December 2006 Archives

La Canada's Adam Malik averaging 24 points and 10 rebounds for undefeated Spartans, 10-0

Here's a quick glance at the La Salle/Temple City tournament with predictions.
Wednesday's first round
Top Bracket
At Temple City
L.A. Marshall vs. Temple City, 3 p.m.
Hoover vs. Maranatha, 4:30 p.m.
Whittier vs. Franklin, 6 p.m.
La Canada vs. Montebello, 7:30 p.m.
Bottom Bracket
At La Salle
Arcadia vs. Marshall, 3 p.m.
L.A. Wilson vs. Keppel, 4:30 p.m.
Alhambra vs. Valley Christian, 6 p.m.
Gabrielino vs. La Salle, 7:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal Predictions:
Top Bracket:
La Canada over Montebello
Franklin over Whittier
Hoover over Maranatha
L.A. Marshall over Temple City
Bottom Bracket
Marshall over Arcadia
Keppel over L.A. Wilson
Alhambra over Valley Christian
La Salle over Gabrielino
Final Four Predictions:
La Canada vs. Hoover
Marshall vs. La Salle
Final: La Canada over Marshall

Westridge's Katie Davis (5) fires a shot in the first half against the South Pasadena wall of Katie Baumgarten (13), AubreyThurman and Tara Garriott (14). SP Keeper Taylor Thurman waits in goal .

Girl Soccer Hall of Fame Magazine Holiday Festival at Glendale Sports Complex over the next two days. Flintridge Sacred Heart, South Pasadena and La Salle are big locals entered. Will one of them win it? Highland, St. Joseph, Long Beach Poly and Notre Dame also entered.

Player of the year - Lavelle Peterson, La Canada
Coach of the year - Ealar Gallagher, La Salle
First Team offense
QB - Luke Collis, St. Francis, Sr.
RB - Lavelle Peterson, La Canada, Sr.
RB - Dwight Broadnax, Temple City, Sr.
WR - Michael Harrison, Pasadena, Sr.
WR - Zion Babb, Alhambra, Sr.
WR - Kevan Walker, Arcadia, Jr.
OL - Alex Jimenez, La Salle, Sr.
OL - Gerry Murrieta, Alhambra, Sr.
OL - Andrew Roxas, St. Francis, Sr.
OL - Brian Soumakian, Temple City, Sr.
OL - Thomas Quigley, La Salle, Sr.
AP - Nathan Bury, La Salle, Sr.
K - Sean Kelley, Monrovia
First team defense

DB - Shawn Sparks, Monrovia, Sr.
DB - Armon Binns, Pasadena, Sr.
DB - Lance Mitchell, Muir, Sr.
LB - Joshua Parish, South Pasadena, Sr.
LB - Rashan Tillman, Muir, Sr.
LB - Joe Reasner, Temple City, Sr.
LB - Brendan Hirschmann, Pasadena Poly
DL - Anthony Gonzalez, Rosemead, Sr.
DL - Albert Arnold, Monrovia, Sr.
DL - Darryl Carter, St. Francis, Sr.
DL - Kevin Hess, Arcadia, Sr.
P - Kyle Delahooke, Maranatha, P
Click below for second and third team

Muir football coach Ken Howard informed me that Muir Hall of Famer Tony Crutchfield is returning to the Muir sidelines as a co-head coach and offensive coordinator. I wasn't around during the Crutchfield coaching days at Muir, but I remember him as a player. So football folks, what will this do to Stang football?

Crutchfield (Muir 1986) is a former AII-CIF and All-State linebacker and Co-Captain of Muirs back-to-back CIF Football Championship Teams of 1985 & 1986, a BYU three-year starter, and NFL Detroit Lions player

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season, and remember that the Star-News All-Area football team comes out on Wednesday, and I'll post the all-league lists on Thursday.

Sorry I haven't been around much the past week, just doing my holiday shopping. Next week we'll be in full force with the La Salle/Temple City-Holiday Classic, the Flintridge Sacred Heart girls soccer tournament at the Glendale Sports complex, and keep tabs on our top boys and girls basketball teams. Pasadena will try to win the Santa Barbara boys basketball tournament for the second straight year, and the Muir girls hope to do well in the challenging Ayala tournament.
GIRLS SOCCER, AT SPORTS COMPLEX
Hall of Fame Magazine
Holiday Festival
Wednesday’s games
Flintridge Sacred Heart vs. South Pasadena, 10 a.m.
Highland vs. La Salle, 11:45 a.m.
St. Joseph vs. Flintridge Sacred Heart, 1 p.m.
Long Beach Poly vs. South Pasadena, 3 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. La Salle, 3 p.m.

ARROYO TOURNAMENT FINAL
Monrovia 53, La Canada 51
Gordon scores buzzer beater to defeat Spartans in early season showdown.

From La Canada coach Tamar Hill: "It is still early in the season, luckily, but we have a good team. We are really excited about facing them (Monrovia) later in the season."
From Monrovia coach Mike Wagner: "This game was huge for us. IIt gave us confidence and not just that we were able to beat La Canada, but that we can beat anyone in league. Our main goal was to come out and win this tournament. It was great to win, but we really hate that it had to come down to the end like it did."
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Boys Basketball
La Canada Holiday Classic continues this week, with championship game set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday's Round-Robin
Lincoln-Wilson, 3:30 p.m.
Rosemead-Schurr, 4:30 p.m.
Muir-Chino Hills, 6 p.m.
Glendale-La Canada, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday's Round-Robin
Chino HIlls-Rosemead, 3 p.m.
Glendale-Licoln, 4:30 p.m.
Schurr-Muir, 6 p.m.
Wilson-La Canada, 7:30 p.m.
SNEAK PREVIEW
THIS WEEK'S STAR-NEWS BOYS AND GIRLS TOP TEN
Boys
1. Pasadena (9-0)
Can they go undefeated until CIF?
2. La Canada (7-0)
Hofman doing masterful job
3. Renaissance Academy (7-1)
Getting better and better
4. Marshall (9-0)
Who needs Derrick Strings?
5. La Salle (3-2)
Crushing loss to La Canada, 60-36
6. Keppel (7-3)
Wins over WCovina, Los Altos
7. Maranatha (5-2)
As usual, solid again
8. Alhambra (6-4)
44-42 loss to undefeated Hoover
9. Muir (2-3)
Beat Rosemead, 80-33
10. South Pasadena (6-3)
Nakauchi averaging 15 points

Girls
1. Muir (5-0)
Test next week in Best of West
2. Monrovia (7-2)
Only losses against Muir
3. Keppel (5-3)
Three Gupilan sisters lead charge
4. South Pasadena (8-1)
Only loss to 5-1 St. Paul squad
5. La Canada (5-4)
Played ‘Cats tough, losing 53-51
6. Flintridge Prep (6-2)
Favorites to win Prep League
7. Westridge (7-1)
Mighty impressive start
8. San Marino (6-5)
Wang over 1,000 career points
9. Blair (6-4)
Area’s biggest surprise
10. Maranatha (5-2)
Has won four straight

Knights win Ralph Brandt tournament; only loss to powerful Santa Barbara.

THIS FROM THE KNIGHTS WEBSITE:
The Golden Knights captured the Ralph Brandt Tournament championship with a decisive 4-0 win over visiting Valencia. Junior Nick Posthuma was named tournament MVP and juniors Sean McGuinness, Patrick McCoy, Joey Franco, and Nick Swart were named to the all-tournament team for the 7-1 Knights.
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GIRLS SOCCER
Monrovia 0, Flintridge Sacred Heart 0

Tologs coach Frank Pace shared these comments:
We controlled the run of play against Monrovia for most of the game. However, they wouldn't break. Credit to them. They are strong in the back and play with a championship swagger. They are similar to Westridge but probably a little more physical in the back and a little quicker up top. They resemble in a lot of ways several of the Mission League teams we play and great preparation for what we will encounter in league. We've missed Heather Riley the past two games. Having her back along with a healthy Sirah Alarcon will hopefully get the pop back into our offense. Defensively, with five consecutive shutouts we seem to have figured that part of the game out (for now).

Yeah, it's way to early to forecast the 2007 prep football season, but so what, we had so much for this year, why not look into our crystal ball and figure out the Star-News preseason top ten eight months ahead of schedule.

1. St. Francis
There were a lot of complaints of how the Knights folded the second half of the season, but when you talk about comparing the Knights to other area teams, how many could beat Los Altos, Burroughs, Saugus and lose by a point to Bishop Amat? The Knights will reload, they always do. I love what they have at the receiver positions with seniors Kyle Wong and Kevin Garcia back along with sophomore sensation Dietrich Riley. Running back Kyle Morgan also will be back for his senior season. Junior Austin Heyworth is listed as a quarterback, so if he can get going, they should have no problem earning the area's top honor.
2. Muir
Yeah, I'm taking the Mustangs at No. 2. Gotta love having senior-to-be Willie Youngblood back. People don't understand how injured he was the second half of the season, and still managed to rush for 119 yards a game. If he was healthy, the Mustangs beat Burroughs and win the Pacific league title. They have to figure out who's going to play quarterback, because they have two super receivers back in Ahmere Owens and Marcus Graves, the brother of UCLA's Ryan Graves.
3. Alhambra
That's right, Alhambra. The Moors finished the season strong, and defeated eventual Southwest champion Schurr in the Almont League finale. And they didn't just beat the Spartans, they pounded them. And they return the best backfield duo in seniors-to-be Dushine Smith and Anthony Brown. They will need to figure out the quarterback spot, but with that backfield alone, they should have another great season.
4. La Salle
Let's just say I'm not sleeping on the Lancers this time! Ryan Doeppel will probably take over at quarterback and they still have stud David Baier in the backfield. This is a team with 14 sophomores on the varsity roster at the end of the season, along with five highly regarded freshman. So, even though they lose some talented seniors, the Lancers are going to be in the thick of it again.
5. Monrovia
This RHL coaches tell me that Monrovia is the team to beat. What else is new? The Wildcats owned the lower levels, and have plenty of weapons ready to replace David Potts, James Davis, Shawn Sparks and Co. Only at Monrovia can a 9-3 record and quarterfinal finish be a huge disappointment. They have, in my mind, one of the best returning receivers in Fernando Gonzalez along with Daro Johnson. The question is who will start at QB, senior James Mijares or junior Richard Kilbury?
6. Temple City
I can tell you right now what's going to happen. Senior Williams Do will emerge as the next Sushi Tsai and Dwight Broadnax. He'll be the horse to carry the ball 40 times a game, and looking how he did the second half of the season, he'll do just fine. He's the biggest back the Rams have had in a while, but the question is the guys up front. Replacing some of those seniors will be tough, but coach Mooney always seems to have one of the area's best O-Lines.
7. Pasadena
2007 will be the year the Bulldogs make the playoffs, and possibly upset Muir. Senior QB Tyron Crockom will likely lead the area in passing, and senior wide receiver Michael Harrison will be his favorite target. They also have senior running back Rashad McCord back and a roster full of juniors returning. I might be low-balling the Bulldogs. Seriously, they have the talent to be super, but like La Salle, I have to see it to believe it.
8. Arcadia
The rumor is that senior-to-be Kevan Walker is moving to quarterback, and coach Jon Dimalante confirmed this week that he will try it out. Running Back Troy Ahmaz will be back, and so too will receiver Eric Willm. The Apaches lose a lot of seniors, but there are a lot of unproven juniors ready to step up.
9. Rosemead
Gotta love having quarterback Paul Wilson returning, along with up and coming junior running back Tra Sumler. This was a young team that still managed to finish in a three-way tie for the Mission Valley League title, despite a 5-6 overall record. Look for them to improve during nonleague action, and win league outright next year.
10. Maranatha
Why not? They earned a top-ten ranking and have senior Mark Love back, along with quarterbacks Alex Clash and Matt Schilz. Wide receiver Robert Sharpe also returns, so don't be surprised if the Minutemen return to the Northeast championship and win it with a year's playoff experience under their belt.
FYI
The Star-News all-area teams are scheduled to be published on Dec. 27. The teams have been selected and are coming into the office this week for pictures. I'd like to thank all of you for your insight on all-area selections. It helped a great deal.

Boys Basketball
1. Pasadena (9-0)
2. La Canada (6-0)
3. Renaissance Academy (5-0)
4. Keppel (7-3)
5. La Salle (4-2)
6. Marshall (4-1)
7. Maranatha (5-1)
8. South Pasadena (4-2)
9. Alhambra (4-2)
10. San Gabriel (3-3)

GIRLS TOP TEN
1. Muir (5-0)
2. Keppel (4-2)
3. Monrovia (4-2)
4. South Pasadena (7-1)
5. La Canada (3-3)
6. Flintridge Prep (6-2)
7. Westridge (5-1)
8. San Marino (5-3)
9. Maranatha (5-1)
10. Blair (4-3)

MR. BIGSHOT

...Pasadena's Trevon Harmon scored 26 points in the Glendora basketball championship as the Bulldogs defeated Vista Murrieta 66-56, for the tournament title. The Bulldogs are now, 9-0.
...La Canada's Adam Malik continued his hot start, scoring 26 points to lead the Spartans to a 49-37 victory over Keppel in the championship of the Arroyo boys basketball tournament.
...Shawn Benn scored 22 points for Marshall, who improved to 5-1 with an 82-62 victory over Pasadena Poly to capture the Pasadena Poly boys basketball tournament on Saturday. In the third place game, Maranatha defeated St. Francis, 82-62 behind 20 points from Ronald Cole.
...Temple City finished third in the Valley Christian tournament, defeating Mary Star 72-40 behind a team-leading 19 points from David Chen.
GIRLS HOOPS
...South Pasadena's Kendall Shinmoto scored 22 points and Candice Yen added 13 as the Tigers defeated Flintridge Sacred Heart, 62-52, to capture the Pasadena Poly girls basketball tournament title. In the third place game, South Pasadena defeated Flintridge Prep, 53-44.
...

Coming this week, big boys basketball clash on Tuesday night, La Salle at La Canada, 7 p.m.
Also, Monrovia and La Canada on opposite sides in the Arroyo Girls Basketball tournament.
And in the Alhambra boys basketball tournament, Alhambra, Gabrielino, Monrovia and Temple City hope to perform well.

South Pasadena's Erin Eastwood (11) attempts to head in a
corner kick for South Pasaden in the second half against Katie Davis
(5) of Westridge. Korinne Mills (18) of Westridge looks on. Westridge
and South Pasadena tied, 0-0, last week
First CIF Soccer rankings released
GIRLS LOCAL CIF RANKINGS
Division III - 1. Mayfair, 2. Santiago, 3. Chadwick, 4. Sunny Hills, 5. Fullerton, 6. Bonita, 7. La Mirada, 8. San Luis Obispo, 9. Pacifica, 10. Westridge.

Division IV - 1. Monrovia, 2. Granite Hills, 3. Santa Ynez, 4. Paloma Valley, 5. La Serna, 6. Victor Valley, 7. Rubidoux, 8. South Pasadena, 9. Serrano, 10. Hemet.

Division V - 1. Notre Dame Academy, 2. Oaks Christia, 3. North Torrance, 4. Brentwood, 5. Marymount, 6. Maranatha, 7. Paraclete, 8. Marlborough, 9. Nordoff, 10. Whittier Christian.

BOYS LOCAL CIF RANKINGS
Division III
1. Santa Ana Valley, 2. Arcadia, 3. Saddleback, 4. Dominguez, 5. Corona, 6. Norwalk, 7. Santa Margarita, 8. Troy, 9. Artesia, 10. Santa Ana.

Division V
1. Granite HIlls, 2. Hesperia, 3. Oaks Christian, 4. Salesian, 5. Santa Paula, 6. St. Genevieve, 7. Fillmore, 8. San Marino, 9. Cerritos Valley Christian, 10. Temple City.

MId-Valley Division championship
Verbum Dei 32, La Salle 10 (Lancers trailed 20-0 at half, but came back and only trailed 20-10 after three quarters before Eagles pulled away again).
Northeast Division championship
St. Margaret's 21, Maranatha 20 (Painful. Senior kicker Kyle Delahooke hooked a game-tying extra point with 2:42 remaining. It appeared the snap was low and in the rain, he couldn't get a clean foot on it. But what a season it was for the Minutemen. This team never stopped fighting.

La Salle: Interviews wich coach Ealar Gallagher, quarterback Matt Kohorst and lineman Alex Jimenez
Maranatha: Interviews wich coach Joel Murphy, all purpose Kyle Delahooke and running back Mark Love

Quicktime Format

Windows Media Format

Monrovia's Samantha Holmes out with an ACL, but Monrovia is 4-0 after winning Duarte tournament.

Blogsters, this week is busy, but please keep us all posted on what's going on during the soccer tournament schedule. Look at the Arcadia boys, 4-1, and the consolation tourney champs at Rancho Cucamonga. Wins over Bonita and Montclair. Very impressive. Marshall boys beat La Salle, 3-0, for all those who doubted our preaseason polls.
In girls soccer, Westridge and Maranatha tied, 1-1. But the story so far is after losing the big three of Lisa Kevorkian, Mandy Puffinburger and Amanda Chacon, the Monrovia girls are 4-0 and outscored their opponents 18-1 in winning the Duarte tournament.
Monrovia beat Flintridge Prep 3-1, and Flintridge Prep beat San Marino 4-0 in that tournament. Looks like Wildcats coach Randy Medina was right about his girls soccer team.

Muir's fab four of Wallace, Henderson, Morris and Pierre living up to expectations.

The biggest local tournament this week is at Pasadena Poly, where Flintridge Prep, Flintridge Sacred Heart, La Salle, Maranatha, Marshall and South Pasadena are all competing.
The Azusa and Alverno tournaments also begin this week, but most locals are out of the area with Alhambra in the South Torrance tournament, Mayfield in the Liberty Chrisitan tourney, Rio Hondo Prep at the Webb tournament, and San Gabriel in the Covina Classic. Blogsters, keep us posted on what's going on throughout the week.

PHS boys cruise in own tourney and start 4-0; Glendora tournament next.

La Canada, , Keppel and Monrovia in Arroyo tournament; Alhambra, San Gabriel and South Pasadena in Hoover tournament; and Marshall, Pasadena Poly, San Marino and Maranatha in Pasadena Poly tournament this week. It's a busy week finishing the football season, so blogsters at the games please keep us up to date.

SATURDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIPS
MId-Valley Division
Verbum Dei (10-3) vs. La Salle (8-5) at Centennial High School, 7:30 p.m.
Thoughts from Monday's CIF luncheon in Long Beach: Interesting, La Salle was the first to walk in the building, and Verbum Dei walked in just as the food arrived. Maybe I shouldn't of been that surprised. I heard the lights at Centennial HS for the Verbum Dei- Duarte semifnal on Saturday came on about a half hour before the game. Hope they have that straightened out on Saturday. I tried my best to bait Verbum Dei coach coach Kenndric Knox, and provide some bulletin-board material for our hometown boys. But he wasn't buying it. After asking if he was looking for a little payback, he asked, "Where did you say you were from?" After reminding him I'm from the Star-News, he went on and on about how great Gallagher is, and how they should be considered the underdogs. I said coach, "You've been blowing everyone out in the playoffs, including some of our local teams." He said, "Yeah, but they beat us and they're the Camino Real League champs." For the record, nobody around our office thinks La Salle has a chance. One of our staffers, Sean Moses, covered the Verbum Dei game against Duarte and said the Eagles' speed overwhelmed Duarte. My hats off to La Salle. Despite those who think otherwise, Verbum Dei had all their players when the Lancers beat them the first time. Some were just coming back from injury, but they were all there.
Northeast Division
St. Margaret's (13-0) vs. Maranatha (11-2) at PCC, 7:30 p.m.
Thoughts from Monday's CIF luncheon in Long Beach: I'm liking coach Joel Murphy more and more. the Minutemen are sitting at a table just in front of Oaks Christian when Murphy looks over at Oaks Christian quarterback Jimmy Clausen while we're doing our interview. He fist-pumps the Notre Dame bound quarterback, then shouts out, "Go Notre Dame." The Minutemen boys came neatly dressed with their trademark blue-and-red striped school ties. They seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere as much as anyone, and are looking forward to taking on the division's undefeated and top-ranked team. Believe it or not, I don't think the Minutemen are such huge underdogs. St. Margaret's has only one player listed over 200 pounds. The only danger is they seem to be a lot like Rio Hondo Prep. Quick and disciplined, and we all know what happened in that game.
FINALLY: For Saturday's championshinps, we will have a photographer at both games and will provide photo galleries from kickoff until the final whistle. Also, we will have video highlights on Saturday morning of the Maranatha-St. Margaret's championship.

LA SALLE, MARANATHA, ADVANCE TO CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
Mid-Valley Division Semifinal
La Salle 24, Bishop Diego 14 - Lancers running backs David Baier and Nathan Bury were incredible again as the Lancers came back after trailing for the third straight time in the playoffs. Baier finished with 194 yards and two touchdowns, and Bury rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown as the Lancers advanced to their first championship game after trailing 7-0 and 14-10 at half.

Northeast Division Semifinal
Maranatha 31, Brentwood 20 - The Minutemen broke those Brentwood hearts again. True story, the Mighty Minutemen trailed 20-10 with two minutes left in the third quarter when Campa called to say that Brentwood was about to score again and close it out. Then he calls back and says the Minutemen just reeled off 21 straight unanswered points to win another thriller.
Minutemen gathering together after big win. And is that Murphy pointing to Campa to say, "We told you so." Hey Campa, they showed all of us didn't they? Congrats boys!