, of course, it happens to be with what looks like one of their most talented teams since 1994, the team with Bedell, Kuhlberg, Shepherd, and the Malik brothers.

It's funny that for so many years, Arcadia played TC and San Marino, but no Monrovia.

Whatever.

I think people figured arcadia was not going figure into the equation this year.
I was trying to tell bloggers during the summer (Aram's threads) that arcadia was for real this year. But, I got shot down. It seemed like bloggers were relating arcadia to la salle and that Monrovia was stepping down a class to play Arcadia. Sorry but Arcadia would crush La Salle.
I think Arcadia will beat St. Francis 28 to 14.

I'm not an unofficial, but I am furious that the two cities don't take every precaution to allow all the fans and administrators to feel safe at the regularly scheduled Friday Night home opener.

I bet Rob Hammond is embarrassed about this, and he should be. This is the same undertone that has prevented MHS from scheduling Pasadena schools for so many years. I wish George Bush were a local mayor. Who is in charge? The people or the handful of idiots who cause problems and create fear?

NY...

The Monrovia-Duarte game will be held at Monrovia High at 3:15PM. Rumor has it that the principals agreed to the rescheduling after conferring with police and sheriff officials.

I believe this is a classic overreaction to gang activity in the unincorporated sections adjacent to the two cities. Anyone who has regularly attended this game over the years will attest to benign nature of the fans.

If I were a city official, I would be furious at the negative implication of this action.

Sounds like Arcadia is the real deal. This game against St. Francis should be fun.

fbfan

I completely agree. I've heard from countless people who were there that Temple City's O-Line was terrible. Either they were bad or Arcadia is the real deal. Which is it?

It was classic preseason HYPE. One would have to believe that Dimalante at AHS pasted copies of that story in every lineman's locker that week. That Hess (11) looks like the real deal both at DE and TE. Also you gotta love the way AHS scored points in bunches as well as through drives. A fumbled snap on the goal line cant be good though. But both 2 and 5 look like real deep threats and that Ponce kid looks just as bit as good as advertised. How the heck do they keep pumping out those tall "prototype" qbs for all of those years? I think its been pretty much back to back... since like '95 or so. Anyone remember Mark Carroll? 6'2 205, live arm. Then JD Ziska, he was like 6'5. Then his BROTHER?! Also 6'5?!

Where is the game and why has it been rescheduled?

i also made it to the tc-arcadia scrimmage...and all i want to know is where is that great o-line everyone has been talking about for tc? Arcadia's d-line blew them off the ball every series.

ATTN:

The Monrovia-Duarte game has been rescheduled to begin at 3:15PM on Friday.

It will be interesting to see how St. Francis does this year, now that they don't have to contend with Notre Dame. I'm looking forward to the Los Altos game as well.

It looks like the recent divisional reallignment could result in regular CIF contenders from the Rio Hondo and the Pacific leagues, as well as St. Francis. Frankly, even the Almont and Mission Valley leagues are well positioned now that South Hills and West Covina have been moved up and out. Even the Montview champ can make some noise in the Mid-Valley division. Local teams will now be playing in December on a regular basis.

Monrovia and TC would make better sense than Hoover and Glendale in the Pacific... but they would initially stuggle. La Salle could definitely compete with what would be left in the RHL. I agree with, NY.

SB recommended having Duarte replace Blair in the RHL... but that would be little improvement. Duarte doesn't field a JV squad, and doesn't field a quality girls' team outside of track.

I saw Arcadia Sat. night... they toyed with TC. I'm not sure how much it helped either team.

I saw the Arcadia TC scrimmage and man they looked impressive. That kid kevan walker is the real deal. After all the hype i was looking forward to seeing how good this kid really is and he definitely lived up to it. He had two touchdowns one on about a 2 yard jumpball in the endzone and then another one on about a 70 yard pass where the db was grabbing his jersey and he still made the catch and used his speed to outrun him. On defense he was flying around the field making tackles and i even think he caused a fumble. A definite positive pickup for the Apaches.
Kris Robison scored on about a 60 yard reception as well and i think there was one more score. TC didnt do so well as they only scored on the 2nd team once throughout the whole scrimmage as arcadia's defense shut them down the whole game. The Apaches look strong this year and this upcoming game against St Francis should be great!!

Anyone see the Arcadia-TC scrimmage?

It's great to see strong representation from the west SGV, specifically MHS, PHS and SGHS. Am I forgetting any? Would have been better if LC and LaSalle had been stronger, but I'm sure they will improve quickly.

La Salle would make a nice addition to the Rio Hondo league, replacing Monrovia in the hopefully imminent re-leaguing process.

Mike D at La Salle was pretty successful in the RHL. I think his TC teams were 4-1 every year, including a trip to the semis his last year.

I doubt if Monrovia has any plans on leaving the RHL. Concensus seems to be that the RHL would like to replace Blair, since they have had trouble fielding comeptitive teams in some sports and even fielding lower division teams in others.

Some wanted Gabrielino to take that sixth spot in the League, but they went to the MVL after Cerritos left that League.

LaSalle is another option, but LaSalle may not be a good fit in this league with all single HS public schools (Blair excepted) and LaSalle actually draws students from many of those schools.

Of course, Duarte, which is now in the East SGV leaguing area, was one in the RHL and MVL. Also a couple of the Almont League's schools are smaller and less competitive in more than one sport. San Gabriel has done much better recently in FB, but Keppel has trouble competing in most sports but basketball and badminton.

Some areas are creating "Super Conferences" which take two to four leagues and divides each school into the thier leagues by level of competition in that particular sport. The West SGV could do something like that which mean a school could be in the Pacific League for one sport, and in the Mission Valley League in another.

Something to think about for this area.

La Salle would make a nice addition to the Rio Hondo league, replacing Monrovia in the hopefully imminent re-leaguing process.

Mike D at La Salle was pretty successful in the RHL. I think his TC teams were 4-1 every year, including a trip to the semis his last year.

Hey! everyone! Did you know that St.Francis Scrimaged Notre Dame on Friday.

It amazes me that a new OC means a new offense. So you have a senior QB that has to learn a new offense? I like Tim Murphy's philosophy. He has his new coordinators learn his schemes with the thought that it is easier for one coordinator to learn his system than it is to retrain 100+ players, and his players are not exactly slow learners.

Nevermind... I just drove up there.

Eagle Rock 42
La Salle 12

Fred...
Where's the halftime update on the La Salle game?

That's right, Arcadia-Temple City scrimmage tonight, HSB, gives us an update on that one

Wanting to know how you measure up is valuable. The scheduling for the 'Cats has reflected this as Monrovia has consistently played higher division opponents. The 'Cats haven't ducked anyone.

That's not the point.

Circling dates is always a risky proposition... especially against:

A. a team you haven't played in years (When was the last time?
B. a non-league team that won't affect your placement in the playoffs.

I know casual fans and sportswriters hate the cliche... but "take them one game at a time".

We'll see how Arcadia does against TC at Arcadia (7pm)today.

Oh, it matters. There is plenty of time to win the RHL and go for a Div. title, but don't think for a second that game doesn't mean anything. Don't you think Monrovia wants to know where it measures up against the Valley's best? Or would you rather them schedule the rest of the Montview League, and learn nothing.

Fred... thanks for the kind words.

The Arcadia game may make for good copy (same as the WC game)... but the RHL title is the true prize... with the Mid-Valley title to follow.

Whatever the score shows at the end of the Arcadia game, it won't matter in our quest for a ring.

If only we had a BigM at every school...great analysis....The 'Cats have one more warmup, then I'll see you at Arcadia in a couple of weeks. They better have the kinks worked out by then....
Kudos to San Gabriel, they said they would be better defensively, and proved it, winning 20-14...Saile Ramirez will get going. I have to see Alhambra first, but I'm starting to like San Gabriel's chances in the Almont...
And PHS, what can you say, they couldn't move the ball a lick on the ground, but Armon Binns proved to me he's a big time receiver

Check the posts, Fred... those weren't my words.

The score was not that surprising. Don't forget: new coaches, new defense, new offense, two new go-to guys (of which only one played... Thompson had an ankle tweak)... this is NOT a team ready to make the jump to light speed.

The whole team (except Sr. PK Sean Kelley) appeared to be out of sync last night:

A. Coach G had two blunders in the first half: trying (and failing) to convert on fourth down when we were in field goal range (and with Sean Kelley, that's pretty much anytime you cross midfield!); and calling time-out before punting with 37 seconds left on the clock, thus preserving the chance for Monclair to launch a valiant drive that saw two would-be TDs dropped in the endzone.

B. Davis had an 80-yd run-for-TD called back due to a hold by RB Sparks on the perimeter. There were far too many penalties, including a series of bad plays by usually-steady, WR Gonzalez.

C. The defenders are still learning the nuances of the new defense. They were out of position on many plays, although the tackling was far superior than in past seasons.

D. Potts didn't look very comfortable in this new offense. He looked lethargic for most of the night... his feet failing to show the confidence you would expect from a three-yr starter. He was dinged late in the game and replaced by Kilbury, and not another pass was thrown for the rest of the night. Potts looked fine walking off the field and should start against Duarte this week.

Sean Kelley... He scored 8 pts last night, including a 40-yd FG into the wind...with 5-8 yds to spare! He also put 4 of 5 KO into the endzone... the lone exception when the return man jumped up at the 1-yd line to prevent the ball from going in, only to have to pounce on top of it, thus downing it at the 1! Sean has to be the book's favorite to play on Saturdays next year. WOW.

On the other side of the field, Montclair's front 7 played exceptionally well. Their LBs were quick and delivered solid tackles. Their offense was shaky... and failed to consistently get the ball into the hands of their playmakers. They had three good-looking ball carriers over there.

We'll take the win... and, like NY said in an earlier post, hopefully we address our deficiencies during this non-league stretch and continue to improve before the RHL opener with La Canada.

Too bad Peterson's kickoff yards don't count when it comes to my BIG STEAK in December, but our reporter on the scene said he looked great...I guess Monarch was the real deal..and BigM, what's the deal, thought Monrovia would win that game by 40

Hey John H...

Countdown to Steak Night:
Too bad return yards don't count. 83 down... 2917 yds to go.

That must have been hard running through a good Monarch D. Were you there? How did they look?