FOOTBALL: Hell Week's over, it's finally time for some action

Foursome among area's best
By Scott Galetti Staff Writer

PASADENA - If there were such a thing as a prep football dream team, it would include a tenacious Bulldog with a rifle arm, an unstoppable and fleet-of-foot Golden Knight, an unrestrained Mustang and a perspicacious Moor.
There really isn't any joke attached to this conglomeration, except that they lead a talented bunch of players going into this season.
There's nothing more exciting than watching a running back break a long run for a touchdown, as Muir's Willie Youngblood has accomplished.
It's equally exhilarating to watch a quarterback throw a perfect touchdown pass, such as Pasadena's Tyron Crockom, or a fleet receiver like St. Francis's Dietrich Riley turn a short pass into a long scoring play.
And every running play needs someone throw a good block, such as Alhambra guard Jonathan Silva.
As the 2007 season begins, we highlight the area's top players at their respective positions.

Tyron Crockom
Pasadena quarterback

Entering his third season, Crockom is a seasoned varsity player, who knows how to make his teammates better.
He completed 58 percent of his passes in 2006 for 2,050 yards and 20 touchdowns, an average of 205 yards per game.
The speedy signal-caller also led the Bulldogs in total offense with 2,313 yards: Numbers that were strong enough to be named to the All-Pacific League first team and the Star-News All-Area second team.
Rather then rest on his laurels, Crockom worked on reading defenses during the offseason and enjoyed a successful summer in passing league competitions.
"Tyron is a phenomenal kid and he's one of the leaders on our team that determines which way we're going to go," Pasadena head coach Kevin Mills said. "It's going to be my job to really put Tyron in position for success early and often to make sure that his confidence is always at 100 percent."
Crockom's confidence level was overflowing more times than not during his junior campaign.
He opened the season with a bang by throwing for 246 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-33 win over Harvard-Westlake.
Two week's later, Crockom passed for 386 passing yards and five TDs against West Ranch.
Over the next seven games, Crockom accumulated 250 yards or more on three other occasions and had seven games of more than 200 yards on the season.
With his team diligently preparing for its opener at Harvard-Westlake, Crockom is intent on improving his game each day to give the Bulldogs a shot to win every game.
"I just want to come out here and have more fun than I had my first two years on varsity," Crockom said. "I want our team to have fun and will try to do better than I did last year.
"I want to be a leader out there and lead my team to victory."
The Bulldogs' senior has huge expectations for this season, including beating Muir in the Turkey Tussle and winning the Pacific League championship.
"It's our third year together and we're just ready to be victorious in the Turkey Tussle," Crockom said. "We want to bring the bell back to Pasadena."

Dietrich Riley
St. Francis receiver/safety

It's hard to imagine that this guy is only a sophomore.
Riley quickly emerged as one of the top wideouts not only in the area, but also in Southern California.
And he's only going to continue to get better.
As a freshman, Riley was fifth on the Golden Knights with 262 receiving yards and tied for the team lead with three touchdowns. He was third on the team in all-purpose yards with 435 (168 on kick returns), and led the team in receiving averaging with just more than 21 yards per reception.
Riley's efforts earned him a spot on the All-Mission League first team.
St. Francis boasted a huge offensive line in 2006 - one that opened up the running games. Former Golden Knights quarterback Luke Collis threw for 2,041 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The team isn't as big up front this year, but has strong-armed senior Austin Heyworth at quarterback.
What that means is potentially more balls thrown in the direction of Riley.
"We don't have as much size on the line, but we have more speed, so we're more balanced," Riley said.
He's just happy to be a part of Jim Bonds' program.
"It was a great opportunity for me to go to St. Francis," Riley said.
The soft-spoken, yet flashy, Riley looks at the simple points when describing himself.
"I'm just a player that comes to practice and games and works and play hard," Riley said. "I'm unselfish and someone you can count on when it's game time and we need that touchdown in the last minute."
Although he's a wide receiver, Riley patterns his game after San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.
"He's a great runner and I like how he plays; and his style," Riley said.
Another running back that Riley admires is former USC and current New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush.
"He has great speed and vision, and he can also catch the ball, so I like that, too," Riley said.
While he may create a bigger name for himself with his offensive skills, Riley loves nothing better than to go one-on-one with an opposing wide receiver at free safety.
"I'm an aggressive player, so I like to come up and make tackles and I like contact," Riley said. I don't like to sit back and just get the interception, I like to come make hits."

Willie Youngblood
Muir running back

During one of the first practices this season, Muir head coach Ken Howard watched as Youngblood made a couple of moves on a single play.
The third-year coach promptly described the moves by throwing out a pair of well-known names.
"I don't know if I want to call this kid little Roger Craig or (NFL Hall-of-Famer) Eric Dickerson, but he had a little bit of both of them in one move," Howard said.
Though slowed by injuries during the final four games, Youngblood put plenty of moves on opponents throughout the 2006 season, rushing for 1,439 yards and 13 touchdowns.
He averaged nearly 10 yards per carry en route to being named to the All-Pacific League first team.
He compiled seven games of 100 or more yards, including six straight as the Mustangs went 9-3.
His high game was against Burbank when he racked up 218 yards and three touchdowns.
Youngblood ran for 748 yards and seven touchdowns during his sophomore season.

Jonathan Silva
Alhambra right guard/
defensive lineman

As he begins his third season as a varsity starter, Silva has established himself as one of the Moors' hardest working players.
Silva was selected as a first-team All-Almont League guard a year ago.
His main job is to create holes for running backs Anthony Brown and Shawn "Dushine" Smith, and he has done his job admirably.
"We take pride in running the ball and dominating the line of scrimmage," Alhambra assistant coach Manny Ruedaflores said. "He's one of the main reasons why we've had so much success running the ball the last two seasons."
Added Silva: "I just try to get my line pumped up so we can be successful and also show an example of what to do as a lineman."
With Smith (1,301 yards and 17 touchdowns) and Brown (1,058 yards and 15 TDs) back for another season, Silva and his fellow linemen will once again try to dominate.
"I don't have to do a lot, but opening up the holes is still important," Silva said. "They have the speed to go through the smallest hole."
Nothing makes Silva happier than watching one of his backs break the long one for a score.
It's no secret why Silva has enjoyed the success of being one of the top linemen in the area.
He's worked very hard to master his craft, especially this summer.
"Linemen work out twice a day beginning at 6 a.m. and then at 2 p.m. and he's always there leading the group," Ruedaflores said. "He brings an attitude up front and he's real physical and strong so everyone kind of feeds off of that."