FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Parochial Schools
Ready for a feast
St. Francis, La Salle eager to get started
By Scott Galetti, Staff Writer
After advancing to the CIF-Southern Section Division III finals in two consecutive seasons, St. Francis High School struggled in Mission League play in 2006.
The Golden Knights, 6-5 overall, managed just one win in three league contests before suffering a 33-15 loss to Culver City in the opening round of the Western Division playoffs.
Meanwhile, La Salle turned what appeared to be a lost season into an appearance in the CIF-Southern Section Mid Valley Division championship game.
Both schools are hungry and enthusiastic about the season.
St. Francis
Despite losing three-year starters Darryl Carter and All-CIF Western Division selection Andrew Roxas, Golden Knights head coach Jim Bonds is optimistic about his team's ability to contend for the league title in his eighth season.
Part of the optimism could coincide with
the return of super sophomore wide receiver Dietrich Riley.
Riley, who also plays free safety, was selected to the All-Mission League first team after finishing fifth on the team in receiving with 262 yards and three touchdowns.
He also returned five kickoffs for 99 yards, four punts for 69 yards and was third in all-purpose yards with 438 (168 on kick returns).
Austin Heyworth takes over the reins at quarterback after the departure of first-team all-league pick Luke Collis, who threw for 2,041 yards and 13 touchdowns.
"Austin had a good spring and summer, so we're just going to come out and play hard," Riley said of his new quarterback.
Sporting a strong and accurate arm, and benefiting from a successful summer, Heyworth appears ready for the challenge.
Heyworth was the Golden Knights' fourth-best receiver in 2006 with 282 yards and one touchdown. He also had an interception and fumble recovery on defense.
The Golden Knights also return senior wide receiver Kevin Garcia and tight end Kevin Bessolo to create extra targets for Heyworth.
Despite a broken ankle suffered against Crespi that limited Garcia to seven games last season, he still led the Golden Knights in receiving, hauling in 23 passes for 409 yards and three touchdowns.
Seniors Dan Scheper and Alex Reitnouer are expected to anchor the St. Francis line.Anthony Lombardo and Joe Orlandini should also stabilize the defense.
La Salle
Lancers head coach Ealar Gallagher could have put up the white flag to surrender the season and look ahead after his team suffered a 52-19 blowout loss at Monrovia to fall to 0-5, but La Salle (8-6) wasn't about to give up the season. In fact, the season seemed to begin after that setback to the Wildcats.
La Salle steamrolled its way to the Camino Real League title and won eight consecutive games, including an impressive 35-28 victory at Monrovia in the second round of the Mid Valley Division playoffs.
The Lancers reached the title game, where they fell to Verbum Dei.
Despite having many new faces, the Lancers are hungry to repeat as league champions and put together a strong playoff run.
Senior running back and team captain David Baier figures to be a key part of any success. Baier, an All-CIF selection, led the Lancers with 1,218 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also led the team in all-purpose yards with 1,886 (402 receiving, 266 kick returns) .
La Salle will depend on sophomore quarterback Chase Rettig, who improved steadily over the course of the summer. Rettig has good size and a strong arm.
His favorite targets will more than likely be seniors Ryan Doeppel, Michael Palffy, Eric Libardoni and Ted Davis. Doeppel was sixth on the team with 12 catches for 111 yards a year ago.
Co-captains Bill Preston and Brandon France should provide a good base on the line.France is the inspiration the team is rallying behind after breaking his back in Week 5 of last season.
"I had to go see a lot of doctors and got a doctor who said I would have the chance to come back and play," France said. "Finally, I did make a full recovery and I'm back here now."
Bosco Tech
The Tigers (3-7) once again have a new head coach in Chris Shockley, who had served as an assistant during the past nine seasons.
They also bring some experience to the table.
Adrian Rodriguez gets the nod at starting quarterback after serving as backup last season.
Senior running back Patrick Macenas is expected to once again pace the Tigers ground attack.
Shockley does boast about junior defensive lineman/tight end Robert Huskey, a first-team All-Del Rey League selection as a sophomore, and senior Chris Romo, who was a first-team all-league punter.
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About this blog
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Melendez worked as a correspondent for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for three years and later landed a job as a freelance writer at the Los Angeles Times before accepting an offer at The Orange County Register covering high schools. Melendez covered Major League Soccer at The Register for three years before being promoted to report on the Lakers, Angels and Dodgers for the Web. Melendez also worked for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fresno Bee, Oakland Tribune and The Boston Globe. E-mail opinions, suggestions and tips to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com. |
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Bosco Tech Braves? Wow. You sure know your stuff.
Please stop with the praise on the QB. It's too much pressure on the young kid. Let him mature as a player and leader. QB's need leadership as much as a big arm, oh a few talented receivers help too! Remember this is a team game, offense, defense, coaching and special "teams". One area that has not been mentioned is the strength of the punter/place kicker, a very strong leg. He deserves some publicity.
go lancers. Chase is going to be a great one
go lancers